How good were sky conditions tonight?

[glend (Glen)]

I was doing some test imaging with my new Asker ED lens on my Nikon this evening and was amazed by just how calm the sky was. Looking through Backyard Nikon's frame and focusing tool the stars I chose were absolutely rock solid, no wobbling around. The FWHM number was incredibly low with no oscillation. I was seeing FWHM numbers of 2.5.
I hope everyone else on the NSW coast enjoyed the same conditions. No wind, humidity was high here by the water but no dew on the camera or lens in the observatory.

For those that may not understand FWHM here is a brief definition:

A stars 3D profile somewhat looks like a bell. FWHM is the width of the bell at its midway point hence "half". For all practical purposes you want this number as small as possible.*As the star goes out of focus, the shape of the bell gets fatter and the mid point gets larger in diameter.

[Drac0 (Mark)]

Not that great down here in the south, wind picked up early, moving everything around. Switched from my SCT to the refractor & things got a little better. Hoping it dies right down soon, hoping for a little early Helix Nebula when it clears the trees around 3:00. I've just spent the time testing a few things out.

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

been clear and great viewing here for a couple of hours at least... Looks like it will hold till morning.

80minutes later ... great way to jinx's the skies ...

[AstroViking (Steve)]

You're obviously not in Melbourne, then...

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Tried tonight with the C9.25 at f/6.3 and struggled until 9pm. I think my f/l is just too long for the conditions tonight. Impossible to keep worthwhile focus for imaging with most frames being discarded, and PHD is complaining too. It was just a bridge too far for that setup. I should have gone with the short f/l refractor but was greedy for the closer views

[glend (Glen)]

It was obviously a one night only thing, in my area. No promises concerning local conditions elsewhere. The thing is, good sky conditions have become such a rare event I just had to share the news, in hope others could benefit at the time.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

It’s a tricky business isn’t it Glen. Interestingly last night looked great, but my choice of gear was probably a little on the hopeful side lol. Looking west as I was packing up the stars were twinkling heavily. It was still an opportunity to learn for me so wasn’t a waste and I admit to being nice and cosy in my observatory! One thing is certain, if you don’t set up you absolutely won’t be observing - which was me the night before.

PS I found your explanation of FWHM really helpful!

[Startrek (Martin)]

Last night was an absolute cracker in Sydney ‘s south west for imaging ( don’t know about observing though )
No dew
No moon after 9pm
No neighbours lights usually blasting my backyard until midnight
Bortle 7/8
I could see more stars last night than in the past year ( maybe the message is getting through about Sydney’s dreadful light pollution)
Guiding was rock solid at 0.50 to 0.55 arc sec from 6.45pm to 2am when I shut down ( both sides of the meridian)
Using a Newt fl 1000mm
EQ6-R pro ( tuned it myself )
2600MC
Object Centaurus A
Remotely controlled from my Family room
Really enjoyable night !!
Cheers

[xelasnave]

I only went outside to empty the rain gauge.
Alex

[By.Jove (Jove)]

Mt Boyce AWS shows it was blowing a gale last night at 1100m - 20knots - how was the seeing - poor I would expect ?

[Dave882 (David)]

I decided to go 100% visual last night. Packed up the big rig and headed down to a spot near Mittagong that I wanted to try out. Very dark night with an amazing view of the Milky Way as it rose during the night but it was very windy indeed! And cold too!!! Certainly no worry about dew, but the wind affected seeing quite badly and the eq8 had its work cut out for it holdingthe c14 steady. No regrets tho… some incredible views with m104, m83, ngc5128, m20 and ngc5139 being the highlights of the night.