First all nighter

[cjh2007]

Hi, well first all nighter complete and what a lovely night it was! Went outside around 11 oclock, was looking good already, scope was cooled and ready for action, first target ring nebula in lyra, took me about 20 mins the find and bang there it was, my first WOW of the night, using a 32mm it looked amazing, went through all the eyepieces and barlow on it but nothing could top the 32, it was so clear and perfectly shaped! Next was M51, seen all the pics of this one and was hunting like mad for it, took me around 20 mins to find it! there it was a tiny smudge, lol!! newbie expecting it to fill my whole eyepiece!! coffee break and a quick look at stellarium to see what was about. decided on m13, abit quicker this time and probably my biggest WOW of the evening, so many stars in such a small area, was amazing, i stayed on this for a fair while and really enjoyed it.

There was no other targets after this, just getting to know the sky and roaming around, cant believe how good the sky was! Now getting light and jupiter slowly rose above the horizon, used a few of my eyepieces on this and could clearly see some banding and 5 moons, cant believe how bright it was! just been outside again and saw venus but scope was already packed up and recovering ! As a total newbie to astronomy ive really enjoyed myself and im totally hooked now with this hobby. ive learned already that magnification is not to important, i had all my best views using a 32mm eyeiece giving x47!!! really chuffed with my new 12inch dobsonian telescope, nudging it was no hassle what so ever. right must try and get some sleep, after 6 mugs of coffee its gonna be a job!! Sorry if ive gone on abit and my spelling and gramma is terrible but had to share! good morning everyone and good night

[michigander]

Good night, cjh2007! Can't think of a better reason to stay up all night...

Dana

[Talitha]

Congratulations and well done, you could have gone on and on as far as i'm concerned.. what a GREAT report!

(Hope you were able to get to sleep, btw.. been there done that, lol.)

[cjh2007]

well had about 3 1/2 hours kip! feel ok, looking forward to tonight for another one!!

[proflight2000]

It was a beautiful night here last night, I stayed up until 3am, I had my sons friend staying so I took him on a tour of the sky. The M51, The cats eye, the ring nebula, M13 and a few double stars. Of course he loved Saturn and thankfully she was showing 3 moons very clearly. I am looking forwards to tonight as I have a friend and his wife around, they have been asking me for ages to take them on a tour and with the moon reasonable I am hoping for another good one tonight. Well done on the all nighter.

[brianb]

Bah, "all night" doesn't count at this time of year (unless you're in the Falkland Islands) - do a few 14 hour sessions and you can claim to have done some. In any case it doesn't go dark enough to count as "night".

Nice report though, you're obviously learning as well as enjoying your scope.

BTW just a hint, strong coffee doesn't help much and excess quantities do cause problems with sleep patterns - stop drinking the stuff about midnight, if you're still thirsty switch to decaffeinated. Get up not long after your usual time or you'll get a headache - if still tired nap during the day; a siesta from 1pm - 4pm is great on a warm summer day, just don't fall asleep outside unless you want broiling.

[rawhead]

Great report. Good to see you are getting on well with the dob. An excellent scope...

Cheers

Jon

[cjh2007]

Cheers for the tips brianb. your right about all night, doesnt seem to get dark really!! cant wait for winter!!