cloudsweeper

Not been out for quite a while for a number of reasons, but thought I'd take advantage of the clear sky this evening at 7.00pm. Quick easy session with the little ED80 Triplet on the AZ4. M42 a bit faint at that time, but the Trapezium was lovely and sharp in that quality frac. at x27, x120, x160 (faint E star showed up), and x192 - still good and sharp. 30 minutes later the nebula was brighter and clearer. Quick look at the Pleiades, then on to the magnificent Double Cluster by just aiming in the right area near Cassiopeia. A fine sight at x20 / 4.10deg - myriad sharp specs of varying brightness, yet none too bright to become blurry. Something you can just stare at and enjoy. Well, this all got me back in the mood. Hopefully I'll do something more challenging with a bigger 'scope before long! Doug.

If you settle (somehow) on a calculated mag to split a particular pair, the important point is that that mag alone will not necessarily do the job. Why - because of seeing limitations. A bigger aperture will give better resolution and show the split. That said, this is all less relevant at a mag of just x18! Doug.

I don't understand a word of this, but I love the enthusiasm! 😉 Doug.

GREAT RED SPOT! Just been out before 5.00pm with the lovely ED80 Triplet G'n'G set-up. Sky clear and still a bit lightish, Jupiter highish ESE. The four moons and the two main belts were very sharp and clear. Going up to x160, still good, AND I noticed a small pale curve in the SEB, just off-centre - the top of the GRS! Fabulous timing, and Stellarium confirmed the observation. In after a cold but very satisfying 20 minutes. Doug.

Just did a grab 'n' go session with the 4" achromat on Jupiter. Nice and sharp up to x100, and I was thinking there was, unusually, very little CA. Then I noticed there was thin cloud across the sky! Doug.

On the subject of hopping.............. The basic principles are I suppose similar for everyone. First, I get onto an easy start object, as close to target as possible. Then depending the 'scope, I choose a low power EP giving close to 2 deg or 4 deg of field. This then corresponds with the circles on Stellarium, so I follow patterns between EP and computer until target is reached. (CTRL ^ H is used with a frac to get the same views.) Of course, you can occasionally just scan to the target area, again using low power. This is good for M31, Double Cluster, etc.. Doug.

The Vixen bar is such that the 'scope only goes easily into a saddle on the left, as with the 8SE GoTo mount. But I wanted to put in on the AZ4 (saddle to right). Tried an L-bracket, twisting the tube/focuser, even using cable ties to get the finder in a decent position. This wasn't very satisfactory, and it wobbled far too much. So I went for tube rings. They came today, and after a bit of drilling and bolt-shortening, the new set-up is ready for action - a quality RFT, easy to handle, and much more stable. Doug.

24, and I use several each session. But the collection of 'scopes has been reduced from five to three. Out with the big 'uns (slow frac, biggish Dob), so now an 80mm apo frac, a 130 Newt, and an 8" GoTo SCT. They're all I need. I think..... Doug.

Out early - 4.45pm. Jupiter + 4, low, east; Saturn + 1, low, south. The AR102S achromat showed CA at x75 in a Hyperion with Jupiter, but not with the dimmer Saturn. At x50, very little. At x100 with the TV Radian, the CA was not so pronounced, despite the greater mag. Was that due to the EP?? Doug.

This evening (Thursday) two young cousins of mine (8 and 11) came round with their parents to look through a telescope. They were very interested, and managed not to grab hold of the 'scope. We looked at The Pleiades, and they were thrilled to see so many more stars than naked eye. Made me feel really old when I could barely spot the cluster at all, but they saw the main stars clearly! We then took in Jupiter - two clear belts and three moons, all to one side. I briefly mentioned some points about astronomical times and distances, which enhanced the experience. They were delighted with what they saw and heard, and keen to talk about it at school tomorrow. And I was pleased to share my passion and bring some new stimuli to youngsters. Doug.

Thanks Stu - nice to link up with SGL pals again. I would've done more but for the clouds, so red wine trumped the red spot! Doug.

Thanks Steve - not bad, just lacked motivation I suppose. Hope you're enjoying the Dob by the way! (It was good to meet you both.) Doug.

Not been out for many, many weeks, so at 5.20pm when I spotted Jupiter (low, east) between houses I decided to shake off the inertia and took out the ED80 Triplet on AZ4, my lovely grab 'n' go set up. Two equatorial bands were clear and sharp, and three moons were scattered around the disc. The Double Cluster was easy to find with x13 / 5.4deg by going down the line from Cassiopeia's Navi and Ruchbah. I upped the mag a bit, lovely. (This is also preparation for showing some young cousins some of the delights of the night sky.) Before long, it clouded over, but it was good to get back in action with these easy yet endlessly enjoyable targets. Doug.

Bresser 127L - not as difficult to handle as a 10" Dob, I find. And once it's on a mount (like a Skytee), it is very easy to swing around and enjoy. Long focus achro - gives sharp images, less CA, good depth of focus, easy on EPs, less Field Curvature, good contrast at low power. Mine is still for sale: Doug.

