More mars detail

[kerrylewis]

Yes it does look like another polar cap, especially when you are not sure of the planets orientation.  I have been using my 11 mm TV plossl in the c11 which is almost the same mag at 254 X

Yes, most comfortable mag for me is about that with the 10mm Delos in the SCT. Just couldn't resist pushing it a bit with the 6mm.

Time to go back out after a quick Pinot Grigio!

[AlexB67]

Steady on now chaps  .

I am  still waiting for Mars to get over and clear the roof a bit, wait for me  .

Anyhow and sorry for the OT but Jupiter is looking fine too. When it was just after dark I did have a good look at Jupiter in the 7mm XW I received today, the views were   such a clean image. Usually I time my sessions with the transits, so I was looking at the less  festive side so to speak,  the one I do not often see.  Not sure if it is the night, mag or what, or if it is due to the side of the planet I am less familiar, but without looking for it specifically I noticed how clearly finer contrast features on the NNTB and NTB stood out, similarly with the SSTB and SSSTB, marvellous eyepiece

Will barlow it later for Mars 

[kerrylewis]

Steady on now chaps  .

I am  still waiting for Mars to get over and clear the roof a bit, wait for me  .

We and Mars will wait Alex. It'll be worth it!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Spotted quite some detail on Mars just now. Awesome views with the XW7mm at 290x and Delos 8 at 256x. I even stuck my 2x TeleXtender with XW10 and Nagler 12T4 in the scope, but that deteriorated the image. The XW7 was the winner tonight.

[Stu]

I'm dead chuffed with it. This is the first real session I've had with the scope properly mounted. It's quite a hassle to set up but it's doing really well. I've got 360x on Mars at the moment and the view is holding up very nicely. The colours and contrast seem more pronounced than with my 12" dob but that might be the conditions.

I think that pale area is Hellas.

I think that's right, I remember reading something about frosting over the Hellas basin which would explain why it looks like another ice cap.

I'm playing around with my new VIP Barlow but am not totally sure what magnification it's giving because I'm messing with the spacing. I think I am in the x250 to 300 region with the Vixen and 7mm BGO, very nice too. Helps the eye relief a bit too!

Stu

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[Stu]

I think that's right, I remember reading something about frosting over the Hellas basin which would explain why it looks like another ice cap.

I'm playing around with my new VIP Barlow but am not totally sure what magnification it's giving because I'm messing with the spacing. I think I am in the x250 to 300 region with the Vixen and 7mm BGO, very nice too. Helps the eye relief a bit too!

I do find the tracking mount really allows you to take in the view even with very narrow afov eyepieces.

Stu

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[chiltonstar]

I've been trying to identify it too....but frosting would make sense.

Very clear views indeed at x250, even with my tiddly scope with super-sharp detail... I've been comparing my views with Calsky, and get the impression it is quite pessimistic in terms of resolution....? Any one else agree?

Chris

[Laurie61]

I've been trying to identify it too....but frosting would make sense.

Very clear views indeed at x250, even with my tiddly scope with super-sharp detail... I've been comparing my views with Calsky, and get the impression it is quite pessimistic in terms of resolution....? Any one else agree?

Chris

I'v had CalSky set up to simulate the c11 tonight and I would say its fairly close, if anything it might show a bit more than I can see.    

[mdstuart]

Nick

Your 130p is working splendidly. As other have said I can see the polar cap clearly along with the white area on the other side.

The view seems best in the neolydium filter rather than the pure red filter.

Very fine..also checked out the double double..easily split using a 4mm TMB with the 130p.

Even Saturns not bad tonight with Titan right underneath.

Off to bed now..

Mark

PS missing those galaxies though with this full moon!

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[Doley68]

Just thought I needed to add to this thread.

These are my first views of Mars with my 180 mak and, well, wow. Lovely seeing for planetary viewing with a nice moon halo and very still atmosphere. Great view with my 10mm radian at x270. Pole cap, and whitened area just disappearing around the limb.

Is it my eyes, or is the opposite limb which is experiencing sunrise also a little whitened. Cloud or mist perhaps?

