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Clouds, !!!!?

t0ny

By t0ny
in Getting Started With Observing

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Solar_observer

Solar_observer

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It's clear here too and the forecast is for clear skies and good transparency. Bright moon but still few clusters and Jupiter too look at. But and its a BIG BUT.......its windy as hell, bit worried about the dob, especially something flying down the tube. There always something too put a spanner in the works.

tony

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mrjolly

mrjolly

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Looks like it's going to be pretty clear tonight, hopefully might get a chance with my new scope and mount! Although I can guarantee the minute I get it outside, I'll forget everything I've read about it, all the info from videos I've watched by astronomyshed!

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Phil Fargaze

Phil Fargaze

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Looks like it's going to be pretty clear tonight, hopefully might get a chance with my new scope and mount! Although I can guarantee the minute I get it outside, I'll forget everything I've read about it, all the info from videos I've watched by astronomyshed!

I know what you mean. To me it`s a bit like an actor getting on stage and forgetting their lines.

Don`t worry though, think of it as a rehearsal. The next time you are out, you will remember more.

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Marki

Marki

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Grr - clouds again. It's been a pretty lovely afternoon, what with the blue skies and that weird yellow thing in the sky. At least I'll have seen one star today, 'cos now its getting dark some menacing grey clouds are rapidly heading over. Don't think I'll risk it tonight - showers predicted til after midnight. Forecast has it clear from 2am - but I have a 6am start :(.

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Solar_observer

Solar_observer

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Well managed about 30mins in between the cloud. Tried a few dso's the crab which I normally can see was completely washed out as I expected with the moon in the way. M35 Nice as usual. Gave my 12 mm bst a good run on Jupiter, the contrast is fantastic, along side my tmb 6mm there no competition even though I've had really good views with it, it just dosent have the sharpness of the bst. I did notice though that general star viewing with the bst gives me a darker background? I do need the 15mm too arrive as x100 mag was a bit too much. I must remember though as I prefer dso hunting.ie galaxies, nebs not too bother when the moon is playing out. All in all pretty disappointed.

tony

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t0ny

t0ny

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Glad some people got a go outside tonight. Been clear all night here in Norfolk. It's still clear out there now, but i'm cold and need some dinner.

I tried looking for M42 (My beginners magazine says it's easy), but failed. Not sure whether it was the moon, looking in the wrong place or my scope won't show much!?

My new BST 8mm and BST 18mm seemed very sharp although I think I need a 30mm or something to help me find things as I really struggled tonight. (Still struggling with the Equatorial Mount!)

Had a go on Jupiter with the webcam so at least I have an image to look at, although I am not sure what to expect on a 6" reflector!?

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Glad some people got a go outside tonight. Been clear all night here in Norfolk. It's still clear out there now, but i'm cold and need some dinner.

I tried looking for M42 (My beginners magazine says it's easy), but failed. Not sure whether it was the moon, looking in the wrong place or my scope won't show much!?

My new BST 8mm and BST 18mm seemed very sharp although I think I need a 30mm or something to help me find things as I really struggled tonight. (Still struggling with the Equatorial Mount!)

Had a go on Jupiter with the webcam so at least I have an image to look at, although I am not sure what to expect on a 6" reflector!?

Was the finder aligned correctly?

M42 should be easy to find, it's just below Orion's Belt.

Try M45 next, it's to the right of Jupiter, and can be seen with the naked eye :).

Only use the 25mm until you've found it, then you can up the magnification.

HTH

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DeepThought

DeepThought

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Glad some people got a go outside tonight. Been clear all night here in Norfolk. It's still clear out there now, but i'm cold and need some dinner.

I tried looking for M42 (My beginners magazine says it's easy), but failed. Not sure whether it was the moon, looking in the wrong place or my scope won't show much!?

My new BST 8mm and BST 18mm seemed very sharp although I think I need a 30mm or something to help me find things as I really struggled tonight. (Still struggling with the Equatorial Mount!)

Had a go on Jupiter with the webcam so at least I have an image to look at, although I am not sure what to expect on a 6" reflector!?

I was looking at M42 last night, it wasn't as impressive as usual with the full moon but it was definitely clearly visible.

Where were you looking for it?

If you imagine Orion's body as a sort of rough hourglass shape, you will see what looks like a line of stars in the lower half running perpendicular to the distinctive three stars of his belt. If you aim for the middle of this line then you can't miss it,

The centre of the nebula is very bright (for a nebula) so it may look better under higher magnification in washed out conditions. You'll also know you're on it with higher magnification because you'll be able to clearly see the trapezium (four stars in the centre arranged in a... well... trapezium).

As a guide, I can easily resolve the trapezium in my 10mm eyepiece which gives me 120x magnification.

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JD75

JD75

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Managed to see M42 last night too, although it wasn't overly clear due to the moon.

Plus I was cheating somewhat as instead of lugging the whole kit outside, I just opened the patio doors and steered the scope outside. Worked ok actually, but not something I intend to make a habit of! Nice and handy when you get a quick break in the clouds though.

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t0ny

t0ny

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Thanks guys,

I looks like I was in the right area then. My finder scope is aligned but I still struggle to maneuver the scope too well. The mount 'slewing?' seems a bit alien to me and I struggle to get the locking things back each time so it takes me a few goes!

I'll get back out there tonight as it WILL be clear!

Thanks Naemeth, i'll try finding M45 tonight as well! Will be nice to have at least one Messier done!

Thanks for that photo Deepthought, that has really helped. I am suspicious I did see it whilst aimlessly moving about and I did look up photos but as you would expect they were all long exposures!

Until this evening...

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