Mark at Beaufort

Its under discussion at the moment and Grant has been talking with Lucksall about the dates.

Although very windy I took out the PST + DS for a quick view. There is still some plage around the sunspot and some small proms nearby on the edge. Not easy to observe with the scope shaking.

Nice memories Stu. I remember SGL10 very well and also viewing some wonderful DSOs through your 16" Dob - in particular NGC4490 (Cocoon Galaxy). Great time - great friendships.

I viewed this area last night using my Skywatcher 150P - they are no longer in the same FOV. However, if you have not seen Neptune its still a good time to hunt it down. I viewed it with my 6mm Ethos - 125x.

Thanks to John I have been using WDS for many years - knobs, screws and handles - very good supplier and service.

Thanks Chris I had not picked this up. Added it into my diary.

That is a brilliant image of this area - well done

Well observed Neil. I crossed referenced the photo with stellarium so if I get a clear spell I will give it a go. Hopefully, Virgo will rise above my rooftop at a reasonable time so long as the Moon does not get in the way later this week.

Best of luck with your observing and getting Neptune. I have my grab and go Heritage 130P out on an alt/az mount and quickly found Neptune using my TeleVue 8-24mm zoom then switched to the 6mm Ethos. The Moon and Venus look brilliant tonight but I have to finish because I have a squash match at 7pm.

Thanks Ade. To be honest I fancy buying an Astrozap Baader filter to use on the 150P Newt you sold me.

I had a look a few hours ago with my PST + DS. Some nice Plage around AR2757 plus another Plage area going South. A few Proms around the edge. Put a solar filter on my 80mm finderscope using a 10mm Celestron DUO Ep - I could see the main spot but not much else. I really could do with a larger scope to view the Sun in white light.

I bought my first telescope (60mm refractor) in 1965 so have had many memories over the years. My highlights - Watching the Moon's shadow racing towards me in Plymouth during the 1999 Total Eclipse Viewing the Venus Transit in 2004 and being involved in the video that won (Paris Academy of Science) the best production of the event organised by the ESA Viewing the Annular Solar Eclipse in Spain using my new PST Using the same scope to view the Total Solar Eclipse in Turkey in 2006 Completing the Messier List after struggling with low Globs in Sagittarius Visiting the United States and observing an Annuar Eclipse and Venus Transit within the space of 2 weeks - 2012 Finally being a guest in the United States to observe on a mountain top and seeing Omega Centauri for the first time in 2018 I expect I missed a few but these come to mind.

I am outside at the moment and noticed a continuous line, equally spaced, going across Perseus and Auriga. I counted 12 but cloud came over before seeing any others. Hopefully, this is not Space X launching lots of satellites - it would ruin an astro image. Can't think what else it would be.

John sorry to hear about your back pain. Hope you get chance to use the binos and pick up the conjunction.

At the moment we have a clear spot so I have taken out the Heritage 130P. Viewed the 13% Moon and also Venus. However, its still too light to pick up Neptune. Hope the clear spell continues for a bit longer. Update - 17.45 - observed conjunction using a Celestron 10mm 68 degree EP - mag - 65x Will try 6mm Ethos if it stays clear - not looking too good at the moment - clouds moving in.

Baz it was between 6.45pm and 7pm

As stated under the 'upcoming events' tomorrow should see a very close conjunction between Venus and Neptune. I have had thick cloud all day but in the last 15 minutes the sky has slightly cleared. Using my Helios Apollo 15x70 binos and checking the location of Neptune in Stellarium I was able to see both planets in the FOV. I placed Venus in the centre and Neptune is 2/3rds towards (Psi) 90 Aquarius. If it clears tomorrow it should be an interesting site with the Moon making a threesome on the 28th.

Thanks Geoff for the 'heads up'. AR2757 looks promising - hope it clears later to have a look.

Several years ago I owned a nice 4" Astro Tech ED frac which eventually was also owned by @paulastro. I also owned a filter slide which held 5 - 1.25" filters. I did a review with a Neodymium filter, various coloured filters and no filter at all. I was able to quickly move the filter slide to obtain an almost instant comparison. I found the Neodymium gave the best view ( I think it was Jupiter) followed by no filter at all. I have no knowledge of the Contrast booster filter but I felt this report is quite interesting. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reviews/baader-contrast-filters_US-ATT_review_0414.pdf

Craig I just looked on your astrobin site. At full resolution your photos are brilliant.

Stunning image Craig - well done

Nice report and I love my Helios Apollo 15x70 binos. Quite often I will set up the reclining chair and just use the binos.

Good memories Geof. I retired in 2005 and astronomy has been an important part of my social life ignoring my canal boat and playing squash 3 times a week.

Excellent image you should be really pleased with that.

Thanks Geof for a brilliant image of IC342. The name of the galaxy rang a bell so I looked it up. I noted that the galaxy is Caldwell 5 on Patrick's list and according to my log I observed it in September 2012 but could only see the nucleus. So your image shows what it is really like - excellent.