Nicola Fletcher

Thanks @Geoff Barnes for your ideas and input! Like you, I’ve an idea of what would be visible in the Southern Hemisphere, but less of an idea of what should be visible at the equator. 47 Tuc and the Tarantula would be real bucket list targets for me - here’s hoping!

I’m off to the Serengeti, Tanzania, in September. We will be camping in Northern Serengeti (approximately 3 degrees S) and I am hoping that I may get a glimpse of the LMC (Especially the Tarantula Nebula), SMC and 47 Tuc while I am there. According to SkySafari, these will rise above the horizon to the south. What do you think? Is it possible that I could get a good view of these? SkySafari looks like this might be possible although they will be fairly low in the sky. I’m also trying to decide whether to bring my FC76-DCU or just my binoculars. Any opinions would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance!

I just love the look of that setup! I’m sure you will really enjoy using it - I had a Celestron Mak for many years and I enjoyed it so much.

What a great story @JeremyS, I too first read Starlight Nights from a copy at the library. I’ve managed to get my own copy now and it is one of my treasures. I also love Telescopic Work for Starlight Evenings by Denning. I managed to get an original copy but it was expensive and I doubt there are too many still available. The electronic copy is freely available online though as far as I remember.

Thanks for such a great report - your excitement came through and it was a great read! I’ve not had the pleasure of looking through a dob but your report certainly made me want to even more!

What a great story - it must have been an incredible sight. It’s still a pretty spectacular place although the wind can be biting from there even today!

The location is an isolated cottage in Co Wexford that I have rented several times. I suppose that’s one of the main advantages of the Grab n Go setup - it fits in the car alongside all the other bits and pieces I bring with me! 😊

Yet another Tak - my FC76-DCU. I can make it more grab and go with a smaller mount but I really like the AZ-EQ5!

I’m sure more experienced people will give their recommendations and obviously it depends on your budget, but the Altair Starwave or Starfield from FLO 4 inch refractors have very good reviews and I think are good all-rounders. Similar scopes are sold by several suppliers but here are two examples: https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-102ed-r-fpl53-refractor-459-p.asp https://www.firstlightoptics.com/starfield-telescopes/starfield-102mm-f7-ed-doublet-refractor.html The Altair version also comes with FPL-51, rather than FPL-53, glass which is less expensive. I bought the Altair Starwave 102 ED-R just over a year ago, based on good reviews here and on other sites, and I’m delighted with it as an all round portable refractor.

Some telescopes are more beautiful than others - if that was in my living room I would never look at the television!!

Best of luck for a few more clear nights this weekend. I have clear skies, all going well, promised for Sunday, and a list waiting too!!

Thanks for the report Dave, it was a really enjoyable read! Orion is also something I never tire of - it’s great to have it back!

Eacellent, really looking forward to giving it a try!

Wow, thank you! That really means a lot 😊 I will keep going and hopefully improve - I’m really enjoying sketching and have been very inspired by your sketches and others on this forum. I’ll tackle a planet next!

Congratulations on getting such a wonderful little scope. There’s just something lovely about the FC76 DCU isn’t there! Mine has done some local-ish travel but whenever I read about truly dark skies or the wonders of the southern skies, I am very glad that I will be able to bring the FC76 if I am lucky enough to travel to these places!

I think this method might be easier than trying to work with paper and pencils - the paintbrush technique with the pastel powder is fun to work with and easy to erase (literally by rubbing with your finger) if you make a mistake!

These are far from perfect, but I'm very keen to record some of my observations so decided to give sketching a go. I've been following the Mellish technique shown here: using black drawing paper with white chalk pastels, sandpaper, paintbrushes and pastel pencils. M13 was my first attempt and I got a bit carried away and I think recorded more detail than I actually saw (!), but I'm happier with some of the other attempts, although I've kept them quite simple. If any experienced sketchers see this, I'd be really interested to know how you record sky conditions (seeing, transparency and anything else). I have been trying to estimate seeing and transparency using the Astronomical League's guidelines, but find it difficult to use Ursa Minor for transparency as it is situated to the north, where I have some light pollution, so I think I would always rate it worse than it actually is using that method. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

Great that you are giving it a try too - I’m looking forward to seeing your sketches! I’m using pastels on black paper - they look awful when I photograph the page with my camera - I’ll try scanning some tomorrow to see if they scan ok.

I’ve just started sketching too but I’m using a small Feathertouch red torch that I put on a table beside me and shine it obliquely on the page. I’m just putting the main features onto the page at the telescope and finishing it indoors. If I had an observatory it might be different but sketching on frozen grass at the scope has made me prioritise what I want to record!

I love this photo! Must have a look for them next time I’m out on a clear night. Easy to remember with a name like ‘celestial goaty family’ - brilliant 😂

I agree - it’s much cheaper to order it from the USA than to pay the crazy prices this side of the pond! I have SkySafari and there’s no doubt it’s very convenient- but I much prefer atlases and the S&T atlas is a perfect complement to the Interstellarum deep sky atlas and guide IMHO 😊

I don’t think it is out of print - I ordered one directly from S&T and it arrived just after Christmas with no problems.

Fantastic Stu - great to see that you can get such nice images with the iPhone 😊 Do you think the CQ Extender is a worthwhile investment for the FC76-DCU? I’m still undecided about whether to get one.

At last I managed to find an original copy of this book - I’m very excited to read it!

Loved your report - I especially empathise with that feeling of racing from object to object before the clouds roll in! Really glad you had a good night with your travelscope- mine is yet to really travel!