josefk

Nice write up Nik. I particularly enjoyed the nebula you have described through your descriptions as I couldn’t see some of those same ones myself on Friday. Haha.

It was a binoviewer dedicated session for me last night. A first for me and so all new experiences and learnings. I bird spot in my day time hobby and massively prefer the comfort of two eyes over one while doing that so my hopes were high for astro. TLDR: it's six of one and half a dozen of the other just like general opinion tends to suggest it is. The site was Fineshade Woods. A fine clear steady sky (after the late evening cloud had cleared) with approximately 60 degrees by 5 degrees Milky Way visible overhead. Targets may look arbitrary but i was looking for experience in FOV, two eyed comfort for prolonged viewing and magnitude detection. I was at 102x and 38' FOV and 1.8 exit pupil (*calibrated by whatever is lost from sharing the aperture across two eyes) all night. This is the widest FOV i will be able to get in binoviewers with my current scope. Planets: On the whole nearly totally positive. I saw surface colour on Saturn that i have never seen before - a faint grey polar region and two faint bands in line with and just above the rings. The Cassini Division blinked periodically. I'm convinced the binoviewers (and particularly the relaxed nature of "wide eyed" viewing through them) bagged me a moon last night i wouldn't otherwise have seen - Enceladus very very faint and tight in against the western ring edge - it could be seen as well by holding Saturn just outside the FOV. Rhea, Dione, Titan, & Lapetus also seen. I couldn't detect Hyperion, Mimas and Tethys even after checking exactly where to look. Jupiter - steadier in the BV then mono. i came here early in the night while Jupiter was at ~20 degrees altitude and I could see the GRS fairly clearly and with three moons. Later in the night when Jupiter was at about 40 degrees i came back and there were four moons showing and a slightly darker more obviously ragged NEB/SEB pair. Other bands only as momentary flickers. Mars - gross diffraction spikes (:-() even when dropping a 9mm Plössl in one side of the bino and using one eye to try and throw some light away. Still (to my eyes) quite obviously not round. I would describe it as vignetted by something in my scope if i didn't know better. Lots of ADC and quite shimmery. Very orange. Neptune and Uranus - pale blue and pale grey little dots respectively even at "only" 102x. Next check were a bunch of ~10...20' open clusters in Cassiopeia. NGC 654, 663, 659, 129, 225, 436 and others. The larger ones definitely present well at 38' in two eyes but some of the lower magnitude groups i'm not sure. Some were seen and "unpacked" but only using averted vision. NGC 457 on the other hand (the Owl Cluster) was superb. Absolutely striking and fantastically aesthetic at 38' using both eyes - better than mono (for me) for sure. NGC 581 was also lovely in this area. I targeted a few Planetary Nebula next; M57, M76, and NGC 7662. I don't think these objects were flattered by this viewing configuration. M57 i know well and love to look at but i could see much less detail using BV on this night than in previous visits. I also wanted to try a few faint galaxies. I found NGC 7331 (Caldwell 30) and found it definitively but only because of a nearby striking star pattern holds the eye. I couldn't detect anything else on my list in this area (e.g Stephens Quintet). I think i was running out of detection around +12mag. Finally I targeted a few nebula tonight - i wondered if the improved SNR of two eyes would help even while i am not using filters - while it felt quite close at times i can't say i detected any of Gamma Cassiopeia Nebula, Cocoon Nebula, or North America Nebula. Any tips on these gratefully received :-). So a qualified success but more to learn and tune. This was a long session (~7hrs) but totally comfortable. Cheers all Joe

Nice one. The Eagle Nebula was on my "missed list" a couple of weekends ago @MercianDabbler. I could see the star field and the star field there is quite pretty in itself i thought but i couldn't "will" any of the nebular into vision i'm afraid.

