A Brief Bins View - 19th May

I really had no time at all to get out last night, which is somewhat irritating as it was the first proper clear night in at least a week. Ho hum. Anyway, I spent about 10 minutes outside with the Bresser 10x50. I started with looking at Saturn, I'd read on SGL that even with 10x50's you ought to be able to see the rings (as a tiny bulge), I suspect that to do so you have to mount the bins on a tripod, which I didn't do, but I couldn't say for certain that I did, even after using various nearby objects as a leaning post.

Then I had a quick look at the moon, considering it wasn't full moon last night, I was surprised by how low in the sky and to the south the moon is appearing, however, after my previous sessions, it was good to be able to put some names to the spots and holes I could see in the bins. Aristartchus stood out bright and clear on the western (hmm, wonder if that's right) left hand edge. Tycho and the patterns were also really clear.

As this was such a short session, I didn't spend long on the moon, and quickly turned to try and find Mel111 in Coma Bernices. It took a little while, as the last time I saw this was a couple
of months ago, and the sky has turned around quite a long way. Still, with a few minutes perseverance, I found it, and without reference to books, excellent.

I then had a quick look around Cassiopeia, but as she's so very low in the North, the glow from Gatwick spoils the view. Still I had a look for and found Kemble's cascade, a bit easier as it's higher in the sky, but it's also quite dim, so I didn't see all the stars in the cascade.

I'm glad I got out but it's a shame it was for such a short session. And today there's not a spot of blue in sight up above, that'll make a change then.