Jiggy 67

1 hour ago, The Lazy Astronomer said:

Currently using a very small, light scope (seriously over-mounted) on an EQ6R Pro, so am just about able to move the whole lot in one go

Wow, that’s a serious workout 🏋️‍ respect ✊ 

I have the same mount but I wouldn’t attempt to lift it, even stripping it down at 1am is too much so I leave it out on a semi permanent basis under a tg cover....also saves on polar alignment 

+1 for the Baader Wonder Fluid, it’s excellent 

Checked out NGC2169 tonight on your recommendation @Spile A lovely little open cluster, can’t believe I’ve not seen it before. Also Struve 848, not sure whether this is a triple or a double, or even a quadruple, there’s a tight companion next to the primary but two other stars forming a triangle, can’t seem to find anywhere to confirm these are gravitionally bound though

Nicely done, a ready made observing list for tonight I think 👍

1 hour ago, SuburbanMak said:

This is a great report - I was out last night on some more obvious doubles so there is food for thought here both in terms of targets and the methodical descriptive language you use in your notes - mine are a bit haphazard so far!

Thanks Mak. My favorite of the night was definitely 54 Leonis. If you get a chance have a look, especially with the full moon’s glare as a back drop...stunning!!

I'm sure you're all aware of the full moon at the moment. I went out last night with 100ED refractor and the moon was high in the East and extremely bright. So double stars were the target. I did consider some open clusters but I had tried a couple the night before and even they weren't at their best in the glare of the moon. So doubles it was. I've started just using my zoom ep for doubles, with the occasional Vixen 4mm for closer separations but the zoom saves a lot of ep changes and fov isn't really a consideration for double stars.

I started with HD5005 in Cassiopeia which is actually in the middle of the Pacman Nebula. I obviously couldn't see the nebula, though I did detect a very faint mist in the fov. HD5005 is a double, possibly triple star. Quite a faint star with 8mm zoom (x112 mag) but can be seen as a very tight double. 
Vixen 4mm (x225 mag) shows it faint and blurry with an equally matched white companion very close and a possible 3rd star very faint and equally close forming a tight triangle.

On to HR9094. A beautiful double star.This one is stunning!!
Clearly split at all focal lengths of the zoom. White/orange primary with a half - 3/4 size blue companion close by. Best view at 12mm (x75 mag).
Lovely double!

Next was my only cluster of the night...NGC129. A Large and loose open cluster with a prominent triangle of 3 stars at 24mm (x37 mag)
I suspect there would be a lot more to see if it wasn’t for the full moon

I went on to Taurus and HD37013. A nice evenly matched double star, split at all focal lengths of the zoom. Best at 8mm (x112 mag) which shows a white/orange primary and a slightly smaller pale blue secondary very close to the primary.
Very nice double which is very close to the Crab Nebula, which i could see very faintly whilst in the area.

Wasat in Gemini was my next target. This is my second attempt at this double because i wasn’t happy with the first. It's supposed to be pretty easy to split but I always find it quite difficult. I could only see it as a double at 4mm (x225 mag). Very bright white star with a much dimmer, very faint star, perhaps 1/5 the size of the primary just outside the glare of the primary. Very nice and challenging double which is quite attractive

Iota Cancri in Cancer next. A beautiful double easily split with a wide separation at 24mm (x37 mag). White/yellow primary with a half size lovely blue companion.

On to 38 Lyncis. A Very close double star with 4mm (x225 mag). White star with a lilac companion which is approx half the size of the primary but is very faint and very close, almost touching.

Regulus was very close to the full moon and I couldn’t even see it naked eye due to the glare of the moon. Decided to have a look any way.
Regulas looked amazing in the glare of the moon at 24mm (x37 mag). The star sparkled and shone brightly against an almost white background. No chance of observing any secondary stars as they were washed out by the moon but it was a beautiful sight, the moon actually added to the view.

My last target of the night was 54 Leonis in Leo, a beautiful double star.
Similar to Regulus, this was also caught in the glare of the full moon but not quite as close as Regulus so I was able to split it. At 8mm (x112 mag), a greenish primary with a bluish secondary, approx 1/3 the size of the primary. Both stars shone against the white/grey background glare of the moon
Lovely double star, possibly my favourite of the night.

Overall it was a great night and just goes to show, there is plenty to see despite the moon

Error 

I was out observing last night but the moon was so bright it was making the whole exercise a bit pointless. I don’t observe the moon very often but , as it was full I turned the scope to it. Might as well take a photo so this was taken through a 100ED with a 24mm Zoom ep and a polarizing filter fitted. Handheld IPhone 11 held to the eyepiece. Other than being cropped, little else has been done. I think luck has more to do with the result than anything else.....

Just carrying on from Derek’s last post on the defunct spring star party thread......Looks like we may be good to go with no restrictions for this event 🎉🎉

What a nightmare!!.....Welcome to the forum btw 

I have often considered taking up AP, it’s something I’ve thought about for when I retire and have more time early next year. I have been a visual observer for years and I love it. The last few months have been challenging, constant and relentless cloud which has made visual observations difficult let alone AP. It’s a situation that can only worsen as climate change predicts wetter weather in the UK which obviously means more clouds. I think I’ll be sticking to visual for the foreseeable 

18 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

M78! Light blue misty nebulosity surrounding two faint stars! I was overjoyed to have finally found it after so many unsuccessfull attempts 😍.

