What did you see tonight?

[Alan White]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Moon now clear of the conifers and looking really good. I'm "cruising" at 343x just now taking in various sights. The lava-filled crater Wargentin close to the larger Schickard is well illuminated tonight. The crater floor looks clearly higher than the surrounding landscape and there is a subtle raised "Y" shaped ridge-type feature (Charles  A Wood calls it a birds foot) extending across almost from rim to rim.

 

You are in luck John,
your conditions must be far better than I fared,
enjoy.  🙂

 

[John]

4 minutes ago, Alan White said:

You are in luck John,
your conditions must be far better than I fared,
enjoy.  🙂

 

I think the east of the UK might have been more affected by the Jetstream tonight ?

I hope you enjoyed what you saw all the same Alan 👍

[Ratlet]

The hazy clouds surprisingly did one tonight and left after about 20 minutes.  Against tradition I decided to whip out Turn Left At Orion and actually try and figure out what I was looking at.  Picked the incredibly white crater Aristarchus out towards the limb.  Managed to push the SVBony 3-8mm to 5mm (x250) where the seeing would sporadically allow it to reveal additional detail.  There raised central portion was clearly lit and contrasted against the slightly darker floor.  The illumintated far wall showed variations of light and dark vertical banding.  Herodotus is somewhat less impressive and looked more like a depression than a crater proper.  There is a diamond area projecting west from the crater which is noticably different in shade than the surrounding area, appearing less 'blue' and slightly warmer.

By good luck @Mike Q linked a S@N article on observing colour on the moon and I decided to track it down.  It turned out to be... Aristarchus.  

[Zermelo]

Just got in after a surprisingly good three hours with the Mak 127 (surprising, because of the big bright thing).

The forecasts all featured some cloud, but I didn't see any, perhaps just a little high haze. The seeing was noticeably improved on last night, though it did seem to deteriorate a little at the end.

I started off on Venus, just because I've bought an ADC and wanted to try it out (it worked, though I couldn't see any detail on the disc). From then on it was doubles all the way (and 12 Lyncis for a triple). The colours in 24 Comae Berenices and 35 Sextantis  held up well in the glare. HR 1669 at 1.6" was the tightest split.

The Svbony 3 - 8mm zoom performed well again, only marginally surpassed by the 6.5mm and 9mm Morpheus.

I did finish with the moon, though it was a bit wobbly by then. There was a nice crater on the terminator with the central peak illuminated, my atlas suggests it was Lagrange T.

 

[Stardaze]

I’ve been struggling to find an ideal opportunity most of the year, but with being off all this week and noting that the moon cycle isn’t ideal, I opted for a small session of open clusters. The mending moon made it tough seeing many of the targets in the finder scope but knowing most of the popular targets, I found my way around the Auriga clusters, double cluster, M35, Collinder 89 etc. I did spend some time too observing Venus and Mars, just thoroughly enjoyed a little time panning around. 

[paulastro]

March 3rd, 10.50pm to 11.55pm. Celestron 8inch Starsense Explorer Dob.

Seeing not the best, some haze and bright Moon.  Spent the first 20mts or so on  the Moon - binoviewer and Orthos, x200.  Bailly (the largest crater on the nearside, diam 188 miles) nicely placed on the S limb, always east to locate with the three craters Kircher, Bettinus and Zucchius in  a shallow arc to the N of Bailly's N limb. Bailly mostly in shadow apart from parts of the N limb and part of the rim of Bailly B in the interior.

Schickard well illuminated showing lots of interior detail. Paused to look at Wargentin adjoing Schickard which is filled to the rim with larva, it always reminds me of a flan or cheese cake with its smooth surface under the right illumination.

Despite the bright 95% illuminated Moon, I couldn't resist looking at some open clusters and globulars which still look very good in a 6 inch or larger scope.  I used the Morpheus 17.5mm (×68, 1.1deg) for these obs.

OCs observed were, M37, M36, M38, Double Cluster, NGC457 ET/Owl Cluster, Collinder 463 in Cas, M103, M35, M44 and M67.

Globulars M13 and M92.

Some fine views with the Morpheus with sharp stars across the 76 deg field and very contrasty. Objects further from the Moon clearly less affected by its influence. A very enjoyable session.

