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Size9Hex

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Everything posted by Size9Hex

  1. Hi Ags, commenting for visual only, I think it’s optically superb, versatile, and lovely to use too. It’ll do wide field, high power fine detail (within the laws of physics for its aperture), nighttime and solar.
  2. Hi Mark, I use a 72ED with a 1.25 Lunt wedge for solar. Reaches focus with all the eyepieces I’ve tried (ES82 mostly). However, inward focus travel is too limited on this scope with some other combos (e.g. adding a focal extender if I recall correctly).
  3. Thank you John. I’ve taken a large amount of inspiration from you and your posts on this one for sure. 👍
  4. The constellations really whizz past quickly in the spring as the evenings stay light for longer. Lyra, Cygnus and Ophiuchus already stepping up by the end of the evening. Beautiful and peaceful out there last night, and pleasantly warm for April. A small bat on manoeuvre above, silent except for a few clicks. Started in late twilight with a quick look at the crescent Venus and then latched onto Polaris for a star hop across a still blue sky. Super happy to split Zeta Herculis at the end of the evening. Have tried a number of times over the years without success! [edit - After a reply below which prompted a closer look, I think I was mistaken with the Zeta Herculis split] Notes below in reverse order - seems that’s how Sky Safari exports them! Hercules Zeta Herculis - Tough! Bright yellow. Barlowed 8mm reveals a grey spec dancing intermittently just outside in the first diffraction ring. Bootes STT 292 - Very wide. Small orange and smaller grey. 24mm. 49 Boo - Wide pair but great contrast. Warm yellow bright primary and smaller grey partner. 24mm. STT 298 - Wide seemingly dull pair. Primary is rod shaped at 8mm though and narrowly split with a barlow. Nice! Alkalurops - Brilliant! Wide but great contrast. Pale yellow and pale grey/blue. 24mm. At 8mm the grey companion splits into a tight slightly uneven pair too! Beautiful. STTA 137 - Wide uneven couple. 24mm. STF 1889 - Close rather uneven double in an attractive field of scattered wide pairs. 24mm. 39 Boo - A terrific pair of eyes. 8mm. BX Boo - Wide rather uneven colourless pair. 24mm. Asellus Secundus - Wide bright and uneven. Warm white and battleship grey. 24mm. Fab. Asellus Tertius - Splendid view with Secundus in 24mm. Bright uneven pair. Slightly warm yellow primary and grey companioon. STF 1812 - Closish uneven pair. 24mm. 8mm pulls out a wide very faint 3rd. STF 1850 - Charming wide white pair. Almost even and not too bright. 24mm Izar - Brilliant! Bright yellow primary and a splendid smaller close diamond companion. 8mm. STF 1785 - Very close almost even. 8mm. A hint of gold? STF 1793 - Smashing! Close but clean split at 24mm. Colourless and a little uneven. S 656 - Wide pair in a lovely kite/turtle asterism. 1 Boo - Wide bino double. Meh... but wait! 8mm plus barlow pulls a faint companion from the glare of the primary! Muphrid - Warm white to yellow bright primary and wide faint companion. 24mm. STF 1825 - Close uneven colourless pair. 8mm. Ursa Minor HJ 2682 - Smashing uneven flattened isoceles triple. AB easy at 24mm. Faint C easier at 16mm. STF 1798 - Elegant close uneven colourless pair. Suspected at 24mm but obvious at 8mm. HJ 2733 - Bright warm yellow/orange primary. 8mm pulls out wide faint companion in AV. STF 1972 - Lovely wide bright slightly uneven double. Nice scattered field stars. 24mm. STF 2034 - Extremely close. Just split in barlowed 8mm. Almost even white pair. Polaris - In twilight. Yellow with a small companion. 24mm. Failed on a couple too. STF 1816, STT 289 and STF 1909. Oh, and a cheeky detour to the brilliant granulated M3 while in Bootes. Safe and happy Easter everyone. Hope others are finding the some peace and a feeling of normality at the eyepiece (or indeed in any way at all) at the moment too.