About time too!!!  👍😀

Cracking session given the poor transparency 

23 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

Today this turned up, a cradle you can attach to a mount using the printed vixen bar on the bottom. Place the phone in the cradle, align using the star aligns built in bubble and then go to daytime align to find Polaris.

You can attach a polar finder as well. 

Will try out tonight if weather permits

.

 

 

Thats interesting, It'll be good to know how you get on with it.....better than a piece of wood 😀 where did you pick that up from ?

The Carina nebula sounds amazing!!

As for M78, if you get Alnitak in a low power eyepiece, it should be in your fov. I find it to be very faint and difficult to see, a thin cloud of nebulosity around two stars. If I remember correctly the two stars are basically at the centre of the nebula, that’s what I’ve written in my notes. A UHC filter will assist I think. Keep at it, it’s just being damned awkward!!

I had a reasonable window tonight of about 3 hours with a clear sky and not bad seeing and transparency. The Moon is on its way back but at about 25% and setting reasonably early I decided to have a go at some of the more obscure and difficult planetary nebula with the 8" reflector. When I say difficult, they may not be too some but they are to me under my heavily light polluted skies so I have to plan for these targets. 

Now, I use GoTo which I accept, to some extent, is cheating. I would love to partake in the challenge of star hopping, but in my skies, that would be very difficult, I could do it but, I suspect that I would spend more time hopping than observing. Tonight though incorporated a bit of both GoTo and star hopping, because, although GoTo can be accurate, it's not perfect, often only getting your target in the field of view, and when it points to a pinpoint object, amongst many other pinpoint objects, you cannot be sure that you are on the exact pinpoint object you want to be on.  Planetary nebula are a case in point because often, they are a pinpoint object. In my skies all of the following were pinpoint objects and if I'm honest, I may have got them, but I may not have got them. Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken

NGC 2022

PN in Orion. This was difficult. A very small bluish dot that appeared as a disc rather than a star. I did get fleeting glimpses of a halo around it. 6.5mm Morpheus (x153 mag) and UHC filter showed it but 4.5 Morpheus (x222 mag) was best.

Jonckheere 320

PN in Orion. Another really difficult one. This is where I combined star hopping techniques with GoTo. GoTo took me to the correct area, I'm sure of it but with a 17.5 Morpheus (x57 mag) the nebula could have been any one of a number of objects. By comparing the view from Sky Safari with the view through the eyepiece (which took a good 20 minutes) I narrowed it down to a very small bluish dot, I think it was the nebula because it just didn't strike me as a star

Kembles Cascade

My eyes were hurting so I needed a break

For both of the following I had to refer to Sky Safari star map to confirm that I was actually looking at the correct object by comparing the stars around the object.

IC 2149

PN in Auriga. Small but visible as a disc with 9mm Morpheus (x 111 mag) Higher power didn't appear to assist with this planetary but at 9mm it did appear to ave a blue tint

NGC 2371

PN in Gemini. This is supposed to resemble the Dumbell Nebula....and I'm sure it does in dark skies with a big aperture, alas not to me!! Again, by using the star map on Sky Safari, I'm pretty sure I got right onto it but I could only see the central star, which was very faint, with no nebulosity. I tried a UHC AND OIII filter but to no avail

Anyway, despite the fact that there absolutely no WOW moments, it was nice to get out and push the scope, GoTo......and Sky Safari to it's limits

Nice little sesh Stu. We had some clear skies as well for 3 hrs or so, you’ve gotta grab what’s available. I took the opportunity before the moon is back full on, to try and grab some obscure planetary nebulae......it was tough going!!

If nothing else, your partner got excited about it .....which is all that matters really 👍

I agree with @symmetal Many people will say that PA has little or no effect on GoTo accuracy. My experience is that it definitely does, the more accurate your PA the more accurate your pointing accuracy. Do you suffer from cone error? If not, or it is very small, do not do a 3rd star alignment, it serves no purpose 1 or 2 is enough. I would concentrate on PA if you are confident that all data inputted into the handset is correct. Also, are you starting from an accurate home position after PA ? Counterweight down, scope pointing North

My reading of the article posted by @John is a bit different from John’s. I’m sure it’s far more complicated than any of us could understand but my understanding of that article is that the ITU control frequency’s and the “technical stuff”

The ITU, a United Nations entity, coordinates spectrum at the international level for satellite operators to prevent signal interference and spectrum hogging. National regulators submit filing on behalf of their country’s satellite operators.

I suspect Amazon needs to pollute Earth  orbit with thousands of satellites so they can pollute our skies with thousands of drones delivering parcels containing toys for the dog etc!

Should it not be the case that a decision to effectively pollute Earth’s orbit with thousands of pieces of junk, thereby threatening the enjoyment of space by a worldwide population, be made by a worldwide organization rather than made by an organization in one particular country?....

Fantastic video, really enjoyed that. Looks like you had a great time. 

I’ve tried for this in the past with no luck, it needs really dark skies. I think another problem is it’s massive!!...5 times the size of the full moon, so the trick may be to find an edge of it so you can distinguish it from the background space. An eyepiece/filter providing high contrast would assist I think 

59 minutes ago, Newforestgimp said:

Of Course !!!!!

Cant believe i didn't think of that DOH!, i could do that during the day and mark the mount to always get it perpendicular quickly.

Thank You

Well you would have to do it ai night to see Polaris (though I suppose you could use any far off fixed point, bit awkward through a polar scope though) but you’re right, if you mark the mount up, you may only have to do it once