Another scratched off my bucket list

[Kn4fty]

Last week (at work so I don't have my logbook to check the day) I got to remove another item off my astro bucket list. I was checking Stellarium planning my night when I noticed Neptune was going to be in a prime position. So I picked my reference star in Andromeda and the coordinates for Neptune. I set up the 8"newt and settled in. After cool down I squinted at my slightly light polluted skies and found my star. I centered it in the scope and set it's RA/DEC. I noticed something seemed off once on the star from initial polar alignment, but shrugged it off. I swung to Neptune's coordinates and .... nothing but stars. An hour later still no Neptune. Then I started to get figity and in frustration decided it was a good time to tweek my collimation, oops! I really messed it up. 30 minutes later I managed to fix that. Then as I breathed a sigh of relief at not ruining my night, I looked up. I had been using the wrong reference star! I sighted in to the correct one and a minute later, Neptune!! That beautiful blue orb hanging in a small group of stars. Due to seeing I couldn't magnify much, just enough to see a disc. But I was happy with that! The rest of the night didn't matter! I'd seen Neptune!

[Sunshine]

Right on! I too was charged up when I found it in my lightbridge.

[Kn4fty]

Yeah! The user error didn't matter! Once I saw it I was like a kid in a candy store! Lol

[John]

Great stuff !

Don't leave it there though. Your scope is capable of showing Neptune's brightest moon, Triton. Cartes du Ciel shows the location of this target quite accurately and it's visible with a 130mm scope under dark skies and high magnifications

[Kn4fty]

I will definitely be back to it. But that night the seeing prevented me from seeing Triton. But I will definitely look at it again.

[Knighty2112]

Well done. Always nice to see no matter how many times you may see it, even though not much can be seen. First views though are always special!  

[Kn4fty]

Absolutely! Fortunately in this field we can have first views for years!

[Demonperformer]

Excellent result.

Triton is fascinating to follow ... it only takes six days to orbit Neptune, a drawing of N&T against some background stars (doesn't need to be a work of art ... I actually just use little crosses in vaguely the right positions) done three nights apart is a great addition to the logbook.

Interesting fact (at least, I think so) ... Galileo actually recorded Neptune 230+ years before it was "discovered" ... and he noted in his drawing that it had appeared to have moved, so he obviously realised it was something "interesting", just never followed-up on it ...

[Merlin66]

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1997BaltA...6...97S

The details of Galileo's observations.....

[Kn4fty]

Yes, I had read that he had seen it. Definitely interesting that had he followed up we would have known about much earlier.

[Kn4fty]

Very cool report! 

[domstar]

A great moment. When I first got my telescope I never imagined I'd be able to see Neptune. I was blown away when I eventually did.

[Alan White]

That's a great tick off your list.

 

[Kn4fty]

Thank, I was quite pleased with it despite the previous hour and a half hahahaha

[RobertI]

Well done, I haven't seen it myself this year yet, you've inspired me to track it down. 

[Special K]

On 09/08/2018 at 07:09, Kn4fty said:

Absolutely! Fortunately in this field we can have first views for years!

That’s definitely the case with Uranus and Neptune for quite some time to come. We may be temporarily unlucky with the current positions of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, but these two ice giants are well placed for a generation!

I remember struggling with a firm identification of Neptune first time or two and can relate to your enthusiasm in finally seeing it!  Well done!

[Kn4fty]

Thanks. It might have taken twenty years for me to see it, but I got it! Made me feel that excitement I felt as a newbie seeing Jupiter and Saturn the first time in a decent scope. Can't wait to see it again under better seeing conditions.