orion25

Great shot! Reggie

That's great! Congratulations! I surmised that it must be in its dimmest phase at this time. I usually can see it pretty easily since I know the area so well.

Awesome capture! I'm waiting for it close in on Polaris and become an evening object. It should be in good position and magnitude at perigee!

Interesting point. I've found that dark adaptation actually helped me to see the color as well as the star itself; my eyes become more sensitive to both the dim light and the hue.

Here are some other designations: AAVSO 0455-14, BD−15 915, GC 6093, HD 31996, HIP 23203, HR 1607, IRC -10080, PPM 215123, RAFGL 667

I tried and tried the other night, but for the life of me I couldn't spot it. It must be very dim at this time.

Has it been a year already? Well, here it is, my annual Orion Nebula photo, a single 15s exposure taken at ISO 3200 using my 127mm Mak and Nikon D3200 camera: Clear skies! Reggie 🤩

Thanks, George. It was quite unexpected; I wasn't even planning on imaging! I set my 127mm "Lil' Mak" to view Mars and my reflector for Jove/Saturn for a relaxing evening of planetary observing. With my attention primarily on the god of War, I took a cursory glance at Jupiter and noticed a distinct "dot" near the right limb! A closer look revealed the shrinking GRS near the other limb! And then there's Io, off to the right, casting its shadow🤩! Wow! I bolted inside to get the ASI224mc and my 180mm "Big Mak" as Jovian events change rather quickly and captured some data! I was very chuffed with the results! While I was at it, I got some great Mars data as well (but that's for another post, lol). On another note, my attention generally turns to Hind's Crimson Star and the Orion Nebula in January as they are ideally positioned for me this time of year. How are you and the missus? Regards, Reggie

Thanks for the resurrection, Nik! R Leporus is always a worthwhile target this time of year. I'm taking a look tonight! Clear skies, Reggie

Thanks, Rob!

Thanks, Kon!

Thanks, Geof!

I was able to capture all of the above with the ASI 224mc and Orion 180mm Mak using lucky imaging on the second night of 2023: Clear skies! Reggie

Thanks, Richard

There's hope! I'm trying to avoid getting a larger aperture scope at the moment. Thanks, Chris

I know it. I haven't been to do so with my current equipment. My largest instrument is 180mm.

Thanks, Gus

First clear night in about a week and I jumped at the chance to gaze at Mars and gather some image data! Great seeing and transparency, however, visually, detail was quite soft. Still can't see Olympus Mons in the eyepiece, but Solis Lacus was evident. The image data revealed much more clarity: Clear skies! Reggie

Thanks, Geof. It came out better than I expected. You can see the redness of Mars distinctly. What a stark contrast

Here is my best image of the Mars Opposition this cycle, taken with the ASI224mc using the Orion 180mm Mak, captured in Firecapture, processed in Registax 6, post-processed in Photoshop: I was able to get Olympus Mons before it rotated out of view, and the polar regions and some cloud appeared to be visible: Visually, I could only see the dark albedo regions as the planet was almost white from the full illumination of the sun. Its close brush with the moon was exciting also (the moon didn't occult Mars from my latitude, instead coming within 0.5 degrees of the Red Planet): I dodged copious cloud all evening and was fortunate to capture some data and get some prime-focus shots during breaks. Soon, however, clouds took over and I called it a night. But oh, what a night! Cheers, Reggie

Brilliant!

Nice shot!

Great animation. Mars wasn't occulted in my location in the southern United States, I'm glad you were able to capture this!