SuburbanMak

Biked by moonlight to a new observing site & found it to be good & dark.

Same here in Hampshire - working out whether to drive somewhere dark tonight…

I see a clear blue sky - what do people reckon transparency will be like in the South of England later?

Getting back into this in 2020 in lockdown after a 30+ year hiatus I fully expected it to be a completely solitary hobby - SGL & the fellowship on here make it something much more. When I am out at my various spots alone at night I like the thought of there being all these other SGLers out there at the same time. I love reading everyone’s observations & experiences when I get in & it’s often really valuable for validating what I’ve seen. The “What did you see tonight?” thread whilst probably deterring a few longer observing reports from getting written is particularly good for this sense of community in real time. Already looking forward to this upcoming run of clear & increasingly dark nights & reading what others have found up there!

I keep mine permanently locked and have added a PB70 panning puck under the whole mount. The Az clutch is the one piece of the setup that felt a bit flimsy, like the thread might strip with excessive use. If I want to slew manually I use the PB70 for Az movement and it turns the whole thing into a nice manual mount. The only downside is that when used this way the dual encoders won’t get data, so it rules out hybrid manual/GoTo sessions - not an issue for me as I tend to use it manually only for shorter looks, if I’m out for a while I’ll align and drive the scope off the app. https://www.feisol.net/heads/panning-base/feisol-panning-base-pb-70.html

Sneaked a quick session at my new semi-dark (20,86 SQM, Bortle 4) site. I have this dead hour on a Monday when I drive my son to swimming-team, go home, have a cuppa then turn around & go straight back out. Well last night I popped the ST 80 in the boot & filled the time productively. A whistlestop widefield tour of M42, C70, M44, M45, M35, M36, M37, M38, C39, NGC457, NGC869/884, M81, M82 and a good recce around Alkaid for the star field for M101 which yielded, dare I say it, a fuzzy star with a hint of mottling around it… hoping to confirm tonight as the forecast looks good + a few premoon hours!

I use the AZGTi in Alt Az mode on two longer scopes, the old brass Clarkson and a Towa 339 f15 &, provided its not too windy, the mount handles both reasonably well. There is some vibration on focussing and using tracking / GoTo is less frustrating than in manual mode where you do end up waiting for the vibe to die down after each nudge. I have mine on a Berlebach 312 Report and use an SW extension pier. I have to be diligent about finding the balance point on the longer scopes but its a usable combination. Worth noting that I have the upgraded ADM clamp on my AZGTi, not sure these longer OTAs would be feasible without its increased stability. As an aside there's something very deeply satisfying about slewing a 120 year old brass tube around the sky on a computerised mount in a steam-punk kind of way

I might take a leaf out of your book and move the Telrad forward a bit - I occasionally bang my head on mine especially if using a lower profile EP.

Welcome to the Mak appreciation society - they deliver great optics at a keen price & the grab and go convenience and stability of the short tube is invaluable. Also originally designed (I believe) as spotters for tanks & they have a certain ruggedness as a result. I have both a Telrad finder and a 9x50 on my 127 Mak - the Telrad gets you in the right zone then switch to the finder to zero in. With your 102 the Telrad would be a bit big (SGLers have joked about my “Mak mounted on a Telrad”) but adding a Rigel Quickfinder would be possible on the 102 and the combo really makes short work of starhopping & effectively negates the navigational challenges of a narrower field. There are a handful of objects that won’t look their best in the narrower view but that’s what binoculars are for

Sorry to hear about your alignment woes - I had forgotten to check the level before I started but as I was planning to be out a while thought it worth repeating the process. I only tend to use GoTo when the moon is this bright.

Thanks Nik - my pack was a bit on the heavy side last night, I think if I am biking again I might go for the ST80 and Manfrotto 55 and save the Mak /Report 312 for nights when I’m in the car. Good galaxy tips thank you - M101 sounds a bit like M33 where I’d been looking “through” rather than “at” with the Mak. If we get the right weather this new moon I’ll be out hunting with 10x50s, ST80 and the Mak side by side. The night I found M33 I picked it up in the bins and the best view was with the ST80.

