Nicola Fletcher

Thanks Magnus for a great and inspiring report!

10 hours ago, Captain Scarlet said:

I guess part of the problem for you Nicola, even more of a problem for me, is that in Wicklow you are several degrees west of 0 degrees longitude. Which means sunset and darkness happens 20-odd minutes later local time than if you were in say London. For me, it’s 36 minutes. During the summer by the time it gets dark it’s very late and I’m often just too tired. Having said that, I am seriously considering getting my SV 140 out tonight as it’s a clear and windless evening, the first for a while.

Magnus

Yes, I think you’re right Magnus. Often I go outside for a look around 10.30 or so and it’s still quite bright. It’s easier to go to bed, especially if I have to function the next day! 
I think I just need to make more of an effort - the answers are overwhelmingly in support of summer observing!

Thanks everyone - glad I asked 😊

This is excellent, I will get off the couch and get out to have a look at some doubles, variables, globs and the Veil. I can even put some observing lists together while we wait for the clouds to clear….

I was listening to the Actual Astronomy podcast this week and was really impressed to hear that Chris and Shane still go out observing in the summer, despite the short nights and lack of real darkness at higher latitudes. I usually just give up on astronomy in June and July. I know lots of people like solar observing but do many people still get out observing at night during the summer?  Maybe I should rethink it since I’ve a beautiful new Mewlon sitting doing nothing!

20 hours ago, dobbyisbest said:

@MalcolmM @Nicola Fletcher

Have a look at this: https://ozsky.org/BAM600/

It is a comprehensive observing list compiled by Australian astronomers and it comes in various formats, including SkySafari (where you can sort by brightness, transit time etc.)

I’ve now found quite a few galaxies (and galaxy clusters) that I didn’t spot in my research before and have added them to my list.

 

 

Brilliant, thank you very much!!

On 30/05/2024 at 23:31, dobbyisbest said:

I emailed the scope shop in Cairns (there is only one) to ask if they’d consider renting one to me, and the owner kindly agreed to rent one of their public event scopes to me provided that it didn’t clash with their own events (and I’m sure it helped that I spoke to my experience with telescopes and interest in their dark southern skies upfront). I was looking in Brisbane as well, and there were a few shops that could potentially have helped, but my trip plan ended up being of the one-way variety. I’m sure the other big cities will be similar. I even looked at the Aussie AstroBuySell and FB Marketplace to see if there was a cheap deal that I could arrange for in advance, but fortunately the Cairns shop came to my rescue.

 

This is a fantastic book and probably the only one that really covers to the southern hemisphere properly, when I last checked (and it made me regret not being interested in practical astronomy earlier in my life, as I’ve seen the Botswanan and Namibian wilderness skies with naked eyes, I just didn’t have the interest and tools at the time, and I think it must be amazing). The Astronomers Society (not Association) of South Africa also has some good resources and recommendations on their website, it’s just not as nicely edited and polished as it is in any respectable book format, of course. 🙂

Sounds great - it’ll be fantastic to have a dob to use under those skies.

Yes I agree, Southern Gems is an excellent book. It has been really useful when planning out my target list. The summer objects in TLAO, as well as the southern sky section, is also very useful. SkySafari has been great when planning out which objects will be best placed earlier or later in the evening. I can see myself not getting to bed at all!

1 hour ago, dobbyisbest said:

Not really anything that others haven’t mentioned yet, but having had a great night’s observing in South Africa at the end of March last year, it helped me better prepare for my own trip to Northern Queensland in July. Here are some badly edited and short notes that follow a chronological sequence and logic of ‘try to catch to some good ones before they set first, some other good ones that rise just before the sun comes up, and everything else in between, in a sequence of when it makes most sense in terms of altitude’. I’ve included some northern favourites because I’ll be at a Bortle 1 site for 3 nights and would probably not have the opportunity again soon. I also want to see how some of the north/south favourites stack up in the same session. My plan is to rent an 8” dob for DSOs and I’m taking my 15x70 binos for widefield Milky Way viewing. I’ve used Sky Safari to help with my planning, though the plan still needs a lot of work. The gaps will largely be filled with dark nebula/Great Rift/MW viewing. I hope you find it helpful. 🙂

19:20:

