Doubles from last night

I second that, great observing reports there, what eyepiece did you use to get that kind of power ?

Thanks guys.

I used a 5mm Baader Genuine Orthoscopic Dave, the long focal length of the C11 (2800mm) means that even modest eyepieces give high magnification. The ortho gives a very clean image, ideal for difficult doubles. I know that 560x is above the "maximum" magnification for the scope, but it was effective in practice, so I'm not bothered about the theory. Bruce MacEvoy recommends the use of very high magnifications even when the seeing is poor ( www.handprint.com/ASTRO/bineye1.html#skill7 ). His site is a treasure trove of information. I'd love to have the opportunity to have a look through your 20" Obsession some time, though it it would probably make the C11 seem very inadequate (to use Paul's phrase) afterwards - three times the light gathering power!! You probably need sunglasses to observe through it. : cheer:

I did dabble with imaging for a while Michael, but found that I preferred the instant gratification of visual observing. Nonetheless, I may have a bash at imaging double stars, and possibly have a crack at a few measurements using astrometry of the images. For now though, when the skies do clear I tend to try to make the most of the valuable scope time by making visual observations.

Mike