An expensive discovery then :-). I've been calculating field curvature in diopters for the Ethos 10mm and 8mm (i abhor field curvature and i want to future proof EP purchases against my predicted or potential level of accommodation in ten years time). At the scope focal lengths i'm thinking about they would be future proof at about 1.1 diopter "unfortunately". hahah. Enjoy.

Looks securely mounted Steve!👍

That DOES look great. i do the same with EPs and one day i WILL knock one off - i think i will drill my tray. How do you find the 100 degrees FOV of the Ethos EPs with the TSA? Do they play nice?

Super excited! I've just been messing about on pylon tops through the kitchen window (checking spacer arrangements) and i'm pretty sure I know already that i'm going to seriously get on with these! Gives me 102x / 38' / 1.8 (1.3) pupil native and when the 1.7 GPC comes (it's on back order) will give me 150x ish and less than 1mm exit pupil so less overwhelming brightness on Jupiter while still at middling magnification hopefully. Less than 24hr turnaround on an order from The Widescreen Center again. Happy days.

Hi @Saganite - could i ask another question of your experience with the AZ100? i notice from you signature and your f14 scope refurb and restoration posting on this site that you have one relatively long and quite heavy refractor (~10kg/>1000mm) and another very very long refractor. Do you find the AZ100 to be comfortably "up to it" for these scopes? I'm considering a heavy and reasonably long >10kg/~1m 'frac myself to mount alongside my cassegrain on my AZ100 and i think the mount will be fine (on paper its inside its capability) but i would be in a mess if i found out too late that it wasn't... i'd be interested in your experience. Cheers Joe

Hi @Saganite - that is interesting for me - can i ask a natural follow up question? Do you recall what kind of FOV you were you using in the second scope? i.e. was it 15% of a lot or a little 🙂

Nice description @Sunshine I’m in the process of considering the same two scope approach and what you describe you observe is exactly what I would like to see. Nice. 👍🏼

That’s a nice descriptive list to give us ideas @Mr Spock STF2472 looks lovely!

Thank you. I was a couple of hours earlier than that. It is a great pic. 👍🏼

What time was that @Kon if you don’t mind. I didn’t see the GRS myself and assumed it wasn’t on show for me rather than the seeing was “that” bad.

with a full moon or nearly full moon it was always going to be about the planets and doubles last night. In the event like @Davesellars i didn't find the seeing really supported the planets; Saturn spoilt by the nearby glaring moon, Jupiter shimmering and with quite bright ADC and Mars also a very bright ADC dominated swimming target. I'm still not very organised with doubles so just attempted a few named star types (for practise as much as anything in separation estimation, position angle estimation, and capturing them in a drawing) and selected them based on them being in the North (i.e with my back to the moon). Achird, Mizar (AB and Alcor), Shedar and Sigma Cassiopeiae all split. Sigma Cassiopeia being a fine but definite 3" separation. Navi and Caph not split but not having done my homework i'm not sure if they even should be (possible). Caroline's Rose [NGC 7789] and The Owl Cluster [NGC 457] observed while in the area. I drew the Owl cluster which i assumed to be an upside down "owl" last night. Nice. Some other nearby globs were not flattered by the very light sky so i didn't "waste them" last night. The seeing didn't support splitting the double double at 02:00 (my regular sky quality check) even though the elongation was clear. Very warm. T-shirt till nearly the end of the session at 02:30 ish. Cheers

Look at those shadows at 02:00 BST. 😞

nice tak @Sunshine With a full moon; doubles and the planets were the plan over here for me last night too.

Fantastic again!!! And now i'm kicking myself - why oh why oh why did i not give it another half hour at the eyepiece on Saturday morning when i was watching the single Europa shadow transit to see if i could see Europa itself enter across the face of the planet? I would have known exactly where to look. Doh!

