I had an amazing night....

[Doc]

Went down to my caravan in Norfolk this weekend and decided to take my William Optics GT81 refractor and my Redsnapper tripod. First time I have used it with the redsnapper and it took the weight well, it was rather windy but the wobbles were kept to a minimum, I like this set up for quick views as it takes minutes to set up.

It was very dark and the milky way clearly visible, I has no goto or no laptop so all the objects below were found by rememberance and a few years of practise.

Jupiter

Double cluster

Ngc457

M33

M31

M110

Ngc891

Ngc7331

M15

M27

M57

Alberio

M13

M92

M101

M81

M82

M36

M37

M38

I tried to find Comet Gerrard but I failed. The highlight was M33, impossible to find from my back garden but in this sky it shone very brightly, in fact so good Ngc604 was visible as a brighter blob.

An amazing night considering I only had 81mm of aperture and no go-to.

[zedds]

Nice list Doc. Sounds like great skies there.

[rory]

sounds like amazing skies. thanks for sharing, and well done on remembering locations of objects, impressive !

[Beulah]

Yes, it is amazing what you can see with such small aperture - your experience as a seasoned astronomer really helps as well.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Amazing! Especially finding NGC 891, which I find hard with my C8. Did get a half decent view yesterday from a darker site, but still not easy.

[Doc]

Ngc891 was easily the hardest one to find and only appeared with a tap of the scope and averted vision, just a lightning of the background but still there.

I struggled at times with the 16" to see this galaxy so it just goes to show how much difference the sky darkness really makes.

[swamp thing]

Hi Mick

Looks like a busy night at the eyepiece.

It's amazing how much NGC604 does stand out when the sky is a good-un.

NGC891 is a tricky one if the skies not the best. I remember observing it several years back from a moderately LP sky in my 16" and couldn't even see it in a 12" that was parked next to mine.

Regards Steve