Geoff Barnes

Transit of 16 degrees?. Luxury! Try observing M31 at my 10 degrees, it's just about visible on a good night! I still get a kick out of seeing it nonetheless. 😊

I've never seen the Oval BA (I have never heard of it ) but last night with very good seeing I was able to clearly make out twelve distinct colour bands including the polar regions. This was while I was observing the lunar transit of Europa and the GRS across the face. The shadow was lagging slightly behind the GRS as they emerged on the left but gradually caught up with it as they crossed to be together as they exited. Two large dark brown barges (or ovals) above the north temperate zone added interest but not shown on this SkySafari image. Baader Morpheus 6.5mm in the 12 inch Dob gives the premium views...

I don't know how often this happens but for the second time in a week there is a shadow transit touching the GRS tonight , this time it is Europa . Fingers crossed for clear skies!

Well I have to say I'm being spoiled rotten lately down here. After the double shadow transit and GRS spectacle a week or so ago, tonight Jupiter has outdone itself with Io and Ganymede shadow transits and the GRS on show BUT... Ganymede's shadow was on the edge of the GRS, amazing sight! A hazy high cloud sheet made the view frustratingly dim but thinner patches gave an occasional great view of the display. The image is courtesy of SkySafari...

I only ever use my 12 inch f5 SW Dob SSC. It is a dream match with the 6.5mm Morpheus.

I had a brief but amazing session last night with Jupiter displaying quite possibly the most action packed show I've ever seen. I had just missed Io and Ganymede transiting but both had left their shadows on the western edge of the Jovian surface very close together, and to cap it all off the GRS was emerging on the eastern side. Seeing conditions to start with were excellent and the two tiny lunar shadows were very sharply etched, with Ganymede's shadow clearly slightly larger than Io's. Not much surface activity evident although all the main bands were clear and colourful. But that didn't matter, to have two shadow transits and the GRS all visible together was more than enough to satisfy, a rare sight indeed! High cloud sheet encroached after half an hour and the image became too dim to continue. If only sights like these were more common on clear nights! The image attached is from SkySafari but is exactly as it appeared through the Morpheus 6.5mm eyepiece.

I got my first view of the GRS last night @Stu and I have to say I was shocked at how pale it is now, just a pastel pink really and quite hard to spot as it came around the edge of the disc. The NEB in comparison was a much darker, richer reddish brown and plenty of colours on show in the other bands. Sad really, hope the old spot is not fading for good. 😢

Please take pity on me, here is my 12 inch Dob pointing straight at the Ring Nebula at its highest point in the sky. No wonder I find it difficult to split the Double Double...

I agree with the above. My seeing down here is almost certainly better than yours with Sirius high up in the sky, but it still requires moments of good stability to see the pup in amongst the glare, especially with the diffraction spikes of my Dob.

Excellent planetary seeing is something I haven't had since I don't remember when, but tonight it is looking very promising indeed, crystal clear, cool and calm. The 12 inch Dob is out on the front lawn with a Astrozap cover draped over it to keep the dew off. Gosh I honestly can't remember the last time conditions allowed me to get it out, must be four months ago before winter set in, and a relentlessly dull windy wet winter it was up here on the mountain. No GRS or lunar transits happening tonight unfortunately but I don't mind, it will be such a thrill just to be out under the skies in good conditions, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune are beckoning me! I just hope I can remember how to use the darn thing!

I bought an Optolong HB filter in the hope of seeing the Horse Head nebula and despite many attempts have failed miserably, though I may be expecting too much with my skies here. My Astronomic O111 and UHC filters work well for me.

Welcome Steve from cloudy Melbourne. You're dead right about those darn clouds and the moon, I've had my scope out once the whole winter! 😠

Awesome! I have seen Vega reflecting off the water in the bird bath on occasions, but that's about as good as it gets here! 😕

It looks to me like you have your own private space ship Avani and you have just returned to Earth after taking a photo in Jupiter orbit.

I always feel a bit spoiled down here with Jupiter and Saturn being so high in the sky compared to you poor souls up north scanning the murk and haze near your horizon. However, I have just noticed on SkySafari that both planets are starting to move down from their lofty heights. Saturn has descended from 75 degrees to 70, and Jupiter from 70 degrees to 65 in the past year or so. Still embarrassingly high for me but at least this means they are rising higher for you and improving your views at last. Enjoy! 😁

I've often wondered what eyepieces are used in professional observatory telescopes and are they available to mere mortals like us? Would they be likely to use Televue ep's?

Even down here in Oz with Saturn almost overhead it takes really good seeing to be able to see the C Ring, which I have managed a few times with my 12 Inch Dobsonian. I am sure I have seen glimpses of the Encke Division at very high power, like 375x with a 4mm eyepiece, but as can be seen from @John image above it is like the very finest of gossamer threads and takes the very best of seeing that only occur maybe once a year, and even then it is fleeting and not possible most of the time. I am lucky that the Cassini Division is not even a challenge here even with poor seeing. Saturn will be rising above the tree tops in the evenings in the next month here and I can't wait, Jupiter too which is my favourite. 😀

Yep, could see from your photo that everything was set up perfectly good enough for a good sharp view. Enjoy! 😀

Hi Dave, that looks perfectly good enough for visual use to me. I think I'm right in saying that slight offset to the left that you mention is quite normal, certainly in a Newtonian/Dobsonian type of scope. Get out with it and enjoy the views! 😀

Ooops, I'd better get my two bob's worth in here before @John passes 60,000! I remember when I first joined the forum it was John who helped point me in the right direction to choosing my 12 inch Dobsonian as my "forever" scope. I am very glad I did! Always worth taking note of John's advice and experience and enjoying the enthusiasm he puts into his visual reports. His post enthusing about his first sighting of the elusive Horsehead Nebula still sticks in my mind as the most memorable post on this forum to date, riveting stuff! Many thanks @John!

I only have the 6.5mm but I agree that the main attributes of it are how really comfortable it is to use and how sharp and detailed the views are through it. After locating my target with the Baader zoom I usually then put in the Morpheus for a closer more detailed look.

After a lousy day here it has cleared up just in time for a great view of the eclipse. Alas only visible from a part of the garden where I can't get the scope, but still nice to watch without optical help (apart from my glasses). Took a photo with my phone hand held, not really worth seeing but here it is anyway...

I found this live link tracking the Chinese debris (as well as other potential hazards). You can turn the globe by clicking and holding... Satellite TLE Data - 2021-035 ++ (ing-now.com) EDIT: Only news I have found so far indicates it broke up over the Maldives in the Indian Ocean... Chinese Long March rocket breaks up on reentry over Maldives | Daily Mail Online

I had to check the date of this post to make sure it wasn't an April Fools prank! 🤣

Intrigue got the better of me this evening so I thought I would have a go at Procyon myself. With the SW 12 inch Dob I got the star nicely centred with tracking on and using the Morpheus 6.5mm (230x) I spent a good 20 minutes just gazing at it and systematically going around and around the airy disc trying to spot the elusive B star. The seeing wasn't the best with a bit of a breeze blowing and the main star was scintillating quite markedly, but every time my eye reached the region around 11-12 o'clock I was convinced there was something there. I certainly couldn't see a star at all, but within the scintillating fuzz surrounding Procyon I definitely felt there was something in there that wasn't evident at any other point around the disc. I hadn't done any homework beforehand so had no idea where the B star was, but after checking SkySafari afterwards it showed Procyon B was exactly where I had seen my "something" loitering in the sparkly fuzz so I'm calling it a success, even if I didn't actually see it. Would be good to have another go under excellent seeing conditions.