Astro_Dad

13/09

Brief session last night chasing breaks in the cloud from around 21.30 BST. 

Out with the Heritage 150p. 

Albireo impressive as always as an entrée, just about visible with naked eye so an easy find manually. 

Saturn - just a quick look tonight but keen to maximise the number of observations I have of the gas giants as will miss them when the season is over…as previous night the ‘scope showing a pin sharp image at just under 100x power, with (very) subtle hints of surface features /shading vaguely suggestive of belts and brighter zones. 

Not the darkest of nights considering the moon (albeit low in the Eastern sky) but attempted a look at globular M2 (switching to the SynScan app for GOTO at this point). Impressive globular in Aquarius - tight and compact with a dense core (Rated II on the Shapely - Sawyer I to XII concentration class scale). Hints of outermost stars resolving with averted vision at 107x - but challenging. 

Finally following a suggestion from a fellow SGL member I used SynScan to slew to Kemble’s cascade. This is an impressive target consisting of a line of stars “flowing” into open cluster NGC 1502. Best view using a 25mm Plossl. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemble's_Cascade

I missed the Ganymede transit unfortunately but good to be out for an hour or so in what was a very mild September evening. 

Just in from an hour or so on the gas giants. Early starts and busy work at the moment hindering long sessions with the 10” but the convenience of the Heritage 150p really helps get some observing in on week nights 👍

Saturn looking as sharp as ever tonight - seeing intermittently “good” in my estimation (I’d like to learn how to be more quantitative on seeing using the official scale). I’m always impressed how clearly the six inch Newt delivers views of Saturn. Moons Titan and Rhea standing out clearly. 

Jupiter looking superb. Very clear rich colours on the banding showing intermittently, and the planet taking higher magnification more successfully than I’ve achieved recently. The Galilean moons present and correct with Ganymede in the SE as the largest of the four really standing out as brighter and slightly more disc like than I usually see with this aperture.

I unboxed and tested set up of my new ZWO cam earlier this evening but I’m going to have to wait until later in the week when I have more time for the first light… 😀

Looking forward to this. Scope Nights suggests “fair” conditions this Wednesday in my location so I have some hope of seeing my first occultation. 
I was reading the article in this months S@N on how best to view this event earlier - well worth a look and the article on how to image is interesting for those who fancy an even greater challenge! 

A few days too early for Kelling, but here in Norfolk tonight  a spectacular Saturn and moon view walking along the Broads. Photo from phone obviously not doing justice. 

I’ll double check dimensions but should be  a good option for my 10” StarSense Dob- well rated brand. Thanks for posting @paulastro . 

7th September, 10pm BST

- 6 inch Newt , SvBony 7-21mm zoom +
iPhone for imaging  

Attempted observation of some moon features using the Heritage 150p with good opportunities presenting in between swirling cloud - creating impressive and captivating lighting effects as the lunar surface appeared and disappeared behind cover. 

When clear I was hoping to spot Schikard, on the SW limb. Challenging and not 100% sure I could locate it (7th Sept probably just on the edge of the opportunity according to S@N). But if zoomed in to the quick iPhone capture I might be able to just see one or two of the associated craterlets. Maybe my imagination and will certainly need to try again on another occasion to be sure. Attempting to orientate using prominent  Gassendi and Mersenius amongst others provided a good way to reacquaint myself with the lunar surface though - feels like it has been a while. A short but fun grab and go session on the moon. 
 

12 hours ago, Stu said:

The MOST important thing is access to dark skies and the second is to have an instrument with you capable of seeing them.

It was a total highlight for me being able to observe the Veil nebula with a Heritage 150p under very dark skies off the coast of Scotland last month - and I posted at the time the M13 was simply stunning - the first real world example for me of how sky quality positively impacts the view for a given aperture. 👍

41 minutes ago, yong54321 said:

It is not Android only, if you have iPhone, you can try 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/skeye-pushtocam-for-telescope/id1639616441

 

Thanks, but a quick scan suggests this is quite different - different developer and different app. It does say “Skeye what you are looking for” (sic) in the heading though so can see how at first glance you might think the same… 

Another thread almost full circle again! You won’t be surprised to hear I fully endorse the Heritage 150p option - see earlier 👍

Just arrived - longish story but switched to this ASI224 (thanks to Zoltan at 355 Astronomy). Inspired in part by some recent images posted by @sorrimen, I’m looking forward to having another go at some planetary in the coming days… 

It’s gone from bad to worse … was hoping for at least an early evening session tonight…

Good spot on M54 @Zermelo- I’ve checked and the printed version in the current S@N also has this incorrect. 
I think that conceptually it presents the catalogue in a novel way that will appeal to us scientists- and like in science, critique and constructive feedback will no doubt improve it and boost its utility beyond a pleasing visual. I’m sure the author would appreciate that !

I was interested to see this approach to laying out the Messier catalogue as shown In the September Sky at Night magazine. I’m not sure how new it is but if not seen before it’s an interesting take. 

https://starlust.org/messier-catalog/

messier-objects-ranked-by-viewing-difficulty.pdf

This just arrived courtesy of FLO. I’m hoping it’s a step up from my more basic barlow and works well enough at f4.7 …

21 minutes ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

Refractors and reflectors are different animals. I think where most people go wrong is thinking that a 60mm refractor isn't much different from using a 50mm finder scope. I'm not familiar with the 'summation rule' but Patrick Moore once stated that a 4" refractor was roughly equivalent to a 6" reflector. Obviously the larger aperture has greater resolution, but I see what he meant. I have a 150mm Newtonian and a 102mm ED doublet (FPL-53/lanthanum). Although I seriously doubt a 40mm reflector would match a 60mm ED doublet or triplet. Admittedly a 60mm refractor has its limitations. The sheer portability makes up for many of them though.

