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What is the best thing you've seen through a Telescope ?

deepspacehunter

By deepspacehunter
in Observing - Reports

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deepspacehunter

deepspacehunter

Posted
Posted

The best thing that I have seen was OMEGA CENTAURI as seen through a C14... There were SO MANY STARS in THE GREAT CLUSTER... The STARS looked like they were flowing in all directions...like the strings on a mop... I will NEVER forget that beautiful image !

We were observing from KISSIMEE PRAIRIE PARK, in the DARK SKIES of SOUTH FLORIDA !

CLEAR SKIES

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russ

russ

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Saturn for the first time will always be the best thing ever. It was only through a 50mm Tasco refractor at the time but it was the most amazing moment, especially for a 13 year old. That feeling will never be surpassed. 

Next best thing was seeing M51 from a truly dark sky in an 8" newt. It looked like a photo. Amazing.

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Marki

Marki

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Oh this is a tricky one, so many wow moments to choose from.

The first time I saw M13 or my first view of Saturn are standout moments, but what is currently sticking in my mind is a recent view of the crater Clavius using my Istar Perseus 150mm f10 achromat. In good seeing and in moments of stillness, the view I had was of jaw dropping clarity and sharpness. I love that arc of larger craters, each smaller than the last, and with a resolution down to c. 5km, the main crater floor was filled with numerous tiny craterlets. It is simply stunning to see such detail on our dearest neighbour -  using my 5mm BGO I felt like I could reach out and touch the surface and in my imagination I find myself stirring up the dust in company Armstrong and Aldrin. 

Oh well, time to stop day-dreaming and get back to work... .

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russ

russ

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actually Nick, that reminds me of my sighting of the cloud above Olympus Mons at about the same time.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/139482-mars-and-moon-last-night-5-march-2012/

That sounds amazing Shane. I find Mars the most interesting of all the planets.

Mars, two years ago at opposition in late March through my Vixen 102 at x222 with a light red filter. We could pick out Syrtis Major, the ice cap and dark areas. Absolutely stunning,

Nick.

I can just picture it Nick, amazing.

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russ

russ

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Mars is one of those difficult objects for me - only ever seen it as a tiny orange spot really. Hoping to do better this year!

Gulp...if you only saw it was as spot before then this year could prove quite challenging. It's going to be a relatively poor opposition this year. A combination of small apparent size and lowish (30deg) position in the sky. But i've already had multiple success this year seeing the polar cap and some dark markings (dark collar around the polar cap). Just need to get your eye in. Mars is not a planet you can observe for 10mins and see it all. Need to be at the eyepiece a good while plus pump up the magnification. Hopefully you get a good view this year.

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Marki

Marki

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Hehe - thanks Russ. I've learnt a lot more over the last two years (almost exactly 2 yrs since I first bought a scope), and I now have a better selection of eps and a better set-up! Plus the forecast is good tonight, and I'm on leave tomorrow so I can spend some proper time at the scope....so I'm cautiously optimistic :rolleyes:. Mars is one of those objects I'm really keen to extract detail from, and if successful, then this will be the best thing I've seen through a telescope (...and nicely back on topic again :grin:)

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RichM63

RichM63

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For me it was the Moon. It was a sublime moment to see for the very first time, details of craters and mountains with shadows, and be able to look at the locations where man first stood on an off-earth object. 

It still gives me a buzz.

Richard

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Fatrick

Fatrick

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So far with my limited experience and very few observing hours under my belt it is the first time I set the scope up and pointed it at Jupiter. Seeing something so clear that is so far away (by terrestrial terms ;) ) was amazing. I hope to get many more of these moments as I gain more experience and someday get a bigger scope to see all the wonders out there!

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RT65CB-SWL

RT65CB-SWL

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For me it was firstlight of the Moon & Saturn through my 'scopes I have have previously owned and the ones I own and use now. For binoculars (7x50 & 20x80) it has to be M45 (Pleiades) and the 'CoatHanger'.

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mjpfc

mjpfc

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The best thing I get to go back to regularly is M22. It comes from behind the houses to the south like some spangly beach-ball and

despite the hundreds of times I have seen it I am still appalled by the size of the thing. I'm off to Tenerife in March to get a scope to

its rivals Omega Cent and 47 Tuc (they'd better be good to compare) but also to see M22 High in the sky.

But the best thing I have ever seen was during 7 hours up on Culver cliffs during the fore-noon of the 8th June 2004 under the sort

of sky the earth usually keeps over the high Chilean desert.

With an 8" Newtonian and a new full aperture WL Filter I watched the Transit of venus across the sun from start to finish.

Tear droppy ingress and egress and a granulation occulting glide below the few spots. 

Luna and Solar eclipses show you the Solar system moving and working in real time and are stunning, but this was in another league entirely

and I sat around on the grassa little dazed after it ended.

Simply the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.

And then, 8 years later in the early morning I managed to see 6 minutes of the 2nd Transit through a sky full of clouds!

A very fortunate man.

Clear skies   Mick

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RJEK

RJEK

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Hi. I saw the ISS the other day. A small orange H. Manually tracked with my 6se for 30 seconds. I just happened to be pointing in the right direction at the right time. My wife wasn't impressed when i told her though.

Sent from my GT-I8160 using Tapatalk 2

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