7128 replies to this topic

[highfnum]

did some solar with edmunds and jaeger

https://www.cloudyni...und-refractors/

 

https://www.cloudyni...mm-f5-quark-mg/

Edited by highfnum, Yesterday, 05:41 PM.

[John Higbee]

M41 and M42 were my targets tonight...

 

M41 was interesting - an open cluster with several dozen yellowish-white stars, and a brighter reddish star in the middle...

 

M42 looked as good as it ever does in terminally-light-polluted Northern VA (everything here is seen against a dark-grey (not black) sky).

the Nebula "wings" were conspicuous...and the Trapezium impressive as always.  At 130X with the C14, E was clearly visible and separate from A; however F was only intermittently visible alongside C...more an "elongation" than a "separation".

 

Went in early...still getting down to the low 30s/high 20s tonight...looking forward to clear skies mid-week with lows in the mid 40s. 

 

What I'm REALLY looking forward to is moving to the Northern Neck later this year, with Bortle blue-green conditions and little light pollution!!

 

John

[Bomber Bob]

Ahhhhh... my Dakin 4" F10 does it again:  5-star Trap at 125x (RKE 8) in variable seeing (thin cirrus pushing SW & out of the area tonight).  Jet black Syrtis Major on 6" Mars at 200x (spectros PL 5) at sundown.  Both in thin gaps.  And, doubles from north Orion & through Gemini where I could grab 'em.

 

Bushnell Drive on the Mizar SP did pretty well with the much heavier Dakin, but I noticed that the mount post has a small wiggle.  I'll have to take that piece off to tighten it from the other side.

 

NWS forecast a "clear" night...  I guess that means some interval between sunset & sunrise...

[ccwemyss]

Finally had a clear night. We've had weeks of partly cloudy. Had a lot of work to do, so just a quick look at M45, Mars, and M42 with the Pentax 85. The Pleiades were their usual, blue, sparkling selves, well-framed int the 32mm Plossl. Mars is now tiny, but still showed some brightening of the pole and surface detail in the 6mm OR. M42 was nicest in the 9mm Delite, with the trapezium very clear, but also plenty of nebula to frame it. I thought I could just see the F star occasionally with AV, but not the E, so maybe it was just my eye. Those aluminum tripod legs are really cold to carry with bare hands when the temp drops into the low 20's!

 

Chip W.