Finally some observing

[Kon]

It has been a while since we had a break from this weather. After I finished some late evening online meetings, I cooled down my 8" Dob for a bit of observing. Having the moon out I knew that nothing DSO would be really visible. I had a quick 1 hr out. I started wit the Beehive cluster (M44); a lovely cluster with spread out stars. It fitted nicely in my 25mm EP. I then moved to Sirius, and I think I managed to split it with my 8mm; I could see two stars next to each other blinking (sorry if i used the wrong terminology). I then moved to Mars to see what Perseverance was up to...not much really just sitting there 😂...jocking apart it is amazing to know that something is up there starting to explore soon. It was a nice orange disc with not much features in my 15mm EP; it did not take the 8mm EP magnification. M35 look sparkly with all the stars in whites and yellows. Finally, I had a look at the moon and it looked great at my 15 and 8mm EPs.  I am familiar with some of the craters, Copernicus, Clavius, Atlas and Hercules, and I will probably need to have a read about the rest of them in my 'Turn Left at Orion' to learn the others. I also managed to get some prime focus shots using my DSLR (posted it in the Lunar imaging). 

Overall a very good night to be out to get my head cleared and get observing after a long time due to the weather, but it lacked the excitement of hunting DSOs. I hope by the time we have the new moon the weather will be more upbeat!

[John]

Nice report !

If you got Sirius split - that's a really great result, especially with the seeing tonight !

 

[Kon]

6 hours ago, John said:

If you got Sirius split - that's a really great result, especially with the seeing tonight !

I should have described it a bit better....I managed to see two stars side by side with a bit of overlap between them so not sure if by definition this splitting (as i said i may have used the wrong term); Mizar and Alcor, I usually see two stars well separated, even last night.

[John]

2 hours ago, Kon said:

I should have described it a bit better....I managed to see two stars side by side with a bit of overlap between them so not sure if by definition this splitting (as i said i may have used the wrong term); Mizar and Alcor, I usually see two stars well separated, even last night.

Actually, that does not sound like Sirius A & B to be honest with you

This is what the pair look like with my 12 inch dobsonian at 265x:

Sirius B appears as a very faint glimmer of light that shines, often intermittently, through the halo of glare that surrounds Sirius A. Sirius A is 10,000 brighter than B.

 

[Kon]

9 hours ago, John said:

If you got Sirius split - that's a really great result, especially with the seeing tonight !

 

7 minutes ago, John said:

Actually, that does not sound like Sirius A & B to be honest with you

Unless as you said earlier, the viewing was not great, and I got confused with what i saw? So maybe it was some atmospheric disturbance and to my untrained eye I confused it as two stars? I will need to revisit once the skies clear again

[Epick Crom]

Nice report Kon! Like you I too had a look at the moon last night and am starting to learn it's features/ names. I highly recommend you download Moon Atlas 3D app from App Store. I downloaded it a few days ago and it's a great lunar map, really has sparked my interest in lunar observing. Hope you have more clear nights!

[John]

10 minutes ago, Kon said:

 

Unless as you said earlier, the viewing was not great, and I got confused with what i saw? So maybe it was some atmospheric disturbance and to my untrained eye I confused it as two stars? I will need to revisit once the skies clear again

You do need good seeing to make the split - it is a pretty tough challenge and not like a "regular" double star. The distance between the A & B stars is about the same as the gap between Rigel A & B as a guide but the brightness difference is much greater, hence the challenge.

[Zermelo]

A decent session for an hour, and with the moon to contend with.

Interesting comments on the seeing. I was out last night too, and while I had persistent problems with mid-level clouds turning objects hazy, the actual seeing was the best I can remember. Everything was very stable, even at my maximum mag (a little over 200x).

[Tiny Clanger]

Nice report,

I got a couple of hours , Mars just looked like a dissolving effervescent tablet under much mag, so I spent the time Moon watching. The crater Gassendi was mentioned on another thread as one to see at the terminator, and it was indeed full of detail , inner wall double lumpy looking central peak . I get confused on lunar geography (selenography ?) due to using a dob ( upside down image) and mak (right way up , L/R flipped image) and set the free to download 'Virtual Moon Atlas' to show whichever orientation I need https://www.ap-i.net/avl/en/start  It's not the best presented site ( translated from French ) but it's a great bit of software at my favourite price (free) some screenshots on this page show part of what it can do https://www.ap-i.net/avl/en/screenshot/start

The dynamic terminator (insert your own joke here ) is a great feature. Quite apart from static maps needing to be flipped, I find it hard to relate 2D mapping to features strongly side lit and 3D looking when near the terminator , this solves the problem for me. Instant info  on any feature you select too .

Heather

 

 

[MercianDabbler]

3 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

I highly recommend you download Moon Atlas 3D app from App Store

That's the one I've been using. I quite like it but it doesn't really simulate the terminator very well so I usually end up turning the illumination off. I also find it too easy to rotate the Moon, which is useful for an atlas but somewhat pointless when using it to compare with what you see in the scope.

21 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

and set the free to download 'Virtual Moon Atlas' to show whichever orientation

Thanks... I must give that one a try.

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, MercianDabbler said:

That's the one I've been using. I quite like it but it doesn't really simulate the terminator very well so I usually end up turning the illumination off. I also find it too easy to rotate the Moon, which is useful for an atlas but somewhat pointless when using it to compare with what you see in the scope.

Thanks... I must give that one a try.

I use an app called Moon Phase Photo Maps to help identify craters along the terminator, and one which I find very useful. It is only available on iOS, but the maps are also available on this site:

http://www.derekscope.co.uk/the-moon-20th/

They are in the section headed Astrovisual Moon Phases Maps.

[MercianDabbler]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

I use an app called Moon Phase Photo Maps to help identify craters along the terminator, and one which I find very useful. It is only available on iOS, but the maps are also available on this site:

http://www.derekscope.co.uk/the-moon-20th/

They are in the section headed Astrovisual Moon Phases Maps.

Thanks for that - looks useful. I have an Android tablet so the app is not going to work but the images can go onto my SD card. This is a better option for me because the internal storage on my tablet is pretty much full so installing an app usually involves me deciding which other app I can remove. Neither set of images seems to be the right way up compared to what I see in the scope but I'll figure it out.

[Stu]

12 minutes ago, MercianDabbler said:

Thanks for that - looks useful. I have an Android tablet so the app is not going to work but the images can go onto my SD card. This is a better option for me because the internal storage on my tablet is pretty much full so installing an app usually involves me deciding which other app I can remove. Neither set of images seems to be the right way up compared to what I see in the scope but I'll figure it out.

If you are online then you can always access the images from the website. I think the images were taken from the Southern hemisphere so they are not the correct orientation but still quite workable I find.