Mildly underwealmed

[jonathan]

I waited until 10.30pm to go out so that I could catch Saturn as it rose above the roof tops here, did a bit of moon observing while I waited but wasn't particularly thrilled with the current half-moon crater selection, seemed like the last ones left in the shop.

I kept looking for Saturn where it usually rises but couldn't see anything over there but thin whispy clouds or maybe some fog, I eventually followed an imaginary line back from the moon and surmised it must be one of the stars along that line, sure enough there it was, only just above the roof top (it was actually not visible in my finder scope, it was that close).

My memories of viewing Saturn through the 8SE in years past have perhaps spoiled me, as through the 150P tonight it just didn't seem to have that zing to it, plus some rather annoying cloud had moved in which was making it fuzzy and dim. More cloud, dim Saturn, and boring craters told me it was time to go inside.

Still, got an hour of observing in which is more than can be said for most weeks so far this year. I really do need to take my 150P and 8SE out of the village away from roof tops, then maybe I will be able to appreciate them at their full potential. The spot by the road at the top of the nearby hill seems as good a spot as any, as long as there's no wind.

[GeorgeB]

As of 20 mins ago I actually saw the Cassini division for the first time in 20 years (I had a long break from astro). The seeing here in SW London in very good now - Moon and Saturn are starting to hold good focus at high mag in Glenn2214's Dob 200!! Deffo not going to bed yet - 2 cans of cider left and Saturn is getting higher in the sky

[bomberbaz]

Did a bit of moon tonight but cranked up the mag using a varianle polarizing filter and the detail was amazing.

Not used said filter b4 and only used a cheapo job off flea bay. Now after using the variable the other is heading for the bin.

Btw, agree saturn was a bit wishy washy for me too. Ok saturn was not that high up but still the skies qeren't as good as they actually looked.

[bomberbaz]

Just want to add to the moon views with the varianle filter were where I was viewing right along the twilight zone at the very top of the moon. So contrast of lit up and blacked out moon with the blackness of the space behind. Was a beautiful picture in my eyes and the crater detail with the reduced lght levels was incredible. Sadly never got a picture but next time maybe.

[Scott]

possibly the best night this year so far. I think i'll go to bed at sun up

[Andy McK]

Pretty much did the same, air was still, sky clear, so i set up at about 10:30

did some moon then patiently waited for Saturn to pop up above the tiles like some elusive cat.

I thought I had done a bang on job of aligning my mount as I left my Tal on the moon, went to get some RA/DEC settings off Stellerium, to set my setting circles and the moon was still bang on, in centre FOV 20 mins later,

Any hoo, I'm on Saturn with some reletivly sharp images to my eye, so out came the camera and I tried some A focal.

Gave up after an hour, it was like my RA drive wasnt on, Saturn just flew past my FOV, something is wrong somewhere

So I've swapped Stellerium for Stella...

[John]

I've just come in from viewing Saturn with my 12" dob, now it's risen above the local rooftops. The seeing seems to have become all over the place over the past couple of hours. Earlier I was using 265x and 318x to view the lunar features and getting nice results during the moments of good seeing. Now even 199x seems too much for Saturn and I'm only getting very fleeting moments when things settle and get clearer. Despite this I've managed to see 6 Saturnian moons tonight including Enceladus which can be a challenge when it's close to the planet. The other challenge is Iapetus which seems generally to hang around well away from the other brighter moons. Stellarium helped pinpoint it's position though so I was able to find it with the scope as there was nothing much else in that patch of sky of a similar magnitude.

[Urgentemente]

I had my 6" Orion 150SXD out earlier just for Saturn (haven't seen it since last year, and it's been thick cloud all the time recently), tho the skies look infinetly clearer than of late (i.e. I can see *a* star!), it definately looks a bit hazy (as well as the inevitable orange glow from Liverpool's streetlights).

One minute I had nice sharp views of Saturn, then at first I thought it was less sharp just because I'd gone to a higher mag, but on going back to the original, it was shimmering quite a bit at times. Still enjoyed it tho, now sitting/lying out in the back garden on a sunlounger waiting for some Lyrids, not seen a single one so far in about 20 mins, hope it picks up for the 'peak' on Monday (and that it stays clear!)

[bomberbaz]

Glad it wasnt just me then. Although no expert we had westerly winds in off the Irish sea and i am thinking the air had quite a bit of moisture in it effecting the viewing.

