44 replies to this topic

[Takuan]

Location: mountain pass at 1800 m (5900 ft)
Sqm-L at zenith: 21.2- 21.3.
Instrument: Dob 10" F5
Binoviewer: Linear (Omegon)
Eyepieces: 20 mm Sterling Plossl (62x; 0.8⁰) and Chinese Super Plossl 15 mm (83x; 0.6⁰). I had 12 ED for 104x but the seeing was not enough.

I start observing with the 20 mm Pl.

C 10/ NGC 659/ NGC 654. NGC 659 is the smallest and the one where I see the fewest stars. It is shaped like a closed crown or small circle. NGC 654 is bigger and I see quite a few more stars (~20). It is shaped like an inverted triangle. C10 is much more enjoyable: bigger, more and brighter stars.

I make an attempt, just in case, to see IC 10, the small galaxy between M31 and M33. Unsuccessfully. SB too low, I imagine.
To make up for it, I take a look at WZ, the carbon star. Is beautiful. In the finder (14x50) the bluish companion star (m 8.3) is very close, forming a charming pair.

NGC 7790-88. Not much for this aperture/ sky. A dozen stars, the first and 6-8 the second.

Carolina's Rose, impressive as always, tonight seems to me more like a brain in the dark. Curious...

The Perseus double cluster is too large for 0.8º. It fits in the FOV but too narrow for my taste. Although impressive, of course.

A look at NGC 1444. Just a handful of stars, but the brightest one (don't know if it belongs to the cluster) is a nice double. Actually, it's triple, but I didn't see the third one that night.

M35/ NGC 2188. The mother and the child. At 62x I see few stars in the son, but very concentrated.

M1 is easily seen in the finder. In the BW I can't see any detail that night, although I don't stay long either.

The Christmas tree cluster reminds me more of a bodybuilder with two dumbbells in his hands. Enormous.


At this point I switched to the 15mm Pls and left them on until the end of the night.


I see the dark band in M82 and the silhouette of a spiral arm in M81 (the other one was not clear to me).

C 7 was already visible in the finder. Little detail in the telescope. Another low SB galaxy.

Leo's triplet splendid. I saw mottling on the two Messiers, but I couldn't distinguish the dust lane from the NGC.

Recalling a thread on the Deep Sky forum, I took a look at Leo's second triplet. The weaker component required averted vision, but I saw it easily. A really nice image, although I'll stick with the "other" triplet.

M 67 is fine, but my mistake was, immediately afterwards, to go to the three Messiers of Auriga. Wow... My favorite M 37, reminded me a little of Caroline's Rose, with those dark lines, infiltrating between the stars like rivers of darkness...

I end the night with M51. It wasn't very high yet and my eyes were very tired at that time. The spiral arms were visible... but not clearly visible. You know what I mean. More magnification, more height above the horizon, and fresher eyes would have helped.

All night, I only removed the BWs to confirm M81 and M51. The truth is that the image gained something, although not much.

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Edited by Takuan, 19 December 2023 - 01:09 PM.

[Brollen]

Two nights back, from my Baltimore condo balcony which faces east, I had untypically calm skies and good viewing conditions - excessive light pollution aside. I had placed my C8-A-XLT on the balcony much earlier, so it was well cooled and acclimated. On this C8 I use the metallic dew shield which Celestron offers - I have the same on my C6-A-XLT - I really like these dew shields and I don’t remove them. These shields do add some weight to the front end, but it is the perfect ballast to my Baader MK II binos and they are incredible shields of all the street/city light.

 

I had the C8 loaded on my SV M002C mount/pier, which is sitting on my carbon fiber Innorel tripod - a very stable and portable solution. I was using an older 1.25” Celestron prism diagonal (from Japan - very good diagonal!), the Baader MK II binos, the 1.25x GPC and alternating between Astro-Techs 25mm and 19mm PF EP pairs - 65 degree (!) well built comfortable EPs that provide excellent views.

 

I spent considerable time looking at Orion and all the wonders in this amazing constellation. M42 looked gorgeous with lots of nebulosity visible. I was able to see the E star in the Trapezium. Numerous star fields, binaries, etc., Rigel and later Sirius .. my never ending quest to see the Pup - no luck this night. I scanned NE’erly to catch M35 and then tried to see (unassisted by filters) the region having the Cone Nebula and Xmas Tree Cluster… filter needed!

