RobertI

Nicely done. Couldn’t have been easy using watercolours. 👍

I feel the lines between EAA and imaging are becoming more blurred as the evolving capabilities of the camera and software allow people to achieve new things. But I would say that ‘technically’ EAA is using a sensor and screen to create a near-live view. The goal is observing and investigation rather than aesthetics and perfection. But the EAA software is becoming so good that it’s perfectly normal to spend time fiddling with the image the next day(s). And EAA software allows multi-spectral imaging, which isn’t exactly real time, but is significantly quicker than traditional long exposure imaging. You could argue that EAA is ‘imaging made easy’! Very nice images by the way 🙂

I was so impressed with the first one, I just had to buy another ……..

You might also find your local club has a scope you can borrow.

Some fantastic catches there, we’ll done on the HH!

I think someone just has!

In both senses of the word!! 🙂

Yes at some magnifications the starfish effect is really striking.

Nice report Nick. Having been wowed by Beta Monocerotis recently, I am now really keen to see 12 Lynci - thanks for the heads up!

I posted a similar view on eyepieces recently. Ironically the discussion resulted in me buying two new eyepieces!! 😆😆

I dread to think what life this eyepiece has had, possibly fished out of a canal and then opened up to drain out the water!!

Thanks Nik. Already I am seeing some benefits in sharing the lists!

Interesting to hear that Steve, I have always struggled with this one in my largest scope (8” SCT), never clearly seen the crescent shape, although I’ve never tried from a dark sky. Do you think my 8” in a dark sky would be able to show it clearly?

Thanks Nik! That’s perfect, not sure how I forgot Castor, I will update the list. Good spot with Tau Tauri, that star is actually on the list because it’s an (almost) carbon star with an interesting colour (hence the “CS” category) - but when I looked it up, I saw it was also a double, but you’re right, probably not one for the 4” category, I’ll leave it on the list for its colour though. 👍

I’ve probably only observed about a third of each list so far, I’m hoping the completed notebook of all 50 odd constellations will keep me going for a while!! Just shows you what can be seen with a 4” scope.

Although I have plenty of observing resources (too many in some ways), I lack single place where I can list potential targets and record the excellent suggestions I regularly find on SGL (for example, the recent excellent posts by @cotterless45). So I decided to compile a list of targets visible in a 4” scope in a notebook, with a page for each constellation. My main sources in compiling the lists are Interstellarum for the main DSOs and “A Field Guide to the Deep Sky Objects” (Mike Inglis) for doubles, triples and carbon stars. The lists are coming on slowly, sometimes a page is almost not enough, but so far it is proving very useful and quite fun to do. Happy to share as I complete them, if people think they are useful.

An exciting problem to have! 🙂A couple of questions - (1) are you keeping the TSA-102 or is the new scope a replacement? (2) what type of object/observing are you hoping to improve?

Thanks again Nick, some intriguing targets there. Added to my ever growing list.

Well I think @mikeDnight has demonstrated perfectly how visual astronomy can be inspiring! Perhaps galaxies and nebulae aren’t the the most exciting, but there’s a lifetime’s worth of other amazing objects to see visually. Here’s some of the the reasons I love visual observing: The sheer beauty of clusters, doubles and coloured stars (such as carbon stars) which are hard to match digitally IMO The magical 3D view of the moon and planets, especially through binoviewers The thrill of accidentally finding something new and amazing (done that plenty of times) The satisfaction of finally tracking down that elusive faint fuzzy or close double, sometimes having to use every technique and tool in your armoury Finding old friends, who sometimes have something new to give (the Veil is a particular favourite) Being able to almost achieve the impossible with very small apertures Enjoying the simplicity of a beautiful precision optical instrument on a manual mount Being relaxed, at peace and at one with nature under the stars Your 150PDS should give some lovely views and reveal plenty. I’d suggest choosing a couple of prominent constellations (eg: Orion and Auriga) and list out the brightest objects in them (open clusters, globulars, doubles and nebulae), and then start working your way through the list. Hope it inspires you too.