Nice one @MylesGibson. A couple of times recently sketching at the eyepiece (though i hesitate to call my efforts sketching) has "gotten me out of trouble" the next day in the sense that for some reason my brain can turn to mush in the middle of the night and i make mistakes in my records - having the sketch the next day can really help to check and validate and/or correct the night time notes and/or prompt me to want to go back to something on another night to see what my "sketch" indicates i had blatantly missed to see on a first attempt. Cheers Joe

@neiil phillips I only wish i could have been out to see it too. Damn school nights! Your pic is a consolation this morning 🙂

Brilliant.

I enjoyed that Dave. Thanks. I am finding all these different experiences (mini data points) from different observers using different kit but on the same targets and on the same nights a really useful classroom :-). Would you say the difference on the Veil in the two viewings in the same night and using the same filter for you was defined by the difference in the apertures 4" vs 12"? Cheers

Hi @PeterStudz you’re right it was Europa. I wrote it up as Io even though I couldn’t get my head round the geometry of that as Io was leading the planet to the west. Europa makes much more sense 👍🏻 Thanks.

Thanks @JeremyS it was definitely about maximising the clear window. “The rig” may end up with something blue and white and ~900mm fl. on the other side of the mount - I’m selling the idea to myself by looking at stuff bigger than 60’ on purpose 😉

you know its been a good one @Mr Spock when it looks like this - the dawn chorus is well underway - and you're still at it 🙂

