Kon

The terminator 'on the move'. I quite enjoy seeing new features/shadows appearing as the Earth's shadow moves. 8" Dob, prime focus.

Owo!!!! I think that's the best Pleiades I have seen! There is a lot more going on in terms of nebulosity around Pleiades than I thought. Fantastic job!

I had a very brief window of observing the moon this afternoon. I managed a few shots with my 8" Dob, prime focus, iso 200, exposure 1/400s. Some sharpening in Gimp.

Very nice report, and a lot of nice targets there.

@scarp15Thanks for the suggestions Iain. I was only using my ES 24mm for the whole night; I was under the impression that the Flame would be rather large so quite intriguing to know that a higher mag is better (I will try it next time if seeing permits). I personally find Alnitak too bright (or do you try to get it out of the FOV?).

The night did not look promising in terms of the weather with clouds coming in and out but I managed a 'split' session starting with the moon. Seeing was very stable despite the clouds and it looked pretty sharp at fairly high magnifications. I was drawn to Posidonius, a rather flat looking crater and Lacus Mortis. Aristoteles and Eudoxus also looked really sharp. The weather turned to worst and I was out again when the moon had set. Orion was appearing in my SSE horizon. I started with M42 and nice nebulosity. I could not see many features as before probably due the unstable weather. I then tried my Hb and OIII filters on it, but both were rather underwhelming tonight. The Hb showed a few features but not as good as in previous reports. I wanted to have a go at Witches Head nebula. I could not see anything without a filter and I may have seen a glimpse with my OIII but I am not sure I can claim it; I think a saw some streak of lighter patch compared to the background but not convinced. I tried my Hb for the Flame nebula but nothing either tonight, so I did not bother with the Horsehead. I finally moved to the Rosette as it was clearing the trees. I used my OIII and there it was, standing from the background; a nice huge circular nebulosity with an almost empty core filled with stars, a bit like a giant donut. I remember seeing it last year but I had forgotten how big it was. By the end, clouds had completely covered the night sky and my session was over; the rest of the weeks is looking pants 😒. A very pleasant night with some familiar targets. I also managed a few moon shots and M42 for a bit of fun.

A widefield of Orion. Captured on Dec 10 using my Pixel 4a on astrophotography mode.

I originally come from Athens, Greece and this summer when I visited i paid more attention on the night sky and I was blown away, in a bad way, that I could only just see Jupiter by naked eye. I feel really blessed having my fairly dark skies in UK now. If I ever had to move back to city, I would defiantly buy a grab and go telescope to venture in the countryside.

That sounds like an amazing experience that will for sure stay with you for long! I think your 10" under these skies would have been mind blowing. (I remember a few years back, before i got into the hobby, I was at a national park in UK, Snowdonia, and the sky was full of stars and no city/village lights to be seen; it still is in my memory and unfortunately, I have not repeated it).

I have the ES 14mm 82 as an upgrade from BST 15mm; the BST was/is nice but I wanted wider FOV. I have felt in love with the wider FOV. Be aware that it has a tight eye relief and your eyelashes will almost touch the eyepiece to get the whole FOV (I use it with the rubber guard down). I personally like it a lot with my 8" Dob. Stars stay almost sharp all the way to the edges from my observations.

Prime focus on my 8" Dob. I will add it to the post.

ISS was scheduled to pass over at 1657 this afternoon and I was ready to capture it. I think my last attempt on ISS was back in early summer, ohh the British weather! Prime focus on an 8" Dob, Iso 3200, exposure 1/4000s. Zoomed and cropped. The orientation of ISS has not allow me to get any decent shots of the panels; they are visible when it is still low in W horizon but too noisy.

I was treated to nice views of Venus with the phase nicely showing through the disco lights, Jupiter looked quite sharp as well at medium magnification and Saturn (Cassini division coming and going). The cherry of the viewing was ISS doing its pass. It looked really bright on the dark bluish sky. Fingers crossed the clear skies will stay tonight for some DSOs.

Great report and what a session Joe! The LMC must be amazing for visual observation! M42 is always a winner and I find the more I observe it the more features do pop up between sessions if seeing is good. It used to be my go-to when I was a total novice and I could hardly find other DSOs. I think you should venture on a darker sky. If you see all these things from light polluted city, you will be for a treat.

Excellent work, nice sharpness and the colours are bringing a new dimension to it!

Very nice report and a great little session you had.

@malc-cThanks for taking the time to explain me. I will probably stick with my visual and do a few shots for my record or a bit of fun with the current setup 😀

@mikeDnightI use this site a lot http://www.deepskywatch.com/astronomy-sketches.html It is pretty bang on what I see with my 8" Dob. I have consulted it many times when I plan things. It sort of goes back to my initial question on book with sketches .

I suppose it depends what you want to convey. If it is a guide on how DSOs might appear at the eyepiece then a collection of sketches might be ok. Alternatively you could make a large pdf and let others print it/look on their screen, that can also allow you if you want to have it for profit or not .

How about picking a European or UK publisher? I would buy your DSO book straight away looking at your sketches!

@malc-cThanks for trying. I think I need to invest on a planetary camera for some better shots. I am still happy to have it for my records.

@Epick CromJoe, I am sure you have been a good boy for 🎅 to bring some presents 😉. I found that filters is one thing, but patience and managing expectations are also very important. I personally find that the longer I am doing this hobby, the more details seem to pop. @PeterWcheers for the link (I remember you had it in your sales section that triggered me to buy it). I wonder if there is a filter that can filter out clouds 🤣

I had a quick go on Jupiter with my 8" Dob and eyepiece projection (I know not the optimal setup but having a bit f fun); 2min movie using Nikon D3200. The GRS is nicely visible. I seem to be getting this red fringe after stacking/sharpening. I stacked the best 20% of 5000 frames in Siril and tried some sharpening there (I am Mac user). Colour balancing in Gimp. Any idea how to get rid off the red fringe on the right? Thanks. jupiter.tiff

A quick look at Venus and Jupiter with the GRS in prominent place. Seeing was okish tonight before clouds came over.

It was appearing as a very tight soft glow around them than diffuse nebulosity in APs. Without filters it is a bit more prominent. Pleiades do emit at Ha/b from what i have read.