 

The view through the cooled C8 surpassed my expectations for that night. I had tweaked collimation on it maybe 6-7 weeks back but hadn’t used it too much since then. The views two nights back were very good, with tight star images, inside and outside of focus patterns were identical, etc. The C8 is undeniably and quite simply, a light bucket with fainter stars and star fields popping out of the darkness.

 

The Baader MK II binos continue to utterly impress me. I now only bino-view, no more cyclops viewing as I find bino-viewing so comfortable and allowing me to seek details in a much more relaxed manner.

 

Clear skies!

Edited by Brollen, 04 January 2024 - 09:44 AM.

[RAKing]

Nice report and I am glad you were able to get outside.  Here in Northern Virginia, we have been dealing with lots of clouds.

 

HINT - The best time to catch the "Pup" is at twilight.  If you wait until it's dark, the contrast of Sirius overpowers the view and it's much more difficult to see the tiny Pup in the glare.  Try to catch it right around sunset. 

 

Cheers,

 

Ron

[Doug Culbertson]

Nice report and I am glad you were able to get outside.  Here in Northern Virginia, we have been dealing with lots of clouds.

 

HINT - The best time to catch the "Pup" is at twilight.  If you wait until it's dark, the contrast of Sirius overpowers the view and it's much more difficult to see the tiny Pup in the glare.  Try to catch it right around sunset. 

 

Cheers,

 

Ron

I never thought about that before. In 30+ years of observing I have ever successfully caught the Pup, and I've used apertures up to 18" trying. Maybe this year I'll give it another go once Sirius is up at sunset. 

 

Brollen, nice report! Like Ron, the weather has not been kind to me much this year, so it was nice to enjoy the night sky vicariously. 

[RAKing]

I never thought about that before. In 30+ years of observing I have ever successfully caught the Pup, and I've used apertures up to 18" trying. Maybe this year I'll give it another go once Sirius is up at sunset. 

 

Doug,

 

Let me give you the rest of the clues!  Between now and 2030 is the best time to split the pair.  The first time I did it was in 2010 when they were closer together.  I used my C8-HD with the BV and a pair of old CZJ 12.5mm orthos and a 1.25x GPC.  It gave me 203x, but after I split it the first time, I have done it with 170x, too.

 

Like I said, twilight is the best time, and the clue is two field stars to the southwest of Sirius.  There stars are about mag. 9 and if you can see them, then you can see the Pup.  So I setup at twilight, move Sirius over to the eastern edge of the view, then watch for those field stars - they are just far enough away to protect your vision.  As soon as I can see them, I shift over to Sirius and hope the atmospheric conditions are stable enough for me to spot the Pup.

 

Best of luck!

 

Ron

[Doug Culbertson]

Thanks Ron! I pretty well gave up on trying to see it several years ago, but maybe this year will be when I finally catch it. Honestly, it's just for bragging rights. 

[Brollen]

Beta Monocerotis .. beautifully resolved as non-flaring balls of light using my SV90TBV, a 1.25” TV enhanced mirror diagonal, the Baader MB II bino, 2.6x GPC and a pair of 82 degree ES 11mm EPs. Incredible triple grouping of stars. Was also looking for the Pup around Sirius - no luck but I’m determined.

 

Earlier I had pulled out the Orion 80mm f/6.25 Eon along with the Stellarvue SV90TBV to compare their views - using same diagonal and MBII / EP pairs. The Eon is a fast 80 mm ED doublet, using FPL-53 glass. It definitely is capable of providing very nice views, especially with the MB II bino. These 2 scope views were similar, but the SV90TBV had better contrast, especially looking at M42. In general the SV90 also showed more - such as Rigel and its white dwarf companion. In the SV90 it was distinctly present. With the Eon, it was present but not so distinct and harder to see sometimes requiring averted vision.

