M44 and the Moon

[Paz]

I was out last night with the VX14 for some lunar observing, as the Moon was passing M44.

It was poor seeing and a constantly wobbly view but it made the scale of things really stand out having one next to the other.

M44 is huge and it was still possible to see many stars despite the Moon. With the 17.3mm Delos and the arrow head with STF1254 centred the moon was hanging ominously at the side of the field of view looking like a big white lump of rock (which it is!) compared to the warmer and delicate pinpoint stars in M44.

I tried some higher power just on lunar but it couldn't compete with the bigger picture of both objects together.

[scarp15]

Interesting account, clouds kept toing and froing from my location, the Beehive hadn't occurred to me. The moon however was quite captivating through my TV85 and 4mm DeLite, much more and the wobbling would have started to take effect. A lot of interest throughout and the terminator structures along Eratosthenes were prominently illuminated, south from Tycho down towards a sliced Clavius, an engaging chaotic riot of topography. 

[Paz]

29 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Interesting account, clouds kept toing and froing from my location, the Beehive hadn't occurred to me. The moon however was quite captivating through my TV85 and 4mm DeLite, much more and the wobbling would have started to take effect. A lot of interest throughout and the terminator structures along Eratosthenes were prominently illuminated, south from Tycho down towards a sliced Clavius, an engaging chaotic riot of topography. 

I bet it was good views in the TV85, and thats a sensible set up if it's cloudy. I was lucky with the clouds, clear outside said it was clouded out all night but it looked clear to me so I set up on a who-dares-wins basis. I would add though for the record, most of the time when I do this, I lose!

[scarp15]

It feels like that sometimes doesn't it - who dares wins, last time I set up the VX14 was February 2nd, the drama was getting to the dark site in freezing icy conditions without skidding the car off the road, worth it in retrospect. From home in a compact yard with high walls and the bloomin rabbits to fence off, the TV85 or binoculars are usually best options, particularly with fleeting clouds. I do look forward to seeing the open and globular clusters, May might become the last shout. 

[Size9Hex]

Nice one Paz. Enjoyed reading that. Similar views here, with clouds coming and going, but they cleared just in time to see some of the brighter stars disappear behind the dark leading edge of the moon. Although I was expecting it, it was still a surprise to see them vanish instantly rather than fade out.

I thought it was a really demanding test of the eyepiece with the almost blindingly bright moon and faint stars. My wide ES82 14mm and 8.8mm showed a more glare with fewer stars visible than my simpler cheaper eyepieces. How did you find the Delos?

[mikeDnight]

I began by looking at the event through a 17.5mm Morpheus, but it wasn't a wide enough field to do the picturesque scene justice. The best view I had was through my 35mm Eudiascopic, which showed a glorious moon hanging infront of the piercingly sharp starry backdrop of the Beehive. I didn't spend long observing though, as the whole scene was whitewashed with milky white cloud. 

[Paz]

37 minutes ago, Size9Hex said:

Nice one Paz. Enjoyed reading that. Similar views here, with clouds coming and going, but they cleared just in time to see some of the brighter stars disappear behind the dark leading edge of the moon. Although I was expecting it, it was still a surprise to see them vanish instantly rather than fade out.

I thought it was a really demanding test of the eyepiece with the almost blindingly bright moon and faint stars. My wide ES82 14mm and 8.8mm showed a more glare with fewer stars visible than my simpler cheaper eyepieces. How did you find the Delos?

I really like the Delos but that close to the moon there was a lot of glare. Once I'm lined up  within a couple of degrees of the moon I can find it through the eyepiece just by following the glare gradient, if that makes sense.

I haven't compared the Delos back to back with other eyepieces for a while. I previously had some ES82s and really liked them but in the end I needed more eye relief hence the Delos. It is interesting about cheaper eyepieces I wonder if a smaller afov and less glass both help naturally in reducing off axis glare.