paulastro

Out from 9.00 pm to 00.45 am to try and catch Aristarchus on the terminator. Managed some nice views despite poor seeing and a Moon determined to play hide and seek. Photography taking single frames was difficult because of the rapidly changing seeing, but I did get one which made it worthwhile. Using the SW 120ED, Ercole mount, and the Olympus E-M5 Mk11. Two frames reproduced below, one taken at 23.47 pm and the other at 23.49pm. The whole Moon shot is cropped to show J Herschel / Mare Frigoris and also Gassendi / Mare Humorum. The pic of Aristarchus is a crop of the second frame.

Many thank Philip, I'll take a look. I downloaded LunarMap HD yesterday which looks fabulous. (couldn't download it previously as my phone wasn't up to it, but I've just changed it). I also use Virtual Moon Atlas on my laptop. I'm really frustrated that the Moon Phase Photo Maps aren't available for Android as I mentioned to Stu.

Many thanks Chris. I'm delighted you had a view, I'm a little surprised you never had 'The Beast' up and running 😄.

I had two sessions overnight out in the observatory. Using the SW 120ED on the Ercole mount, visual observations with the binoviewer, using 24 and 16.8 mm Orthos in turn, depending on the seeing. I hadn't envisaged having a second session, but in the first one ( 5.15 to 6.15 pm ) I noticed that Gassendi's E walls were just starting to catch the rising sunlight at the N end of Mare Humorum. I checked the LunarMap HD app which indicated that it would be fully in view by around 11.00pm. Hence I decided to have a second look, and went out from about 11.30 pm to 1.30 am when the cloud rolled in. I has some fabulous views both session, but it was particularly nice to see Gassendi with low sunlight across the whole crater. The pics below are taken from two single frames using the Olympus E-M5 MK11. The first was taken at 5.47 pm, showing the whole Moon, and three crops taken from it. They show Sinus Iridum ( not quite at the 'Cup Handle' stage!), Gassendi and Mare Humorum with the sunlight just catching its E walls, and the S limb from the Hainzal/Mee 'double crater' in the W to Clavius in the East. The area on the S limb was amazingly complex with crowded limb detail. The second pic taken at 00.04 am shows Gassendi now entirely Illuminated by low sunlight at the N end of Mare Humorum, the wrinkle rims in Humorium were very nicely showing - at least visually! It was nice to have a couple of snaps of a very enjoyable and memorable observing session.

Love the Moon Phase Photo Maps Stu. Alas, for me, the app is only available for the iPhone 😭. Anything like it for Android does anyone know?

I'm so pleased that so many folks managed a view and thought it was worthwhile. There are some great posts here and I'll be going through them and replying to some tomorrow - off to bed shortly. I've just posted up a brief report and some pics on LUNAR IMAGING.

Lovely session late afternoon / early evening today. Out from 4.50 pm to 6.25 pm in observatory with SW 120ED on Ercole mount, visual obs with binoviewer and 16.8 mm Orthos, some single frames taken with Olympus E-M5 Mk11. The frame below was taken at 5.49 pm, 1/250 sec at 400 asa, the close-ups are crops of the same frame. Copernicus was placed close to the terminator and as good a view as I can recall having - I can't remember a better one. The best time was from as soon as I had set up until about 6.00 pm when, as the sun rose, some of the detail fell away and the view was far less dramatic than it had been - though still well worthwhile. I stopped observing at one time to put an alert on SGL and also to shut the observatory roof at one stage when heavy rain briefly interrupted. Visually Copernicus and it's environs, the N of Mare Imbrium and the s Highlands were really spectacular. My rather low-res images don't do it justice, but at least I have a momento of a very memorable session. ** FEB 4TH - Replaced crop of Copernicus with a slightly brighter version.

Don't miss it if you can get out, going back to telescope!

Many thanks Craig. I tend to just leave the asa at 400. You are right though, I'll try and remember to adjust it down when conditions allow. Regards, Paul

Single frame taken at 5.05 pm, SW 120ED, Olympus E-M5 Mk11, 1/250 sec, 400 asa. Again. lucky to have about an hour mostly clear. Stopped session when rain suddenly started falling on the observatory roof. Imbrium and Delandres/S Highlands well placed.

That's very kind of you Mike, how thoughtful. My older eyes (my youngest daughter gleefully told me I was officially an 'elderly' person the other day) need a bit more light than a four inch telescope provides at the magnifications my 120ED will support, but thanks anyway.

Many thanks Stu. Yes, you are quite right about the date, I've changed it. Thanks for pointing this out, it was of course yesterday evening. The shadows were spectacular, looked fabulous visually didn't they. When I first went out the shadows weren't visible, or not much as the crater floor was still fairly dark. They lengthened quite quickly once the sun rose a little. At best they stretched a long way across the floor of Ptolemaeus, and they were like that when the cloud came in for me at around 7.50 pm. In your picture, an hour or so after my observation from what you say, the sun was higher in the sky of course so they are quite a bit shorter already.

