Geoff Barnes

HI Jazzmatazz, I have a Skywatcher 12 inch Dob (f4.9) and have had some wonderful views of both Jupiter and Saturn, really sharp and contrasty with my Baader Morpheus 6.5mm, Baader Mk4 zoom and more recently a Skywatcher 4mm Planetary. My first suggestion would be to do a star test with your highest power eyepiece to check you have really good collimation, I know from experience with my scope that it only has to be slightly out of collimation to give unsatisfactory views, not sharp at all. (Edit: I should add that here in Australia these planets are very high in the sky and that obviously helps a lot with clarity of view).

The way things are going Jazzo I think this may well be your best option, if you can wait 4 more weeks, they will almost certainly be able to get it sorted for you in no time.

Gosh, that's at the top end of Lordshill Recreation Ground - our cottage was at the bottom end on Jerretts Lane corner, spooky! And I didn't even know the Astro Group was there!

Hi Sam and welcome aboard. We lived about 2 miles from you off Redbridge Lane, Nursling before we moved out here to Melbourne in 2006, small world!

See if this works for your location Paz.... https://www.n2yo.com/passes/?s=74001

Hi John, Olli's signature says 200mm Dob.

It wouldn't be a Dob if it was on a tripod John, but you knew that.

For those interested in seeing them fly over (if indeed they are visible at all) click on this link which should relate to your location.... https://www.n2yo.com/passes/?s=74001 It seems they take about 10 minutes to pass over on average.

I think the Turner Art Prize beckons! 🤣

Video of SpaceX Starlink Satellite Train passing over the Netherlands. Some of the comments seem to fear for the astro imaging community with these going over, what do people think?

Yes you can, but like everything else astronomy related it tends to cost a lot more here. That's why I tend to order nearly all my equipment from the UK (FLO mainly), as it is quite a bit cheaper even with postage included.

Interestingly I had a look through the 5mm model of this Saxon EP a few weeks ago when I went to check out the Vixen SLV 5mm. The sales assistant was adamant that the Saxon was just as good as the Vixen plus the advantage (?) of a much wider FOV and half the price. I had a look through both at a distant advertising board through the store window and could see no real difference between them, but then that was not a real test of any EP. The main drawback for me was the difference in size, the Vixen is nice and compact, whereas the Saxon is about 4 times the size. So it would come down to choices of size, cost and FOV for you to determine which benefits you would want.

Yes John, that's what I'm hoping, just need to get the moon out of the way to stand any chance methinks. Would be better if Pluto was close to another planet or recognizable star, so will keep checking its position in future. I'm under no illusion that it will only be the faintest of specks even under very good skies.

Hi Peter, We haven't crossed paths since your Go-To problems on Ice In Space last year, glad you got that sorted in the end. There is no doubt that Skywatcher equipment is built to a price, but then so is everything these days. There is also no doubt that their optics are very good, certainly are in my 12 inch Dob, gives me excellent views of both planets and deep sky targets. Like everything in technology, once you get to a certain high level the improvements become increasingly small for ever increasing expenditure. By all means go for better quality, but be prepared to pay an awful lot more to see any benefit. You must have had some wonderful views with your 10 inch Dob have you not?

I notice Pluto is very close to the Moon here tonight. I've never seen Pluto, well I've never looked for it, but with my 12 inch Dob it should be just about reachable on a good night. I presume the proximity to a still fairly full Moon will rule out any real chance of spotting it. Has anyone seen it and with what scope and EP?

Just seen this on the Spaceweather site, very intruiging and something for both observers and imagers alike to have a look at in the coming days/weeks/months..... https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2019/05/20/is-the-great-red-spot-unraveling/

Hi Robert, I've recently been using this EP in my 12 inch Dob and I have to say it has absolutely blown my socks off, stunning performance for such a low price. Obviously my scope has a much larger aperture than yours but I really think you should consider giving it a try.

Glad you all enjoyed the report, I woke up early again today hoping to spend more time on Jupiter but alas it's cloudy. I have to say I am astonished by how good the SW Planetary 4mm is, I had expected it to be a bit dim and fuzzy but not a bit of it, I can hardly imagine any EP giving better views. Perhaps I don't need a 5mm after all?

I woke up in the early hours and could see Vega shining brightly through the bedroom window and decided to get the 12 inch Dob out and have a look at Jupiter and Saturn which were both high overhead at 5am here. The sun wasn't up for another 2 hours and the nearly full moon had sunk below the hilltop, the sky was clear and steady and with no wind conditions were as good as it gets. I was keen to try out my new Skywatcher Planetary 4mm for the first time since it arrived from FLO two weeks ago. With the Baader zoom at 8mm I did a quick star test on Vega to get collimation as good as possible and swung the 12 inch Dob right up overhead to Saturn. A bit of fine tuning with the new Lacerta 10:1 focuser and it was looking nice and sharp. Out with the zoom and in went the SW 4mm, refocus, fine tune and oh boy! My, my, without a doubt the most stunning view of Saturn I've had, it was all there, pin sharp, Cassini, the Encke minima, the C Ring, several bands on the disc and a definite pale blue polar region. Four moons, Dione, Tethys, Mimas and even Enceladus all strung out in a line below the rings. Just breathtaking! I spent so long marveling at Saturn I hadn't noticed Jupiter was about to disappear behind the tree tops, so I quickly swung over to him and managed to catch Ganymede. Callisto, Europa and Io all close by, no shadows on the planet but wonderful views of all the main bands and just a hint of the GRS beginning to appear on the very edge. Being so close to the trees the seeing was a bit fuzzy (eucalyptus trees give off a lot of vapour), not as clear as Saturn but still a wonderful bright contrasty view. I've debated long and hard whether it is worth spending a lot of money (which I don't have) on exotic eyepieces instead of decent budget ones and now I know. Given really good seeing conditions and a well collimated scope, for just £37 you can have the most wonderful views imaginable!

Maybe not super cheap, but for only £37 from FLO my new Skywatcher Planetary 4mm has just proved itself to be an absolutely stunning bit of kit! (I'll do a write up in Observing : Planetary).

It suddenly occurred to me that when the next Carrington Event happens (as it surely will one day, resulting in the end of all electrical power and the consequences that go with that), us astronomy nerds would finally all have Bortle 1 skies at last!!! 👍

Wow! I've never done imaging (apart from smartphone) but even I can see that's a cracking image henny! Oh and welcome aboard SGL!

First clear night for ages down here , so I was looking forward to having my first ever sighting of Markarians Chain, but, guess where the moon is tonight...…. 🙄

I'm sure I can hear that poor Sphinx mount groaning "Get off me ya great lump"! Handy to be able to park your car in the back yard too Stu!

This is a topic that greatly interests me as I'm wanting a high power eyepiece for planetary and lunar viewing with my 12 inch dob. I've bought a 4mm Skywatcher Planetary EP but alas have not had a chance to use it yet. I'm thinking a 5mm will probably be the best to use on a regular basis. What I really want to know is - do the premium eyepieces produce better images in the centre of the FOV than cheaper versions or is the only advantage with them in their better correction at the edges. If the cheaper ones are just as sharp on axis I may as well just go for one of them, as I observe almost exclusively with my GoTo dob tracking whatever I'm viewing in the centre of the FOV, so outer edges are not so imp[ortant to me. I will look forward to a review by you soon John!