Jump to content

Narrowband

Moon Looks Great Even Now (5.20pm)!


cloudsweeper

Recommended Posts

One day to first quarter, high, east of south.  Sky clear. 

I put the lovely long 5" frac to use, with the comfort of the observing chair.

OK, so the sky's bright, but there are still features to enjoy.  Theophilus, Cyrillus, and the Altair Scarp look good a bit off-terminator.  Further south (and nearer the terminator) lie the close and interesting highlands group comprising Maurolycus, Stoefler, Barocius, Cuvier, Licetus, and others.  I look forward to seeing more detail further into the evening.

Hope others are benefiting from a clear sky!

Doug.

Edit: Maurolycus is especially good - quite a bit of detail; only in shadow by the eastern rim.

 

 

P1080707.JPG

Edited by cloudsweeper
  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a great looking setup Doug. Is that a home made counterweight you’ve got there?

Cloudy here I’m afraid, but glad you have got some clear skies. Enjoy 😊 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Stu said:

What a great looking setup Doug. Is that a home made counterweight you’ve got there?

Cloudy here I’m afraid, but glad you have got some clear skies. Enjoy 😊 

Thanks Stu.  Yes, a homemade c/wt - an L-bracket, a block of wood, some metal bars screwed below, and further metal strips held in a sort of frame on top!  

Still clear, going back out a bit later.

Doug.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Thanks Stu.  Yes, a homemade c/wt - an L-bracket, a block of wood, some metal bars screwed below, and further metal strips held in a sort of frame on top!  

Still clear, going back out a bit later.

Doug.

Well if it works, why not! Is that a SkyTee2?

Clearing here now so may just try for the Moon and the Nova in a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Stu said:

Well if it works, why not! Is that a SkyTee2?

Clearing here now so may just try for the Moon and the Nova in a bit.

Skytee II, yes - stripped, re-greased, tweaked to reduce backlash.  Surprisingly easy to use - slo-mo cable on alt, az just left slack for gentle nudging!

Doug.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Skytee II, yes - stripped, re-greased, tweaked to reduce backlash.  Surprisingly easy to use - slo-mo cable on alt, az just left slack for gentle nudging!

Doug.

Good stuff. Mine is good, but needs the same doing to it. It’s smooth enough but too much backlash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, cloudsweeper said:

Bring it round Stu - I'll sort it out at mate's rates!  😉

Doug.

 

If you weren’t so far away I might take you up on that! Will have to give it a go myself, when I have time!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I set up my 8" dob around same time ! There were a lot of features along the terminator . But the one that stood out was the "eyes", formed by craters Godin and Agrippa . The illumination was perfect as the eyes seemed as if they were sketchily looking at me !

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a look 2 nights ago. I'll be honest looking at the moon has always been bottom of my list. However, when I looked at the area around cathatina, etc at x533 and then a wide angle of the bright earth shine it did change my mind. As a kid I mainly looked at the moon in my small frac, but tend to ignore it recently. Decided to make a start on the lunar 100 now.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, bish said:

I had a look 2 nights ago. I'll be honest looking at the moon has always been bottom of my list. However, when I looked at the area around cathatina, etc at x533 and then a wide angle of the bright earth shine it did change my mind. As a kid I mainly looked at the moon in my small frac, but tend to ignore it recently. Decided to make a start on the lunar 100 now.

Good plan!  With Luna, the more you look, the more you see - teasing out the detail is very pleasing, and of course it keeps changing in appearance.  One of the most impressive sights I stumbled across was the shadow of Mons Piton (in M. Imb.) - a long "arrowhead", which I estimated to be about 35 miles in length.

Doug.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.