6337 replies to this topic

[RobertoG]

 

All in all a great night to be outside.

 

With Neaf coming and me wanting to buy an eyepiece, I'm going to try and go out more. Next will be taking out the scopes, most likely the 6" as galaxy season is coming.

 

AP will hold off for a little while.

Welcome back to enjoying the night sky, wonderful report  
 

[Dale Smith]

Also saw the Moon + Pleiades conjuction last night. I used my Zeiss 15x60 binos, the 4.5 FOV was just right.

Took this pic with my phone + the binos. Very similar except I saw more stars and less exposed moon
IMG-20250401-WA0018.jpg

Rob

The clouds cleared long enough I was able to view the Moon and Pleiades  in 8x32 and 10x50 binoculars. I attempted to image it with my Dwarf 3 in wide field mode but the clouds didn’t give me time 

[suburbanastro]

It was clear and cold last night but not enough to discourage me from doing a quick tour of Ursa Major with my mounted 16x70mm. I started at M81-82 and then headed down to M101. Looking for something more challenging I pointed my binoculars at β and spotted M108 and M97 with averted vision near a group of seventh magnitude stars. M109 was more difficult, but I spotted its faint glow near a line of 9th-magnitude stars. Here are some finder charts.

 

Marc

 

 

 

 

 

 

[saemark30]

I viewed M4 globular in Scorpius. It is faintly visible in 15x70 binoculars under B9 skies but best time to view it before summer doldrums June - August twilight.

Next the beautiful Albireo double star in Cygnus.

The color contrast is truly striking with golden primary and sapphire secondary.

[Maranatha]

The moon! Finally got clear enough skies to try out the new 15x70 GiantViews, on a tripod.

 

Very impressed with these binos. Theophilus looked great. With proper eye placement CA can be eliminated. Star fields are amazing, Im prolly gonna be using these more often.

[skyops]

*

 

Watching clouds boil up in the afternoon Sun, through Kowa 6.5x32s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[skyops]

*

 

Venus, this A.M. through Tasco No.216 10x50s.

 

Finally, a clear(ish) morning.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Dale Smith]

Also saw Venus this morning, over a neighbor’s roofline:

 

 

Viewed the waxing crescent in 12x36 Canon IS, which gave a very nice view.

[Dale Smith]

I went with my Canon 12x36 IS yesterday evening while overseeing two smart telescopes in somewhat murky sky conditions. The best views were west and 12x36 came through well in Bortle 7/8 conditions. The first-quarter Moon’s terminator was razor sharp. Jupiter’s dance of moons was yet again a sight to behold, and the later winter and early spring open clusters (M44, M41, Hyades, M45, Melotte 20 and the Double Cluster were all splendid despite the “meh” sky.

[revans]

I went with my Canon 12x36 IS yesterday evening while overseeing two smart telescopes in somewhat murky sky conditions. The best views were west and 12x36 came through well in Bortle 7/8 conditions. The first-quarter Moon’s terminator was razor sharp. Jupiter’s dance of moons was yet again a sight to behold, and the later winter and early spring open clusters (M44, M41, Hyades, M45, Melotte 20 and the Double Cluster were all splendid despite the “meh” sky.

I've been thinking that larger aperture was key in light polluted skies but lately I'm convincing myself that it is really magnification that matters more.  12x will be better than 8x in a light polluted sky and a 12x36 will be superior in what it shows than an 8x50 in these conditions.  Or, am I wrong?

 

Rick

[Takuan]

I've been thinking that larger aperture was key in light polluted skies but lately I'm convincing myself that it is really magnification that matters more. 12x will be better than 8x in a light polluted sky and a 12x36 will be superior in what it shows than an 8x50 in these conditions. Or, am I wrong?

Rick

A 12x50 will show more than 12x36. So, aperture and magnification. 🙂

[Dale Smith]

A 12x50 will show more than 12x36. So, aperture and magnification.

Absolutely. I've done side-by-side comparisons between my Canon 12x36 IS III and my APM 12x50 MS ED, mounted, and the 12x50 goes deeper. That said, the 12x36 gives you the freedom of quick peeks through sucker holes or moments of clearing in a cloudy sky, and makes tree dodging much quicker 

 

Rick is right that 12x will beat 8x in my experience. What I should do is mount a 10x70 and compare that to the 12x36. 

