Froeng

Ditto!

Please take a phone snapshot! 😋

Reading all these posts I am starting to regret not observing last night! Thankfully the forecast is clear for tonight as well - fingers crossed!

Had an early Mars session from 6-7pm today. Seeing was mixed, could not see that much detail. The disk if the planet is now noticeably smaller than beginning of Jan! Saw the polar cap and a great desert…

Very nice!

I agree - those Mars globes are incredible!

Fascinating stuff, really! The report from the Lowell observation in Mexico are interesting. I still cannot get my head around how all these professional observers thought they saw canals on Mars. The report has lots of sketches, some of which show canals cutting straight through Syrtis Mayor and other features… Thank you for sharing these!

Right then. Went back out at 23:00 and the magic was gone! Mars was just a fuzzy orange blob. Nothing to write home about... However I am grateful I was able to catch this amazing seeing as it happened. Makes me wonder what a bigger scope could show 😱 Below the two sketches from tonight...

I have just come in for another break after finishing my second Mars sketch! I also tweaked the collimation a tad bit. It sharpened Mars up nicely! Tbh I have had my C8 for 30+ years, but tonight are the sharpest views of Mars I can remember! What an evening! More to come…

Wow, the seeing is amazing tonight. Not too much luck on Jupiter as it sits boiling over the neighbouring apartment block, but Mars is incredible tonight! This is easily the best Mars session I have had this opposition season. Sharp at 335x in the C8 with binoviewer. Nice details everywhere - didn't know where to start drawing. Just warming up now, going back out soon...

To me, visual observing is meaningful as you are using your own eyes to look at the actual objects which are out there. By doing this, you have PROOF these things are not just made up by some electronic wizardry on a computer screen or what somebody might want you to believe… By observing (not just quickly looking), you are able to see more and more. Once you start sketching, this will improve further. So you are building up a skill to DIRECTLY see the universe as it presents itself. I do find this incredible! This methodology also almost works like a “vaccination” against all sorts of superstition, flat earthing (not sure this is a term), and the like. The last aspect is the incredible experience of observing at a dark sky site. The general rule applies: “You don’t need a bigger scope - you need a darker sky!” Enjoy and take your time…

All, I thought to try something different, and being reasonably skilled in painting watercolours, why not try to paint some deep sky objects... I used my pencil sketches made at the telescope as a template to create the below this afternoon. The main skill one needs to have with this is - patience! It takes forever for the paint t dry. I used a dedicated black, as my previous attempts of mixing black form blue and brown did not achieve the necessary consistency. I also used a masking fluid to mark the stars before starting with the colours. I need to improve the star shapes and maybe use something else then a brush to apply them. In my eye, they are not round enough... Anyway, I believe this be a decent first attempt: Happy New Year everyone!

Beautiful! Enjoy!

Great work! What I really like is that these are actual “live sketches”, ie done at the eyepiece. They show character and have a personal note whilst recording what you saw. Very nice indeed!

It is also worth rotating the head around the eyepiece. If the flares move with the eye, it is your eye’s astigmatism. If they stay put, it’s in one of the optical components of the scope…

This somehow reminds me of the scene from 2001, where they examine the monolith on the moon… 👩‍🚀

Another icy night looking at the frozen desert planet…

Just saw the re-appearance! Amazing! Very frosty conditions. My 26mm Plössl had ice on them. I changed to the 9mm LVs in the binoviewer and what a sight! Now warming up and drying the equipment…

Just came in from a session looking at Mars and Jupiter. Seeing was mixed, but there were some moments of still air in between... On Mars, the elevation makes a huge difference! Some sketches from earlier below. Alarm clock set for 5.30am, to see Mars come out from behind the moon...

Nice one! 👌🏾

Amazing report! Well done and thanks for sharing!

The spot in Fedele’s images does NOT look like the Poisson spot as far as I can tell from my experience with a SCT… maybe a reflection of something else? Filter? EdgeHD baffle lens group with reddish coatings?

Very nice! It’s the observer - not the the telescope - that makes the difference!

Thanks Dave! The OTA is my 1980s C8 with original plastic dew shield. Regards Frank