[Takuan]

Location: mountain pass at 2100 m (6889 ft)
Sqm-L at zenith: 21.3
Transparency: Regular (some Saharan dust in the air)
Instrument: 10" dob (Omegon Pro dob)
Binoviewer: Linear (Omegon)
Eyepieces: APM UFF 18 (69x; 0.8⁰) and ED 12 Omegon (104x; 0.6⁰).
Date April 14th

I start the night with the 18 UFF and M81/82. They are already somewhat low and the dust is noticeable in the atmosphere, since the dark band of M82 is not as evident as usual and I cannot see the glimpse of M81's arms. NGC 3077 easy and 2976 a bit more difficult.
Leo's triplet was spectacular, although a little less than what I'm used to. I would say that I sensed the dark band of NGC 3628 (not sure 100%).
I start my way towards the Markarian chain from Rho Virginis, and there I see NGC 4608/ 4596. Here the galaxy hopp begins.
M87, NGC 4478/ 4476 and I get to the famous face (in the Linear it is not inverted). This vision is fantastic.
Then NGC 4438, 4435, 4425, 4458, 4461, 4473, 4477, 4479, 4459 and 4474.
It took me 15 minutes to move along the chain, calmly and enjoying it.

Then I go to M88, 90 and 89. NGC 4564, the pair NGC 4568, M59, M60 and its neighbor, the small NGC 4647 and NGC 4638.

Near Vinidemiatrix I see a beautiful double star (m 6.9/ 9.4). According to Stellarium it is called HD 112278.
I resolve some stars in M53 with averted vision and in the place where NGC 5053 should be I would say that the background of the sky is somewhat clearer...
Another beautiful double close to this last globular HD 115404 (m6.6/ 8.8).
Another galaxy near the planetary LoTr 5 (stellar aspect) NGC 4725.
The star nucleus of M64 is downright beautiful. I don't stop to look for the dark band (it wasn't evident that night) and move on to NGC 4565. Although the image is beautiful at 69x, I switch to the 12 ED to get some detail. I see the dark band in the central part and the incredible gradient of light from the core to the outer parts.

That night the arms of M51 and M101 were not at all evident, so I moved on to something else...
I don't know how long I spent in a dreamlike state (it was already 4:15) with M13. Really speechless. M92 very resolved, it is much better than M13 from the city.
A quick view of M57 without filters, next to which I saw a 13.9 star, which was the faintest of the night.

M4 at 22º is not all it could be, but it seemed to me that it had spiral-type star arms... too many galaxies in one night, yes.
Next to M4 I see NGC 6144 as an unresolved spot of light.

M11 is another of the gems of the night. It always seems more like an arrow to me than a flock of birds, but hey, we won't discuss that nonsense...
Last of the night NGC 6704 with some stars resolved.

I end the night with the 7x50 on the monopod navigating the Milky Way.

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Edited by Takuan, 19 April 2024 - 05:55 AM.

[cahanc]

Last night I saw the moon using Denkmeier Super 27 with 19 Panoptics and it was amazing. I really enjoy the powerswitch function on these also.  It sure beats changing out eyepieces to get more or less magnification.  This is a quick pic I took with iPhone up to eyepiece. 

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Edited by cahanc, 22 April 2024 - 04:04 PM.

[Takuan]

A humid night in the city, with bright cumulus clouds parading across the sky. Luckily the seeing was not bad (1.3" according to Meteoblue) so I took the 10" Dob to the terrace. I only used the 12 ed (paradigm) that gave 104x and a fov of 0.6⁰ in the Linears.

I was a little nostalgic for Cassiopea, so I started with Achird (13.6"). The orange color of the secondary is much more marked in the dob than in smaller apertures. If we add to that the fact that we know that the main star is a very Similar to the sun, the image, in addition to being beautiful, becomes suggestive. A quick look at M103 confirmed that the transparency was mediocre (as if it were necessary; I actually wanted to remember the pretty orange star that embellishes the cluster).
The main star in HD 11092 (35") is fantastically red. For that alone, it's worth seeking out.
I aim for Iota Cass. It was a little low (34⁰), but I was able to resolve it well. The brightness of the main one almost touched the small B (2.3"). To clean up the image a little, I added the Baader Semiapo filter, which works well in this regard. I enjoyed the view for a while. Out of laziness (one of the great forces that govern the Universe) I leave the filter on and go to Sigma Cassiopeiae (3"), a very nice pair at these magnifications.

