Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Observing Report 080807


Recommended Posts

I feel a little embarrassed now after putting my for sale post up stating I had lost interest in this hobby, but tonight I couldn't resist the 'One Last Time' cry from my scope. If I do decide to get back into Astronomy I will most definately put more into my budget so that I can get a motorized GOTO mount and quality eyepieces.

Ok here goes.... After seeing Gepetto's star colours topic I thought I would check it out for myself. Picked out Vega then Acturus, and the difference in colour was amazing. Really glad I took the time to look at that myself. Then since it was exceptionally clear I thought I'd load up Stellarium on the lappy and go DSO hunting for a while.

First on the list was M57, even though I had seen it before it is still a favourite. Then on to M56 since it was easy to find :( Then M51 caught my eye, I thought I had found it but the LP was pretty bad so I can't be sure because I couldn't really make anything out other than a slightly different shade of grey. There were a bunch of other DSO's I tried to find but was either looking in the wrong place or LP was too bad.

I was about to pack up shop when as I got up from the chair the Moon caught my eye! I was actually looking in the right direction on Stellarium to spot the Moon but it wasnt too be seen. So I checked the settings to make sure it was displaying the Moon, a little stumped I decided to turn off the ground feature and locate it that way. The Moon popped straight into view, it was just below the landscape's horizon. :? DOH! Maybe I will just use the Ocean texture as my altitude seems to be different to the texture I am using....

It must be my lucky night of something as Stellarium is telling me that Mars :lol: is at the same height as the Moon but fortunately far enough away that its red shimmering blob can easily be seen with the ol' mk1 eyeball!!!! :) :shock: WOOHOO!!!

Containing my excitement, I lifted the scope up in my back garden, crept though the house, out the front door and set it back up again at the end of the driveway. Slipped in the 30mm and picked out Mars in the finderscope. Calmly (Who am I kidding?!) looked into the eyepiece and :shock: jaw hit the bricks I was standing on! Even though the seeing was pretty bad as Mars was low down @ 1am it was still an amazing sight. I even popped in the 15mm but couldn't get good focus and it was jumping around all over the place.

A quick look at the Moon before packing up for the night, haven't seen it waning before and it sure does look different.

I will be sad if I can sell my scope but to be honest I am not entirely happy with it, mainly due to its inabilty to track. Nights like these definately make this frustrating hobby worthwhile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.