Why I REGRET not trying VISUAL astronomy sooner

[@Polyyboy13]

I do both astrophotography and visual astronomy. There's something awe-inspiring about seeing planets etc in real time with your own eyes. Me and my daughter look through the scope and find targets, its really inspired her for the hobby. Especially in a day and age when kids are using their phones all the time

[@AstralviewsUK]

Agree wholeheartedly. Saturn looks as artificial as this emoji almost! 🪐 Proof that we are all living in a simulation 😂

[@Polyyboy13]

You're right about Saturn, it almost looks fake but it's real 😂. Especially the NASA photographs. We live in a beautiful universe 🔭🌌

[@kcott4177]

As a serious amateur astronomer, at least I was before I screwed up my body, I found that the best thing about visual astonomy is there is always something new to see. Granted you won't see galaxies and nebulae in color like you do in Astronomy and Sky and Telescope our eyes simply can't get there, but feast your eyes on NGC1300 or M51 the Whirlpool Galaxy and take in the beauty of deep space and let your thoughts roam. One can spend hours just looking and wondering.

[@AstralviewsUK]

So true, in fact I'm finding that just honing in on what my eyes can see unaided with the red dot finder and then getting the scope onto it is a great little workflow for stepping away from the hand controller and just exploring/learning the night sky.

[@kcott4177]

All I can say to that is...clear skies.

[@caviestcaveman8691]

Meh still a barely visible smudge lol

[@VickyDreamz]

​@@caviestcaveman8691 not all can appreciate little things it seems 🤔

[@VickyDreamz]

@@caviestcaveman8691 It can cost a lot depending what you want to do. If you want astrophotography the lowest budget you would need is at least 1000$ to get bare minimum to start. If you want to observe visually, you can get the basics for a lot less. I have a 70/700 telescope that comes with 2 eyepieces and a barlow-lense for about 120$ I can see the planets, Andromeda, under good conditions many deep sky targets etc. Ofc a nebula will never look like on the pictures. Those are hunderds of long exposure pictures stacked and processed to make the colors come out. If you go in with realistic expectations it's not a dissapointment. I saw the Dumbbell nebula for the first time, was a smudge and I almost disregarded it. I could somewhat make the shape amd when I realized what I saw, it was pretty exciting. For me at least. I understand that some might say "cool, yeah, but it's a smudge"

[@BonzaB1]

Well done. Your videos are coming along really well. Your enthusiasm for astronomy comes across great. Just started to get to know my rig. It's not easy. Looking forward to more content.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thank you! Feel free to post any questions here about imaging and I'll help where I can or even make a video about it, because if you're struggling others probably are too. It's a demanding hobby!

[@KevinMurphy0403]

Great content. Keep up the fantastic work and you'll go a long way. Looking forward to more!

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks, Kevin! More on the way!

[@robertasumendi]

This was fun to hear about your visual experience! I really like that you keep emphasizing that focal ratio is a factor in visual just like it is in photography. Get those exit pupils up to 7mm+ on your setup and go to a dark site, and you'll be able to see the Elephant Trunk and surrounding nebulosity, NAN, M42, and M31 will look a lot more like your photos.

[@AstralviewsUK]

It sounds to me like I need a pair of Analog Sky Magic stargazing binoculars™ in my life!

[@robertasumendi]

@@AstralviewsUK lol it never hurts. Just wanted to say great video. I'm always mystified how our photographer friends can spend an entire night out with us and not take a free peek through the eyepieces.

[@AstralviewsUK]

@@robertasumendi no, I know you were, I just couldn't help myself 🤣I'm still very new to visual astro but mainly took it up so I can learn my way around the night sky because it's a complete dichotomy to imaging! I mean, crazy to think that you could go a full lifetime of imaging and still go outside and when someone asks you were Rigel is you'd have no idea. I've been playing a fun little game with the C6 using only the red dot finder and scope (not the database in the hand controller) to work my way around and start memorising what's what. It's actually a lot of fun.

[@Astras-Stargate]

Loved your visual impressions and your fabulous images. tfs!!

