Society for Popular Astronomy

Thanks Brian. Yes, that is one good thing about a refractor, no central obstruction to show up at high exit pupils. Unlike with an f4.65 reflector, where 25mm is the longest focal length eyepiece I can get away with on bright targets. In fact, an image of the secondary shows up on Mars at this magni...

Hello Brian, it is quite strong, yes. I bought a Sirius Optics Minus Violet filter for planets and the moon with similar results to your filter. Not that I generally use it for planets and the moon because my 14 inch reflector is far superior. I find the telescope superb for low magnification sky-sw...

Had a spare twenty minutes yesterday evening and decided to observe low down Jupiter and Saturn. My only option in the time available was the 4 inch short-tube refractor through the landing window, pretty much a straight-on view through the glass. It was nice to see the two planets again. The view a...

Had a good run of clear nights here...until last night. Alas, the coming of the Orionids peak time has heralded a thick quilt of cloud....set to stay for a good few days too, if the BBC are to be believed.

Never mind, a few early nights will be good for me....Emoji

It was very uplifting, Bob, yes! A less exciting glimpse last night, though nevertheless pleasing. I had just a quick look at around 23.30 BST following some deep sky observation in very good conditions (at least mag. 6), to be rewarded with plenty of dark detail in the planet's northern hemisphere,...

Saw three beautiful specimens of meteor during my observing session last night, although only one of them appeared to originate from the Orion direction.

Best wishes,

Nigel

Gave myself a rest from Mars last night, other than the pleasure of unaided eye bright-redness. And then the morning came. Drawing back the curtains, I was rewarded with a mesmerising view, the dark silhouette of the Cairnsmore of Fleet mountain being serenaded by two heavenly bodies, the crescent m...

Central to the view of Mars presented last night at 22:00 BST was Amazonis Planitia, one of the planet’s smoothest plains. Smooth and plain it may have been, but to the south was much dark detail, the horizontal strands of Mare Sirenum, Mare Cimmirium and Solis Lacus. And, of course, the crisp, whit...

Hello Jeff, my wife and I were also enjoying the evening planets as we dog-walked. It is very good just now, isn't it, with the glorious Mars glaring red from the south-east. Although I don't get the feeling of a god of war, more a feeling of affection towards it. But of course, that is with the ben...

Yes, that was what I saw! It's good that the Martian day is about 40 minutes longer than hours, isn't it. Makes for a sliding window of entertainment.

You make nice sketches, Bob.

All the best,

Nigel

Having done some satisfying deep sky observing with the big reflector last night, I turned my attention to Mars at between 21:50 and 22:15 BST. The air had some turbulence, but there were clear intervals. I was using 275x and 330x mostly and the green/yellow W56, orange W21and blue W80 filters in ad...

Went eagerly out to the freshly collimated 14 inch reflector at around 10:30 BST last night, following one of those afternoons that is so clear that distant scenery looks etched into the sky. I thought I might see more than usual having had wine a few hours earlier, but it didn’t work. Nature was re...

On yet another clear, crisp night, I decided to observe Mars and the nearby moon and a few of the brighter deep sky objects. Turning the big Newt onto Mars at 200x at with yellowy green filter W56 at around 22:30 BST, rewarded me with a pleasing, fairly stable view. Moving up to 330x and 400x, I sus...

A later than normal observation today, commencing at about 4:50 BST. Conditions were very clear and stable, so I was able to enjoy pleasant views at 330x and 400x through the large Newtonian. The little south polar cap was very nice, clearly displaying Lowell’s Ring. The north was dominated by Mare ...

My wife and I have observed with the Camera Obscura at Dumfries museum a couple of times.

I was fascinated to see the method of focusing. The image is projected downwards onto a waist high, horizontal round screen. In order to focus, the table is rotated and rises up or down accordingly.

Great fun!