Barry-W-Fenner

What a beautiful, quiet evening just standing outside looking at the new moon. Stunning!

Very interesting to hear that Stu. I thought they were just a pair! A fine pair of stars mind. They bring fond memories as they were the 1st double I observed last September. Its great to see them coming back, I will check them out in more detail this time around 👍

This might explain it Stu. I think I have the basic which is what I downloaded when I 1st started out. I will have a look at the upgraded versions! Baz

This is all I seem to get, whatever way I enter the ID number..

I stand no chance of finding IC3568. I can't even find it on skysafari. However I type it in the search it just says item number not found?!

I was the same Merlin. Kept an eye on the sky but no such luck with a break in the cloud. I hope we get a decent view of Mercury before its too late.

Excellent, I will check it out! Regards

I bet the views are unbelievable through that scope! It looks beautiful. Where abouts was you viewing from, the location is stunning. what make us the scope as you mentioned the optics are from orion. Regards Baz

Thats how I feel John. I'm keeping one eye on Bresser to see if they produce a 12" dob. And also looking out for a nice 2nd hand VX12 or maybe 14 😂😂

Forgive my ignorance John, would 1/9th be labelled the Ultra Grade? The highest spec mirror? I am just trying to weigh up if it's worth buying the either the research or ultra grade mirror from the outset. Or source a 2nd hand VX with one of these mirrors rather than the standard mirror. Regards Barry

Agreed, Its a much nicer compact footprint to my 8" Skywatcher base.

If I had that collection there is no way I could store them like that with my two little bam bams! 🙂

Lovely collection there John. I can only imagine what images these instruments provide! I was on the Orion Optics page earlier today looking at the VX12, Out of interest do you know what PV the primary mirror is in your dob? Is there any benefit to ordering on of the higher grade mirrors? Regards Baz

This is the best solution, No sticky adhesives used. Just a simple Nyloc Nut replacement. Regards

Ah yeah my mistake, Not sure why I put Mars down as inferior. I did actually know it was just Mercury & Venus! I will now have a read as to why they are inferior. Thanks for the link John Baz

Great read John, and fantastic pics! It is great to hear so many got to enjoy these two planets. I didn't get to see much of Mercury. I ran upstairs to the back window and could see it with the naked eye but the little 76p only made it out as a tiny spec. Still amazing though and very tiny! I still dont understand the term about the inner 3 planets being "Inferior Planets" It just sounds insulting to me 🙂 I am also hoping to view some globes and return to the Cats Eye next time out, Along with hopefully finding the Blinking planetary. Baz

And now ISS has just gone over. I managed to track it in the finder but not in the eye piece unfortunately. Great morning and nights observing so far!

I didn't think about that Alan. I viewed jupiter and Saturn at 4.30 this morning. Venus and Mercury tonight, although my Mercury viewing was very poor I got a brief look at it. That makes 4 for me today 🙂 now I have an idea where Mercury will be tomorrow night I can make a plan of attack. Just hope the weather plays nice. Baz

Ive got Mercury in the finder but it's to low to see in the eye piece. I'm hitting the back fence!!

Beautiful slim crescent of Venus showing nicely. Now waiting for Mercury to appear. Hope I can get the scope on it!

Thank Doug. Personally I am finding the alt bearing on the 200p to be very good. It tends to hold its position very well. The only time I have a slight issue is when I use my astrozap dew shield at low altitude. This does tend to make the scope nose heavy and can drop from the target. To be fair this shield is not actually designed for the 200p and it may have the same effect on other dobs also, But could be rectified easier on say the Bresser as you can coarse adjust with the tube rings. In short the smaller Skywatcher dobs (200p) function very well and it is a fantastic scope to use. That said I am keeping my eyes open to see if Bresser decide to bring out a 12" Dob. They make fantastic looking scopes and I like the alt bearings and overall finish of there products. When I decide to upgrade it might be a toss up between a used OO or a Bresser. Thanks Doug Baz

Great report Kerry & an enjoyable read. I to was out viewing Jupiter and Saturn but not until 4.45am. It was starting to get quite light by then but I still got some great viewing of Jupiter at various powers between x240 down to x100 - At higher power I had quite a bit of detail showing the top darker brown area, the main belts & a bonus GRS. The four large moons were all trailing behind Jupiter while I was looking at it. Saturn was also very good. I didn't have high hopes for it as it was just about visible in my finder at 5.05am I still managed some pretty decent views at x150. Some colour variations in the disc and the split in the rings. I really cant wait to see these two at a higher altitude one day! Mars is still a no show for me as well, I look forward to seeing that later in the year. Then its just Neptune left to view! Baz

I have a velux window in my roof which is facing in the west direction. I might have to take drastic action and get the Dob poking out of it. A bit unorthodox but I really don't want to miss the conjunction. Weather permitted.

Doesn't look very promising for me to see Mercury. Venus is just about clipping the top of the trees at the bottom of the garden. I will have to have a look to see if I can see Mercury through them. Fingers crossed as I don't want to miss the conjunction this week.

Coaster is there on the base. Nothing going on it but tea tonight though as its a school night 😂