What did you see tonight?

[Telescope40]

Last  nights session. Time for an update guys.  First light has just taken place with my new to me Tak 128.
Had a chance earlier in the week as was clear but a tad on the windy side -  I stayed put. 

Clear tonight with minimal wind.  Gas giants as targets.  Set up. Had already aligned the Tak focuser and all was well. Right in the crosshairs. 

Saturn. Cyclops to start.  Sharp sharp sharp. Slowly increased mag from my 19 Pan x54, up thru the gears and ended up with my ES 8.8 in a Tal 2 barlow at x236.  Stunned how well the image was especially in the real steady moments.  Brightness I hadn't come across either.  Very happy with the focuser. Seems to snap into focus very nicely.  Prob ably best mag was with ES 11mm with the barlow - 188x

Switched to my Baader Maxbright II binoviewers.  I've have 3 sets of EP's.   25 /15 / 11 mm.   The views went up another notch or 3.  Must have been viewing somewhere in the mid 200X's by the time I'd done. I've never exactly calculated for sure.   The Maxbrights are great. The scope will let me binoview - I've just nicely got enough in focus. Use x 1.6 corrector.  The individual eyepiece adjusters just help to get that critical focus.  Saturn was giving up a couple of cloud bands and Cassini was clear.  

OK.  Jupiter time.  Same process. Cyclops first then get the BV's fired up.  Detail I don't think I've ever seen.  Even thought I could make out the sizes of the moons - Ganymede maybe just giving me a hint of an orb.  Need to try again on that one.  GRS not far from mid transit. 

Helping with the view with my Rowan was that Jupe was only slowly tracking across my field of view -getting a good look for a nice 40-50 seconds at atime.  

Some light cloud has started to roll in and work in the morning so in we come. 

Anyway suffice to say the scope is all I wished on this first light.  Many more to come.  May invest in a slightly more powerful glass path corrector.  Gives me even more options. 

Thanks for reading if you have.    John

[allworlds]

Mars for me. I felt the conditions were handling 200x (15mm Plossl and 2x Barlow in ETX105) but the planet showed a clear phase but I never saw any definite surface features. Some maybe-it’s-real maybe-not sort of things but nothing certain. I tried all my (rubbish) filters to no real success.

[Davesellars]

Lots of cloud but using the 102ED and binoviewers got to see Jupiter and Mars.  Seeing seemed exceptionally steady.  Mars a reasonably sized disc now and lots of surface detail really standing out.

[Ratlet]

Lashing with rain but clearedd up just before midnight.  Tried to test out my 135mm lens but I can't get focus.  Will need to see if I can change the infinity stop as I'm not buying more spacers.  Swiftly gave up imaging and went on to do some visual.

I'm pretty garbage at star hoping so decided to try and hunt down Uranus with the 130PDS.  Took me a lifetime starting from M45 and I could feel my soul leave my body a couple time using Stellarium when it decided to swap to pointing mode on my phone but got there in the end.  Probably wishful thinking but I would say it had a very cool green/blue colour.

Next up was M31.  I think of all the things I've looked at so far M31 is the one that is giving me aperture fever.  I want to see some detail.  I managed to find my sketching head torch and the red light is incredibly feeble so I think it helped me pull out a bit more detail by not blowing my dark adaption.  I managed to see M101 and M32 too which was a nice bonus.

I finished off with a quick look at M42, but not a sketch.  I think I'd have been out for another hour if I did.  What a difference a day makes!  I think the seeing was much better tonight.  I'm confident I could make out 3 members of the Trapezium  in my 32mm plossl and there was hints of texture in the nebulosity.  M43 also presented much more nebulosity than last night.  Looking forward to later in the season when I don't have to stay up to stupid oclock to see it!

Edited October 30, 2022 by Ratlet

[PeterC65]

My first visual session for a while (I’ve been trialling EEVA). I was mainly aiming at observing the planets with the Skymax 127 but the cloud rolling in and out made it rather frustrating, as did next doors new outside light.

I started with Mars. Still just a bright disc, more red at one end and more blue / white at the other, but no detail. I tried the ES82 8.8mm, 6.7mm and 4.7mm. The 4.7mm was way too much magnification and the 8.8mm was probably best. I tried the binoviewer with the x2.25 Barlow but it didn’t improve things and it was hard to merge the images with just a small target and no surface detail. The colour filters didn’t help.

Most of the session was spent observing Jupiter (Saturn was unfortunately hidden by trees). Some nice views with the north and south cloud bands clearly visible as well as the four major moons, Europa on one side, Io and Ganymede close together on the other side, and Callisto much further out. The GRS was not on display unfortunately.

