Excellent seeing 1/4/12

[patomlin76]

...and no April fools!!

Tonight was probably my first experience of what excellent seeing is, and the difference it makes, even with a bright moon...

So clear, Venus in its phase was pin sharp even barlowed 3x with 9mm... Mars had clear dark areas with the same EP and I even managed to bag M103 and ngc663 in Cassiopeia - in fact I spent ages just browsing round this area and have got a target list for next time...

One of those nights that galvanizes my interest in the hobby, and also one that proves that regardless of your scope, nothing is more important than the seeing!

Clear skies!!!

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[tony4563]

Just got in.

Nice night but terrible seeing tonight in West Yorkshire.

Moon boiling. Mars mushy.

Not Good

[richbyers]

lucky you....terrible up here

[Woolleson]

Started off a lovely evening, then within an hour the blackest clouds rolled in

All setup for the night and had to settle for tv and wine ......

[patomlin76]

Can the seeing conditions vary so much that one in west Yorkshire has a disappointing night whereas 20 or 30 miles away it is much better?

Either that or conditions can get even better for me...

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[malc-c]

Not very stable or transparent here in Stevenage...

[John]

Very good seeing on the Moon and Mars tonight in Somerset. Not so good on Saturn though but that's not getting so high in the sky.

Bad / good seeing can be very localised I reckon.

[DarkerSky]

Bad / good seeing can be very localised I reckon.

Very true. It is very rare that the atmosphere is uniformly steady across a large region. So many local factors involved like urban heat release and the difference in heat re-radiation into the atmosphere from different soils etc.

[Double Kick Drum]

Congrats on your new finds. With the Moon about half full, I won't be going back out for nearly two weeks myself.

Target lists are good. The number of things I have seen since "getting organised" has increased exponentially (with just a 5 inch refractor to boot).

Happy hunting!