Can it be true?

[johnfosteruk]

glad you chaps got some reasonable views. I've been waiting for the forecast clear sky all night. It's just arrived so off out I go

[SilverAstro]

48 minutes ago, johnfosteruk said:

. It's just arrived so off out I go

All this talk of a clear night in prospect was bound to antagonise the ClodGods (ooops typo cloudGods ), and so it turned out, a brief spell of 50% cloud at nightfall soon turned to cloud > drizzle > rain > and now cats&dogs not far to the north east of you, so thnks for the headsup , , do I wait or , , ,  which way is it blowing ?

[johnfosteruk]

6 minutes ago, SilverAstro said:

 , do I wait or , , , 

Don't bother..... I typed the last post while the frac was cooling. Went out 15 mins later, beautiful and sparkly it was. Planned to take in some Jupiter time and a tour of Hercules. 

I got 5 mins with Jove and it's now pouring down. 

Antagonise the clodgods I surely did.

Jupiter was a sight to behold though at 125x

oh and it seems to be blowing towards you. It may just scrape by to your south. 

[SilverAstro]

3 minutes ago, johnfosteruk said:

Don't bother.....

What a state to get in ( other things on my mind tonight ) I managed to put northwest in my post before correcting it to north east when contemplating my wind (!) , so there was only one thing to do - get outa my chair and go look > rain suddenly ceased and we have 70% clear ! Argh decisions-decisions,,,  it wont last by the sound of it, will it ,,

, wot we need is a network of SGLskycams !

 

[John]

Tonight, when it was good, it was very, very good, but when it was bad, it was horrid !

 

[John]

I've got my 3rd scope out tonight - the 12" dob. I grabbed and go'ed it to see Comet 41P Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak in Ursa Major. Worth the effort as it happens. Not the most spectacular comet but quite easy to find and reasonably large at 76x. A 3 scope night ! (but only 2 of them actually used to view)

[Chris]

5 hours ago, John said:

. 150x seems very good at the moment.

133x with the 9mm Plossl was best for me. I gave 150x with the 20mm plus 2.5x Barlow a go, but think I was getting some slight reflections from the Barlow elements or something? as the diffraction spikes seemed more pronounced.

I'm starting to pine for some better glass and a more portable setup I can grab and take to the bridle way near my house. The bridle way is next to a good couple of miles of country side to the south and it's only since I've been taking my bins over there recently I've seen how dark it is! (well once yo get away from the street light at the entrance of the bridle way).

I walked a minute down the bridle way last night behind the woods at behind my house and it was so dark that I felt something was going to get me! I kept on looking around at the slightest sound.

I need a scope I can carry down there, and I need to man up so I'm not scared of the dark as I'm sure I'll see some DSO's I've never seen before.  

[billyharris72]

I set up last night and started grabbing some images of M51 around 20:20. Then went in for a cuppa and a sit down, thinking I'd go out and do some visual observing once it got a bit later (was thinking Coma Berenices, possibly Jupiter). Popped back out after about 45 minutes to see how things were looking.

Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

Billy.

[John]

41 minutes ago, billyharris72 said:

I set up last night and started grabbing some images of M51 around 20:20. Then went in for a cuppa and a sit down, thinking I'd go out and do some visual observing once it got a bit later (was thinking Coma Berenices, possibly Jupiter). Popped back out after about 45 minutes to see how things were looking.

Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

Billy.

Bad luck Billy. It was very "mixed" last night, putting it politely.

I was in and out with different scopes dodging the cloudy spells and grabbing the clear ones. Must be dull for those who observe under pristine and consistent skies such as Arizona or the Canaries - no need to make ad hoc choices all the time about where and what to look at !