 

The Canon 12x36 is a great little Moon binocular for whole Moon views, if that's your jam. It is mine. (Though I won't say no to looking at Luna at a much higher magnification either 

[SStoffer]

Great evening using the 15x70 SkyMaster Pro binoculars. I took out the Oberwerk 5000 tripod and head to view the winter double 145 G. Canis Majoris, otherwise known as the winter alberio. Beautiful double! The orange/red companion star juxtaposed next to the blue/white companion makes for a dramatic contrast. I am pleased I finally saw it. 

 

I checked out the open clusters M35, M36, M37 & M38. The three clusters in Auriga were all unresolved except for M37. M38 was the faintest of the three. M35, however, was easy to resolve. Definite points of white starlight. This is why I like refractors. 

 

Got to go outside again, I have to check out more doubles. I wonder if it is possible to see the Ghost of Jupiter nebula on this moonlit night just after first quarter?

 

 

Stephen

[SStoffer]

Great evening using the 15x70 SkyMaster Pro binoculars. I took out the Oberwerk 5000 tripod and head to view the winter double 145 G. Canis Majoris, otherwise known as the winter alberio. Beautiful double! The orange/red companion star juxtaposed next to the blue/white companion makes for a dramatic contrast. I am pleased I finally saw it. 

 

I checked out the open clusters M35, M36, M37 & M38. The three clusters in Auriga were all unresolved except for M37. M38 was the faintest of the three. M35, however, was easy to resolve. Definite points of white starlight. This is why I like refractors. 

 

Got to go outside again, I have to check out more doubles. I wonder if it is possible to see the Ghost of Jupiter nebula on this moonlit night just after first quarter?

 

 

Stephen

Just got back inside after observing three binary stars and an open cluster. The three doubles are hr7140 in Lyra, Zeta Lyrae in Lyra the Harp & Kuma in Draco. The one open cluster is ngc188 in Cepheus. About the only thing I could see of it was a 9.6 magnitude star (SAO 111) that I do not know if it is a part of the cluster. I guess I will have to wait for a good moonless night to try again to see it. 

 

This is the closet deep sky object I have yet tried to observe closest to the star Polaris. Many years ago I have previously seen the planetary nebula IC 3568 nearest Polaris from the backyard observing with a 12 inch reflector. This thing was very easy to pass by without noticing because it was very starlike. It has the name, 'Lemon Slice Nebula', and was discovered in 1900 from the Lick Observatory. 

 

 

Stephen

[Scott99]

Just got back inside after observing three binary stars and an open cluster. The three doubles are hr7140 in Lyra, Zeta Lyrae in Lyra the Harp & Kuma in Draco. The one open cluster is ngc188 in Cepheus. About the only thing I could see of it was a 9.6 magnitude star (SAO 111) that I do not know if it is a part of the cluster. I guess I will have to wait for a good moonless night to try again to see it. 

 

This is the closet deep sky object I have yet tried to observe closest to the star Polaris. Many years ago I have previously seen the planetary nebula IC 3568 nearest Polaris from the backyard observing with a 12 inch reflector. This thing was very easy to pass by without noticing because it was very starlike. It has the name, 'Lemon Slice Nebula', and was discovered in 1900 from the Lick Observatory. 

 

 

Stephen

NGC 188 is one of my favorite objects!  Not sure why, it's a nice cluster but far from spectacular.  Maybe because it's a mini-me of 6689 Caroline's Rose which is one of my favorites. 

 

The novelty of 188 being near Polaris and always visible is part of it.   One thing I have noticed about 188 is that it's a difficult OC, dim and diffuse.  It's very sensitive to light pollution.   You need decent aperture and a dark sky to enjoy 188

[revans]

NGC 188 is one of my favorite objects!  Not sure why, it's a nice cluster but far from spectacular.  Maybe because it's a mini-me of 6689 Caroline's Rose which is one of my favorites. 

