John

A few weeks maybe, depending on the speed it dims and how large your scope is. It seems to have peaked at around magnitude 10.8 and the latest reports seem to put it around magnitude 11.5 ish. I'm planning on having another look this evening if the sky stays clear. Probably with my 120mm refractor.

I really ought to give binoviewing another try I think. My 130mm LZOS is ideal for the purpose having an extension tube that can be pushed in so BV's come to focus without the need for a barlow / transfer lens or whatever they are called. I might actually be able to see some cloud structure on Venus using 2 eyes ! 🙄

I found Epsilon Lyrae quite a challenge with my 70mm ED refractor when I first tried the scope on it. I was being impatient though and found a couple of hours later, once the constellation had risen higher in the sky, that I could make the split of both pairs at around 150x magnification. So my tips are to allow the target to get higher in the sky and to use a bit more magnification if you can - a 3mm eyepiece or a barlow lens perhaps ? The scope has a resolution capability of around 1.6 arc seconds under favourable conditions so that should be enough for both the Epsilon Lyrae pairs.

I'm really quite tempted to try one of those 🙂

Very much agree 👍 If we bought a new car and then were immediately advised that we would need to put replacement suspension springs on it for it to perform decently well, we would be a trifle miffed !

The British Astronomical Association includes double / multiple stars in the DSO heading however some other sources don't include them as such. Nevertheless they are often good targets under light polluted skies 🙂

That must have been a wonderful sight Joe 🙂 Porrima is a lovely star to observe at any time but when one of it's components is occulted by the moon it must make compelling viewing ! Thanks for the report 👍

It sure is 🙂 https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/385898-what-did-you-see-tonight/?do=findComment&comment=4384203

Thanks for that - I noticed those on the floor of the crater but I didn't know their names 🙂

I've just managed to see the SN with my 102mm ED Vixen. Not a particularly transparent sky. The SN was much easier to hold with direct vision at 47x than it was at 28x. I reckon it is still around magnitude 11. M101 was just visible as a faint blur of light. Shows how good the skies were when I was observing on Jersey a few nights back - the 102mm here tonight is making hard work of showing a similar view to that which the 70mm showed on Jersey. M101 was actually slightly better with the 70mm on the island.

Supernova spotting with my Vixen ED102SS

Thanks for that useful tip !!! I've just switched to my 102mm Vixen ED F/6.5 frac to have a look at the SN. Eyepiece is at a decent height even when observing the zenith with that one 🙂

Thanks Stu - I'll take a look at those. My seeing is good here - 600x on Zeta Herc and the best split I've ever had of it by far ! Very similar to this sketch by John Nanson from 2014: Some thin cloud and blustery wind gusts though so I have to wait for the moments of calm to get the best out of the scope. I'm hoping to have a look at the M101 SN but it's right overhead and the 130mm is a long scope so some crouching will be inevitable - must mind my back ! 😬

Another nice lunar feature spotted - the dome Kies Pi with it's pit on the top:

Tonight I have the 130mm F/9.2 refractor out. Super lunar viewing 🙂

This evening my 130mm refractor is giving lovely views of the moon at 400x and beyond 😁 I've been examining the Fra Mauro area and spotted the interesting crater pair of Fra Mauro H. These co-joined craters are around 5km in diameter and have a sharp narrow ridge separating them, which is well illuminated this evening. A great deal of other detail to be enjoyed as well 🙂

No problem 🙂

Sorry I should have said - I'm refractor only currently 🙂 I was going to have a go at the SN with my 100mm last night but cloudy things spoiled that. Maybe tonight 🤞

I feel rather lucky to have picked up a TOE 4mm pre-owned for somewhat less than the retail price. Still waiting for it to "wow" me, but I'm sure it's time will come 🙂

Nice report - thanks for sharing ! In my experience those "I did not expect to see it, really..." moments are some of the very best in visual observing and the ones that stick longest in the memory 👍

All lunar stuff so far this evening with my 100mm refractor at 225x and 257x. Rima Birt below the Rupes Recta is showing nicely including it's elongated "tadpoles head" shaped basin at end of the rille and the pit at the other end (the Birt end) The crater chain Catena Davy is also well defined crossing the Davy Y basin. The largest 3 craterlets in the chain (3km in diameter) are clear pits and the smaller ones show as a bright line joining those up. I think, I'll have a look at the Hadley Rille next and see how much of it's length can be resolved.

Not a great photo of a nice moon showing off to the 100mm refractor. I won't try and capture what the Pentax XW 3.5mm is showing because I know that an image won't do it justice either. I'll stick to observing 🙂

Thanks - I posted that table earlier in the thread, about 3 hours ago: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/410266-refractor-or-reflector/?do=findComment&comment=4383771

This chart gives an idea of what the relative CA levels of achromat refractors are likely to be. From my experience it is reasonably accurate:

This sketch by a member of the CN forum might be useful. I saw a couple more stars than it shows with my 70mm refractor, but only just !