domstar

The good news is the H means it's a Huygens design. This means that even a cheap eyepiece upgrade will give you a huge improvement. They came included in the box of my first scope and when I upgraded to second hand Skywatcher plossls that came with their scopes, I couldn't believe the difference. A lot of people will tell you to spend around 50 pounds for Starguiders, which have a great reputation here and I have one myself, but if you don't want to spend so much, cheap second-hand plossls will improve thing a lot. On the negative side, if you get a better scope you'll feel the need to upgrade the eyepieces again but they are so cheap it doesn't matter.

Great report. My repertoire is expanding but still too small to change tack like you did. Once or twice I found myself at a loss for targets this summer. I need to make sure my research is solid. It's exciting to hear about a 20 inch dob.

@mdstuart Thanks. NGC 7331 has become very familiar to me over the last few weeks. I even feel a bit guilty just using it as a jump off point as it's magnificent in its own right. I tried again tonight but the conditions weren't quite as good. I know I have the right spot. I feel so close but I'm not 100 percent sure. In the past, by the second time I'm sure of what I've seen and the third time it's easy but not this time. Anyway, thanks for the tips. You seem to be a guy who knows his galaxies. Successful or not, it's been thrilling just trying.

@Marvin Jenkins I really like the Splinter (I saw it again last night) It has a nice shape that looks good in a frac, it's far away, it has a (good) name and it is easy to know where it should be- just above that line of 3 stars. That's important for me as I can feel confident that I'm in the right place and it's my eyes I need to train. When I'm not sure exactly where a galaxy should be I have a much harder time seeing it, of course. Third time last night on the Quintet. I can see the same thing as before. This time I could sometime hold it in averted vision for a second or more. I looked at some pictures and it seems there are no foreground stars outshining the galaxies so I'm pretty sure I saw maybe two of them but I still couldn't swear to it. One of the galaxies is foreground but the others are about 233 million light years away. Just off out now. Wish me luck.

I had another look on Friday night. I got the same feeling at 100x. There's something there. It could be an unresolved star.

@jetstream Thanks very much. Yes, you are absolutely right. The proof will be if I can see it next time. I'm itching to have another go at it.

I think I got it. I really think I got it. Here is some background. Four nights of observing with Stephan's Quintet as my main focus. That's over three hours of staring at the space where it should be- every night more and more focused on the exact spot. Last night the seeing was poor but the transparency was great. The milky way showed detail. It was windy and chilly but dry as a bone. @jetstream had given me great advice (not for the first time) to up the magnification. At first at 90x magnification. There was a faint fuzz just to the right of where I was expecting (refractor view), which I managed to resolve as two stars. Maybe some glimpses of my target but probably not. Then I went up to 100x. Still looking when my nose gave an involuntary grunt. The same grunt I gave when I managed the Trapezium F star for the first time. I managed three more involuntary grunts, one after upping the mag to 112.5x. I think I got glimpses in different places but mostly the lower part (unfortunately the nearest galaxy). I had a break and checked out the Splinter Galaxy in Draco. It was the first time I'd been able to see it and it was clear to me. It is brighter than Stephan's Quintet but it's surface brightness is less. I went back and had the same feeling again about the Quintet. Did I see it? I can't say for sure. I'm about 85 percent certain. Does it matter? Yes and No. After I'd ticked off the numbers of the Messier list I didn't really know what to do next. These last couple of week has clarified this. I think I get most pleasure from trying to see faint stuff. I haven't got the patience to tease out detail. I'm getting better but I rarely do more than 10 minutes on Jupiter and half an hour on the moon. I enjoy old favourites like the Wild Duck but not for long periods at a time. However, some of my most enjoyable and rewarding sessions have been objects where I know where they should be but can't quite see them. In spring it was the Siamese Twins and this autumn it was Stephan's Quintet. Thanks for reading. p.s. Can anyone confirm the two very faint stars to the left of Stephan's Quintet. They are too dim for Stellarium and pictures are inconclusive.

Great report. I've spent the last three sessions trying to catch a glimpse of Stephan's Quintet. It seems to be beyond my capabilities. It's funny, I used the main Deer Lick galaxy as my marker but had trouble lining up the stars from stellarium. Every failure has drawn me closer to the exact location. We'll see- I might need a bigger telescope. Excellent to hear about Triton. I can only dream of it.

Thanks for the replies. @jetstream. I was using a BCO 10mm which gives me 90x magnification and an exit pupil of just over a millimetre. I remember taking your advice before about upping the mag on galaxies (successfully) but I can't help wanting to try them at a lower mag so I spent most time with a 20 or 25mm eyepiece. @RobertI I read about the galaxy in front of the others but I must've got confused as I thought it wasn't as bright as the others that were further away. That's a bit of a blow, but, as you said, the bright one of the Deer Lick group is clearly visible. It was a good marker to search for Stephan's Quintet. It was the surface brightness according to Stellarium that got me thinking about the possibility as I know the magnitude is too faint for me. It seems I've been taking a (very nice) knife to a gun fight. Thanks again.