Anyway, couldn't resist pushing the mag and put my 14mm radian in my x2 powermate for about x380. Hardly any loss of image quality and a sizable disc. I was thinking of selling the powermate recently as I haven't been using it much but not now!

Memorable hour of observing.

Chris.

[John]

I've packed up now too. The seeing lost it's edge about 40 mins ago. I think some high icy cloud layer must have crept across the part of the sky that I was observing. I could still see markings on Mars but they seemed a little more blurred than earlier in the session. 

Saturn is going to be a pig for me this opposition because it's not going to rise above the neighbours rooftops. There will be a gap that I can use to get an hour or two on it, as I do for Sirius so I'll have to make the best I can of that plus try moving a scope around onto the front lawn perhaps. I prefer the back garden / patio though as it's more private and I can just step in through the french windows for coffee / glass of plonk. What hardships I'm going to have to suffer for Saturn !! 

[John]

Just thought I needed to add to this thread.

These are my first views of Mars with my 180 mak and, well, wow. Lovely seeing for planetary viewing with a nice moon halo and very still atmosphere. Great view with my 10mm radian at x270. Pole cap, and whitened area just disappearing around the limb.

Is it my eyes, or is the opposite limb which is experiencing sunrise also a little whitened. Cloud or mist perhaps?

Anyway, couldn't resist pushing the mag and put my 14mm radian in my x2 powermate for about x380. Hardly any loss of image quality and a sizable disc. I was thinking of selling the powermate recently as I haven't been using it much but not now!

Memorable hour of observing.

Chris.

Very nice Chris 

Don't sell the Powermate !. I sold my 2x PM a few months back but missed it so I've recently had to buy a replacement. Superb devices 

[LeeB]

Just come in (mainly used the 12"OO), Mars was superb tonight , played around with different mags , strange but took more mag early doors , when it was still sharp at 400x and only started to fuzz at 500x , lovelly dark markings and cap clear, ( thanks to cotterless for popping round with the two eyepieces to test) best view at 300-350x later, Jupiter also took alot of mag tonight, managed to still stay sharp at 400x with plenty of festoon detail and good colour at 250x. Saturn was a little bubbly but still a lovelly sight cassini traced nearly around full disk. As a side note managed some deep sky before moon ruined it clusters were nice.

[Laurie61]

Called it a night here also, I would say the seeing peaked between 10 and 11 pm here but a good nights viewing 

[Qualia]

What a cracking thread this is! Great, joyous, enthusiastic reads, photos and sketches all round. Fair play to all of you and thank you . It's this kind of activity and joy which makes SGL such a nice place to be; a comforting haven. The evening's sky was crisp and sharp and the air was very warm and still; it's gone 2am and temps are still a mild 25ºc. Had a little session tonight on the roof top with the Moon and Mars and Saturn. (Note to Mod John, suffering for astronomy...I'm having to lug the 10" on to the roof top, 10 storeys high .

[cotterless45]

Some crackling views. Kicked off at 8.30 with Mars in the Lightbridge against the C6r. The view was very detailed using a 5.5mm 5000 and a Barlowed 8.8 4000. The Syrtis was very dark and the frosted Hellas region expansive opposite the ice cap. I even managed to get Mrs.c away from the TV to see a very high ISS pass, Mars and Jupiter. Not impressed ! Can anyone impress their other halves !

Then I grabbed the eps and walked down to Lee's. His 12" really showed up the festoons and barges colour laden in Jupiter. Then over to a simply stunning Mars, full of delicate colour, the wisps of darker surface contrasting with the very dark areas already spotted. Thin high cloud enabled good views, we did enhance them with an Nd filter. The graduations in colour and clarity of the view was better than over the last two weeks with the jet stream spoiler.

I used from x218-x272 and found the refractor gave the most pleasing view. The 12" OO was stunning , the longer ota giving x300 upwards with the same eps.

About 10.20, I glanced up below Cassiopeia and caught the long trail of a fireball. Lee keeps catching me out with these , but he was looking the other way !

I got back and the views were still good until the midnight wobbles. Hoping for some more clear skies without the Moon ,

Nick.