  5. Smashing report. I love your enthusiasm for doubles! Inspiring as always. 👍
  6. Not daft at all. For a visual observer, there are good dark skies after sun down but before the moon rises. When the sun has dropped 18 degrees below the horizon, it’s properly dark. Before that, various shades of dusk, but in mid summer at 1am, I still find it to be usefully dark for DSOs with the sun at only around minus 14 degrees. Double stars and especially planets are worthwhile even in surprisingly blue skies! Similar effect with the moon, but much much much less pronounced. A very full moon will light the sky near the eastern horizon shortly before it rises, but the skies elsewhere are still usefully dark until it rises properly.
  7. Give it a go, and good luck with it. As per the above, I think it’s doable with dark transparent skies. Tripod/mount will improve the odds a lot too I think. 👍
  8. I think this a great thread and original question. I started observing with 10x50s and used them exclusively for several months with great enthusiasm before getting my first telescope. I observed all manner of targets with them, because it was a case of at least trying in binos, or definitely not seeing the target at all. It was incredible to see colour in the stars, galaxies, clusters, binaries, planets out or Neptune, moons, craters and asteroids for the first time! Oh and the rings of Saturn! 🤘 I’ve ticked M1 in my 10x50s. Sadly I didn’t make any observing notes, but I recall bagging quite a few tough Messier objects on the same evening. It was excellent transparency and M1 was high in the sky. I had to use a star map to pinpoint it even after star hopping to the precisely the right place - it did not jump it out and was visually not impressive. I’m assuming I would have been using the tripod which absolutely supercharges the capabilities of the binos. On other evenings, it has not been visible. It was probably on my second or third winter season I saw it, so not quite a beginner. The astro league puts its as a “challenge” (toughest of the three categories) in 50mm binos - but there’s also an omitted/implicit 4th category of "don’t bother" so at least it’s not that! In larger binos, they upgrade it to the slightly easier category of “tough”. So I think it is tough but doable. Would we see things differently if the article talked of a tough object in a 10" scope (or pick the largest scope in the quiver)? We spend a lot of time at the eyepiece trying to push the large scope to the absolute limit, perhaps because the largest scope gives the best chance of success and the best view. If the binos or small scope doesn’t quickly deliver, is there a tendency to simply try the larger one rather than keep trying in the smaller one? I believe M1 in binos is somewhat easier than the hardest targets we report on in our larger scopes (assuming reasonably dark skies). Was the article aimed at beginners? If so, maybe some expectation setting is needed. If not, I think it’s a fair challenge. Sometimes it’s nice to go for challenge targets, and it’s good to have tough lists to push us. Sometime it’s nice to just cruise around though - and it’s nice to have articles with easier options for that too.
  9. Yep. I’ve caught it a small handful of times in the 10" dob and this was the first attempt (and success) in the 5" frac. I thought it had a pinched waist rather than fully clean split. High power was needed. With the barlow, I was at 275x. Seeing conditions were good but not exceptionally so. Keep at it - I’ll bet you could get it in good seeing with either of those scopes, although perhaps as elongated/pinched rather than cleanly split. Good luck!
  10. Thanks Dave. It’s a 5" f7.8 ED doublet from Altair which is somewhat new and I think I’m still getting used to. It’s the first large frac I’ve owned. I’d sure love to compare the view to an FS128 one day! That looks like a dream scope. 👍
  11. Ha ha, always tempted! 😀 Time and money though...! Maybe at some point in the future.
  12. I’ve never actually looked into the background of the catalog, but it seems to be this chap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_South. The stars observed with (John) Herschel are denoted SHJ nnn, while those just from South himself are S nnn. The Cambridge double star atlas states that there are 118 SHJ doubles and 220 S doubles in the WDS catalog, so a little lower than the numbers stated on Wikipedia. S 571 is also HD 73619, but it’s just one of many, many, many doubles up there. 😀 I’m following the Sissy Haas guide at the mo (hard to find now sadly), but if I wasn’t, there are some other great lists out there, e.g. http://users.compaqnet.be/doublestars/
  13. Keep ‘em coming. As others say, we need normality and distractions right now. Mag 13 to 15 galaxy bagging is amazing! My 10" - if I take it for a drive into the country side - puts the very bottom of this range barely in reach by a fingernail width, and only when the surface brightness is favourable, e.g. edge on, or with condensed cores. It’s great to hear of your experiences with large scopes and dark skies.