C92 Carina Nebula / Gem Cluster

M51 / M101 

C80 Omega Centauri 

C77 Centaurus A

C74 Southern Ring Nebula

M65/66 Leo Triplet

M84/86 Markarian’s Chain (and scan)

M99/M100

M83

C100 Running Chicken

Crux / Coalsack Nebula / Jewel Box

Alpha Centauri

M13/C80 Shootout at 21:55

M16, M17, M8 (M20, 21), M7, C76, M24, IC4604 Rho Ophiouchi Nebula Round 1

M11, M22, M56

NGC 6302 Bug Nebula at 22:21

Saturn Nebula

Ring Nebula at 23:50

 

M16, M17, M8 (M20, 21), M7, M24, IC4604 Round 2

Veil Nebula at 1:20

North America Nebula at 1:20

M27 Dumbbell Nebula at 1:20

47 Tucanae at 4:30

M31, M33 if possible

 

 

Brilliant list and it’s a great idea to organise them by the times for best viewing. I am going to restrict my list to the showcase targets that I can’t see from the northern hemisphere. I don’t know how many clear nights under dark skies I’ll get so don’t want to get carried away with long lists. I’d also like to try to get some sketching done if I can.

May I ask where you can rent telescopes? That sounds like a great idea.

14 minutes ago, MalcolmM said:

@DirkSteele  @Nicola Fletcher I'm thinking of 3 eyepieces: Tak Erfle 28mm 60°, Masuyama 10mm 85° and the Nagler zoom. If I skip on the 4th eyepiece, I'll have room for my hiking socks 

Does that sound reasonable?

I've quickly scanned all @DirkSteele's Southern Hemisphere observing reports and really don't think I need look any further. Fantastic reads! I think I may have done the same balloon flight as you in the Namib. Was Eric your pilot?

Malcolm 

I think mine are similar enough. I’ll have a 24mm Panoptic, 13mm Nagler, 9mm Nagler and 3-6mm Nagler zoom. This is my normal kit except I don’t usually bring the 13mm. 
I would absolutely love to go to Namibia - maybe some year!

1 hour ago, Xilman said:

Clothes are over-rated. As long as you have enough to be decent and a change of underwear, everything else can either be laundered or purchased on-site. One tip is to wear far too much clothing when boarding the aircraft (3 or 4 pairs of undies and a similar number of t-shirts, for instance) and then transfer them to your carry-on baggage when you are airborne.

My experience, and that of several friends, anyway.

I agree 😂 

After you fit the tripod and mount head in your checked luggage, and then I am bringing the Tak, eyepieces x4, prism diagonal and RDF, camera with ultra wide lens and normal lens and binoculars, there won’t be much room for clothes. 

I did forget to say, my next step is to re-read @DirkSteele’s observing reports which is my favourite part of the Alpha Lyrae website, and add to my observing list that way. It also occurred to me that many targets in Sagittarius and Scorpius will probably be well worth revisiting from that latitude.

Thank you for the map @MalcolmM, that’s excellent. I found an annotated image online (from Babak Tafreshi whose book is also wonderful) that is similar - it’s interesting to compare them:

I would be really grateful if you would share your cheat sheets - I suspect that any amount of preparation will still leave me looking up at the sky in confusion for the first while! A member of my Astro club recommended trying to learn the placement of some of the major stars so it’s easier to orient myself, and I am planing on doing that. 
I believe the Gem cluster is also called the Little Jewel Box, and the Wishing Well is called the Pincushion cluster in O’Meara’s book. I’ve added that to my target list too, thanks!
It would be great to have the Mewlon 180C, I agree. I still wouldn’t leave the FC76 behind though, it is a brilliant little scope and a complete pleasure to use. Especially when I’m unfamiliar with the sky,  it is so easy to find targets with it. I think the widefield views will suit the southern sky perfectly. I will be stopping off in Tokyo on the way so am hoping to get to Starbase and might just have to pick up some accessories for it! 

@MalcolmM, this is so weird, I was literally wondering the same thing! I’m also taking my FC76DCU to Australia  in August, and I am just trying to put together an observing list.

Mine so far are:

LMC and SMC, Tarantula nebula, 47 Tucanae, Omega Centauri, M22, Jewel Box, Little Jewel Box (NGC3293), Coalsack, Eta Carina nebula, Alpha Centauri, the Southern Ring (NGC3132) and the Lagoon and Triffid nebulae. And of course the upside down northern sky. I think the scope will be very nice to just cruise along the core of the Milky Way.

