Quickie in the cold.

[75BC (Brendon)]

Hi All,

Just wanted to tell everyone about an amazing half hour I had last night, Wednesday 31st, with my binoculars.

I don’t know what it is where I live but the dew in winter is ridiculous. I can’t see any telescope dew heater arrangement being able to deal with it. Water drips from everywhere like it’s been raining.

Anyway I had gone to bed but couldn’t sleep so got up and wandered outside. I noticed a star on the horizon was not doing it’s crazy dance, flickering through the atmosphere as they normally do, so stood at the edge of the patio and saw a beautifully clear and still sky. I’ve lived at my current location for about 15 years and can’t remember the Scorpius / Sagittarius region showing so much naked eye detail. At first I was annoyed about not being able to have the scope out and then thought of my bino’s.

Got a chair set up at the edge of the patio and sat down to some absolute treats. At first I just aimlessly scanned the area then honed in on a few things that stood out. Because I’m not a serious amateur and it was hard when all I had was a scope, I’ve neglected learning my way around the sky but this is what I’ve found the bino’s great for.

One of my favourite targets, The Lagoon Nebula was very clear and very bright. Close by was The Trifid Nebula which I have barely been able to see from my stupidly bright, sodium lamp lit backyard. I was wondering if that is what I was looking as it was so clearly visible. Not far away again was a decent sized fuzzy ball that was the globular cluster M22. I spent a bit of time with just these 3 targets going back and forth then working out where they were in relation to Sagittarius itself. Lastly I thought I’d catch a glimpse of Saturn. Bit hard to hold the binoculars steady enough but I could see there were lobes on either side.

About 20 minutes had then passed and as I was sitting in the cold with bed clothes and bare feet. I also don’t deal with cool temperatures at all. But I was very happy. So off to bed I went and was asleep within 10 minutes.

Thanks for reading.

[Nebulous (Chris)]

Great story.

It seems as if you never know when you going to have a great night or an abysmal one with this hobby!

I'm up in the Perth Hills, but it seemed like a particular clear night up here too.

Cheers,

Chris

[75BC (Brendon)]

Thanks Chris.

For seeing and transparency it was a top 3 night for my location and I’ve been here 15 years.

The unpredictability is one of things I love about this hobby.

Some of my most memorable nights have been last minute decisions or nights that started off with low expectations.

[Bendy (Ben)]

I concur, it's been a magic couple of nights in suburban Bunbury too. Watched the Great Red Spot transit on Jupiter on the 31st and got some moments of sensational seeing with Saturn last night. I have to admit that I'm loving the mild cloud free autumn/winter, although not without a little guilt given the rough time the farmers are having!

[75BC (Brendon)]

Great to hear the good conditions are being spread around Ben. I also like the sky conditions this time of year also but anything under 10°C and I’m feeling cold. It is easy to forget that while we pray for clear skies for our fun, that others need the opposite to survive.

I love my planetary observing but am yet to see a Red Spot transit. With both Jupiter and Saturn giving up great views at the moment I’ll be targeting both next time I’m out.

[Bendy (Ben)]

You're not wrong, clear skies at this time of year generally demand Inuit-level commitment to ones dress.

SkySafari suggests the next red spot transit will be at 9:10pm this evening. Surely the farmers wouldn't mind one more nights delay to the rain (he says with a family baby beef farm in Cowaramup!).

[75BC (Brendon)]

I'm just not built for the cold having no meat on my bones. But some things are worth suffering for.

[Wavytone]

Originally Posted by 75BC

the dew in winter is ridiculous. I can’t see any telescope dew heater arrangement being able to deal with it. Water drips from everywhere like it’s been raining.

At a guess I'd say you're observing in an area which has rich black soil, either a garden, an oval or farmland.

Find a location that has a light rocky outcrop or sandy soil that doesn't hold water, and you should have no dew. Deserts are good and you aren't far from one.

[75BC (Brendon)]

Hi Wavy,

A seriously late reply I know.

That is along the lines of what I came up with the as I live in an outer suburb of Perth with mainly bushland beyond. As I don’t get a lot of time for my nocturnal indulgence, getting to a better location is very rare event. So I just tend to try and predict if it’s going to be a damp night by checking the gutter on my patio for moisture as the sun goes down.

Cheers. Brendon.

[leon]

Although i have seen this thread a few time the heading is always amusing and ambiguous, but being that fresh could make a difference i expect

Leon

[75BC (Brendon)]

Glad you liked it Leon.

Sometimes a quickie can be very satisfying.