Finally got a look

[stopusinmyid (Tammy)]

For the first time since having our 10" dob I got a look at Vega. Ok maybe that's not much to some of you but I have seen it in the sky for a while now but unable to view it as we couldn't move the house out of the way.
We took the scope out to the cliffs that over look the mighty Murray last night, doing well as we were meant to have cloud cover all week. We went prepared with butane cooker to boil up the kettle, had it going in ute when the gas got low, it was a bit cold out there and munchies.
So we got a chance to see some of the lower objects in the sky. The ngc6205 and others in the south (laptop went flat by the time we got to the low southern skies so no records of what we saw ).
We got a look at Tarantula nebula, that was a good view I must say. We were impressed with the Ring Nebula also. M27, M71. Tried to find comet Garradd but no luck on that one for us. Ngc55, 7599, IC5308, Ngc 253. We got a look at some clusters as we were panning the skies, in between warming up in the ute, waiting for Andromeda to come up. Got a good view of Jupiter as he came up. At first we thought it was a plane, it had a reddish tinge to it. Put the scope on it and it was glowing green, blue, red and yellow. Guessing it's the atmosphere interfering.
Have decided the 9mm & 15mm EP's we got with the scope aren't that flash. Was unable to focus Jupiter in properly with them when it got higher, had the same problem before also. But focused in well with the 26mm. We didn't get to see Andromeda, as we didn't have access to Stellarium and we were getting colder, it was 12am by then. I thought it came up after Jupiter but I have just noticed that it comes up not long after . I think a compass will help to.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Well done Tammy. Laptops can be very unreliable when it gets cold, so having a notebook to jot down impressions always helps.

Shorter EPs are always more problematic and mush more affected by seeing. In my dob the 15mm plossl was just useable even in good conditions. Even high end EPs cannot fix seeing, often patience is required and a commitment to observe what can be seen even if it is not perfect.
I dont rely on Stellarium or other stuff to tell me whats up, a planisphere is a simple low tech solution and doesn't care how cold it is. Andromeda is quite late rising at the moment and you need to wait for it to get high enough to be worth a look. I saw it on Friday night at about 2-30am.

Malcolm

[Gem (Grant)]

Like Malcolm said... 9mm and even 15mm are effected by conditions than a 25mm. Sometimes my 12mm is great... sometimes it is barely useable. I have a 4.8mm - it is only useable a few times per year despite being a top quality eyepiece.

[Poita (Peter)]

If you have a car/ute with you, and aren't low on petrol, then something like this is a godsend:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...3&form=KEYWORD

For $60 or less you can charge your laptop from the ciggy lighter, or run it directly. Handy when you are out in the sticks. I like this model as it is in a rubberised case, and has a little light that you can cover with a bit of red cellophane, it also has extra 12V lighter sockets which is handy too.

[Liz]

Well done Tammy on getting out to a site and viewing some great objects.

Keep trying for the comet, its in a pretty good position from 8pm, in the north east. Have a look on Stellarium for exact position.

The great square of Pegasus is easily recognizable, and Andromeda comes off the lower right, so you know when the galaxy is becoming visible. It is quite a bit lower from Victoria/lower NSW area though.

If your scope isnt collimated properly, it is more difficult to focus.

Keep on at it.

[stopusinmyid (Tammy)]

Cheers people,
Well we solved the problem of laptop going flat. Daughter had a car adapter that we forgot about. The connections don't fit her laptop so she donated it to us.
I keep trying for the comet but just can't seem to find it but we finally found Uranus (after many cold hours of searching) and 5 of it's moons last night.
Yeh even though sometimes the sights aren't as clear as we would like we are still getting pleasure out of seeing/finding objects.
These nice warm days are bringing some nice clear nights, sometimes just don't want to be out there.

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

but you can be out there Tammy

if you wear the right clothes

geoff

[stopusinmyid (Tammy)]

Originally Posted by GTB_an_Owl

but you can be out there Tammy

if you wear the right clothes

geoff

yeh. we went out again last night to the cliff top. had a pair of stretch leggins on underneath my trackies, a jumper and jacket plus beanie. last night wasn't as cold as the other night so no need to use cooker in ute to warm up but the wind blowing on my face was a bit fresh.
we had a look at Andromeda last night wasn't as bright as i thought it might be but i'm guessing that's cause it wasn't very high. and it was 1am and we were ready to go home. been there since 6pm. i'm thinking also we may need to add a few filters to our collection.
cold nights and little sleep (had to work today), welcome to the wide skies of Astronomy. the sacrifices we make for the things we enjoy. here is a shot of our viewing sight. the edge is where the bushes end

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Not sure it would be Uranus if you saw 5 moons Tammy. More likely to be Jupiter if you saw that many, and one would most likely be a background star. Uranus would appear at a very small greenish disc.
The Five brightest moons of Uranus are from mag 14 to 16 and would need a fair bit of luck, good conditions and aperture to see.

Malcolm