A hard lesson?

[Floater]

I'm very much a beginner and keen to get out and observe and learn about my scope, EPs and just what I can do and what I can see.

And after a gorgeous, cloudless sky all day I was geared up for a good session. It started to haze over just around dusk but, still determined to get out, I got all set up in my back garden. I let the scope cool for around 20mins and I could see some of the brightest stars with the naked eye. So, ever hopeful, I focused in on Jupiter to kick off ...

Horrible! Couldn't even see the planet's moons. Just a fairly fuzzy spot. Checked my collimation and it was spot on. Star test showed dead right. Went back to Jupiter. Still horrible. Changed eyepieces around and even my latest-acquired TV 9mm - which gave me great views a few nights ago - gave me nothing better.

Spent the next half hour just familiarising myself with the stars that I COULD see and celestial geography(?) then retired indoors, crestfallen.

So, not an entirely lost session, perhaps, but was this just a hard lesson in how important 'seeing' conditions are ... And how difficult to judge that can be?

Is amateur astronomy recognised as being the ultimate 'character building' discipline?

[Skipper Billy]

I dont know about the East Coast of Scotland but over here on the West Coast the seeing is truly appalling at the moment. Like you I was all ready for a session but the high cloud ruined everything.

Its been like that for the last few days - on Weds it was clear and I got set up as there was a clear sky - looked at Jupiter and it was awful - thought it would be daft not to have a look at Mars and it was dancing about like a epiletic breakdancer on acid - complete waste of time.

One thing this lark has taught me is that patience is a virtue ;-)

Keep at it - the good nights make up for a lot of bad nights!!  

The next thing we have to put up with is 2 -3 months of no real darkness !!!

[macdee]

Frustrating isn't it. I've just come in and things are as bad down here in Bedfordshire, but I found things quite difficult. Did get to see Mars properly for the first time though, so it wasn't a wasted session, but the sky didn't seem as clear as it looked. I'm very new to this too, and find it hard when things don't work out. It's great when they do though isn't it?

[Floater]

Yes. Like the girl with the curl on her forehead - when she's good, she's very very good; when she's bad she's horrid!

[Pondus]

Hey

Had an absolutely horrible view of Jupiter tonight, before working nightshift. Got the moons, but didnt get a decent view of the planet even at 50x, I was pretty sure I`ve messed up the collimation earlier (had to fiddle with it, stupid me), and I should have given it 15 minutes more cooling time.

I`m afraid I collimated without the cheshire beeing 'squared' (if thats the correct English word for it). Noob mistake, I hate myself.

Maybe (kind of hopefully) seeing was that horrible after all, although I`m on a different location than you.

Cant wait to get home and check the collimation though.....

Rune

[Bart]

The seeing is awful here in Cork. Has been for days. Out with the LB at the moment and got a truly beautiful view of the Cats Eye Neb but most others things are desperate. The globs are looking good as well mind you. The planets are not worth pursuing lately, where I am

Barry

[BrianP]

Hate to sound smug esp. as I'm a newbie but here in central Somerset viewing although far from perfect was not too bad. Went out with 200mm skywatcher reflector. Took about 15 mins to set up (used a friendly farmer's field), viewing commenced 10pm. Didn't bother with accurate Polaris alignment. Using 25mm eyepiece (+/- 2x Barlow) got very good views of Jupiter and saw 3 of its moons more or less in a straight line. Also used 10mm eyepiece. Cloud belts on Jupiter clearly visible with both. However 10mm eyepiece + 2x Barlow gave very poor image indeed (dark, indistinct, wouldn't focus). Likewise good views of Mars. Closed down about 11pm.

In fact wish we had gone out later, skies probably better after 11pm.

So what is the sky like in mid-Somerset? We were about 10miles from Glastonbury, 5miles from Bridgwater, 9 miles from Burnham and about 5miles from M5 J23.. There are so many Sodium vapour lamps that the sky is quite light up to a declination of about 10-15 degrees. A whitish haze didn't help, as didn't the lights from a local Pub/Restaurant about 400m away but their window frames were very useful when it came to aligning the finder scope!

