January Observing Report

Not as many observing opportunities as this time last year but still some good accomplishments. This month I bagged my first images through the 250px mounted on the new EQ6 mount. I was very pleased with the results namely the Great Orion Nebula and Andromeda galaxy photos found on the deep sky page. I also got quite a bit of viewing in with the new set-up. Views were stunning and all the more enjoyable with the new mount tracking the sky so I could look at objects for as long as I wished without having to manually move the large telescope tube by hand. A notable viewing has been the whirlpool galaxy which was still desperately faint but very pleasing to have just 'barely' seen this famous 35 million light year object. I'm sure once it's high up in the night sky in spring I'll finally see a hint of the spiral arms on the galaxy. Another object worthy of a mention is the Orion Nebula which was jaw dropping through the large scope. At high magnification I could see the intricate structure of the cloud and dust surrounding the young stars. At low magnification, the nebula's 'wing's' could be clearly seen whisping outwards from the centre.