  14. Smashing post. I’ve seen it called the wanderer rather than tramp. Caught it a few years ago in the 10" and there wasn’t much to see. Cracking effort to pick it up with 10cm! That orbital period of 3 billion years is amazing.
  15. Thanks for the heads up. No opportunity to see this yet. Hopefully it’ll be with us for a few more days to give a chance for the clouds to clear. Been ages since I last saw a sunspot and they’ve been less and less frequent in the few years I’ve been observing. Isn’t the new cycle predicted to start sometime around now-ish?
  16. I bet that’s a terrific view! Mine are 10x50s, but I often wondered about the view through a bigger pair. Do you mount yours?
  17. With Cassiopeia circling low in the north and pulling the Milky Way along behind it, it should be galaxy season. However, the waxing moon, although less than half lit, was high in the sky and casting shadows across the yard. Beautiful skies though, with the deep midnight blue of a clear moonlit sky beating the sad grey and orange dome towards town. Hydra’s head poked above the rooftops to the south, catching my eye as a charming sparkle of stars in averted vision. Rising up into Cancer, barely visible in the moonlight. An unpromising start with... Delta Cancri: The faint companion invisible in the moon’s glare. An excellent latching-on point point though, from which to begin star hopping into the Beehive Cluster... South 571: Easy split of identical white pair. Brighter third in a pleasing triangle. STF 1254: Off piste (from the Sissy Haas list). Lovely uneven pair. 39 Cnc: Very wide with 40 Cnc. Better in binos? Scope showed a nice yellow/white contrast though. Leaving the cluster to stop at... 31 Cnc: Bright warm yellow with a splendid faint distant companion. 8mm. ...on the way to the unmissable... Tegmine: Spectacular! Bright yellow, close, slightly uneven double at 24mm. Primary elongated at 8mm and pinched waist becomes clear with barlow. Over into the Coma Berenices cluster. Like the Beehive, this cluster is close to us - just a few hundred light years rather than a few thousand for the Messier clusters that lead them across the sky in the Milky Way. Sparkly star fields that overflow the eyepiece! STF 1633: Fabulous pair of eyes peering back! 24mm 12 Com: Triple. Bright yellow primary A. Well separated from the pale grey/blue C but great contrast. 24mm. B appears in averted vision within the primary glare after adding a barlow to the mix. 8mm STF 1639: Very close white pair. Not quite even. Distant faint third. 8mm 17 Com: Better in binos? Very wide slightly uneven pair 24mm. Finishing with an outlier beyond the cluster... STF 1615: Easy uneven pair 24mm. Warm and cold contrasting colours. Mag 13 third member not seen. Bring out the dob! I used a Baader zoom which I find to be very practical for casual sessions on double stars. Take care everyone.
  18. Great reports. It’s nice to hear your experience and enjoyment with a 60mm scope. It must be smashing on double stars. My grab and go is a only a touch larger at 72mm, although much shorter focal length. You’ve inspired me to have another look through it soon (because actually, although it’s grab-and-go, my laziness has pushed me down to an even more grab-and-go-able pair of binoculars recently!). One of aspects that appeals to me on smaller apertures is that you can observe to the absolute limits of the instrument and observer.
  19. No, not mundane at all. Definitely a place for reports on pushing the limits with big scopes, dark skies or uber high powers, but it’s not the only way to enjoy the skies. Keep ‘em coming! 👍😀
  20. Thanks for posting. Truly enjoyed reading this. Really captures the wonder and fun and excitement of getting out under the night sky.
  21. That is sad. I guess you’ll know of the Cambridge and the Sissy Haas (if you can still find it) double star resources. I turn to these when the transparency is bad or the moon too bright. Love double star observing and it’s hard not to get swept along by the enthusiastic notes in the Haas guide! Asteroids and carbon stars are an interesting diversion when dark skies aren’t available too. Take care.
