What did you see tonight?

[John]

Some clear sky again (!) and it's both steady and transparent 😲

After some obligatory Jupiter and Uranus viewing (Saturn had dropped out of sight by the time I decided to put a scope out) I thought I'd have a go at some deeper sky stuff. The 100mm scope was not the greatest choice of course but the brighter galaxies were showing quite nicely and also M110 which showed that the transparency was decent.

After a little sweeping around (it's close to the zenith tonight) I managed to locate M33 in Triangulum and I was getting hints of the giant star forming nebula NGC 604 in the outer reaches of that galaxy. Boosting the magnification from 38x to 64x confirmed this faint fuzzy spot of light next to a foreground star. Quite pleased for the 100mm refractor to get this. Feels like proper observing 🙂 

Edited November 19, 2023 by John

[John]

Back inside in a hurry - clouded out and then within minutes, heavy rain 😒

Great session before that though. Jupiter very sharp indeed. Managed to spot M1 in Taurus - haven't seen it for ages and I'd forgotten that it looks quite large in the eyepiece at 64x.

Half of Orion was in view for the last 20 minutes or so. Managed to split 32 Orionis but 52 Orionis was just an elongated peanut. 

Last views before scampering inside with scope and mount were of a glorious M42 and the Trapezium stars. Saw E and might have glimpsed F but it was close to rooftops etc so could have done with rising higher but the rain put a stop to the fun.

Overall my best observing session in some time 😁

Just got to tidy up now !

 

[andrew63]

Just saw a very bright meteor travelling under Jupiter, short with a smoky tail. Possibly a late Leonid.

[Bugdozer]

On 16/11/2023 at 17:57, John said:

I thought I would post my astro "workflow" this evening to help newcomers to the hobby 🙂

1. Look out door - notice clear sky with stars showing.

2. Put out tripod with mount attached.

3. Put out scope to cool for a few minutes.

4. Pop eyepiece in focuser and snap photo for SGL.

5. Post said photo on SGL:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/274300-show-us-your-set-up-in-action-at-night/?do=findComment&comment=4432599

6. Go back outside full of anticipation of lovely Saturnian views.

7. Notice that the sky has completely clouded over from the west 😒

8. Notice that further west cloud was solid, even thicker and heading my way.

9. Bring scope, tripod and mount back inside.

10. Reach for beer from fridge and type grumpy post on SGL.

Doh !!! - stupid hobby !!!! 🥴

 

I got a full 20 seconds of observing Jupiter last night. Completely clear until the moment I had got the scope fixed to the tripod, then I was literally racing the fastest slew speed against the cloud to get there first. Then dismantled and took it back inside. 

[John]

25 minutes ago, Bugdozer said:

I got a full 20 seconds of observing Jupiter last night. Completely clear until the moment I had got the scope fixed to the tripod, then I was literally racing the fastest slew speed against the cloud to get there first. Then dismantled and took it back inside. 

I had a similar experience with my 200mm dob earlier. It all looked promising so I put the scope out. About 30 minutes later I popped out hoping for some observing only to find a 100% clouded out sky. No change after another 20 mins so back in it all came. It is a frustrating hobby at times 🤨

[Moonshed]

7 hours ago, John said:

I had a similar experience with my 200mm dob earlier. It all looked promising so I put the scope out. About 30 minutes later I popped out hoping for some observing only to find a 100% clouded out sky. No change after another 20 mins so back in it all came. It is a frustrating hobby at times 🤨

Keeps you fit though 🏋️‍

Edited November 21, 2023 by Moonshed

[Mr Spock]

Well that's frustrating. I can see the moon but it's through a mackerel sky. No chance of any observing 

[Ed in UK]

Same here, checked four times already.

Looks like a beer may be in order.....

[Ags]

It was clear until 9pm here, but I had commitments until then and all I could do was put out the scope to cool. When I finally got outside the sky was clouding, and I had 5 minutes on Jupiter before the view was completely lost. It looked really clear and stable but I didn't really have a chance to figure out what I was seeing.

[John]

Not too bad here at the moment. Some thin cloud layers building up though.

Making the most of "now" with the 100mm refractor observing the final part of Europa's transit of Jupiter with it's shadow following on behind. Very steady seeing currently with 200+ still showing well defined jovian surface detail, for a change.

Very interesting feature in the North Equatorial Belt to the N of Europa's shadow currently. It seems to be a pale diagonal "slash" through the NEB. 

Good stuff, for now 🙂

Edited November 21, 2023 by John

[scotty1]

01.00 GMT

I didn't actually see this , as I was looking north at the time. But the camera picked up either a satellite flare, or possibly a northern Taurid. It looks white, usually meteors leave green or orange in the trails. 

