paulastro
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Posts posted by paulastro
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Superb Geoff, a great piece of work. You should be really proud of what you have achieved. We'll done indeed !
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Views through cloud from 8.57 to 9.14 am with Altair 80 ED-R. Alas, only time to observe in WL, and that's probably it for the day. A nice active disc with the SN up 50 on yesterday's figure.
Two single frames below with the Altair and Olympus E-M5 Mk11, both at 1/50 at 200asa.
A GONG image from just after I was clouded out is also added. Plenty of activity in HA if you have a chance.
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Excellent Nigella, that's a great capture. Alas, by the time I'd taken my snaps in WL this morning I didn't have time to roll put the PST. ( before the conditions deteriorated again).
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Single frame and crop taken at 10.31am. Altair 80 ED-R and Olympus E-M5 Mk11.
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Weather forecast hopeless today, hence the single frame below taken at 9.12am in haze at an altitude of 4.7 degrees. The great detail I couldn't capture can be seen on the spaceweather pic. Altair 80 ED-R, Olympus E-M5 Mk11. Forecast better fir most of us tomorrow 🙂.
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Single frame and crop taken at 12.09pm in ten minute window between clouds. Altair 80 ED-R, Olympus E-M5 Mk11, 1/320 at 200 asa.
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I was lucky to catch a couple of minutes of sun through light cloud for my first view of active area AR3182 this morning. It looks very promising for further activity. Single frame plus crops taken at 10.43am. Altair 80 ED-R, Olympus E-M5 Mk11 on Scopetech Zero mount.
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Clouds aren't all bad, I'm a paid up member of the Cloud Appreciation Society. Yes, really, look it up 😊.
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14 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:
Thanks for the heads up, if only I had decent clear skies, lol.
Nigella, it's not looking too bad for Friday morning up here at the moment.
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2 hours ago, Alkaid said:
Good stuff! I noticed myself that the sphinx (bottom right hand of Sinus Iridum) was extremely prominent that evening.
Thank you, its good to know someone else noticed it, I can't recall seeing it so well. Spectacular through the telescope. Regards, Paul
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8 hours ago, Barry Fitz-Gerald said:
Many rate "Atlas of the Moon" by Antonin RUKL quite highly, but it is increasingly difficult to get hold of now and the plates are based on drawings - excellent drawings - but drawings nevertheless:
This is a photographic atlas- again hard to get hold of and again at what some may consider daft prices. The plates are based on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) photos, and includes details on specific areas within each plate - interesting but not particularly useful at the eyepiece.
This is the best of the bunch I think - it is in German, but the plates excellent (based again on LRO images) and the features have the same names (surprise!). Again hard to get hold of but I found this:
https://www.omegon.eu/oculum-verlag-buch-reiseatlas-mond/p,33091
And this is an updated version of the last one, looks like it is in English, but not cheap:
The last two, Buch Reiseatlas Mond and Duplex Moon Atlas are on laminated paper so can be used in the damp night air, the 21st Century Atlas is on shiny gloss paper, but I suspect not up to too much dampness and the RUKL one is on normal paper, so best read in front of the fire with a cup of tea.
Many thanks for posting this Garry. I'd never heard of the Duplex Lunar Atlas, though it hasn't been available for long. It looks very good, but I've not been able to find a review anywhere. It looks very tempting.
Thanks, Paul
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A good evening from about 4.40 to 6.05pm, using Celestron StarSense 8inch dob.
Some of the best detail I've seen in these areas. In Sinus Iridum there was fine detail in the N running along the base of the Jura Mtns toward the prominence.
Gassendi was right on the terminator, looking rather like a bird looking to the right to me 🙂. There was also great Wrinkle Ridge detail in M Humorum.
Two single frames below to show the lunation, but a poor representation of the detail visible. Both taken at prime focus with a x2 barlow element screwed into the two inch photo adapter to bring the image to focus. Both images 1/80 at 1000asa effectively operating at f12.
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Now apparently mag 7.5 and forecast to become mag 5. Visible now in the morning sky and on database of SkySafari Pro and Celestron StarSense Explorer App.
http://aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html
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Well I managed to see the Uranus Occultation, but only just..
Out by 10.05 and I could see the Moon well enough, through varying thicknesses of cloud. No sign of Uranus though! Using the 8inch Starsense Dob, it wasn't until 10.14 it popped into view, though only for a couple of minutes. A lovely light green disc to my eyes. I was lucky, as it came back into view about a minute before it was due to be occultated. After a minute or it went behind the dark limb of the Moon - phew, a close call. Almost immediately the cloud thickened and the Moon itself was completely hidden from view.
I waited for the reappearance, but although I could see the Moon's limb, the cloud was too thick to see Uranus. Still, perhaps I was being too greedy expecting to see both phases of the occultation .
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Great Mike, I'll expect to see a sketch. See you next year .
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Well I managed to see the Uranus Occultation, but only just..
Out by 10.05 and I could see the Moon well enough, through varying thicknesses of cloud. No sign of Uranus though! Using the 8inch Starsense Dob, it wasn't until 10.14 it popped into view, though only for a couple of minutes. A lovely light green disc to my eyes. I was lucky, as it came back into view about a minute before it was due to be occultated. After a minute or it went behind the dark limb of the Moon - phew, a close call. Almost immediately the cloud thickened and the Moon itself was completely hidden from view.
I waited for the reappearance, but although I could see the Moon's limb, the cloud was too thick to see Uranus. Still, perhaps I was being too greedy expecting to see both phases of the occultation 🙂.
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Great Mike, I'll expect to see a sketch. See you next year 😊.
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Out last evening with the 8inch StarSense Dob. I went out paticularly for the Moon. Set up by 5.50pm.
Surprisingly, the seeing was excellent. Close to first quarter, the detail near the terminator was quite jaw dropping. There was great detail on show, but the sharpness and contrast was exceptional - and unexpected with strong winds which made me keep a firm grip on the scope. The large knob at the eyepiece end and the handle on the tube were very helpful in this respect.
I also wasn't using my binoviewer as usual, but my Baader Mk111 zoom, which made the quality of the image even more impressive. Set at 8mm (×125), the view would have convinced any doubters about how well a good zoom can perform. Indeed, it was as good as you could expect from any fixed focal length eyepiece.
Alas, I only had a 35mt session until the forecast cloud consumed the Moon. Well worth the effort though, and a session I won't forget.
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I meant to say hard knock!
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cajen2, you'd have to have given it a knock to put the collimation out, particularly as it sounds as if you were a bit over enthusiastic on the tightening front when collimating it. Just easy them all off and recollimate if necessary - you don't need them to be tight.
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I went out with the Celestron 8inch StarSense Explorer dob from 10.15 to about 11.45pm when cloud came in.
I had some nice views of Mars, Syrtis Major, Sinus Sibaeus and Aeria being the main features on show. Also looked at a few deep sky objects before the sky came in.
The Orion Neb looked particularly fine due to a very transparent sky and steady seeing conditions. The best view since returning from Kelling in October. Beautiful views of M35, zooming in and out with the Baader Mk111. Castor looked great, just like two headlights looming out of the darkness. M1 and M41 looked good, and I just had to say goodnight to ET before the cloud came in 😊.
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Mm, I'll have to sort something else out to sell 😊.
JAN 15TH - WL- SESSION PHOTO-BOMBED !!
in The Astro Lounge
Posted
A lovely spotty disc, SN170, AR3190 plus 9 other AAs. Quite a surprise when the unexpected guest arrived. Great views in HA too if you have the means.