ShrewView

Had a few good moments earlier with the grs just coming onto Jupiter's disk and seeing seemed good. Then it suddenly went downhill and some stubborn cloud has now moved in. I'll stick it out a while longer and see what happens.

That's lovely.

Well setting aside the cost of the mirror and my dubious diy skills, its the sneaking feeling I'd only get to use it once a year with our weather. 😀

Hi there and welcome. I think its probably taken from a location next to Pole Cottage looking east. There is a small rough car park next to it and you'd probably have to drive up the Burway from Church Stretton. Follow the signs for the gliding club. Bit of a steep narrow road and not recommended in winter! https://goo.gl/maps/c5PDo9Vvs7savP6d7 As Vlaiv said it won't appear as good as that to the naked eye but is still pretty good on a dark moon free night.

That's fabulous. Well done. I also saw a very bright one at 12.55, although from my perspective it passed between Jupiter and Saturn, a little further to the left of yours. I presume that's due to our differing locations and the view against the background stars. Glad someone caught it, as I hadn't set up the camera; too much cloud here for most of the night.

I managed 21 last night over two sessions. I started at 10.15 as it was getting dark and saw 7 including one bright one through partial cloud before it totally clouded over at around 11. Then it cleared at around 12.30 so went out for another hour and saw the last 14. Some bright ones among them, the best of which passed south between Jupiter and Saturn at around 12.55am and was at least as bright as Jupiter and bright white to start, with a red ending and a brief trail. I was thinking though that there weren't as many as I've seen in previous years, and the previous night i managed almost as many in half the time. Still I'm glad to have just seen them, it could have been total cloud!

I spent a really enjoyable hour last night, around midnight just laying on a blanket watching out for perseids. Caught around 20, which I thought was pretty good pre peak. I was at a darker site than home and doubt I'd have caught some of the fainter ones from there so it was worth the effort. The best of them left a brief ionised trail as it passed overhead and through the stars of the milky way. Hard not to just say wow out loud. Hoping for another clear spell tonight and I'll try and set up the camera to catch a few, and then just sit back and watch.

With the moon being out of the way this year I've been looking forward to these for a while but the weather forecast isn't too good here at the mo. fingers crossed!

Great idea. Love it, and can see it now you've highlighted it. Just wish I had some nice images to contribute.

Ingenuity has just taken its first successful up and down flight on mars! Amazing considering there's almost no atmosphere to fly in. Only a couple of pics so far at the end of the broadcast but I'm sure more to follow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1KolyCqICI

I think that looks great and an absolute bargain! Great first light tour for it too and i suspect you're right with the detective work.

Wow that's pretty incredible. How do you add the markings to the steel?

wow. that really looks good. thanks for sharing. 😃

Lovely. It makes me wonder though, who RC Stanley was and what happened in RM 417?

Very good description of the differences in the views and the benefits of using more than one scope 😁. Nice set up you have there too. Glad you're getting on with the binoviewers, i enjoy mine but the dew last night was awful and I found the eyepieces wouldn't stay clear. Did the dew straps work well with those? Must invest in some for mine if so.

That'll be a good improvement for your focuser. very pleased with the one i have.

Was quite good here a couple of hours ago but patchy cloud keeps coming over and the seeing has got worse too. Much more indistinct. I'll keep going though for now.

Maybe 😁

Something else to get to grips with! Two handles for a couple of my scopes. Seem pretty solid.

Don't think you did miss much before. Last night was the best its been here since late September at least. Very steady and detailed views with more contrast too. Very noticeable how much smaller its getting though so you're right. make the most of it.

That does sound promising Rob. I use the WO binoviewers in all my scopes including the TS80Ed which is I think the same as the AA80, the smaller brother to yours. The views of the moon the other night were fantastic. Crisp and clear, though I do have to change the 1.6 nosepiece to achieve focus and swap it for a 2x. Should be great in yours!

I had been hoping to get something from last night but it was total cloud here. So instead for comparison here's mars from 29th October 1988! Posing this reminds me of how I used to feel handing in my homework late.🤔 Drawn from 8.5 inch Newtonian with 6mm ortho and red filter.

Wow that's great, and quite an achievement to sketch the whole 100! Well done. Do you have them all together in a sketchpad or book? I recently decided to copy all my sketches (not that I have many so far) into one book. Maybe the messier or caldwell lists next?

It is pretty frustrating at times with the British weather. I reckon looking at the brief tally I keep, around one in three days/nights it would be possible to do something from here. I've taken the odd break from active astro over the years but keep coming back and still enjoy it, so unless you need the cash I'd hang onto the gear until a better spell of weather or your motivation picks up. Failing that there is always this? 😉 https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdocument%2F345375863%2Fcloudspottingguide-pdf&psig=AOvVaw1d9ns78JiO8ccC9uJjIClM&ust=1604068422031000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIDuwdaC2uwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAQ

Drawing is definitely more enjoyable. Imaging is a bit of a hassle really. Yes you can get a very nice image at the end but that's not guaranteed and its a lot of work by comparison. Get the laptop out, connect it all up, mind the cables, find the planet, focus, mind the cables again, fiddle with settings, take your image run whilst keeping planet in field, mind the flipping cables. Then, when all that's done there's all the processing! Drawing. Find pencil and paper, find planet, sit down and relax. Just wish my skills matched what I glimpse in the good bits.