13s ISO 1600 f3.5

Edited November 22, 2023 by scotty1

[Ed in UK]

About 10:15pm I had a look at the Aurora App which had gone to yellow/amber , so just out of curiosity I took a peak out side to find a large break in the clouds. Nothing seen for the Aurora (checked with a quick photo of the sky) but Jupiter was visable along with Orion's Belt. Anything with a magnitude greater than +2 wasn't visible. Moon was out but it all looked pretty hazy but decided to give it ago.

Scope out and onto Jupiter by 10:30pm. Practised focusing on the planet to try and see more detail. I got down to my 8mm (x112) but it was all starting to go a bit hazy in the EP. I'm assuming this was due more to the cloud than my inexperience. 

I did notice that Io seemed to slowly disappear behind Jupiter, so I'm guessing that I saw my first Occulation of a Galilean Moon ???. Stand to be corrected on that one.

All in all a surprising and unexpected interesting 40 mins at the eyepiece 🙂.

[Bugdozer]

The moon!

These are some quick snaps through the eyepiece. 

I got a few with my DSLR which I will need to process, but I was assaulted by clouds and had to give up. These pics here are also taken through thin cloud. The air was a little turbulent but the lighting was great to see some wrinkles at the entrance of Sinus Iridum. It's one of my favourite parts of the moon and this phase shows it well. Copernicus and Plato looked spectacular too, these pictures are poor compared to the view with my eyes. It's been about a month since I last had a chance to view the moon so it was great to have even a small gap in the clouds. 

[Franklin]

On 19/11/2023 at 23:58, John said:

Just got to tidy up now !

 

I hope there aren't any toast crumbs from breakfast on that table-cloth!

[John]

Loads of clouds around this evening but enough clear patches to get some nice views of Saturn with my newly acquired Skywatcher 200P dobsonian. 240x is a sweet spot tonight - very sharp and contrasty 😀

Also had a brief look at the moon. Gassendi looks magnificent very close to the terminator. So much jumbled terrain across it's interior floor !

The "milk carton washer" mod seems to have worked wonders with the azimuth motion. Small nudges at high magnification are much easier to control.

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by John

[Mr Spock]

I have no idea where you are getting these clear skies from! Cloudy and windy here (again). Looks clear for tomorrow though 

[globular]

Wind here is gusting at 30mph and there is near horizonal rain. I really must look into moving to the Somerset area 🤔

[Stu]

16 minutes ago, globular said:

Wind here is gusting at 30mph and there is near horizonal rain. I really must look into moving to the Somerset area 🤔

Make that North Somerset! Clear here, but seeing is pretty bad unfortunately.

[globular]

1 minute ago, Stu said:

Make that North Somerset! Clear here, but seeing is pretty bad unfortunately.

I can't even see the seeing here - so any old Somerset will do 🌧️

[IB20]

Howling outside but clear so time for binoculars. The 15x Opticron Oregons really surprising on the moon. Don't see much CA at all for £89 bins! Some wonderful bead effects at the terminator and Mare Imbrium a real standout, all maria in fact really popping out, even naked eye.

Doesn't matter how many times I view the Pleiades they always stop me in my tracks when I see them. Such a wonderful binocular target.

[Mr Spock]

The low cloud has gone leaving a thin layer of high. So the 4" is out cooling. I'm going to need several coats though as the wind is bitter.

[Mr Spock]

Sigh, seeing is absolute pants. A basic fuzziness underneath waves of blurriness - typical jetstream stuff. I'm barely getting a view at x148 

[Franklin]

Clear here earlier but the seeing was all over the place, had 1/2hr on Luna and Jove, blowing a freezing cold gale, not the best of conditions really.  

[John]

It's all very opportunistic here. I've just had 10 minutes of Jupiter during a clear patch. 150x was about all I could use - the seeing seems not so good as earlier. I could see a few cloud belts plus the red spot and that was about it. Solid cloud again but the scope is still out, undercover but cooled. 

The clouds are fast moving so things change quite rapidly. Luckily an 8 inch dob can be moved around quite fast !

 

 

[Alan White]

I have had a short and chilly cloud dodging session tonight.
All a bit time constarined too as I am on Taxi duty for Mrs W tonight.

But a Jupiter, Pleiades, some doubles and Lunar managed.
Try out of the new to me DeLites 13 and 7 and my old and trusty 32mm TV Plossl.

All with the ED103 Vixen on my AZ75, lovelly and easy session and greatly pleased to get out tonight.