  22. Dark skies trips are off for now, but still plenty to explore up there. Wednesday night in the back yard with the 10", mostly on the the spring galaxies in the Herschel 400 list: Comet C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) ticked. Thanks to others for their reports on this one. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. NGC 5053 globular cluster next to M3. Frustrating and invisible despite various visits over the years. 20 or so galaxies in Coma Berenices and briefly into Virgo. Markarian’s Chain and the Eyes being a highlight. Also, NGC 4526 framed beautifully between two stars. A very welcome escape for an hour or two from current worries, although not entirely. The neighbourhood was quiet despite the early hour and the lack of planes also notable and strange. Wider thoughts on the Herschel list for possible inspiration. From my suburban garden, Ursa Minor is visible, but only just. The sky to the south is notably brighter. In these conditions, with a 10" scope: The Milky Way objects in the full 2,500 list have been absolutely amazing to explore. Hundreds on offer and enormous variety. The galaxies on the full 2,500 list have been rather hit and miss. Worth a go if accepting that they will often be frustrating or impossible. Awesome from a dark site though. The galaxies on the 400 list seem largely doable from home so far, especially with a higher power eyepiece to coax them out. Sky Safari has the H400 list pre-baked ready to go. Stay safe and be kind everyone.
  23. Thanks Geof. Good feedback on the ADC especially with Saturn. Those red/blue fringes are partly what made me take a punt on a coloured filter this year with the planets so low. I haven’t noticed the fringe before, but it’s quite obvious now even when the planet is "high" directly in the south. The filters do tighten the view in suppressing the colour, but I wonder if the impact would be different when the planets are higher.
  24. Lots of factors involved when you’re trying to see things at the limits of your physiology, your kit and the conditions. Glad you had some success with the moon filter. Twilight viewing can show some surprising detail that seems to get tougher as the sky darkens - and is free! 😀. Of all the variables, I think the filters are not near to the top of the list though, so I’d recommend don’t be in too much of a rush to buy (nebula filters are a different story... 👍). A good quality high power eyepiece would be on my shopping list before coloured filters for sure. Plus collimation, seeing, patience, etc 🙂
  25. Slim pickings right now with the late summer nights and the planets low. I can’t see Jupiter or Saturn from home, but was keen to try to get at least one decent session on Jupiter this season so headed out to a site with a low southern horizon and reasonable seeing across the grassy fields. Nice views in twilight, including the Great Red Spot and Io approaching/merging into the disk. The seeing was bad initially (and I almost packed up), but improved fairly quickly as the evening cooled, becoming ok but not brilliant. With a few seasons under my belt now, it’s nice to see the evolution of the features on Jupiter. Not to claim any real level of expertise mind; A few seasons more needed to learn the names too! The equatorial zone is darker/yellower and seems wider than I recall from previous years. The northern and southern belts seemed thinner. The southern belt has previously had a broad swathe of turbulence in the wake of the GRS, whereas last night it was squeezed very thin by the bright zone to the south. The GRS had a notably dark southern boundary. I don’t know if these are fleeting or long term changes but still nice to notice things evolve. In terms of the filters, these were a recent edition to the kit. I was in two minds, given that they seem to divide opinion, but in the end I took a punt. A blue filter brought out knotted texture in the north equatorial belt more prominently. An orange filter confirmed three large festoons and made the bright southern zone particularly obvious. Equally, some features were lost with the filters, so quite feature/filter specific rather than overall better/worse. I felt these effects were noticeable within a few seconds at the eyepieces and didn’t require scrutiny or a drawn out game of Spot-the-Difference. Not to say the effect was dramatic though. With the filters removed, the improved features were still there, but less often and less easily - but then the worsened features got better, so take your pick! 😛 Overall, I’m content with their first light and feel that they contributed towards a good session. But, with little surprise, by far the most important aspect was patience - filters or otherwise - especially with the wobbly seeing. Saturn was terrible, but the scope was practically horizontal peering through the soup. Better views to come though!👍
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