Dark Vader

Nice scopes, those.

I'd probably be looking at something like this, with a comfortable camping or picnic chair.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/4-person-table/_/R-p-6330

If you've already got a patio table, use that.

I use a water butt stand for my 200p but that base is too big for a table and I'd need a ladder to see anything 😂

Andy 

8 minutes ago, Starslayer said:

Thanks Andy but honestly, this was done on the spur of the moment mainly as my youngest daughter keeps asking if I have found any little green men yet. ( she is 29! ).   I just got the phone near the eye piece and pressed the button. I hope this is not the start of a journey down another expensive rabbit hole.  I really am not in to photography of any sort.   

Spur of the moment was my first go on the moon. Seeing was very steady so I gave it a go and if I'm honest I got 1 half decent shot out of 20 or so.

All you'll need for some really decent results is something like this.

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/celestron-nexyz.html

I'm really just into visual but take the odd few lunar shots. Single shots on automatic with the shutter timer set to avoid any vibration. Not tried Solar yet. I might try some pics of Jupiter and Saturn when they are up at a reasonable time but that's the limit of my AP skills.

It's a start. It does look like your phone camera has auto focused on the edge of the eyepiece instead of what was in it. Was there any room to get the camera closer to the eyepiece?

If that eyepiece has an eye cup, it might help folding it up and resting the phone camera against it, in the absence of a phone mount.

It's a lovely colour though...

Andy 

Starting with the easiest, does your phone have a cover with a magnetic clip on? If so, it might be worth taking the cover off and trying again. I'd have thought that would have affected both apps though. Apologies if you already thought of that one.

I'm a long way from being an expert in these things but its worth checking the "Time and Coordinates" section in the settings menu. Under "date and time", Is it set to "current time" and the "Automatic daylight saving time" box ticked? 

In "Location", the box "Standard time zone" set to 0.0 hours from GMT.

If none of that makes a difference, I'd check Lat/Long location with a GPS to see if it tallies with the phone location service. If it's out, It may be that you need to create a custom observing site with the GPS lat/long numbers.

Hope you get it working properly - I find Sky Safari very good. 

Andy

The ISS passed over almost at Zenith around 2245, could that have been it?

I spend hours looking at things in the night sky without knowing what I am seeing 😂 I will just pop in a low powered eyepiece and pan around. Should I spot anything I'll hold my phone up to that area of the sky and try to identify it with Sky Safari. Then try and find it again next time out. Spent 18 months with binoculars doing just that.

The planets are less affected by light pollution and in a couple of months Jupiter and Saturn will be up in the evening. 

Galaxies and nebulae will be trickier the worse the light pollution gets but you should still see plenty of stars, doubles, and not forgetting the moon. You'll see that no matter how light polluted it gets, and it's a thing of beauty.

Andy 

New 365 Astronomy Starguider branded O-lll filter just hit the doormat. 

Anytime 👍 

Apologies if this isn't what you're aiming at here, but I've recently started taking photographs of the moon with a smartphone adapter and phone camera. It's a form of eyepiece projection and when I wasn't actually taking a photo, the moon was still visible on the screen. I had several people looking at the live image on the phone screen, including a neighbour who looked over the garden fence and was amazed by the view. 

Tapping "Both" works with my Dob. There's another useful menu if you tap top left. It allows you to change star and DSO magnitude settings and navigate the view by Cardinal points without accessing them through settings. I only recently found out about these menus myself but find them useful.

Sky Safari plus has this feature, when you tap on the top right corner you can flip the view to match. I don't know if it's in the free one...

Or, Does your phone have Auto Rotate and if so can you turn it off?

Andy

Thanks Stu, I'll look into getting one. When I was trying for it last night it was only around 15° altitude so maybe another hour would have helped... along with being able to find 52 Cygni 😀

No, I've only got a Baader ND 0.9 moon filter and don't often use that. Sky Safari listed it at mag +5.0 so I thought I should be able to see something of it. However, my searching abilities are, putting it mildly, not the best!! 🙂

4 hours ago, SuburbanMak said:

Great report and a great night! 
I picked tonight to drive out to a darker elevated spot and it’s amazing what a difference getting 15 minutes outside of town makes. 
 

I did some preplanned galaxy hunting in Virgo & Comma B - M49, M61, M85, M98, M99 & M100 (tough one).  

Then  went a bit kid in a globular sweet shop on M13, M92, M3, M5, M10 & M12.

Like you I had a great view of M57 & a first view of M27 which had a definite double bulge shape. 
 

Finished off with a super view of M81, M82 & M51.  
 

Cuppa & bed - work in 5 hrs…

Nice work, especially on a school night. I really must sort myself out a darker site. 

5 hours ago, John said:

Good stuff Andy !

