Barry-W-Fenner

Cooling! 😁

The little 76p getting a homemade dew shield for contrast improvement. I was looking through it at 2am this morning, when I shielded the focuser with my hand I was shocked at how much darker the image became. Still got to add the finishing touches but I'm all blue petered out for today 😁

The crescent getting slimmer! This was at x375 mag. Venus still looked quite clear in the eyepiece

Very smart build. Whats the height of the tower, 1.2mtr? Baz

I think that might be the best idea John. I need to get all Blue Peter on it! I am not a huge fan of the shape of the Astro Zap Shield. I would prefer something more half circular like your Astro Essentials shield. I have had a look around but cant seem to find much from them. I have some left over flocking, I could cut one from card and line it with the flock, Then attach with tape! Another little project to get on with in the down time 🙂

I am now considering one of these light shields for the 200p. I really like the contrast gains from the astro zap dew shield, but I am starting to find that at low to medium altitude its weighing the front of the scope down and taking me of target. The only thing putting me off the light shield is the price. baz

Thanks for the heads up. I will keep that in mind. I managed to see it on one occasion late last year but only for a matter of minutes. I will try to observe it a bit more while it's about!

Is this known by any other name? I've searched Skysafari for IC3568 and it's not finding anything. I'm keen to have a look tonight. On a slightly different note. Anyone attempting Mercury after sun set? It looks to be in a very high position by its standards. Baz

Thanks jiggy. I am not familiar with this but an going to find it on skysafari and have a look!

Ahh yes this is actually on my hit list this summer! I didn't managed to see it last year when I got started observing. Thanks SSC! I am also a big fan of the Blue Snowball. It is one of the few targets that I do actually see the colour blue nice and clearly. I managed to locate the Eskimo but it was literally for a very short period of before it got to low. These two are both sadly gone from view for me! Cheers Baz

Hi all. I spent quite a bit of time observing the Cats Eye Nebula a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. At x150 it showed a beautiful green ball which reminded me of Uranus. At x240 I also managed to see the central star with averted vision, I was very impressed how well this nebula showed at high power in polluted sky. I am hoping to have another look at it tonight. I also intended to revisit The Ring Nebula now it is coming back around. I am hoping to that I will be able to find more detail in this target now as I am more experienced than when I viewed it late last Summer. What recommendations of planetary Nebula do you folks have that would show good detail under the above conditions like the Cats Eye did. I enjoyed viewing the blue Snowball nebula but that has gone now until next winter. Thanks all. Baz

Did anyone else notice a darker sky than usual last night? It was very dark and clear here in Rochester around 2.30 - 3am I could see many more stars than usual. There did seem to be far fewer lights on and the local co-op wasn't illuminating the sky. Neither was Rochester town from the opposite direction. I actually checked to see if my lights were working as I thought there might be a power cut?! They were fine though. Unfortunately I as so tired i only had a very quick look at M13

Thanks for the info gents, Its currently in the cupboard with the eye pieces, I am hoping to have a session tonight so I will see if storing indoors has any effect. I will also double check the battery holder shortly as I can see it in the day light 🙂 fingers crossed I will resolve the issue. Baz

Afternoon all. Do owners of Rigel finders remove them and bring them in after each observing session? I ask as I leave mine on permanently but seem to be having an issue with it and am wondering if this is temperature related. Basically the red target does not illuminate when turned on, I need to remove the Rigel finder look through the sight and put my thumb on the battery, After a few seconds the target lights up and it works fine. At first I thought it needed a new battery, However I have now tried 3 battery's and am having the same problem. I have now brought the finder in and will take it out each time I observe to see if this makes a difference. In the mean time has anyone else had a similar issue? Regards Barry

Great report Mark, An enjoyable read. You sound like you had a productive time at the eye piece! Baz

I will be there with you somewhere SSC, the wife and I put our names down for a bit of Mars exploration.