You've done a great job there Mike. It's nice to see any 'distressed' astronomical equipment brought back into a state where it can once again do what it's supposed to do, under the stars 👍.

mikeDnight said: The seeing conditions on the night were very good, so it might be expected the 120ED would at least keep up with the smaller Tak, but they were worlds apart, with the equatorial and temperate belts, that were packed with detail, almost jumping out in 3D. Really Mike? Were you wearing your 3-D viewing spectacles at the time? 🤣 Of course it is possible that the seeing was enough to favour the Tak a bit over the larger aperture 120ED on the night, though I'm sure you'll say it wasn't 😊. Of course, the Tak is the better optical quality,, but it does depend what you're using it for. For planetary the 100 DC you have is hugely suitable, as it's smaller aperture means that the image is less dazzling at any particular magnification so the detail is not swamped as it can be in larger apertures. I'm well aware how good the Taks are for planetary, I remember when we shared that memorable view of Jupiter with my DL. For some people though, as an all-round telescope larger apertures can be better than smaller Taks. For my eyes a four inch scope just wouldn' t do it as my only scope if deep-sky objects were the target. This is the reason I reluctantly sold my four inch refractor to buy a 120ED came up at a great price, It would be great if you could join us at Kelling this year, your Tak will show far more detail on deep sky than it will at home, though not as much as my 120ED of course 😃.

I was lucky to have an unexpected clear patch for a couple of hours in the evening. I spent most of the time on visual observing, but did record the rather spectacular terminator with a single frame with my Olympus E-M5 MK11, 1/160 sec at 400 taken at 7.17 pm. I was using the SW 80ED on the AZ5. This was as the shadows lengthened across Ptolamaeus from sunlight catching the tops of some of the surrounding hills. This was a fine sight using my binoviewer. Archimedes' walls were just catching the sunlight on the E edge of Mare Imbriium and this area from Aristillius to Cassini in the N and cradled by the Apennines and Causacus Mtns in the E was full of detail. Just north of Casinni was the illumination effect caused by light catching the tops of some of the Alpine Mtns which I have always called the ALPINE FLOWER. They form what to me looks like a large round flower head on a stalk which finishes to the S just N of Cassini. It only lasts until the sun rises higher in the sky and other tops are illuminated which then engulfs the flower.. I've included two crops of my picture which show this, but it doesn't enlarge too well because of the low resolution. A really enjoyable session, more so considering the forecast was for 100% cloud.

Perhaps you ought to buy yourself another 80ED Mike!? 👍

Hi Alan. I have the Ercole on a a half pier on top of one of the old Orion Optics, very substantial, field tripods. The observatory walls are rather tall (a converted garage) and having it on a tripod enables me move it around to enable me to reach a little lower in altitude and still clear the walls.

John, what a fabulous subject, I wish I'd thought of it! I'll keep coming back to this one, I only use altaz mounts, love them - I don't use equatorials now and haven't done so for ages. I think I've found a mount no-one has mentioned yet, the Manfrotto 393 mount. It's main purposed is for large telephoto lenses, but it works extremely well for smaller scopes, I've used it with refractors up to 102mm Maks up to 127mm, a 5 inch SC - plus various solar and spotting scopes. It will also take any small reflector if they are not too long - the gap between the forks is a little over 6 1/2 inches. The forks locking knobs work extremely well and it comes with it's own dovetail system - easily attached straight to Skywatcher dovetails - which means balancing it is very easy. It can be used on any photo tripod or something more substantial. I've also included a pic of my AZ4 on a really tall, light-weight and robust surveyors tripod with my 120ED on board. The tripod was a massive bargain at £10 from a trader at last years Kelling star party. As well as the Manfrotto and AZ4, I have an AZ5 and an Ercole for use in my observatory. I've used or owned quite a few other altaz mounts too over the years. Thanks again for posting John.

I was out with the SW 80ED to see the crescent Moon, the forecast was poor (complete cloud) and nothing else was showing at the time. I wasn't expecting to have a chance to observe the conjunction so hadn't planned to. Anyway I had some nice views of the Moon and then Venus popped out amongst the cloud, made a pretty sight with the Moon below right of it. As it got a little darker Venus kept popping out, so rushed inside for my binoviewer and 24mm Orthos - this gives a half degree field and a mag of x100. The fact that the variable star Phi Aquarii is close by is very handy for making sure you're looking in the right place. At round about 5.30 I thought Neptune flashed into view. If that had been it, then I wouldn't have been sure it was Neptune. With some glare from nearby Venus on the light cloud that was passing by and not really sure if the conditions were good enough to see a planet at mag 7.9 I wasn't convinced. However, before I was enveloped by cloud at turned 6 pm I had several other glimpses, one of them was much clearer than the others - though all were extremely brief they were all in the same place, and there were no other contenders. Venus and the thin waxing crescent Moon were well worth the effort even if Neptune hadn't been involved, a nice unexpected session. As I came indoors a gritting lorry went up the hill in front of the house, and when indoors the forecast indicated the 'tops' would likely get some snow. Looks like an early start for me tomorrow to clear any snow to get to my hospital appointment. Don't you just love Yorkshire 🌝? I .