Twas a nice one, tonight

I've not yet managed to convincingly see the central star of M57 with my 12 inch scope, even when it's more or less overhead. I'd certainly like to though !

 

Thanks John, it was nice out there. I'd heard the M57 central star mentioned as a challenge but didn't know how realistic it was. If you've not got it with the 12" it's sounding well beyond my reach. A bit like that 'Burger... 

With clear skies and a good forecast I started off at M57, looking good down to 180x. Still couldn't make out the central star but it was still pretty low in the sky. 

Went over to Leo and tried again for the triplet. I could tell the transparency was better as I could see some oval shape to M66 with the 15mm BST. M65 was just visible but still no sign of the "burger". I'm starting to wonder if that's a step too far with the skies here. 

Had a nice view of M13 though, barlowed the 15mm for 180x - outer stars nicely resolved, then went over to M92 looking great at the same power. 

By now, Cygnus was getting higher so I had a first look this year at Albireo, the lovely blue and yellow colours standing out well in the Hyperion IV zoom.

Looking at Sky Safari I noticed M27 not far away so tried for another first. Still quite low but I could see a discernable shape to it. Tried the Hyperion IV zoom and 15mm BST, nothing improved the view but still another one bagged. 

Getting cold feet now, I remembered seeing recent posts about the Eastern veil so thought I'd have a go but that one eluded me. 

Packed in just after 1am and warming up with a medicinal one! All in all a pretty good, peaceful night with some more firsts bagged. Going to bed with a smile tonight. 

Andy
 

A quick look on Sky Safari shows Saturn and Jupiter to the South East in your approximate location at around 3am. In binoculars you'll only see Jupiter as a bright disc but you should make out the 4 moons. Saturn will be a yellowish slightly oval shape. You don't say what size binoculars you have but, unless they're seriously big, you won't see any detail.

Mine is still under construction but is a 2nd hand aluminium camera case with dividers removed and new cubed foam insert bought from Ebay. I've not finished it and put anything in yet but the cardboard box I currently use needs to be retired 🙂

Andy

Additional: if you go to Am#z*n and type "pistol case" in the search, a load of them come up. Hth

From that link I would go with the 10x50 and avoid zoom binoculars at all costs.

Andy

The most I do is make a brief entry in Samsung notes to help with any report I make on here inc. magnification used if I remember, and screenshot any successful targets in Sky Safari. Every few months I'll download the lot into a folder on the laptop. I'm not very technical...

Andy

With a 2x Barlow that's exactly it. Divide the scope's focal length by the eyepiece focal length = magnification.

So for an 8-24mm zoom in my Skywatcher 200p with a 1200mm focal length 1200÷24=50, 1200÷8=150. With a normal 2x Barlow would be 100x - 300x

I can't remember where I got it from now, was a garden centre online... its 53cm diameter across the top, for a max 227L butt.

It can increase vibration, especially when I accidentally bump it with me size 15s but to be honest I've not found it a problem.

33 minutes ago, Pitch Black Skies said:

Thanks Andy,

Is the zoom as sharp and does it show as much contrast as the BSTs?

I think I've narrowed it down to the BSTs, the BCOs, a combination of them, or the zoom you mentioned.

I'd say the zoom has shown me more detail since I had it, bearing in mind by the time I got it the planets were way past their best if not gone completely.

With it I've managed to regularly see Trapezium E&F , good views of M42, a brief one night only view of Sirius B aka the Pup, and split a good few doubles around Orion.

The 15mm BST showed Jupiter's Equatorial and Temperate belt and Red spot, small at 80x but visible. The 5mm (240x) I found too much given the planet's position and the amount of atmosphere I needed to look through. It was useful at the Mars opposition though.

They are all pretty good on the moon, with the 15mm being the clearest of the BSTs.

My opinion is the Hyperion IV zoom and matching Barlow will probably give you better all round views and flexibility, and you'll have focal lengths covered from 24 - 3.5mm. 

I've not tried them but I read that the BCOs do give good views but can be a bit tight on eye relief.

Andy

Something like this should do the job.

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Universal-Equipment-Dolly-by-Gear4music/1MA1

I used an old 3 wheeled board I had for shifting my guitar amps when I was gigging.

My 200P sits on something similar in the house and it can be easily moved for cleaning around and under where it lives. When I take it outside I just wheel it to the patio doors, lift it off and put it on the water butt stand.

Andy

Last year when Jupiter and Saturn were around, my only other non supplied eyepiece was a Starguider 21-7 zoom. Jupiter generally took between 9-10mm (120-133x) and Saturn I could just get to 7mm (171x) on a good night. 

Zooms are a good idea, although they can get a pretty narrow field of view at the low power end.