Darth Wader
28-04-2009, 01:48 PM
Hi all,
Last Saturday morning I got up at 4.30am to catch the morning planets. It was the first time seeing Venus & Mars so I concentrated on each of those for a fair while. When I had the scope pointed at Mars I watched it, adjusting the Dec & RA to keep it in view. At one point, I had just adjusted it, let the image settle (have an EQ1 mount and wobbles a bit after adjusting Dec & RA) and after a few seconds I saw something shoot across the FOV from top left to bottom right, too quick for a plane and pretty slow for a meteor. I was gobsmacked because I thought I'd seen a meteor through the scope (another first). I didn't really think much of it because as you all know, you're bound to see them from time to time. So over the last few days I've been thinking about what I saw and then it occurred to me today - the images I see through my Skywatcher refractor are inverted. That means what I saw was upside down and actually went from the bottom left of the FOV to the top right. I have never seen a meteor moving upward before. Of course I'm not claiming I saw a UFO or anything (I don't believe in them to be honest), I just want to know what it could have been and I completely accept the fact that there is a rational explanation... but I don't know what it is! Anyone else see it, or theorise what it might have been?
Cheers
Wade
Last Saturday morning I got up at 4.30am to catch the morning planets. It was the first time seeing Venus & Mars so I concentrated on each of those for a fair while. When I had the scope pointed at Mars I watched it, adjusting the Dec & RA to keep it in view. At one point, I had just adjusted it, let the image settle (have an EQ1 mount and wobbles a bit after adjusting Dec & RA) and after a few seconds I saw something shoot across the FOV from top left to bottom right, too quick for a plane and pretty slow for a meteor. I was gobsmacked because I thought I'd seen a meteor through the scope (another first). I didn't really think much of it because as you all know, you're bound to see them from time to time. So over the last few days I've been thinking about what I saw and then it occurred to me today - the images I see through my Skywatcher refractor are inverted. That means what I saw was upside down and actually went from the bottom left of the FOV to the top right. I have never seen a meteor moving upward before. Of course I'm not claiming I saw a UFO or anything (I don't believe in them to be honest), I just want to know what it could have been and I completely accept the fact that there is a rational explanation... but I don't know what it is! Anyone else see it, or theorise what it might have been?
Cheers
Wade