A brief view in the wind 12/03/2019

[Astro Imp]

Having been unable to observe for some while due to cloud/rain I was pleased to see the torrential rain of earlier in the day abate and present a near cloudless sky.
The moon was an obvious target as I was restricted in my viewing position because of the standing water, so I set up in the door way in my garage hoping this would give some shelter from the wind.
I started in the southern highlands intending to work my way down (I was using a Newtonian so down is north) the terminator.
The first target was Maurolycus, the sun was just rising here and starting to illuminate the western wall and just a tiny pinprick of light catching one of the central mountains. Looking east Janssen was now fully illuminated with just a slight shadow showing on the eastern wall of Jannssen B and the craters further west.
All my viewing was at x100 as the view was very jittery because of the wind.
I started the evening with high hopes of enjoying a good session of lunar observing but found the wind just too much so wimped out.
Hope some of you did better the I.

[mikeDnight]

I admire your determination to grab a quick session despite the odds Alan. The weather has been pretty rubbish since weekend, which I'm blaming on the Practical Astronomy Event which was held at Kettering. It was a great day with great scopes etc on show. There must have been a lot of astro gear bought to turn the weather so bad! Anyhow, you had an enjoyable session that you wouldn't have had if you'd not given it a go. 

[Astro Imp]

Thanks Mike, we have to take the opportunity that present themselves at the moment. A brief session is better than nothing.
I also had enjoyable day at Kettering but kept my credit card firmly under control, there was certainly some mouthwatering kit on display.

[Paz]

I noticed a clear sky when I got home and decided to go for it. I stuck the ST120 out on the Porta2 to cool for 20 minutes then had a look at the moon in daylight (6pm) with a yellow filter to reduce CA and blue sky scatter. I went for the 6mm Delos and 100x which turned out to be a good choice.

Aristoteles and Eudoxus were lit around the rim with dark crater floors, but I ended up focussing on the trailing wall of Alexander which was just being clipped by the sunlight and showing a number of jagged and seemingly separate lumps that will slowly merge as the sun rises. The light flying past the south crater wall was just skimming some features on the south side of Calippus highlighting a handful of softer hilltops compared to the sharp lines of the Alexander crater wall.

Wind was ok, I only had light tube currents and light heat movement from house rooftops so the views were good.

I was observing for maybe 10 minutes and then had to pack up and go back to real life duties, but it was good to get out.

[domstar]

Not bad. I've been set up for nearly two hours. I'm just going to have another look at the cloud before calling it a day.

[Astro Imp]

@domstar hope you get some eyepiece time, good luck.

[mikeDnight]

I did manage a short session myself before tea. The sky was still bright at 5pm and there was almost continuous cloud, thinning at times with the occasional clear sucker hole. My real reason for looking at the Moon under such conditions wasn't really to observe its features, but to try a few new eyepieces I've recently acquired. Surprisingly and despite the wind and cloud,  the view was really quite steady and the features sharp. I first wanted to try my 17.5mm Morpheus, which gave a lovely view at 42X, but as with all wide field eyepieces it revealed a little lateral colour, especially at the edge of the field, which was probably made more evident by the bright sky background. Fantastic eyepiece though!   Then swapping the 17.5 for a 3.4mm Vixen HR I was amazed at the wonderfully sharp view despite the relatively high magnification of 218X. Again the conditions would suggest a poor view, but the view was spectacular.   Finally, I attached my binoviewer to get my first view through a pair of 25mm Parks Gold pseudo Masuyama's. With a 2X Ultima barlow on the BV these eyepieces proved to be truly delicious. At a mild magnification of around 133X  (the 2x Ultima amplifies 2.25x),  the view was  outstanding, with crisp colour free images and great eye relief. The magnification gave the impression of being much higher! I can't wait for a truly clear night with the Moon, and a Moonless night with the 17.5 Morpheus. I don't think I've ever been so content with my eyepieces!! 

[John]

I grabbed a few minutes in a clear patch with my TV Ranger 70mm. The Moon did look lovely but the wind was buffeting even the tiny Ranger so any sort of magnification above 70x or so was pointless unless you liked looking at a very jiggly Moon !

The earthlight on the unilluminated portion of the lunar disk was very striking this evening and the terminator landscape beutifully defined.

 

[Astro Imp]

@John It was a real pity the wind curtailed our observing tonight, as you say the terminator looked lovely. I would dearly have liked to have spent more time exploring our neighbour but as I said in my OP I'm afraid I wimped out.

[domstar]

12 hours ago, Astro Imp said:

hope you get some eyepiece time, good luck.

Not a sausage.

[Astro Imp]

12 hours ago, domstar said:

Not a sausage.

Hamburger Galaxy? ?
Sorry, couldn't resist.

[maw lod qan]

Wednesday evening the wind was a bother for me also. I was viewing the moon almost at its zenith and could easily notice each gust.

Last night, the wind died down and it was quite rewarding looking at the surface details. 

I concentrated on the area around the Apollo 15 sight, incredible mountains and craters. I only wish I was better at imaging, but for my experience and equipment I'm happy.

[Astro Imp]

@maw lod qan I didn't venture out last night (14th March), if anything the wind was even worse.
I looked out about an hour ago and saw the moon riding high, came in for dinner intending to set up afterwards, it's now clouded over. Oh the joys of this hobby!!!!

[Eastman]

On ‎15‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 19:29, Astro Imp said:

Oh the joys of this hobby!!!!

Yeah, same here. the wind makes it almost impossible.

Nice craters, do.