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Old 06-09-2010, 12:34 AM
Rob_K
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Obs report, 5 Sep 2010 - EP 'first' light

Yes it's true, I observed!!!!! 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!

Cheers -
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Old 06-09-2010, 12:02 PM
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Paddy (Patrick)
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Nice report, Rob. It seems we are learning to make do in trying conditions. Wide field is ideal for quick darting between clouds. Your description conveys the delicious flavour of getting big chunks of sky in the field of view.
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Old 06-09-2010, 04:30 PM
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Liz
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Well done Rob - some clear skies would be wonderful, but it didnt last too long by the sounds. Least you got a comet.
Sounds a nice EP.
I had a 40mm Vixen which I, ah, accidently burnt out when doing some solar observing. Removed the filter to return to its owner, and whooosh, out comes the smoke. Own stupid fault.
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Old 06-09-2010, 05:02 PM
Rob_K
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Thanks Patrick, Liz! Very nice to see some sky, even if it was for a short time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz View Post
I had a 40mm Vixen which I, ah, accidently burnt out when doing some solar observing. Removed the filter to return to its owner, and whooosh, out comes the smoke. Own stupid fault.
Eek, will try to avoid that scenario Liz!

Cheers -
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Old 06-09-2010, 08:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob_K View Post
Yes it's true, I observed!!!!! 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!

Cheers -

You know we're in a crisis situation when you pull a Rob_K and observe in clouds

Nice salvage job there mate, finally got those itches scratched! M8 and M20 imo are both underwherlming compared to M17 though, M17 is just one of those unsung beauties that are overshadowed, well in this case by somewhat lesser companions.

cheers
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