ST80 does what it does best

[mark81]

So last night I thought about getting to bed - it was Midnight - glanced out of the window which faces South and there was Mars.  WOW, it looked amazing even through he window (it really does need a clean ) so I couldn't resist but grab the ST80 and head out. 

Ok, the ST80 does not excel at planets, the only thing it did was to confirm that Mars is a planet, a nice light pink ball. I think that viewing it with the naked eye was much more satisfying.

With the BST 15mm in the scope I swung round to take a look at Andromeda which was very nice.  It sat perfectly in the FOV and I must say that when I looked at it the first time I used the scope earlier this year I didn't take the time to really appreciate it. 

I then shifted to Cassiopeia.  Picked out M103 which sat nicely among a rich field of stars but certainly needed a little more mag - moved up to 8mm BST and it really was a wow moment - not a wow like when you see Saturn for the first time - but it was quite brilliant in its clarity with the main stars really standing out.

M52 looks like it would be a great cluster in a slightly bigger scope as its a little too misty to enjoy with the ST80

NGC 457 Known as the Owl Cluster looked great at x50 - and using your imagination you can see the long arms of the cluster - which make up the wings.  This Cluster also sits among really rich fields of stars which really brings it to life

Double Cluster - this really looks great with the BST 15mm, the wide FOV and the low mag do this justice - an object that really needs to be studied to be appreciated as you realy could count out atleast 50 pinpoint stars within each cluster. 

NGC 654 and 663 also sit close to each other and although they are harder to resolve than M103 or the Double Cluster - but appear as smaller fainter smudges - but once again its the setting that wins it over - the rich field of stars that fill the eypieces.

Looking forward to the real dark skies.  ?

[Alan White]

The little old ST80 never fails to deliver, its a real bang for the basic buck scope in my view.
That's quite a haul you got last night, I had cloud here.

 

[melsmore]

28 minutes ago, mark81 said:

NGC 457 Known as the Owl Cluster looked great at x50 - and using your imagination you can see the long arms of the cluster - which make up the wings. 

  I only ever see it as ET. I'd much rather see an owl.  This, along with the Pleiades and the coat hanger(cr399) were probably my favourites in my ST80. Good session - did you sketch any of the others?

[Paz]

Great report, shows what can be done.

[mark81]

1 hour ago, melsmore said:

  I only ever see it as ET. I'd much rather see an owl.  This, along with the Pleiades and the coat hanger(cr399) were probably my favourites in my ST80. Good session - did you sketch any of the others?

I did hear about it being called ET but couldn't see why.  

Might have a go at some more sketches tonight