Mark at Beaufort

Well done Neil I really must try and stay awake. Unfortunately it takes awhile for this galaxy to clear my rooftop.

Stu I have never used a concenter but when I collimate the secondary I always block off the primary. When I am satisfied that the secondary is okay I then adjust the primary. I know that @johninderbyhas used the concentre for a number of years so he might reply in more detail.

2 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

I will be off to Italy shortly, so hopefully it will be a bit easier, as it will be higher in the sky 

Nice Michael - is this work or holiday?

Thanks Michael for the 'heads up'. Checking back I observed this galaxy in 2008, 2010 and 2011 so a revisit is called for. Unfortunately it does not rise high enough until the early hours so hopefully I will catch the SN.

Keith gave this talk to the Herefordshire Astro Society in June. It was an excellent presentation. There were a number of facts about the Sun that I picked up for the first time. This is a well worth presentation if you can attend.

It must be my age because I fall asleep by 10pm (too much wine) so I have missed the last month or so night time observing. Reading the comments about cloud cover it appears I have not missed too much. I am only glad that I have a Ha solar scope because that has been my main activity over many weeks.

I know that my Lumicon UHC was made in Livermore CA so must be Generation 1 - works okay although I prefer the Televue Nebustar 2.

Hello Joe. I checked back and noticed that It was in Steve O'Meara 's Hidden Treasurers book and it's name is stated as the Emerald Eye PN. I prefer the name the Blue Racquetball PN. My records show that I observed it Sept 2009 and again in July 2014. Must have another go.

I am certainly very interested in this zoom eyepiece especially for travel and quick grab and go. I felt that this zoom together with my 3-6 Nagler Zoom and the ES 24mm 68 degree EP would make an ideal set up. I hope that if the Astro Shows go ahead this year that one of the retailers have it on display. Of course I would like to read a test report by someone of ability.

Joe you clearly had a great night observing. Its a pity that Sagittarius is low down in the UK. It took me years to observe M69 and M70.   I certainly liked this target especially the name (I am  a racquetball player)- NGC 6572, the Blue Racquetball Nebula.                                                                                                                                                                         

Just been observing the Sun with the double stack PST.

Lots of plage especially around AR2835 but also on other areas of the Sun. Some nice filaments and Proms.

Good to see this activity coming back. Most get a view in white light .

Great images Ken. The Sun is certainly showing us more activity.

Looking very good Francis. I look forward to seeing the final version. I have a feeling I might twist your arm to give us a talk on the new year.

Thanks for the information. I am not sure what mount he has. Clearly it needs to be a goto to make things easier.

I need some help over this. I have a colleague in my local astro society who has had a stroke and is unable to manage his scope. He has ask me whether there is an inexpensive standard fitting electronic eyepiece that will give him a live view onto his laptop. By inexpensive he is thinking of £100 ish.

I know that the quality EEVA equipment is expensive but is there a cheaper option.

Any opinions/advice would be appreciated

I often see cheap old refractors on eBay and fancy a punt just to play with. My only cheap scope is my second hand heritage 130p so I will have a go just for fun. Well done @Stufor getting us motivated.

Paul they are brilliant photos. Thanks for sharing.

There is a new sunspot  AR2833 and nearby there is a Prom that appears to have lifted off - two bright areas off the surface.

In addition on the opposite side there is a nice detailed Prom. A few filaments as well.

Nice work Stu. Not done a great deal of observing of late - keep falling asleep before it gets dark. Anyway decided to view the Moon and Venus with the Heritage 130P with the 10-30mm Svbony zoom and the Nagler 3-6mm zoom. Nice view of Venus and having been picking up the craters on the terminator. Nice to be back in the saddle.

Seeing some good photos plus individual comments about the Moon's surface shows what SGL is all about.

Missed the start at 10.05 but 5 minutes later had a large clear spell. View with the white light now using the PST.

Now added the Double stack and can see a few filaments, plage and a nice Prom on the western edge. The Moon looks great against the Ha background.

It's mostly cloudy in Hereford with the odd small gaps. Set up the 80mm finder scope with white light filter. Also have some solar eclipse glasses for a very quick grab and go.

I have cancelled my local astro society observing event. Those members that were interested have stated that they will observe from home - if they see the Sun!!!

If I am cloudy out I will look forward to the next partial eclipse on 25th October of next year.

No good in Hereford very high cloud and lots of it!!

Nice Nigella. I have lots of high cloud and it's difficult to get a good visual image in either white light or Ha. So I grateful for your images.