Mark at Beaufort

Yes John 14 years even before I joined in January 2008. Its interesting what members stated at the time.

Brilliant report Neil - it shows the quality of a 10" Dob and a good dark site. So many enjoyable objects - I so wish we had more good transparent nights.

I bought my first telescope in 1965. The photo below, showing me in the middle, was taken at my parents home whilst we were observing a partial solar eclipse. Could check back but I think it was about 1968. The OTA was using a Swift (Japan) Herschel Wedge. In 1972 I bought a 6" Newt and fitted the OTA on a Charles Frank Eq Mount. Looking at the group photo the structure behind us was my wooden observatory - I am surprised my parents accepted this - it looks rubbish.

I picked up the Comet tonight using my 12" Dob and star hopped via the 80mm Finderscope. Used various EPs - 9mm Myraid 100 degree giving the best view. Wanted to check movement but have had cloud for the past hour.

Great report Mark - I am glad you are enjoying your 20" Dob even though clear skies have been in short supply. I forgot all about the Comet so its placement nearby the Double Cluster should make it easier to track down. Hopefully, I will be able to take out the 12" Dob over the next few nights.

Thanks Michael - I note that the galaxy is in Virgo so its best to observe the SN in the early morning - say 3/4am. The Moon will be close over the next few days so the 21st looks a good bet - if it stays clear!!!

A very nice image. I enjoy viewing this area with an O-III filter. I will move it to Imaging - Deep Sky

Your scope has a focal length of 1200mm and with a 50mm EP you will have an exit pupil of 10.58. With an exit pupil of that range the sky will appear very grey. Young people (don't know your age) have a pupil size of about 7 so anything above this is wasted light. I think a better eyepiece would be 30mm 82 degrees FOV - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-82-degree-series-eyepieces.html My main EP for DSOs using an f/5 12" Dob is a 20mm 100 degree EP. This gives a darker sky and better contrast. I have a 30mm 70 degree EP which I rarely use.

Just took out the PST + DS for a solar session. There is a new sunspot coming onto the surface with bright plage. With the PST turned I can just about make 2 small sunspot in the group - although I really need a bigger frac with white light. In addition there is a small filament on the N side plus two other plages - one SE and the other W. There are a few small proms.

Great photo Neil and I am glad it made it into print.

Not had a good session with my 12" Dob for many weeks so with a clear sky forecast I decided to have a session. To be honest the sky was not the best but I felt I needed to have a go with certain objects. I started with Vesta having never observed it before. Vesta is high in Cetus fairly close to 87 Cetus. Cross referenced to Stellarium and found it - need to check if it moves to confirm I was observing Vesta. Now a few DSOs - started with M74 - not the easiest object but very clear in the 12" Dob. Moved down to M77 and also took in NGC1055 but this object was difficult and I could only see it as a glimmer. Viewed M33 (very clear) - using the 'Trapezoid' it pointed straight to NGC604 (nice with 9mm Myriad). I felt lucky so I wanted to try and observe IC1613 (Caldwell 51). Never been successful in the past although some books suggest you need a 16" or 18" scope although Sue French states some have seen it in a 70mm frac. Moved down from Epsilon Piscium about 2.5 degrees to a line of 3 - 6th mag stars. Checking the area in Stellarium found the exact location. Well its faint - very faint - can't be certain but felt I could see a very faint gimmer. Need to return - sometimes I wish I had a larger OTA. Dew now becoming bad so I had a look at M42, M43 and NGC 1977 using my new TeleVue Nebustar filter - initial thoughts the filter looks promising. Had to finish so viewed the lovely edge on galaxy NGC891.

Excellent report Ade. The 'F' star can be difficult and a good frac is far better for this task than a Newt. I also had terrible dew last night which made me finish just after 10pm.

