The above is more or less an extrapolation of the hasty notes I took on the night of the 4th. What follows is (more or less verbatim) my thoughts and notes that I recorded about the experience on the 5th;
After the night has ended I've had a chance to sleep on the events that occurred and write my thoughts without rushing, and in comfort.
With respect to the scope itself; I find it an amazing performer. The views are so crisp and clear with no coma. The wide field views, particularly with the 24mm Pan, are stunning. I Have no doubt that this will be my primary scope from now on. Not least because it is a wonderful grab and go setup, but the mount is also an excellent paring with it. So easy to maneuver and hold in position. I also suspect I'm a refractor convert, which is a problem if I want to do galaxy hunting! Such a dilemma. Perhaps an SCT or Maksutov which is a hybrid between newtonian aperture, refractor crispness (well... kinda) and refractor compactness is the way to go...
With respect to the evening itself;
Such a rollercoaster. Firs the glum resignation to the thought of a 4th clouded out viewing night, followed by the teasing of clouds moving in and out. Then finally the skies open and it seems as if the stars have descended directly upon us, allowing us to bask in their glow. The span of the Milky way galaxy from horizon to horizon; stunning. Then the cold and misery and ultimate victory of dew over astronomer.
Surely this hobby is one of frustration and meteorological whimsy, punctuated by brief moments humbling bliss. Truly; I wouldn't have it any other way.
With respect to what was seen;
The notes on the objects found speak for themselves, but are somewhat abbreviated due to the cold, dew and the desire to look through the eyepiece rather than take notes. But it should be noted that there were some other joys and tribulations....
First, I finally understand why binoculars are so useful. Under dark skies, they really show a lot. In fact, I first saw the coal sack properly from the parking lot through the Tasco 8x56 binos before I ever saw it in a scope. omega centauri was easy to find in the binos; a circle smudge. Like a pile of raw sugar. I also saw Omega Centauri in the Megrez with the 24mm Pan. I have to say it reminded me more of the view in the binos rather than the view in my dobsonian. Some edge stars were resolved in moments of good seeing though, unlike in the binocs. Perhaps I'll have to look at it with greater magnification to see if it resolves better.
additional notes on objects found:
Eta Carina - Poor eta c! It really didn't get the attention that it deserved. I ditched it in favour of galaxy hunting. I really do believe I'll have to spend more time looking at it properly and noting its features. It seems odd to rave about galaxies on the edge of what vision and scope can do, and ignore the beautiful bright objects. Human nature at work? When I start sketching, I think Eta C will have to be high on my list.
Coal Sack - An odd object which really marks how black some things in the sky are. Pleasing in its own way, and it really does make me wonder what else is out there, but hidden by black masses such as this.
NGC 4945 - I'm finding myself fascinated with galaxies. I also seem to like making it hard for myself by using a scope and aperture not especially suited to the task. That said, I found 2 galaxies in the Megrez. that's twice what I have found in the dob. I chalk that up to dark skies and the ease of use of the Megrez. With respect to NGC 4945, or the "Tweezers Galaxy" as it is known, I have to say it was quite pleasing. A nice eliptical smudge in averted vision. Obviously no details were visible at this aperture and my experience level, but I do expect that to change with practice (and a more appropriate scope). The V mag is a tricky thing to judge. My list marks it as 8.9, but wikipedia puts it at 9.3. Not an insignificant difference with this aperture.
NGC 4976 - This was a toughie. I could only hold it briefly as a brightened disk, slightly fatter than NGC 4945 rarely. I am confident I saw it though. Thank Jay Reynolds Freeman for all his tricks in seeing these faint fuzzies. I'm pleased with seeing it at all, rather than it's aesthetic qualities. This is because at mag 10.2 (or 11.0 according to the wiki), it represents a genuine achievement for someone like me; bugger all experience at finding faint fuzzies and using an aperture with a limiting magnitude of 11.5. An achievement to be proud of, for sure.
Alpha Centauri - split at 111x in the Vixen 5mm. The first double I've split with the Megrez and it was done easily. A wiki check suggested A & B MAY have been as close as 1.6 arc seconds apart, and if true, represents a genuine achievement for the Megrez as this is quite close to the theoretical limit for 90mm aperture, and it clearly showed it to my novice eye. Precise, clear pinpoints of light with an obvious black gap between the two. wonderful.