[Stu]

Sounds fabulous Nick. Good views here too :-)

Stu

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[John]

Some great nights all round and some bleary eyes in this morning I reckon ! 

How many nights of this can we take ?

Quite a lot more, I reckon 

[chiltonstar]

Yep, no limit to the number of nights as long as the sky is clear and the seeing is good (sounds like a line from Porgy and Bess).

I've been using the opportunities to test out EPs objectively...... (yes, the SW 10mm is truly ghastly, and my BST 8mm and an Ortho 9mm compete head-to-head for clarity of view, although the BST is a bit better on the eyes...

Chris

[Laurie61]

Well I shall be keeping an eye on the satellite images later this afternoon but forecast says cloud moving in here from my NW.  although Friday night is looking promising if I'm clouded out tonight   

[cotterless45]

Satellite works for me. Sky news weather thinks we're part of Europe with people living only in the south east. Itv weather ends at 4pm, in case it gets dark and I think Scope nights are just dice spinners,

Nick.

[AlexB67]

Some great nights all round and some bleary eyes in this morning I reckon ! 

How many nights of this can we take ?

Quite a lot more, I reckon 

Bring it on tonight 

My eye were tired by the end. My roof forces me to start a bit to start a bit later on Mars.  To begin with seeing was good, but later on I had a real dog fight with Mars., Trying mags from 240x even as far as 360x at one point, some really good moments but also turned into a complete melt at times and would not settle. 

Problem is once you get so many combos with barlow and eyepieces to try  you change, change, change, In the end I would have been best served to just leave the BGO in there at 240x all night, it was the winner again on Mars for clarity and contrast it seemed    

I tried the XW 7 with 2x barlow for 267x also, but not as clear and crisp as the 5mm BGO on its own,  more down to the barlow I feel since it is one of those came with the scope ones, ( as cheap as chips ) but on its own the pentax  is fantastic, even mars at 171x in it looked very well defined in it.   The pentax XW 7 and Jupiter in my scope is a new marriage made in heaven though it seems, really impressed with it so far on the first night. The clarity, crispness and  contrast is something special, and all that in a whopping 70 degrees, like one huge ortho, I love it.

Stu what have you done, you should never have sold it 

[Stu]

Really glad you are enjoying it Alex :-). Please don't worry about me, I still have too many eyepieces and needed to get myself to a stage where I could let some go :-), call it Ocularholic Rehab! ;-)

I can always re-buy in future.

At the moment, I seem very happy with the Orthos in the Vixen, they work very well. I have Delos, Ethos and Radian high power options in my 106 apo and more than enough Widefield low power to keep me happy.

I've sold six top quality eyepieces recently which if finances were unlimited I would have kept. However, I've bought the Vixen which is a scope for life (not just for Christmas ;-) ), and rationalised or improved my kit to a stage where it is all working very well and I have far less clutter.

Sorry to take the thread off track, back to Mars :-). Actually one relevant conversation which I will write up separately is the Baader VIP Barlow. It is excellent quality and with many configuration options to give varying multiplying factors which is extremely handy. It has the added benefit of helping the eye relief on the Orthos which does help. Great views last night.

Stu

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[AlexB67]

Stu, I will look into that one. What I had in mind 'til now as a sort of interim solution is a barlow with a sort of lowish 1.5x - 1.6x multiplier, and that is best optimised for that single magnification multiplier. The 2 inch 1.6x Antares shorty one is highly rated, about 260 grams ( light),  and after doing some reading on it, the XWs I've heard mentioned as performing very well in it, in fact anything you put in it seems to work well in it by all accounts. 

With my current selection I would have a nice range of high mags for targets such as Mars, lunar work, and it can be got for 80 pounds new. Not decided yet if I'll get it yet though, time to ponder 

[Stu]

The Antares gets good reviews from what I remember.

The VIP Barlow has the optical element in a T2 threaded cell so can be put in a number of positions to give different multiplying factors. I just screwed mine into the T2 diagonal last night and forgot it was there, it just meant everything had a higher power, not sure what though, probably x1.5

Stu

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