josefk

These are not much to write home about as sketches but boy oh boy Venus has been enjoyable this spring and summer! i thought i'd put a few sketches of the changing phase all in one place: 7th April, daylight observation, 14.5" and 75% illuminated, some cloud details seen (especially with a #47 violet filter fitted): 19th May, twilight observation, 20" and 58% illuminated (no cloud detail on this observation through any colour filter): 24th June, twilight observation (spotting scope), 30.6" and 36.8% illuminated, beautiful bright cusps (atmospheric dispersion illustrated in the little view). This observation on 24.06 was fantastic because the moon naked eye and Venus through the scope were nearly a perfect match in phase: 30th June, twilight observation (spotting scope), 33.4" and 32.3% illuminated (very beautiful bright southern cusp and lovely soft terminator): 4th July, late twilight observation (binos), 35.5" and 29% illuminated but this is the binocular conjunction with Mars on this day where "a slim phase" was as precise as i could be at x15. Really fantastic through bin's and naked eye. A very brief observation 27th July with the spotting scope, low altitude at <10-degrees and against a bright horizon so a little bit tricky, large though at 50.5" and 8.9% illuminated. Another very brief observation just now, noon, 6th August with the spotting scope, drop dead lovely at just 2.4% illuminated and "huge" at 56.3". The leading edge of the limb was a brilliant bright white with a soft and fading taper around to the cusps. I couldn't detect any cusp extension past the halfway mark. Unfortunately cloud stopped play after just a few minutes. What are the chances for clear spells this week around the time of the inferior conjunction? It would be a super way to wrap up this little series... 🤞🤞

...so this possibly coulda, shoulda, woulda be a Rowan AZ75 - only time will tell if i've gone down the wrong road sticking with a fluid head concept and that i'll come to regret this. My GnG scope arrangements will be getting a little bit heavier some time in September (going from ~2kg currently to ~4.5...6kg) and so as i love the Manfrotto MV502 fluid head so much i've stuck with the same concept and simply gone for the higher rated MVH612. Quality and look and feel is fantastic but the proof of the pudding will be at x180 in a few weeks...🤞

just about coincident with when you can't hump aperture about anymore 😞 NV? retire somewhere dark? gym membership?

nice @Mr Spock - if i didn't spend all day in front of screen i'd be tempted to do the same because that approach will archive really well. You could even print a load of blanks off for the initial in field sketch.

With apologies to Rob for spamming his thread - it occurs to me Michael with your big doubles lists you'll need a good filing system if you start drawing them. LOL. FYI EP boxes make good containers for index cards (reduce, reuse, recycle!).. .

Love the Veil!

BTW the 3rd one is pretty much "by the book" for the AL programme (i hope). Mag (diff), colour, PA and p estimates with location, kit and sky quality annotation. Cheers

I'm embarrassed to say there's no "technique" to see here 😂 - just plots (I would like to render the more zoomed in diffraction rings and colour type sketches you see of doubles but i never seem to get to it...)

I'm a fair way through that AL doubles list @RobertI - i've really enjoyed it/am really enjoying it. You have to sketch them for the pin badge if that kind of thing floats your boat. I'm childish - i want the pin badge 🙂. TBH having to sketch them (and make certain specific notes) has been an excellent learning experience and has improved my observing discipline for doubles no end.

Wow @StarGazer2000 - thats a pretty abrasive 1st post here and in fact containing several misconceptions and inaccuracies. Never mind you are commenting a 3-year old thread. You may want to have a look at a few of the other "which scope/what kit?" type exchanges on here to see that friendly and respectful exchange of different points of view is the order of the day. We definitely DO NOT call other members "a disgrace to the stargazer community".

Spot on. Looks very pro.

