W/C 1st April

[Woking]

Possibly tempting fate, but MET shows clears skies tonight and the moon doesn't rise until 2am.

[swamp thing]

I can do RC tonight If you fancy meeting up? Not sure how much dust my scope has on it though

[Woking]

RC is good for me.

My frac lens could do with some fresh air, been a bit worried about mould as stored in doors

[swamp thing]

Okay I'll see you there then 9:30 ish

[Woking]

see you up there

[Optical Dob]

I'll try and get up there tonight.

[jam1e1]

got a bit of a cold still so wont be able to make it unfortunately, don't even think will be doing back garden. hope its good visibility!

[Leebert]

Sorry I didn't see this in time. Have a great evening. I have been out with the camera myself and got a little lucky

Comet Panstarrs C2011 L4 by MrLeebert, on Flickr

[swamp thing]

Nice one Lee.

Good night at RC last night. I think we pretty much covered every messier pair in the sky at the moment. M65/6, M95/6 with M105, M81/2, M97/108 along with Mankarians chain (NGC,s 4477,4473,4443,4458,4435,4438, M86 & M87) , kembles cascade, the double cluster, M51, M101, M3, M13, M104, M87, M100, M98, M91, M68, M90, M89, and plenty of NGC,s in leo etc. Sadly we were a bit late to catch the comet, but did get Saturn for the first time this year and a departing look at Jupe. I did have another look for M83 (the southern pinwheel), one of the messier list I haven't seen yet, but alas no. It's just too low down and faint for RC me thinks.

We did a quick comparison between Darren's 12mm Dellos and my 12mm Nagler, man you'd need a long, long time and good eyesight to pick one there.

I think that covers most of what we observed. It was a bit chilly (my van said -2c when we left) with occasional wind that actually meant no dew (makes a nice change).

[Leebert]

Sounds like you had a great night. Loads of objects ticked off the list there! Just the one stint trying to capture the comet was enough for me - I was frozen.

[Woking]

Nice image of Panstarrs Lee, as Steve mentioned it was already well below the tree line at RC when we got up there.

It was great to get the scope out again. Must say that nobody seemed that impressed with Kemble's Cascade after I stumbled across it (was actually looking for the Double Cluster at the time).

To add to the 12mm Delos v Naglar shootout, the price difference is £30 for the extra 10 degrees of the Naglar.

[Leebert]

Thanks. Strange about Kembles Cascade - that's one object on my photo list. Next time we all go to RC, I'll bring the 13mm Ethos to see how that compares too

[Woking]

In theory the 13mm Ethos should be similar to the Delos but obviously with the much wider AFOV. Think we need to complete the shootout with a more unforgiving scope than my F7.5.

Forecast for tomo, Sat, looks good so I'm up for a trip to Bignor if anybody else is?

[swamp thing]

I reckon to pick a winner were gonna need about a week of clear skies these eyepieces are close. Their all gonna work well down to f/4 so even fast scope performance is going to be very tight to call. Should be interesting trying though

Not sure I can make tomorrow night I'll let you know tomorrow.

[jam1e1]

Hey I'm babysitting so unlikely can make out tonight, will be back garden I think . Good write up for other night shame missed it

[jimieee]

Hey guys I can make it to Bignor tonight, if anyone is up for it?

[swamp thing]

Afraid not. Camt do tonight.

[Leebert]

Back garden only for me tonight sadly. Hope the skies are nice and dark if you go

[Leebert]

Jeez it's cold out there! Sky looks good though

[jimieee]

It was great. I ended up going to a place near to where I live. First time I've used my new scope at a dark site. I've got to say the 10" mirror is a huge improvement over my old 6.

[Leebert]

Nice one That sounds like the start of Aperture Fever!

[swamp thing]

Another 10" Dob eh

You just can't go wrong with a 10" Dob.