janoskiss
13-02-2007, 01:45 AM
I have just been feeding the mozzies and my gosh they are hungry tonight.
Been observing with the Saxon (aka Skywatcher) 10" Dob. I have never seen Saturn look so good through an eyepiece as it did tonight. Seeing has not been good overall but there have been extended periods with moments of good seeing. 200-280x.
The rings looked exquisite. Cassini and the C ring clearly visible all the way around and more subtle structure also showing. Images crisper and sharper than I've ever seen. Very pleased with the Saxon Dob. :)
Best view of all was with a 12mm UO HD ortho in UO-equiv 2" barlow (giving about 5.3mm effective or 230x). Second best was 6mm Radian. 7mm XW was great but not enough power. Barlowed XWs were not as good - less contrast with unwanted light (in either TV or UO barlow - not sure why). I want a 5mm XW... and a binoviewer. $$$ :)
Altitude motion needs work. The tensioner handles are great for stopping the tube tipping over when changing EPs, but are not a good substitute for balancing the scope. But when the scope is balanced the altitude motion is way too slick.
btw. checked out some DSOs also including the eight-burst planetary neb also. 8.5mm XF with DGM NBP filter showed ring structure very nicely. I was quite surprised considering the amount of light pollution we have here less than just 20km from the heart of Melbourne.
Been observing with the Saxon (aka Skywatcher) 10" Dob. I have never seen Saturn look so good through an eyepiece as it did tonight. Seeing has not been good overall but there have been extended periods with moments of good seeing. 200-280x.
The rings looked exquisite. Cassini and the C ring clearly visible all the way around and more subtle structure also showing. Images crisper and sharper than I've ever seen. Very pleased with the Saxon Dob. :)
Best view of all was with a 12mm UO HD ortho in UO-equiv 2" barlow (giving about 5.3mm effective or 230x). Second best was 6mm Radian. 7mm XW was great but not enough power. Barlowed XWs were not as good - less contrast with unwanted light (in either TV or UO barlow - not sure why). I want a 5mm XW... and a binoviewer. $$$ :)
Altitude motion needs work. The tensioner handles are great for stopping the tube tipping over when changing EPs, but are not a good substitute for balancing the scope. But when the scope is balanced the altitude motion is way too slick.
btw. checked out some DSOs also including the eight-burst planetary neb also. 8.5mm XF with DGM NBP filter showed ring structure very nicely. I was quite surprised considering the amount of light pollution we have here less than just 20km from the heart of Melbourne.