What did you see tonight?

[John]

Clouded out again tonight and it looks to stay that way for the next week as far as I can see.

What we call a "lean patch" I guess

 

[Mr Spock]

I should add I finished off the night with a look at Almach. I just couldn't resist 😜

[Ags]

I was out tonight playing with my new camera, but I did enjoy Orion and Gemini rising. M42 was washed out and almost invisible in the finder scope, but I did enjoy a color EEA view of the nebula on my laptop screen - not sure that counts?

[SuburbanMak]

A very quick peek with a Prinz 330 60mm f11.8 at a low crescent Venus, tiny Saturn  & Jupiter +3 moons & main equatorial bands showing - all at 71x with a 10mm BCO. Seeing was OK considering the low angles

Enjoyed the full moon in a TV 15mm Plossl at 48x hunting for detail around the edges until clouded out after about half an hour in total, still, nice to get out! 

 

[Franklin]

Clear days, cloudy nights and foggy mornings. Merry xmas!

[F15Rules]

6 hours ago, Franklin said:

Clear days, cloudy nights and foggy mornings. Merry xmas!

You've got to laugh, Tim, otherwise we'd just cry!!😢😭🤪😂

Dave

[Franklin]

I'm begining to think it's just one big black cloud following me around!

But on the brightside, I've an SD81S arriving before xmas which should give the FS78 a bit of competition I reckon.

That is when I can eventually get them out for a side by side shootout👍.

[F15Rules]

4 minutes ago, Franklin said:

I'm begining to think it's just one big black cloud following me around!

But on the brightside, I've an SD81S arriving before xmas which should give the FS78 a bit of competition I reckon.

That is when I can eventually get them out for a side by side shootout👍.

Now that will be an interesting comparison..

I've owned two ED103s (virtually identical to the current SD103s) and both were optically superb. I only let my last one go when I had the chance to acquire my FS128.

Lots of first light details and photos asap, please😊!

Dave

[Alan White]

I saw some amazing sight last night, 
The nebula, the doubles and so much more, it was stunning.
Sadly I then woke up and realised I am now dreaming Astronomy,
No surprise really as I am not able to see through the Fog and Cloud.
 

[John]

Actually had some clearish sky for a short while here so managed to get the 130mm refractor out and cooled in time to see Jupiter and Neptune. It's mostly cloudy again now although it's thinnish stuff so I've left the scope out for now in case another clear patch comes along.

 

[HollyHound]

36 minutes ago, John said:

Actually had some clearish sky for a short while here so managed to get the 130mm refractor out and cooled in time to see Jupiter and Neptune.

Same here, had 45mins with both the FC-76 and FS-60Q on Jupiter and a bit of general stargazing... first time in over a week 👍

[John]

1 hour ago, John said:

Actually had some clearish sky for a short while here so managed to get the 130mm refractor out and cooled in time to see Jupiter and Neptune. It's mostly cloudy again now although it's thinnish stuff so I've left the scope out for now in case another clear patch comes along.

 

Too cloudy now for observing.

Just to prove that it was better earlier - snapped with my mobile at the eyepiece. Colours inverted for fun

 

[Kon]

Managed 30min with the moon, better than nothing considering the cloud we had the past few weeks. Despite the light haze the moon did not look too bad.

[cajen2]

2 hours ago, John said:

Actually had some clearish sky for a short while here so managed to get the 130mm refractor out and cooled in time to see Jupiter and Neptune. It's mostly cloudy again now although it's thinnish stuff so I've left the scope out for now in case another clear patch comes along.

 

Exactly the same experience. "Ooh, the sky's quite clear." Rushed out with the dob, quick alignment on Jupiter, then left it to cool down and grab some dinner. No prizes for guessing....yep, back to 10/10ths cloud.

[ONIKKINEN]

Had a quick look at the 93% Moon with my new Pentax XW10 tonight. Nicely fills most of the field of view and is very sharp everywhere. Really center to edge good stuff 👍. Works well with my VX8 reduced to F4.2.

Unfortunately, also saw my secondary mirror. I guess its really not that surprising on a blindingly bright almost full Moon. Not terrible but maybe slightly annoying at first. Maybe try a ND Moon filter next time?

[Nik271]

It was misty last night but excellent seeing for double stars higher up. I pushed the magnification to x350 and the stars were still stable airy discs. Managed to split 7 Tauri, a personal best for me at separation .7'' 🙂 I'll write a short report with more details in the double star section.