Picked up Venus tonight in the pale blue sky - a few minutes later (than 20:15 BST) and I would have missed it. Just less than 10-degrees altitude so boiling a little but what a wonderful thin crescent it is now. Less than 10% illuminated. Unfortunately I got a bit greedy attempting to “cloud hop” to Mercury which should have been just about 4 or 5 degrees to the North north west but couldn’t find it and then couldn’t re-find Venus afterwards - I think it must have been sinking it into the glare along the horizon and quicker than I had anticipated. Still a charming few minutes with a planet that has been brilliant these past few weeks.

Super notes @Neil_104. I enjoyed that.

@Hans Joakim - this is @Stu's pic. It was a few pages ago in this thread. Fresh in memory for me as i was reading this thread over the weekend and was having a think about my own options vis-a-vis the AZ75 as i have the AZ100 and riser already. Cheers

i don't have any other hobby where the urge/impulse/motivation to get on with it and the opportunity to get on with it are so decoupled 😞. On the upside i really have cultivated the patience of a saint and have plenty of opportunity to prove it!

Nice one Mike - with your cloud and with the wildfire smoke earlier in the year i think you were due a good session 🙂 !

Hi @Ratlet If you have a future open position re. a gng mount for a 70…80mm scope as well as more imminently considering a pistol grip for binos then I would heartily recommend a video fluid head as a “kill two birds with one stone option” I do have a pistol grip available to use (in my possession for photography) but I hugely prefer using a fluid damped video head for panning binos about. No difference between the two approaches when both are pointed and locked on the target of course. depending on the scope weight for the 70…80mm scopes you’re considering - a middle of the range manfrotto video head (I use an mv502h) will mount ~4kg very nicely. Great ergonomics with a small scope actually.

Absolutely brilliant.

Another big fan of the clamshell here for all the reasons stated eloquently by @F15Rules When attached directly to the mount; they’re really secure in the first instance and really easy to adjust OTA balance subsequently with zero or at least very little risk of mishaps in the dark. I appreciate the clamshells (and other mechanical parts) even more after watching a video of the sand casting process in the tak factory.

Thanks for posting the extra notes around these pairs - both aesthetic notes and their physical properties. I always enjoy the aesthetics of doubles but don’t often look up the details of the stars themselves. i really enjoyed reading both over a coffee this morning.

Spot on session it seems and a nice read. I really enjoy a binocular view of the sky myself (not least for the correct orientation of things as per others). I cannot effectively hand hold even light 10x42's though (not even for effective bird spotting) so always mount binoculars and use a video head on a tall tripod to pan around and up and down. It does take away the freedom for steep sweeping but at lower angles it pays back with all the resolution the bino is capable of. For steep sweeping it is possible to use two legs of a tripod in an "A frame" type arrangement and an old school layback deck chair in such a way where your own head and body act as the third leg of the tripod - a bit fussy to arrange yourself at different angles but effective once you're in position.

Hi Mike, I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade but I strongly recommend you do take a look through the middle sized GSO CC before pulling the trigger if that one is on your short list. I have this scope and it is fantastic at a few things (I do really like the scope) but planetary observing for my taste isn’t one of those things and I’m surprised it’s described as an “ideal planetary scope”. Mars and Venus especially are not so nice through it. The secondary mirror supports are quite thick (creates quite bright diffraction on on the brighter planets) and the secondary is quite large. It is overall also undersized for its stated aperture too at ~185mm (flashlight test) which means the secondary is quite big in percentage terms. cheers

Not last night but Mars and Venus have been an enjoyable pairing both to the naked eye and in a 4.5 degree binocular FOV this week under the lovely clear skies of mid Portugal. I can see phase in Venus at x15 but only just (probably due to my astigmatism and being averse to wearing my glasses while observing)

Very very nice indeed.

I hadn’t noticed any kind of colour cast with any eyepieces till I used them against a bright blue sky then for some it became a little evident. Subtle but noticeable. Tak 5mm LE and 4mm TOE eyepieces definitely clear and neutral though - they pass the china blue sky and Venus white test without modifying the hues.