Popular Post Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) On Sunday evening the often mendacious Met Office site promised an hour of cloud-free fun. This wasn’t entirely correct; as usual. At 19:00 I ventured out with the Titchy. At least I thought I did. Inauspiciously I’d taken out the wrong, but almost identical, bag which actually contained the ED72. I went back to rectify this mistake wondering if the universe was trying to tell me something (or not). But I was determined to try the newly repaired Altair 60mm EDF. The sky was not particularly clear, although there was no overhead jet-stream according to my software. At 19:00 some stars and Saturn were quite visible. I only had three eyepieces with me: A Tele Vue Nagler Zoom, the BHZ and a 36mm Baader Hyperion Aspheric. With these I had magnifications with a spread of 10x to 120x. I could just about see the Summer Triangle and the first target was Albireo with the TV zoom. I couldn’t find M57 at all, even with the BHZ, but I did see all four stars of the Double Double with the Nagler. As there was a bright Moon, let alone hazy gossamer cloud, I switched my attention to Saturn. Surface detail was good even at 120x, although it was sharpest at around 100x. I could make out the Cassini Division even though the rings are slowly starting to close. Titan was fairly obvious although at about 70x I thought I could see Rhea on the opposite side of the planet. Often I have to lower the magnification to see Rhea with smaller refractors. My guess is this is an exit pupil thing. Still with the Nagler in the 2” Maxbright diagonal I switched my attention to Cassiopeia. I was spellbound by a beautiful iota Cass (120x). I was surprised to find it so easily as Epsilon Cassiopeiae (Segin) the fifth brightest star in the constellation, six times the mass of the Sun, and a useful signpost/pointer star, was almost invisible due to the white fluffy sky stuff. Coincidentally (or was it synchronicity?) ‘Spellbound’ by Siouxsie and the Banshees came over the earbuds on my tiny DAB radio as I saw the three star system. As the Queen of Ethiopia’s celestial chair was soon re-upholstered in clouds I decided on splitting doubles in my own astrological sign of Aquarius. Zeta 1 Aquarii or Sadalmelik (luck of the king) often known as Alpha Aquari is fifty three times the size of the sun’s radius with a 2.94 visual magnitude and is 520 light years away. Which would make it look like it was in 1503 CE. This was the year when a remarkably prescient Queen Isabella of Spain issued an edict prohibiting violence against indigenous peoples of the New World. Also the year some bloke named Leonardo da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa. Which he apparently never finished. Bloody perfectionist! Inevitably Jupiter became high enough for me to observe. Surface detail, particularly the equatorial belts, were good, but I had to drop down to around 90x for the most clarity. I could see three of the Galilean moons in a shallow triangle. After a while (19:33) I witnessed Europa’s appearance. The Moon (Aries) was still bright at 32 arc minutes and at 98.7% illumination. The Petavius Rille was bleached out but I got a decent view of the 131 kilometre Boussingault impact crater. Possibly due to foreshortening the large crater within Boussingault itself appears to make it ‘double walled’. I was pleased with Titchy’s performance and the rotator behaved perfectly. So, all in all, a quite spellbound Sunday night. Edited October 30, 2023 by Nightspore +Glafnazur, +Stu, Sojourneyer and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Glafnazur Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 Another great report and sounds lie a great session. I'm glad Titchy is back up and running. What's Titchy's focal length? Nightspore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 9 minutes ago, Glafnazur said: Another great report and sounds lie a great session. I'm glad Titchy is back up and running. What's Titchy's focal length? Thanks. It turned out better than I expected considering it wasn't exactly a 'clear' night as promised. The Titchy has a titchy 360mm f/l and it is f/6. Sojourneyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Glafnazur Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, Nightspore said: Thanks. It turned out better than I expected considering it wasn't exactly a 'clear' night as promised. The Titchy has a titchy 360mm f/l and it is f/6. Pretty much the same as my WO ZS61 360 FL and f/5.9 and probably my favourite scope. The optics are pin sharp and it is so easy and fun to use. I used