Other than a few binocular sessions while on holiday this is my first time out ‘proper’ since May and boy oh boy was it a cracker. It turned into a 7hr “all you can eat” special. Sorry i go on a bit below. TLDR - Jupiter was ace in the end. The location for this session was Fineshade Woods in Northamptonshire. The sky was clear and dark after the moon had set. I don’t know the precise sky quality or Bortle but it should be SQ21.04 and Bortle 4 according to “Clear Outside”. For what it’s worth in the middle of the session i could see about 10…15 degrees width of Milky Way stretching about 90 degrees eastwards from the western (leading) edge of the summer triangle so very favourable I think. It did get a little damp in the atmosphere after 03:00 and this affected lower altitude targets. Nominal targets for the session were to have a look at Jupiter and Saturn with my new eyepiece giving 200x/0.9 exit pupil/21’ TFOV and to try and catch the Europa shadow transit on Jupiter. Other eyepieces used gave 80x/2.4mm exit pupil/60’ TFOV and 140x/1.something exit pupil/31’ TFOV. I have an 8" Cassegrain and use a Nexus DSC. First up after alignment - a quick look around Lyra. Split all four in the Double Double and Zeta 1 & 2. I didn’t find Epsilon 1 any easier to split at 200x than at 140x (my highest mag on this scope to date). Maybe my kit wasn’t cool enough? First proper target was the North America Nebula to see if i could see nebulosity here. i have never really satisfactorily observed nebulosity of this type (without really knowingg i was really seeing an optical artefact like damp or glare). I had no better success on this topic here tonight so will need to read up what kind of aperture i would need (or filter). I did ‘trip over’ NGC 6996 in my 80x/60’ eyepiece while here. Next M11 the Wild Duck cluster. A wow at all three magnifications though most aesthetic at the lowest mag of 80x. I drew this twice it was that nice. Nearby M26 wasn’t quite so robust. The sky was too light at my lowest mag and the cluster too ‘exploded’ at the higher 200x mag. M11 the Eagle Nebula. Another lovely view and again best at 140x/31’. No hint of nebulosity so what i was really looking at here was the star field. M17 the Omega Nebula. Hah. i drew it before realising what i was really looking at (or what i should have been looking for). I didn’t draw the horse Head Nebula nor imagine i could see it after finding out where i really was but i had at least drawn a nice clean ‘wall’ of the nebula against the blank space so my eyes aren’t completely rubbish. Next up M25. Pretty at 80x but not so much at 140x. A change of pace and with Saturn on the cards later i wanted to take a look at NGC 7009 Saturn Nebula. It needed loads of mag and a little bit of imagination to see why it was named such but i don’t think i was kidding myself too much. It was an object where i was fiddling with the focus constantly - it didn’t want to be in focus. I realised i had crept a bit low down towards the horizon though and so will come back on a night when this is higher. Messier 73 was next and my notes last night are a “a pretty subtle thing rather than a pretty thing”. Again best a middling 140x magnification. The same notes would apply to nearby M72. No such messing about on M2 next up. Delightful on a first look at 140x and got better at 200x. Never properly resolved but a lovely smoky ball of mist with edge stars beginning to peep through. Lovely. This brought me round to the planets and the principle reason for being out tonight. First up Saturn. i was impressed and disappointed and then impressed. Impressed first at the image scale (i've been limited to bino's for a while). Saturn itself was pale and without any change in tone anywhere even into and onto the rings. I only observed intermittent “flashes’ of a partial Cassini Division on the Eastern (11:00 in my EP) side. This was the disappointment - i expected a little more sharply etched detail. The second wow though was the moons - four resolved as discs. I drew the moons i could see before checking (keeping myself honest) and found i had observed Lapetus, Titan, Dione, & Tethys (actually when checking my eye piece drawings again 09/08/2022 it had really been Rhea paired with Dione to the east of Saturn not Tethys). Even after checking where the others where (or should be) i couldn’t see them so will have a read up on what is achievable in my 8” aperture. Time for coffee break now but as i looked up Pleiades poked me in the eye. I have never seen it so sharp (and resolved) with the naked eye. Lovely in the bino’s and lovely (even though fragmented into jigsaw pieces) in the scope. I really need a solution for getting wider than 1 degree! After coffee i stayed near M45 and took a quick look at Mars and Uranus. Mars was horrible and i didn’t hang about :-(. Glaring diffraction spikes and blobby - really not round. Uranus obviously better being dimmer. A little silver ball bearing. I spent a few minutes on Melotte 20 (nearish Mars and Uranus) while waiting for the Europa shadow transit but this cluster was considerably nicer in the bino’s than in the scope as you would imagine based on its size so FOV was becoming a bit of a theme of the evening. Anyway- on to Jupiter. Also not nice (to start with). Hugely bright (my 200x is still nearly 1mm exit pupil) and worse - glaring diffraction spikes again! I haven’t had a scope with vanes for something like 20 years and i had kind of forgotten this effect on the planets (i don’t mind it so much on bright stars). I slowed down and i think my eye adjusted or calibrated the glare a little bit. I could only make out NEB/SEB constantly. Other bands only intermittently flickered into view - a few milliseconds in total in something like 45-minutes of total observation time. I had one very very short burst where the whole body looked like polished marble but literally “blink and you miss it’. I couldn’t see the shadow transit and i thought i had messed up my timing/planning so i was a bit disappointed overall but because the planet was so bright on this viewing (03:15 ish for 20 minutes or so) that i came back here last thing in the session (04:15 till 04:45) while the sky was lightening and everything else in the sky was disappearing. In the second mini session the view had improved a tiny bit (enough to linger and allow it to keep drifting through the eyepiece at 200x) and lo and behold there without looking for it was the shadow of Europa. FANTASTIC. i have never seen one before! i didn’t watch the full pass but i watched maybe 25%. From 1/4 across the face of the planet to one half. Brilliant. In between the two Jupiter mini sessions in this session i had a quick look at Hyades and Aldebaran (it would be rude not too on a night this nice). This only emphasised i need to have a think about getting a wider field. The bino’s again best and the bino’s best for the Double Cluster and Stock 2 too. Stock 2 was an ad hoc target here because i had a feeling damp was creeping in and i wanted to check something more or less directly overhead. Overhead was clear and indeed damp had crept in lower down. Before wrapping up after Jupiter at 04:45 i had a quick look back at Mars and now Venus as well a little to the east but i couldn’t even achieve focus (on either) - there was that much bounce in the atmosphere. Oh well; all good things come to an end and this had been an epic super enjoyable session. I will miss these cool but not cold summer nights! Cheers Joe