Rain and Wind Springs Eternal

 

NGC 5128 from May 2025

        Good viewing at night is coming at a premium. Sunset is racing towards the late evening with twilight seeming to go forever. And I absolutely HATE Daylight Time. 

        I bought a new 7mm eyepiece from High Point Scientific a while back and have been trying to use it out in the field. The view is not as crisp as I had hoped. I am wanting to compare it with a 7mm setting on a zoom EP. So far, the new one is better, but at a cautious margin. Nights have been unfavorable for me to do a definitive field run. This spring has been exceptionally windy and wet. 

        Contrasted double stars are becoming a new fun item to observe (no good to shoot with the S-50). When you get a bright yellow star right next to a royal blue one, it's really amazing. 

Messier 104, the sombrero in Virgo

        I managed an updated M104 during my 10 May outing. That DSO is always an interesting one to seek out and a rewarding one to capture in pictures. 

        I tried once again to use the light meter app I read about on the web, but it didn't work at night (WTH?) plus I found it installed all these dumb games as bloatware. So adios to that junk. 

        Another very windy night and discouraging in some ways. Although the sky cleared off by 9pm, the air was still turbulent enough to make things hard to find along with making the scope wobble. 

Alignment of (L-R) Jupiter, Venus and a new crescent moon

        I was rewarded with a nice naked eye view of the alignment you see above. I think bringing a tripod with me for each outing would be a good idea. This was a handheld shot and my tremors (along with the breeze) made a steady shot difficult. 

        I was able to clamp my smartphone to the scope and get a close up of our moon with a very thin sliver of a crescent. I miss my old pixel 4a phone which took amazing pictures. There's a special place in Hell for Google. 

Markarian's Chain in Virgo

        One observation item from the 10th I queued up for a photo: Markarian's Chain in Virgo. It was a dramatic enough visual item that I felt compelled to photograph. 

        I attempted a new capture of NGC 5128, but conditions were just too unfavorable. With me leaving town for several days, a waxing moon, lengthening twilight and the object's low altitude, I'm doubtful of another shot at this before 2027. But I will cross my fingers.