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by paulastro
Typo

[bosun21]

 

A quick half hour trying out my new (to me) Vixen Apex 10x50’s courtesy of @Franklin. Really pleased with the clarity and sharpness of them, not to mention how light they are. The moon was my first target and to acquire focus. It was nice and sharp and a pleasant view. With the sky more or less washed out from the moon I was severely limited in my choice of targets . I caught a quick look at the Pinwheel cluster and the Starfish cluster before they dropped below the horizon or got too low to view. As I didn’t bring my tripod out with me I didn’t try to spend any significant time on any target. Just a quick look to try out my new binoculars. Why is it that the first few clear nights we get in ages have to be washed out by an almost full moon?. I’m still waiting for a dark clear night to give my 12” dobsonian it’s proper first light. Oh well, time to put the kettle on I suppose.

[Telescope40]

Or should I say at 3.30 pm - VENUS for the Very First Time in full daylight !!!!!!!!!   Absolutely bonkers to be quite honest. Great view too. Got some hints of clouds. Much better than the bright orb we all usually get once Le Sol has set. 

Actually started out as a Solar session as I'd decided against a bike ride. Got the tripod nice and level for my AZ100 and did the normal set up process.  After a good half hour on the sun, suddenly thort why not give the mount a shot at finding Venus. 30mm EP in place.  Very thin high cloud bobbing about. Set up Venus as next target and hit the GoTo button - BINGO. 

Felt very very  Odd. Able to play around with EP's and Binoviewers without fumbling about in the dark.  Talk about a complete revelation.  

Unable to try Jupiter and Mercury as time had passed and cloud was forming for my western horizon but will give it another go when I can. 

John is now grinning from ear to ear. 😀😀😀

Edited April 4, 2023 by Telescope40

[Epick Crom]

6 hours ago, Telescope40 said:

Or should I say at 3.30 pm - VENUS for the Very First Time in full daylight !!!!!!!!!   Absolutely bonkers to be quite honest. Great view too. Got some hints of clouds. Much better than the bright orb we all usually get once Le Sol has set. 

Actually started out as a Solar session as I'd decided against a bike ride. Got the tripod nice and level for my AZ100 and did the normal set up process.  After a good half hour on the sun, suddenly thort why not give the mount a shot at finding Venus. 30mm EP in place.  Very thin high cloud bobbing about. Set up Venus as next target and hit the GoTo button - BINGO. 

Felt very very  Odd. Able to play around with EP's and Binoviewers without fumbling about in the dark.  Talk about a complete revelation.  

Unable to try Jupiter and Mercury as time had passed and cloud was forming for my western horizon but will give it another go when I can. 

John is now grinning from ear to ear. 😀😀😀

Nice one👍. Yes, it's a revelation observing Venus in broad daylight against a bright blue sky!

[Guest]

I went outside to check out the situation.... you guessed it.... Clouds.  Well this is Ohio in April. 

[Ags]

Looking at the full Moon with my family on a hazy night. My granddaughter wins the internet with this handheld afocal snap of Luna.

They're obviously teaching the kids well in Photography GCSE.

[Ratlet]

27 minutes ago, Ags said:

Looking at the full Moon with my family on a hazy night. My granddaughter wins the internet with this handheld afocal snap of Luna.

They're obviously teaching the kids well in Photography GCSE.

That's a fantastic shot.  Miles better than my feeble attempts!

[Captain Scarlet]

I had a good look at Mercury tonight, naked eye, through my Kowa 88mm spotting scope with 20-60 zoom, then put in my DeLite 3 to give me 170x. There was atmos CA, but the phase was obvious and it’s the highest mag I think I’ve ever managed to get on it.

[Pixies]

Just now, Captain Scarlet said:

I had a good look at Mercury tonight, naked eye, through my Kowa 88mm spotting scope with 20-60 zoom, then put in my DeLite 3 to give me 170x. There was atmos CA, but the phase was obvious and it’s the highest mag I think I’ve ever managed to get on it.

Caught it in binos earlier this evening. Later, when I was out walking the dog on the beach, I managed to see it naked eye for the first time ever!

It's too low to observe from the garden with a scope but I was showing the kids Venus. However, the seeing over the local rooftops at that time of the evening was pretty bad. Could easily make out the gibbous phase, though.

[Neil_104]

Couldn't see Mercury myself but did have a look at Venus and also took a tour round Cancer with my 60mm refractor. M44 very nice in the ES68/24mm, filled the view. M67 very faint in the same EP but could just make it out. Bumping up the magnification (to a whopping 51x!) with my 7mm DeLite made it more clear but still faint. Double star Iota Cancri looked great with the 12.5mm Morph, really strong colours of golden yellow for the primary and light blue for the secondary. Just can't beat the sharp focus and clarity of a refractor for doubles 🙂

Also took advantage of the Moon to do some maintenance on my C6 and calibrate it a little better, that scope is becoming mainly used for imaging these days and I'm trying to get rid of some slight coma stars that show in just one corner....we shall see the next time I do some imaging! M88 is next on my list.

