Voyager 3

Armand , 

Great list of doubles you've split there ! 

After reading a post of you flaunting (😉) the noctilucent cloud , I've decided to search it . My roadmap was using July 11 as the date as you've mentioned it yesterday . I very much like to compare what I was doing a year before on the same day !!

A good nova probably won't substitute the comet but it is still putting off a good show . 

6 hours ago, johninderby said:

Big question is will it clear in time to see Betelgeuse go supernova? 🤔😁

Not sure of Betelgeuse but I do know it will be clear in time for protostars in M42 🥳 .

It's south west monsoon here  ....

I'm fearing about the distortions ... Hopefully they will balance them 🤞.

My favourite from that kit is the headlight 😉 .

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

After much deliberation, I went for the mirror version of the Baader 2-inch BBHS, rather than the prism

Handle with care !

10 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

I think it’s the mount that gets it that title 🤣

Then the 130 astromaster will be the no. 1 without doubt . 

8 hours ago, Barry Fitz-Gerald said:

That Panoptic looks silly there - send it to me I have a small space in my EP case that will fit it much better.

Please don't discourage him , he will be adding the Pentax 5mm XO to fill that space . 😉

It very much looks like the Baader case but I maybe wrong! 

A very fine eyepiece kit @Surfer Chris 🙂 .

On 15/06/2021 at 04:30, Littleguy80 said:

@JeremyS How and when would this get an official designation? There are people on here who like to record such things in spreadsheets 😁

A very good idea to keep oneself going ! 

Did you get the 9mm or any other focal lengths ? Nice report .

Catching the moons of Mercury/Venus is the toughest thing 😂 .

Or sleep after a heavy dinner ?

Your most unwanted update - 

" Available on date Friday, July 9, 2021 " 

John that's a pretty good jump in brightness from 7.1 to 6.75 !

7 hours ago, Louis D said:

Maybe it will go on sale in the interim?

I don't have high hopes this year .  

15 hours ago, Captain Magenta said:

 

15 hours ago, Captain Magenta said:

Now I’m committed to the Dob build! (Courtesy of John Nichol)

I Like your mirror selfie . 🤣 

Jon as you've mentioned NGC 6210 , I would like to suggest you 3 more small bright planetary nebulae in the upcoming summer skies - NGC 6572 in Ophiuchus , NGC 6818 in Sagittarius and NGC 7009 in Aquarius . You may have observed all of them but still .

 Actually they 4 are in my SkySafari observing list , but the weather here is exactly opposite to what someone would like ... I forgot what criteria I've filtered them . But I'm pretty they all have very high surface brightness , especially NGC 6572 . SkySafari says it has 100 times the surface brightness of M57 ! If someone can find them and give a report I will be very much pleased ! 

On 12/05/2021 at 17:08, Stu said:

All pride is gone... 🤣🤣🤣

You should be keeping the second pic as your DP stu ! 😃

2 hours ago, Kon said:

In my last post I said I will not be viewing or writing another nebula report until later in the summer....well that did not last long!.....With the moon not rising until later and with clear warm skies I decided try the Milky Way; I know that it is a late summer viewing area but I could not wait. I mostly used my 25mm with the OIII and occasionally the 15mm.  Waiting for the MW to rise, I revisited some old favourites to test the viewing; I started with M57 followed by the Veil. Both East and West Veil looked great with clear filaments (it gave me confidence viewing was good). I then had a look at the N America nebula and I think seeing was much better than last time.

I then visited Scorpio and I saw the Blue Horsehead nebula again. Last time I struggled with the conditions to see the IC 4604 (Oph Nebula). This time nebulosity around the three stars was obvious (I used my 15mm EP without filter here). M4 and M80 looked great and some individual stars could be made but the core was mostly unresolved.

Finally, the MW was rising. I struggled to star hop with the amount of stars there but using my Rigel and a bit of scanning the area with my finder scope I came across the Eagle Nebula (I had to reassure myself with the Stellarium). Some weak nebulosity could be seen around the stars. I got so excited and I spent a few minutes taking it in, but I was not prepared for my next target. The Swan nebula. OMG OMG!!! A swan in my EP! Unbelievable. I found myself doing a little dance at the EP. A bright nebula with nice delicate features. I tried without the filter; it was obvious but not as well defined. I was panning between the Eagle and Swan due to their close proximity. Next, I moved to the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas. Again another WOW moment. The Lagoon was fairly bright in the EP and some darker lane was visible in the middle of it. Trifid was more diffuse. Interestingly both the Swan and Lagoon were 'visible' in my finder scope; they appeared as smudges of light.

I finally could not help myself to hop between these nebulas within the same area. For somebody who loves seeing nebulas that was one of my best nights with the telescope! Looking forward to observing more of the Milky Way.

 

Did you note any filaments or faint nebulosity between M16 and M17 Kon ? Some have reported that they are both parts of a same large nebula connected by faint filamentary nebulae . @Don Pensackreported sighting this with his 12.5" . 

14 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

Planetary nebulae are a bit of an obsession of mine, they can be beautiful and also challenging requiring an OIII or UHC filter to really bring them out. I have a few favorites, all the famous ones but amongst the best, but pretty low at the moment I think, are NGC7662, The Blue Snowball and NGC7009, The Saturn Nebula which actually does bare a remarkable resemblance to the planet

In fact after discovering Uranus , Herschel found them resembling Uranus and called them "Planetary nebula " . Cracking report John ! 

The good thing is , at least the moon doesn't turn pink or draw blood !! 😂

Redbetter in CN with his 20" obsession got an elongation !

Forgot to add the link 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/771062-unexpected-zeta-bootis/