300p flex tube M31/M15/M52/M81&82

[PaulM]

Was out again with my newly acquired 300p flexi tube synscan dob.

Setup/2 star alignment of synscan quick and easy again and using my android tablet with Sky Safari 6 Pro to connect to the synscan via bluetooth to navigate with.

Conditions were poor it looked clear and cloudless but there was a blanket of high clouds.

Tried a new location in the garden to give me the best coverage of the sky and avoiding the light pollution to the east and shielded by next doors tall trees.

M31/M110 Andromeda Galaxy 5*. Could clearly see both through the newly acquired 24mm meade swa EP.  Andromeda gave hints if its size with a bright central core. M110 appeared compact and bright.

M15 glob clustet in pegasus 2*. Small dense and compact. Could just make out individual stars in the 15mm EP.

M15 glob cluster in cassiopeia 4*. Nice object. Wide and open lots of individual stars to see. Good in both the 24 and 15mm EPs.

M81/M82 galaxies in Ura Major 4*. Can view both easily through the 24mm EP. M81 has a bright core and could see some shape definition. M82 appears much brigher and elongated. 

As the viewing was poor due to the high clouds I ended the session by fitting the OIII filter and viewing the ring and then dumbell nebulas.

I was also out two nights ago with my 200p manual dob at 4:30 am as I was feeling ill and still up!! as Orion was visible and wanted to view M42 the orion nebula and the Pleiades. An almost full bright moon was nearby. M42 in the 24mm EP was very visible and gave a hint of wispy structure was better through the OIII filter. Couldnt see the whole of the Pleiades through the 24mm but was a nice object to observe.

 

[Stu]

Thin high cloud can kill galaxies but you still did well. You should see M32 next to M31, opposite side and closer in than M110. It is much smaller, almost stellar at lower mags.

Nice session 

[Eastman]

3 hours ago, PaulM said:

M15 glob clustet in pegasus 2*. Small dense and compact. Could just make out individual stars in the 15mm EP.

Nice glob M15 , I Always find M110 the more difficult one. 24mm gievs a nice field of view.