I have other locations in mind. Parts of Exmoor are still some of the few dark sky locations remaining in Northern Europe.

[Floater]

Seems good to me. No need to apologise - smug doesn't register with me. But happy does!

Wishing you more clear skies.

[JimmyC]

I've just got in from the dark site. I must say that the seeing conditions were very favourable tonight. There was lots of detail on Jupiter, Mars and even Saturn to be had. Got through a good portion of the Messier objects. I managed M87 and the cluster of galaxies nearby. M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy showed a lot more than I was expecting - A definite fuzzy cloud with tantalizing glimpses of the spiral structure and the companion. Not bad for a 6" frac. Like I said, seeing was good here. You can really tell when it gets bad though as even the planets don't reveal a lot. It could be dew also that is getting in your way. The more you practice astronomy the more you'll learn, and you'll spot a good night from a bad one *click* just like that.

[Floater]

JimmyC, sounds to me like you had a great night. Power to ya!

Hadn't thought about dew, I admit, but I don't think that was the problem.

Will keep that in mind though. Thanks

[Sandraj]

Just waiting for the street light to go out and I will be going out, doesn't sound to promising after reading this thread but I will still give it a try.

[jason.p]

It was pretty good here in West Wales (at least up to 11pm). Managed the NGC of the Leo triplet, M81&82, and fair detail on Mars and Jupiter. Also a few of the easier doubles, Castor, Mizar Polaris.

(Sandra, wish my streetlight would go out!)

[Sandraj]

It was pretty good here in West Wales (at least up to 11pm). Managed the NGC of the Leo triplet, M81&82, and fair detail on Mars and Jupiter. Also a few of the easier doubles, Castor, Mizar Polaris.

(Sandra, wish my streetlight would go out!)

Are you in Carmarthenshire Jason? The main street lights stay on but not the off main road ones.

[brantuk]

Seeing conditions are very important. A lot of beginners mistake the seeing for scope problems and start tinkering with the scope - recipe for disaster lol. It takes a while to get accustomed to what constitutes good seeing and what doesn't and have faith in your set up.

Even on an apparently good night where you can see a lot of stars - if the transparency is naff then you get fuzzy views that lack clarity and miss detail. If there's a lot of moisture in the air it doesn't help at all and you can "feel" a dampness, or "smell" even a light moisture.

Of course street lights can light up domes in the sky reflecting off thin cloud, especially over heavily populated areas, and you loose the entire horizon up to 30 or 40 degrees elevation. Planets can appear to "boil" and go "wobbly" in the eyepiece due to rising heat hazes as the Earth cools down with night time, and even a light breeze at ground level can disguise the effects of wispy thin high level clouds.

You do get to recognise the signs the more you get out there - it's just a matter of time at the eyepiece.

[BrianP]

Seems good to me. No need to apologise - smug doesn't register with me. But happy does!

Wishing you more clear skies.

Thanks. Now spending time on maps.google looking for good vantage points, really need more (geographical) altitude for better air/viewing. Will post more in due course.

btw: like your spaniel. We keep a working Cocker and a Jack Russell.

Good Viewin' B.P

[TrixieLoyalist]

Reading this I feel quite lucky that the seeing was good here in at the far end of South London, the planets were quite clear, now I know what to look for to tell if there's bad seeing.

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

hot sunny days with a clear night, i know there is going to be some not to good seeing,

overcast but warm day and then a clear night, the odds are looking better 

rain/snow etc etc and then a clear night is going to be optimal for imaging.

that big sun rules over us, i use it as a kind of weather station for possible viewing,

sunny hot days and clear nights, i just tend to use eyepeices low in mag,

on cloudy days and clear nights i may break out the camera if it looks still air,

then those cold crispy nights i break out everything , dark cold and super clear no stars twinkle in the sky

and that means the very best seeing for photography/imaging.

[rwilkey]

Hi Gordon, we all get nights like that, and then one night something unexpected happens, and you think 'WOW!'  So if you don't try, you will never know.

[Floater]

Thanks, Robin. Oh I'm a trier, alright.

I'll go back!