[@AstralviewsUK]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@annikasoraya4322]

ABSOLUTE PERFECTION MATE! BLESSINGS FROM NEWCASTLE IN AUSTRALIA 🔮🔭🍹 ANNIKA

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks, Annika! Clear skies

[@annikasoraya4322]

Are you located in QLD, NSW or VIC? I am super excited about my new interest. My Skyrover 130 Reference is a $6400 refractor that I am yet to purchase a mount for. I have decided on the Skywatcher Wave 150 harmonic drive to support my visual observations and from 2026 my Astrophotograhy pursuits. This sport costs an arm and a leg mate! Ha, ha, ha . . . . 🤣🤣

[@AstralviewsUK]

@@annikasoraya4322 I live in the UK!

[@annikasoraya4322]

​Apologies . . . . I kinda thought the background looked like UK but then I thought nah, he definitely sounds Aussie! I love your enthusiasm and way of articulating your message to the audience. Keep up the awesome content buddy-you are a true gift amongst a sea of Astro You tubers. I also love "Ollie's Space" because he is extraordinarily gifted with his musical talents and videography. You should check him out - he is in Victoria. Best to you and family, Annika ​@@AstralviewsUK

[@Johnnybox81]

Star hopping with books is just so rewarding. I ditched the goto a long time ago.

[@AstralviewsUK]

cheers, I did the same and I'm really enjoying the 10 inch dob now.

[@HumbleLife8]

what book is your best goto book for star hopping with! thanks for sharing

[@AstralviewsUK]

​@@HumbleLife8 I'd start with "NightWatch" by Dickinson. It has some very nice, basic star charts in there.

[@ClearAlera]

I just ordered a 10" dobsonian last night; can't wait for it to arrive and compare to your observations in this video. I'd really like to see if it can catch some nebulae, so I'm hoping the f/4.9 will do the trick for that. Clear skies!

[@AstralviewsUK]

Have fun and please report back with your findings. For science.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Oh I forgot to mention, I've got a video coming where I compare a range of eyepieces across different price brackets and test whether switching out your stock diagonal to a dielectric mirror makes a big difference (most say it improves brightness and contrast) so tune back in next week for that.

[@ClearAlera]

Thanks, and will do!

[@Projectoxcart]

Doing visual Astronomy was How I started , Then I moved into doing Visual and Astrophotography with my 102 x 500 MM F 4.9 Sky-Watcher Star Travel refractor and hit all the Northern Sky Messier Objects , The next part will be with my 6 inch Newtonian (Ex Dob) Beware of Freezing Bits off doing visual up hear in the North UK 51:22 North London.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks for sharing ☺️ The other night all my stuff got absolutely drenched with dew. Even the SCT corrector plate despite having a dew guard on it. I think I'll have to run some dew heaters on the lowest power. Loving visual though.

[@Astrofrank]

My best view of M45 was with a 150/750 mm Newtonian and a 25 mm wide-angle eyepiece. I was disappointed at first because the entire field looked like fog, but then I realized that this "fog" was blueish-white. Yes, that was the nebula between the Pleiades! Btw.: emission nebulae usually get better by using a UHC or even O-III filter, but NGC 7000 needs a dark sky and much true field of view - try binoculars.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Cheers, Frank!

[@tubedude54]

I started out doing visual as all that was available picture wise was film. I tried to do a bit of that but it was not easy and was rather expensive if you didn't develop your own film. So not only did you need your own darkroom you also needed a guide scope with illuminated sights and a mount allowing you to keep your guide star centered... by WATCHING it and making corrections with a joystick. There was no stacking of film frames... you simply exposed your film longer to get more light on the film! It's no wonder that amateur astronomers of the past mostly did visual observations.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks for sharing! Here's one for you in return: The SCT has its origins back in 1672 when a French priest called Cassegrain invented the primary/secondary mirror design. The front corrector plate didn't come until the early 1900s I believe!

[@kcott4177]

There was a night that I took a few shots of jupiter and over exposed one picture. When I got the film back I found I captured 21 of Jupiter's moon. Granted they showed as light streaks, but I got them.

[@Milkybar882]

Looking to get into the hobby. I so landscape photography so drawn to Astrophotography but totally get your point about visual. I've been looking at the Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 SCT Telescope to get me started on visual.

[@AstralviewsUK]

The 6SE is great bang for buck, especially once you get a dielectric diagonal for it and some decent EPs. I've got a video coming out about binoculars soon, which are a great way to explore and learn the night sky.

