tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78713942008-01-16T11:07:04.597ZADASnoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-36018336952962467932007-12-16T14:40:00.000Z2007-12-16T14:43:58.139Z

Last night saw the final event of the 2007 "50th Anniversary" celebrations of the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank. There were two ADAS members present. Myself, using a Konus 120mm F8.3 Refactor mounted onto a Vixen GP-DX. And Colin Bowler who was using a fine Celestron C8 and Vixen GP-D2, together with a 10" Callisto Dob. Also present at last night's event, where members from Macclesfield AS.

Mark Crossleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1162472283733144412006-11-02T12:56:00.000Z2006-11-02T12:58:03.746Z

Nov 1st 01:00 – 05:00 UT Cambrian Mountains, Elan Valley, Rhayader NELM 6.5+ Instruments: naked-eye, Borg 101mm refractor and 18” f4.5 Obsession. The best transparency and darkest conditions I’ve experienced in the UK. The zodiacal band, gegenschein and pre-dawn zodiacal light were visible. All views of objects this night were the best experienced from the UK, and using the 18” often the best

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1160234267609480032006-10-07T16:15:00.000+01:002006-10-07T16:17:47.623+01:00

See www.starparty.org for background. Mike, Mark and myself arrived late afternoon/early evening on Thursday 21st September. Tents were pitched, old acquaintances renewed and a good 4 hours observing had before the cloud rolled in just after 1 a.m. Friday it rained for 7 hours! A trip to a local Internet café revealed skies clearing by 9 p.m. and staying clear through until dawn. And so it

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1135780596511102242005-12-28T14:34:00.000Z2006-07-02T13:08:01.960+01:00

27th December 2005 18:30-23:00 Llyn Brenig, NELM 6+. Telescope - Obsession 18” f4.5 dobsonian Eyepieces – 31 and 13mm Naglers, 24mm Panoptic OIII and H beta filters. First off, a horizon to horizon crisp and frosty Milky Way. The faint and unimpressive comet C/2005 E2 McNaught at mag 10ish was seen down in Capricornus. Some interesting galaxies lie to the west of Pegasus, including NGC 7241 a

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1128619051518049842005-10-06T18:13:00.000+01:002005-10-06T18:17:31.526+01:00

Kelling Heath 28/9 – 3/10 The main instrument used was an Obsession 18” f4.5 Dobsonian reflector. Session 1 00:30 – 04:30 BST 29/9 A cold front had just passed through at midnight and the rain-washed sky was extremely transparent. A few boring planetaries and a smattering of open clusters in Cygnus preceded an excellent view of Minkowski 1-79, an oblong with an offset dark hole. This night

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1128164605748045012005-10-01T11:26:00.000+01:002005-10-01T12:13:54.400+01:00

The weather front which had been dropping large amounts of water earlier in the evening cleared away and at 00:00hrs (23:00ut) I walked out into my rain socked garden to find the sky clear. But not just clear but "REALLY CLEAR" I could see stars down to M+5.41 with M31 and NGC 752 visible the latter only with averted vision. I set up my DX300 on the observing pad and by 00:30 I was able to begin

Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1126289669378061742005-09-09T17:57:00.000+01:002005-09-09T19:14:29.423+01:00

The sky on Anglesey was lovely and clear on Bank Holiday Monday so I went up in to one of the fields near our caravan and spent a nice session touring the late Summer sky with my TeleVue Ranger and GP mount. There is very little LP from here and by 10:30 when the sky was fully dark the NLM was an easy +6.1. You could see thousands of stars with in the Milky Way as well as the Scutum SC which

Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1115911699740849782005-05-12T16:26:00.000+01:002005-06-06T16:42:59.086+01:00

Monday/Tuesday 9/10 May 23:00 – 03:00 BST Elan Valley, Cambrian Mountains NELM 6.5+ Galaxies A list of bright and featured NGC and Messier galaxies culled from the Night Sky Observers Guide. All these observations were through the 18” Obsession with 13mm Nagler eyepiece giving a magnification of ~ 160. 4216 lies just west of M84, this is a superb elongated, needle edge-on galaxy. An almost

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1113232004597831912005-04-11T16:03:00.000+01:002005-04-12T12:15:48.940+01:00

