So, anyone took the photo of the comet SWAN? I hope that we will have clear skies next year after the signing of the haze contract. (Is it called so?)

So far no chance because of the haze. Even without the haze, already very difficult.
Maybe have to fly to Mongolia.......

The Indonesia, The Haze, The Problem.

Ok guys, another visual observing for you. The orionids are at peak on this Saturday. Look to the constellations Orion. The best time to see is before dawn. Stay tune!

Edited: Guys, I have just updated the first post. How do you feel it? I need someone to post the images on the first post.

This post has been edited by Mr.LKM: Oct 19 2006, 01:46 PM

What kind of images you want? How about my homemade ToUcam adapter?

The haze is still playing havoc with our astro activities. I think I'll try to find an old pic of Orion and digitally create my own meteor shower.........

Which reminds me, I do have a video of a Perseid (if I remember correctly) transiting Orion from some years back.......one of the few triumphs of my many feeble attempts at shooting meteor showers with my old Sony handycam. If I can locate it I'll convert it to a .gif to show you unbelievers. If not, it'll be another one of my notorious unsubstantiated claims.

Everything related to Astronomy will be welcomed. Bro, do you mind to list me the hardwares needed to make the adapter? I hate the haze! I really hate it. However, I will try my luck tonight. It totally depends on luck.

I am now planning on my future telescope setup. Most likely, it will be Celestron CGE-1100. I am not sure whether I want to get the whole equipment or just plainly the mount with Meade LX200R OTA. I'm waiting for my friend's review on C11 (OTA on CGE-1100) and 10" LX200R OTA.

I thought I described it before? The barrel of an old 1.25"eyepiece, a piece of plastic plumbing connector, and some cellophane tape.......honest!
That's serious stuff man. I can see you're really going into deep sky imaging with the German equatorial mount (CGE-1100). And then the Ritchey-Chrétien OTA....... so where are you planning to put your observatory? This setup is not exactly very portable, is it?

The CGE mount with the tripod are around 40KG. They can be disassembled into parts, so I don't have to worry. Maybe the observatory will be located at Chile. As I said, this is a plan for the next 15 years. By the way, if I am rich enough, I will get a AP900 from Astro-Physics. It's priced at USD4000. May be at the end, I will not get any GEM mount but just a wedge. To be exact, that's not Ritchey-Chretien OTA but modifed RC. I am interested in RCOS RC OTA though.

*End of Imagination*

If I am here, I won't go into deep sky imaging "deeply" as the skies here are just not good enough for this. A very clear sky is exceptional though. Mostly I will take planetary imaging instead.

1.25" barrel, where am I going to look for it. The size of the plumb has to be larger than 1.25" or smaller than it?

Did I inform you that I have successfully formed the Astronomical League in my school?

Well, RC telescopes used to cost million+ ringgits and were only found in those expensive observatories. So even a modified one must be something to dream for.....


Just unscrew the metal barrel of any 1.25" eyepiece. You can easily put it back on if necessary. If you're lucky, you might be able to find a piece of plumbing that screws right into the barrel. The thread will be different, but since the plumbing is plastic and cheap, it's okay to force it in. If it's loose, that's where the cellophane tape comes in useful.
The other end which screws into the ToUcam is more tricky. Use a sharp cutter blade to trim the plumbing until it just fits tightly onto the ToUcam (after taking out the lens, of course). If you think you want to permanently use the ToUcam for astrophotography, then you can superglue this on, or use hot melt glue to fix it strongly.
The advantage of using a standard 1.25" barrel is that you can attach all those special eyepiece filters to enhance your astrophotography.

So are you going to save the world? That sounds very like the League of the Superheroes of the Universe..........!!!!

I don't think so. The RCOS 10" RC just cost thoudsands (USD).

The advantage of using a standard 1.25" barrel is that you can attach all those special eyepiece filters to enhance your astrophotography.

It seems quite easy huh? I am wondering whether to do it myself or buy the ready adapter.

What about Justice League?

Right, just thousands USD.. 10" RCOS OTA already USD14,000 ++......<faint>.
On the other hand, I think one of our local universities got one 18" RC telescope cost more than 1 million ringgit loh. So this RCOS one is cheap cheap only.


Easy to make, but need some patience. Just make for the fun of it lah.
You can franchise this........

What is the university? I would like to arrange a trip for my members. If the telescope is shipped to here but not made here, I don't find any unreasonable reason as the shipping itself is so high.

When I saw the email notification, I thought a new comer is here.

By the way, do you know what is that university?

ugpm. For private consumption only.

whats wrong with the arill fellow? btw march05. can teach me how to take good pics?

Maybe he got upon the wrong side of bed that morning.....happens to me sometimes too. Then I get crabby with everyone. Anyway, he's welcome to give us advice on astrophotography anytime.

Take good pics? I'm not sure I'm qualified to do that. I'm more like an accidental photographer.

My basic method is to take lots of shots, then I might just get a few which are in focus, correctly exposed, and pointed in the right direction. Thank God for digital cameras!
You should see the multi-gigabyte collection of bad shots in my HDD....

BTW I think I'm overdue to drop by at your place to catch up with the Hi Fi/Home Theatre scene. Would you like to see my new DIY toy the Digital T-amp? I still can't get it to work yet, but it makes a good conversation piece with friends. If you're into DIY, maybe I'll leave it with you to figure out how to get it to produce some music. In exchange, I'll give you some pointers on how NOT to take astrophotos. DEAL?

okie on. maybe i'll ask some of the audiophile members who are into DIY to help u out as well. ooops i missed out some words there in my previous post. how to take good astronomy pics?

Regarding taking good astrophotos, you need to have the exposure correctly because as a telescope user, the aperture is fixed. By the way, I assume you that you are using your digicam to take photos.

Moon is the easiet object to image, so you should start with it. First, point your camera to the Moon, make sure that your focal ratio is at the lowest value and then set your camera to infinity focus and spot metering. Try to figure out the best exposure value and then take it! Afterthat, sharpens it in photoshop to exaggerate the details. There you go.

Comet SWAN did burst out some days before. By the way, Mercury is going to transit the Sun next Thursday. I think I am going to SG and meet those guys who have solar telescopes.

Mr. LKM meeting up with fellow Astronomy enthusiats over at Singapore?

I just checked the Meade catologue. My is it long. But good thing they've seperated the astronomer to 8 different profiles. Makes it easier to discover which type you are and how far you want to go into the hobby.

Mr.Lkm, Yours is what model again?