[jonathan]

Just as a comparison and update to this, I was out tonight with my 8SE on NEQ6 observing the Moon and Saturn... what a difference! The 8SE totally blows away the 150P on the Moon in terms of magnification, colour, sharpness, contrast. On Saturn it felt much sharper, limited to 25mm tonight but had 10mm been usable for Saturn I should have been able to see detail just not possible in the 150P.

So I was kind of right to be a little underwealmed by my lunar / Saturn experience, remembering what those views are like through the 8SE from the same observing spot. As for my comments about boring craters on the moon, in the 8SE there was just so much more to see, more definition and more craters visible, right down to tiny weeny ones. It's almost like a Where's Wally picture!

[chiltonstar]

I was out admiring Saturn as well..... The seeing here was occasionally very good, suddenly switching to mushy for a bit and then returning.

I was able to use x190 (5" Mak) for most of the time (I was actually comparing my three scopes gainst each other for Cassini detail), with x245 for a few minutes where (i) the seeing was good and (ii) I didn't have a sight-line over a neighbour's house and central heating duct.

Still a stunning sight, even after 40 years of observing it....

Chris

[Daddystu]

I can't remember if it was yesterday or the day before but I heard on one station that there was dust in the air due to southern winds (Sahara perhaps?) This would have had an effect with Saturn being in the south east I believe.

[bomberbaz]

Just as a comparison and update to this, I was out tonight with my 8SE on NEQ6 observing the Moon and Saturn... what a difference! The 8SE totally blows away the 150P on the Moon in terms of magnification, colour, sharpness, contrast. On Saturn it felt much sharper, limited to 25mm tonight but had 10mm been usable for Saturn I should have been able to see detail just not possible in the 150P.

Jonathan, I had my 8SE up to 153 mag on the moon the other night but also viewed whilst using a variable polarising filter, (VPF) talk about blown away!

Never had chance to use it til now and when viewing without found it always really bright on the eye. Then remembered about the filter, the difference is amazing. The quality of what i saw was beyond my expectations in so many ways. More detail was showing due to my eyes not burning away, the sharpness of the view, the additional contrast, really was a fantastic view. Why it took me so long to think about using it after owning it for 3 months god only knows. (lack of viewing time maybe, and lack of moon )

For anyone who hasn't got a moon filter or who only has a basic type filter, I can whole heartedly recommended a VPF. More expensive than most basic filters but I promise it is worth every penny extra spent.

ps. I have a baader neutral density filter also, only not had chance to do a side by side with a VPF but I don't consider the Baader to be a "basic type" filter anyway.

[Druid]

I found last night and the night before (Friday) quite different.

Friday 19th I set up at sunset and concentrated on the moon until full dark, getting really good views along the terminator and spending probably a couple of hours picking out various, mostly northern hemisphere features using a moon map.

I moved on to Jupiter and found it a bit hazy at x120. Still not sure why because as far as I could tell the sky was totally clear on Friday. Then I moved on to view M44, which I eventually found (I'm pretty new at this stuff) and enjoyed.

Last night, Saturday 20th was much more frustrating. Still night, lots of high cloud and haze. Moon was very fuzzy by comparison with the previous night. Jupiter about the same. After an hour or two trying to find M81 amongst the clouds I gave up.

[jonathan]

I think for the past two nights there has been a north / south cloudy / non cloudy split across the country, luckily for me I was in the clear half of that split. The conditions looked to be fairly similar for me on both nights. One of these nights I will have both scopes out for a direct comparison, maybe even the ST80 too.

Baz - I will have to look into this VPF, I just have a normal ND filter as recommended by FLO for my 8SE, the moon is still a little bit bright but very watchable, my eyes are not burned away and there's no purple after-image.

[alan potts]

I did the moon last nigh for a good while from daylight to dark. I powermated my 8mm Ethos and my oh my what an eyepiece, seems to work very well with the Mac/Newt 190mm. My wife thought is was superb so believe me it must have been. This is a woman who asked what am I looking at, "Sirius", her reply " I can see that with my eyes what the hell do you need a 4000 pound telescope for".

Alan

[bomberbaz]

The VPF does not alter colour in anyway at all, simply reduces the amount of light that gets through so no worries about colour.

Alan, your mrs sounds like mine, why do you need a scope for something you can see with your eye. haha

[estwing]

the one weekend i go snowboarding down Hemal Hemstead...

[spurius]

As of 20 mins ago I actually saw the Cassini division for the first time in 20 years (I had a long break from astro). The seeing here in SW London in very good now - Moon and Saturn are starting to hold good focus at high mag in Glenn2214's Dob 200!! Deffo not going to bed yet - 2 cans of cider left and Saturn is getting higher in the sky

What cider are you drinking? I love magners.