At long last I'm observing again :-)

[twotter]

It's been months since I've been able to take my telescope outside and observe the night sky. Not so much because of bad weather, though there's been plenty of that, but really because I had spinal surgery in March. My recovery is slow and ongoing, but recently I've felt more able to do more, including moving my telescope.

Anyway, last night a few gaps in the clouds saw a half Moon peeking through, and as the sky darkened, Arcturus was visible up above. I'm not up to a long session yet but managed a good 15 minutes on the Moon, and about 5 minutes on Arcturus.

My 200P dob was smooth and performed as well as the conditions allowed. No need for star hopping when there's only two targets up there! Cloud passing the Moon was a benefit (I usually use a filter) but made things a bit trickier for Arcturus (now you see it, now you don't). I kept the EPs simple using my favourite Hyperion 13mm, and my 8-24mm zoom, though ended up using the zoom for most of the short session. The narrow FOV at 24mm wasn't a problem with either target, and the Moon stayed sharp throughout the range to 8mm. Arcturus allowed for an opportunity to check my collimation with a star test, which looked fine. It sharpened up in the zoom to produce the classic four 'flares' due to the secondary vanes - I really like that effect.

Like I say a short and simple session, but it's great to be able to get out observing again.

[Viv]

Nice to hear - congrats.

Still take it easy & don't rush it.

[hayju01]

Good to hear that your recovery is progressing and you have been able to get out there.

[DarkerSky]

That's great news! Must have felt so good to be out under the stars again with a scope