I am using Stephen O’Meara’s Southern Gems book, as well as his very nice book, Night Skies of Botswana which gives a good overview of the southern sky for those not familiar with it. I’m putting my observing list together using SkySafari, as I found this invaluable when observing from Monument Valley earlier this year. 

I’d be very interested to hear if you come across any other good targets!

I’m like a child in a sweet shop at the moment with three scopes under a year old. I have a 12” Explore Scientific dob that has been out approximately five times, a Tak FC100DZ and a Mewlon 180C that’s been out for two non sessions so far (clouds rolled in) so it hasn’t even had a proper first light. I’m mega excited about all three of them and just waiting for more clear skies when I’m not wrecked from work. However, the forecast for tonight looks excellent….

If I were to add to these, I’d love a larger refractor and an observatory to put it in. I’d also love a bigger dob. I can’t get enough of photos and videos of big dobs. The 20” Obsession would be a dream scope.

I went last week and absolutely loved it too. So interesting to see what the astronauts did with their ‘free time’ on the moon. I think I found the footage from the missions after Apollo 11 the most interesting- I had never seen it before!

I am glad they’re extending the run - especially since it was made especially for that theatre!

18 minutes ago, paulastro said:

I agree with you Nicola.  But if I was lucky enough to be able to go to the S hemisphere I'd take  something smaller than I use at home  perhaps my four inch triplet or 130PDS.

That would be amazing.  I would probably choose another top scope if I was able to travel with something bigger. Problem is, there’s a risk with a bigger scope that you might have to check it in. I don’t know if I could cope with the stress of that. If my 4” was airline portable that would be ideal - but I just don’t think it is.  There is zero hassle associated with the 3” that splits in two and goes in my camera bag with my camera and can be mounted on a photo tripod. It also weighs practically nothing. My ears always prick up though when I hear of people bringing bigger scopes on trips away!

14 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Not necessarily, users of other makes and apertures of scope just don't feel the need to go on about them all the time. 

Personally, I'd prefer to have something with more aperture that was more useful for deep sky as well as planets and double stars 😊.

 

 

 

 

I know what you mean, but at the end of the day no dob is getting on a plane to go to dark skies in other parts of the world. I hope to go to the southern hemisphere some day and have my trusty little 3” with me. Not as good as the 12” dob for sure, but it gets a lot more use. It’s also great for those nights when you’ve to get up for work the next day and you just want a quick session with practically zero setup and cool-down time. My dob has literally blown me away with incredible views of deep space objects but the little one can give it a run for its money under truly dark skies.

I don’t know what I’d do if someone told me I had to choose between my FC76DCU and my FC100DZ refractors. Both are fabulous, top quality scopes. I love to travel and I bring the FC76 almost everywhere, but the 4” is just a great all-round, grab and go scope with that extra bit of aperture that makes it great to use at home.

If I had to choose one of the two now, I think I’d keep the FC76, but I think when I stop travelling so much, the DZ will come out on top. I hate to even say that!

I hope you have a fantastic time Steve and I’m sure your wife will be there with you in spirit. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that you see some aurora.  You will certainly see fabulous scenery and you might end up ‘collecting’ waterfalls - they are all so beautiful! If you can, stop at Bruarfoss waterfall - the water is blue!. Also Sólheimajökulsvegur glacier - well worth the trip down south to see it. 

1 hour ago, Highburymark said:

Four for me.
Takahashi TSA-120 is my main, does everything scope; Tak Epsilon 130d is my night vision scope (and testing how badly eyepieces perform at F/3.3): TV85 is for solar Ha, travel, and daytime use. And the little Tecnoski 60ED is for light travel and daytime use. 

Lovely to see an Epsilon - maybe it’s because I’m not an imager but there don’t seem to be many about. You should put a photo on the Show us your Tak thread!

1 hour ago, DirkSteele said:

Forecast was not promising last night for the monthly Baker Street Irregular Astronomers star party in Regent’s Park so I decided to just take the baby. And then loaded him up with an eyepiece that weighs almost as much as he does….

That’s absolutely brilliant 😂 talk about confusing members of the public - ‘Where do I look?’ Is a valid question! 

