RayGil

Obervation Session 16/10/2010 00:00 – 02:30 Birkrigg Common Cumbria. Arrived at Observation site at roughly 23:45 and started to set up, Hate setting up in the dark, with only the odd torch and my head lamp. Once the scope was set up, balanced and polar aligned I proceeded to set the Synscan unit up, using the 2 star alignments. A quick visual scan of the skies, Orion was just coming up nicely in the East, Jupiter was high in the South East and the Moon had already set. My first test object was of course M31 and the Next was the Double Cluster, both of which it found quickly and I was happy with the alignment tests. Cassiopeia was nearly directly overhead and it was time to try and locate the comet at 00:48. Comet found at 00:53 and certainly is a lot brighter tonight, easily located with binoculars for the first time, probably because it was later, and higher in the sky and tonight it was travelling through a sparser area of the sky. I could almost make it out with naked eye, but very difficult to focus and be 100% sure, although easy in binoculars. The comet looked less diffuse tonight, but that may be because it was so high in the sky at this time. At 01:15 I decided to check on Orion, it was the first time this year I have had opportunity to view Orion using the 200mm scope, and my 32mm EP. The Orion Nebular M42 is a truly amazing site and one not to be missed! I decided to do some photography using my Nikon CoolPix Camera and 25mm EP. Took a series of pictures and ranging from ISO 800 – 2000, this camera is only a point and shoot type, but has proved satisfactory in the past when photographing bright objects or planets. Tried various EP’s while viewing Orion, ranging from 10mm – 32mm, including the new zoom EP. All provided very good views, although the 25mm EP that came with the scope provided the best view in my opinion. My next object was M44 the Beehive cluster in Cancer, an open cluster and best viewed in low power eye piece, 32mm. This open cluster is very pretty to look at and contains many double and triple stars including 4 very Orange/Red stars. I then slewed the scope back to the Orion nebular M42 & M43, to do some more photography. At 02:30 I decided that I had done enough and again freezing cold conditions at this time of night, I packed the scope up and set off home, arriving back at 03:15.

Observation Session 11/10/2010 Birkrigg Common – Cumbria. Arrived at my observing site at 19:27, Conditions already look very good, a few stars were already visible and Jupiter was already high about the horizon, seeing was going to be good, a cold, crisp night. Started to set up the telescope, polar aligned and balanced scope, set up the Synscan unit and got ready for alignment tests. Once alignment reported successful I swung the scope to the first test object to make sure it was located in the FOV. M31 Andromeda galaxy is always a great target and being nearly a naked eye object or at very least a binocular object it is a nice easy test for the scope. Scope slewed to Andromeda and the view using the 32mm EP was stunning as always. The bright central core and wispy arms stretching right across the EP, makes a truly great test object, also M32 in the same FOV makes this a really spectacular object with a 200mm scope. The next object was the Double Cluster, which is one of my favourite objects to view in any size scope. As this was another successful alignment it was time to check the progress of the comet. At 21:07 the sky was dark enough to start looking for the comet and with the chart from http://www.astronomia.org/servlet/cometeph?lang=en&pdesign=0103P, (Thanks Mike) the data was inputted into the handset and the telescope slewed to the position, with a slight adjustment to centre the comet in the 32,, EP. The RA 03:17,8 and Dec 54:29, the information was stored in my user object settings of the Synscan unit for later recall if needed. Comet Harley 2 at 21:10 was still quite weak, but with dark adapted eyes and using averted vision it’s still an impressive site, small central core but very diffuse and definitely getting brighter than on previous observation sessions. Still no tail visible though. I was using the 32mm Wide field FOV Eye Piece. I tried the new zoom EP 7mm-21mm, also my 10mm and 25mm, but the 32mm still gives the best view, at 10mm there is no detail really just really fuzzy/diffuse blob. My next object was M34 in Perseus, since I was in that area. An open Cluster of about 80 stars. (roughly 5 light years across and 1,500 light years away from us). Another interesting cluster, containing some very nice stars and best viewed in a 32mm wide field EP. Onto M39 another open cluster that blends into the Milky Way. M13 the Great Globular cluster in Hercules was the next target, always an impressive site, a tight cluster in a 32mm EP but higher power shows the true size of this cluster. I decided at this point 22:04 to take some pictures of Jupiter and slewed the scope and centred the planet in the FOV. Then I saw something unexpected, what I first thought was the planet Uranus, but then was gone? Managed to get 2 pictures, but this object was either passing in-between Jupiter and it’s Moons or was much closer to me and just happened to be in my FOV. The next object on my list was M33 The Triangulum galaxy, this needs a really dark site to bring the best view, very large and using averted vision you can make out the shape of the galaxy but not a lot else. Tried various eye pieces ranging from 32mm – 10mm, and the best view came from the zoom EP set at about 14mm. M27 the Dumbbell Nebula was next on my observing list and this just blew me away, this is now in my top 5 objects as Must Views. Located 1,000 light years away and extends more that 2 light years in diameter and is expanding at 20 miles per second. Truly a breathtaking site in a 32mm wide field EP. Just hangs in space and is more pronounced then M57 the smoke ring in Lyra. I am wondering if a nebular filter may bring out more detail in the future? Time was passing by very quickly so I slewed the scope back to the comet and viewed this again, inputting the new co-ordinates into the handset. You really need dark adapted eyes and use averted vision to get the best from this comet and I’m hoping it will still pick up in brightness and form a tail later in the month. 23:30 I decided that I was cold enough and my feet were like blocks of ice, so I packed all the gear up, also noticed that by this time everything was suffering with dew, except the scope, which had the extended dew shield fitted. Arrived back home about 00:00 and unpacked the gear and processed the pictures. Ray - :eek:

Ray's Astro-Photography Site

Observation Session 07/10/2010 Arrived at the Obs Site at 19:10 and once polar aligned and balanced took approx 30 minutes to complete setup. Tried to 3 star test but handset kept coming up failed alignment? After checking over the scope and synscan unit, no problems were found, this continued for another 30 minutes and frustration was starting to set in, until I noticed the scope position, I turned the scope around and repositioned it with its tube rings, re polar aligned and continued with the 3 star set up and handset reported alignment success? (not 100% sure why the handset reported errors). Continued through my alignment tests, checking my usual objects to prove alignment, these include M13, M57, M31 and the double cluster, all were clearly visible within the FOV. Conditions at the obs site were clear but breezy with slight gusts, nothing really bad but would rule out any photography. But as the main object of the session was to locate comet Hartley 2, I was not too bothered about photography, although I did want to check out the new zoom skywatcher EP 7mm-21mm. The sky was really dark tonight, Milky Way stretched right across the sky, and with no Moon in the sky most of the DSO's were showing up nicely. Quick check of M39 open cluster, always try to get one new Messier object every time I'm out. Back to the Open Cluster to locate the comet, 22:43, finally tracked the comet down, not very bright and very diffuse, I would have expected it to be brighter?, tracked the comet for 30 minutes. Over the last few observing sessions I have had various visits from the Police, being out in the middle of Birkrigg Common and strange hours of the night, has caused some concern? Although I am not sure why. tonight was no exception, had a visit from an officer at about 23:00, but he was genuinely interested in what I was doing, on seeing the scope set up, it was a Wow! Can I have a look through it? He viewed the comet but don't think he was as impressed as I was, his idea of a comet is the bright ball with a long tail. His next comment was what else can I see? I showed him M31 and his jaw dropped, M31 in my 32mm EP is an inspiring site, then onto Jupiter, now that was impressive using the 10mm EP, the banding was visible and Moons were all well placed, M13 very impressive, the globular cluster from my dark site really stands out. After 45 minutes of viewing, he let me carry on, but to be honest, by this time I was ready to pack up the gear and get myself home. Finished observing the comet at 00:00.

Argos: I think you need to post this in the Beginners section? you may have more luck. Well welcome to the Star Gazers Lounge and Astronomy, Unfortunately I don't know the scope. But as it's a 8" scope I would expect great views of all the inner planets, and some great DSO's like clusters and galaxies, although most will be just fuzzy blobs? A camera will bring out much more detail though, but that's a whole new ballgame. Good luck with your venture, and yes Saturn is the coolest planet I have viewed also, I've been interested in astronomy for over 20 years now and I still love looking at Saturn. Ray

http://rays-place-on-the-net.blogspot.com/

http://rays-place-on-the-net.blogspot.com/

I am interested if anyone has any information about the orbit of planet X (Nibiru). There is lots of speculation on the arrival of this planet/comet in the year 2012. First of all, stop watching YouTube Video's! Secondly: Welcome to astronomy, it's a great hobby. I have the same scope as yourself, which I use for solar observing, with the appropriate filter fitted. I have a feeling that you may be disappointed with the views from that scope? Even though it's a GOTO scope, because of the size of the scope, it will only give a slightly better view than a pair of binoculars. Even so, you should get small views of Jupiter with it's moons, again don't expect great things here. Any DSO - Deep Space Object is going to be very very faint indeed, just a smudge. On the plus side it will give great images of the Moon. My blog is at Ray's Astro-Photography Site But don't get to disheartened and learn the night sky, every thing takes time. Ray

Good article Rich, I was hoping to get out and look for Comet 103P Hartley soon, but looking forward to Orion. Thanks for the heads up! Keep us posted.