[@Milkybar882]

@@AstralviewsUK do you think they are a better for choice. I’m looking at spending £1500 on the evo 6 with some extras

[@colinbacon1738]

A very enjoyable channel, i have the exact same telescope and multi eye pieces, it soon became very apparent i wasn't going to see deep sky objects . I really enjoy the planets and some star clusters, i didn't get into this hobby until i retired and i am totally fascinated by it. I have a canon DSLR camera and have just tinkered with photos of the stars and planets really, learning siril and gimp. I quickly realised that i need to spend lot and lots of money, also learn so so much to do astro photography . Anyway this very year i brought a tiny telescope called the dwarf 11 for £412 . its never never going to compete with your astro set up, but for the first time ever I'm seeing deep sky objects and this telescope stacks also. I really like my 150mm goto and now to compliment my enjoyment this Little Dwarf 11. I live in Norfolk under Bortal 4 skies.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Hi, Colin. Thanks for stopping by. The more time I've spent with the C6 the more I realise that it's the moon that is where the action is! Whereas for imaging the moon is something generally considered annoying, it's funny how once you have a visual scope you look forward to when the moon is up (at least I do now). Congrats on your gateway drug, the dwarf lol. I'm nearly certain it will lead you to a more "serious" setup in time haha.

[@Cakebattered]

While both visual astronomy and astrophotography can get expensive. The price ceilings of each aren't even remotely close. For just the price of a good GoTo EQ mount for a 8" SCT, you could buy a complete set of high quality (Non-Televue) eyepieces. That all said, I absolutely loved this video.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Cheers, concho! I agree, just released a video on what my widefield AP rig actually cost and it's crazy how fast it adds up. It's all the stuff you don't think about at first..

[@lookspacethings]

Really nice video! It remided me that around 10 years ago I bought a small Maksutov-Cassegrain table telescope and it was cool to see the Moon and the Planets. But soon I understood that it was very limited, speacially for astrophotography. A small refractor is the right choice to start into the hobby in my opion.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks! There's also something really special about being able to show your friends and family Saturn for the first time, for example. It blows everyone away the first time they see it with their own eyes. I agree for imaging a small refractor is perfect, something in the 60 to 80mm range. As tempting as a Petzval is though, achieving the correct back spacing with a triplet APO is a baptism of fire through which one must pass sooner or later, so why not get it over with sooner imho. For visual, seems like the consensus is an 8 inch dob, the Celestron Starsense 8 inch dob looks like a fantastic bargain at around £600 on sale and really lowers the barrier to entry into visual astro with its simple "push-to" directions from the Starsense app on your phone, cradled on top of the tube. www.tringastro.co.uk/celestron-starsense-explorer-8-smartphone-app-enabled-dobsonian-telescope-18941-p.asp

[@lookspacethings]

@@AstralviewsUK You are absolutely right, it is really cool to do visual astronomy with friends and family. I really want in the future to buy a 8" Dob, I also think it is the best choice in this case

[@AstralviewsUK]

​@@lookspacethingshow are the skies for you in Andorra? One would think pretty good given that you're in the mountains?

[@lookspacethings]

@@AstralviewsUK well, There are some excellent locations in the Pyrenees mountains for astrophotography, but in Andorra I can only get bortle 4 so I cross the border to Spain to get a bortle 2.5m still in good altitude 1400m.

[@AstralviewsUK]

​@@lookspacethingsthat sounds fantastic. Sometimes I use telescope live data from Spain.

[@ZZstaff]

I can see cloud layers in the Orion Nebula in my 8" scope. My 10" did a great job however it now needs a lot of work, the Beehive Cluster was amazing.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks for sharing!

[@pocmtobs]

Nice video, keep up the good work

[@odin7hewanderer424]

Good Show bud, great work!

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks mate! Great to see you again, hope you are well ❤️

[@christiana8820]

Never had the interest in using computers and software to create a "picture" of the skies that I never saw with my own eyes... Astrophotography can be done remotely by a guy inside his house asleep. Visual requires you to actually be a real time part of the universe you are skysurfing and enjoying.... Most people are turned off by the typically small lenses of eyepieces used in visual. I use Tele View EP's that are like windows to the sky and easy for anyone to enjoy and appreciate. I have found that the simpler my rig is the easier it is to use and enjoy. A light weight refractor, a sturdy wooden tripod, and eyepieces that give you a big, wide view at 20-40 power , and clear views at 50-100 power are all you need for unlimited enjoyment outside as the owls hoot in the distance with approval....