[bosun21]

An unexpected clear night so back out for a quick session as I have to go out at 10.30pm. Started out with Castor to acquire good focus on the double. Then I dropped down to the Beehive cluster (M44) which I spent a little time with taking it in. I started with a 30mm then changed to the 17.5mm Morpheus. Then down slightly to M67 again using the same pair of eyepieces. Quite pleasing views that weren’t completely washed out due to the moon still being relatively low. I now slewed eastward to M13 and M92. I now used the 9mm Morpheus for both of these globular. The cores were nice and bright but the outer stars were being subdued by the moonlight again. Now to the North and Caroline’s Rose(NGC7789) with the 17.5 & 12.5mm Morpheus. This is a losing battle with the moon in the sky. I decided to finish with Mars and M35. I viewed Mars with a 6.5mm Morpheus barlowed 2.25x for 247x. I pulled the large hood on my jacket over the eyepiece to eliminate every vestige of light and sat down to spend time with Mars. It’s diminishing in size now and this will probably be the last time of viewing it until it comes back around. As my eyes adjusted I could just make out some albedo features. I tried upping the magnification but the seeing just wasn’t up to it tonight. I have to forget about M35 as I have spent too much time on Mars and have to get ready to go out. Any unexpected clear night is surely a bonus, and if you can grab it. 

[Ratlet]

Much like @bosun21 we had an unexpected bout of clear sky.  I must have not crossed the cloud threshold with the setting circles.  So I took them out and tested them out.

Initial calibration on Polaris easy split with the 16mm Nirvana (x78).  M81 and M82 for a first and unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen.  Woops.  SkySafari was still set for August 2031 (I was checking how Saturn's position changed in the sky each year).  Anyway, sorted it out and whilst they didn't look good due to the moon, they were both more or less in the FOV.  Good Start.  Tried for M51 and whilst there was something there it was incredibly faint against the sky glow.  The Cat's Eye Nebula was up next with the 12mm BST (x104) and UHC filter.  This put up a much better fight against the moon light and was quite bright in averted vision.  I'd say it wasn't quite circular, more light a pinched square ish shape.  M3 was bogging and M65/M66 were visible with averted imagination.

Wrapped up with a couple doubles and got Zeta Cancri (16mm) and Algeiba(12mm) and the Eskimo Nebula.  I'd been at it for 2 hours somehow so decided to call it with that.

All in all a good night.  The setting circles and inclinometer is basically everything I thought goto would be.  The only slight downside is that I have to walk round to the marker to line it up.  Objects were always in the FOV of the 30mm and more often than not in the FOV of the 16mm.  Highly recommended.

[bosun21]

6 hours ago, Ratlet said:

M3 was bogging and M65/M66 were visible with averted imagination.

You will have to teach me how to employ this new skill you’ve acquired 😂

[AstroNebulee]

Last night I took a short walk to the end of my village and over a few fields to set up to catch a glimpse of Mercury as the horizon looks right out to the west and the sea. 

I took my SM90 on the AZ5 and setup up. Using the fist at arms length being 10 degrees, I put 2 together and lined up with Venus and manged to find Mercury at the 5 o'clock position 20 degree's down from Venus. 

It was very murky down where Mercury was and a fair bit of atmospheric CA. I did mange to spot it and captured a few avi files with it to as I took my laptop with me & x2 Barlow with zwo asi120mc-s. I wanted to get something sd who knows what the weather will be like when Mercury is at its highest. 

It was wonderful to see both the inner planets together and Mercury was naked eye just. Everything became very dewy by the end of the 2 hours session. 

Hers the smartphone shot of the paring and set up. 

Lee

[Pixies]

As I mentioned earlier, I had the scope set up to observe Venus yesterday evening. I don't often observe to the west from the back garden, due to light pollution from the city, houses and a tree. I had to set up the Vixen 105 in a spot with restricted views to other parts of the sky. So once everyone had settled down and the lights were off, I went back out to see what I could find in a patch of sky due west up to the zenith. The full moon was coming up, so I  thought I'd try some doubles. I had no plans.

Theta Aurigae first. I can often find the B star in my dob if the seeing is OK. I have less luck with the refractor and it was quite low and over the city by the time I was observing. However, I found it at 100x - it was popping in and out of view but I was taking that to mean the general seeing conditions were pretty good otherwise. I spent some time trying to find the open clusters in Auriga but it was no good, just too low and too much light pollution.

Mars. I thought I'd give it a shot but it was just boiling away by then. The phase was obvious and at times I thought I might have caught some darker patches.

Castor - nice and easy as always.