I go up a little and change the constellation to Alkurah (8"/ Perseus), one of my favorites in smaller apertures that does not disappoint in the dob.
I want to complicate the matter a little and I'm going to look for HD 206578 (1.5"). Since the secondary shines at m. 10.1, I remove the filter. I spend a while with it and it seems slightly elongated, but I'm not sure. I put the Barlow 2x and it is clearly resolved (not all the time, but at moments of calm). The image is not very beautiful for my taste, but the challenge of split it is worth it. With the Barlow on and without filter I return to Iota Cassiopeiae (yes, I'm weak). The split is somewhat greater than before, but more magnification makes it more turbulent. I continue with the Barlow in the double double, beautifully splited. The forecast clouds are coming in and I take a quick look at Stephenson 1 (without Barlow). A nice image to end the night.

Edited by Takuan, 25 August 2024 - 06:17 AM.

[Spartinix]

The Trifid Nebula with the 20" F5 at ~155x.

Amazing detail with both Zeiss Primostar and Baader MV bv's and Zeiss 8x/22x WG BT* 31mm eyepieces and Televue 32mm Plossls.

Edited by Spartinix, 25 August 2024 - 07:51 AM.

[Spartinix]

This morning, using the same tools, I observed the Orion Nebula.

I particularly enjoy tracing all the dark dust features in front of the trapezium and the excellent seeing made it all the more enjoyable

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[Leew2]

new to using binoviewers I had Amazing seeing last night on south coast UK. (Bortle 4)

Using 12” F5 Dob and Baader MK V with 17.5mm Morpheus 2.6xGPC produced 226x The seeing was so steady and transparent.

Ring nebula. Nice and sharp. Dumbbell nebula. And even the east and west veil nebula using UHC filters. I was surprised the image was bright enough to use the filters at 226x but the structure was clearly visible and glowing in some places

A pretty memorable and immersive night with super comfortable eye relief and enormous AFOV of Morpheus projecting the image infront of my face. A real space walk feel.

I normally use an APM 100 90 degree BT and love it, but was surprised that binoviewer easily matched it for viewing experience

Edited by Leew2, 12 September 2024 - 03:04 AM.

[dmorrow]

Had a very enjoyable time last night with the MaxBright II and the SV102D.  That set up requires no GPC, making it easy to use a full range of magnifications. Skies were Bortle 6 to 7.  Seeing was very good.

 

I spent 2 hours going back and forth between Saturn and the Double Cluster.  When swapping EPs, I would swing first to Saturn to balance the focus and then swing over to the double cluster to explore.  

 

Best views were with the ES 24mm 68°s and the ES 8.8 82°s.   The 24 x 2 yielded 29.75 Mag, 2.3° FOV and the 8.8 x 2 yielded 81 Mag, 1° FOV.

 

At 30x, the double cluster was magnificent, displayed in the context of its neighboring stars.  

 

At 80x, the details opened up and each cluster was spectacular, displayed in the context of the background milky way.  It was almost eerie how the detailed stars of each cluster floated against the not-quite-resolved background of the milky way.  This was my first time viewing the sky like this with 2 eyes, incredible.  This was also the first time I used the 8.8s with the bino-viewer, they are definitely "cluster busters" in this setup. 

 

I also used the SV 4mm 82°s.  That yielded 178.5 Mag, .46°FOV.  With the 4" apo, this was too dim to be effective on the double clusters.  It did a nice job on Saturn, with the almost-edge-on ring just visible against the body of Saturn.  Some surface variation was also visible.  However, it's challenging to precisely focus the 2 EPs at these high powers.  When viewing Saturn in cyclops mode using one of the SV 4mm EPs, I found the image was slightly, but noticeably, better providing a bit more definition of the ring against the planet and of the surface color variation.       

Edited by dmorrow, 04 October 2024 - 07:16 PM.

[Brollen]

From my balcony that faces due east, last night I had my C8 well cooled and using my Baader MB II, 1.2x GPC, and Baader T2 1.25” prism diagonal, I had very nice views of Jupiter and moons. Then around midnight once high enough, I spent time looking at M42, the Trap (thought I saw the “e” star) and other sites in Orion. I was using my ES 16mm 68° EP pair and my ES 11mm 82° EP pair. Wonderful views for light polluted Baltimore!

 

Clear skies!