[@AstralviewsUK]

You have to be awake to process said astro image ;)

[@caviestcaveman8691]

You do you but im still put there making sure tele is doing right visual was fun but wow really bland and too expensive to even see fun things

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Great video you can get to see fainter nebulae by using filters for eyepieces, a bloke I know had my Skywatcher ED80 on the Veil nebula & you could see the whole of it, with his 12" Dob you could see the strands in the witches broom although there's no colour but detail for sure. At a dark site I've viewed Andromeda & the Whirlpool galaxy with an 8" Newtonian & could clearly see detail in both. The dust lanes in Andromeda & the spiral structure in the Whirlpool galaxy. Imaging does show heaps more detail but takes more time so horses for courses I guess. Since I've started imaging I haven't looked through an eyepiece in ages apart from Solar in HA from time to time.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks, mate! A 12 inch dob would be awesome. I might get an 8 inch or 10 inch dob at some point. These little SCTs are great bang for buck though and I love how compact and versatile they are. I have a dielectric mirror diagonal on the way so that should brighten the views up nicely. Can't wait to look at the moon through this at the end of the month! Good point about veil nebula, that's really cool. I doubt I'd see anything with this 6 inch SCT but that won't stop me from investigating anyway! Enjoy your imaging, I love it but there is definitely something for being able to show friends and family Saturn with their own eyes for the first time. It's great seeing 40-somethings react like kids when they see it for the first time and you are the one who gave them that experience!

[@annikasoraya4322]

G'day Chris, Is there any chance you know the title of the beautiful music in this video when you are detailing your image of M42? Thank you kindly, Annika

[@MountainFisher]

I had my 6" C6-N mirrors recoated and they offered me a good price on a refigure of my primary and received .98 Strehl with 1/12 wave. It gave me a 6" refractor quality, but had collimation issues built in. Guy in my club uses it all the time for AP on a heavy mount. He said it barely needs a coma corrector. Said you cannot tell anything wrong while visually viewing. Big issue is it is on a poor mount.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Wow, that sounds awesome. I noticed that replacing the stock prism diagonal with the coated Celestron mirror diagonal for around 150 pounds made a huge difference. I'm actually really happy with the quality of my C6's image, but the SE mount leaves quite a lot to be desired. Almost worth getting a used HEQ-5 Pro to stick it on but I just can't bring myself to image with the C6 as I know it would be an exercise in frustration. Just better to get a 9.25 edge HD or something along those lines that was designed with imaging in mind. I'm still going to cut my teeth in AP for another full season with the 80 APO for imaging before I even think about moving up to something with a much longer FL. Having the C6 for some visual is definitely great though, glad I got it.

[@astralfields1696]

Get a manual 8-10-12 (whichever you can physically handle) DOB for a prime visual experience with some 2" eyepieces. They call it visual astronomy but it is really not so much about the visual splendor as it is about having a much more personal experience with the universe. The manual DOB allows you to simply point and look without bothering with all the tech/tracking etc. Try the Ring Nebula, that one is surreal even from a Bortle 4 location.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks for the suggestion :) if the clouds ever go away I might actually do this

[@annikasoraya4322]

Hey Chris, As a matter of curiosity what is the name of the book that you sketch your observations in? Also, please can you tell me if you believe the Skywatcher A-Z EQ6 GT will be a great mount for the budget conscious amateur? In about a years time, I will apply a greater investment to a "portable" harmonic drive mount called Warp Astron WD-20 manufactured by a relatively new player to the market. The Chinese mount has a whopper payload capacity of 25 kilos. I looked into the 10mm Delos that you recommended but it will take at least 6 months before I can purchase one because our Australian supplier of Tele Vue products today advised there is a "waiting period" before it will be available. I was informed this is due to an existing high demand for the boutique branded, combined with a significant increase in astronomy since COVID-19. Alternatively, I checked out Masuyama 20mm EP but sadly it is not suitable for my relatively fast scope. Rather this line of eye pieces are designed for Schmidt Cassegrains. What other 20mm-25mm focal length EP's do you highly recommend? I would like to enjoy DSO observations with it for M42 - The extraordinary Orion Nebula and the Pleaides, through my Sky Rover 130mm Super APO Reference. My new triplet refractor which FINALLY arrives tomorrow has a decent focal length of 920mm. Many thanks Astral Views! Many blessings and eternal light from Newcastle in Australia. Annika Soraya 🔮💫🌎🍹✨🔭