I tried the ES82 14mm, 8.8mm and 6.7mm. All were good. I could see most detail with the 6.7mm but it was wobbly and there were eye floaters. The 14mm gave the cleanest view but just that bit smaller. The ES82 6.7mm showed more detail than the BCO 6mm, was easier on the eye and gave a much wider field of view. With the BCO 6mm the cloud bands were noticeably less clear. Probably the best view was with the binoviewer and x2.25 Barlow. The blue filter brought out the cloud bands a little, the yellow filter made little difference and the orange filter made the planet too dark.

The clouds looked like they might be clearing by this point, so I did a mount alignment with Aldebaran and Polaris and tried for M33. Still I could not see / find it. There are no obvious star patterns near to it and checking Stellarium back in the house is a pain. With EEVA I have never failed to find M33 and see it clearly.

Having failed with M33 I decided to go for an easy to find / see cluster, NGC 869 / NGC 884 Double Cluster. The mount found these easily and both clusters could be seen together, just, with the ES68 24mm. A nice target for the Skymax 127 and a nice view with plenty of individual stars visible.

M31 / M32 / M110 is another obvious target and after seeing some wonderful views of these galaxies with EEVA I decided to check out the visual view again. While the Skymax 127 is too narrow field for M31, the view has always been better visually with this scope than with the Photoline 72. I could see the centre of M31 easily, but it was just a bright smudge and much smaller than the full extent of the galaxy, perhaps only 0.1° compared with the 3.5° that is its full extent. M32 was clearly visible on the edge of the field of view but I could not find / see M110 even after looking for it via Stellarium.

The session has reminded me what little can be seen visually compared to EEVA and how hard it is to be sure that I am pointing at a target without plate solving.

[Epick Crom]

Just came in from my observing session and I'm happy to say I just saw NGC 7662, the Blue Snowball planetary nebula in Andromeda for the first time. It took a lot of faffing around trying to position my little table correctly so I could place my 10 inch dob on it to give me more elevation to get above my neighbours roof which blocks my northern horizon. 

I starhopped from Scheat in Pegasus to Omicron Andromedae down below. From there I panned to 9 and 10 Andromedae with NGC 7662 near by. It just grazed over my neighbours rooftop but even then I could make out it's blue colour. As you guys would say, I'm very "chuffed" right now!

Joe

[RobertI]

38 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

M31 / M32 / M110 is another obvious target and after seeing some wonderful views of these galaxies with EEVA I decided to check out the visual view again. While the Skymax 127 is too narrow field for M31, the view has always been better visually with this scope than with the Photoline 72. I could see the centre of M31 easily, but it was just a bright smudge and much smaller than the full extent of the galaxy, perhaps only 0.1° compared with the 3.5° that is its full extent. M32 was clearly visible on the edge of the field of view but I could not find / see M110 even after looking for it via Stellarium.

The session has reminded me what little can be seen visually compared to EEVA and how hard it is to be sure that I am pointing at a target without plate solving.

Yes EAA is fabulous for galaxies - I tend to think of spring as my "EAA season"! It is amazing though what a dark sky can do to enhance galaxies visually - M33 was incredibly luminous from the dark skies of Kelling Heath one year.

[HollyHound]

5 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

The session has reminded me what little can be seen visually compared to EEVA and how hard it is to be sure that I am pointing at a target without plate solving

EEVA does sound like a real boon to observing DSOs 😀

However, bear in mind that you're using a Mak127 (5" obstructed aperture)... I still have mine, and it was the second scope I bought (after a Mak102)... I remember looking in awe at M42 through both these scopes, but being disappointed with M31. That changed when I got a 10" Bresser Dob... the increase in aperture does make a real difference in what and how you see these things (I first spotted Trapezium E and F clearly in this scope). Of course, visual will never compare to EEVA (or night vision), but definitely it is an area where an increase in aperture does pay dividends 😁

[Astro_Dad]

29/30th October 

StellaLyra 8” Dob, no GOTO or StarSense!

An excellent  late night/early morning observing session and opportunity to use my new Dob on some old and new targets, enjoying the fun of manual star hopping.

The focus was mainly deep sky, taking in:

M45, M52, The ET/Owl cluster, M103  M81, M82 and NGC1664. The latter cluster was of particular interest and well worth seeking out. I’ve posted a more detailed report here:

I finished the evening on the planets, with a lovely clear view of Jupiter and finally Mars at highish power (170x) where I was able to start to make out some surface shading. 

