Saganite

Just tried both and no luck tonight, not even close, even struggled to split Rigel, so the seeing has deteriorated somewhat.

I wasn't able to get out until 9pm this evening and I have been mostly Moon gazing at 184x using my Denk II bino , pretty cool really; difficult to drag myself away to be honest, but I will, for Orion....in a while

Here you go Stu....

Quite right, Mike has little idea of what he is going to buy, but he will be tempted and we will be there to assist. What else are friends for... For myself, I cannot think of anything, but anything will do. Looking forward to meeting everyone again.

Drooling..🙂

You should definitely come along....

Hope it stays and you get some good observing John. The sky has been clear and blue all day but now solid cloud. Monday is looking good.

I will be there Mike with my list of things for you to buy...

Complete cloud cover and damp here in my part of Cambridgeshire, but no complaints, Tuesday night and Wednesday night were excellent sessions.

Moving on from Jupiter for a break, I had a look at Gamma Ceti below and West of the gas giant. I don't recall looking at this before. A very neat pair with a separation of about 1.9" really lovely split at 167x, and then just below that M77. I am using my little Carton Zoom tonight and backed off to 21mm and 55x, the Galaxy's core showed quite brightly which was pleasing as I am not up for swapping eyepieces about tonight, and didn't wish to put the 2" 30mm in the focuser. There are several Galaxies in the same location but tonight's transparency is not as good as last night so it will be for another time.

The sky is clear and good again, Pickering 6 I think, so off to a flyer with Saturn, catching it early, unlike last night, clear through the twigs of the Mimosa tree, she blossomed ( ) I could only pick out Titan in the twilight. Jupiter, similar time and plenty of detail as last night. Albireo, a lovely split with superb colours and the pretty little cluster M29. Epsilon Lyrae sharp and clean at 85x, now low in the west and only just clear of yet another tree ! Using just the 6" at the moment but with my Vixen mounted as well, and aligned, I shall spend more time with Foxy this evening.

The wind has been gradually increasing so didn't use the Dob just remained in the obsy. Apart from the four planets, eight double stars, and 12 Messiers, five hours of delight and that will do....

The excellent seeing from early evening during the Io transit has continued I am glad to say, but not improved greatly. It is however good enough to win a beautiful split of both Orionis 52 and 32, both difficult unless the seeing obliges. After so long without observing it is just a treat to visit old friends even if I have done so a thousand times before. The air is cold and crisp and the sky transparency is pretty good. As soon as Orion clears the big Silver Birch I will have a crack at the Trapezium and I am confident that it will yield the E&F stars tonight. My Dob has been out cooling for four hours so far, waiting for a good Messier hunt later, even though my 6" refractor picked out M33 again, albeit with averted vision. After the Jupiter transit I had a look at Neptune a lovely pale blue orb, and Uranus appearing just greyish tonight although it presented a very sharp disc, which surprised me a bit. I left Saturn too late unfortunately. I could see it but only through the twigs and sticks of my wife's Mimosa tree, which also gets in the way sometimes. My complaint and request for the secateurs when I went in for supper, was met with silence...so I didn't pursue it.....🤐 .

Excellent seeing here, so far. Io now on the limb of Jupiter and the shadow about central. Lots of detail at 156x, but it will take a lot more tonight I think !

That happened to me last year, bino and both panoptic eyepieces hit the deck. The eyepieces received scratches but I was more concerned for the collimation of the Denk binoviewer, which, thankfully , was fine. This happened at the last occultation of Uranus by the Moon, and because It was cloudy and I had to grab the opportunity , I rushed to the front garden to set up and forgot to tighten adequately the diagonal holding the bino. I did catch the start of the occultation though..🙂

Well I love Epsilon Lyrae more than than Sirius B, so I am not complaining.....

Well I do not like damned undercuts, so I will hope.

My previous post set me thinking, starved as I am of stargazing thanks to all this wretched rain, and I looked back through my folder of observing notes and it was 16th Jan 2023 to which I referred. Recorded as Pickering 6 with very good transparency, it was indeed a stunning session of some 4 hours duration, during which I finally captured Orionis 52 and 32 ( a challenge started by John's observation of them a year or so before, at which I had failed several times ), E&F in the Trapezium, and the Pup at 9.37pm and several times thereafter. I recorded the power at 343x , so no wonder I stayed out. Prior to that memorable occasion my notes record that I saw the Pup 3 times on 5th Jan 2022, a similar time at the eyepiece, same time of year , with seeing and transparency as good, and the E&F stars at 11pm. That night I was using my beloved Andromeda 5" f15 refractor. How I miss that telescope...😢 Perhaps the weather is going to be kind and a 'hat trick ' is in the offing over the next few nights, particularly Tuesday, showing clear at the moment. If it does, then good luck to all ...

All the prerequisites for seeing Sirius B have been mentioned, but as Dave ( F15 Rules ) said, perseverance is needed. Last Winter I glimpsed the Pup several times during the 40 odd minutes that I observed it, as the seeing fluctuated, as it does, unless it is perfect..

That is interesting. I observed both in my 6" during November and whilst Neptune appeared pale blue, Uranus I saw as Greyish green. Not sure about Voyager's observations....🤣

I agree. I have had many memorable views of Jupiter over the years but through my 6" refractor and binoviewer on August 7th 2022 just before dawn, I saw an image I shall never forget. The seeing was perfect and allowed a high power and I simply could not take in all the detail.

I used a OOVX12L f5.3 12" Dob for several years , moving it about the garden and rarely needed to collimate, in fact, as largish dobs go, I thought the OO was the best of several well known brands that I used. I agree with Mr Spock, it is more likely to be the mirror assembly causing the problem.

Well done, you have a superb scope there!....👍

Please buy it someone, my hands are numb from sitting on them..🙂

May be so Tim, but I think that people do not understand that this is a refractor on a par with a 100mm Tak IMHO. After all, I sold my FC100 DC to buy my Vixen ED 103 and I miss nothing.