11 hours ago, dweller25 said:

Overall I did not like the M210 as much as the M180 as it was frustrating to use.

I’m glad you think that @dweller25. I had a hard time choosing between the two. I read everything online that I could and went for the 180. Cool-down time and mounting requirements were my biggest concerns. I got a clear plastic box for the scope and I just put it outside a few hours before use. I really like the fan on the front of it too and will get one for it. In the end, it would be ideal to try these scopes before you buy one but unfortunately I don’t have any neighbours that have both a 180’ and 210! 🙄

9 hours ago, Cjg said:

Show your Mum @Stu’s post. 🤣 He’s definitely ‘taken one’ for the forum / astro community in general, being on the way to having a different scope for each day of the month🤣

I actually can’t wait for the weekend, until I see her, to show her! I’ve nothing compared to many people on this forum 😂

1 hour ago, Stu said:

I should probably just plead the fifth here…..

Currently it sits at 16, with two additional projects yet to be completed.

EDIT Fogot my Omni 120mm so that’s 17 😬

Most used are the FC-76DCU, FC100DC, FS-128, 8” f8, 16” and the two PST mods. I should really move a few on, but there are some comparisons I want to make between the ST and LT 80mm, some are kept for sentimental type reasons (Telementor and Alkor) and some like the Genesis and FL102S I just need to use more! Clouds!!! 🤬

Zeiss Telementor

TAL Alkor

77mm f11.8 Hilkin

ST80

LT80AZ

FS-60Q

FC-76DCU

FC-100DC

Genesis

FL102S

Vixen 102mm PST Mod

Celestron Omni 120mm XLT

FS-128

AstroSystems 150mm f6

150mm f10 PST Mod

Orion Optics 8” f8

16” f4.2 Truss Dob

 

150mm f10 Project

12” f6 (Nichol Mirror set) Truss dob

This is a great post @Stu for demonstrating to my family that my five scopes could get a whole lot worse. Thank you! 😂

PS. That really is an amazing collection.

My new Mewlon 180C double mounted with an FC100DZ on an AZ-EQ5. I’m still not sure if I like this mount. I’ve started using it in tracking only mode rather than GoTo which is better. The very quick session with the Mewlon was fantastic though - barely first light as the clouds rolled in but M42 and the Pleiades looked fantastic, and the double cluster with the 41mm Panoptic was the best view I’ve ever had of this target. I’m looking forward to getting to know this beautiful scope a lot better!

I’m just back from a week in Iceland and unfortunately didn’t see any Aurora. However the Golden Circle is fantastic, as well as a drive along the south coast taking in the glacier and waterfalls as far as Vik. We stayed at Horel Ranga which has an observatory and Aurora wake up calls (and wonderful food and a beautiful hotel!). Although there was lots of snow about, driving was easy as the roads were cleared and we had no problems getting around the parts of the country we visited. There was a nice amount of darkness with truly spectacular sunrises and sunsets. We had plenty of clear skies - we were just unlucky not to see the Aurora. I might have to visit again in October based on the recommendations you have had already!
 

However, I was also in Finland last year in late March and I absolutely loved it. We stayed at Arctic Skylight Lodge in their glass cabins and I saw unbelievable Aurora. The food and atmosphere there was so beautiful and I definitely recommend Finland which I think is a bit underrated as an Aurora destination. I’ve attached a few photos of the cabin and some iPhone snaps of the Aurora - one taken through the cabin roof. I do think the cabin made a big difference as we could watch the sky for any aurora without going outside and it meant we didn’t miss any of it. 

I have five, which my mum thinks is way too many and I think is almost enough:

1. A Takahashi FC76-DCU refractor - my favourite and used all the time.

2. An Altair Astro 102 ED-R refractor 

3. A Takahashi FC100DZ refractor 

4. A 12” Explore Scientific Ultralight dob

5. A Takahashi Mewlon 180C Dall Kirkham - new and has only been out for one session so far.

These are all complementary apart from the two 4” apos but I love both of them so much I can’t bear to part with one!

I found it pretty easily with 10 x 50 binoculars last night at 9pm. I navigated from Alpheratz and I thought it was fairly bright and an easy target. Hoping for another clear night tomorrow to try it with a 3” refractor!