 

The novelty of 188 being near Polaris and always visible is part of it.   One thing I have noticed about 188 is that it's a difficult OC, dim and diffuse.  It's very sensitive to light pollution.   You need decent aperture and a dark sky to enjoy 188

I don't think I've ever seen it.  But it is on my list now...

 

Rick

[dmorrow]

I've been thinking that larger aperture was key in light polluted skies but lately I'm convincing myself that it is really magnification that matters more.  12x will be better than 8x in a light polluted sky and a 12x36 will be superior in what it shows than an 8x50 in these conditions.  Or, am I wrong?

 

Rick

You are right.  

[jcj380]

Cor Bor with my 8x42s at 0130 LT this morning.  Still no T CrB outburst.  

 

I considered staying out to observe for awhile, but it was 26°F so I went back to bed.

[Hayballs]

Last night 7th April @ 1930hrs for about 80 minutes. Took out the Oberwerk 15x70 Deluxe. Moon at 77%.

A fair amount of libration with the terminator line coming down along Prom. Laplace, Copernicus, Bullialdus, Wilhelm, Longomontanus, Clavius and Blancanus.

 

I haven’t had the Oberwerk binoculars out in a while and last night reminded me how excellent they are. 

[revans]

After a week of rain, the sky cleared this evening but seeing was poor and surface winds were a steady 20 mph with gusts to as much as 40 mph.  The temperature quickly dropped after sunset to 28 degres F.  It felt a lot colder.

 

I took my Oberwerk BT-82 45 onto my observing deck, on its TR-3 tripod with pan handle mount.  I had a quick view of M42 and the trapezium was an easy target with the ES 24mm eyepieces that I used.  They provided about 19x.  The nebulosity wasn't seen to very much advantage because of its low position in the sky which was within my southern light dome. 

 

Jupiter showed as a small featureless disk without chromatic aberration and I could see three of its moons nearby.  The wind was starting to howl and I was starting to feel a real chill in the air.  

 

I directed the BT at the gibbous moon and followed the terminator which was immediately beyond Sinus Iridium whose wall was brightly lit and I followed it down to Gassendi which was also fully illuminated.  Tycho stood out well with its ray system prominently seen.  Plato and the Alpine Valley were in full sun.  Mare Crisium and the irregular Palus Somnii were obvious enough. 

 

I couldn't stay out much longer because of the howling wind and the cold multiplied by wind chill effect.  But I'm glad I made the effort.  Tomorrow may provide better conditions but after that I think several days of mostly clouds are forecast for New England.

 

Rick

[jrazz]

Still cold (30°F) but no wind and pretty good transparency. Had to go out on the ZGC with a couple of blankets (not enough).

 

The Astroluxe proves again why it is the absolute king of my binoculars. It's not that the others aren't good but nothing really seems to show the stars as well as the Astroluxe.

 

Castor and Pollux were magnificent. Nearby Mars seemed to be brilliant bright orange. Bit further down I could see some fluffy, wispy nebulae but since I dared not take my arms out to reach for the phone I did not identify them. 

 

Most impressive was M35. Just gorgeous and really detailed. The MB6 showed a grainy smudge while the Astroluxe simply showed me a huge, detailed cluster full of stars. Really a gorgeous sight. 

[norvegicus]

First clear night of the year at the lake. Sat on my shore bench with the pgram mount and my current king of the night, the WX 10x50. Average transparency, steady seeing, Bortle 3-4.

It wasn’t super cold, probably 35F, but I didn’t feel like looking at my phone so I just wandered, actually found M35 by accident after ogling Jupiter and then scanning east. I also stumbled on the Beehive cluster and was able to find the double double by memory using Perseus as a pointer. Saw lots of unidentified clusters and smudges east of there. Was hoping for a parting view of Orion but it was too low, behind the trees.

This binocular is amazing. 9 degrees of true FOV with the best of modern glass is transcendent. Definitely bests my Nikon 10x70 in every way; brighter, sharper, wider, more contrast.

Edited by norvegicus, 20 April 2025 - 06:32 AM.

