Sugarloaf - Friday night 26/05/23?

Hi Aubrey,

That is a wonderful report, and I very much enjoyed reading it, and thanks very much for giving me the 'heads-up' on last Friday's crash...taking the back roads meant I missed the traffic.

In terms of what I observed last Friday I'll start by saying it was great to see you, Mick, Cormac, and Marty at the Sugarloaf, and that Michael and Paul were missed...BTW, if you're reading this Paul I still have that copy of Rukl for you. Hopefully, I'll get to drop it off to you soon. 

Following the catch-ups, I kicked the night off with Venus at 50X, 139X, and 250X. By 23:19UT it was low in the West, so I made a very rough sketch of it with pen as I believe I noticed some shading on the Eastern side of the planet. 

Up next was the Moon, earlier in day I made some notes on what would be on show, and true to its word 'Turn Left at Orion' came up with the goods.

At the start of the book there are several pages that outline what will be on the terminator for each Lunar day. For example on day seven, which was last Friday, it encourages observers to look for Montes Haemus, Manilus, and Menelaus. Not only were each crater a sight to behold, but that Mountain range also looked magnificent as the sun cast shadows across it. Again, 50X, and 250X were used. Over the course of an hour the central peak of Menelaus revealed itself. In addition to the above, I was blown away with another fine crater. As it was a feature I had not listed in my preparation for the Sugarloaf, I was unaware of its name. However, without having to provide a description of it - I just confirmed some features of it - Aubrey knew what it was...'That's Maurocycus!' I was amazed that you knew it without me showing it to you in the eyepiece or describing it to...fair play Aubrey! I finished with Luna by scanning over the Southern Highlands...just gorgeous!

By this stage the sky was darker so I attempted some DSOs. My list of DSOs included M44, Tegemine, M67, and Cor Caroli. Unfortunately, the Moon washed out objects in Cancer, but Cor Caroli looked beautiful at 50X. 

Drawing the night to close Mick and I had a look at the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules through my f/5 250mm Newtonian Reflector on a Dobsonian base. We tried several eyepieces, but found the 9mm provided the best view of M13. At 139X many stars were resolved and with that in bag we packed up. 

I've attached three photos from Friday: One is a shot of the Moon and Venus; one is a close-up of the area of the Lunar surface I spent most time observing; and the third image is of the group just after setting-up for a wonderful night under the stars with friends. 

Thanks for reading and clear skies to all,

Darren

What a sensational bunch of images you have sent us, Darren. 
And your report is also extremely brilliant also. 

Yes. I also had a quick look at the very large Maurolycus (double) crater. 

I would be thrilled if you have another go at Tegmine (Zeta Cancri). 
On a good calm night I can split it into 3 components at 167x. 
Once when no stars were visible with my own eyes, I repeated the same feat at 140x. 
But that is extremely rare.  
By the way,the A and B of Zeta Cnc is getting a bit tighter as the years by. 
However I must say Tegmine is my favourite triple star. 

I greatly admired your view of Cor Caroli through your 10" Dobsonian. 

Clear skies from Aubrey. 

 

Hello Aubrey,

Very many thanks for your nice message and apologies for not replying sooner. I'm keen to give Tegmine another go...byvall accounts it's a lovely target. And that's right, you did have a perk at Cor Caroli through my Dob...another lovely object.

Clear skies,

Darren.