8.5 years in and I'm feeling apathetic too! Lousy weather, general inertia, and new neighbours who don't believe in curtains. It has prompted a desire to scale down - the heavy mount and the Dob have gone, and the big frac is on sale. But I'm not ready to sell up, and hope for more favourable circumstances. Doug.

Moon and Jupiter, with Io emerging into view 3.25am Wednesday - mild, still, a few stars on show, but much thin cloud (natural filter!), hazy last quarter Moon S of E, and Jupiter at similar altitude in SE. Little ED80 triplet on mount, ready to go, dead easy. x60 / 1.13deg - Moon sharp and stable - Plato, Archimedes, Copernicus all bright, off-terminator. Jupiter - great to see it again! - Europa to the west, Ganymede and Callisto in the line on the other side. Two grey belts. All very sharp and clear. x120, 160 - still good and sharp, and a faint Northern Temperate Belt was noticed. x120 / 0.52deg - back to the Moon, filling the view. Limb very stable, nice! No hint of CA there with the Apo! Alpine Valley. Cassini south of that, near terminator, with its two floor craters, the larger clearly pear-shaped. 4.10am, same mag, back to Jove, and what a delight - Io had just moved off the planet's face and was kissing the Southern Equatorial Belt. Just 10 minutes later and the gap was opening up as Io moved to the west. 4.25am - I finished after one very enjoyable and peaceful hour. Doug.

9.35pm Tuesday, still, mild, very clear. 8" SCT/Focal Reducer/GoTo/Observing Chair all ready. Vega high, SE. 10 minutes later, the lower Altair came out, and I aligned on that. S786 – 6th and 9th magnitudes, wide 47 arcsec separation. One of a triangle of stars, with other fainter ones in the field. Well split at x36, with the fainter sec. at 1 o'clock. Sigma 2789 – 7th mag pair, 6.8 arcsec separation. This is another in the above-mentioned triangle, and I got the split at x73 – close, matched, one just about above the other. The whole of that triangle then made a most pleasing spectacle – sketch ahead. Then another – Mu Cygni – 4th and 6th mags, tight 1.47 arcsec separation. I went up in stages from x36, and think I got the split at 213 in moments of good seeing. More certain at x256, still close, and the primary’s rings were more of a distraction. Finished with a look at M13 (Hercules Great Globular Cluster) – some stars resolved at x128, very pleasing to dwell on at x191, 213. (Hitting it shows how one-star alignment can be effective over a fairly wide sweep!) A very enjoyable 1hr 55mins, my first decent session for a very long time. Doug.

I've wrestled with this concept for many, many years. Now, courtesy of Youtube (Brian Greene and others), I feel I've got a better handle on it. It comes down to the constancy of c (velocity of light), from which space and time are therefore not fixed, and further, are dependent on each other. It all now seems to finally make sense, helped by the appreciation that time is not the time, but the rate at which it passes. From my engineering degree, I have even been able to figure out some of the maths of special relativity, but general relativity is on a wholly different plane! Reckon I'll keep that on a descriptive level, starting from the Equivalence Principle. Absolutely fascinating, counter-intuitive stuff! Doug.

25, plus a zoom and a focal extender. I use several in a typical session, and different ones with different 'scopes. Others have been sold for various reasons, and there are others I'd like to try. It's another enjoyable aspect of this great pastime! Doug.

Not cracked that one yet - tricky, on account of the very bright primary. Needs a lot of magnification, so definitely needs aperture! Doug.

Tell me about it. I've even thought about changing my username! Doug.

Good result Paul. Sometimes you can feel things are stacked against you - another reason I enjoyed last night is that the new neighbours were away so there was no massive glare from their curtainless window. Eight months of it so far! Doug.

Wednesday 19th July - mild, clear - set up the 8" SCT with Focal Reducer and GoTo. I watched the erratic flight of a couple of bats before the first star appeared. Vega. Aligned the 'scope on that. 95 Her - 4th and 5th magnitudes, 6.5 arcsec separation - going from x36 to x73 I got the split - very good match, very close, clear split - classic "pair of eyes/headlights", a lovely sight. A few fainter stars nearby. Sigma 2085 - 7th and 9th mags, 6.3 arcsec - same x73 as before, and again, a very close but clear split. Much fainter secondary at 10 o'clock. Sparse field, although by then I was viewing through thin cloud or gaps in cloud. Sigma 2232 - 6th and 8th mags, and again a separation between 6 and 7 arcsec. Saw it briefly at the starting mag of x36 (handy 2.03deg TFOV), then the clouds blotted everything out before I could go to x73 and crack it. First time under the stars for several weeks, very pleasing, although I had hoped for longer than one hour! Doug.

I feel your pain, Paul! I have new neighbours who are up into the early hours and after several months still haven't put any curtains up. I have to drape an old curtain on the washing line to block out the glare. Hope you can find a way round it, or limit yourself to manageable targets. Don't despair! Doug.

Just a thought - 9.92 mag is pretty dim, esp. when you only used a 60mm aperture. (Depends also on seeing and sky quality.) Doug.