paulastro

Mmm, how long has mikeDnight been an SGL member? 😄

A friend of mine has a 152 f9 (if I remember correctly) Starfire which I've used a few times when Ive been staying in the Midlands. It is a very nice scope, but I haven't used it in first class seeing conditions. The images are excellent, but for me, it hasn't given me the wow factor I've had using Tak FS128 and FS152 fluorite doublets in the past. Of course, unless you compare them side by side in similiar seeing conditions, its almost impossible to make any really meaningful comparison. Also, even if you read a side by side review done by someone else in excellent seeing conditions, found regularly in some locations, this is not the whole story. If your own local seeing conditions are generally inferior, then you might never see the advantages of the better scope even if you had one. Seeing is a great leveler, a SW 150ED may be as good in your own backyard as a Tak or an AP on the vast majority of nights. I won't even mention the ability and experience of the observer, oops, I have now! 😁.

I agree. I had a look around 10am for a while in some gaps in the heavy cloud, and at that time it was very impressive. GONG indicates the filament is still very srriking as it was when I was observing - and that was with a PST. The proms look less active than at 10am on the current GONG images.

I'm delighted you're finding it useful Rob 🙂.

Blimey, do you live in Yorkshire?! 😁 We had some snow yesterday, but it cleared late afternoon and we had a frosty night and clear skies earlier this morning. Not now!

Easily visible in PST, GONG pic above.

Many thanks Stu, that's just like what Barkers Quadrangle looked like when I observed it!

Stu is quite correct, nothing to download, just the link. When you generate an image you can just look at it, or save it if you want to keep it.

Thanks Stu, I can hardly believe it's as good as it is myself 😄.

This brilliant software gives a photographic quality reproduction of the terminator lighting when you put in the date and time. I tested it by putting in the time and date that I last took a pic I had taken showing the Lunar X. (March 30th at 21.00). It came up with the exact same lighting as my photo. Every shadow and detail were the same - though of course the quality of the photos in the NASA archive are rather better than my single frame efforts!! The view was exactly what I had seen while observing. Quite astonishing. It's the best software, by a mile, for this purposes I have ever seen. Here's the link for it. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4874 With thanks to Ade Ashford who sent me the link. One thing to mention, the images are quite large and I couldnt open the high res images on my phone - though newer phones than mine might work. I had to use my laptop.

This area is very obvious in a PST, you can find it with ref to the two proms on the limb on the attached GONG frame. Looks like there is a small filament running through the middle of it.

Many thanks Mark. I guess the two scopes must be of a similiar age. I ordered my PST from Astrofest when it first debuted. and took delivery a few weeks later. It may have been 2005. Yours has certainly been put to good use! 🙂.

Am I invited to the birthday party Jeremy? I'll bring a bottle! 😃 🍷

Thank you Mark, that's really interesting. It gives me more hope that the one I have on loan will not deteriorate further. It's certainly better than some other PSTs Ive used over the years which have had an unblemished lens! Out of interest Mark, what is the serial number of yours? The one I have is 94116, which may be about that age.

Solar B and Carbon Brush. Many thanks for responding, it's much appreciated. 🙂

I was out from 11.30pm on 29th until 1.00am on 30th with the Tecnosky 102ED F7. The seeing was very poor, but it was clearly visible in moments of better seeing when it would pop into view. I used the binoviewer, x2 barlow and 24 and 16.8 Orthos. I took many single frames, and the frame below was the best of the bunch. Taken at 23.57pm on 29th with the Olympus E-M5 Mk11 on 1/400 at 200 asa. There are two crops from the same frame, necessarily over prossessed to shop up Barkers Quadrangle. I've also added the drawing (inverted) by Nigel Longshaw from his article in the Feb edition of Astronomy Now.

Great images Charl, looked at this a few mts ago on a PST. Havent any HA gear of my own, but a friend loaned me one which I picked up yesterday - just in time for this prom! I'm yearning for a HA scope of my own again now! Just a shame I havent any money. I wonder how much I'd get for the Dyson and the fridge freezer? 🙂

Easy with PST

I have a PST on loan from a good friend as I currently have no HA facility myself. I have used many over the years as well as larger DS scopes and mods. Observed with this one yesterday and it showed all the proms and most of the surface features, in only average conditions at best. The background is very black and it was sharp on the 8mm setting on my zoom. It has a very rusty objective, two pics below from different angles. It's an early example, SN 94116. If I had not looked at the rust, I would have thought the objective was in good condition. What I'd like to know is if it is inevitable the rusting will keep deteriorating until it is unuseable, or does it only deteriorate so far? Many thanks.

Please see previous heads up for details. Weather looks fairly good for tonight in many places, even including Yorkshire 🙂.

I was out for a brief session early evening before cloud and then heavy rain arrived. Out from 5.55 to 7.20pm with the 102ED F7. Single frame below taken at 6.56pm, 1/250 at 400 asa. Plus crop from the same frame. I've also added the pic I took yesterday when only the N wall of Bailly was illuminated. Pleased to have been able to observe the Moon six nights out of the last seven - unusual around these parts 🙂.

Thank you Nik, glad you had a view tonight too, I was out myself, and as you say Bailly was fully visible. I've managed some observations myself six times out of the last seven nights, unusual around here 🙂.

As promised, here's a reminder of another opportunity to observe Barkers Quadrangle post midnight on March 29th/30th - next Monday/Tuesday. To save me writing it all out again, I've put a link below to my original post.

I'd be very surprised if you're not really delighted with it. I took delivery of mine it mid December and it's a stunning performer - and I've owned and used more scopes than I can remember in the last fifty years! 🙂

Had a session from approx 6.15 to 7.O5 pm. Using Tecnosky 102ED F7. Aritstarchus was the eye catcher, but to the S of it near the terminator was Marius, and adjacent to the NW of Marous was the Marius Hills. In my scope there were numerous little humps - rather like mole hills in a field under low illumination! Not mole hills, but actually an area of volcanic cones cut by sinuous rilles, though I couldn't see the latter in the 102mm. It is the largest concentration of volcanic cones on the Moon. To the E along the terminator from well placed Schickard, are the three craters Zucchius, Bettinus and Kircher and immediately to the S of them the sun was rising over the outer walls of Bailly the largest crater on the Moon's near side. Below is a single frame and two crops of the main areas of interest.