Biked to a new spot tonight with the Mak 127, about a mile out of town on a disused roadway. Shows 20.86 SQM, Bortle 4 on CO an improvement of 0.7 on my normal site in the park and not too far behind my 15 minute drive option + more sheltered and better masking from the lights of Southampton away to the South. First results were promising so will definitely be back. Aligned on Arcturus & Capella & then GoTo was rubbish. Levelled the tripod & tried again - much better this time! Transparency was quite good, seeing actually quite poor. Had thought I might go for a list of tight doubles tonight but quickly apparent this was not on, so opted for a favourites tour instead. Looked at M36/7/8 all of which were fab despite the very bright moon. I’d found them lacking in the ST80 last night but in the tighter frame & higher mags of the Mak 127 they were superb tonight. After the Auriga clusters, M35 in Gemini looks both bright blue-white & also huge! Mesmerising object. Quick look at the Beehive M44 - best view in the finder tbh, nice to sweep around in the main scope though. I do love my Baader Hyperion 24mm 68 degree, gives 62x in the Mak and a super sharp, contrasty flat to the edge view that squeezes the maximum possible field out of the scope (1.04 degrees). Left it in most of the night, swapping in the BCO 18mm (83x) on a few of the tighter objects, tried the 10mm once but 150x was beyond the limit of tonight’s sky. M67 - red toned & somehow mysterious this is an enthralling view of, I believe, very ancient stars. Dimmed slightly by moonlight tonight but still worth spending the time. Looked at a few Cancer doubles - Iota Cancri, an easy & very bright Orange/White-blue jewel. Phi 2 Cancri - a fairly tight even white figure of 8 and new to me, definitely worth a look. Tegmine, Zeta Cancri - just a double tonight, piled on the magnification but all was mush, no 1.1 arc second split this time! Revisited the tree-skimming Double Cluster & Dragonfly/Owl (NGC 457) - the latter so much better in the Mak. Had a good look at M81/2 in the same field - little detail under the moon but an awe inspiring field nevertheless. Reminded myself that those photons spent 11 million years crossing space for me to have the privilege… Had a good nose around where M101 is meant to be - no chance tonight but noted the descending dogleg line of 4 bright stars from Mizar that will help me get my bearings some dark night soon. Finished with moonwashed but nevertheless satisfying views of M13 & M57, both of which, along with the fact that I only had to roll my balaclava down for the last half hour, mean that Spring is well and truly under way & a fitting end to a great Equinox session! Kept my lights off for a moonlit bike ride back through the woods playing a game of “who’s the most startled, you or me?” with a surprisingly large number of the local deer.

Great pic. Top R , is that nebulosity or tree?

Looks clear out there, I have the very latest in mobile observatory technology ready to deploy…

After a busy week & the unsettling background of news I was itching to get out tonight for some peace under the stars despite the full moon. I opted for the ST80 & lazy GoTo choices as the moon was pretty much bleaching out anything less than Mag3 naked eye. Lovely night though and the full moon cast a hard shadow as I trudged out to my regular spot on the 22 of the river park rugby pitch. After aligning on Vega & Arcturus the AZGTi performed superbly, the widefield helps & this small scope is rock solid on the Berlebach 312 Report. Really pleased with this combination (maybe just need to upgrade the optics a bit…) Transparency was quite good & seeing perfectly fine for the low power session I had in mind. I defaulted to the Baader Hyperion 24mm 68 degree, switching in and out with the 32mm Hyperion Aspheric & Mk IV 8-24mm zoom based on the size of object. Started with the Double Cluster, NGC 869/884, stunning even under full moonlight and seen in its rich context with this widefield setup. Moved the short hop to Stock 23 (Pazmino’s Cluster) in Camelopardalis which I’d never looked at before. Nice bright open cluster with a prominent orange/yellow brightest member and a mini keystone to the W. Will definitely add this to my regulars list. NGC 457 - picked up the “eyes” of the Owl/Dragonfly in widefield and switched up to 50x with the zoom to reveal the jewelled “body & wings”. I came down on the side of Dragonfly tonight. One of my favourite objects, really beautiful. NGC 1502/Kemble’s Cascade. A super field, the fainter line of the cascade above a brighter 4 star arc flowing into a pretty open cluster. M44 - the Beehive stunning despite its closeness to the moon glow. The perfect object in this widefield set up. Went back & forth but the most satisfying view with the 24mm Hyperion fixed at c17x. Switching East of the moon I got some nice contextual views of globulars M5, M13 & M92 against their background fields. Love the sense of scale & distance viewing globs this way. On a whim I had a shot at M57, The Ring nebula as Lyra was rising out of the low murk. Delighted to spot a tiny smudge in the 24mm & faint but unmistakably the Ring Nebula confirmed at tonight’s max power of 50x with the Baader Zoom. Not bad for an ST80 with a full moon! Revisited Stock 23 and Kembles Cascade before finishing on a magic 6 degree view of the Alpha Persei cluster setting into gently swaying trees. Packed up & walked home basking in the moonlight to be greeted enthusiastically by my dog in an otherwise sleeping house. Have treated myself to a wee dram as I write - all in all a perfect antidote to this week.