[@AstralviewsUK]

Hi Annika, Congratulations on your new refractor! The EQ-6 will be a good match for it and should give good guiding performance. I think it would be under-mounted on anything smaller. I can recommend the TeleVue Panoptic 24mm which I own. I've also heard the 27mm panoptic is worth adding to your collection. If I were you I'd certainly persist in obtaining a 10mm Delos. The wait time will be worth what you will gain at the other end of it. It is an EP you'll keep for life. All the best, Chris

[@annikasoraya4322]

WOW! THANK YOU KINDLY CHRIS . . . . YOU ARE SUPER AWESOME. DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE OR EMAIL ADDRESS MATE? I WILL ABSOLUTELY ADD TO MY COLLECTION OF EP'S BOTH THE DELOS 10MM AND PANOPTIC 24MM BY TELE VUE. I CANNOT WAIT TO PURCHASE THAT STUNNING BOOK THAT I CAN SKETCH IN. THIS VIDEO ABOUT M42 IS MY MOST FAVOURITE . . . . I GUESS THAT IS WHY I WATCH IT DAILY. PLEASE CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE BEAUTIFUL CLASSICAL PIECE IS IN THIS PRESENTATION ABOUT VISUAL ASTRONOMY? MUCH APPRECIATED, A. SORAYA 🔮💫🍹🌎✨🔭

[@annikasoraya4322]

HOPEFULLY YOU CAN RECALL THE GORGEOUS MUSIC, SO I CAN PLAY IT AT HOME? THANK YOU, ANNIKA ✨

[@Megawatt]

Viewing from dark skies with my 80mm triplet and 26mm Nagler, I can see the entire North America and Pelican complex and the entire Veil Nebula. OIII filter definitely helps. With your F/10 SCT, you should be checking out some planetary nebulae. They can take very high power even in below-average seeing.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Cheers mate will do!

[@amounifnd]

Lovely video. What was the book you were using for visuals ? One of the Southern Sky Guides ?

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks! Turn Left at Orion is the name of the book 📖

[@annikasoraya4322]

Hey Chris, I just discovered your wonderful book is called "Turn Left At Orion". Annika 📖🔭

[@plaiskool64]

Cheers Chris! Interesting!

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks Plai

[@MikeLikesChannel]

Solution is to HyperStar an SCT if you're going to try EAA. For the 6" it's pretty cheap, like $300 used.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Cheers Mike, might investigate. First up I'd like to get an OAG to put this C6 on my HEQ5 with the 26M on it to see how that goes.

[@MMansouri]

Great video! Keep up the great work! What’s the name of the book you’re referring to in the video?

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. The book is Turn Left at Orion. If you do buy it I'd recommend the fifth edition which is the most recent!

[@PhilW222]

I’m a visual amateur astronomer and yes, a lot of targets are fuzzy grey patches and a bit disappointing, but I was looking at the Perseus double cluster the other night and it is spectacular, as are things like Jupiter and Saturn. Thinking about getting a Seestar as a gentle intro to astrophotography.

[@AstralviewsUK]

That's great! Which eyepieces do you use most often?

[@bluewhalestudioblenderanim1132]

altho most of the deep sky objects that apear as having a defined shape or detail under an eyepiece are star clusters , . detail can be seen in nebulae from a dark enough location . . . like I can just about see the beautiful dark and light patterns of north america nebula , But I have to be in bortle 3-ish sky to do so

[@PhilW222]

@@AstralviewsUK I have a Svbony 23mm aspheric which is great for wider field viewing, 15mm and 10mm plossls for higher magnification and a 4mm which I tend to use only for planets and close-ups of the moon.

[@AstralviewsUK]

​@@bluewhalestudioblenderanim1132 that's great that you can start to perceive nebulosity in NGC7000 in B3. I'm in B4.5 so no chance.

[@bluewhalestudioblenderanim1132]

@@AstralviewsUK thanks , also b4,5 is prettymuch the suburbean sky , so did you do this video from your suburbs ?? that seems weird to me , because I allways go to the most optimal observing spot that've found so far so are you so used to filters and waiting around that you forgot how much of a difference does the location make ??

