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I dont do observing!! But....

Uranium235

By Uranium235
in Observing - Reports

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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Here is my first ever observing report :D

Those who know me will know im somewhat of a hardcore imager, but tonight I had a quick session with just the limited selection of EPs I have. Ive been laid low with man flu for a week and its nice to get a taster of the night sky again (despite the Moon).

Also, last night I squared the diamond steeltrack on the 8" so I thought its time for a little test drive!

 

Baader Hyperion 17mm:

Hyades: Easy to see the "star" of the show here - Aldebaran, a gorgeous red colour - no wonder its probably one of my favorite stars in the night sky. Looks absolutely amazing against the background of space, well worth visiting.

Double Cluster: Plenty on show, a shedload of stars with some subtle hints of colour. Seemed a tad tight for the 17mm so I switched to the stock 28mm for a much better fit, some distortion at the far edges but the central portion looked rather busy. I remember seeing this through a 10" at SGL7, and while not quite as good as that - it brought back a few memories.

M31: Well... with the Moon in full force I didnt expect much, but was surprised to see the core plus what I thought may have been an inner dust lane - would need to revisit on a darker night to be sure of it.

M45: Too big for the Hyperion, so I had a little pan around with the handset to take it all in for a few min... would be nice to get the camera back on that sometime soon.

M1: Nothing.... not even with averted vision, I think its altitude and the Moon wasnt helping me there.

Moon: With clouds rapidly approaching to spoil the fun I popped the 2x barlow in with the 17mm, not the best combinantion but it certainly was an EP filler. Was able to pan around and take in the sights, most noteably the edges where its quite rugged in appearance.... but without any filters it didnt half sting a bit! :)

Then... clouds... (booo!) I guess they must have sensed I was starting to enjoy myself....lol.

 

Not a bad little session, its just a shame I wont have space in the car to take the 200pds to SGL12. Also, I wish I had an EP or two that was a little more forgiving at f5 - while the Hyperion is good(ish), there is probably better to be had.

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Yamez

Yamez

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Brilliant report. I recently got the Baader Hyperion 17mm and it is a wonderful and my favorite EP. Using the 2 inch of the Hyperion i observed M31 on a very clear night (seeing was fantastic!) i could see the inner core, dust lanes, the two satellite galaxies and i could the see the whole outer part of the galaxy (not sure the scientific name is, but the whole galaxy is what i mean). Pointing it to M33 the same night and i could work out a small blob. First time seeing it. 

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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Yea, it was nice to set up without all the technical gubbins for a change. Perhaps not reformed just yet ;) but certainly interesting to see things in a different way. If its clear tonight I'll invite the little one down for a look since its getting dark at a more sensible time now.

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PeterW

PeterW

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The moon around 1st quarter is good for little people as they can see the "holes" in the moon where rocks have bashed into it. "Simple" depends on setup, EQ mounts still need some degree of witchcraft to get set up and working properly (can end up as "not-GoTo"!!)

PEterW

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Chris

Chris

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Can't beat a bit of both visual and imaging, so glad to see you dipping your toe on the other side :)

It's a been a little while since I've imaged, but I remember the buzz! Visual I find very zen and relaxing, both compliment each other well :)

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estwing

estwing

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18 minutes ago, PeterW said:

The moon around 1st quarter is good for little people as they can see the "holes" in the moon where rocks have bashed into it. "Simple" depends on setup, EQ mounts still need some degree of witchcraft to get set up and working properly (can end up as "not-GoTo"!!)

PEterW

For the price a second hand 8" Dob should be in everybody's shed

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Owmuchonomy

Owmuchonomy

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I used to have a rack of Hyperions but I gradually moved them on.  They are poor for eye relief, maybe due to the 'barlow' type design and not a patch on my rack of ES 82' eyepieces which outperform them easily.  My ES EPs were pretty good in my 12" f/5 Dob, just the coma to deal with at the edges.

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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1 hour ago, Scott said:

HERESY!!!. :D

I do like a good bit of visual myself but I tend to save it for others big dobs. I think M1 would be an impossibility from my garden :(

 

lol... I've already been called a "turncoat" over this :D But it isnt much different to SGL star parties, you set your gear up for imaging, then go on a walkabout to have a jolly good gander through everone elses telescopes :) except this year I've got the little man in tow - so he's going to need a bit of a boost up to get a look through the big guns.

 

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Linda

Linda

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On 16.10.2016 at 11:46, Uranium235 said:

Yea, it was nice to set up without all the technical gubbins for a change. Perhaps not reformed just yet ;) but certainly interesting to see things in a different way. If its clear tonight I'll invite the little one down for a look since its getting dark at a more sensible time now.

Exactly. That is what I like so much about astronomy without electricity and cables. It is so nice and simple. Easy polar alignment costing 10 seconds. Just sitting with an atlas and a dim red light and finding and observing objects.

Try to look up one of the bright globulars, like M15. Last time I showed it to a beginner it was a spectacular sight.

Under a dark sky, look for M101. Invisible at home and very visible in Dark Land.

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DHEB

DHEB

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On 10/16/2016 at 01:33, Uranium235 said:

M1: Nothing.... not even with averted vision, I think its altitude and the Moon wasnt helping me there.

In my experience, the Moon plus some LP will wash M1 away everytime. No wonder you couldn't see it. Good luck next time!

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