Very nice list Nick, I've added some of these to my own lists. As for adding to your list, it's tough to choose. I love to see two objects in the same field of view. M35 with ngc2158 next door, the double cluster, M97 and M108, the Leo triplet. Seeing Venus within the Pleiades was very memorable, and recently I also saw Mars and M1 in the same field of view. Personal standouts are the Veil with an OIII filter, the Trapezium on a night of good seeing, and M13 with a good sized aperture.

Lovely report Nick, I’ve added some of those objects to my list for next time out. 👍

Skies were clear again tonight, so I got the ZS 66 out for a quick session. While scanning around the southern aspect near Orion at low power I found a lovely pair of equally bright white stars just discernible as a pair - very pretty. I just had to get the 102ED out to have a proper look - I popped in the zoom with a Barlow, and as I zoomed in on this lovely double, one of the pair became another even closer double of equal brightness stars, revealing a beautiful triple. Turns out I was looking at Beta Monocerotis, clearly well known, but not to me! The closer pair are 2.8” apart and mags 5.4 and 5.6, the third is mag 4.6 and stands 7.4” away. An amazing sight. Whilst in multiple star mode I went to Sigma Orionis and could easily see three components and the much fainter fourth. I then switched to the to the 17.5mm Morpheus for some wider field views at 40x. I could still JUST see the fourth component of Sigma Orionis with averted vision. Then onto M42. I was very surprised that with the UHC filter in I could make out the full extent of the nebula including the outer arc extending as far as Iota Orionis. Possibly thanks to good transparency, good glass and good filter. I then randomly had a look at the Owl Nebula and M108. Although in a brighter part of the sky the Owl was immediately visible with M108 in the same FOV but much harder to see. Putting in the OIII filter really made the Owl stand out - no doubt about what I was looking at. M108 all but disappeared though. I spent another good hour enjoying the open clusters of Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia. The combination of the 102ED and 17.5mm Morpheus really does give some special views. Wonderful contrast, subtle colours, tiny faint stars at the edge of visibility and good sharpness across a wide field. And at x40 the sky is sufficiently darkened but the field is still wide enough. My favourite combination of scope and eyepiece at present.

Had an enjoyable session trying out my new Bino Bandit with my 10x50s. To cut to the chase, if anyone uses binoculars or binoviewers for astronomy, even a bit, I would say this is a MUST HAVE accessory. It cuts out all stray light from the peripheral vision and creates a wonderful immersive experience. Having used it for a good hour whilst reclining in my Nadira observing chair this evening, I removed it and wondered how I ever observed without it! It’s now permanently attached to the binocular and I will be getting another one for my binoviewer. Last time I was out a couple of weeks ago, I was comparing the views through my the ZS66 + 38mm Panaview (giving 10x mag) with my 10x50s. I was curious to see the strengths of each at the same magnification and FOV. The conclusion was that the 10x50s were far more immersive, giving a darker sky and seemingly brighter stars. The ZS66 gave sharper stars and could obviously be mounted more easily, but the views were just washed out. I concluded that this was because of the 6.5mm exit pupil versus the 5mm of the Bino, which made the sky brighter, and potentially I was losing some light because my own pupils were not that dilated. Tonight I tried the 24mm 68 degree ES, giving 16x, and the results were much more pleasing. Darker skies and seemingly more vibrant stars, though interestingly still not the dark skies or vibrant stars of the binocular. But at 16x many clusters are being resolved and more objects are visible, so the experience is different to the binos anyway. I’m thinking that my 17.5mm Morpheus could even better - next time. I had an enjoyable time scanning around Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia with my two optical friends, orienting myself with the binoculars and then investigating further with the telescope. Perseus yielded a lot of interest, especially the double cluster with Stock 2, a very large open cluster nearby in the same field of view, and Trumpler 2, a very small sparse cluster also nearby. It started to get late, Leo was rising quite high now. Time for bed.

Not an astronomical gift, but something I’m looking forward to leafing through. 🙂

Stag Beetle. 😁