Post by a nicer planet on Oct 20, 2015 20:54:14 GMT
Hi All. Not sure quite how to upload to gallery so posting this attachment as a thread.
Yes, finally a break through in the clouds last week and just in time for me to spot Uranus in opposition (currently positioned in Pisces) thru my 250mm Orion Optics Dobsonian. A lovely sight.... appearing about the size of a word document standard bullet point in the 17mm eyepiece (70 times magnification) but still discernable as a minute disc against the pin-point sized surrounding stars. Also observed the merest light sky blue tint giving it a lesser white cast than the bright shining stars too. My final planet captured... and almost two years since I saw my first... Jupiter (shortly after acquiring the scope in December 2013). Have observed all the planets now. (Yes... I saw Earth quite a while before this!!! LOL :-D)
Seeing and studying each of the planets with an immense sense of wow!! and excitement... remember, this was the first time I saw each of them by eye... I was then able to hook up a standard holiday compact camera (having the almost vital lcd display on the rear) and attach it afocally right up to the eye-piece using a diy camera bracket fixed around the draw tube... thus still allowing me to vary the focus. Yep... backyard amateur astronomy at its best!!!
Anyway... enough of the technical... on with the show. Almost two years in the making... it's finally arrived at a screen near you!! Featuring the very elusive Mercury, Venus in her cloudy attire, the just visible Northern polar ice cap of Mars... King Jupiter and his Great Red Spot, the sleek rings of Saturn and the far out ice giants of Uranus and Neptune... Here it is... my Solar System Collection!!! (as captured 2014 & 2015).
Clear skies, ap