[badhex]

Had another quick run with the 102ED F7 and Pentax XW 10mm but was still foiled by a lack of roof access, and it turned out to be somewhat hazier than I first thought. That said I figured the moon might be a good shout, and using an ND4 to help the contrast a bit, I spent quite a while poking around near Grimaldi and Byrgius.

There were 3 or 4 bright impact sites between the two in a sort of squaroid and a few small, dark circular patches which caught my eye. I don't know the names of any of these features (I'm rubbish at lunography, if there is such a thing), so as I'm now off work for a bit I will consult my lunar atlas and figure out what I was looking at. 

Eventually the haze spoilt my fun so I packed up for the night, but not before taking a couple of beauty shots! 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Just now, out moving the wheelie bin to the bottom of the drive, the sky was unexpectedly clear...

My neighbour was skulking in the shadows near his back gate and we stopped to chat. After a couple of minutes he's looking at me curiously as I'm looking over him at the south west sky.

"Sorry Dave, a fantastic meteor just appeared over your head!"

Very nice it was too, a green streak breaking into two sparkly puffs like a firework.

 

[IB20]

Mizzle and rain all day yet I’ve just popped out to deliver some cards and it’s clear! 4 cans deep though so the scopes will stay safely tucked away for now.

Naked eye spotting of Ursa Major, Jupiter and a weirdly, confusing Cassiopeia at near zenith, M45 and Betelgeuse peeping over the rooftops.

Possibly would've had a crack at 19P/Borrelly had I not started down the path to regret. 

[Kon]

I managed a cheeky little session before clouds rolled it; M42 look good but the transparency was not great and the nebulosity was ok, mostly the wings. Pleiades were next with some nice nebulosity and finally the Persei double cluster in the same FOV in my ES 24mm 68 degree EP. I am not complaining, or maybe a little bit, but I dislike these sort 15-10min sessions since it is nearly impossible to try find new things without racing against the incoming clouds.

[Franklin]

2 hours ago, IB20 said:

4 cans deep though so the scopes will stay safely tucked away for now

Good call.👍 Man arrested, found drunk in charge of telescope!😀

First brief clear spell in ages here. Got the SD81 out coupled with the 24pan. Lovely crisp view of M42, nebulosity boosted with a Baader UHC-S. Very pleased with the inside/outside focus on this new Vixen. Switched to the MkIV zoom, Trapezium an easy split (4stars).

[IB20]

5 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Good call.👍 Man arrested, found drunk in charge of telescope!😀

First brief clear spell in ages here. Got the SD81 out coupled with the 24pan. Lovely crisp view of M42, nebulosity boosted with a Baader UHC-S. Very pleased with the inside/outside focus on this new Vixen. Switched to the MkIV zoom, Trapezium an easy split (4stars).

The first telescope I looked at buying was the SD81s, looks a wonderful scope. I hope to look through one some day. 

[Franklin]

5 minutes ago, IB20 said:

The first telescope I looked at buying was the SD81s, looks a wonderful scope. I hope to look through one some day

It seems very smart and at a slight discount from Europe. I think it is going to give my FS78 some serious competition. Sits on the AP mount like it was made for it. But now I've got the difficult decision on which one to keep.🙄

[JDF]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

Good call.👍 Man arrested, found drunk in charge of telescope!😀

First brief clear spell in ages here. Got the SD81 out coupled with the 24pan. Lovely crisp view of M42, nebulosity boosted with a Baader UHC-S. Very pleased with the inside/outside focus on this new Vixen. Switched to the MkIV zoom, Trapezium an easy split (4stars).

Same for me, first time looking at Orion with the mak 127 and 32 plossl. I wasn't even sure i was on it until I spotted the trapezium, I thought I was only interested in the moon and planets, not so sure now 😀

[Franklin]

8 hours ago, JDF said:

I thought I was only interested in the moon and planets, not so sure now 

The Moon is always a fantastic sight through any telescope and the Planets come and go, some years are better than others, but the Deep Sky objects are always there. They come around at the same time, in the same place, year after year. Asterisms, Star clusters, Globular clusters, Planetary Nebulae, Emission Nebulae, Galaxies, Double Stars and Variable Stars. You could spend your entire lifetime stargazing and only see a small fraction of what's up there. Moonless dark skies are the best, if you can see the Milkyway with your naked eye, you know it's going to be a good session.😀

Edited December 24, 2021 by Franklin
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