Can we have a photo please of the camping mat dew shield? If Possible. Ray

Observation Report for 3rd September 2010. Location Birkrigg Common. I decided to attend the local FAS meeting, Furness Astronomical Society at 19:30, as this was the first meeting for the start of the year (Sept – May), it was a short meeting and it finished at roughly 20:30. I was going to pop into their observatory in Dalton but as the sky was clearing I decided to pack my scope and head off to Birkrigg for my own observing session. I arrived at Birkrigg at roughly 21:45 and started to set up my scope, I hate setting up in the dark, but on this occasion I had no time restraints as I’m on my long weekend off work. Once the Skywatcher 200p and EQ5 was Level, Balanced and Polar aligned it was time to start observing, leaving the scope to cool down for roughly 20 minutes. The sky conditions were excellent and the Milky Way stretched overhead and seemed to go on from horizon to horizon, a truly stunning view, helped by having no bright moon in the sky washing objects out. Jupiter was rising in the East nicely, but left that until later, my first target was going to be M57 in Lyra as I missed this last time due to cloud moving in. A quick check with binoculars located M57 as a very small out of focus star, and once you find these DSO’s they are easy to locate in the future, the difficulty lies in locating them initially because I’m never sure what they should look like in binoculars. Located Sheliak and Sulafat in my finder and fitted the 32mm eyepiece and M57 was only a small adjustment away, located very easily. Once the Ring Nebula was centred, it looks like a fuzzy disk in the 32mm eyepiece, I changed to a 10mm and the ring was more pronounced and easily recognisable as a planetary Nebula or smoke ring, and adding the x2 barlow just adds to the definition, This is one DSO I could spend hours studying, I love the fact there is an actual smoke ring in space. Now according to my research you need a 12” scope to see the central hot star in the middle of the ring, but I am sure that with my 8” scope it’s very faint but it’s there, unless it’s an optical illusion and my brain thinks it’s there? Because the seeing was so good I decided to go and view M31, again location was easy, binoculars show the misty blob and the finder scope shows it about the same as binoculars, using the 32mm eyepiece to centre the galaxy it was without doubt an awe inspiring site stretching right across the eyepiece field of view, the spiral galaxy should be viewed with the widest eyepiece, the edge on arms seem to stretch forever, just getting more defuse the further out you go. Tonight I located M32 which at higher power looks oval but clearly seen and also M110 was located, it’s companion elliptical galaxy. I spent a good 20 minutes just enjoying the galaxies in these excellent seeing conditions, the distinct lack of moon light helped with seeing the smaller galaxies. My next targets were clusters; there is something about clusters of stars that fire the imagination even on a cold desolate moor in the middle of the night. The Cassiopeia Clusters are easy targets, NGC 457, 663, 129, 225 and 7789 are all superb in a widefield 32mm eyepiece. The 2 in particular I was interested in were in Perseus and are Open clusters NGC 869 and 884, these were located using binoculars and then in the finder, the 32mm allows both clusters to be viewed in the same FOV, these clusters are over 7,000 light years away from us and have a back drop of a haze of light behind them which gives them a fantastic effect in the dark sky, almost jewelled like, clusters of diamonds hanging in the night sky. They tell me in NGC884 is full of red super giant stars and these can be seen clearly, but I think I am one of these people that cannot distinguish colour in stars? I have spent a long time hunting through this cluster and it’s difficult to say if I have seen the red giants, perhaps the haze shields them, or I need to use some kind of filter I’m not sure? But regardless of the colour, these 2 clusters are jewels in the night sky, really stunning to view and very bright in my widefield eyepiece. After a short break for a cup of tea and a binocular trawl through the southern Milky Way, I decided to go and find my old favourite M13 the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. Binoculars show it as a hazy patch of light and same for the finder, so it’s an easy object to locate once you know where the constellation of Hercules is located and the keystones. I’m hoping you will start to see a pattern? Binoculars first, I always use binoculars to locate objects before I train the finder to the position, binoculars truly do give a wide field of view and with steady hands can be very useful indeed. M13 was it’s truly spectacular in the dark sky, even at 10mm with a x2 barlow fitted, the Globular cluster shows in astonishing detail, I personally think there is a list of top ten sights that every one should view and this is one of them, the amount of detail that can be seen with an 8” scope is astounding. The central core of M13 is over 100 light years across? And is 25,000 light years away from us and is made up of over a Million stars tightly compacted from out perspective, the central core is just a diffuse ball of light, but either way it is truly stunning to view, again this is one DSO I can spend a long time on. My other target was M92 which contains some of the oldest stars in the universe and is roughly 35,000 light years away from us, so a bit dimmer in the eyepiece. This tight compact ball of light is another jewel in the cluster list. I was coming to the end of my observing time, but I enjoyed a nice view of M45 the Pleiades with Naked eye, binoculars and telescope, widefield shows in best I think. My other highlight was of course Jupiter, the cloud belt was in fine detail tonight as seeing was very steady even at the highest magnification, and I was luck enough to watch Ganymede cross Jupiter’s disk and could see the black dot of the moon as it passed across the face of the giant, another fantastic observing night. My target lists grows, targets to tick off tonight were: NGC 884, 869 457, 663, 129, 225 & 7789 M13, 31,32, 57, 92, 110 & M45 I started to pack away my gear and dismantle the EQ5 for travel, also packed away the SkyWatcher Explorer 200p with great care. I was home and twittering my exploits by 01:30 cold but extremely happy with tonight’s observing session. My only wish now is getting some drives so I can do some photography and share my observations with family and friends. Thanks for reading my blog, feel free to comment on any aspect of my observing and feel free to suggest some other targets you think I may enjoy viewing. Ray Gilchrist 4th September 2010

