New Telescope, comet etc. pictures

[DonH50]

Playing with my new toy, a smart telescope (Unistellar eQuinox2). Set it up, it self-calibrates, then tell it where to look or (like me) pick something from it's huge (37M+) catalog of "objects" and it automagically goes there. All controlled from my phone (tablet on order, easier/better for old eyes), so once it's on the deck, I control and view from a nice comfy couch. This thing is gonna' cost me a lot of sleep!

I got out early enough tonight to catch the comet (C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which is invisible by eye, but the telescope did a good job:



Ring Nebula and Dumbbell Nebula from last night:





Galaxy M33:

 

[steve williams]

I can’t see your attachments Don

 

[DonH50]

I can’t see your attachments Don

Yeah, for some reason they didn't attach, then I realized on the third try they were too big. I resized them to reduce to 25% and they should be there now.

 

[steve williams]

I see them now. Looks like a great toy in the Colorado sky where you reside. Must be wonderful. And self calibrating How great is that. Can you attach a photo of the telescope and what the cost is. You have my interest

 

[DonH50]

I see them now. Looks like a great toy in the Colorado sky where you reside. Must be wonderful. And self calibrating How great is that. Can you attach a photo of the telescope and what the cost is. You have my interest

Tonight it's 35 degF and 90% humidity, VERY glad I got a telescope I could use from the couch! I have a couple of cheap refractors and a very simple 8" reflector, but for years been thinking about a smart telescope. Don't have a picture yet, but it's a Unistellar eQuinox2, about $2500 including backpack case and solar filter when I bought it last week. No eyepiece, all done on the phone or a tablet, and I didn't want to pay an extra $1k for an eyepiece when you have to control with the phone anyway and the whole point was to get something completely automatic and not stand in the cold to look.

UNISTELLAR | Official Website - Cutting-Edge Smart Telescopes

Discover the award-winning UNISTELLAR intelligent telescopes with revolutionary technologies. Capture breathtaking images of the universe.

www.unistellar.com

Specifically https://shop.unistellar.com/products/equinox-2?variant=40467965018135

One of their claims to fame is that they work well in more populated (light-polluted) areas.

 

[DonH50]

I got interested as a kid, and again many years ago (when I bought the 8" Newtonian), but despite having books and sky charts never managed to learn enough to find stuff with any proficiency. Plus it's cold in winter when viewing is best! This thing is pretty amazing; set it up on the deck, take the cover off, then go inside and use an app to calibrate and automatically go to any one of a zillion or so objects. It has a catalog that you can limit to just visible things in your place and time, so you pick from a list of things like planets, comets, galaxies, nebulae, etc. then it goes and finds (and tracks) whatever you pick. You can take a picture it saves to your phone and can dump to your PC later (app is Android/iOS only).

 

[mxk116]

Tonight it's 35 degF and 90% humidity, VERY glad I got a telescope I could use from the couch! I have a couple of cheap refractors and a very simple 8" reflector, but for years been thinking about a smart telescope. Don't have a picture yet, but it's a Unistellar eQuinox2, about $2500 including backpack case and solar filter when I bought it last week. No eyepiece, all done on the phone or a tablet, and I didn't want to pay an extra $1k for an eyepiece when you have to control with the phone anyway and the whole point was to get something completely automatic and not stand in the cold to look.

UNISTELLAR | Official Website - Cutting-Edge Smart Telescopes

Discover the award-winning UNISTELLAR intelligent telescopes with revolutionary technologies. Capture breathtaking images of the universe.

www.unistellar.com

Specifically https://shop.unistellar.com/products/equinox-2?variant=40467965018135

One of their claims to fame is that they work well in more populated (light-polluted) areas.

I'm in Larkspur (Perry Park Ranch actually).

Are you familiar with this new resort under construction? Kosmos Resort

No affiliation, stumbled across it on-line a few months ago.

 

[DonH50]

I'm in Larkspur (Perry Park Ranch actually).

Are you familiar with this new resort under construction? Kosmos Resort

No affiliation, stumbled across it on-line a few months ago.

Hey neighbor! I'm in Monument (just a couple of miles east of town).

No, I know there are a number of dark-sky observatories around, but have not looked for them. I know the area (San Luis Valley and the dunes somewhat, and plan to do some off-roading there, need to plan a night run with the telescope. We have spent a lot of time around South Fork and Creed a ways down the road from there.

I just got the telescope Monday and set it up yesterday, new toy!

 

[mxk116]

Hey neighbor! I'm in Monument (just a couple of miles east of town).

No, I know there are a number of dark-sky observatories around, but have not looked for them. I know the area (San Luis Valley and the dunes somewhat, and plan to do some off-roading there, need to plan a night run with the telescope. We have spent a lot of time around South Fork and Creed a ways down the road from there.

I just got the telescope Monday and set it up yesterday, new toy!

There's a lot to see in the skies at altitude. Those are terrific images you are sharing and made even more impressive considering you only recently started using your telescope rig. Looking forward to seeing what you capture as you become more familar with it.

 

[DonH50]

There's a lot to see in the skies at altitude. Those are terrific images you are sharing and made even more impressive considering you only recently started using your telescope rig. Looking forward to seeing what you capture as you become more familar with it.

Thanks! Our house is at ~7500' but in the trees, so sky is usually clear, but skyline is not. Frustrating; I am going to try setting it up in a couple of other places on the lot, and of course just stay up later. Years ago, I had a friend who was very into it, so now and then we'd head out of town just over the front range hills. He's moved away, alas...

