Peter_D

I was out for half an hour last night and was spending most of my time on the prominent trio of craters Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina. It was only when I saw cloud approaching I switched to the eastern region of Mare Serenitatis. Rima Smirnov (aka the Serpentine Ridge) was very prominent. I took a quick photo with my smartphone. It was only later I looked at it and it seems to show quite a pronounced and abrupt colour transition in the southern region of the Mare (I am sure the camera is artificially accentuating the colour tones). I have to admit, it didn't register when I was observing it at the scope. I did some reading and this area seems to be a noted area for this abrupt change in the colour of the lunar geology. https://images.app.goo.gl/GSMnJt1Q7izEHDkP8

Super image! Petavius was exactly the crater I was observing yesterday - thanks for sharing.

I've owned two Goto mounts - a used but newer model Meade ETX-70 and my current main scope, a new Celestron 6SE. The Meade had lovely sharp views (for a 70mm) but the slewing noise was really loud and the tracking noise was noisy too - like a modem. I had to sell it nearly straight away because I know the neighbours would have complained if I'd kept it. I know it is more expensive but the 6SE is far quieter when slewing and nearly inaudible when tracking.

The last few days has been very warm. Today, the air was slightly cooler and lunar views were surprisingly sharp. Last month, at this point in the lunar cycle, I had focused on Mare Crisium. This time, I moved further south: a large crater with a very prominent rille caught my eye: I later identified the crater as the 177km wide Petavius. The rille extends from the crater wall right to the complex central peak. I was viewing the crater at, I suspect, after its optimal viewing period - it was still a very impressive sight in my C6. Hopefully will be able to revisit this crater with more aperture at a later date. For those like me who have not examined it until now, I recommend looking out for crater Petavius and its magnificent rille. Peter

Snap! 🙂

I bought two pairs of 8x30 used porro prism binoculars from Ebay Germany - think I paid 15€ and 20€ for them. The seller had a very good reputation, mentioned that both were in collimation (look for this word in the ads) and free of fungus / scratches. This might be an option. Steer clear of sellers that don't give thorough descriptions or have a pair of binoculars amongst a load of random items - better when the seller has astro gear / camera gear as they are more likely to have looked after it.

If the Tasco is a longer 11tr, they have good Japanese mirrors. If it is under-mounted at the moment, you could try and build a dob mount for it and use it on the Moon and planets if you don't plan on upgrading straight away. If you pick up a cheap short focal length refractor, you could mount that on the eq mount which will handle the shorter tube much better. This set up will give you a nice combination until you upgrade your main scope. You could use the refractor later as a guide scope on your upgrade if it is a larger Mak, SCT or Newt.

Try double / multiple star systems: Leo has several really impressive double stars if your local seeing doesn't suit finding its galaxies. A brighter Messier object that is also well placed at the moment in Cancer, Leo's neighbour, is the superb M44. Later on in the Summer, you'll have Epilson Lyrae and M57 very well placed for example. There's always something! 🙂 Because of light pollution, I like to focus on the Moon and planets. You just have to cut your cloth to suit your local conditions. Clear skies

I agree. For me, seeing an artificial satellite used to be a bit of a special event - now, thanks to Starlink, it's lost its novelty. Bit of a pity. Last night, one of the Starlink satellites was on a different trajectory - same direction but slightly offset to the others I saw. I hadn't seen this before - usually they are all in a straight line following one another.

OP, I have a 6SE and I was getting frustrated with it initially - just could not get any alignment to work. Did some research on here and other sites: bought a 12V power supply cable (I see you have the powertank, good choice) and a small mini pocket spirit level (shaped like a triangle). First I level the tripod, second attach the mount and third attach the OTA to the mount (I have the OTA in a plastic crate outside up until this point so that it has reached ambient temp.) Get a watch and make sure your time is spot on for when you need to input it. Good that you know Polaris. Try and identify another bright star quite a bit away from Polaris - Regulus in Leo is very prominent now. I find Two Star Alignment works really well. I find that when centring the star, switching to a higher magnification eyepiece (from 25mm to say 10mm) really ensures the star is centred when I press align. Another method, if you just have lower mag eyepieces, is to defocus and use the large 'donut' of the defocused star image to better judge when the star is centred in the eyepiece. Hope this helps.

I think that's the one I saw too - not sure of the exact time but definitely past 22:15 CET and in my South Western sky.

Yes, I saw a bright but slow meteor last night too - it burnt up with a decidedly red streak.

To improve accuracy, start with your lowest power eyepiece (25mm) and align the RDF with the telescope. Now insert a higher power eyepiece (e.g. 10mm) and repeat the process. This should really help to have excellent alignment when you go to observe later on.

Mark, I was in same boat as you. Last year I bought the 2019 Guide To The Night Sky which gives the lunar phase for each day of the year. Additionally, at the start of the book there is a lunar map that lists the major lunar features and on which day of the lunar cycle each feature is best placed. This year I still use the lunar map to plan observations once I have found out what day of the lunar cycle it is (from the Internet).

OP, can you adjust the Z-axis on your holder? (I.e. moving the phone towards and away from the eyepiece). If you cannot, you could try adjusting the holder's clamping position. I would also try and fold down the eyepiece's eyeguard (if it has one) and move it a bit closer to the camera lens. What focal length is the eyepiece? Try to use a larger one and barlow it (x2) .

Hi, Just wondering if anyone has this set up? It would be for visual only. Any feedback greatly appreciated!

My first scope was a SW Virtuoso 90mm Mak. I found is was good scope for the brighter, equal 'showcase' doubles. The problem I found was locating fainter ones due to light pollution . OP, one other advantage of a 90mm Mak versus a 90mm refractor is you can use an Amici prism to give upright views so you could use it as a transportable terrestrial long range spotting scope - good for stationary targets like bird feeders or slow moving targets.

I did a search and it's been unofficially named Dorsa Nielsen-Rümker: https://the-moon.us/wiki/Rükl_8#Dorsa_Nielsen-Rumker The author also found it strange that it doesn't have an official name and other, less conspicuous dorsa do.

Thanks Mike! 😆😆

It's visible for me tonight. Pretty good seeing. Not sure if I can see part of the Montes Doerfel behind it (lhs of image).

I observed Rümker for the first time last month - exactly like your image Stu - very prominent because it is so dark. Went inside and read up on it: apparently it's the largest shield volcano on the Moon. Amazing structure.

Yes, I saw Bailly earlier too. The bright area in darkness was very striking!

I noted a couple of interesting features tonight - although the main crater of Bailly was in shadow, sunlight was catching the crater rim of Bailly B which made it visible in the darkness. When I moved up to Vallis Schröteri, I noticed a dorsum that runs from the crater Nielsen to Mons Rümker. (upper middle to top middle in second photo). It's not named on my Moon Atlas though.

I think I am right in saying that the Vixen telescopes that end in 'f' (e.g. A80Mf) are made by Synta in China whereas the ones that don't (e.g. A81M) are made in Japan by Vixen themselves.

They are fantastic sketches, thanks for sharing!