31st August 2010 Conditions were good, forecast was slight cloud then clear night. Location - Brikrigg Common, Cumbria. I decided that I was going to try and do some imaging and needed a telescope that had drives. My new Skywatcher Explorer 200p 8" and EQ5 mount does not have drives fitted yet, so it I was left with the Skywatcher 130m with RA clock drives. Arrived at 21:00 and proceeded to set the EQ2 mount up, polar aligned and balanced scope then allowed it to cool down while I set up the Canon S31s on it's tripod for the ISS pass at 21:31. The first thing I had to do also was look for for missing lens from my glasses that was lost a couple of days before, a quick scan around and I found the exact place I had been 2 days earlier, and lo and behold there laying on the wet dew grass was my lens, cleaned it up and popped it back into my glasses frame and I can finally see again. Time was getting on and the ISS was approaching from the South/West to South East and I set the camera up for 15 second exposures and F3.5 taking a series of 10 exposures per run. Once the ISS and Progress had passed over, it was on to the 130mm and EQ2, well the first thing I noticed the massive size difference, the 130 was basically a toy scope compared with the 200p on the EQ5 mount. Jupiter was rising nicely in the East and while the moon was below the horizon I took advantage of the darker shy in that direction and quickly located the Andromeda galaxy with my binoculars, it's very easy to see from this dark sky location. Instead of the Normal red dot finder that I use on the 130, I swopped it for the 200p finder scope, this makes it easy to point the 130 in the right direction, quickly locating M31 and I must admit the view from the Skywatcher 130mm was very good, now I have been spoilt over the previous observing sessions using the 200mm scope, and this shows the galaxy as it should be viewed. The 130mm was very good, defined central core and wider field of view with the galaxy stretching North and South from the central core, quite impressive really, the clock drive was engaged on the EQ2 and I went for a cup of tea from the flask while I prepared the cameras. Returning a few minutes later and checking the eyepiece view I was surprised the M31 was still in the field of view, making slight adjustments to center the galaxy I proceeded to fit the DSLR camera, first problem was then obvious to me, the Canon DSLR is a bulky camera to hang off the side of the 130 and EQ2, this dragged the scope and moved the object out of the FOV, making adjustments the other problem was then the galaxy is very faint in the cameras viewfinder and it was difficult to get focus and center any object that is not at least planet bright. So the photography was abandoned and I was just going to enjoy the galaxy for it's beauty in the eyepiece, 32mm showed it best, but the standard 25mm showed a crystal clear image of the galaxy although not as bright as I would have hoped for. I spent a good 30 to 45 minutes just looking at the galaxy and surrounding area, but it's companion galaxy M32 was not located with any certainty, ill defined and very poor brightness, perhaps I was expecting the 130 to perform as the 200 had done previously. I checked Jupiter and the cloud belt could easily be seen and 3 of it's moons, the other being hidden by the planet, but Jupiter was still low in the Horizon at this point, and the Moon was just starting to rise at 22:15, so I decided to check M13 in the West direction away from the bright Moon, in the East. I located M13 the Globular Cluster in Hercules using binoculars and then trained the finder scope on the fuzzy object, using the 32mm eyepiece the cluster was centered then changing down to 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, but the view was disappointing really, the cluster could easily be seen, but the central mass of stars was just that, a mass of stars tightly packed, although very pretty in the 25mm eyepiece I was struggling to make out any stars on the edge of the cluster but perhaps my expectations have a higher bar now, viewing M13 in the 200mm scope is an experience, so many stars. The 130 is a really good scope despite my comments, M13 was easily located and easily identified as a globular cluster with a sharp images, although these were very much lower in detail and brightness compared to the 200p. I spent a while just trying eyepieces and improving the view of M13, one could thing the EQ2 has, is the clock drive with once polar aligned will keep the object in the FOV for ages without adjustment. I adjusted the scope to view Jupiter again, as it was higher in the sky by this time, and was really clear, the detail was very good indeed, Jupiter was small in the eyepiece and increasing to a 10mm and x2 Barlow the image was very good indeed, I am really impressed with the planetary detail this scope produces. By this time some cloud was starting to come over and I changed over to the Moon, clarity was very good indeed, even through light cloud the image was breathtaking, the craters were clearly seen and shadows were very good. The light cloud was starting to spoil the evening. I was busy sorting out a camera, when again I got very bright lights pointed at me, this is the second time this year the Police and come up to check me out? After a quick chat with them, and I must admit they were very pleased with the explanation of the scope and camera, and showed some interest, although one policeman made the gesture of it "all being above his head" but wished me good luck with my photography. As all the cloud was now starting to move into the East spoiling the views of the Moon and Jupiter I decided to relocate M57 using this scope, found it in binoculars and the finder scope ok, but could not resolve it to well with the 130, except wispy fuzzy blob syndrome, could have been high cloud moving in which spoilt the view. I decided at 00:15 to start packing my gear away and a quick check around using the cars headlights and white light torch revealed nothing, I hate the thought of leaving anything behind, I headed off home, happy with the results but disappointed with the photography. Ray