I contemplated Lynx and had a quick look in SkySafari. Is there anything interesting and observable in Lynx? I couldn't find anything. Note - this morning I did a quick search and found 12 Lyncis (Struve 948) which sounds quite interesting. Maybe next time!

Then I had a flash-back about a post from a few years ago where @Johnmentioned the "bear's paws". I had a quick check in SS and there were a few contenders - Nu and Xi Ursa Majoris (Alula Borealis and Alula Australis) at the back paws, and also Iota Ursa Majoris (Talitha) at the front. I wasn't going to stop to search SGL for the post, so just decided to go with these 3. (Note: the post was about the first 2, not Talitha)

Alula Australis was quite easy at 83x and the seeing was reasonable close to the zenith. Both yellow.

Alula Borealis was a much trickier customer with a greater separation but with and big magnitude difference of +3.49 and +10.10. I couldn't find the B star at first but decided to persevere. I didn't look up the angle of the companion, so I had to rely on observing it myself. Eventually, after many eyepiece swaps I found a tiny faint star nearby. I stopped the mount to confirm west (8 o'clock in the eyepiece). The faint star was at 4 o'clock: South East in the star diagonal. A quick check of SS showed 145° - so I had found it. 166x was the best magnification.

I then went on to Talitha, with an apparent separation of 2.3 arcseconds and magnitudes of +3.14 and +9.2. Nope - Nada. I spent about 45 minutes fruitlessly trying to find the secondary. Is it possible? I might try the dob on it another night.

 

[Zermelo]

3 hours ago, Pixies said:

Is there anything interesting and observable in Lynx? I couldn't find anything. Note - this morning I did a quick search and found 12 Lyncis (Struve 948) which sounds quite interesting. Maybe next time!

Certainly make a date with 12 Lyncis, it's one of my favourites. Separating C from AB is easy, and AB (2.0") itself splits in decent conditions too.

Lynx is actually quite good for doubles; aside from 12 Lyn, there are: 19 Lyn (14.8"), 20 Lyn (14.9"), 38 Lyn (2.6"), HR 2644 (4.3"), HR 2486 (4.5"), HR 3686 (1.9") and HR 3701 (1.0"), all accessible with a small scope. And Lynx is nice and high for us at the moment.

[Zermelo]

Last night (I'm running a bit behind) I had the Mak 127 out again.

I started with some open clusters in the southwest, before the rising moon got too annoying: M35, M37, NGC 2281, NGC 1647, NGC 1746. None were at their best, in the "hole" between twighlight and moon, but pleasant enough.
And then 14 doubles in the Gemini/Cancer/Lynx area, though seeing was average at best, with the jet stream above the South West, and I think there was also some variable high mist to contend with.

I finished by swapping the Mak for my old Bresser 70/700 Skylux, which has been languishing, unloved, in the study. It was not at all bad with a decent eyepiece, though the 14mm Morph did look a bit out of place.

It looks like tonight will be better here, as the jet stream has moved away (if it's clear, that is - at the moment, CO is doing its usual last-minute flip between "best night ever" and "we're all doooomed").

 

[AstroNebulee]

Had a really enjoyable observing session tonight only a couple of hours with the ST80 on AZ5 and helios 7.2-21.5mm zoom lens. Hunting some doubles via sky safari in the Cambridge double star observing list. 

There was a lot of high cloud that kept coming in patches and waves that prevented the better seeing but still managed some doubles. I will attach a screenshot of the targets observed tonight as I'm to lazy to type it out and some long names. Yep sone of the doubles are easy but it was a nice start to tick them off for me. 

Iota Cancri was the pick of the bunch, a beautiful golden and blue double, such contrast and a real jewel of the night sky. 

I could see the moon was beginning to rise so I hunted down M51 and was so chuffed to see it. Albeit a slight smudge with averted vision but it was there. I zoomed in a bit and with averted vision again could make out the cores just, with these being slightly brighter areas in the smudge of M51. This finished off a lovely starter session for me. 

Lee

Edited April 8, 2023 by AstroNebulee

[Les Ewan]

It was a great evening for doubles with almost pristine  separations not the usual looking through a bubbling blob! I think the high pressure and the low radiation rate from the ground helped (the temperature at around 2C).

My targets were Tegmine,Castor,Algieba,Porrima and Izar. I used my old trusty 20mm Kellner and a X2 Barlow for the observations, giving a power of 180X on my Skywatcher 400P. Then as predicted low cloud extended off the North Sea around 23:15. 

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, AstroNebulee said:

I hunted down M51 and was so chuffed to see it

M51 in an ST80 with a near full moon is a good bag