A quick observing session in the early hours 12/05/23.

[Merak]

I went to work yesterday evening cursing my luck that it was clearing up but nothing I could do about that.      It was still clear when I finished at 3am so got the ST80 clone out of its backpack, plonked it on a photo tripod and went out to the garden.   

  Had a quick look at Albireo - always nice to look at colour contrast doubles and since it was nearby, a quick hop to M57.     Also had a look at M3 and M13, the globs looked like brightish balls but couldn't resolve many stars.       A little 'surf' through Cygnus followed, not looking at anything specific but a nice and rich area to look at.          Then it was onwards to Cassiopeia for a little look where I came across a celestial treasure in the form of WZ Cas, something I don't recall seeing before.   This distinct reddish coloured star makes an extremely nice contrasting double with a nearby blue star, something I will return to in the future.   

I did have some focuser issues at times, probably not helped by the very sticky gunk that masquerades as grease on the working parts, something to sort in future by attempting to clean it off and replacing it something that isn't glue-like!  It's nice having a grab n go scope that doesn't take long to set-up, especially for the quick after-work sessions like this and I've been pondering a more refined upgrade. I just need to decide what a suitable bribe would be to keep the mrs happy.....

Mark

[mikeDnight]

I think you've just thought of your next anniversary present for her -  a nice 76mm or 100mm Tak! She'll love it!

[Merak]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I think you've just thought of your next anniversary present for her -  a nice 76mm or 100mm Tak! She'll love it!

I am still trying to find the appropriate sweetener for 'her majesty' - whilst fluorite would be ok for me, I don't think she would appreciate it!