29/08/2010 Birkrigg Common, Cumbria 21:00 - 00:30 Arrived at Birkrigg at 21:00 and Set up the Skywatcher 200p and EQ5, once polar aligned I let the scope cool down for 30 minutes, while I found my bearings and scanned the sky with binoculars. The Moon was still very Low in the East and Jupiter was just coming above the horizon and still in the dirty part of the sky, and viewing the planet was unsatisfactory. While the Moon was low and not as bright as it had been in the last couple of observing sessions, 62% Waning Gibbous, I decided to locate M31 Andromeda Galaxy which I found very easily, once you know where to look, it's very simple to locate. 21:40 M31 Central dense Core stretched out from the middle and extends right across my eyepiece (32mm). The dense core with it's Billions of stars is certainly one of the nicest objects to view from a dark sky site. M31 other companion galaxy is M32 and this elliptical galaxy lacks the definition when viewed in a low power eyepiece and is just one of the fuzzy blob galaxies we tend to find in smaller scopes. After spending 20 to 30 minutes viewing these galaxies, with various eyepieces including at higher magnification with a x2 Barlow lens I decided to move onto the next target. Spent a while scanning around the Moon which was rising nicely and using my 25mm eyepiece with 2 Moon filters stacked, the views were very good indeed, crystal clear images, and I took a few pictures, which again don't really do it justice. Turning to Jupiter the image was still a little distorted looking through the dirty atmosphere, but the band could clearly be seen, and the moons Io,Europa,Callisto and Ganymede were all on show, with Europa getting very close to disappearing behind the planet. While Jupiter was still quite low in the Eastern horizon I went back to an old favourite of mine the Globular Cluster in Hercules,M13 at approx Mag 5.8 is an easy target in the finder scope, and the cluster was located quickly. Using the 32mm eyepiece the cluster is well defined with plenty of stars around the edges clearly visible. Changing down to a 10mm eyepiece provides a stunning image, a full Globular cluster in all it’s glory. This is one DSO object that every time you view it, your always finding new things to see, inverted views prove best for this. I also tried with a 10mm and x2 Barlow and the cluster snapped into view, the dense core was incredible to view, but this is another object that doesn’t need too much magnification on a 8inch scope. M13 was the best I’ve seen it so far using this scope, the central core filled my eyepiece at 10mm. I wanted to find M57 I had trouble when using smaller scopes, Using binoculars to locate Sulafat and Shellak in Lyra and moving between these two stars, there is a small dusky blob, bit like an out of focus star. Centering the object in the finder scope the 32mm eyepiece shows a distinctive ghostly ring and changing over to a 10mm eyepiece clearly shows the planetary nebula, and with a 10mm and a x2 Barlow the dark centre is more defined and using inverted vision, and you can nearly make out an out of focus centre mass, but difficult to see, and is probably just wisps of the nebular ring. The planetary Nebula is between 1,000 and 5,000 light years away from us, and has got to be the best eyepiece DSO to date! At this time (August/September at 23:00) M57 is almost directly overhead and this makes it difficult to view and the observer must be careful not to smack the scope on the tripod! It was then back to Jupiter for a final look before packing up at 00:15, and heading back home, very cold but extremely happy with the nights viewing. I did drop my glasses on Birkrigg, and did not notice that one of the lenses had dropped out so if anyone notices a sheep running about with a Patrick Moore monocle can you let me know? RayGil