I have been trying for a few days to remember the various scope that I have owned. 1965 - a 60mm refractor made in Japan - last used showing Halleys Comet then sold 1967? - a 6" Wooden Tube Newt - too heavy although I found later that it had a Jim Hysom mirror 1999 - after many years away from Astronomy I bought a 5" Celestron Nexstar goto SCT - sold dates are now difficult - William Optics 66 - lovely small frac - which I had kept it PST - bought for the Annular Eclipse Spain 2005 - still use it but have added a double stack 10" Skywatcher Flextube - saw more DSOs than any other scope - sold Astrotech 4" ED frac - lovely scope - can't believe I sold it 6" Celestron SCT - bought from Hinds as a brilliant deal - sold 6" Meade Achro frac - really too heavy for my alt/az mount - sold 80mm Towa f/15 frac - always wanted this scope but did not enjoy it - sold Skywatcher 180mm Mak/Cass - sold Skywatcher 150mm P-DS Newt - used this scope side by side with @John at a SGL star party - only sold because of the next item Orion VX8 Newt - lovely scope - should not have sold it. Orion VX6L - lovely Newt - too many scopes so sold it. Opticstar 80mm frac - again too many scopes - sold Altair Astro 72mm APO frac - lovely little scope - sold Relevation 12" Dob - still have it - great light bucket Skywatcher Heritage 130P - my grab and go - still have it Finally missed my Orion VX8 so bought a Skywatcher 150P from @AdeKing at a SGL star party. Still have it - used for outreach So a number of scopes, some of which in hindsight I wish I had kept.

Welcome. I note from your IP address that you reside at or near London (unless you have a VPN). If you are London are you going to Tenerife for the new year?

Well done Gav. I did go out on Christmas day late morning with the PST + DS and viewed AR2753. Turning the tuner into white light I could see the two small spots. Tried to see AR2754 and although I think I could make out a minor plage in that region that was all. Let us hope that the activity starts to increase in 2020.

@paulastro- Paul you are not the only one I had a quick look about an hour or so ago. Pam just 'popped out' to see someone so I was naughty and had a look at the Sun with my PST and viewed the plage on sunspot AR2753. I also saw (I think) some brightness where AR2754 should be. My Son and his family (3 teenage granddaughters) have come over from San Francisco so we are going to have a hectic day. They are joining my other Son and his family (youngest girl 3 years old) - I will need a few drinks at the end of the day. So everyone have an enjoyable day and let us hope for more clear skies in 2020.

Yes it will be good to see some activity. Yesterday afternoon I viewed the Sun with the PST and noticed a 'plage' on the SE edge and wondered whether it might be the start of a spot. @GavStarI think we might be pushing our luck to start observing on Christmas day 😎

Thanks for the report Alan and picking up 2 of the 3. I checked the details and I note most are 15 mag so I don't think my 12" will pick them up. Its these occasions I wish I had a bigger scope - well done again

I have used these strong magnets together with a weight and place them to get balance - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-of-Vehicle-MagPad1-super-strong-magnet-for-roof-signs-taxi-driving-school/183856185790?epid=1205420445&hash=item2aceaec1be:g:btcAAOSwx4ZakVOw Not much good for an Orion (UK) scope as the OTA is aluminium but great for my metal OTA.

I have had a PST for nearly 15 years together with a Coronado Double Stack which has provided excellent views over the years both surface and proms. Many members at star parties have commented on the quality of the visual view. However, I have never had a view like the one portrayed in the image above. I did think about buying a Daystar 60mm Scout but would like to try one before buying.

About 4.45pm I looked out and could see Venus. I knew that Saturn was nearby so I quickly grabbed my Heritage 130P and using a 10mm EP + 1.6X barlow went searching. Venus was a bit wobbly but I could make out its illumination phase. Slightly moving the scope I viewed Saturn (maybe the last time this session). Okay not the best planetary session but its nice to get a scope out and undertake some observing.

Fantastic report S&S - it would be great to be able to use a 20" Dob at a really dark site. Seeing your frozen finderscope I made a very long dew shield out of neoprene fixed together with velcro - it certainly helps keeping the objective clear.

Brilliant collection Nick and I admired the amount of time that you stayed out. I was only out for a few hours mainly to observe C/2017 T2 (Panstarrs) which I picked up with the 12" Dob and the 13mm Ethos. By the sound of it I should have stayed out longer - the quality of the sky was rather good in Hereford. C/2

Whenever I undertake a detailed observing session I usually write a report on SGL. In saying that I seemed to have started well in 2019 but it appears I only had one good session in October onwards. I am fortunate that my local Astro Society has a good dark site and I had various good sessions throughout the year using a 6" Skywatcher Newt. At the sessions I usually viewed favourite objects. I did enjoy observing the Mercury Transit whilst on my canal boat with the PST on the towpath. Scopes have stayed the same but I did obtained a TeleVue 6mm Ethos which I have only used a few times - with the 12" Dob + 6mm Ethos I was able to see Triton which was a first for me.

Fantastic image. In fact one of the best of this area that I have seen in a while. Its good to see Alnitak's double which shows the quality and exposure of the setup.