it only takes a couple hours of clear sky

[asset189]

To rekindle any enthusiasm lost during the wet cloudy miserable last few months. I woke up in the middle of the night and looked out the kitchen window to see clear skies . Sod it 3:30am or not I decided to go out for a look. Having bemoaned my deteriorating eyesight in the astro lounge yesterday, i took some of the advice and wore a pair of driving specs , this had the effect of turning fuzzy stars into sharp points of light a allowed me to define many constalations full that i had been unable to see for a long time. After 20 mins enjoying the difference wearing a simple visual aid made , I got the 15x70 bins out. The specs had to come off now as i could not operate the bins properly with them on. Jupiter was quite majestic just in front of Leo, and sharp in the bins with its moons all lined up either side. Sweeping right i quickley aquired the beehive cluster in Cancer, a real visual treat . Continuing on into Auriga i quickly found its three clusters with M38 particularly well defined , its been said it can resemble Pi or an obtuse cross, to me the brighter stars always look like an arrow or flying formation (more like wild geese than the cluster with that name even). Feeling really enthused now i turned the bins on my back yard nemisis- m51. I did my research during the cloudy nights so had a fair understanding of where to look, tracking almost south of the Alkaid at its current altitude i found the faint triangle of stars where the whirlpool should have been and sure enough there was something there, faint, undefined but visible in the bins. Now i was getting excited, so much so i went back into the house, ruined my night vision and dismantled 8" dob and carted it all down the garden to reassemble it making an awful din as a screwed the carry handles back into place , screech screech with every turn. Using jupiter to align the setting circles i then dialed in alt-az coordinates for M51 and with a slightest bit of wiggle there it was in the middle of eye piece . Not simple a defused blob, I could make out both central cores surrounded by less defined mass. Surprisingly this was with a wide field 32 mm eye piece and applying greater magnification far from enhancing the view made it less sharp. Really enjoyed my night, never felt the cold and now cant wait to get to grips with M51 from a proper dark site.

[mister_wavey]

fantastic writeup - your enthusiasm is infectious! great stuff.

[SteveB72]

Thanks for the enthusiasm in your report. I am definitely observing tonight.

Steve

[FenlandPaul]

Great report and couldn't agree more re the disproportionate effect of a short clear session. Woke early this morning just before 4, couldn't get back to sleep so went out in the car with my bins to my local dark site (just outside my village). Was rewarded with some fantastic sites (write-up soon) and all before breakfast. Great way to start the day in the majesty of the heavens. Off to work now, thoroughly pumped!

Paul

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