26/08/2010 Birkrigg Common (Cumbria) SkyWatcher 200p (8") - EQ5 Mount (Manual) As this was the last opportunity to get out with the scope for a few days, I thought I would have another go at finding M31. Arrived at the observing site at 21:10 and set up the scope, polar aligned and balanced, love the polar scope on the EQ5, makes things so much easier. Moon was already climbing steadily in the Eastern sky, so I took the time to fix a couple of Moon filters double stacked, as the Moon is again very bright. Got the digiscope frame and set up the Nikon Coolpix S220 camera, and took a couple of pics. The Moon was reasonable in the eyepiece with 2x Moon filters fitted and although the pictures are slightly out of focus, I am pleased with the results. My next target was the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. Using my star charts and Helios binoculars I located Mirach, Mu and Nu, using the 32mm eyepiece a fuzzy blob came into view, The sky around this area was slightly washed out from the Moon, but the galaxy could clearly be seen, a bright core with dimmer streaks extending out from both sides of the core. Changing over to the 10mm eyepiece the core becomes more defined and the longer you look the more you see, but I need to view this in darker skies. Note: The Andromeda Galaxy is made up of over 300 Billion stars and it's diameter of 150,00 light tears across, we see the galaxy almost edge on, and it is a spiral galaxy. My next target was M13 the Globular Cluster in Hercules, again I located with the binoculars and the object was clearly seen in the spotting scope. M13 was really very pretty in the 10mm eyepiece and then I tried the x2 barlow, but the view in the 25mm & 10mm gave the best views, this is another DSO that I can spend a long time viewing. I made an attempt to find M57 in Lyra but failed to spot it, I will make a better effort next time I'm out, but it's almost overhead from Birkrigg so difficult to get the scope positioned correctly. (will work on that). Jupiter was beckoning and I was determined to try and get some sort of picture even though the EQ5 mount is manual, no drives yet. I set up the DSLR an old Canon EOS D30, not really designed for night shooting? I fitted the camera adapter and took some pictures, very difficult to get accurate focusing with no live view, but eyed up the camera as best as I could and took a few pictures at different settings, and viewing the pictures later at home, I am pleased with some of them, there the best pictures of Jupiter I've took to date, and bearing in mind it's only point and shoot with no tracking, I think I'm getting there. I spent a long time observing Jupiter and it's Moons, Love the crisp images the 200p produces, it's a really nice scope and I'm enjoying using it. Time was getting on and I had one last view of M31 and then decided to call it a night, Dew was starting to form and since I had work in the morning, I decided to pack all the gear away and head back home. Arrived home 00:45,Unpacked the car and checked images. Ray Gilchrist.

24/08/2010 Birkrigg Common Weather Conditions were very clear, but with a very bright Full Moon. Although it was windy conditions in Barrow in Furness I thought I would try Birkrigg. On arrival at Birkrigg; conditions were ideal, very sheltered and really clear on all horizons. Arrived and set the SkyWatcher 200p and EQ5 by 21:30 and the bright full moon was already well above the Eastern horizon and making the seeing anywhere East/South difficult to view. Took some shots with the DSLR and the Camera adaptor that came with the telescope, but imaging the full Moon is always a problem, very bright and details get washed out. By 22:30 Jupiter was climbing up the Eastern horizon nicely and the 32mm eyepiece was showing nice detail, check also with a 25, 16, 10 and 5mm eyepieces, all showing really clear images and nice details. (Never observed the Red Spot though). Next target was the Andromida galaxy, although this was always going to be difficult with Jupiter in the East and Full Moon in the South/East. The sky in North/East was pretty much washed out but I spent a good 20 minutes searching for M31, and thought I should have found it, but nothing? Making the decision to start viewing in the West where the skies were darker, proved to be a good choice. I used Pocket Universe for the Iphone to locate an approximate direction for objects, bearing in mind the new scope is totally manual. Hercules was located, and the Corner stones, although the skies in Cumbria must suffer light pollution because the corner stones never stand out as much as I think they should? M13 was located and initially this was a wispy fuzzy blob, bit like an out of focus blob, changed over to my 25mm and centred the object and then went for the 10mm with a x2 Barlow, and this shows what I would class as a Globular Cluster, Central Core of stars with plenty of individual stars on the fringes. M13 is truly a stunning globular cluster and is approx magnitude 5.8 and is approx over a 100 light years in diameter and 25,000 light years distance from us, which makes it very large but also small because of the huge distances involved, and it's estimated the cluster contains over a million stars? As M13 is a DSO (Deep Space Object) I often thought it should be brighter than it actually is, when I was using my SkyWatcher 130m 5.1" telescope the best I could resolve was a smudgy blob with and with great difficulty the odd star on the fringes. The 200p 8" diameter scope clearly shows the cluster for what it is, and a truly awe inspiring image in the eyepiece. I spent a good 45 - 60 minutes studying the cluster, which for the first time was spell binding. Time was getting on so I decided to scope back to jupiter for a final check as by this time it had risen higher in the sky, with no horizon distortion the clear image of jupiter was again stunning. I assembled the DSLR with the modified Barlow adaptor and took some shots, but with no auto guiding long exposure is out of the question and also CCD imaging will have to be put on hold for the time being, the SkyWatcher and EQ5 mount was expensive and future additions like GOTO, AutoTrack, RA Drives will have to wait until sufficient funds are available. I have enclosed a Moon pic taken at the eyepiece and also one of Jupiter, both of low quality, but this is the best I can do at present.

