mikeDnight

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That's a fabulous sketch of M51 Moon-monkey. Excellent in fact! 🏆

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Hi Mark. I'm happy you like my attempt at Cyrillus, and I'm also happy you drew the three craters. It was an awesome terminator wasn't it, and a shame not to at least attempt some sketching. The last time I drew all three craters they were in deep shadow, so we're much easier to sketch. I thought about attempting all three but decided to try and concentrate on just the one, as the detail was just overpowering. (Below is my previous attempt of all three craters). I often shy away from anything too complex, so I tend to try and ignore the crater walls and concentrate solely on the crater floors. There's always lots to see even on seemingly bland floors in ringed planes. My mount currently doesn't have a working motor drive. I had bought one of the new red Skywatcher hand controllers but it stopped working after only a couple of months. Looking inside it I found there to be a faulty switch very cheaply made and not really repairable. I do need a better controller as it really makes sketching a pleasure rather than a chore. I know how frustrated you must feel juggling manual drives, holding sketch pad and pencil, and a dim red light. Every time I do the same I think "I must get this drive working." I need to do it for double stars more than the Moon and planets, as swapping eyepieces and using high powers can be really challenging and it spoils the fun. We're also in the same boat needing to use glasses. I don't need them to observe with, but ideally I need them to see the sketch, but often struggle on straining my vision as they just get in the way. I find using a binoviewer helps, as it allows me to use longer focal length eyepieces with a barlow attached to the nose of the binoviewer. My sketch of Cyrillus was made using a pair of 25mm Parks Gold 5 element super plossl's and a 2X barlow on the binoviewer, which amplifies around 4X. So the magnification was 128X yet with great eye relief and comfort.

Just an observing tip for Venus Neil. Try looking for bright areas such as at the poles and bright areas along the terminator first (all very subtle). Then the dusky wisps of cloud may become discernible. (again all very subtle). I've found thet an 80A light blue filter can enhance the brights, while a 21 Orange filter can enhance the dusky clouds. Observing against a blue sky around sunset may subdue the blinding brilliance of the planet, making detail easier to discern even without a filter. Filters may also appear to settle any turbulence to some degree. I'm sure with perseverance you'll succeed!

Terrifyingly complex through my scope and a real challenge to sketch. The drawing shows only a fraction of the detail seen through the telescope, but at least hints at some of the detail.

Venus from the night of the 27th March. 100mm apo.

A few sketches made on 27/03/2023. After seemingly weeks of cloud the sky finally cleared and the seeing remained very good throughout the three hours I spent observing. I began with Venus set against a blue sky, although the Sun at this time had set behind the woodland to my south west. Using a Takahashi FC100DZ and Maxbright II binoviewer, Venus was sharply etched against the sky with absolutely no trace of CA. The sketch below shows the view through the telescope after careful study. The first obvious detail, if you can call it detail, were the bright polar regions which gave the impression of polar caps. Along the terminator two brightish patches were seen with the patch in the southern hemisphere being larger and at times dipping into the terminator. The patch in the northern hemisphere was less obvious and elongated. Once these subtle brighter regions had been detected the equally subtle wisps of light grey cloud became more obvious. No filters were used! The second target for sketching was Mars, which became visible well before the sky had fully darkened. Now well below 7 arc seconds in diameter I didn't expect anything too spectacular, but just seeing the perfect tiny 90% gibbous was thrilling all the same. Just for fun, I decided to make sketches using a couple of different magnifications using the binoviewer, then finally using a Vixen 3.4mm High Resolution eyepiece in mono just to see how much of a difference, if any, there may be. The northern hemisphere is tilted a little towards us and the regions on view are Mare Sirenum and Cemmerium in the south, the dusky patch left of centre may be Olympus Mons and its dusky environs, and in the north Nerigos, Scandia and Phlegra with a north polar cap. The bright Elysium region is against the terminator, or at least that's my best guess trying to relate the albedo markings with the meridian. And finally the night was dominated by a spectacular lunar terminator. Deciding what to sketch given the awesome complexity of even apparently simple targets was difficult. Then knowing how much detail to include and what not to include is also a challenge, as the whole venture can quickly turn into a bit of a car crash if not careful, and I'm not confident when it comes to sketching the Moon. Shadows move at a terrifying pace once you start sketching, so I'm always a bit panicky. Anyhow, I decided on having a go at drawing Cyrillus. There was way more detail in the eyepiece than I could possibly draw, so this is merely a poor representation of a terrifyingly complex and detailed crater.

I avoided the Moon for twenty years, partly because my interest was in comets and all things fuzzy, and partly because its scarily complex. However that changed once I found a purpose in observing it. It is after all the most awesome alien world we can see and its right on our doorstep. Even when full, there is so much still to see with its intricate ray systems and tonal differences in its lava planes, and theres even colour on the moon. I can spend hours tracing rilles, ghost craters hidden beneath the surface, and carefully examining the floors of craters and ringed planes. I never fail to see something new. You should definitely bite the bullet and start observing the Moon. You may even grow to love it!

