Astro_Dad

8 hours ago, Felias said:

Nice! I also spotted them from the rather polluted Canterbury city centre, so I couldn't help taking a picture from the living room. Double exposure, with a Samyang 135, merged in PS -and oversharpened for Instagram. ☺️

When zooming in, one can see Ganymede before eclipsing:

Excellent image, well done there. Can clearly see Ganymede. Unfortunately poorly youngest child here last night so no observing for me though I did spot how close Jupiter was to the Moon. Nice view through the window! 

Very interesting episode of Inside Science (BBC Radio 4) this week featuring some of the topics discussed on this thread. Includes an interview with Henry Gee, author of A Very Short History of Life on Earth, a book shortlisted  for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science book prize. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cpxk

The author considers current time and status of biology, and then extrapolates and projects a further billion years ahead - considering “super organisms” based on evolution of current social organisms (like insects) and to the next level where different groups are dependent each other to the extent that they form gigantic organisms where for example plants, fungi and others become almost one unified organism. 

I made a comment earlier about cooperation between organisms and considered some examples, in the context of competition and Darwinian evolution, but this provides a new take and an interesting perspective on future biological states. Relates well to considerations of evolution of life beyond Earth. Well worth a listen to the episode, and I’ll look forward to reading the book in due course too. 
 

07/10

Cloudier than forecasts suggested last night and first attempt to take the 10” outside thwarted by heavy rain. Nevertheless managed a good albeit brief session on the moon. 

Having a look around S@N’s moonwatch October targets centred around the 40km Harpalus crater, north of Sinus Iridum. Not a particularly difficult target but interesting to take in the craters distinctive sharp form owing to Its relative youthfulness. Nearby Foucault standing out well. Image for records not a competition entry ! taken with ZWOASI224. 
 

1 hour ago, Kon said:

Yes give it a try with the IR pass filter. I have a cheap Svbony one and it does the job.

@KonHave you tried using a methane filter at all? These look interesting in larger aperture ‘scopes with IR sensitive cameras. I was researching these and IR pass filters - haven’t seen many reports though. 

Clearly captures the GRS detail as you point out. Very impressive again, well done. 

A couple of books courtesy of Octopus Publishing - prize wins for a S@N letter of the month. 😀 They also kindly included a giant road atlas of Britain, so many thanks to Octopus for that extra!

Somewhat cloudy here but on occasions like this with “fair“ conditions nothing beats a quick scan for a few targets with the binos. Out with the 10x50’s - quick peak at Jupiter with the four moons showing clearly - always surprises how big Jupiters disc appears through bins, and how sharp the moons show. 

The waxing gibbous Moon in the South looked splendid with the lighting effects created by the interaction of the light with the swirling clouds adding to an artistic overall impression. 

Then sweeping roughly towards the North to home in on some of Steve Tonkin’s choice binocular targets for October. 

Orientating using Capella and the Cassiopeia “W” I was able to locate Mirfak, helping me to find the impressive cluster Melotte 20. A stunning scattering of bright stars even under less than ideal conditions. Algol next, noting its brightness level to my eyes and attempting to commit  to  memory - may try to see how this changes over a few days as a relatively “easy” variable of the eclipsing binary type. 
Finally (as starting to rain) a short hop in the direction of Almach over to M34 - initially a fuzzy smudge but after some concentration (and particularly with averted vision) revealed a number of resolved stars. An impressive cluster through the binos - keen to have another look at this and the previous targets  through a ‘scope soon. Unexpected mid week session given the general cloud. rain and strong wind today, and looking clearer tomorrow.  Fingers crossed. 
 

6 hours ago, sorrimen said:

Asi462 from @Knighty2112 (thanks again!). Going to test against the 224 as I’ll be more properly sampled.

 

Will look forward to some side by side comparisons (un tracked of course !) You’ll be on the slippery slope to an expensive upgrade path before long… 😀

Thanks for sharing these lists and the diagram - they’ve inspired me to take a closer look at Cassiopeia at the next clear sky opportunity. I haven’t seen ET yet this year but I’m definitely on the ET page here, it’s a fun target!

1 hour ago, sorrimen said:

Last evening quick 30 minute pavement session for outreach. Always a fun time, but makes me very jealous of those of you who can set up in your back garden 😁

A bit like John Dobson sidewalk astronomer?!😀

A couple of brief sessions yesterday - an early evening chance viewing of the crescent moon as I was testing a recently  fixed RA motor drive with my StarQuest Mak set up - tracking it just skimming the top of a hill  creating an interesting visual effect in the dusk light. 
Later first light with my new 10mm Nirvana    - tested on Jupiter and Saturn with the Heritage 150p. Impressive wide and sharp view - definitely a keeper! 😀

On 23/09/2022 at 14:00, Astro_Dad said:

A minor quibble with S@N (as mentioned I subscribe along with AN) is that I had a letter featured as “letter of the month” early this year and I still haven’t received the prizes (A couple of useful books!). Not the biggest problem in the scheme of things but still…

Edit 1st Oct. Enquired about the whereabouts of the prize book bundle again a couple of weeks ago (phone call with S@N customer contact line). Still haven’t got back to me (despite agreeing I’d hear back in 48 hrs) and no wiser. BUT I contacted Octopus Publishing directly as the fulfilment house and they will be sending the books directly. Great result and many thanks to them. Not sure why after nearly 8 months S@N have not been able to acknowledge this despite numerous attempts - will no doubt regain a mystery. Anyway, of minor importance really but ends this side thread to this main topic!

