Spirits lifted!

[starguest]

I'd reached a stage where with the very sporadic sessions over the last 4 months and the last few recent ones not feeling quite right, it was time to get some different stuff.

However...I've just finished one of the best sessions ever and I'm well pleased with the gear, having used it in a novel way compared to previously, so before I go to bed I had to write it up.

The Met site had sunshine for the day and a little evening cloud becoming clear from 2200 all the way into today and it was much the same on the Beeb's pages. Well there was cloud from lunchtime and it only got patchy about midnight so started getting things ready and the sky cleared about 0100 and after a brief cloud resurgence around 2'ish it was just so good!.

It was lining up to be a visit to all the Messiers and fuzzies but I ended up just being fascinated by Jupiter and M42 in my binoviewer.

I had briefly used my BV in the 200p before now but wanted to try something different. The standard BVs have difficulty getting focus in newtonians, and other models come with extra bits - extension tube/optical cells - to make it easy. My Denkmeier has such bits and the extension puts the whole shebang out a fair bit from the focuser and with heavy EPs it upsets the balance, especially if you want to rotate the tube to get a better EP position. Suffice to say I've added a balancing extension opposite the focuser/finder so rotating in the rings maintains balance.

This session I thought I'd try the barlow method, using a barlow can be the way for those standard BVs to get focus. And I can't help thinking it was better. The thing was that using it with the Denk's shorter extension and cells I got a wider range of magnifications than with only the Denk bits.

Jupiter was just so amazing and I watched for ages as a moon shone as it made its way towards the edge looking like a little lighthouse. The belts' mottling was obvious but the north and south areas seemed pale and rather colourless compared to previous times and I didn't see the Red Spot so I'm hoping it's around the other side and not some optical failing.

I would spend a good 10mins at one mag then change a cell and do another 10min and so on getting 5 combinations with 1 pair of EPs instead of 3 with Denk bits only.

And Orion too, using 2 eyes does something for those gas clouds in M42. So much veining and variation in density. I have a UHC filter that's helped bring out the structure in it but it's a 2" and I can't use it with this combo. I'll need to get a 1.25" to fit on the barlow or end of a BV cell.

I'm unsure how much mag I was getting numbers-wise. There was a point where Jupiter's 2 closest moons were just away from an edge and the slightly further out moon was just away from the opposite edge.

I did catch a few of the major M's before hitting on the Moon as the sky got lighter. Boy, does them thar terminator craggies and craters jump at you in BVs!

Well here's me started the previous night with an itchy wallet but now I think I'll rein in and take stock, though there's 1 or 2 items still on the agenda.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice report, it is great to get out after a long period of frustrating weather! Regarding the UHC filter, I find my 1.25" -> 2" adaptor has is threaded to accept 2" filters, so it I stick a 1.25" EP in it, I can simply use only 2" filters. Would such an approach work for you?