[@PureAwareness76]

🎉 ❤ What a UNIQUE vid in the Astro KZbinr community! Just bril, the real pleasure of ASTRONOMY ❤ Sorry, but I don't care who, what kinda pic can do with his/her $10.000 rig with a 10 hr work! Thnx 🤭

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks for the message 😊

[@Oamaruastro]

Nice video! What is the book you were using in the video?

[@AstralviewsUK]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. It's the book pictured towards the start of the video: Turn Left at Orion. I bought that hard cover copy for £5 used but it's the old 3rd ed. (2005). Have the newest one (5th ed) getting here tomorrow in soft cover. It's a beautiful book.

[@crankright8808]

A familiar fuzzy patch 😂😂😂

[@harryleschky6671]

What´s this book you find all those objects? (Nice movie!)

[@AstralviewsUK]

Turn Left at Orion is the name of the book

[@harryleschky6671]

Thank you very much! Clear skies!!!

[@MrCornweda]

You should have also picked some globular clusters. I have always enjoyed them visually in an 8inch telescope. I find too many astro photos look overly processed with a lot of false colour. You only realize this coming from visual observations. Also Astro software using AI that is trained on the target image is equivalent to downloading the image from the internet, since it is just regenerating image data it is trained on.

[@AstralviewsUK]

I only have a 6 inch scope. Hercules cluster was quite faint for me, but I agree that I was quite in awe of it. Re your comment about AI-assisted processing tools being the same as downloading the image from the internet I have to politely disagree there. Tools such as BlurXT are great for enhancing the details in the data that you captured. The final image is a composite of channel strengths that are unique to your image. All of that is dependent on your filters, sensor, OTA, integration in each channel, seeing conditions and much more. You can't just say that because someone applied BlurXT or a similar AI tool to their data that means their image is now the same as every other image on that target on the internet. Absolutely incorrect statement.

[@MrCornweda]

@@AstralviewsUK Larger aperture helps with globular clusters. M3 and M5 (like mini galaxies with a jewel box full of stars) look stunning in a 16inch Dob. I have seen some AI tools add features that were not in the original image data and I can only assume were in the training data.

[@JoeBob79569]

I suppose this kind of raises the question about how much stuff ancient astronomers could actually see in the sky? Like Messier for example a few hundred years ago, with an old telescope, probably had no idea of what he was "really" looking at if he was just seeing a few faint fuzzies in the sky.

[@VickyDreamz]

That's exactly what he saw. Originally he didn't write the catalogue as interesting things to see, but rather as things that annoyed him. He was looking for comets and kept finding theese faint smudges that annoyed him so he wrote a cstalogue on what to avoid. Irony right? 😃

[@JoeBob79569]

@@VickyDreamz Haha, that's crazy! 😂 I remember the first time I saw Venus through a telescope, and it had a crescent like the moon has. Initially I was a bit disappointed and annoyed, but as soon as I visualised the solar system in my head and realised why this was the case, because of the angle and because Venus was close to the sun, then I suddenly found it really cool! I think it was because it was something unexpected and the fact that I learned something from it, all by myself.

[@VickyDreamz]

@@JoeBob79569 yeah, it's a great experience. Last time I wad out I was able to get to a Bortle 4 Sky location and I starhopped to look for the Dumbbell nebula. Did not really know if I would even be able to see it with my gear (I have a f/10 telescope, skywatcher 70/700). I saw a really faint smudge at first, thinking my lens is a bit dirty, but I noticed if I move, it still stays in place so I used my avarted vision and I could even make out the shape of it and few details. It was so exciting to find it on my own and see it. The same night I saw Andromeda for the first time trough a telescope Curious how it will look once my dielectric dialog arrives 😁

[@JanHavel]

When going from photographing nebula and galaxies to seeing them it was a bit disapointing (except the orion nebula) but planets + moon thats different story - pictures dont do them justice compared to how you can see them in telescope in my opiniton ... so it depends :)

[@AstralviewsUK]

Cheers, Jan. It has been shocking weather here but hopefully I'll be able to view the moon through this SCT soon.

[@АндрейКарпов-м7ю]

Please more please about cosmos and astronomy. Add. Like all about space and Universe. All subscriptions about Space

[@AstralviewsUK]

will do! Latest video about our search for other life is up.