I quite like my adjustable bar chair, It compliments the dob base mini bar nicely. On occasion I even use it for observing 🙂🙂 Baz

Morning all, Some great time at the eye piece last night and this morning so I though I would share. 10pm to 11.30pm Had to start with the favorite doubles in Hercules to get things going they looked great as always! M92 globular next, i though I would have trouble finding this but managed to spot it quite easily, I viewed this at x150 as it seemed to be giving a better image than x200 - An excellent globular which seemed to be smaller than most other globes to my eyes at least, When the stars pulsed in and out of view they didn't seem as compact as some of the other globes I have viewed. it still amazes me that sometimes you can see a smudge of light and others a huge number of stars! M13 as its just up the road from the M92 🙂 Again viewed at x150 and it provided spectacular sights, An excellent 20mins or so looking at this target watching the tight collection of stars come and go from view. My final target of this session was the Cat Eye Nebula. I found this fairly easy in Draco at x66 mag then went up to x150 this gave excellent views of the green looking nebula. at this power it reminded me of viewing Uranus as the size and colour were very similar. As it was showing very well at x150 I thought I would push my luck, Armed with the kids lighting McQueen blanket over my head 🙂 I went to x240 and was surprised how well this nebula showed. It was a bit fuzzy but with averted vision the Green colour really popped and I an certain I had brief views of the central star! Now being 11.30pm I decided to end on a good note and get some sleep, For now... 3.45am Up to go to the little boys room. A look out the front and The Moon, Jupiter & Saturn all shining brightly. out we go.. I wasn't hoping for much as they are both so low. I started on Jupiter, SkySafari had this at a little over 17 degrees! Jumped straight in at x375 x240, No chance! Dropped down to x150 and had a very pleasant view under the circumstances. I could make out the two central belts but no other detail. 3 moons were also out, One of which was just appearing from behind the planet. It like a small spec attached to Jupiter, poor phone pic attached. I will take that! Saturn now at a whopping 18 degrees and its getting very light out. I went for x150 again and was very happy to get a fairly clear view, the rings stood out wonderfully and I could see the split between a & b? wonderfully. I would say it was probably my best views of Saturn to date actually, The most detail I have seen in the rings for sure! I also got my best phone pic, It is still poor but until now I have only ever managed to capture Saturn as a oval blob! This pic shows the rings and if zoomed in even shows the split! Roll on when these two gems are higher up in the sky! By now its coming up to 5am and getting very light out. Saturn had vanished from the naked sky but was still showing in the eye piece. I called it a day at this point. I was hoping for a peek at Mars but it got to light before I could see it over the houses. Another time. A great bit of viewing, The only down point was standing in the fox muck, You cant have it all. Thanks for reading. Baz

As per Stus take on these two stars I have only ever seen these two as white.

I was just going to comment that Stu looks like a character from star wars then I see this post. Very appropriate 😁

Morning John. Your the man for all things Bresser 🙂 do you know if they intend to produce a 12" dob? Cheers Baz

Hi John, This lockdown is starting to play havoc with the body clock! I was wide awake so thought I would get outside and have a look, I knew the session was going to be less than ideal as the moon was lighting up the whole garden. I mainly just had a "No real plan" general look around. I thought I would push my luck on the Nebula and galaxies as Ursa Major was in a nice position and its going to get better. I have an O-III filter so will give the owl another crack when conditions are better. It is now on my summer list with the Veil 🙂 How did you find the seeing on doubles Steve? I had a look at x240 x375 & x150 - None of these powers gave a great view to be honest, The stars were quite fuzzy for me. Not really a very good session in all honesty but it sure was calm and quiet out which was nice. A sneaky fox jumped our fence and gave me a heart attack! Baz

Went out at 2.30am this morning, Had a look around Ursa Major and spent a bit of time on Mizar & alcor. I always enjoy a look at these stars as they were the 1st double I observed. I was extremely optimistic and had a hunt for M81, 82 and the Owl Nebular. Suffice to say with that moon light I found none of them. It was extremely bright this morning! If you cant beat them joint them. A bit of low power lunar viewing next with a filter on! Then some naked eye viewing of Jupiter and Saturn as they started to rise out front. If the weather stays clear I might get up early tomorrow and check them out in the 200p - I an not expecting much as SkySafari has them at little over 15 degrees, However just to see them in the eye piece again will be nice! Baz

Great looking scope the Bresser. I am interested to know if they intend to produce a 12" dob.

May 6th, time to promote hubble stunning image on my birthday 🙂🎁