Yep, it's a fabulous hobby.Lucky you spotting that penetration...

Originallypostedbysfsgsw666

Goodpost.

Chromaticaberrationisanothersymptomofmostlensesandmirrorswhencoupledwithatmosphericturbulencetryingtoobservedistantobjectswithvaryingfrequenciesoflight,particularlywhenusinganythingwithacurvedlensormirror.Digitalartefactsarealsoconstantwhentakingpicturesorrecording.

Oneofmytelescopes(202mmGSODob-orasthey'reoftencalled"alightbucket")isabletoseparatebinarystars,mostnotably,AlphaCentauriAandBwithverygoodclarity.Siriusappearsasabluepointoflight,muchlikeNASA'simageonthevideothumbnail,howeversomewhatsmaller.

IcaneasilydistinguishthecloudbandsofJupiter,andwhenconditionspermit,theGreatRedSpot,andItsfourGalileanmoons(Ganymede,Europa,Io,Callisto).SaturnandtheCassiniDivisioncanbeseenaswellasanumberofitslargermoonssuchasTitan,Rhea,TethysandDione.Shadowtransitscanbeseenonbothplanets.Infact,iIn2009InoticedanoddlocationforashadowtransitfurthertowardsJupiter'ssouthernpole(appearedtometheotherwayduetothenatureofreflectortelescopes).AtthetimeIjustthoughtwhatanoddpositionforthattooccur.ButwhatIwasactuallyseeingwasthelocationofanimpactwhichpunchedaholeintheatmosphere,leavingadarkpoint.ThiswasthesamenightitwasdiscoveredbyAnthonyWesleybeforeitwasofficiallyannounced.

M104(SombreroGalaxy)isthemostdistantobjectI'vebeenabletofindandidentifyat~30millionLYthroughtheDob.

Yep, it's a fabulous hobby.

Lucky you spotting that penetration spot on discovery day. Unlucky I guess that you're not credited with discovery. I started in astronomy late 2012 so missed that one. Being in suburban Melbourne I don't often get to see anything moderately dim. I can barely make out the Sculptor Galaxy when there's nothing in the sky to reflect the city lights. It certainly makes one feel insignificant when you see the Jupiter and Saturn and their moons for the first time and realise that that dot on the surface of the planet is a moon's shadow.

The moon shot I posted earlier was done with a 250mm GSO dob using a 2x barlow to pull the focal plane out enough to be able to focus the Nikon D5100. I built myself a 14.5" truss dob a few of years back but this doesn't get used in town as I haven't built the backyard "shed" yet to house the various items of gear ready for action.