It’s a good question @Giles_B . Noting there hasn’t been a response on this since you posted I thought I’d contact Celestron directly to get their “official” advice.

Celestron  have confirmed that the mirror doesn’t have the optical fidelity of a secondary mirror as we assumed, but noted that it should not be scratched! They suggest treating it as you would a good camera lens - blow off any dust with a “canned air” blower, use a lens brush and if smudged apply an alcohol cleaner with soft lint-free cloth.  

46 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

I was being facetious

I know, I know😀 ! @sorrimen also appreciated this. 

39 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

The concept of intelligence is itself a human invention. What is it good for? There is no evidence yet that it leads to species longevity.

I suppose it has to be - no other species  has the capacity to define or attempt to describe abstract concepts, let alone those that have debatable definitions. It is not necessarily good for species longevity (good discussion point) but is good for overall problem solving and therefore competitive advantage - even if only over the short term  - but then what about artificial intelligence? 

Interestingly I was discussing similar themes last night at a meeting of the Harrogate Astronomical Society. We had an excellent external speaker - Sue Bowler - editor of Astronomy and Geophysics and RAS member, and as is often the way with these meetings a few of us segued into philosophical areas such as these after the main event. 
The Gaia hypothesis was mentioned for example… 

9 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

If humans are more intelligent than bees, why are all cars sold with satnavs? 😉

😀👍. Excellent question ! The boring answer is because bees can detect and use polarised light to navigate using the sun (humans can’t do this) and are possibly sensitive to  the Earths magnetic field - humans are not. Calls the definition of intelligence into question again though …

39 minutes ago, saac said:

Well there are truly symbiotic (commensalism) relationships as found with aphids and ants, coral and alge, clown fish and anemones as examples. 

Jim 

Yes indeed. 

The ecological examples of cooperation  @saac mentions above are exactly the types I had in mind when I posted my comment above. Good discussion - clearly a cloudy night! 

I remember a University lecturer of mine (a Professor of plant biology) semi humorously suggesting plants are and will be the dominant “intelligent” life form on Earth. Of course plants are not intelligent by most definitions, but are successful with almost unfathomable metabolic and physiological tricks to survive and prosper.    Within animals, the class Insecta are arguably the most successful biologically as oft quoted  … but are they “intelligent”  ?

I like the idea of a cooperative model as suggested above,  and I think there are probably some ecological examples but I’d say in the main this is a Human construct and that ultimately Darwinian competition and associated evolution is the main thrust of biology as we know it. Discuss!

Thanks for this report, particularly good to see a sketch rather than an image - well done there, you’ve captured the details well and had given me some inspiration to have a try myself. 
I’ve had some pleasing results with an 80A on Jupiter recently too but actually managed more subtle banding detail with an orange filter (#21). 

Had my eye on the OVL Nirvana’s for a while - the arrival of the 10mm in the range nudged me over - should get a lot of use out of this! Arrived today courtesy of RVO.  😀

Enjoyable long session on Jupiter last night with the 6 inch Newt (Heritage), seeing reasonable but over about an hour or so was good enough at times to tease out lots of detail. At times the planet was looking very sharp with new BST 2x Barlow (first light with this)  - particularly with my 15mm BST (giving 100x) power.

Also was an opportunity to test two filters side by side - Wratten 21 (orange) and the venerable 80A (blue). The 80A provided the most obvious contrast enhancement showing the belts more clearly, and slightly dampening down the extreme brightness (one day post opposition),  providing a more comfortable view. The #21 provided an initial subtle increase in belt detail, and despite a strong orange cast over the time of the session enabled quite a lot of additional detail to show through - including a very clear GRS. Also cut out substantial glare. 

Moon formation always interesting - as noted above they were spaced out quite widely in a line with Callisto out to the East. No imaging attempts this time, just the simple pleasure of observing.

Great image - I’ve been impressed with how good the Google Pixel image sensors perform looking through the mobile imaging competition thread. That Astro mode is pretty good and beats my iPhone 12 in sensitivity! Will be interesting to see how the iPhone 14’s perform once out in the wild. The future is bright for mobile astro imaging 👍

Arrived today courtesy of RVO. Slightly experimental re the 2” eyepiece but I wanted something “relatively” economical as a wider FOV with a specific exit pupil range. Possibly similar to a Panaview in terms of optical performance. Also realised how much I missed having a Cheshire for quickly checking the secondary…