I had a great time, over three hours, just observing the Moon Venus and Mars. The lunar terminator was glorious through the Maxbright binoviewer, and as the sky became darker the contrast and definition increased. The binoviewer gave real depth and nothing short of a spectacular and intricately detailed view standing out in almost 3D. Venus set against a blue sky was sharp and utterly colour free. Subtle wisps of light grey cloud extended from the terminator in places, with brilliant polar regions and limb. There were also at least two bright regions close to the terminator. Mars, now very small, still showed subtle albedo features. I made one sketch of Venus early in the session, and three sketches of Mars using different magnifications, with two made using the maxbright binoviewer, while the third was made using a 3.4mm Vixen HR eyepiece. It always amazes me that even under 7 arc seconds, subtle detail can sill be seen in the FC100D.

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It's nice to hear about your experiences with a humble 25mm Plossl Neil. It's great to get reminders like this from time to time, as we can, if we're not careful, easily fall into the trap of believing that complex wide field eyepieces are the only way to go. For years I'd been using Pentax XW's as my main set of eyepieces and they are superb of course. One evening I decided to take my new FC100DC over to paulastro for an observing session, but on this occasion I'd only taken my binoviewer and a couple of ortho's and a 20mm XW. The night was nice and clear so I asked Paul if he had anything with a longer focal length that he could let me borrow for the evening, and he handed me Meade 26mm 5 element super Plossl. I admit to being somewhat insulted, not because it was a plossl but because it was a Meade. Anyhow, I put the 25mm in my diagonal and was immediately impressed by not only its on axis sharpness but also its clarity. The 25mm appeared to give a similar true field to my 20mm XW and edge correction that was easily the equal if not better than the XW in my F7.4 refractor. Paul explained the eyepiece was a design once sold by a number of companies as high end Super Plossl's. I later learned more about the design and set about acquiring a set for myself. Eventually the XW's were sold off, so that now my main eyepiece collection consists of these Plossl's based on a Zeiss Astro planar /Masuyama design. I now own most of them in pairs for use in my binoviewer and am completely happy with them.

I feel your frustration Michael. It seems most of us have been in a similar boat due to seemingly perpetual cloud. I did managed to get a nice view of the Moon and Venus a couple of nights ago though sucker holes in the clouds, which was enough to fan the flames for me. Plus, despite there being a lot of cloud and turbulence around the cloud edges, it was still better than watching TV.

That's great news Gerry, and perhaps a lesson for us all not to automatically condemn the optics when images lack lustre. I don't suppose there's a TSA 120 going cheap anytime soon is there?

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A lot will depend on what sort of observer you are. If only low power visual you may get away with resting a pier on the existing floor, but as you say there is flexure in the floor, I can't see how you'd build a solid enough pier on the budget you suggest. Ideally the pier should be built on a solid base, which would mean either build from the ground up, going through your suspended floor, or building a sub floor from the wall to the steel girder. The first will mean you lose your car port, but either would cost substantially more than £75. You could however lessen the flexure if the observatory you intend to build has a floor, while the pier rests on the carport roof. If you decided on a block pier you'd really need a solid base or flexure would eventually fracture the joints. A sheet metal worker may be able to construct a pier to your specifications quite cheaply, but again £75 may be too little considering both time and materials.

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I've always attributed male qualities to my Tak's, especially the FC100D, as they are scared of nothing and punch above their weight. They also know who has the right of way at roundabouts. Sorry girls, I don't really mean it!

I'm sorry it's remained cloudy for you John. If it makes you feel any better, I had a really good time tonight as I beach-combed the eastern shores of Mare Crisium & made a sketch of some subtle cloud top detail on Venus. Later I played around with my new 30mm Ultra Flat eyepiece just aimlessly looking at a few stars that were beginning to turn on their lights. I'm very impressed by the Maxbright binoviewer. It is definitely in a different league to my faithful old revelation viewer. I'm glad I was encouraged to buy the Maxbright bv by you and the gang. I hope you get some clear skies soon. Best wishes, Mike

For binoviewing, I fell in love with the old Celestron Ultima eyepieces, a 5 element super Plossl made to a high spec. These were also sold under various other brand names such as Orion Ultrascopic, Baader Eudiascopic, and Parks Gold to name a few. A design based I believe on the Zeiss Astro planar and made in Japan by Masuyama for the aforementioned companies. I generally prefer the longer focal length eyepieces such as 35mm, 25mm, 18mm, & 12.5mm, with a barlow attached to the nose of the binoviewer. The Baader Maxbright l l below is heavier than the revelation and some other cheaper models, and may need a rebalance of the tube assembly on some mounts, but the advantages of using a binoviewer greatly outweigh any minor disadvantages. As has already been mentioned, a sturdy focuser would be an advantage as it may be necessary to angle the bv for comfort.