Observations from 12.04.2014

[mcdangerface]

This is my first time reporting my observations, so please let me know if this isn't going to the right place

Had an awesome night's observations last night. Finally managed to do some observing away from my CBD balcony. Boyfriend and I took my scope out to a park away from the city lights. My scope is a 90mm Mak-Cass with 10mm and 20mm eyepieces.

First sight of the evening was our first ever view of Saturn, and wow! Definitely the jewel of the solar system. Followed this up with Mars and Jupiter, both of which we'd seen before. They were almost a bit too bright to see much detail on, though we could make out the belts of Jupiter after some prolonged viewing.

We spent the next hour or so hunting down some DSOs around the south pole, which I can't see from my normal viewing spot. These included the Gem cluster (NGC 3293) a personal favourite of mine, Omega Centurus (NGC 5139) which is the biggest globular I have ever seen, the keyhole nebula (NGC 3372), and the Jewel box (NGC 5139).

Have a trip planned to even darker skies in a week or so, And will hopefully return with even more stories to tell.

Hope everyone is having clear skies!

[cotterless45]

Neat, Saturn looks gorgeous at the moment. Nice report,

Nick.

[Kirscovitch]

Sounds like a great night out. As Nick said, Saturn is gorgeous but my heart still belongs to Jupiter.

[Orange Haze]

Nice little read that and defo in the right place. It's really interesting to read an observation report from someone in the Southern Hemisphere. The idea of looking towards to the South Pole to find some DSO's just isn't something I hear too much .

Also, some of those targets like the Gem Cluster and Omega Centurus, I've never heard of. Reminds me that there is a whole other half to the sky that I am missing out on. Good luck with your dark site visit and look forward to hearing a bit more about those NZ skies.....

[swamp thing]

Nice to read a report from someone in the Southern Hemisphere. You've some ace objects down there, enjoy

[dick_dangerous]

Always a pleasure reading reports from south of the equator. The Keyhole Nebula and Omega Centauri are two I've been lucky enough to see myself. At the moment London town is forecast to be clear, so maybe we'll get a chance for some Mars tonight!

DD