Mark at Beaufort

I love my Pocket Sky Atlas for generally checking out locations. However, it does not go deep enough. I have the Uranometria which is very good but much prefer the Interstellarum which I place on a large music stand next to the 12" Dob. I don't have the Field edition but after I locate the DSO I place the atlas back into a large plastic box to save it getting too wet with dew. Although its expensive the pleasure I get from finding objects more easily outweigh the initial cost.

Brilliant review Matthew. Like John I owned the 3-6 zoom which I sold preferring the larger FOV and eye relief of the Ethos range. In hindsight that was possibly a mistake.

I tried this morning with binos from 2am onwards but a cloudy horizon stopped me seeing it. I could see Almach and Beta Triangulum but lost further down. Hopefully, with clear skies we might pick it up going past Algol and onwards to Capella. The big problem for us in the UK is we are coming towards summer solstice on the 20th June so no astro darkness. I understand that in central UK the best time to view the Comet is about 1am when the Sun is at its lowest point below the horizon.

Tim I believe I saw it last night. @Johngave me a very useful diagram to identify the stars around the edge of M61. Yesterday the postman delivered a Baader 10mm Ortho which gave a better view of the galaxy than some of my alternative EPs. The 12" Dob was situated in a dark site at the end of my garden and I used a black out hood to improve the situation. So I think I saw it - hopefully, it will get brighter over the next few days/weeks.

I decided to buy an Ortho EP again mainly to view fainter Super Novae especially the one in M61. Ordered the Baader10mm Classic Ortho from FLO which arrived this morning. I already have the Baader Classic 2.25x barlow which I have owned for many years - brilliant product. The Baader can be increased by 1.3 to 7.7mm or by 2.25x to 4.4mm. Many years ago I used some Fujiyama and Hutech Orthos and was able to see fainter stars than some of my other EPs. However, I found the eye relief too difficult but I am hoping that the Baader will be better.

Thanks John that is a very useful diagram. Its looking good again for tonight (fingers crossed).

Great report John. Like you I went for the two SNs and as you say SN2020hvf in NGC3643 (Leo) is brighter than the nearby star and the estimate of 12.4 is about right. Although I was using my 12" Dob I also tried with the 6" Newt. Not easy and I was getting fleeting suggestion of the brighter SN. Over to Virgo and SN2020jfo - good sight of the galaxy and although I could some stars on the edge it was difficult to determine which was the SN. Used various EPs and the most enjoyable view was with a 10mm Celestron Ultima Duo - yes even better than my Ethos EPs!!! Hopefully, I might receive the Baader 10mm Ortho to have another go at this SN. It was a brilliant night and had a fantastic view of the Leo triplet. However, viewing M5 just blew me away especially with the 9mm Myraid. Finally, I viewed the GC NGC 5897 in Libra - well worth a look.

I struggled to find NGC 3643 and the star patterns surrounding the galaxy. In the end I downloaded a chart from Stellarium and used my 9mm Myraid to identify the location. I attach the chart that I used - I positioned the galaxy NGC3640 and the star HIP55408 as shown within the Myraid EP. Once there the SN was easy to see and I agree that its brighter than the nearby mag 13 star. I usually position my 12" Dob at the end of the garden because its totally dark. However, with Leo getting lower I moved the scope close to the house which caused some light pollution problems. However, I still went looking for the SN in Virgo. Easily found M61 but I could not see the stars at the side of the galaxy so I need to return with the Dob in a better place. Hopefully, the Baader 10mm Ortho will arrive this week to try again. Notwithstanding I was pleased to see one SN.

Following Neil's experience and your comments I decided to try the Baader 10mm BCO - so order placed with FLO. I remember years ago having either a Fujiyama or Hutech 5mm Ortho and seeing some fainter stars in a particular area. However, I found the eye lens so small it put me off high mag orthos. I know that the Baader has a larger eye lens so I thought I would have another go. Hopefully, it will arrive for me to hunt the brighter two SNs.

