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Post by markdj on Oct 8, 2005 9:20:24 GMT
Anyone up for some observing? Forecast looks real good and the blue skies are beckoning to me :-)
Mark
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Post by NeilP on Oct 8, 2005 11:56:25 GMT
Do you have anywhere in mind Mark?
Neil
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Post by markdj on Oct 8, 2005 12:32:54 GMT
Out the road a few miles down around castle Espie or maybe up to glorious Slieve Croob. If Aaron is free then Castle Ward would be excellent as it is sheltered on all sides. Or maybe over to Maghaberry to John's if he's free.
Haven't had much in the way of response so far. Maybe I'll get on the blower.
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Post by Martin Mc kenna on Oct 8, 2005 16:47:55 GMT
I will be comet searching tonight so if anyone wants to join me then land down.
20 crewe drive maghera.
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Post by markdj on Oct 8, 2005 16:51:23 GMT
Kewl Martin
I will try not to disturb you and maybe I'll pick up a few tips too. See you around 19:30 ?
Mark
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Post by Martin Mc kenna on Oct 8, 2005 17:06:55 GMT
No probs Mark. bring whatever you need. What about yourself Neill?
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Post by NeilP on Oct 8, 2005 17:08:36 GMT
Yes Ill come, ill bring the big eyepiece you can have a look thru it see what you think.
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Post by Martin Mc kenna on Oct 8, 2005 17:10:41 GMT
Great stuff!!!!! Anyone else is welcome too.
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Post by Aaron on Oct 8, 2005 18:04:15 GMT
I had a night organised out with friends. Sorry lads. Have a good one. Maybe you'll spot a meteor this time Mark.
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Post by jonathan on Oct 8, 2005 18:21:51 GMT
have a good night everyone.
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Mark K
Canis Major
LX200GPS UHTC/SMT
Posts: 75
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Post by Mark K on Oct 9, 2005 15:05:21 GMT
I too had friends over for a drink last night, otherwise i might have joined in, but did notice that about 11 last night, the sky was INCREDIBLY clear, and I could see a lot of stars without having to wait until my eyes adjusted..... 1st good night in ages too ... Gutted !!
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Post by Martin Mc kenna on Oct 9, 2005 16:34:18 GMT
Thanks for comming around guys!! That was a great nights observing. I must do a write up shortly
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Post by NeilP on Oct 9, 2005 17:33:24 GMT
It was a really good night and I had a great time. Some class views and some fuzzies I had never seen before. The Veil was a big highlight!!!!!!! ;D I would like to thank Martin and his folks for the hospitality. Clear Skies Neil
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Post by Martin Mc kenna on Oct 9, 2005 18:40:05 GMT
Thanks for sharing those images Neill and Conor! ;D
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Post by markdj on Oct 9, 2005 20:17:50 GMT
Great images Neil
And thanks to Martin and family for their hospitality. The night was a success but far too short even though 4am came all too quickly.
The night bagan with some good skies will little wind. As the sky darkened the stars were very still and we knew this was going to be a good night.
The scopes setup were Martin's 16inch Dobsonian, Neil's 10inch Schmidt Newtownian on an EQ6 GOTO mount and my little Orion ED80mm refractor on a motorized Vixen GP mount.
We started off on our own scanning the skies, and looking at a few objects and getting settled. Martin did a comet search, Neil struggled with polar alignment and I was looking at the ground again.
I started on the Perseus Double Cluster at 20x with the 2inch Siebert and 70x with the Meade 8.8mm ultra wide. It was a lovely view and I then went on to observe M31,M110, M32 and M33 which was a first for the 80mm. The Triangulum Galaxy was easily disernable and I was fairly happy with the depth of the image. Then onto M81 and M82. I then sweeped the milky way for a while finding M52 in Cass. and some beautiful open clusters. We then all gathered round the 10inch LXD75 and looked at Andromeda. It was beautiful and the field of view easily was big enough to see the satellite galaxy and M110. The Meade 5000 32mm was just incredible viewing. The stars were beautiful and there was great depth and contrast. The Double cluster in the LXD75 was just incredible and I have never seen so much detail and depth. The 32mm 5000 meade is truly a beautiful eyepiece.
Thankyou goes to Martin's mum for making some tea and Martin, Neil and myself had a good chat about the various astronomical events coming up including Mars opposition, Draconids, Leonids and Geminids.
Mars had risen well into the sky and we all stepped up to the little ED80mm for a peek using Neil's 3-6mm Nagler zoom. The view was excellent and we could see the polar cap and some dark and light markings on the surface. With Neil's green filter, we were able to pick up the maria details excellently and we all wondered at the mysterious blue haze that was visible at the Southern pole. The aberation-free image confirmed that there was a haze as no optical defects were visible.
The skies turned hazy for about an hour and at this stage we were considering packing but there were a few breaks in the haze and soon the skies came back to near their former glory. Martin suggested at this point to try for the Veil Nebula as I had an Oxygen3 filter so we used a MEade 26mm plossl with Neil's 10inch and Martin sweeped up the Veil. The view was stunning. There was structure in the nebula cloud and it was an easy find as it seemed quite apparent in the eyepiece. I went to get the Mead e14mm ultra wide but by the time I got back the haze had come in so we didn't get a 2nd look at the Veil but it was the highlight of the night without question and a first for myself and Neil. The skies were quite variable and we called it a night, but hopefully we will get more time the next night to view some more astronomical delights.
Clear Skies
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