Space Cowboy

Very nice Kostas! Conditions were very good tonight.

Thanks Neil. Looks properly clear tonight so I'll give it another bash (Venus not the scope) 😉

Thanks Kostas it was about 33 degrees which is a personal best for me though I should have had my solar towel as the OLED screen was reflecting badly. At first I thought there was a new hideous face on Venus but then realized it was my reflection 😱 Waiting for a new laser collimator to be delivered so I can discover if I knocked the primary off kilter in my amazement at spotting Venus so early. Weather is looking more cloudy this week than first forecast 🙄

Thanks yes the moon helped me spot Venus a bit earlier else I'd have been completely clouded out.

Most stable seeing ive had but the cloud had other ideas! Only managed 6 mins in clearish sky at about 33 degrees. Wacked my knee on the OTA in my rush to get the shroud on before cloud closed in so not sure how thats effected collimation.

Great capture!

Nice detail!

Edited the original image on my big monitor as the background was too bright and image scale too large.

Thanks Neil. It's been like that ever since I got back into imaging. Good seeing = bad trans, good trans = bad seeing. Not sure if I've already mentioned It but i can't wait for the 462 mono to arrive 😁

Takes me longer than that to find the end on a roll of cello tape 🧐 Maybe I should calibrate the stellarium screen to my garden horizon. So little time to capture once Venus hits 30 degrees. Just getting it at 35 would make a big difference.

Thanks Kostas. As you say there's always a new look on Venus. Just wish I could eyeball it earlier but couldn't spot her until she was down at 31 degrees. How on earth you get a view at 50 degrees in the full sunlight without a goto system I don't know. You must have a bionic eye 👁️🙂

Decent seeing but poor trans last night. Down to 15fps with the UV. Colour cam shot didn't show much detail so combined for a false colour image.

5 frames over 12 mins. Used the planetary animation tool in pipp. Field rotation is a pain and theres some shifting of the disc too but you can see some prom movement at the top in full resolution.

Finally nailed the tuning on the coronado and added the 2x SW barlow lens to fill the 585 chip. Pleased with this one! You can do so much more when theres no clouds around. Took my time setting up with eyepiece going back and forth with the tuning collar until I'd got the best surface and prom detail.

Brilliant Kostas! So much different cloud formations! I was at a birthday party so couldn't get out last night 😜

Still nice detail though softer from the poorer seeing. Plenty of phantom cloud here last night but not on Venus 😉

That's very nice!

Excellent detail!

That's too funny! Once went with the missus up Bosley cloud which is a rocky outcrop on the Cheshire/Staffs border to view the northern lights. When we drew into a remote parking space there already was a car with it's headlights on pointing out to the horizon. We thought this looked very dodgy and when we got out of our car a voice uttered the immortal words "are you here for the same thing?" My response was " er...what's that?". "The northern lights" they said! Yeah right we thought lol

That's a shame. Plenty of cloud detail on that one shot but I know you're after bigger fish Neil. Is that the laser cannon set up? 🙂

Not sure if FLO are stocking these yet but the mount looks nice. Just tell the neighbours it's a lightening strike and you'll be good 👍

Spur damage on the OTA can be troublesome 😉 Dark skies are sadly a thing of the past in Cheshire East. The amount of new housing erected over the past 5 years is unreal. Most of it on prime farmland. The only dark horizon is towards Shropshire.

Nay nay, that's just Hollywood blurb. I doubt John Wayne could capture William Shakespeare in the clouds of Venus. Space Farmboy doesn't have the same ring to it, though I am hot when solar imaging with a towel over my head.

Scope and cow weren't in the same field I must add. 😉 Yes I'm a farmer, hence the name 🙂

Very good again Kostas! My problem last night was a cow calving, not a tree. Had to bring everything back inside lol Hopefully try again tonight.