Thanks again Alan - I am certainly starting with the first two SN you listed.

Well done Neil that is very useful. It is interesting that you used a 9mm Lunt a 9mm Ortho and a 6mm Ortho - are you finding that the 9mm and 6mm BGOs can detect fainter objects?

John that really takes me back. I bought a 60mm refractor with my first pay cheque - February 1965 - it looks the same as yours including the mount. I believe it was £29+ although not totally sure. I really wanted a Swift refractor from Charles Frank in Glasgow but could not afford it. The last time I used it was showing the boys 'Halley Comet' in 1986. Not long after I sold it - should have left it in the attic. John I look forward to some of your Double Stars observations.

Stu that is a fair amount of OTA's. Does Suzie know this 😄

Really enjoyable report Alan. I was mostly clouded out last night so I decided to leave the SN observing for a few days. Alan thanks for the diagram that would be very useful.

Really enjoyable read Stu. I really wish I had a nice refractor so I can enjoy double stars. Okay the Skywatcher 150P is pretty good but I do miss my old Astro Tech. Looking forward to Venus becoming a slender crescent.

@alanjgreenposted a very useful photo of this SN so hopefully I will go hunting tonight. NGC 3643 is not the easiest of galaxies to locate. Its not shown in the Interstellarum star atlas (which shows it must be faint). However, it is shown in the Uranometria atlas so I am going to start by locating the star Sigma in Leo and Zavijava in Virgo and then the 3 stars in Leo 84, 83 and 82. If you drawn a line from star 80 to 75 the galaxy is almost in the middle.

Thanks Alan that is very useful. How did I miss your previous thread!! Its showing clear (fingers crossed) for tonight and I notice that astro darkness is 23.40 so Leo should still be okay to observe. Checking the location of NGC 3643 its not shown in the Interstellarum atlas but it is in Uranometria. I guess that it is best to star hop from stars 84, 83 and 82. I also notice that NGC 3643 is in the middle of a straight line from Star 80 and star 75. Its just a matter of finding the correct galaxy so you photo of the star field will certainly help.

Thanks Alan. The Moon should be out of the way early next week so I will give it a go.

Thanks Michael. Hopefully with the Moon starting to be out of the way next week I might have a go at this SN.

Richard the black cover came from Telescope House many years ago. However, since then I bought a Hood from this company which is better - https://r-sky.org/en/products/observing-hood In my case I bought the dark hood for DSO observing but they do make a solar hood - see bottom of page. Several members on the forum have bought from them in Russia and I never had a problem.

Its been quite sunny for the last hour so I took out the PST +DS and the 150P for WL. In Ha AR2762 and AR2760 are quite bright and there are a few Proms. One of these Proms appears to have some lift off. I switch to WL with a mag of 75X and AR2762 is showing some nice faculae. I could not see any activity on AR2760 or AR2763.

Herefordshire Astro Society had its first Zoom virtual meeting last night with Steve Tonkin doing a presentation from his home in the New Forest area. We had 29 members in attendance and the system worked well. We have another session set up later in May. @Stu I like the idea of a zoom observing presentation of course this depends on the lockdown continuing.

I have wanted to purchase this Sky Guide for some time to match my Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas. I often wished that I could check the individual object and see a sketch etc which this book provides. This Guide normally sells for £70 approx but it is on special offer from Wordery at £34.66 + free delivery. Arrived very quick with the atlas still sealed. Able to cross check the Atlas + Guide using the same page number.

I agree Dave. I always check out the stars in Ursa Minor to determine the sky quality.

I fancied buying the Vixen SLV eyepieces when they were on offer at FLO. However, the price at other retailers has now jumped to £106 each so might not be affordable as requested by cuto100200. I thought that the WO 6mm Planetary was out of production but I may be wrong. Certainly Rob's suggestion might be a good option.