Very clear night, decent return for my efforts

[bomberbaz]

Went to my local darksite for some observing, equipment used was the 14" Taurus truss and the bulk of the viewing through my 12.5mm Nikon.

What went well; lots of galaxies viewed including the markarian chain down to mag 11 plus several others including 101, pleased with the latter. Also lots of clusters including M3 which looked exquisite as it was in the darker area of sky and a couple of planetary nebs. Also I was using my DSC and this was incredibly accurate tonight, to within a 0.25 degrees of anything I wanted to look at, very pleased with this.

What didn't go as well; still getting used to this big dob so more practice is needed, even from garden i think. Because it is so big anything viewed over around 55/60 degree needs a small step I bought but again i will get used to that. I need more ballast on the base, when i have my 80mm finder on it, it is top heavy.  I know the dsc is very accurate but there is occasion when it is handy to have this available for identifying objects on star charts.  Using the DSc app on phone then switching to viewing is going to take some practice, glasses on/off on/off as I view without glasses now.  This last bit got me a little frustrated when touring around leo/virgo so I actually gave up and moved to another area of the sky.  The scope bearings need fine tuning to assist in this matter. (more practice)

What went badly; the murk towards the south. I may have driven for 20 minutes out to country, around 10 miles as the crow flies and directly above the SQL meter showed 20.8 at best. However south it's yuck. @John recently reported getting quasar 3C 273 and I decided to have a bash. Unfortunately this was near due south and quite low, so when I tried to see faint stars to apply to the finder chart, well just no chance. I swung the scope around to the west for star finding comparison which is the darker part of the site and bang, easily popping out dim stars down to mag 12.5 without really trying.  It's a decent site but due south is pants and anything below 40 degrees there, no chance.  East is a little better but west and north are the best. 

Overall though very pleased with the performance of the scope, it is a lovely, attractive and well constructed piece of kit that is also a very portable light bucket. I just need to spend more time getting used to it and apply a few minor tweaks to my own techniques.

(I have just re-read the last sentence and i could have been talking about the mrs 😅, I'll get me coat)

[Dark Vader]

Sounds similar to my experiences, glasses on/off, more practice etc 🙂

Can I ask what DSC app you use?

Andy

[bomberbaz]

1 hour ago, Dark Vader said:

Sounds similar to my experiences, glasses on/off, more practice etc 🙂

Can I ask what DSC app you use?

Andy

It,s a basic encoder system that came with the scope. Actually was quite expensive but when I bought it I thought, WTH, may as well fit it. So glad I did now.

[Pixies]

Here's something a little less high-tech than DSCs, but I find really helps with the spectacles conundrum:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GoGrip-Secure-Glasses-Cord-Spectacle/dp/B00UX8M9K8

 

[wookie1965]

+1 for Pixies suggestion I have to wear glasses to set up and look through my Telrad to line things up but look through eyepiece without so I use a cord much easier.

[Dark Vader]

I got a cord for just that purpose and it's good, however it doesn't stop me from sticking the glasses in my eye in the dark 🙂

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Interesting report. I am a bit surprised at your struggles with 3C 273, as I picked that up from a suburban garden with a C8 on a good night. As it is a point source you can throw quite a bit of magnification at it without issue to get the sky background dark enough.

I just keep wearing my glasses when observing

[bomberbaz]

On 16/04/2021 at 10:56, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Interesting report. I am a bit surprised at your struggles with 3C 273, as I picked that up from a suburban garden with a C8 on a good night. As it is a point source you can throw quite a bit of magnification at it without issue to get the sky background dark enough.

I just keep wearing my glasses when observing

overhead the sky is lovely and dark, the SQP reading is 20.8 so quite reasonable. However as I looked to the offending south it lights up to dark adapted eye and almost looks like dawn is approaching. 

I haven't given up on it and will try again from a different site or the same site at a different time of the night.

[scarp15]

45 minutes ago, bomberbaz said:

overhead the sky is lovely and dark, the SQP reading is 20.8 so quite reasonable. However as I looked to the offending south it lights up to dark adapted eye and almost looks like dawn is approaching. 

I haven't given up on it and will try again from a different site or the same site at a different time of the night.

That would be the right approach, to consider looking into exploring and comparing meter readings at alternate locations. It does become quite compelling actually and the site you had recently used still has a lot to offer by your account of the session.