Rob_K
06-09-2010, 12:34 AM
Yes it's true, I observed!!!!! :lol: Sky, but not very much of it between the clouds!
So I had a chance to give the Celestron E-Lux 40mm EP I purchased from Mr Asimov a run, in 4.5" f8 reflector. Transparency was fairly poor but hey desperate times call for desperate measures. ;)
And it was great - nice comfortable eye relief, good tight stars, and although I regularly view at what many people would consider low powers, it was a fantastic experience stepping even further back (about 23x).
In Sagittarius, the Milky Way was great, so many stars even with light cloud drifting through. Lots of little globular and open clusters but I didn't stop my cruising to identify them. It was strange being able to fit the Lagoon Nebula (M8) and the Trifid Nebula (M20) into the same FOV. Trifid was somewhat underwhelming, but Lagoon was good, with a dense, bright little star cluster & tons of nebulosity.
The EP performed really well on the bright clusters I managed to see, adding extra background context to them and enhancing the views. Ptolemy's Cluster (NGC6475, or M7) was brilliant, while the Butterfly Cluster (NGC 6405 or M6) was not far behind. Nearby to M7, the little globular cluster NGC 6441 nestled in beside G Scorpii was very easy to see - one of my favourites!
Jupiter and moons were good, although tiny as you would expect. Massive halo of light around Jupiter too, due to the light cloud. The 4 moons were on one side, with one moon tucked in tight against Jupiter.
While I was in the vicinity, aimed the scope roughly at where I thought comet 10P Tempel should be, and easily picked out a small grey patch about a degree or so away from Tau Ceti. Later confirmed it in Starry Night.
Well, that's it, raining again as I type! But very, very pleased, thank you Asi, can't wait to give the eyepiece a good run under a cloudless dark sky! :thumbsup:
Cheers -
So I had a chance to give the Celestron E-Lux 40mm EP I purchased from Mr Asimov a run, in 4.5" f8 reflector. Transparency was fairly poor but hey desperate times call for desperate measures. ;)
And it was great - nice comfortable eye relief, good tight stars, and although I regularly view at what many people would consider low powers, it was a fantastic experience stepping even further back (about 23x).
In Sagittarius, the Milky Way was great, so many stars even with light cloud drifting through. Lots of little globular and open clusters but I didn't stop my cruising to identify them. It was strange being able to fit the Lagoon Nebula (M8) and the Trifid Nebula (M20) into the same FOV. Trifid was somewhat underwhelming, but Lagoon was good, with a dense, bright little star cluster & tons of nebulosity.
The EP performed really well on the bright clusters I managed to see, adding extra background context to them and enhancing the views. Ptolemy's Cluster (NGC6475, or M7) was brilliant, while the Butterfly Cluster (NGC 6405 or M6) was not far behind. Nearby to M7, the little globular cluster NGC 6441 nestled in beside G Scorpii was very easy to see - one of my favourites!
Jupiter and moons were good, although tiny as you would expect. Massive halo of light around Jupiter too, due to the light cloud. The 4 moons were on one side, with one moon tucked in tight against Jupiter.
While I was in the vicinity, aimed the scope roughly at where I thought comet 10P Tempel should be, and easily picked out a small grey patch about a degree or so away from Tau Ceti. Later confirmed it in Starry Night.
Well, that's it, raining again as I type! But very, very pleased, thank you Asi, can't wait to give the eyepiece a good run under a cloudless dark sky! :thumbsup:
Cheers -