It wasn't alll easy sailing and flawless victories for the Megrez though. I blatantly failed to find UY Centauri; the carbon star. I also failed to find M83. Most annoyingly, I failed to find Centaurus A. Something that should have been relatively easy given that I found it before in a much harder to manage instrument in lousy suburban skies. Undoubtedly, the lion's share of the blame is mine. It is abundantly clear that I need to spend more time with the binos, just learning constellations. It is pointless to have such a wonderful scope and not be able to use even 1/10th of its potential due to my own inadequacies. I will remedy this... It must be said though that many objects were near zenith; not an ideal situation for any scope.
I really should say more about M83 and Leo's triplet. However, the fact is I was shown these in the society's 15 inch dob, and I didn't find them personally. I was lead like a bloody tourist. So while they were undoubtedly beautiful and showed much detail, the experience soured. A pity, given that M65 and M66, 2 massive eliptical galaxies were in the same FOV. I won't count them in my personal tally until I find them for myself, preferably in one of my own scopes.
Upon reflection, I have mixed feelings about last night. I feel disappointed in some ways, which smacks of pride. I found 3 objets from my BAM 600 list, and saw 2 new galaxies in my own scope, and 3 in another. I should be pleased. But I can't forget that I failed to find 5 objects (I previously forgot to mention failing to find NGC 5102 and Epsilon Bootes), and only saw 3 out of a possible 84 objects on my list for May/June. I have to remind myself that I am still very new at this, and I have years to get better. I'm tempted by Argo Navis and GOTO, but I don't want to feel as if I did that because star hopping was too hard. I won't go down that path until I've earned the luxury by finding these things by myself.
I now remember that I also saw Saturn last night in my 3mm WO ep (186x). I mention it only because I did it, not because it was any good. The eyepiece was dewed, and the seeing lousy. I'll have to test the vixen and WO eps under better conditions to measure their true worth. Perhaps as the moon rises? I also found that the Megrez has... interesting optics. I didn't see any CA under normal conditions... however, towards the end of the evening, while looking at beta centauri, it wouldn't focus. Beta centauri would look like a mercedes benz 3 pointed star with purple edges. I think I was looking through the Vixen at the time. I suspect it was just pinched optics or dew from the cold because beta centauri looked fine before, but I'll want to test it under better circumstances. I'm curious as to how much colour it throws. I didn't see any purple at any other time, not even with Saturn using the vixen or WO eps
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a note outside of my journal; I've since found that the Megrez seems to have an optical aberration which is what caused the bizzare occurance on the 4th. My notes don't really do it justice how awful it was. It's currently back with the dealer at the moment. A fix might be possible, but it seems likely that it'll have to go back to WO for a swap. anyway, back to the journal notes
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I also learned heaps from the experience. Mainly that I need some sort of anti-dew system. I'm thinking a hair dryer to start with, as well as some towels to keep my seat and table equipment dry. Soggy maps and logs suck. I'm tempted to get a dedicated system (especially for the EPs) as nothing cuts a night short like dew. That's what killed it last night.
I also learned that I need a thermos of something hot. Maybe soup. Astronomy is hungry, cold work. I also need some fingerless gloves. I had to keep taking my gloves off to use the scope or consult my map, which was a pain. lesson learned.
I want to sketch things that I've seen, but I need to make the above improvements first, otherwise I'll just be adding another complication to the situation. I also think I would benefit from filters for various nebulas. I'll have to check it out.
Finally, I'll write it again because it needs repeating - learn the constellations and asterisms. You can't star hop without it. Binos provide good views too!
Overall I think my first proper viewing night at Stockport was a success. I've learnt a great many things that'll mean future viewing nights should go much smoother.
And I just remembered that I should point out that I did basically all my viewing without my finder because I forgot the little allen key needed to align it. In that context, perhaps I did better than I deserved. I'm going to give that finder another chance, but I did notice that it does seem to be tinted, which erases some stars. hmmm... Might have to get the WO 6x30 finder or the 7x50 finder... $185 to $285. Hmm... going to give that RDF another chance. It was my fault I didn't bring the allen key, after all...
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and there we are. Whew! that took ages to write. glad it's done! As for the RDF; I've used it as it's meant to be used - correctly aligned and with both eyes open so I can use the magic of binocular vision to see both the star and the red dot, despite the tinting. Works fine.
Anyway It's now well after midnight, and I have an early start. Someday I will learn not to start writing these things so late at night.
Hope you all enjoyed my rambling. I didn't mean for it to turn into a 4000ish word monster and discover the character limits of a post, but there we are.