Plus, a 60mm short tube ED refractor is great fun.

 

It’s a lovely ‘scope! My comparison wasn’t about reflector /refractor apertures but really between a 50mm binocular and a 60mm refractor. Binocular summation refers to the effect whereby two eyes deliver greater depth of vision and other subtle effects including visual acuity enhancement vs a monocular view. Some papers on this suggest multiplying a bino aperture by a factor of 1.4 to give a roughly comparable monocular aperture. So testing this, a 50mm high quality bino might deliver similar views to a 70mm refractor. I think you’ve suggested otherwise - in the real world…and of course it’s all theory and all things are never equal!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binocular_summation

Of course the points you’ve made about reflector and refractor “equivalents” is still valid and of interest, just not the point I was making earlier. 

22 minutes ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

I'm consistently surprised just how much I can see with a 60mm refractor.

It is impressive - I’ve been curious for a while about how the summation rule (theory) with binos plays out in the real wirld - either way there is clearly no fair like for like competition with these high end fracs, even with a relatively small 60mm aperture. I’ve never used one so thanks for your info. 

It turned out to be a battle against the clouds for me, so didn't make a serious dent in my ambitious list of late Summer targets, but managed part of my planetary nebula hunt part 2...

Using the StarSense 10" with 32mm GSO Plossl eyepiece, 7-21mm zoom (SvBony) along with Baader O-III filter.

NGC6781 Snowglobe nebula in Aquila - very faint fuzzy object, couldn't see any structure, but it was there with averted vision!

NGC6751 Glowing Eye nebula , blue hued dot as appeared though the O-III, closer inspection revealed a ring but not as clear or sharp as the Ring nebula.

NGC6826 Blinking nebula - tricky to locate even with StarSense as so close to the zenith , but I'm fairly sure I clocked it - it was certainly a blinking object using the averted vision trick.

With clouds rolling in and out it took over an hour to see these three - decided to pack up at around 1am (way too late for a school night) but then spotted Jupiter shining brightly overhead, so finished with a lovely brief view of the planet - easier on the eyes than these faint fuzzies!

7 hours ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

I doubt 10x50 binoculars would show the Cassini Division, Galilean shadow transits, M27, or split many double stars. Let alone show surface albedo features on Mars.

Not a hope! I imagine that just shows the quality of these smaller high end fracs… one day 😀

4 hours ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

You'd be surprised what you can see with a 60mm ED refractor.

Lots I imagine, particularly on lunar and of course the pin point stars characteristic of high end refractors. I haven’t used one, but considering the well documented summation effect of a binocular view, I’d predict a 10x50 binocular would show slightly more or at worst similar  (1.4x aperture factor = approx 70mm equiv. ?) May be wrong and experience will tell otherwise but it again comes down to the hierarchy - visual v AP. 

7 minutes ago, Roog said:

Thank you everyone, so many responses I’m going to struggle to respond to each of you individually.
 

I take the point that I could transport my Dob in the motor home, but I think my wife might have something to say about it joining us! And getting it in and out through the narrow door with quite a drop would be a worry. 

I guess my anxiety is that having used a 10” Dob for visual I might be very disappointed  by a much lesser aperture for visual, ultimately I should seek to find a compromise and in the absence of personal experience it is a little of your wealth of knowledge I seek.

I have been watching videos of enthusiastic 150mm Newtonian owners managing to carry out AP effectively with this gear, but I have to confess it does look quite challenging as a travel rig. 
 

I think perhaps I need to prioritise future use for AP and accept that visual astronomy will be significantly compromised. I might be naive but I have a vision of a 80mm ED refractor in a case as a manageable travel scope.

There’s always a compromise - if you are visual first and AP second a compact grab and go 150 newt is entirely possible in the form of the Heritage Virtuoso - compact and capable. Check out some of the incredible images posted by others here using this. I’m also an imager second (very much so) but aspire to what is achievable with this modest set up having seen examples on this forum. 
Clearly if AP is top of the hierarchy it would likely be a small frac on a tracking mount that would do the job best. 

Looking to be a mixed night cloud wise but travelling optimistically… feels like it’s been a while! Cooling the Dob…

As I’ve posted frequently, (I’m not on commission!) my Heritage 150p Virtuoso GTi (The GOTO version) is for me an excellent  grab and go to complement my 10” Dob. It’s 6 inch aperture is very good for impromptu observing sessions, and can be used for getting into AP… look at the link below. Also fits into cars full of other gear !

I think many would advocate a small frac for getting into AP though, if that’s the clear direction… 

A busy family focused weekend has resulted in less time behind the eyepiece, but last night I was able to capitalise on fleeting clarity within a cloud dominated night using the Heritage 150p for a very brief stint on Saturn. Always a good way to end a day… 

Well that’s a highly positive first light experience with your new ‘scope! 
There is a currently running thread elsewhere where the OP is looking for a first instrument - your experience might be useful to post there to offer a “newbie” perspective ?

@Scoobyroo Mostly under the “What did you see tonight” thread within Observing reports here on SGL (Stargazers Lounge).