Well Vesper prepare to be Ecstatic, those images were taken with the SkyWatcher 200p, but bear in mind those images are nothing compared to the view in the eyepiece, the Jupiter view was taken when the planet was low in the eastern horizon just after rising so the detail is smudged, it's better viewed when its higher in the sky! The higher the object the clearer the sky, The moon shots are just as seen, no magnification, but with some magnification you are very very close, the Moon is a fantastic object to view. Those shots were just snaps taken at the eyepiece. What size scope you getting? the 200p is an 8" reflector, my older scope the Skywatcher 130 is a 5.1" reflector. This shot was taken with the 5.1" reflector using a CCD, web cam camera:

Well the New Skywatcher 200p 8" Scope on a Sturdy EQ5 mount arrived on Saturday and although it's been set up and took out twice, suffered with cloud on both occasions. The EQ5 was chosen for it's build construction and it's ability to hold a large DSLR at the Eyepiece. The 8" scope should give a reasonable size object for the CCD Camera. Couple of photo's are with the DSLR inserted in the eyepiece with Zero magnification, Jupiter was very low in the Eastern dirty horizon and although did look fine in the eyepiece with turbulence the image was slightly blurred. Only pic I took because cloud came in! My other scope the SkyWatcher 130 on an EQ2 with RA drive, will be available for sale, no point in keeping too many scopes? or perhaps I could use it for Solar observing? Ray

Well I finally got my Iphone holder, 1st one was damaged and then out of stock, but it has finally arrived. My initial tests were on my small refractor, and because it was in daylight the Sun was chosen as the object to find and then track. Holder was fitted and Iphone software GoskyWatch was chosen, and what a brilliant job it did, not only did it locate the Sun but centered it perfectly in the eyepiece, which now begs the question, will it do the same for DSO objects? and planets? My next set of tests will be when I can actually get out and do some imaging and I will let you know how the tests progress. Images: http://stargazerslounge.com/members/raygil-albums-iphone-holder-picture6077-scope-iphone5.jpg http://stargazerslounge.com/members/raygil-albums-iphone-holder-picture6076-scope-iphone3.jpg http://stargazerslounge.com/members/raygil-albums-iphone-holder-picture6074-scope-iphone2.jpg

15th August 2010 Last night of the Perseid Meteor Hunt. This was actually my first late shift back after 2 weeks off work, and I finished work at 23:15, drove home and collected my camera equipment, checked with The Francinian sky boy (Ged) to make sure he was still going up to the Dark Sky observation site. Quickly realised I needed petrol and off to the 24hr garage, topped up the tank and got a few supplies, set off for Birkrigg Common and at the traffic lights I saw Ged waiting patiently and off we went in convoy. Arrived at the Obs site about Midnight and I quickly set up my camera tripods and set the cameras off on there cycle of 10 shots, continuous running. (well continuous until the batteries run out) while I was setting up my side, Ged was setting up the 150mm,EQ2 Skywatcher scope, it's never the best time to set up in near perfect darkness, and after a few little glitches the scope was set up and pointing in the direction of Jupiter. This was the scopes first light on the planet and WOW! Really nice view of Jupiter and it's 4 moons, cloud belt could clearly be seen and we spent a good part of the night just observing the planet. It was so bright! it really was a beacon in the night sky. I also had a pair of 7x50 binoculars and was busy scanning the Milky Way, which was stunning from dark sky observing site. But as we were there for the last of the Perseid's, we set about watching the sky, although there were not as frequent as the night of the 12/13th, (Max), we actually saw 10 between us from (00:15 - 02:00). unfortunately I did not catch any that night on camera, it always seemed to be pointing in the wrong direction, and the meteors by this time were high up and coming in either North,East or North, West direction with the odd Fireball directly overhead. It was certainly a good 2 hours and we really must get an imaging night sorted out because it's much more fun and interesting when you have some company stuck in the middle of nowhere at Midnight. Ray

Location: Birkrigg Common, Cumbria - Located Near Ulverston. Time: 23:00 - 02:15 Ray Gilchrist & Trina Gilchrist Between us we saw 64 Meteors, condition were very clear after the heavy rain, some cloud around but on the whole very good seeing condition. My images unfortunately suffer from Noise, and I did think I had cured this with experimentation. ISO/Exp/F Most were taken ISO 400, 15 Seconds at f/3.2 or f/2.7 Camera was a Canon s31S. Trying to photograph the Perseid shower is very difficult, with basic equipment. RayGil