Norman and Kevin or two LX 90s or maybe..? M65 and M66 alive with great detail. NGC4754 and NGC4762, a stunning contrast of edge-on and elliptical galaxies near Vindemiatrix. M84 and M86 followed by the galaxy pairs of Markarian’s Chain in Virgo. M60 and NGC4647 (or M59) at the edge of the Virgo mainline. The main pair of spiral arms in the Whirlpool galaxy catching Colin’s eye for the first

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1113130850123880152005-04-10T11:50:00.000+01:002005-04-10T12:00:50.126+01:00

LOCATION: Yarnshall Hill INSTRUMENT: 127mm f/8.03 OG MAGNIFICATION: mostly x41 SEEING: ANT III Transparency Good DATE/TIME: 08 04. 20:30 23:05. NLM +5.1 Members present. Kevin and Norman, Colin, PaulC, Nick and Richard Bullock. At the request of Kevin Thurston and also the forecast of a clear sky, myself and members of the society ventured out to one of our observing sites. Yarnshall Hill nr

Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1111326307056121542005-03-20T13:43:00.000Z2005-03-24T20:09:28.723Z

What can you see through an un-mounted 60mm mini-Borg with 24mm Panoptic and 13mm Nagler at 2000m under clear and dark sky? The Double Cluster and Stock 2 can be seen in the same field of view (fov). The nearby large hazes of IC 1848 and 1805 are embedded with stars. The dark nebulae of B3, 4 and 5 are visible (?!) in Perseus also the California Nebula without filters (and naked-eye with H-beta

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1106389389667514252005-01-22T10:13:00.000Z2005-01-22T10:23:09.666Z

Walking back from the observatory I notice a white/green arc low to the north. I thought maybe aurora but unlikely! By the time I was home it had to be and there were occasional rays growing upwards. A quick 'phone around was in order. Colin H, Mark C, Paul B and Mike C. I dragged out Sue at ~22:15, 'I cannot see anything'. Disappears back into the warmth. About 5 minutes later big

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1106244307046306032005-01-20T18:01:00.000Z2005-01-20T18:05:07.046Z

I’ve recently purchased a ‘take me anywhere’ ‘scope. At 60mm aperture and f5.4 the OTA comes in a 10” long when assembled. It can easily fit in any bag, especially my overfull briefcase. A 24mm Panoptic eyepiece gives a fov of ~5 degrees and x14, a 13mm Nagler offers a ~3 degree fov at x25. Both OK for unmounted use and weighing in at less than 1 kg altogether. The first view was a

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1105276125514513952005-01-09T13:06:00.000Z2005-01-09T13:09:26.006Z

LOCATION: Wildboarclough Car Park near the Crag Inn. INSTRUMENT: TeleVue Ranger 70mm f/6.8 (light cup) MAGNIFICATION: x20 and x13 and x40 (2x Barlow) SEEING: ANT IV NLM: +6.0 DATE/TIME: 18:00 hrs to 23:30:hrs I spent tonight observing the winter sky through my TeleVue Ranger. This is an excellent grab and go telescope and shows pin point stars. I started with the comet. Comet Machholz

Mark Crossleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1103373339587154412004-12-18T13:31:00.000Z2004-12-20T10:55:51.483Z

LOCATION: Gradbach INSTRUMENT: TeleVue Ranger and 25 mm Panoptic MAGNIFICATION: x20 SEEING: ANT III LM: +5.9 DATE/TIME: 17th December 04 T=21:35:23:00 This was a short session tonight. I took the opportunity catch a break in the clouds and went up to The Gradbach Observing site and join Paul Clark. The reason for this was to see Comet Q2 Machholz under dark sky's. Despite bright

Mark Crossleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1100626783513970492004-11-16T17:34:00.000Z2004-11-16T17:39:43.513Z

Friday 12th November Llyn Brenig NELM ~6 A late start saw me hiding in the forest from the cold north wind. A few clouds passed through but generally the session from 22:00 –02:30 was clear. I spent the first few hours using the 18". Comet 78P Grehels is visible in Aries. The expected magnitude is~11.8, however, it is currently ~1.5 magnitudes brighter. It appeared as a well formed

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1099612311934566162004-11-04T23:47:00.000Z2004-11-04T23:51:51.933Z

Here are the results of three sessions, a late morning and a couple of early evenings at the beginning and end of an 11 day holiday in Tenerife. Oct 23rd 03:30 to 07:00. NELM 7. Borg 101mm f6.2 ED refractor. A few hours snooze in the back of the car waiting for the moon to set preceded another ultra dark sky session. First off was a new comet C/2004 Q2 Machholz. Found below Lepus,

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1098213794942181542004-10-19T20:01:00.000+01:002004-10-24T20:12:54.833+01:00

Over a long weekend 14th-17th October, I travelled down to Devon along with Mike C, Peter H, Bill , and Nick W-V to stay with Graham G on his farm. If I reel off the kit list that was available to us it will make you light headed... Takahashi Mewlon 250, 105-TMB, 130-TMB, 7" AP Starfire, 18" Obsession, 100mm Miyauchi binoculars, Ha scope for daytime, AP 105 Traveller, 12" LX200 plus more!