The telescope does all the work, I just select an object and tell it to find it. My old 8" has more light-gathering ability and would technically provide a sharper image, but I'd have to be out in the cold to tweak it in and find and track objects manually (Newtonian mount, no motorized tracking system), and I don't have a camera mount for it. The Unistellar turns an interested but ignorant observer into an "expert".

I do need to tweak it a bit to see if I can get it a little sharper, and it has a couple of manual controls in the app I can play with, but out of the box it's quite an experience. I'll try to take a picture of the rig today then you'll see how simple it really is.

 

[Holmz]

Yeah, for some reason they didn't attach, then I realized on the third try they were too big. I resized them to reduce to 25% and they should be there now.

I think galaxies are big

 

[DonH50]

I think galaxies are big

But very far away... Reducing them to 25% was pretty hard, some of the stars threw a real fit.

 

[steve williams]

But very far away... Reducing them to 25% was pretty hard, some of the stars threw a real fit.

"a long time ago, in a galaxy far away"

 

[Holmz]

But very far away... Reducing them to 25% was pretty hard, some of the stars threw a real fit.

Maybe you need a black hole compression codex…?

 

[DonH50]

Maybe you need a black hole compression codex…?

Then it'd be very hard to find and post the pictures.

 

[DonH50]

This is what the telescope and its backpack looks like. The telescope tube is about 21.5" long and 5" in diameter; the overall length of the 'scope and mount (drive base) is about 27", and it weighs about 16 pounds (7 kg). Focal length is 450 mm (17.7"), mirror is 114 mm (4.5"), focal ratio is f/4. Resolving power is 1.23 arcseconds.

 

[slowGEEZR]

Wow, this is so awesome! With my little telescope I only look at a few objects, mostly planets, as I haven't the patience nor the skill to focus on nebula, etc. Having a scope that you can just punch in coordinates and it does the work for you, is amazing. I'm going to have to look into this scope. Thanks for posting this thread!

 

[DonH50]

Wow, this is so awesome! With my little telescope I only look at a few objects, mostly planets, as I haven't the patience nor the skill to focus on nebula, etc. Having a scope that you can just punch in coordinates and it does the work for you, is amazing. I'm going to have to look into this scope. Thanks for posting this thread!

It's even easier, no coordinates required, just pick an object from the catalog. It has 37M+ objects including stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, clusters, comets, asteroids, etc. The catalog can be limited to just things you want to see (e.g. "comets") and those that are visible to you at your place and time. I just selected "M33" for instance to see the galaxy. You can punch in coordinates, too, if desired.

The scopes I was looking at years ago had computerized mounts and tracking systems, and usually had a database, but were a bit more work to use and you had to buy the imager separately. They have improved, but still in that same price range for an admittedly better 'scope. The ones I were considering were in the 8"~10" mirror diameter range, so better light gathering and resolution, but a lot more money (~$5k), and I couldn't sit on the couch and view without a camera mount and wireless-capable digital camera (widely available now, less so then). My old 8" Newtonian reflector is nice but totally manual, and I never got very good at reading the charts and making the adjustments to find deep-space objects. Then when I did, trying to track it in real time was a pain (never got around to buying a good drive mount). And it was usually cold out since winter provides the best viewing and that's when I had time to play.

These smart digital 'scopes have come a long way, with much better optics and imagers as well as control apps, compared to what I found just 2-3 years ago. They won't match a good "conventional" telescope but for me it's wonderful.

 

[slowGEEZR]

It's even easier, no coordinates required, just pick an object from the catalog. It has 37M+ objects including stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, clusters, comets, asteroids, etc. The catalog can be limited to just things you want to see (e.g. "comets") and those that are visible to you at your place and time. I just selected "M33" for instance to see the galaxy. You can punch in coordinates, too, if desired.

The scopes I was looking at years ago had computerized mounts and tracking systems, and usually had a database, but were a bit more work to use and you had to buy the imager separately. They have improved, but still in that same price range for an admittedly better 'scope. The ones I were considering were in the 8"~10" mirror diameter range, so better light gathering and resolution, but a lot more money (~$5k), and I couldn't sit on the couch and view without a camera mount and wireless-capable digital camera (widely available now, less so then). My old 8" Newtonian reflector is nice but totally manual, and I never got very good at reading the charts and making the adjustments to find deep-space objects. Then when I did, trying to track it in real time was a pain (never got around to buying a good drive mount). And it was usually cold out since winter provides the best viewing and that's when I had time to play.

These smart digital 'scopes have come a long way, with much better optics and imagers as well as control apps, compared to what I found just 2-3 years ago. They won't match a good "conventional" telescope but for me it's wonderful.

Thanks for all the information! Looking at all of this thread, I noticed you are in Monument. I'm in the Springs, a couple miles south of Northgate Blvd. Small world!

 

[DonH50]

Thanks for all the information! Looking at all of this thread, I noticed you are in Monument. I'm in the Springs, a couple miles south of Northgate Blvd. Small world!

Cool! My wife works in the Springs, and I used to (retired about 18 months ago) work at a place off GoG. And @mxk116 is near Larkspur, the more the merrier!

I took the 'scope out front so I could catch a few things to the north (house is in the way when I set up on the deck); trees blocked some of the stuff. It's not the cost of the 'scope, it's the cost of adding the attic observatory that's gonna' hurt...

Here's a galaxy (NGC 0891):