It has been a long, long time since I had a proper night out. I have been out quite a few nights since my last report - most with other club members - but with weather problems and being plagued with equipment problems I never felt it was note worthy.
Yes, new equipment problems. On a previous star party a few weeks ago my lovely 14" Skywatcher developed the dreaded encoder problems again, which I had when I first bought the scope. This instance is worse than last time with the motors trying to drive the telescope into the ground while slewing.
Why it broke down has eluded me because it was working well for almost an hour before it suddenly lost its mind.
Well, I've been in contact with the dealer and have suggested returning the faulty base for the non GOTO - manual - base and refund me the cost in difference. They seemed quite open to the idea so I will treat myself to new gear if I do decide to do that. My Orion Europa is in need of some upgrades.
Last night was a bit of a surprise, the clear skies were somewhat unexpected. I saw that Thursday held some promise when looking at a forecast a few days prior but the weather had turned for more cloud so it was great to see a large clear belt moving in from the Atlantic. I decided to take advantage and I was able to share the night with a good old friend from the club. Due to the woes with the Skywatcher I decided on taking the Orion out with the EQ6.
The moon really did spoil things and was actually brighter than when it was in full phase a few days ago because it's getting higher in the sky now. Apart from that the sky was lovely with average seeing and transparency, along with a hint of the milky way.
Equipment = EQ6 Pro, Orion Europa 10"
Location = Bragan
Seeing = 3
Trans = 3
Start Time = 22:30
M22 = Still not dark enough for a proper look but still a marvellous view and a rare treat to be able to observe this.
M10 = Great amount of detail and a wonderful variation in star brightness from the core out.
M12 = Equally as nice and more spread out than M10.
M9 = Wasn't expecting to see anything as there was a lot of cloud but I waited for a break to pass over and sure enough I could see it. Barely as the moon light was washing the view out but you could see the faint stars.
M14 = Really dense but again the moon light was preventing my scope from resolving any stars.
M11 = Completely stunning. Best object of the night for me and despite the conditions it was one of the finest views I've had of this great cluster. Excellent sense of depth an distance between the stars with beautiful variations in brightness and colour.
M26 = I forgot about the really fun asterism in this open cluster. I can't decide between it looking like a backwards 'J', a magic mushroom or an umbrella. A really fun object to observe.
M17 = Delicately nice with the UHC-S filter. The moon, again, washing out any detail that may have been there.
M16 = The star cluster itself was very prominent and for the first time I could easily see how it got its name. No hint of nebulosity sadly.
M18 = A nice faint grouping of stars which looked like a four legged/armed star fish to me.
M23 = Quite a large and widely dispersed open cluster, filling the FOV in the 17mm.
M25 = Even more dispersed than M23 but more pleasant to look at.
M57 = Magnificent. Loads of detail with hints of the central star using averted vision. I think this is the best view I've had in this scope for a long time.
NGC 6781 = Barely visible, with just a vague impression of its presence.
NGC 6804 = Very much the same as 6781, unfortunately.
NGC 6891 = Not much to note. A faint fussy looking start. You wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it.
M71 = A delightful faint cluster with a lot to look at and take in, a fine sight.
M27 = Strong structure and easily seen but not details.
M15 = A decent view but being very close to the moon it was rather washed out looking.
Jupiter = A truly stunning sight and a very memorable one. The red spot was unmistakeable and obviously visible, details and colour variations between the bands and zones were excellent. I spent about 40 minutes observing the planet and watching stages of its rotation and seeing the red spot move along the disc. This will stay in my memory for a long time.
Delta Cepheus = A wide pair with the parent star being a pale yellow and the companion displaying an impressive ice blue colour.
Rasalgethi = What a gem! A great rich red colour of the star itself with a close and sharp blue companion. Not a double star to overlook.
Moon = I decided to finish my night on the moon. It was so prominent by this stage now anyway and I rarely observe the moon in phases after it has reached full so I took a short tour around the terminator to be treated to amazing views of craters, valleys and mountain ranges. There were some stunning details and the view was really crisp.
Finish = 02:15
Not a perfect night - condition wise - but I enjoyed it immensely and it was also a welcome break not to be bothered by equipment problems and just get stuck into observing for a change. I hope this will be a start and sign of a good observing season a head and I can't wait to get out again under moonless skies.
The weather doesn't look so good for the next week so it looks like my next night out will be at the Burren star party in just under two weeks time, which I am really looking forward to.
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