Seduced by the mind-boggling distances involved, I decided to try to see Stephan's Quintet or at least a smudge of light from it. I found the Deer Lick group (the big one not the fleas) and it was pretty clear but no cigar for the quintet. It's pretty dim, I know, but according to Stellarium, the surface brightness is more (less magnitude) than, for example, M74. My question is, does anyone have any experience of seeing Stephan's Quintet with a 4 inch refractor? Am I wasting my time? (I enjoyed it all the same). Is it the case that the overall magnitude is more important than the surface brightness? I tried various magnifications from 28x to 90x and I sometimes almost thought I caught an averted glimpse. I had two wonderful nights with planets, galaxies, an unfiltered Veil, and probably the last look at Sagittarius until next year. The sky was crystal clear and it was warm enough for me to fiddle about with my UHC filter. I'd forgotten how amazing September skies can occasionally be. Even the time spent trying to will Stephan's Quintet into existence was welcome but I'd like to feel that I've seen something so ridiculously far away. Thanks Dominic

Hello and welcome to the forum, I'd like to add my voice to those who say avoid an EQ mount for visual. A Dobsonian or an AZ mount on a tripod are much less frustrating to use. Also, Astroshop and Omegon appear to be the same company (or partners), which probably accounts for their recommendations. That's not to say Omegon are inferior but other makes are available. Good luck with your choice. It's a lovely idea for a 60th birthday present.

A great read. I love the first dark site sky in August after a break. All the old favourites are new (ish) again. After a couple of nights it's time to look for new stuff but that first night of well-seen oldies is great.

A pretty similar situation my end. May and June were solid clouds and the comet got me out later than I would usually like. I must say, it was great to be back and I did just stick to old favourites. Hoping to get a few more nights when the moon starts waning again. August is a lovely month for observing. Good to hear of other people starting their post midsummer revival too.

Hoping for a bit of seclusion under the Milky Way, I set up and drank tea at a hill pass and waited for the comet to appear. At 10.30 another car pulled up, which I always find a bit concerning. A man with his two sons got out. They'd come to look for the comet. The dad said hello and I showed them Jupiter and Saturn and then the comet. It was great to show them something and especially the dad was thrilled. Just before they left, another car pulled up and it was a man with his daughter. He had a small Newtonian. It was the first time I'd ever seen another stargazer. He said it was his first time. Being a middle-aged man, I had to resist the temptation to give advice. We compared comets and it looked the same in both our scopes (but his was upside down). It was really nice again to meet somebody interested in the stars. I wanted to call him over but we just observed silently side by side. I looked at a couple of things in Sagittarius and I even saw the Veil. I looked over jealously at the ease at which he could look towards the zenith. For a first-timer, he seemed to take to it like a duck to water. He found the comet, Saturn and Jupiter straight away. I suppose that's the beauty of a red dot finder. A very different night to my usual but it made me smile- two dads with more enthusiasm than their tired kids. It is the same with me.

Well, I saw the comet. I took my binoculars as I was too tired and lazy to take the scope. After about 45 minutes of waiting, it got dark enough and I was amazed. I couldn't believe how far it stretched out. A real top-tenner of astronomical wows. Anyway, instead of a report I thought I'd say a big thank you to all the previous reports, pictures and even the instructions on how to get it on stellarium. SGL really enthused me to go out and have a look and I probably wouldn't have bothered without you lot. I'm so glad I went out. Thank you. Dominic

A nice read to keep my enthusiasm ticking over. Astro darkness returns for me tonight.

A great read. It's good to have a nemesis. I've had a few. It's so much more satisfying when it's vanquished. I also find that after the first time, it capitulates more and more easily each time. Cygnus is a lovely constellation but I find it very difficult to find a target there because there are just too many stars.

Wow. I've been a member here for about 3 years and I'm a visual-only observer. I've seen a lot of member images but I've never been tempted to try it myself. Thank you so much for the excellent talk. I've learnt so much from it. Now I feel that I know a little about what the imagers are talking about. A real education.

Alas, I only have it on paper form. It might be an ebook too but I've never heard of it as interactive software.

I can't find a way to use stellarium well for this. The problem is that it doesn't tell me the magnitude of the secondary (maybe I should play with the options), so I don't know if the double is within the reach of my telescope. I have the Cambridge Double Star Atlas and it is great. It also has the added bonus of being able to tick off the stars as I see them. It really has transformed my observing from looking at the famous bright ones to hunting down dimmer but no less enjoyable doubles. I love the challenge.

Excellent report. I still have a lot of fondness for my 70mm refractor.

Great report. I have Bortle 4 skies here but only a four inch scope and I love galaxies, especially the ones around Virgo. It's amazing how difficult it can be to see a galaxy for the first time and then how easy it is by the third time. I haven't seen any detail yet, but as you said, the amazement comes from the knowledge of what you are seeing. Anyway, I like reading about observations under less than ideal conditions. They are more relatable. One difference between you and me- I always seem to finish on a failure. It shows me that I've had enough.

Sorry I can't help, but that's pretty amazing.

@jetstream Hmm I'm not really sure. I always thought it was a starguider until it was pointed out to me that they don't make starguiders at 20mm 🙂. It's from Skysthelimit, who sold starguiders before flo started. It's 58 degrees and sharp as a tack. I must admit I'm still amazed and happy about the views it gave me last night and that I had an improvement under my nose and it didn't occur to me. Thanks for the tip- you called it.

Wow. Sounds like a great night. I'd love to see those things- one day maybe.