Geoff Barnes

No, just common old stratocumulus backlit by the full moon. Pretty nonetheless.

+1 for the 6.5mm Morpheus. I was out last night observing the GRS on Jupiter and tried a few different EP's, including the SW Planetary 4mm and the 6.5mm Morpheus with and without a 2x Barlow and in.the end settled on the Morpheus on its own for the sharpest, clearest view. Even with the full moon very close and slightly wobbly seeing conditions the view was very good indeed.

I like the answers and information you give to all queries on the forum Ricochet, they are always on point, clearly explained and helpful.

Amazing for a phone camera Stu! I've been looking at Sky Safari trying to identify the bright star at 11 o'clock, maybe Alpha Serpentis?

This is a topic which is very pertinent to me, as I recently bought a cheap Skywatcher Planetary 4mm EP and to be honest I was staggered by the views it gave me of Jupiter and Saturn through my 12 inch Dob, so much detail. Now I know the planets are high in the sky down here, so views are as good as it gets with Bortle 4-5 skies, but I'm still left wondering what on earth a high end EP would show me? I've been itching to pull the trigger on a classy 4mm such as the Vixen SLV and was hoping someone might have been able to compare the views in other threads that I've posed this question, but alas no definitive answers were forthcoming. Using my GO-TO Dob to track objects I'm only really concerned with on-axis quality, whatever the views are off-axis is of little concern to me. If the expensive EP's are only superior off-axis then I have no need of them. I can see my only solution is going to be getting the 4mm SLV to satisfy my curiosity. The Vixen HR 3.4mm would be an even better comparison but I really can't justify the expense for one of those - or can I...……???

Who needs a C14 Edge eh Avani?

Here's an old SGL thread with a carry handle feature banjaxed, looks easy enough to drill the holes and screw onto the tube.....

Have a play with this one starhopper13.....https://shallowsky.com/jupiter/

Hi starhopper13, It takes the spot about 4 hours to transit across the face of Jupiter, I think it does a complete orbit in about 9 hours. It may well have been a shadow transit of one of Jupiter's moons which would cross in an hour or two, especially if it was nearer the top corners when you saw it, the Great Red Spot sits nearer the equator of the planet.

No luck last night, the cloud refused to clear. But, it looks good for tonight although very windy, though that shouldn't be too much problem for Jupiter high up and a good old hefty 12 inch Dob. According to shallowsky.com/Jupiter/ there will be the amazing sight of Europa transiting at the same time as the GRS is in full view, for once I wish I was an imager! ( Edit: grrr! 200mph Jetstream above us this evening, clear skies and windy as, Jupiter just a fuzzy mess. Could occasionally make out the GRS as very red tonight, the equatorial belts still very dark, but gave up after half an hour, just too messy up there, shame.

I posted this link above but I think Stu posted at the same time and it may have been missed....https://shallowsky.com/jupiter/ Hopefully it adjusts for time zones and works for everyone, just click on the + symbols to see what's coming in the future. I'm excited because it shows for me there is the GRS and a shadow transit of Europa around 9pm tonight! I will pay good money for a clear sky!

Would these be noctilucent clouds. Certainly are Andy, according to this article they were visible in some remarkably southern latitudes....http://www.spaceweather.com/

If it's any use to you all, this is a very handy site I use to keep track of Jupiter's moons and GRS. I presume (hope) it will adjust itself for your particular part of the world. Just click on the +1hr, +1day etc. to see what features are coming, includes moon shadows as well..... https://shallowsky.com/jupiter/

Can confirm from my sighting a couple of nights ago that the equatorial belts are indeed much darker than usual. I'm hoping to go out and have another look in a couple of hours if the skies clear enough, alas the GRS will not be visible here until about 2.30am - too late for me I'm afraid. I've not seen it since I posted the article about it "unravelling" some weeks ago.

That's pretty much how they looked to me, maybe the secondary was a tad brighter here and more grey/green, but pretty close.

The clarity of the atmosphere is certainly affecting your chances of splitting Antares in the UK. It is a credit to any of you who succeed with it at such low elevations. My view of it here in Melbourne with the star at about 60 degrees elevation was steady as a rock, no drifting in and out at all. E and F in the Trapezium likewise is fairly easy with Orion also at 70 degrees up. I get into difficulties with splitting the Double Double which cruises along just above our northern horizon, I have managed it but seeing all four is a tough challenge through the haze.

Looks great! You've certainly got it on a good (s)table mount there!

To be fair I've just gone 4 weeks without a single clear night, frustrating innit? Well, while I was looking up, he was only interested in looking down.

There I was, engrossed in my observing, sweeping back and forth from the Sombrero and Pinwheel Galaxies, over to Carina Nebula, Crux, Jewell Box, Omega Centauri, then a few doubles, Algieba, Algorab, Porrima and Cor Caroli. All the while I was aware that there was a soft, slightly strange popping sound coming from behind me. I took no notice, thinking it was probably a possum up a tree dropping bits and pieces as they do. It wasn't until the sound became obviously much closer I thought I ought to take a look, leaving the Wishing Well Cluster in the eyepiece I looked over my shoulder to see the dark moonlit silhouette of our local wombat grazing on the front lawn about 2 metres behind me. It occurred to me that I may well have been the only astronomer in the world stargazing with a wombat.

Success! My first decent session for over a month, wonderfully cool clear evening and a good 4 hours observing to make up for lost time. After 3 hours of viewing everything and anything (mostly Leo and Virgo galaxies) waiting for Antares to rise above the trees to my east I finally got the chance to have a go at the split. Got it centred with the Baader zoom and then inserted the Morpheus 6.5mm giving 230x and there it was, clear as a bell, a clean split, bright yellow/orange main star and pale greyish green secondary. With my new Skywatcher Planetary 4mm giving 375x the split was more obvious but lacked the sharpness of the Morpheus. I would rate the split as easier than Sirius simply because of much less glare from Antares. Elevation of about 60 degrees also made for very steady and clear viewing which helps tremendously.

Any news?...…………….😟

I think your 8" Dobsonian is performing perfectly well. My 12" scope shows all stars dimmer than say mag 2.0 as pinpoint, but the brightest stars such as Sirius, Canopus or Rigel all appear a bit flared or spiky, and I don't mean the diffraction spikes caused by the secondary vanes, they are just never pinpoint, it seems to be a feature of reflector scopes and particularly large aperture ones. This may not be the case with top quality exotic mirrors, I've never looked through one. Certainly if you can focus sharply on the moon then the stars will be in sharp focus at the same time without adjusting the focuser, all are in infinity as far as focus goes.

Welcome aboard LarsCar, and fear not, I'm sure there are plenty of forum members on here who have experience with your type of set up who will be only too happy to give you good advice - just as soon as they wake up from their slumbers!

Thanks for that John, you've given me another new target to observe. If it's slightly easier than Sirius B then I should have little trouble splitting them, especially as Antares gets very high here. Patiently waiting for clear skies here on the mountain, it's been 3 weeks or more now with persistent cloud.

Hi Nicola, I found this on CN for you to have a look at, mixed reactions it would seem.....https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/660499-es-iexos-100-first-light-some-thoughts-and-comparisons-to-skywatcher-az-gti/