my session in snowdonia mountains 28/12/14

[faulksy]

wow had a great night weather conditions were great air temperature was -4 and the ground was covered in snow. road conditions driving up to the observing site were scary and dangerous but it was worth it. once at the site i unloaded the disco set up and made a brew whilst the scope was cooling. drank my tea and checked colimation and it was spot on.

viewed a few brighter objects while i waited for the moon to disapear behind the mountains which was around 00.15. then i started my session.only thing is i didnt take many notes of the dsos as i was using the back of a camping cooker manual to write notes on.

first up ngc

ngc 188

ngc3077

ngc2976

ngc1746  then on to some ms

m76 little dumbell

m79 and comet lovejoy, lovely sight

m67

m44 open cluster

m108

quick scan around auriga m36,37,38

m50

m33

m34

and m1 which was strangely disapointing as its great from home but not very good that night.

jupiter was the best i have ever seen kept dialing more power in and my shortest fl ep was my 5mm bgo which gives around 320x the cloud banding was amazing could see 4 bands with great detail and it was almost image like, and certanly as good as some images i have seen. due to the very dark sky and good transparency i went for the HH and i bagged it, couldnt believe how big it was, after years of seeing images i imagined it to be small but it was massive. not overly impressive but definately 1 i will go back to and made up that i got it. 1 pic to show you the conditions

mike 

[Scooot]

That is a wow Mike, looking at that image im glad you didn't get stuck -

Once there must have been a remarkable experience.Great feedback on the HH I'd love to see that! and the comet.

Nice report.

[Scott]

been busy mike .

[faulksy]

That is a wow Mike, looking at that image im glad you didn't get stuck -

Once there must have been a remarkable experience.Great feedback on the HH I'd love to see that! and the comet.

Nice report.

thanks richard, got a bit stuck climbing the hill to reach that spot. the hill was similar to elan valley but longer but once i was on it, its to narrow to turn around nearly went off the side down the cliff

been busy mike .

it was a great night scott, you and calv need to come up one night and im sure dan k will be there as well

[scarp15]

Dramatic location Mike, I believe that you have a four wheel drive. Congrats on the HH, I tried for this on Sunday night I just couldn't be sure. Similar circumstances and temperatures, in which I was on high ground and had a drive over compacted snow and frost, but of course not exactly Snowdonia. On my session I found M1 to be quite bright and 'woolly' looking, similar account though on Jupiter, it was particularly splendid at around 2am. 

[faulksy]

Dramatic location Mike, I believe that you have a four wheel drive. Congrats on the HH, I tried for this on Sunday night I just couldn't be sure. Similar circumstances and temperatures, in which I was on high ground and had a drive over compacted snow and frost, but of course not exactly Snowdonia. On my session I found M1 to be quite bright and 'woolly' looking, similar account though on Jupiter, it was particularly splendid at around 2am. 

hi iain, i do have a 4x4 now, after one time up snowdonia i smashed my sump and had to walk 8 miles to get a signal on my phone to call for help .stayed out till around 3 ish as i new it would take me a while to drive back down the mountain. so i would say around 2 i was looking at jupiter, thanks on the hh hope you bag it soon

[swamp thing]

Nice report mike

Some good targets in there. Congrats on the HH

[cotterless45]

Wow ! That's hardcore. Superb report, kep 'em coming,

Nick.

[FenlandPaul]

Those sorts of nights are very special indeed - what a location!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[estwing]

Wow Mike well done on the HH...great list there and drive carefully!...

[Stu]

As said Mike, hardcore stuff, great read and some excellent targets. Sounds like you had a great view of Horsey, well worth the effort!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Beulah]

Good report, Mike - did you use a UHC filter for the Horse head?

[faulksy]

hi sam, yes i did

[pragmatist]

Fantastic report. Made me want to be there.

[SimonfromSussex]

Great report Mike,

bet it was cold wasn't it!!!!? Surprised you had to wait (at all) for the scope to cool???

I've yet to hunt down comet lovejoy, def one to try next clear night.

[faulksy]

Great report Mike,

bet it was cold wasn't it!!!!? Surprised you had to wait (at all) for the scope to cool???

I've yet to hunt down comet lovejoy, def one to try next clear night.

un real cold simon, due to the height as well there was a gentle breeze which felt like -10 lol.

[faulksy]

short video here of my decent from snowdonia. shame you cant tell how steep it is, but to give you a idea its 2nd gear climbing up it in the dry. ignore the welsh voice, never heard myself before and its my first youtube upload

[scarp15]

Mike

You might have to reformat the video as cannot access.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

What a superb haul. Big dob under dark skies is unbeatable, visually

[faulksy]

Mike

You might have to reformat the video as cannot access.

nightmare. how come i can see it. what do i do

[scarp15]

Not sure as I have not put anything on Youtube before. Message on screen says - This Video is Private, so something may need unlocking.

[Stu]

It just says the video is private, do you have to make it public or shareable?

[clarkpm4242]

Yes, great report and piccie Mike!

I uploaded a couple of GoPro vids to Youtube recently, there is a public/private setting..?

Cheers

Paul

[-Aldebaran-]

I have been looking at going to snowdonia for a viewing session some time soon, what area did you go to mike? Would the pen-y-pass carpark have too much Lp?

[faulksy]

try again now, it was on private. thanks for your help,