With conditions looking great for tonight (at least in NSW) and the next few nights, how about a Virtual Star Party? Get your gear organised, whether visual or imaging, and let's all look up together and pretend were at Wiruna, Lostock, Coolah, Bretti, Katoomba Airfield, Qld Astrofest, etc. Provide the refreshments of your choice. Of course this has to happen from your backyard, be it from a tripod or observatory. Share your local event photos in this thread.
Moon does not rise until 9:48pm.
As always local conditions may not be the same as the wider forecast, but join in when you can.
Hi Glen,
Fantastic idea
I've been attending virtual star parties every day on Twitch which is a a steaming channel set up for gamers.
A few guys have set up telescopes online and are streaming their own channels.
A couple of RASAs and a planewave to control but so much interaction and help with imaging.
Just trying to get fast internet to my scope and Ill start steaming from my house.
Cheers
Andy
Still borrowing gear (new set up should be ready for next weekend!), but I just got in from a nice hour in Canberra.
I actually got a massive kick out of it!
First time positive ID on Carina Nebula and Eta Carina, as well as Orion Nebula. I'm using a celestron astromaster 70, and am finding that I can see about 90% as much in my nikon monarch binoculars, but with a much wider field of view, which is helping me find stuff. Also, I have a wide angle (24mm F2.8) lens on my DLSR, and was able juuuuust make out the dark vee shape on an image i shot with the camera lying on my deck face up with a 30sec iso 800 exposure.
Thanks for the idea, and for the heads up that the moon rise was as late as it is... I need to keep an eye on that, it made for really great conditions.
Took a little while to set up
Crystal clear tonight in western victoria.
My target tonight is the running chicken nebula. Already got 20 x 5 mins and going for 30 x 5 mins as well. The moon is just coming up so Ill see how it affect the next session. After my darks I might get some Ha data and make a real night of it.
Im pretty warm in my little shower tent about to have a hot chocolate, music is cranking.
A Couple of screenshots from PHD and Backyard EOS. PHD is guiding all night under an arc second so far.
Ill get streaming happening soon but need a wifi repeater to boost the signal out here.
Keep this star party going.
Should have something processed by tomorrow night
Forgot to take a shot of my setup so heres an old one
Cheers
Andy
Great reporting tonight folks! Good turn out on short notice. Sorry about the clouds for you Al, it was clear at my place when I rolled back the roof. However, at 5pm I thought it was going to be scrubbed, but then the high stuff cleared off as it usually does on this sort of day.
I used the 8" f5 Newt tonight, purely visual this time. Dew arrived about the same time as the moon rise, so I closed up then. Tomorrow night I will swap over to my 127mm iStar R30 TCR f12 for chasing doubles and triplets.
Refreshments amounted to the requisite Port bottle on the desk, with a Cheese platter. I could see the possum watching me from his perch in the tree behind my back fence, his eyes reflecting back my red headlight. He would smell that cheese i am sure. Luckily the Obs is possum proof, so far.
Andy, that shower tent brings back memories, I used one like that at Bretti a few times as my office.
Well... a few hiccups getting started. First time using the AZ-EQ6 in Alt/Az mode, let alone with two scopes fitted...
Apparently one should read manuals before setting up... had my mount orientated incorrectly at startup... frustrating hour or so trying to get alignments done & trying to figure out why I was constantly way, way off in Altitude...
Bit of assistance from Alex... bit of googling... bit of RTFM & bit of a switcharoo with some gear & hey presto... 2 star alignment done & then actually landing on targets... woohoo....
Got some nice viewing in tonight, mainly around SC... Jewel Box, Eta Carina, Glob cluster.... maybe a very, very vagueish view of Centaurus A...
Went looking for some other things with guidance from Alex but, no joy...
Loving the Intes... so, so contrasty... got a nice close in look at Homunculous in Eta Carina... lovely...
80mm refractor gave some nice views too... lovely to look at the glob in widefield & then switch to the mak to see it much more detail...
Whilst a bit of a frustrating start, turned out to be a good night's viewing...
Clouded out.... then not.... then clouded out again. Not all was lost on the night though. On a recommendation by Emuhead about reassigning my asi120mm as my main camera on the ASIAIR, I did my first PA via the box of gold and Id have to say it’s fantastic! By the time I’d focused my DSLR and switched the 120 back to being my guide cam though, the cloud rolled in.
Hi Glend,
Pretty cloudy here tonight but last night was clear until 1am.
Might finish some processing but here's a work in progress from last night.
Clear skies to all
Andy
I should be using this stay at home project now I have added pipe bracing , but I am a little nervous handling the scope on a step ladder. You can see the top of the step ladder at the bottom of the frame. I think I need a platform for this.
Same scope and mount tonight on the small pier so the monkey just climbed into the trees. On to Centaurus perhaps.
I should be using this stay at home project now I have added pipe bracing , but I am a little nervous handling the scope on a step ladder. You can see the top of the step ladder at the bottom of the frame. I think I need a platform for this.
Same scope and mount tonight on the small pier so the monkey just climbed into the trees. On to Centaurus perhaps.
Holy cow Ray! Is that mount held on the bracket with a C-clamp?