Many congratulations to both yourself and your daughter Dave, you must feel rightly proud. Good to see the pictures too, just a shame they are being kept in a museum and not put to good use on the night sky.

Many thanks Mark. Good to hear from you again. I have done an extensive comparison with a full set of colour filters on the planets many years ago, and have revisited since on a few occasions to see if I still felt the same - I did. Overall I came to the conclusion that I could not ever really see anything with a colour filter I couldn't see anyway without them. Colour filters do enhance some features of the planets, but often also obscure other features, and I always much preferred the unfiltered 'natural' colour. So in this respect I agree with yourself and John. When I first tried the Baader Contrast Booster in my binoviewer it was the first time ever I could actually see features I couldn't see or see features better (particularly Jupiter but also Mars) which is why I posted this topic originally. Like your experience with the Neodymium, up to the present I found the CB filter to be best, and after that no filter at all. In fact you saying this has reinforced a point of view I've just about come round to - that is I will have to get hold of a Neodymium filter well before the upcoming oppositions of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars this year. The cost of the filter, even if I have to end up buying one new, will be worth it for the piece of mind it will give me 😄.

Neil / Stu, many thanks for your responses. The yellow tint of the CB filter only bothered me if I used it on the Moon when it's not really dark, at other times I was ok with it. In a sky with any blue I found it too prominent and stopped me using it when the sky was at all blue. In fact I can't recall me noticing it at other times. I'll have to try it again as I haven't used it for a while. Another thing is that I only used it with my binoviewer, though I wouldn't expect this to make much difference. On Jupiter, as I said in my first post, it made a big difference to my eyes. I was happy with the CB, but, if apart from the yellow cast the two filters performed with no noticeable difference I would still consider getting the N&IR filter. The Moon is my favourite object and Ido observe it frequently at dusk and dawn, when I find the yellow cast objectionable. If the N&IRcut filter is colour neutral and on all objects they perform the same I would probably use it for much of my observing and perhaps deep sky too. Bearing in mind what people say and my own feelings, individual differences and preferences probably do play a part. So, if I bought the N&IRcut I could see how they compare for me on the different planets and the Moon and I can use them for the objects they show the best. As the planets and Moon are what I observe the most, the price of a filter, even at the new price, would seem to be a good investment for me. Thanks again.

Sorry about the previous post, it went haywire when I tried to edit it so I've started again - couldn't remove it or I would have done. Anyway, contemplating the upcoming favourable Mars opposition made me thing of using the Contrast Booster again which I haven't used for ages. I never did obtain a Neodymium & IR Cut Filter and re-reading everyone's contributions here I'm being tempted again to obtain one and try on it's own and in combination with the Contrast Booster Filter. I just wanted to ask if in the 17 months that have passed since my original post, has anyone anything else to add - particularly those who have already been kind enough to contribute to the thread? Also, I believe I read recently somewhere about a new Mars filter and wondered how that might have changed things - or not! Is it still a reasonable thing for me to be contemplating the purchase of the Neodymium & IR ? It's a lot of money for me so anyone's comments would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

On Dec 28 I had a nice view and took some photos of a thin crescent Moon. As it happened I managed to continue this every day until Jan 2nd. I then decided I may as well try and get in as many days photographing the lunar phase and observing the Moon during the current lunation. That is starting from the date of the last new Moon (Dec 26th) until the next one on January 24th. It became rather addictive and to extend the sequence of days my behaviour became rather extreme at times - and strange to my non-astronomical neighbours. Frequently out in cloudy skies just waiting for a break, and walking up the road with my setup if I couldn't see the Moon from my backyard. On a couple of occasions I was actually out taking pics when rain was falling. One of these was whilst trying to hold an umbrella over myself and the telescope/camera as the rain became more persistent. Well, how did I get on? Dec 26th. New Moon. Dec 28th to January 8th. A sequence of 12 days in a row. Jan 9th cloudy, not looking good for the penumbral eclipse on Jan 10th. Jan 10th Managed to see about the first 40 mts of the penumbral eclipse in difficult conditions. Jan 11th to 12th, clouded out both days. Jan 13th to Jan 22. A sequence of 10 days in a row. Jan 23rd. The Moon will be too close to the Sun for me to catch it apart from in daylight hours. Jan 24th New Moon. So, in summary I photographed the Moon and observed it on a total of 23 days during the period. I'm very pleased with this, especially considering that on the day of new moon and the day after/before it's not practical to observe. From the start I decided I wasn't going to observe during the daytime. I really had a great time and enjoyed it tremendously, though toward the end when I was getting up in the early hours it was hard going. The only reason I had the time to spend on my Moon Marathon was because I am recovering from an op and didn't have to go to work, every cloud has a silver lining! For all sessions I used either my SW 80ED on an AZ5 or my SW 120ED on an Ercole mount. All pics are single frames taken with an Olympus E-M5 Mk11. Below are a some of the numerous pics I took. There are included because I like them for various reason, rather than any particular merit they might otherwise have.

mikeDnight said: They're beautiful! It sends a shudder down my spine to think that I actually know you!! I know exactly how you feel Mike !! 🤪