[Dale Smith]

Inspired by Jordan, I went out despite the somewhat murky sky last night with my 18x70, to see what I could see. The Beehive was spectacular. I could barely detect M35, which on clearer nights is fantastic in the Astroluxe here. M3 popped in the view, despite the thin, high cloud, and M13 was readily apparent, as was the Double cluster. Even when the skies are meh, the Astroluxe brings the magic.

[Takuan]

The other night I went hiking in a hill outside the great dome of light. I took my beloved 20x70.
The SQM-L reading at the zenith was 19.9. Nothing spectacular, but in that sky I can see the main stars of Ursa Minor with direct vision. In other words, a real luxury for an urbanite.
The subtitle of this report could be: "Spring time: smudges and doubles."
I started with Kemble cascade. It's gorgeous, and although it was within the FOV, I prefer a field of view of 4⁰. In NGC 1502, I can make out 11-12 stars, including the two bright ones (A and E) in STF 485 (7.0-7.1/18"). A beautiful image.
Starting from Epsilon virginis, I head to M53 and then to M64, a galaxy whose shape and orientation I can recognize. I also catch a few more galaxies in the area: M87, M89, M58, M84, and M86.
From Algorab (Corvus), a magnificent double star (2.97-8.47/24"), I head towards Sombrero. Along the way, two well-known asterisms are no less attractive. The first is a small triangle within a larger triangle (I couldn't make out the fainter star in the inner triangle). The second is the famous arrow pointing to the galaxy. With the 10" dob/BV, these two asterisms are even more impressive, by the way.
M44 fills the FOV and is luminously impressive. I stayed with it for a while. M67, on the other hand (and in contrast), doesn't look like much. Don't be fooled: in a darker and transparent sky and if you can add 10-15x (BT) the image is gorgeous (more with more aperture).
I try, but I can't see NGC 2419. A GC that requires darker skies. I can, however, make out NGC 2419/C9. As is often the case with binoculars, the journey is often more interesting than the destination. I find two beautiful doubles: HD65448 (6.1-7.5/51") and HD61907 (7.8-7.8/14").
From Zaniah I head towards M61 (one more smudge in the bag). I linger there for a bit and find another nice double: HD106976 (6.5-6.9/20").
I visit the famous T Corona Borealis to check that it hasn't exploded yet. M~10.1.
NGC 2903 is easily visible, and I can distinguish its shape and orientation. I don't see the elusive NGC 3628 of the Leo triplet. In the same constellation, I enjoy the beautiful starfields of two more doubles: 83 (6.5-7.5/29") and Tau (4.9-7.5/88").
M81/82, after so much smudge, resembles two cosmic lighthouses. Of the two brighter companion galaxies, I think I could occasionally make out NGC 3077, but I'm not sure.
It's already late (I've been observing for almost four hours), but Lyra and Cygnus are climbing a little further into the great dome of light. I can't resist the temptation and I immerse myself in them for a few more minutes. Then I crawl into my sleeping bag and drift off into sleep, immersed in that area of sky I've gladly decided to ignore: the zenith and its surroundings.

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Edited by Takuan, 21 April 2025 - 09:14 AM.

[Scott99]

I haven't been out much due to life circumstances but I did finally get back on the chaise lounge a couple nights ago.  Ending up looking at Corvus and then M104.   I was curious about high power darkening the sky and I ran through my 8x42, 7x50, 10x50, then 12x50's.  As the power went up, I could see M104 better & better.  It was barely visible in the 8x42 and 7x50's. 

 

After returning inside for the night, I thought OK now time to actually SEE the Sombero Galaxy.  I dug around in my coat closet and pulled out the huge Tenba case with the minty-new Astoluxe inside.  It is such a great feeling to open the lid and grasp the huge pebbled form of the 18x70   Like putting away the small game toys and bringing out the blunderbuss  Starting to think my pricey 10x56 Swaro may never get out of their case again.

 

Back outside I followed the same chain of stars up from the Corvus box and thar she blows!  M104 now expanded out and visible as a two-tone elliptical disk.  Moving around more due to the 18x but again, so what?  I'm still able to handhold them, point in the general direction and easily get on the object like all the other binos.  I haven't had them on the tripod in months and they may never go back on the tripod