Observation Session – 20 October 2012

Location: Plateau de Valensole, France

Session duration: 2 nights

Sky conditions: Clear sky, low humidity, seeing ~7/10

Instruments:

  • 7×50 binoculars
  • 300mm Dobsonian reflector
  • 150mm Newtonian telescope

Targets:

  • M42 (Orion Nebula)
  • The Moon
  • Mars
  • Betelgeuse

Observation notes:

Transparency improved after midnight and allowed longer visual work on faint deep-sky targets.

The larger telescope resolved dense clusters cleanly, while the refractor was used for wider fields and comparison views.

Members present: Ayoub Berrabeh, Adama Traoré, Maxime Dallois, Lucille Godefert, Lina Chevalier, Antoine Delorme

Observation Session – 06 October 2012

Location: Pic du Midi foothills, France

Session duration: 2 nights

Sky conditions: Excellent transparency after midnight

Instruments:

  • 80mm refractor
  • 100mm apochromatic refractor
  • 250mm Dobsonian telescope

Targets:

  • M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)
  • Rigel
  • Perseus star field
  • Saturn

Observation notes:

Transparency improved after midnight and allowed longer visual work on faint deep-sky targets.

The larger telescope resolved dense clusters cleanly, while the refractor was used for wider fields and comparison views.

Members present: Lucille Godefert, Ayoub Berrabeh, Marc Lefèvre