Mars, Saturn and the Geminids

[russ]

Went out last night to lock up the shed and almost fell over backwards when i looked skywards. Was greeted with what was without a doubt the darkest sky i've ever seen from Eastleigh, it's normally LP central. Transparency must have been 9.9/10. Couldn't believe how deep i could see naked eye. Double Cluster and M31 were easy naked eye targets. And M45 was like a beacon in the sky

Then caught sight of Geminid and then another. Started to wonder just how long it had been clear? Damn those weather men!

Unfortunately i had been drying out the shed all day and the heater had made the shed nice and toasty.....which also included the scopes......damn again!

So i sat and watched the Geminids for 30mins. Couldn't watch any longer as the clouds rolled in. But i reckon they were hitting 40-50 per hour, perhaps more. I saw 22 in 30 mins

Decided to setup up the SCT for the following morning and hope for the best. What a great move! Woke at 5.15 to find a nice clear sky, all be it not as good as the previous evening. Transparency had fallen off to 5/10 at best.

Within a minute of walking out i was greeted with a magnitude -4 to -3 meteor. And that was closely followed by another and then another and another. Now this is what a meteor shower is supposed to be like!!!! Based on another 30minute period, i would say the hour rate had dropped too 20-30 but i was probably not seeing the fainter meteors that had been visible the previous evening in the excellent transparency.

Moved onto Saturn at 6am. It was gaining some good height by then. My best view for a while. Nice and sharp at 200x. The rings had a nice sharp edge and one band visible.

Moved onto Mars fairly quickly before the sky started to brighten. Had a quick look at 200x and it was razor sharp. So boosted the magnification upto a healthy 333x with the 6mm Ortho. This gives a good size disk but remains pin sharp in the SCT. At first it seemed to be lacking detail but after looking for a few minutes the subtle details started to emerge. Looking on the Mars applet there was only the fainter detail on show. But those subtle details were showing through in the moments of good seeing. Very satisfying indeed.

Another great night/morning

[pvaz]

Great report! It's always great to start the day like that!

You should keep the dob ready to go since it cools faster then the SCT. It's amazing how many times the weather forecast is bad and then you get an hour or 2 of clear sharp conditions. I had some of the best sessions in days like that so it's a shame to waste them.

[russ]

Thanks Paulo.

The shed is not normally heated and the dob ready to roll at a moments notice. But the roofing felt had developed a tear, which meant the shed developed a leak in all rain we had. I checked the weather forecast and decided yesterday was good day to fix the shed. Replaced the roofing felt and dried out the dampness but should have removed the dob while the heater was going. I paid the price for that silly oversight. I have feeling M42 would have been jaw dropping in the scope.

But nevermind, there's some good weather forecast later this week.

[jgs001]

Nice session Russ... It was stunning last night, when the clouds were out of the way. Shame about the shed...

I agree about M45.... it was glowing...

[Doc]

Your skies are definely better then mine

Sounds like you had a really great night, I only counted 10 in one hour on saturday night so thats heaps better then my effort.

I couldn't agree more in that the more you look at an object like Mars the more details appear.

[russ]

Thanks John/Mick,

My skies aren't normally anywhere near that good. The LP is normally a real problem. I suppose it was that one rare night a year when the sky is truly perfect.

Was hoping for another session or two but the weather has turned again for the worst. Small possibility of a gap tomorrow morning.