I was hoping someone would post on this as I was looking at the SE quadrant last night and wanted confirmation on the Leibnitz range, which looked superb. Was out with the Towa 80mm f15 and elsewhere enjoyed splitting Rigel, Alnitak (just about), Meissa, Sigma Orionis, the Trap’ (4 only), Castor, Polaris, Algieba, Mizar/Alcor (looked fab at low power 30x with a 40mm Plossl as did the Pleiades).

Good call to get up early & great to think about those (for me) missing summer Messier objects becoming available again!

As far as I am aware they chose the star for its suitability for alignment - not considering the eventual wider field. Don’t know what their criteria were.

Just seen this alignment image showing galaxies in the background too! https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-reaches-alignment-milestone-optics-working-successfully

Unexpected hole in the cloud just as I was about to turn in. Sneaked a quick lunar look with the Prinz 330 60mm f11.8 & a BCO 10mm @ 71x. Watched the light hitting the back wall of Clavius & the high relief of Porter (I think anyway), plus a couple of deeply contrasting craters right on the terminator, I think Cavalerius & Sirsalis. The mists swirled back & anyway it’s a school night…

Short moon session with great seeing, really enjoying my Towa 339 80mm f15 for lunar, so sharp. Concentrated on the area around Aristarchus and then Mare Humorum tons of detail until the cloud rolled in. Tried my new to me Celestron 40mm Plossl for the first time in the Towa and it’s a lovely crisp lower powered pairing giving whole moon views at 30x. Spent the most time with the BCO 10mm in at 120x - fabulous.

Taken with an iPhone 12 through an old Prinz 330, 60mm f11.8, TV 15mm Plossl giving c. 47x Nice view of the G-Domes illuminated the wrong side of the terminator.

Taken with an iPhone 12 through an old Prinz 330, 60mm f11.8, TV 15mm Plossl giving c. 47x Nice view of the G-Domes illuminated the wrong side of the terminator.

Sneaked a quick Prinz 330 60mm f11.8 session before it clouded out. Looked mainly at the moon - seeing very good and so, for a few minutes, was transparency although it quickly deteriorated to high cloud. Particularly noted, I think, the Gruithuisen Domes illuminated beyond the terminator, Montes Jura, Sinus Iridium & Montes Carpatum all looked good, didn’t get into crater naming. Lovely split of Castor with the 10mm BCO at 71x. Rigel & Meissa split & Sigma Orionis showing 3 stars & its companion Struve triangle in AV. Alnitak not quite yielding to the BCO 6mm at a slightly wobbly 142x, some elongation. Sirius relatively steady & took it up to 142x, unsurprisingly no sign of the Pup. Unimpressive views of Pleiades, Double Cluster and M42 although clouding out by then and it was a moonwashed night with a 60mm after all. By now there was a c 20 degree halo round the moon. Snapped a pic & packed up, nice to get out.

Good haul at the Oxfam shop today…