[Brollen]

Last night I used the same Bino kit as I used in the previous post but instead brought out my Stellarvue SV90TBV, sitting on a Sightron alt-az mount and an Orion Paragon+ tripod. Very stable and smooth. Wonderful views of Jupiter - razor sharp and detailed. Saw multiple bands and the north and south polar regions were showing some distinctive ripples.

[Doug Culbertson]

I haven’t done any nighttime observing in ages, but I have been out every day this week for some Ha and white light solar. Today was a spectacular day for white light, as there are a lot of active regions. Of particular note were AR3878 and AR3879, two massive active regions on the NW area of the sun.

 

Today’s session I used my Askar 103 apo with Denis L. Apo SS binoviewer with 35mm Ultrascopics, 24mm Brandons, and 16mm Naglers. The seeing was pretty bad, so I couldn’t push it much higher. 

[tturtle]

I set up my 9.25 SCT with the Maxbright II to view Saturn’s nearly edge on rings at about 300x which was the limit for my seeing conditions. I was using a couple of classic Takahashi 18mm .965 orthos that I picked up recently plus vintage Celestron Ultima barlows. If I’m not mistaken I could see 4 moons quite clearly.

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Edited by tturtle, 22 November 2024 - 09:25 PM.

[Takuan]

First night of decent seeing (and almost full moon) with the 6" Mak. Too bad about the wind that didn't let me go as deep as possible. That night I observed from the roof of my house in the big city, with the MBII/ Baader prism diagonal and the 2.6x GPC (I calculated a magnification of 2.55). Started with 15mm Pl (305x), but the wind didn't cooperate, so I went down to 20mm Pl (229x). Júpiter first. The sketch is of poor quality, but it reflects almost everything I saw in the gas giant. Without the wind I would have drawn some ovals in the southern equatorial band, but I wasn't sure of their number and position.
While Mars was rising, I observed some doubles: Castor splited very widely; a dazzling pair. Alnitak (1.7-4.2/ 2.3") and Sigma Orionis (the weakest of the quartet (B) detected with averted vision). Despite the vibrations of the breeze, very beautiful images with airy discs and diffraction rings.
Mars was not very big yet (~12") but I was able to enjoy the northern polar cap surrounded by a dark band and other dark albedo marks over the south pole (I'll spare you the torture of a new sketch ).
A good night, given the circumstances.

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Edited by Takuan, 15 December 2024 - 07:52 AM.

[Takuan]

Last night I was on the roof of my house in the big city with the 6" Mak, the MBII (1.7x GPC) and the Mark IV zooms.
I started with Meissa and 24 mm (112x). Well separated, pretty. The secondary clearly blue. I also saw the supporting actresses, but they were so weak that aesthetically they did not contribute much to the image. Thinking about the multiple system is another thing...
Near Betelgeuse there is another pair HD 39758 (8.6-8.9/ 19"). They seemed to me a solitary and discreet pair in the immensity of the polluted urban sky. On the trapezium I didn't see E and F with 16mm (169x). I managed to split Alnitak with 24mm (112x).
Since the seeing was quite good (Pickering 7-8) I tried 32 Orionis (4.4-5.8/ 1.4"). At 16mm (169x) it seemed that the first diffraction ring had a brighter part. At 12mm (225x) and 8mm (337x) the split was clear. I couldn't quite distinguish if the secondary was inside, outside or on the ring... in any case a very nice double.
At the same magnification I visited Propus (aka Eta geminorum 3.3-6.1/ 1.6"). Slightly easier than 32 Orionis and just as pretty, with the main star a reddish orange.
Before Cassiopea got too low and I was sort of saying goodbye until next season, I was treated to Iota at 135x (20mm). If you don't know it, don't miss this wonder.
As it was late, for a change I put on the 24 UFF to have a slightly larger FOV. I looked at the three Messier OC in Auriga (NGC 1907 was a glow in which some faint stars stood out). To close the night I looked for the two large galaxies in the Big Dipper. The nucleus of M81 shone clearly and M82 was a ghost, barely distinguishable against the polluted sky of the big city.
I packed up the equipment in a pleasant 8⁰ C (46F) and went to bed with a smile that still lasts.

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Edited by Takuan, 28 February 2025 - 03:19 PM.