100th session this year, hurrah !

[cotterless45]

My 100 th session this year and an early evening dark without the Moon. The dark areas behind Deneb could be seen. LeeB came up and was quite surprised to see what was up. He counted about a dozen stars in the square of Pegasus and NGC 6883 in Cygnus. M31 looked quite huge by eye. He does however manage to draw in clouds !

I set up the OO 200 f6 on the patio and the C6r up the garden. We had an ideal opportunity to compare a Newt and frac. We used a Meade 8-24mm and a SW Panorama 15mm .

The contrast was greater in the frac , but the views slightly brighter in the frac. More details were picked up in the frac. Views in the frac were sharp to the edge. F6 isn't at all bad in the Newt though.

The views of the double cluster in the 82 degree 15mm were simply stunning. We had great views of Bode's , clusters in Cygnus and Trumpler 2 in Cassiopeia.

Seeing slowly went downhill, but we managed the triple Psi Cassiopeiae, the harder two doubles , H V 82 and Σ59.

Just pleased with a couple of hours and a bit of a comparative tour,

Nick.

[alan potts]

Well Nick, I am sure you beat me this year, I don't have my records to hand. I normally pass 100 by early June but this year has been dire. I paid for my Sumerian scope on about 27th October and I have seen stars once since then , normally because I so much clear with a Moon like we had I would not have bothered but had to go out, I though bad weather came with scopes not as a free sample.

Oh BTW well done,

Alan

[estwing]

I noticed how good it was in cheadle at 6:30 just as I was going out well done on grabbing an opportunity

[DeepSkyBagger]

100 sessions this year? Sheesh, who would have thought that the climate of Derbyshire and Lancashire would be so different? 

I've managed to make observations in 30 sessions this year. I think that's my record since I started in 1976. Of course, I don't go out between first and last quarter moon, and often I will dismiss a night if the sky doesn't look good through binoculars. Hunting for the faint fuzzies makes you like that...

Well done, Nick.

[mdstuart]

My session last night was observing Saturn a worm hole a black hole and three potentially habitable planets...

Mark

[stevetynant]

That is a good effort well done sir

[YKSE]

Great work, Nick, that's abotu 3 times more than I've managed this year.

[Special K]

A Century!!!! Well done Sounds like the frac was winning!

[Qualia]

Lovely job, Nick Just goes to show what is possible with heart and dedication. Might be a nice idea if you could write up a little review on how you go about planning your sessions, what tools or maps you use and how you decide what might be doable and not, even against the odds of a possibly cloudy or rainy night. Certainly might make a nice thread for beginners and seasoned observers alike .

[S.A.M]

Excellent in getting to the 100 mark for viewing sessions, maybe I need to move to Derby area for viewing as Wiltshire is not that good unless it is around a full moon!

Peter

[mountainmadman]

Good work on the 100 mark for the year.  Dedication.  Love it.

Congrats and well done!

Tony

[Pete Presland]

well done thats a good amount,  "Solar astronomy" has helped me probably double my sessions.