[Stu1smartcookie]

8 hours ago, Astro_Dad said:

29/30th October 

StellaLyra 8” Dob, no GOTO or StarSense!

An excellent  late night/early morning observing session and opportunity to use my new Dob on some old and new targets, enjoying the fun of manual star hopping.

The focus was mainly deep sky, taking in:

M45, M52, The ET/Owl cluster, M103  M81, M82 and NGC1664. The latter cluster was of particular interest and well worth seeking out. I’ve posted a more detailed report here:

I finished the evening on the planets, with a lovely clear view of Jupiter and finally Mars at highish power (170x) where I was able to start to make out some surface shading. 

Nice report , and pleased you were able to get out and use that Dob .

[Stu1smartcookie]

A great session and totally unexpectedly clear last night . Set up my laptop and QHY camera to view Jupiter , more practice needed there , so I switched to visual and had my best view of the planet .Later on I noticed the plaides rising and was out late enough to see mars rising over the house . And  I caught my first glimpse of Orion  low down in the east ,southeast . The "extra hour " makes all the difference with darkness coming earlier . Oh , forgot , had a nice sighting of Uranus , clearly showing its lovely colour and disc , just using a barlowed 25mm EP (162 x mag)

Not looking too good for the week ahead though 

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Stu1smartcookie

[starhiker]

Last night, I successfully found the dumbbell nebula and the ring nebula the first time! Took some time, but found them eventually.

I tried M31 on the dob for quite a while, but failed. The anchor stars at high positions are some sort of impossible to align using the finder, especially even the anchor stars are not super bright through the finder. I have to start from Jupiter and move up to Alpheratz and then move toward west to Mirach. But it is very easy to get lost through some almost empty space between them. I am now considering to add a Telrad or Rigel finder.

After I move my dob back in door, a peak on the sky before getting to bed found the Pleiades. It was exciting. It was my first time seeing Pleiades on naked eyes!

[Alan White]

8 minutes ago, starhiker said:

Last night, I successfully found the dumbbell nebula and the ring nebula the first time! Took some time, but found them eventually.

I tried M31 on the dob for quite a while, but failed. The anchor stars at high positions are some sort of impossible to align using the finder, especially even the anchor stars are not super bright through the finder. I have to start from Jupiter and move up to Alpheratz and then move toward west to Mirach. But it is very easy to get lost through some almost empty space between them. I am now considering to add a Telrad or Rigel finder.

After I move my dob back in door, a peak on the sky before getting to bed found the Pleiades. It was exciting. It was my first time seeing Pleiades on naked eyes!

Your post made me smile starhiker, wonderful when you track targets down for the first time.
Lots up above to find and see, many become old friends.
Thank you for sharing this.

[Pixies]

27 minutes ago, starhiker said:

I am now considering to add a Telrad or Rigel finder.

Yep - that'll be the game-changer. Even just a simple RDF will help get you on the starting star, then use the visual finder to star-hop to the target. Do you have a RACI finder, or is it a straight one? With a dob, the former makes it a lot easier on your brain/neck/back!

[starhiker]

52 minutes ago, Pixies said:

Yep - that'll be the game-changer. Even just a simple RDF will help get you on the starting star, then use the visual finder to star-hop to the target. Do you have a RACI finder, or is it a straight one? With a dob, the former makes it a lot easier on your brain/neck/back!

I have a RACI finder. I can imagine the difficulty without it as I already have to kneel down to have the initial aim.

[badhex]

Got out the Evostar 80ED for the first time in ages for a quick session on Sunday night along with the APM Superzoom. 

Targets observed were M35, M36, M37 - I also tried for M97 and M108 but with no luck. 

Wordy stuff here:

 

[IB20]

Getting pretty windy out there and the seeing is really poor. Nice to see the Martian phase though, some faint albedo marking on the disc and a brightening at the southern polar region. It’s only going to get better as opposition gets closer too and the seeing can’t be this bad again. 😅

[Kon]

Quick look at Orion this morning; majestic  nebulosity as always. The highlight was while I was imaging ISS it 'flew above' Mars; still too far to have both in the same frame. Not a bad way to start the day. I will be posting my ISS images in the imaging section later today but a quick snapshot below while on the train to work.

[Ratlet]

Pretty cloudy here last night but I could just about make out Jupiter.  Threw the 130pds at it at x80 and...

Surprisingly good view, at least whilst the clouds were whispy. Could make out quite a bit of detail in the band's.  I really need to invest in a planetary filter.

