mdstuart

I presume so. It works with an Oregan scientific base station but I bet you could get a pc to interpret the signal.

There is a connection which can take a feed from a solar panel so you probably can power it externally. It sends data but only about 5m or so. I am on my second one. The first lasted a few years. Mark

Sounds like a great session. It's been great this week to get out observing. Mark

The one problem with the 10bco is it makes my nose cold. Is that the same for you? Mark

I observed ngc3003 in Feb 2018 in my former 16 inch scope. My note says it was a lovely large oval low surface brightness object requiring averted vision. Low surface brightness galaxies like these are more sensitive to the transparency of the sky. I also sometimes find larger objects are easier to see at lower magnifications so experiment. I will have to go back with my 10mm bco eyepiece 😉 Thank you for sharing your observation Robert. Mark

Excellent report as always Gerry. I must go back to NGC 2403 again. It is kind of special with so much structure. I was out observing again last night. The sky was better than Monday night. I started with the comet 2017 T2 above and left of Cassiopeia in the west. A bright fuzzy ball. No tail visible but a pleasure to see. For a change to save paper I am now using charts saved to my Kindle to find galaxies. It is good as I can use it dark to save any loss of dark adaptation. The highlight of the night for me was however noting Hercules was rising an looking at M13. It was so sharp tonight in the new 10BCO. I love galaxies but there is something majestic about a globular cluster drifting across the eyepiece taking your breath away. No wolves near me to keep me company just the distant hum of cars on the M5 motorway indicating an east wind. Regards Mark

How I would have loved to be there. I think all of us will take our freedoms less for granted after all of this. Mark

I will not now be attending given the latest advice. Very difficult times for our country. I need to support my parents. Mark

One of my favourite galaxies to look at visually. I love the little star in the halo. Thanks for the image. Mark

If there is a lockdown we might get stuck with a months observing in a dark sky site amongst amazing telescopes with great company.😀

My view is everything will be fine as long as we respect other people's space and take sensible hygiene steps. If someone has a new cough or high fever then of course one should follow the government advice and self isolate at home. I think being outdoors and camping is good for ones immunity etc and actually safer than some internal environments. However this is my personal view. I would respect the campsites decision if they decide to close but otherwise I am keen to proceed. Mark

Superb. Love the wide field. That's the Bear paw galaxy 😀 NGC 2537 Mark

The weather is looking good for next weekend. My new tent is ready. I will bring my mak and binoculars. Traditional walk up to the Brecons on Saturday if anyone wants to join me. See you all on Friday. Mark

Really clear transparent sky with no moon yesterday, yes really! So I had a good session with my 20 inch dob and the new 10BCO eyepiece. I looked at a mixture of bright objects, a few double stars for Nick but the highlight of the evening was a revisit of the NGC 4005 group in Leo to the right of the Meliotte Cluster. Here is a picture of the group from Dan G from Cloudy nights. The group is about 200 million light years away. It is rotating http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1986ApJ...311...25W/0000026P001.html In the centre is a relatively bright star and NGC 4005 to the right and just above it. This was visible last night in the 10BCO with averted vision but the star made this galaxy hard to see. Last night I managed to see more galaxies than ever before (perhaps thanks to the 10BCO but also due to the extra 4 inches of mirror ). In my 14 inch in March 2014 could just see NGC 4005. With my 16 inch in Feb 2017 I managed to see NGC 4015, 3987, 3997 and actually the brightest object to my eyes, NGC 4022 which I could hold with direct vision in the 20 inch. Yesterday with the 20 inch I also managed to see NGC 3993, 4018 and 4023 for the first time. The faintest star I could see was mag 15.1 which shows how transparent the sky was. I can see mag 5.1 stars with the naked eye so the 20 inch takes me 10 mags deeper. So how many galaxies can you see visually? Mark

I had a look at a selection of galaxies in Hydra and Leo last night. I gave the 10BCO a good run against my Willams optics eyepieces. I can see as deep with the 10BCO as my 7mm WO which is saying something. The 10BCO has a noticeably darker background sky than the WO which offset the gain the WO gets from the higher power. I am now wondering about getting another 7mm eyepiece which gives better contrast than the 7mm WO! This hobby keeps you wanting more. Mark

Yes c2017 T2 Panstarrs. Still pretty faint in my 130p. That 10bco is a great little eyepiece. The rubber eyeguard is a bit of a pain with the 130p rotating focuser though! Had a look at m65/m66 and could just see NGC 3628 as well which was enjoyable. Just lovely to get outside. I also had a go with a second hand set of 15 X 70 Helios binoculars. Pleiades was stunning in them. I thought about getting the big dob out but those shower clouds kept passing by earlier in the evening. Mark

Had a good look at NGC 2903 and the comet in Perseus with my 130p tonight. The 10bco is noticeably sharp with a dark background. This helps with contrast allowing lots of detail to come through. Certainly a lovely eyepiece. Mark

Lovely cluster but remember many of these are ellipticals which can be hard to pick out unless you have very transparent skies and a new 10BCO eyepiece 😉

I will give it a run against my Williams optics eyepieces. Nice to try something new from time to time. Mark

That 10bco better be good for galaxy hunting as I have just bought one given your glowing reports. 👍 Mark

Well done on braving the cold. I don't think everyone realises how rich UMa is in galaxies. I certainly have not seen those PGC objects near M108 but I will give it ago if the cloud and rain stops! Mark

Hi all I have booked pitch 11 for Friday and Saturday night. Looking forward to galaxy hunting and the customary walk to the top of the Brecons! Mark

Sat in the 35c outdoor Malvern spa pool. What a way to observe. Warm but outside. We started with the moon and Venus. My wife and I were then treated to a shooting star. I think it came from Gemini. Later we saw Pleiades and assessed the magnitude of Betelgeuse which is now the same as the top right star in Orion. Finally the space station came over. What a session and now for the hot steam room. Mark & Kate

My star test on my big dob is similar to yours. After observing for a few hours the fuzzyness reduces and in and out become similar. So be patient. Mark

Joining the Webb Society was one of my best astronomy related decisions. I can highly recommend it as a deep sky observer. Mark