Successful morning

[Demonperformer]

Was promised clear skies this morning, so set the alarm - sure enough, they were.

First target was Vesta. Have never had a confirmed sighting of an asteroid before [can be difficult to definitively identify in one session as they look star-like]. After alignment went to 52Leonis and synced on it. Then entered the RA/Dec co-ordinates I had for this morning. Sure enough, there it was, slap-bang in the middle of the eyepiece. Had a quick drift around to make sure there was nothing else close that could possibly be Vesta and there wasn't. Another tick in the 'firsts' box.

Next stop, Saturn. Spent some time imaging both the planet on its own and pushing up the gain to get Titan in the image as well. Think the barlow lens on the planet was pushing the conditions a bit.

Moved on to Mars and got [for me] a half-way reasonable piccie of it. The barlow seemed to function better with Mars than Saturn. Maybe because it was higher in the sky?

Finally went on to image some moon craters. Don't know if it was because it was getting light, but they didn't work too well, so have not uploaded them.

But, all in all, well worth a bit of standing around in the cold.

[barkis]

Well done you mate. Perishing cold up here in Cumbria, so you're a braver man than me getting out of a warm bed.

Seriously, that is a good effort. Astronomy can test ones resolve at times, but you have what it takes.

Ron.

[russ]

Well done on the early start, especially on a morning so cold. It's always good when it pays off as it did for you. Mars and Saturn are just wonderful at the moment. And your images were worth the effort put in.

Russ