Froeng

A very nice set of LVs indeed. You are only missing the 2” ones (30mm and 50mm). And of course, the 1.25” ones are brilliant in binoviewers, so you are only half done 😁😎🤣

Very nice report and sketches!

I had a short session with the C8 last night. The evening was surprisingly chilly due to the slight cold breeze. It felt like winter again 😮 The “cold moon light” didn’t help either! The air was quite dry though (~60%RH) so no need for a dew heater. Had a look at Jupiter in the binoviewer, but could only get to 135x and the view was boiling. I did see the GRS though, which was nice! I also saw Mercury, first naked eye, then in the C8. A tiny wobbling, yellow-orangy “half-moon”. The red and blue fringes from looking through the low atmosphere were very pronounced. However, I think this was the first time I saw it in the C8, so a good result! Next I tried for Sirius B but no luck. 12P Pons Brooks was bright and fuzzy in the C8 and had a slightly elongated coma. The centre looked brighter and concentrated. The moon was reasonably steady, so I had a look around the terminator which was nice. I always think the almost full phase really emphasises the 3d appearance as the craters along the terminator are seen at really steep angles. I spent some time with it. Then I tried for some DSO, which - as expected - did not yield much detail due to LP and the moon being up. M3, M81/82, M94 all visible as faint smudges in this light. I could not see M97, the owl. All in all it was nice to be out after having endured cloud cover so long! Packed up around 9pm, the equipment being almost completely dried out in 30mins…

Around 7pm the clouds gave way to a - partially - clear sky! I went outside with just my eyes and I managed to see Mercury low above the houses in the West. A few minutes later I used an old 6x30 finder to scan the sky for P/12 - Pons Brooks which I did manage to find in the end. Washed out due to the moonlight, but it must have been fairly bright. I did not see a tail, but only a small round coma. Soon after, the clouds were back…

Amazing video. Slightly freaked out by the thought of the eight legged furry friends creeping up on you at night. Love the landscape and the night vision shots!

Another session on Jupiter tonight. Again, clouds were rolling through. Seeing was much improved over yesterday, but not excellent. I missed Europa merging with the planet's disk, as a bank of clouds just came through at that time. The GRS was on show, and was only faintly visible due to the high frequency oscillations of the atmosphere. There were few moments of steady air in between and this meant some glimpses of swirling in the equatorial belts momentarily appeared... The air was also much drier than last night, which meant that not everything was dripping from dew. Now back inside - work tomorrow! Hope some of you had better luck with the seeing and the clouds!

I wanted to see Io's transit tonight, with the shadow close to the GRS. Unfortunately it cleared too late, so by the time the scope was ready, Jupiter was quite low and an absolute mushy mess! I checked some higher up stars and the seeing must have been the worst I have had for a long time. P/12 Pons Brooks was nice though, despite the terrible light pollution under my Bortle 6 skies. Very bright in the C8 at 50x. Also had a look at M42, which was washed out and then NGC 2392, which was surprisingly contrasty at higher magnification (335x). Called it a night after an hour - tomorrow evening is supposed to be clear...

Sounds like you were in some silly 80s movie about the future…

I looks like the VSD70SS can shoot digital medium format (33x44)!?! That is impressive…

Amazing!

For observing from home and away during the colder seasons I drink Earl Gray Tea, with some milk. On a hot summer's night, a G+T will do for a Jupiter session...

I was lucky and had a big “cloud hole” around 8-9pm! Jupiter was good, but not the best I have seen. Some high frequency scintillation visible, even at 135x in the C8. There were some still moments, which showed quite a bit of detail in the NEB and SEB. The GRS had just disappeared while I had been inside. Uranus was a very clean steady disk tonight, showing its pale greenish blue hue. Very nice! I got to get up early tomorrow, so called it a night. It was worth it though after what felt like “years” of clouds…

Was capturing snaps of Pons/Brooks. Now clouded over. Will have a look at Jupiter after dinner if the weather allows…

The seeing has deteriorated. Jupiter has turned a bit blurry. The GRS should now be visible. But not to me…

Another session with Jupiter tonight. The seeing is good, but not excellent. Quite a bit of detail in the equatorial belts. Now warming up, waiting for GRS to come ‘round…

Watching the moons go into or come out of Jupiter’s shadow is great. I have seen this a few times, and each time was fascinating. However one thing I have not witnessed is Jupiter’s moons occulting or casting their shadows onto EACHOTHER. This is - obviously- extremely rare, but I would love to see this. I have also not found a source that tells us when these events happen. Does anyone know where to find this info? I would imagine this being visible will depend on your own location on earth as well…

Thank you for the great write up! Sounds like a fun night. Thanks in particular for pointing out that SN. I will need to look for it next dark night!

Haha, it is an Avalon Linear on an Avalon T-Pod 110. They can be had for very reasonable money second hand (not mine though!). A very quick set up time and quite light weight for its capacity.

Had an early session on Jupiter tonight. The seeing was decent, but I have seen better in the recent past. Some nice details in the equatorial belts. Had to go in a few times to warm up, it was a bit fresh! Now all packed up…

Telescope and observer

Excellent sketch!

That’s a phenomenal sketch! Nicely done…

Hope you get better soon!

I have been looking at the “Great Hertfordshire Nebula”, ie freezing fog…

Has anyone seen any Andromedids tonight? https://britastro.org/section_news_item/the-return-of-a-lost-meteor-shower