Davesellars Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Had 15 minutes on Jupiter with the 12" dob before it dropped behind the rooftop. (fortunately, that house is not occupied most of the time and doesn't produce much disturbance) At 150x the colour of the bands really stood out with excellent clarity. At 214x with the Pentax XW 7mm it was still pretty rock solid steady but the colour was now somewhat diminished although still the brown bands showing well with a reasonable amount detail in the lower (dob view) band. Came back in for dinner. Once we've got the kids sorted out for bed it's looking good for a session viewing the moon later! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Jupiter has already dropped below the house line from here. The scope is out and cooling though ready for another lunar session. What's this? Three nights in a row? What is the world coming to... 😜 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesellars Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, Mr Spock said: What's this? Three nights in a row? What is the world coming to... 😜 Yep, looking forward to a session dedicated to some moon features and perhaps a few double stars with the dob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 I'm saving my doubles sessions for when the moon is out of the way. At the moment there's just too much to see to bother with anything else! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kon Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Moon is looking even sharper tonight. No light haze as last night. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterStudz Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 34 minutes ago, Kon said: Moon is looking even sharper tonight. No light haze as last night. Yes, similar experience for me. I had a brief session last night, although after a hard day flocking I was tired and more concerned about testing and just seeing if everything was still OK. Been observing this evening and the moon does look great. Now in for dinner, back out soon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zermelo Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Not feeling great, so I'm comforted by CO: The clear sky I just saw outside is obviously a hallucination. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kon Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 15 minutes ago, Zermelo said: The clear sky I just saw outside is obviously a hallucination. It must be something in the water. I am hallucinating too.🤣 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombardier Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 For me, the moon is exceptional tonight. Lots of time spent on Sinus Iridium and Gassendi. No idea what magnification, as I've been looking through my 254mm newt and Denkmeier Binotron on the high magnification setting, and 32mm Denkmeier plossls. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kon Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 @Nik271thanks for the tips earlier. The seeing is super good tonight that with my 6.7mm and 2x barlow I just managed to see the Gassendi rilles; nice fine lines within the crater. The more I observed, more little craters within were appearing. Gruithuisen domes looked great, and I agree they have a mushroom like appearance (a bit like the Nintendo Mario houses). Schiller is showing some interesting features around it as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Seeing is amongst the worst I've seen. Huge shimmers and blurry patches moving from W to E. Occasional steadier patches allowed some reasonable crater views. I'll try again in an hour or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDF Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Nothing to see here, thick blanket of cloud. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kon Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Two quick pics on the eyepiece . 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan White Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) First light for the WO binoviewer and for the 26mm Astro Essentials Plossl pair as well. All I can say is, I managed to get focus, merge images and then Lunar Observe. I then had to collect my socks from across the road after they blew off!! Amazed what a change it makes to a familiar target, very 3 dimmensional, easier on the eyes and more detail observed. AMAZING.... should have done this years ago. I pondered this for a very longtime, asked questions of seasoned Binoviewer users and then took the plunge. The Astro Essential 26mm Plossl were very good indeed, in fact stunning for the money. Edited January 13, 2022 by Alan White typos of course 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saganite Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 At last Al, observing as nature intended !!....... No going back.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saganite Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) Out with the 12" Dob at the moment and a new record.....6 Plato craterlets,... whoopee ! Might have been 7, but also might have been a ' floater '..... Edited January 13, 2022 by Saganite 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Looks great here but I'm having an evening off Enjoy the views, all those that are out there ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saganite Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Amazingly the Moon is steady at 378x which is as far as I can go with a binoviewer, but that is more than enough. I cannot remember the last time it was this good... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 The Tak is out, but seeing a lot more variable tonight. Still plenty of moments of clarity though. 3 Plato craterlets (effectively 4 as two are close together), and very strong hints of the Alpine Rille; a broken white line showing when the seeing stills. Won’t do much tonight, but will pop out again before bed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stardaze Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Just had an impromptu couple of hours. It’s still clear out there now. The forecast was total cloud so certainly not complaining. Predominately spent time on the moon, not something I’ve really bothered with before as it hasn’t really floated my boat, but quite enjoyed it for a change. Pretty steady tonight, improving even more towards the end and so my highest mag (254x) was good later on. Had a hunt around Plato and was quite taken with montes Jura area. Also foundThor’s hammer as John mentioned yesterday. I could see it but for the first time, could have done with a bit more mag. Gassendi looked really striking and found a little stick man that now looks to be montes raphaeus? I have no idea, but it was a nice change. Had a dabble with Sigma Orionis and found all 4; E & F stars were the best I’ve seen at such high mag and briefly saw the pup too, so not a bad couple of hours with the XW 5. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB20 Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Spent most of the tonight’s session in Orion again with the 76DC. Rigel split easily with the 7XW, always worth a visit. Betelguese’s colouration was mesmerising, a perfect deep gold disc with such tight diffraction rings. Sigma Orionis showing four brilliant stars. Visited M42 numerous times and tried to spot the E & F stars with mags ranging from 81-178x but couldn’t tease anything out. A-D stars were showing beautifully at 32x & above however. Did leave Orion to gawp at the Christmas tree cluster, beehive cluster and after some star hopping, found the faint Eskimo nebula. Pretty washed out from the moon’s brightness but certainly visible. No doubt a good target for my dob next time I tear myself away from the Tak. Tried for comet 67P but again foiled by the moon I think. Bashing my head against a brick wall I went for Sirius again, a relatively still night but chimney trails were making it dance and weave. To finish the night I returned to M42, with the 7XW I could detect a really faint pinprick of light to the left middle between the A & D stars of the trapezium. Checking SkySafari the star was Struve 748, is this the E star? The contrast and control in the Tak 76DC is mind bogglingly good. I’m falling more in love with it with each use - I’m finding I’m spending hours on very few targets. I didn’t even look at the moon tonight 🤣 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuburbanMak Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) Stunning seeing down in Winchester & no sign of the forecast fog - a big haul of doubles in Orion & region with the highlights so far Eta Orionis at 1.7”, Theta Aurigae giving up its secrets and 32 Eridani a golden & green jewel. De-icing (mainly me) and heading out to spend some time looking at the moon’s amazing detail under silly magnification. Edited January 14, 2022 by SuburbanMak 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vineyard Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Done for the night. Amazing. Mostly the moon - imaging earlier, and then BV, and then monocular w Nag zoom. The details & subtleties are mesmerising. Pushed it to 600x (!) for kicks & it was steady as you like. I preferred it at 300x best I reckon (at 600x the focus needs to be bang on, and was only using single-speed focuser). M42 - E & F as well. No chance of Sirius/Pup - low above roofs, loads of atmospheric dispersion I reckon (blue one side, red the other)? Played averted vision games around M42. Thought of printing off a sheet of double stars, but feet were freezing. All packed away but a v nice last few days & nights. Enjoy all those still out there. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesellars Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Easy 300x with the 12" dob observing the moon. I've never really bothered it much before but I had a great time! Ridiculously damp out though and my secondary mirror dewed up after an hour and a half. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Seeing still poor here so no chance of Plato craterlets. I've brought the scope in 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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