Cumbria was clear for most of the Night, I was up Birkrigg Common, near Barrow in Furness from 23:00 - 02:15 and between us we saw 64 Perseid Meteors, few of them were fireballs :-) Ray

Managed a couple of images today, heard on twitter about the 1 sunspot splitting in 2, Nasa footage here: http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/~lmg/sunspot_split.mov So I checked my data from 09:00 - 10:30 this morning, it was cloudy so I was in & Out. I found this, Enhanced up of course, I cannot compete with NASA :D Shows the sunspot just after the split plus a group of 3 others. Ray

Hello Pete. I'm pretty sure it was a Perseid, it only lasted a few seconds, I also monitor Iridium flares, but I also agree it does look like your photo? I saw 3 in total last night, but perhaps my photo does not do it justice, because my camera takes a series of 10 pictures and I thought it was just coming to the end of the series when the meteor came over, so I was not even sure if I had caught it on camera. Ray

Thought I would try and capture a perseid meteor on Camera, but I'm struggling with finding a real Dark sky site in this location. Tried again last night but I am suffering light pollution creeping in. I have found the optimum setting for the Canon s31s camera, due to a lot of experimenting over the last month. 15 second exposures at f/3.2 with a wide 50mm lens gives a nice picture with background stars or in my case clouds :( 2 pictures showing what I mean. 1st is clouds, 2n is Perseid Meteor Trail. The noise on the pictures is coming from light pollution creeping in.

9th August 2010 Observing Session at Walney Island (Not the Normal Site). After weeks of cloudy weather I was eager to actually get out and use the Skywatcher 130p scope again. checked the cloud situation and decided that it was clear enough to make the effort and pack the car with all the gear, final sky check 21:00, very light cloud and slight wind. Drove to the site, the decision to go to Walney instead of Birkrigg (which is my normal site) was based on conditions at 21:00 and also the fact I had to pick my son up from his girlfriends house after I had finished, and she lives on Walney Island. Arrived about 21:40 and instantly knew it was the wrong decision, Walney is known for it’s blustery conditions. Cloud was blowing South to North and I could see that there was no cloud coming over the Irish sea and it was going to be a clear night. First job was to set up the camera to try and capture some Perseid meteors. Next job was to set up the scope and polar align and check tracking, but as soon as the scope was set up and eyepiece inserted I knew it was not going to be an imaging night, as the scope was being buffeted by the sea breeze from the Irish sea. I thought at least I can try some of my camera experiments and see if they work for future reference. Started taking pictures on the Canon s31s, found the optimum setting for this camera to capture background stars and meteors is 15 second exposures f/3.2 and batches of 10 on a continuous cycle until I physically stop the camera from taking pictures. Whilst waiting for the last of the cloud to pass by I spent my time getting the other camera ready, this has a 32mm planetary eyepiece and fits on the front of my other camera the Canon D30 DSLR. Fitted the DSLR to the scope and rebalanced the mount, it’s quite a heavy camera and puts a lot of stress on the focuser, as I found out! Waited for Jupiter to rise above the horizon and checked focus, in the DSLR, slightly out of focus so I extended the focal length of the eyepiece and adjusted the focuser once again, which by this time was fully extended and whilst trying to adjusting it further it actually came right out of the tube! Managed to re insert the focuser in the tube, and scrapped that plan, at least the eyepiece is a wide angle type and is great for exploring the sky with. (Note: Need to sort out a better focal reducer to allow easier focusing of the object and someway of reducing the stress on the focuser) Went back to the old method of using camera adaptors for digiscope method of photography using the CoolPix s220, which is very light, but does not allow for exposure times to be adjusted, (point and shoot type). Again it became obvious that imaging was out of the question until the wind dropped although Jupiter by this time was a truly stunning image in the eyepiece and the amount of detail I could make out was remarkable. All the time I was doing various observations with the scope, the Canon s31s was taking batches of 10 pictures, 240 pictures in total and not one meteor? Although I did see 7 really fast Perseids with my eyes. I always have a pair of binoculars with me, so I thought this was a perfect time to scan the Milky Way which was showing up nicely by this time. I did manage to find a fuzzy blob to the North but my knowledge of this area is limited and im not sure what it was, My first thought was M31 but this is doubtful, I checked with my Iphone Pocket Universe App and this informed me it was M39 an Open Cluster, though it did just look like a fuzzy blob in my scopes eyepiece,.by this time it was 01:00 which is early for me but as I had to pick my son up on the way home, I thought I would call it a night. It was a great pity I chose Walney for the observing session as Birkrigg Common is a darker sky site and more sheltered from the elements. My next session I hope to CCD Jupiter as well as other projects, I’m always planning my next trip even though the Cumbrian weather has been so poor in the last couple of months. My Picture Looking North/North-East from Walney - Cassiopeia