MalcolmM

Didn't see it last night, but did catch it last year and remember taking this photo as it was so pronounced and black! Promontorium Laplace, page from Features of the Near Side of the Moon by John Moore. Malcolm

First time seeing the Moon in ages due to cloud. It's a bit dark, but I tried to get a fast a shutter speed as possible to freeze the motion and the seeing. I'm pleased with how sharp it turned out. Mewlon 180C with 2" 32mm 85° Masuyama and the phone hand held at the eyepiece. Much easier framing the shot with the wide top lens of the Masuyama than my usual Abbe Orthos. Malcolm

Thanks @The60mmKid. Those are good lists. They confirmed most of my current list and added a few extra. Malcolm

In my opinion it's fantastic. It walks you though interesting features at each 'day' of the lunar cycle. I picked mine up second hand for a few quid on World of Books if I remember correctly. Malcolm

@dobbyisbest you are suggesting that these targets are early evening targets? I got very confused with locations, times and time zones, but I came to the conclusion Crux was an early evening target, so it's reassuring to have you confirm this! Malcolm

@DirkSteele @Nicola Fletcher I'm thinking of 3 eyepieces: Tak Erfle 28mm 60°, Masuyama 10mm 85° and the Nagler zoom. If I skip on the 4th eyepiece, I'll have room for my hiking socks Does that sound reasonable? I've quickly scanned all @DirkSteele's Southern Hemisphere observing reports and really don't think I need look any further. Fantastic reads! I think I may have done the same balloon flight as you in the Namib. Was Eric your pilot? Malcolm

Great report. Sounds a wonderful set of targets and a visual feast I think I'll print it out and use it as is for a session. Malcolm

That's a good idea. I wasn't going to bring binoculars but I think maybe I should! I'm going to have to sacrifice some clothes Malcolm

Some good advice here. The few times I've been in truly dark skies, the sheer number of stars has left me utterly lost! To say nothing of the familiar ones being the wrong way round Very envious of you hopefully getting to Starbase! Have a great trip. Malcolm

Thanks @DirkSteele. I'll check out your link. I have enjoyed the content of your web site very much, particularly your Tak reviews which, along with certain members here, have helped push me down the Tak obsession path No blame, just a big thank you 🙂 Malcolm

Thanks for the targets and book recommendations @Nicola Fletcher. The targets you list seem to be the showcase ones! I'm collating lots of targets at the moment and intend to rationalise them and do some cheat sheets. I'll be happy to share them. I'm beginning to wish I had started this exercise months ago! From what little I've read it sounds like we're in for a real treat There's one called the Wishing Well cluster which sounds intriguing as does the Gem Cluster - just names to me at the moment. Also, here's a sketch I found on-line that might be useful, though I suspect your books cover it all and more. If only I could pack my Mewlon 180 ☹️ Malcolm

I'm spending a bit of time in the Australian Outback and on a small island off Tonga this summer. I'm hoping to bring my Tak FC76DCU. Can you help me come up with a list of objects to observe please? I am more interested in brighter showpiece objects, rather than dimmer challenging objects. Many Thanks, Malcolm

I thought I got it last night, a small dark spot, not well defined, on the top end of it. However, on reading the linked post above (thanks @John ), I suspect it was just an albedo marking. Seeing was just ok, the moon was wobbling. I was using M180, Maxbrights with 1.25 GPC and Tak Abbe 18mm. Calculations would suggest this gives x150, but I'm never really sure when binoviewers and GPC are in the optical path! Malcolm

According to "Discover The Moon" Gruithuisen Gamma is a circular dome, 20km across, with a 2 km diameter vent. They say it should be visible in a 150mm scope. I'm going to try tonight with the Mewlon if the seeing is any good. Malcolm

Now you tell me! Maybe that explains the hairy stars 🙂 Malcolm

That's a fantastic picture. It really looks like your in a spaceship in a low lunar orbit! Malcolm

Agree wholeheartedly! In my case, the views in the 180C are significantly better than the 100DC. Malcolm

Very interesting video, thanks for posting. Malcolm

Great report, and it provides me motivation to keep trying! I was looking last night in pretty good seeing with a Mewlon 180C but despite seeing the dark and light walls of the valley, I could not see the rille. In my limited experience, the correct angle of illumination is critical for these sort of features. I'm hoping with just the right illumination, the 180C is good enough to resolve the rille. I'll certainly keep trying. Malcolm

Thinking about it overnight, I now suspect my original problem was seeing, not cool down. @John, I've mostly used my Mewlon for deep sky in the last 6 months, so have not been aware of cool down times, but before that, when using it on planets and the moon, I would agree with @JeremyS. When acclimatising in a plastic box before hand, I would get fantastic views (in my opinion!) in less than an hour. @dweller25 uses active cooling to help acclimatise. Apart from my wobble which caused me to start this thread, I have had nothing but enjoyment from my Mewlon. I can't speak for the 210, but the 180 is very portable and really easy to set up. The finder handle is quite simply brilliant Malcolm

Just to close the loop on this one ... I finally got some steady skies and had the Mewlon outside for 4 or 5 hours observing the moon as the sky got darker. Contrast and sharpness seemed very good so I tried a star test. No hairyness and perfect airy disk and diffraction rings, just as the PERFECT example in @dweller25's diagram. I suspect the scope simply hadn't cooled enough. Thanks again everyone for all the very helpful replies. Couple of moon pics; phone just hand held at eyepiece (Maxbrights plus 1.25GPC plus Tak Abbe 18mm). Stupidly didn't take one of the star test! Malcolm

I have tried to spot the vents in domes with a 4" Refractor and failed. The Cauchy domes, and those around Milichius and Hortensius, as described in "Discover The Moon" by Jean Lacroux and Christian Legrand. They say the vents should be visible with 'a powerful telescope'. I'm not sure what that constitutes! I intend to give them a go with my Mewlon, if the clouds ever disappear! Malcolm

Those are very impressive rear ends Malcolm

Now don't start me on gratuitous garden lighting, blinding street lighting, local Inn with Christmas lights still going strong ... oh, and the neighbour's dog kicking off when it senses me, maybe I should take a shower first Malcolm

The polite reply is 'because I'm old fashioned' Malcolm