[@pocmtobs]

What book are you using

[@AstralviewsUK]

hello mate, thanks for the nice comments. Sorry for the delayed reply. The book in this video was Turn Left at Orion. Can also recommend Nightwatch and Backyard Astronomer's Guide, both by T Dickinson and A Dyer

[@M4rs123]

What light pollution do you have, I have bortle 5.2

[@AstralviewsUK]

Quite similar to you, B4/4.5, 21.18 mag. I mostly shoot out towards the North Sea rather than back inland towards the light pollution so that makes a bit of a difference for visual. For imaging I'm only doing mono narrowband right now so light pollution hardly matters, even with Oiii.

[@Fractalite]

As a fellow Aussie it was a little disappointing to see a visual review of all those second rate Northern Hemisphere deep sky objects ;-)

[@AstralviewsUK]

I'm on an undercover mission to expose what really goes on up here...

[@KermitSF]

You started astrophotography first than visual... how

[@AstralviewsUK]

Determination!

[@denodan]

I gave up on Visual astronomy after doing it for years. Visual astronomy sucks. The only things that look good are Planets, Moon, Sun, Clusters. The eye does not see colour at night so Nebula are fuzzy and lack colour. I do EAA, so is between Visual and Astrophotography and can see far more detail then Visual astronomy

[@AstralviewsUK]

I thought M42 looked stunning also.

[@caviestcaveman8691]

Aye look another human not lying about visual astronomy lol

[@juliusklugi7430]

It sucks to you because your only motivation is to replicate what you see in a photo. That is not the motivation of many visual enthusiasts. The point is the understanding of what you are seeing with your own eyeball with respect to distance and the challenge is to push the limits of this as far as you can go - when you finally bag an object that has been eluding you, the sense of satisfaction is immense. Then when I want to see a photo, I go online. If you don’t come from that perspective or your light pollution levels are too high which renders the above impossible then yeah, as you found, it’s best to move to EAA or astrophotography. All are legitimate, but the motivations that drive them and the point of doing them are all different.

[@caviestcaveman8691]

@juliusklugi7430 yea...light pollution causes major issues for visual I mean visual astronomy had its neat moments but for nebula etc if we aren't living in thr old day with no light pollution visual is really a bummer sadly

[@NuttyPotato]

i always ask why would anyone do Astrophotography if you can google the same images on internet , visual you experience yourself with your own eyes , i know visual is not as impressive as Astrophotography but its a real object you see in the sky , images you can find online so why bother

[@AdmiralSpaceballs]

Astrophotography comes with 2 epiphanies . 1 : the pictures you see of nebula's and galaxies on magazines , books and internet are not the size or a rats asshole (the can be up to the size of a full moon ), space is big but the stuff up there are bigger . and 2: you spend god knows how much so you can stand there thumb in bum waiting for the multiple exposures to give you a complete image

[@AstralviewsUK]

Can confirm, a nebula is larger than a rat's asshole.

[@hithere8753]

I wish i had 10k to blow on a telescope. Looks fun.

[@AstralviewsUK]

You can live vicariously through me

[@earthling-fh2mg]

You don’t need £10k. I bought a used Meade LX10 8 inch SCT for £400. I then bought an EQ5 used with a Star Travel 120 refractor plus a heap of meade eyepieces and barlow for £600. Bought a used Nikon D5500 (£350) an SVBony 305c camera (used £35) and an SVBony 70ED refractor new for £200. Then bought a Star Adventurer mount for £260 plus a whole heap of other bits and pieces. Altogether, less than £2K but the SCT itself would do you. £10K totally unnecessary. The photos I can get of Jupiter and Saturn using the SCT are amazing. I can even then do animated video of the moons circling and moon shadow transits.

[@NuttyPotato]

get 6inch skywatcher , not expensive but good enough to see lots of stuff, if you want to do Astrophotography just google the pics and its free lol

[@Cheapass-tro]

Great video and well made. It's unfortunate that I get so few clear nights as there aren't enough to allocate to visual. It takes a back seat to AP for me, but with a second scope I'd recommend it. I too was quite blown away by the Orion Nebula through an eyepiece.

[@AstralviewsUK]

Yes AP is my priority too, although I got the visual scope so I could enjoy the night sky while imaging from a more first-hand perspective. Imaging now is so automated that you can just press a button and go to bed if you like.