Mark Crossleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1097917218985560392004-10-16T09:58:00.000+01:002004-10-16T10:00:18.986+01:00

Friday October 8th. Myself, Kevin and Norman. This was a reasonable session with intermittent misty clouds, the NELM down to 6 and a bit. A welcome outing! Supernova SN2004et at mag. 13 was readily located in NGC 6946. This magnitude 9.00 face-on galaxy showed plenty of mottled spiral arm detail. NGC 6939 a nearby open cluster is a good contrast. Western wonders NGC 6781 a

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1095887828407634132004-09-22T22:12:00.000+01:002004-09-22T22:17:08.406+01:00

Report from St. Martin’s Isles of Scilly darkest and clearest sky I’ve seen. 6"Reflector and 15 x70 Bins Saturday 11th September Half hour walk back from pub meal under clear sky to horizon Milky Way wonderful!! (Too tired after overnight journey to Penzance to observe) Monday 13th September Very clear between showers, too windy for telescope. 15 x70 bins, 22: 30 -23:35, M51 best I’

Mark Crossleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1094990665876913902004-09-12T13:01:00.000+01:002004-09-12T13:04:25.876+01:00

The Elan Valley complex of reservoirs can be found ~ 40 kms east of Aberystwyth and 4 mls SW of Rhayader. Wednesday 8 September NELM 6.5 Borg 101ED f6.2 refractor 31 and 13 mm TeleVue Nagler eyepieces OIII and UHC filters. This is the darkest location that I have experienced in the UK. By a road in a N-S valley the Milky Way blazed overhead from horizon to horizon. M8 in Sagittarius

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1093687718736480262004-08-28T10:51:00.000+01:002004-08-28T11:08:38.736+01:00

Friday 27th Borg 101ED A range of observers saw a mixed bag of objects in a clear sky and blinding nearly full moon. Coathanger Cr 399 3.6 asterism - Vulpecula Dumbell M27 7.4 planetary nebula - Vulpecula Albireo 3 colourful double - Cygnus Owl cluster NGC 457 6.4 open cluster - Cassiopeia M39 4.6 open cluster - Cygnus M103 7.4 open cluster - Cassiopeia Mizar & Alcor 2 double/triple

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1091997763874715982004-08-07T21:38:00.000+01:002004-08-08T21:44:18.243+01:00

Geoff (6" Dob) NickD (8" ADAS Meade) Chris (Miyauchi 20x77 binoculars) and myself spent a lovely three hours stargazing from one of our local dark sky sites. The sky was slightly hazy with a limiting magnitude of +4. I could easily make out Cr 399 and the Scutum Star cloud with the naked eye. The seeing was excellent ANTII but unfortunately it was breezy. I spent most of the time hunting down

ADASnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1091737914941926032004-08-05T21:29:00.000+01:002004-08-06T00:00:12.133+01:00

From Friday 16th to Monday 19th July it was perfectly clear all night for 4 nights. Saturday 17th was even clearer? A sunset green flash was seen over La Palma. NELM ~7. My observing location was at 2000m on Mt. Tiede. I used a Borg 101ED f6.4 refractor with 31 and 13 mm Naglers and x2 Televue Barlow. Mounted on a heavy duty Manfrotto photographic tripod I steered using a red dot unit power

ADASnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871394.post-1091789515962354032003-08-30T11:49:00.000+01:002004-08-06T11:52:48.910+01:00

More than 4 hours of the best transparent conditions Llyn Brenig (North Wales) has to offer. NELM 6.5+! The Milky Way was clearly visible from horizon to horizon. The North American nebula was an easy naked eye object with the true shape apparent. The Scutum star cloud was so bright and I could see down past M24 to the Lagoon Nebula steaming out of the teapot at less than 10 degrees elevation.

Paul Clarknoreply@blogger.com