to have a WO ZS66 which was a lovely scope and, like a Wally, I went and sold it, as soon as it had gone I regretted it. Nightspore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 10 minutes ago, Glafnazur said: Pretty much the same as my WO ZS61 360 FL and f/5.9 and probably my favourite scope. The optics are pin sharp and it is so easy and fun to use. I used to have a WO ZS66 which was a lovely scope and, like a Wally, I went and sold it, as soon as it had gone I regretted it. Those WO's look nice, pricey though, like everything WO. I'm not sure who makes the Titchy, but it can be bought for as little as 400 quid depending what name is on it. I very nearly bought a Takahashi 60mm. https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-60-ed-doublet-refractor-ota.html But I wasn't overkeen on the visual back or the fact that there is no micro-focusing. It's probably well balanced though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Glafnazur Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 4 minutes ago, Nightspore said: Those WO's look nice, pricey though, like everything WO. I'm not sure who makes the Titchy, but it can be bought for as little as 400 quid depending what name is on it. I very nearly bought a Takahashi 60mm. https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-60-ed-doublet-refractor-ota.html But I wasn't overkeen on the visual back or the fact that there is no micro-focusing. It's probably well balanced though. Yes, WO are pricey but good quality. Fortunately I bought mine quite a while ago, I think they are around £150 - £200 more expensive now. I must admit I've been looking at the Taks myself, maybe one day............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 2 minutes ago, Glafnazur said: Yes, WO are pricey but good quality. Fortunately I bought mine quite a while ago, I think they are around £150 - £200 more expensive now. I must admit I've been looking at the Taks myself, maybe one day............... Everything's more expensive now lol. I'm still tempted by a Tak' myself. Sojourneyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I looked at 'some Taks' the other day ! The FC100 is what i have my eye on. Yes, the focusers are a possible sticking point. Problem is, i have no funds currently for astro gear, despite all the recent sudden influx of Vixen LVWs. Siouxsie Sioux (i still have trouble spelling her name) was great wasn't she ?? A real trail blazer, and ahead of her time. She's 66 now !! Nightspore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I very much like the cover they did of John Lennon's 'Dear prudence" Heres Siouxsie performing (miming) it, and check out the guest guitarist : Robert Smith from The Cure Nightspore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fellas on Google Plus Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 Long live Titchy! Brilliant report, Dave. Siouxsie and the Banshees are a classic unit. Love how their music incorporated itself into your observing session, lol! Perhaps, it was synchronicity! Or Synchronicity II! Reggie Nightspore and +Bino-viewer 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Bino-viewer said: I looked at 'some Taks' the other day ! The FC100 is what i have my eye on. Yes, the focusers are a possible sticking point. Problem is, i have no funds currently for astro gear, despite all the recent sudden influx of Vixen LVWs. Siouxsie Sioux (i still have trouble spelling her name) was great wasn't she ?? A real trail blazer, and ahead of her time. She's 66 now !! I can't spell Siouxsie either. She truly is the Goddess of the New Wave. Apparently, she really is part native Canadian, and may be part Sioux. Sojourneyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, The Fellas on Google Plus said: Long live Titchy! Brilliant report, Dave. Siouxsie and the Banshees are a classic unit. Love how their music incorporated itself into your observing session, lol! Perhaps, it was synchronicity! Or Synchronicity II! Reggie Thanks Reggie. Long live Titchy! I wonder if that's a Halloween Sting mask Sting's wearing? This lot definitely look better without Halloween make-up. The Fellas on Google Plus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 Slightly off topic/Titchy, but my laptop HD, running Ubuntu, once had more Siouxsie videos on MP4 than any other artist. Now, Florence + the Machine has just edged Siouxsie off top spot. They say you mellow as you age ... Sojourneyer and +Glafnazur 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 +Glafnazur 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now