A night to remember

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Last night I was invited by David of 47Tuc fame to meet up with and observe with some of his astro buddies down on the Mornington Peninsula.

As observing for me had previously been a solitary affair, I jumped at the chance to meet up with some fellow astro-nuts to observe and check out all the wonderful equipment that I could never justify buying for myself .

There was our Dave with his 10" Meade sct, Mark with his 14" Meade sct, Julian with an absolutely lovely 18" obsession truss dob, and Greg with his 22" home brew truss dob.

Observing was an opportunistic affair as the clouds came and went and we observed through the gaps.


Much fun was had by all comparing views through different scopes and swapping/borrowing eyepieces.

How often does one get to view through an eyepiece that costs more than your scope ? To see Eta Carina or the whole of Orions sword through a 2 degree+ field of view with a 31mm Nagler was just amazing

In fact the 18" Obsession caused a lot of -ing, with the views of M42 and 47tuc having to be seen to be believed !

For those that own GSO dobs, everybody also had a lookie through mine and gave it a tick of approval for image quality

The fellas were all great friendly blokes, and more than happy to show off their gear for this newbie. I spent much time running from the scope to scope as I hear , "Geoff come have a look at this"

Many thanks to Dave, Mark, Julian and Greg, for a great night, and I hope I am fortunate enough to observe with you guys again .

Geoff

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Good on ya Geoff. Glad you had a great time. What a way to spend the start of the new year

[Dave47tuc (David)]

Glad you had a good time Geoff

Must say I did enjoy myself as well. Some of the views were outstanding.

What about the Trapezium in the 18 ! Not just 4 bright lights but 6 we wondered if we could catch a few more

Your scope is great watch out useing the 31 Nag, could
become expensive

The views of Saturn, really great with your pentax's in your scope Not to bad in the 18 also

So it was a great night and lets hope 2005 bring a lot more.

Best.

[rumples riot]

Now thats what forums like this should be all about, guys and gals getting together to view and talk about the sites of the universe. Good stuff, hope you have amny more occasions this year

[jackenau]

Is good to see that the Holiday time of year, brings people together for a common interest, and by the sounds of it a truly rewarding night of viewing.

Inspirational

Ken M

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Yes Dave, the six star trapezium view really demonstrated the awesome light gathering power of the 18" mirror.

As for things expensive, I spent some time looking at prices for 15" obsession and starmaster scopes and thinking, wanting, lusting about it .Then theres also the desireable accessories , such as a country dark sky property to keep it at, preferably nearby to a prime trout stream

As for the Takahashi refractor Mark has, maybe its a blessing I didnt get to look through it

[Dave47tuc (David)]

Hi Geoff,
The Obsession site is one i keep away from, I think of selling my scope when i look at Obsessions

We don't really need one you and I know were one is to look through

The Takahashi is another story
Once you have used that beast, well

Be happy with your rig.
Mark and I commented again on the phone that we really liked it.
If you can't afford the 31 Nag, what about that 35 Pano,?

Boys got togeather last night ( I could not, my daughter was in hospital. Broken arm ) The cloud came in before real dark.
Rain on the way so maybe end of week, or weekend.

Best.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Ouch thats unfortunate about your daughter ! I bet shes not happy this occured during the school holidays

I went out myself again last night and only got in a short session of about 45min before the clouds shut me down.

The 31 nagler was very very nice to use but im not really tempted to buy one at this stage ( I would however consider a swap for my 27 panoptic ).
The 27 pan is a great eyepiece in my scope, giving me 1.47 degrees field and an exit pupil of 5.4mm.

A 35 pan would give an exit pupil of 7mm, which is a bit on the big side. If I get another chance I'd love to compare it to the 27.

My next expense I think is a focuser upgrade. If I can get the crayford that some dealers in the US are selling for my scope that might be a good option. Damn that Mike iceman character for jumping on the moonlight focuser for sale here that I really really want

[Dave47tuc (David)]

My daughter is ok, yeh she is a bit upset she has to just sit around.

Next time we are out we can compare the 27 and 35. I would think you would stick with the 27 as there is not that much diffrence.

Good luck on finding a focuser. I've used a jmi(there was one in the 18 Obssesion) and Astro systems which are good. Plenty to choose from
Yeh Mike jumed on the moonlight quick.

Weather is crap now may clear up by weekend.

Best.

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Hi Folks
Sounds like a great night out, all those scopes sound like a treat too
I managed to get my first night out here in Cairns since just before Xmas.
Comet macholtz is now an easy naked Eye Comet forming an equalateral triangle above The Pleaides & Aldeberan.
Fills the field of view @ 25x with my little travel scope, the "Astroscan".
I'm looking forward to the views with my new 2" UO Konig 40mm in the 10" Dob, when i return to the NT, later in the week.
Cheers
Ian