JDF

I have Moongazing,Beginners Guide to Exploring the moon on Kindle, it's a great resource, the moon is broken down into 16 sections with maps and plates etc.

Nothing to see here, thick blanket of cloud.

It's likely to be the eyepiece as the kit 10's tend to not be the best

Lunar viewing just finished for tonight ,plato craterlets, alpine valley and a good few more off the list! Seeing was fantastic tonight with beautiful resolution at 214x which hasn't been the case lately.

Ah right, I didn't know this, useful for future plans. Thanks

I upgraded the tripod to the 1.75 steel for the AZ5 and mak 127, it's rock solid even when manually tracking at 150x.

Had a half hour tonight, Rupus Altai and surrounding craters ticked off the list, 150x again was best, the 7mm Celestron x-cel at 214x isn't just as sharp. The moon is stunning tonight 🙂

Got an hour on the Lunar 100 last night, 150x with the Baader 10mm ortho provided the best views

Same here, ticked Mare Crisium off my freshly started Lunar 100 with the 8x50s, we have a forecast of snow tonight into tomorrow so that will have to do for tonight.

It's not just me then 🙂

Bins only tonight for me, didn't look like cloud was going to clear earlier so sat down to watch The Tourist and got caught up in that.Just looked outside at midnight and clear skies😀 other than the usual big 3 I found Beehive cluster, M35 and the Persei double though these last 3 are all very faint in the bins but can just be made out. I've to be up early in morning so i'm going to pay for this.

Hi Dave, Thanks for taking the time to post this, scope is a skymax 127 cooled and dew shielded, the problem is with me rather than the scope i'm sure, I'll get there with doubles for sure. Starting the lunar 100 this month so hopefully I have the perfect scope for this.

Thanks for the advice folks, I will try again, hopefully tonight. For some reason I had completely forgot that I had split Mizar last year with no bother at all.

No never tried splitting any doubles before, reading a few of the other posts from tonight Rigel seems to split at lower mags, did I possibly jump in to high starting with the 10mm ortho at 150x

Had a tour of the sky earlier with the 10x50's , got M31 ,mesmerized again by M45, I also find Hyades to be beautiful to look at. Popped over to M42 and then had a look for some others, think I had a faint glimpse of M35. Moved over to the mak127 for a look at M42 with the UHC in, best i've seen it tonight 🙂. Thought I would have a go at splitting some doubles for the first time but failed miserably, tried both Rigel and Mintaka up to 214x with no joy, anyone any thoughts on why this would be?

I did a binocular tour with my wife of M45, Haydes and M42 last night but didn't know about these! Noted for next time. Thanks

I've been itching to try out a UHC-S filter that arrived last week, got a 15 min break in clouds at 11pm so quick set up with mak and it does make a difference with Orion Neb, much better nebulosity on view. Had a chance to try my new BST 18mm that was a Christmas present and it gave a lovely view of Orion too, nicely resolving the trapezium with nebulosity on view without filter.

My plan is to get some structure to my viewing sessions, I'm hoping to do the Lunar 100 list this year coming rather than just randomly looking at the moon.

Would a cheap solution this not be to purchase an additional wheelie bin and store it in that. You could probably put some of that strip insulation around the rim under the lid to keep most damp etc out. Just a thought.

Just in from a half hour session during a break in the cloud ( there really is a benefit to keeping a mak in a shed ) no cool down needed. Orion Nebula above the house but looking lovely tonight with a very distinct fog around it, really stood out, I'm hoping for even better when UHC filter arrives. Got a chance to look at M45 for the first time through this scope and the view is very tight but the stars really pop against the blackness, beautiful, though I do prefer the view with 10x50's. One thing I noticed in M45 is a star that seems to appear the disappear almost rhythmically , it is to the left of a faint triangle of stars (i'm probably imagining this). Was really good to get this quick session given how poor the nights have been lately. It would have been much better if this was later tonight when my back would be shielding the local light pollution rather than side on but I'll take anything at the moment.

Thanks vlaiv, I have one ordered from FLO.

Hi Folks, thank you for the welcome, it's much appreciated

Hi Peter, Thanks or the reply, i'm actually thinking of buying the Evostar 72ed for the same purpose.

Hi Folks, Registered a while ago but forgot to pop in and say hello, my name is Denver, 52 and have had my mak 127 for a year now. Mostly observing Moon but starting to expand interest to other areas of night sky. Hopefully I will be able to engage and contribute to this great place.

Hi All, Could I get some advice please on a suitable filter to help viewing Nebula with my Skymax 127, lenses used will be Baader 32m plossl and Bst 18mm for now. Viewed Orion Nebula for the first time last night, just a wisp of nebulosity. Would like something to make it pop a little more. Bortle 5 skies at best from the garden. I understand there are better scopes for this type of viewing but I would like to maximize the usage of this scope before considering another. Thanks in advance for your suggestions 🙂