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Venus was a rousing success, could almost make out some colour. Jupiter, not so much, sun was too bright by the time Jupiter cleared the nearby trees. Did get a glimpse of Mars, when viewing Venus but again too much sun.
The Orion Nebula was a tad confusing... I definitely could sight it with the naked eye but when I put the telescope on it, I had trouble actually discerning anything but stars, and the ones I saw didn't seem to match up very well.
Two disadvantages I can name straight off are that 1) the sun was rapidly increasing its interference and 2) I need more experience with the reversal of orientation when viewing with some eyepieces. As best I can deduce from looking at Stellarium is that I centred on the 5 brightest objects on the lower end of the Greater Nebula, 42 Ori, 45 Ori, V1046, HIP 26234 & 26257.
I've decided that my backyard, at the intersection of the Central Coast highway and Brisbane Waters road is probably the worst place to be attempting some of these viewings. Street lights every 25 metres and major commercial business parks nearby, dark skies, do not make, but adversity breeds innovation and perseverance. Onward into the night, say I!
P.S.
My collimation is just a tad off when tested by an out of focus star... the image of the secondary and support doesn't get concentric in the center of the view, I'm maybe a 0.5 to 1mm off into the lower left quadrant, viewing with 20mm EP. The question now are, do I fix it, and what to adjust? Something to ponder over the next few weeks while I enjoy what I can see.
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