[Epick Crom]

4 hours ago, Kon said:

Quick look at Orion this morning; majestic  nebulosity as always. The highlight was while I was imaging ISS it 'flew above' Mars; still too far to have both in the same frame. Not a bad way to start the day. I will be posting my ISS images in the imaging section later today but a quick snapshot below while on the train to work.

Kostas, that is an amazing image of the ISS. Is this through your 8" dob?

[Kon]

49 minutes ago, Epick Crom said:

Kostas, that is an amazing image of the ISS. Is this through your 8" dob?

 

Thanks Joe. Yes it is.  I will be processing the images later as I have to manually check quality and stack. (I just wish it was closer to Mars, it would have been awesome pic). I will post in the Widefield etc imaging section.

[Mr Spock]

5 hours ago, Kon said:

Quick look at Orion this morning; majestic  nebulosity as always. The highlight was while I was imaging ISS it 'flew above' Mars; still too far to have both in the same frame. Not a bad way to start the day. I will be posting my ISS images in the imaging section later today but a quick snapshot below while on the train to work.

Great image 👍

[Trippelforge]

Nothing impressive for sure, but my son and I picked up the Dumbbell last night for the first time. He just got into the hobby a month or so ago and has gone crazy with it. We spend about 3-4 days a week standing in the yard for hours (until my wife makes him come in because of school). That very first image of a target object is so damn amazing. It wasn't but two weeks ago when we got Andromeda which was mind blowing at what we could see in our suburban sky. The only negative is now we are both saving up to upgrade our setup. 

Anyways I wanted to share because I am so proud of him, he kind of took over everything and I stand there freezing now. But being 14 with autism it's nice to see him hyper focus on the hobby. 

 

 

[Kon]

2 hours ago, Trippelforge said:

Nothing impressive for sure, but my son and I picked up the Dumbbell last night for the first time. He just got into the hobby a month or so ago and has gone crazy with it. We spend about 3-4 days a week standing in the yard for hours (until my wife makes him come in because of school). That very first image of a target object is so damn amazing. It wasn't but two weeks ago when we got Andromeda which was mind blowing at what we could see in our suburban sky. The only negative is now we are both saving up to upgrade our setup. 

Anyways I wanted to share because I am so proud of him, he kind of took over everything and I stand there freezing now. But being 14 with autism it's nice to see him hyper focus on the hobby. 

 

 

Their first DSO is really exciting, isn't it? My son saw the M42 when he was 5 and now at 7 he is always asking to see nebulas. Not so interested in planets although Saturn is a crowd pleaser. Try M57 with your son as well; smaller but the little donut makes for it.

[Captain Scarlet]

Weather here in SW Ireland the last few months has been terrible, and tonight has been my first more-than-a-moment session since the end of August. I've just come in from finally having taken advantage of Jupiter's altitude these days, and although I observed only Jupiter, it's been one of my more memorable sessions. I  had it in my diary as Europa & Ganymede double transit (thanks @Simon128D ) with shadows to follow plus GRS in prime position. I saw it all, though I did have to drag everything back in hurriedly while a violent squall came through.

I had my LZOS 105/650 on SkyTee2, initiually tucked right under my East wall to shelter from the 60kph wind gusts (it calmed right down a little later). The LZOS has a weird finder-mounting bracket, and it was only a few days ago that I got around to sorting it out and attching a finder: my APM 8x50 RACI . It does make navigating a bit easier ! And I also finally attached my slo-mo extensions(after 2 years of ownership), and they too make life so much easier. I mainly used my Ethos 4.7 to give me 138x.

I saw Ganymede and Europa approach and merge with the disc, while simultaneously Io disappeared around the back on the other side. At one stage there were three bright white pimples attached to Jupiter's disc. Once the two moons were in fornt of the planet, they disappeared from view, I couldn't make them out against the bright disc. But the rest of Jupiter was far better than I've ever seen him before, lots of detail and subsidiary bands, and for the first time (for me) the GRS was RED! Amazing. Then the squall came and I rushed everything back inside.

An hour or two later, all was clear again, so I quickly got it out again to see if I could discern any shadows. I could! And what's more, Ganymede had turned into a silhouette: I could see one sharp tiny black shadow, and Ganymede as a slightly less dark but nonetheless distinct disc.

So: double transit, GRS as red, lots of detail, a shadow and a silhouette. A wonderful short double-session.

As I write shortly after packing up, there's now heavy hail drilling against the window. I was lucky!

Cheers, Magnus

 

before the squall:

 

second session after the squall:

Edited November 2, 2022 by Captain Scarlet