On the night of the 21st September several members enjoyed a crisp cool moonless night at the Brian Stokes Cygnus Observatory to view Saturn at opposition through our largest scope with its rings almost edge on and several of its moon's visible; a truly amazing sight. A demonstration of how to set up a small refractor to acquire imaging data was carried out for those setting out on their astrophotography journeys, with the scope used to successfully image the Trifid nebula in Sagittarius (M20) and the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (M13). A bright pass of the ISS was enjoyed as members watched the space station fade out into the Terminator (Earth's shadow); using binoculars to catch the last of its reflected light. With no moon to interfere with star gazing, members made the most of viewing the various constellations and the bright star clusters and nebulae in the Milky Way which shone brightly overhead, before using the main scope for some stunning close up views of The Double star cluster in Perseus, M13 the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and more. A thoroughly enjoyable night.
Click on the image to get a closer view
Chris Bowden
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