Saturn, 9th April....wow.
So, two weeks after getting my scope I finally got the clear night I've been waiting for! I know there's been a few clear nights lately but I've been waiting for a clear Saturday night so I didn't have to worry about getting up early for work the next day. Anyway, about half 11 last night i stuck my head out the window to see how clear it was and yes! Not a cloud in the sky. Out i went and a quick scan of the sky with my iphone app showed me saturn was in full view, just drifting over the roof of my house into perfect view from my back garden, just above and to the right of Spica. Unfortunately theres a streetlight right outside my front garden, so i have to wait until it drifts around the back before i even have a chance of decent viewing.
So i hastily set up the new nexstar 130 and got it into my field of view using just the 25mm that came with the scope, just able to make out the rings i was already well impressed with what i could see. After setting up the auto tracking and centering Saturn in the eyepiece i got the 9mm lense with the 2x barlow out, slotted it into the eyepiece and needless to say, i was blown away. The clarity of the rings was unbelievable, better than i ever imagined. I also swung around for a quick look at the moon before it sank below the horizon, and again, was blown away at the amount of detail i could see just with the 25mm. Cant wait for the full moon on the 17th, just hope its clear. Anyway the moon vanished so i swung back round to saturn for one last look before calling it a night, just as my mum and brother returned home from work. they both had a quick gaze and couldnt believe it was real. we were all dumbfounded by saturns beauty. even my brother, who is the more materialistic type, not usually bothered about anything other than facebook or shopping, said seeing it 'made him feel special'.
It really was an enjoyable night for me, and now im thinking of attempting some photography , i just need to buy a suitable camera. As i discovered last night, the iphone camera just doesnt suffice!
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