Started at 5 and finished at 1015 and might have kept going. The seeing was 9 out of 10 and the transparency was 10 for 10.

Planets planets planets.

Saturn was just excellent. It looked like one of those laser cut paper creations.  Jupiter had the red spot rolling off the face but the belts and zones were excellent and turbid. I used an 82 blue filter to enhance detail. Neptune was there but for the first time Uranus came within range of my 5 inch refractor. It is definitely astronomy of the mind knowing how far out you are when observing Uranus. At 330x it was a fine disc and showed the trademark greenish blue color. A couple of billion miles is a long way to see from a backyard. Makes you think a lot.

Mars was finally to die for. I was able to use from 330x to 400x depending on conditions. 330 was the best overall but you could still do good work at 400 power. This was the first time I was able to use the 5 inch this season. All previous observations had been done with an 80mm F10 achromat which could give surprising results but not to the level of performance that the 5 inch F7 can achieve. Syrtis Major and Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani were easily distinguished using a 23A light red filter. I did try the Televue Type A which gives natural color rendition but at the cost of some reflection issues. This filter was discontinued some years ago. I like the color but not the hazy reflections. The Vernon scope 23A was the ticket at all powers. No image degradation or reflections/haze. Just perfect. They may cost more but they are worth the money. I stayed with Mars for over an hours transfixed by the clear view. This observation has made my season. I have always said if you see Mars only a couple of times good in 4 months it has been a good season. Mars is the one planet that really requires filters to see well. As we approach opposition lets hope it stays good until the end. After that wait two more years. I just love Mars campaigns.

I will try for Venus in the morning after the sun has risen. Mercury is right below it so maybe I can get all planets in within 12 to 13 hours. Either way 4 planets last night makes a good night.

There were a set of three double stars in one FOV up in Camelopardalis that were a challenge. The toughest was Struve 385 coming in at 2.5 arc seconds separation. Primary 4.8 with a secondary of 7.8 . This took 400X to see split. There are two other doubles in the same FOV Struve 384 and 400. Both have moments. It is fun to see three difficult doubles in one view.   

On Nov 23, 2022, at 11:52 PM, jimcoble2000 via groups.io <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:



Started at 5 and finished at 1015 and might have kept going. The seeing was 9 out of 10 and the transparency was 10 for 10.

Planets planets planets.

Saturn was just excellent. It looked like one of those laser cut paper creations.  Jupiter had the red spot rolling off the face but the belts and zones were excellent and turbid. I used an 82 blue filter to enhance detail. Neptune was there but for the first time Uranus came within range of my 5 inch refractor. It is definitely astronomy of the mind knowing how far out you are when observing Uranus. At 330x it was a fine disc and showed the trademark greenish blue color. A couple of billion miles is a long way to see from a backyard. Makes you think a lot.

Mars was finally to die for. I was able to use from 330x to 400x depending on conditions. 330 was the best overall but you could still do good work at 400 power. This was the first time I was able to use the 5 inch this season. All previous observations had been done with an 80mm F10 achromat which could give surprising results but not to the level of performance that the 5 inch F7 can achieve. Syrtis Major and Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani were easily distinguished using a 23A light red filter. I did try the Televue Type A which gives natural color rendition but at the cost of some reflection issues. This filter was discontinued some years ago. I like the color but not the hazy reflections. The Vernon scope 23A was the ticket at all powers. No image degradation or reflections/haze. Just perfect. They may cost more but they are worth the money. I stayed with Mars for over an hours transfixed by the clear view. This observation has made my season. I have always said if you see Mars only a couple of times good in 4 months it has been a good season. Mars is the one planet that really requires filters to see well. As we approach opposition lets hope it stays good until the end. After that wait two more years. I just love Mars campaigns.

I will try for Venus in the morning after the sun has risen. Mercury is right below it so maybe I can get all planets in within 12 to 13 hours. Either way 4 planets last night makes a good night.

There were a set of three double stars in one FOV up in Camelopardalis that were a challenge. The toughest was Struve 385 coming in at 2.5 arc seconds separation. Primary 4.8 with a secondary of 7.8 . This took 400X to see split. There are two other doubles in the same FOV Struve 384 and 400. Both have moments. It is fun to see three difficult doubles in one view.   

On Nov 23, 2022, at 11:52 PM, jimcoble2000 via groups.io <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:



Started at 5 and finished at 1015 and might have kept going. The seeing was 9 out of 10 and the transparency was 10 for 10.

Planets planets planets.

Saturn was just excellent. It looked like one of those laser cut paper creations.  Jupiter had the red spot rolling off the face but the belts and zones were excellent and turbid. I used an 82 blue filter to enhance detail. Neptune was there but for the first time Uranus came within range of my 5 inch refractor. It is definitely astronomy of the mind knowing how far out you are when observing Uranus. At 330x it was a fine disc and showed the trademark greenish blue color. A couple of billion miles is a long way to see from a backyard. Makes you think a lot.

Mars was finally to die for. I was able to use from 330x to 400x depending on conditions. 330 was the best overall but you could still do good work at 400 power. This was the first time I was able to use the 5 inch this season. All previous observations had been done with an 80mm F10 achromat which could give surprising results but not to the level of performance that the 5 inch F7 can achieve. Syrtis Major and Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani were easily distinguished using a 23A light red filter. I did try the Televue Type A which gives natural color rendition but at the cost of some reflection issues. This filter was discontinued some years ago. I like the color but not the hazy reflections. The Vernon scope 23A was the ticket at all powers. No image degradation or reflections/haze. Just perfect. They may cost more but they are worth the money. I stayed with Mars for over an hours transfixed by the clear view. This observation has made my season. I have always said if you see Mars only a couple of times good in 4 months it has been a good season. Mars is the one planet that really requires filters to see well. As we approach opposition lets hope it stays good until the end. After that wait two more years. I just love Mars campaigns.

I will try for Venus in the morning after the sun has risen. Mercury is right below it so maybe I can get all planets in within 12 to 13 hours. Either way 4 planets last night makes a good night.

There were a set of three double stars in one FOV up in Camelopardalis that were a challenge. The toughest was Struve 385 coming in at 2.5 arc seconds separation. Primary 4.8 with a secondary of 7.8 . This took 400X to see split. There are two other doubles in the same FOV Struve 384 and 400. Both have moments. It is fun to see three difficult doubles in one view.