domstar

Very nice. It's one of the things I'm most proud of and it's nice to share it here on the forum. Congratulations- it really is something (especially some of the lower globular cluster) and it's very difficult to share the achievement with non stargazers.

Oh great thanks.

Hello everyone,

I tried to use a different telescope last night but the view finder was so badly out of focus that it made finding stuff very difficult. My own one is slightly out of focus and I've never noticed a way of focusing it. Am I missing something?

Thank you.

Hello and welcome from Sumperk.

Great writing. It really describes the challenge of seeing something difficult. I've been spending most of my recent opportunities revisiting stuff I've seen before but those days when I'm up for a tough fight and eventually succeed are probably the best nights. I admire your tenacity and I hope I get to see a supernova one day.

Nice one Doug. Last week started a run of clear nights after months of solid clouds. A couple of those had spectacular conditions. I stayed mainly around Orion but I managed to see the white and red dwarfs of Keid. Yesterday I split the brightest star in the Christmas Tree Cluster, which is also a rarity for me. Will go into Taurus soon when it dips below  the balcony roof at a reasonable time. 

Thanks for your reports. They always push me to set up my gear instead of letting the evening slip away.

Nice to see you've got the bug again. Not expert enough to advise you but I think you should go for it anyway.

Wow, what a session. You have real stamina. Great report.

What an excellent report of a great session. Just the push I need to get out again.

Great report. Yes, Barnard's Galaxy is a killer- at least for me. I've spent many a time staring at where it should be. I saw it for the first time this August after a many unsuccessful tries. I should go back and have a closer look at the Little Gem. I'm not very experienced with Planetary Nebulae.

33 minutes ago, Paul M said:

It is a nice galaxy but when I last imaged M57 it looked more Ring Nebulaish...😄

Close but no cigar.😀

Nice shot. Well done.

Very nice indeed. I keep meaning to give it a try. This is a big push in that direction for me. 

A great report and a real push to get off this forum and back outside. The sky is amazing tonight. I must stop faffing around.

Thanks for the support everyone. I appreciate it.

@carastro The police just took my details. There isn't much for me to spy on in that direction. It was a very strange thing. He was obviously a no-gooder but I would've guessed verbal abuse is the first step not smash my window/scope/face right in front of me.

@scotty38 Not a word. Just stood and stared. It was a bit weird but I was very surprised when I heard the bang and the glass crashing.

@johninderby Yes I called the police and the insurance looks promising. I'm a bit reluctant to put the scope on the balcony for the time being at least. 

I just had a little session last night showing my partner the Orion Nebula and Pleiades. We were on my second floor balcony and we caught the attention of a passer-by who stared at us for a couple of minutes then suddenly flung a stone at us, smashing the outside pane of the living room window. It narrowly missed my head and the telescope too. I can't believe how senseless it is. 

Hello and welcome. I started out with the same scope (without the sun filter). The improvement I got with a couple of second-hand plossls was the biggest upgrade jump I've made. Hope you continue to have fun when the clouds allow.

Hi @Jiggy 67. I share your enthusiasm for doubles. My sessions were starting to get a little stale until I got the CDSA and it brought a lot of challenge and satisfaction. Thanks for the tips. I don't recall Rho Orionis so I'm looking forward to checking it out. I've seen Mintaka, but I'd forgotten about it so it's on my list for next time.

Hi @Epick Crom Thanks for your kind words. I have a 4-inch refractor. The conditions really were special.  Crisp nights in January are just about the best for observing here.

After reading @SuburbanMak's excellent and comprehensive report, I was looking forward to some double-star action despite the full moon, and the discussions from the forum made me want to try some closer doubles than I was used to. Orion is a fantastic constellation partly because it's so bright that navigating around it is always possible. I wouldn't want to track down doubles in Pisces on a moonlit night without goto. 

I was amazed at the conditions last night. My 6mm Ortho (150x) is only usable on the best days and yesterday was one of them. I spent the first hour trying to find and split two doubles above Orion's belt (Sigma 741 and Sigma 757). It was great but I couldn't make the 1.4 arcsecond split. I barlowed my 10mm Ortho  and I was amazed that the stars still had airy discs and weren't fuzzy at all. I'd only tried to do this once before and it was dim, mushy and the stars had raced across the field of view like a satellite.

After a rest, I went out again and Orion was now at it's highest. It was amazing. I split 33 Ori for the first time (1.9 arcseconds), and amazingly 32 Ori at 1.4. I even went back and just managed to go back and split Sigma 757 into 3 (or is it 4?).  I had a long go on 52 Ori but the 1.2 separation was too close. I went up to 250x and still the image held up. I'd never managed a 'snowman' before but I'm sure that's what I got. Of course I did all the classics as well including just a hint of the F star in the Trapezium. I tried Sirius too and now I'm convinced that it's beyond my skill level.

I can't believe what a buzz it gave me. I'm still thrilled about it. It was surprisingly one of the best sessions for a couple of years. I'd like to thank the people who encouraged me to get a refractor, to get the  Cambridge Double Star Atlas, and for all the discussions particularly about double stars- I hope you know who you are.

Thanks for reading.

Dominic

That's a great report of an excellent session. I really enjoyed it- thanks.

Very nice, Doug. Just popped in myself to warm my hand up. The starts are very sharp tonight. 

Thanks for the tip about wide doubles at low power- I often overlook them in favour of their tighter cousins.

Hi, 

Orion is fantastic at the moment. The Orion Nebula (with the Trapezium inside) is one of the most spectacular things in the sky. There are also wonderful bright doubles nearby, such as Rigel, Alnitak and Sigma Ori. 

Hope you have fun.