Mart29

It was surprisingly clear up until around 12:30 . The Moon and Jupiter were great, had one of my best views of Jupiter last night. I think we got lucky. Today is just rain 🌧 so catch up on some sleep now! Next week and weekend is trying to get some galaxies , hopefully

Despite being bonfire night got 3 hours on Mars in before the fog rose up.

Few snaps from tonight, really happy with Mars 🙃

Thanks @Stu I have the Samsung fold. Which is probably one of the best phones out there but the camera isn't that good , my Samsung Notes camera was so much better! But regardless , these shots do me 🙃 i just have to go into Pro mode and turn the ISO to 50 and the white balance to 2700 or 3200 to get detail. Exactly that , can observe constantly and just take a quick snap and back on it! Mars I filmed on the video pro mode and then kept pausing the vid until I found a decent image.

At the risk of getting laughed at by the astrophotography peeps I thought I would share my observing routine. I have stayed away from astrophotography as seeing in the eyepiece is my joy but that said having a reference of what I have seen is nice. I will 100% be sketching in spring and summer but winter in the UK and soggy paper ain't my kinda fun. So I have being using my phone to get rough snaps which I enjoy but others will hate ( which is fine ) I guess through all the technical and amazing equipment out there just having fun and enjoying your hobby your own way should always be the goal. So here are some snaps ! P.s sorry @Stu if this is in the wrong place, I didn't know where to post it 😅 Also, thanks to people on here for the recommendations on eyepieces and tips on observing, using DeLites and a chair and taking time at the eyepiece has changed my observing so much!

Saturn looked great also

It was a great view last night! Got a few shots on the phone but looked amazing in the eyepiece

Honestly, the instructions are good and the app guides you through it. Just stick to that and you will be fine! Let me know how the Dob goes , very interested to see how they perform! More from the optics than the starsense.

Oh, believe me it doesn't move. 😅

Sorry for the slow reply! Yep, it worked fine and accurate after setting the alignment up. I attached it with bungee so it's not hard fixed as most of the time I don't need it to get onto targets I want.

Jupiter is super bright as it is super close , that's a plus for me! Honestly not had an issue observing with the 200mm dob and 10mm eyepiece. The detail is still good . Even shots on my mobile weren't bad last night. A little trick i do is to fold the eyecup a little which seems to cut the glare . Works well with TV DeLite's with there bigger rubber cups

Never seen a galaxy with this scope , but hoping to before the year is out. Any tips to locate without a goto mount?

I aligned it this afternoon so don't think there will be any problems. Will keep you updated!

After finally finding where I put the dock after taking it off the AZ114 ( never used ) a year ago , will try it on the dob tonight!

Did Jupiter , Saturn and the Moon last night 10 till 12 . Then set an alarm for 4:30 for Mars and the Pleiades. Really enjoyable session and finally got Mars on the phone using Celestron HD Edge 10mm eyepiece and holding over. 20221007_222909.mp4 20221007_220211.mp4

You guys give me soooo much to think about! 🤔 😅 Like I said , I'm happy with the dobs for sure. The views of Mars the last few mornings have being spot on. I wouldn't get rid of the 200p , it is a great scope! The VX6L has being made redundant for the time being. It's not necessarily better views it more I want to try something different to a dob. A Refractor, a Mac etc I have only had dobs so don't know the difference. In some conditions a Mac might be preferred to a dob. I don't know only having dobs , so my thinking was to add a different scope and then learn in different situations which is preferred. That said , I wouldn't want the something different to have less quality views then the dobs but also not expecting a significant or anything better. I'm fully happy with the 200p but there has to be situations where another option would work . Mac , Cassegrain , etc Looked at the Skymax 180 as @Mr Spock suggested and it might just be the one to add!

Want to add a new scope to the line up at Christmas. Very happy with my dobsonian's . OOUK VX6L and Skywatcher 200p . Want a scope to just do Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and the Moon. Not bothered about imaging to much but great eyepiece views are a must . Budget £2000

I use 11mm with a x2 barlow and it seems to give me the best on the moon and Jupiter. It's more important to sit and keep looking to see details rather than high magnification and a quick glance etc I took the advice from the guys on here and got my best views of Jupiter by spending an hour plus observing. Before I would play with loads of eyepiece and different barlows and that took my time rather than actually looking! The more you look the detail comes as your eyes get used to it and the atmosphere changes . Wish I had taken this advice ages ago instead of keep looking for that one magic eyepiece 😂 That said again with the advice on here TeleVu DeLite, changed my life !

Interested to see people's work with Venus, I only tried last winter for the first time , just using my phone through the scope and got the images below. Want to really go for Venus this winter now I have a better scope and equipment. As said , don't laugh , these were just phone up to the eyepiece.

Well Vega didn't disappoint last night, hoping to get lots of individual stars over the next few weeks. 20220924_200038.mp4

Great job! I may make a mask later on. I put plastic bolts just the hook it in on the sides to remove it easy if it doesn't do great things it can come off.

The strongest flow is out but they circulate air around the mirror inside , so both I guess!

Will try this tonight , don't really suffer from dew on the 200 dob but thought it could make images more stable, at least I have seen posts to that effect. So let's try! Do you guys leave it on for the session or just at the start? 20220924_132532.mp4

Alittle cloudy here but should be ok! Definitely not staying up until 1 and then trying to get back out at 3 for Mars 😅 will have a couple of hours at 9 then sleep and set an alarm for 3:30 . Fingers crossed for you!

Had amazing views of Jupiter and made out some structural shape to its moons. Saturn was stunning with the best views of its moons so far this year. Through a star in there also ✨️ Sadly the alarm went off at 3am to go and view Mars and I hit snooze 😴 Will get back on Mars tomorrow morning!