A quick 2 hours last night...

DougAdams · #1 16-12-2004, 11:17 AM

After Melbourne had been turned into Darwin for about a week, courtesy of a low that wouldn't budge, the skies cleared last night. I plonked the one month old Orion 100mm on the lawn and bought out my new hand grenade - the Andrews 30mm UW.

Seeing was pretty ordinary - rather hazy with a real glow in the sky.

Never having owned a GEM scope before, I'm gradually getting the hang of aiming it. I think the alt-az. Dobs have spoiled me slightly. Still, M45 was an obvious first target to check the FOV. I've calculated I should have around 2.6 degrees and the entire cluster seemed to fit snugly into the FOV. The eyepiece seemed very sharp and crisp - degrading a bit at the very edge. Had to move my head around to see this though.

Up to Sigma Orionis and saw three stars - couldn't see the fourth. Quickly on to M42/M43 - this looked amazing as always. Spent a bit of time here just letting the whispy clouds develop an image. Four trapezium stars clearly split.

Swung over to 47 Tucanae - a nice bright blob with one star blinking in and out of resolution. I quickly popped in my 8mm radian and saw around a dozen stars resolved. I could see another much fainter glob slightly south(?) - must go and look up what that was. I must have been looking right through the SMC, but couldn't see it. It wasn't a good night from light polluted Melbourne.

Clouds coming up from the south at around 11:30pm so I swung back north and decided to look for M1. Never found it from Melbourne - I swear I was looking right at it but couldn't detect it. Apparently magnitude 8 or so, 4" x 6" - couldn't see it. It didn't help to go inside and read O'Meara observing it in 7x50 binos (probably from on top of his Volcano...!). I'll try again with the Dob. It's becoming my white whale

Thoughts:
I liked the 30mm eyepiece a lot. Having nearly 3 degrees of sky is fantastic.
I need to persist with aiming a GEM mount. The 6x30 finder is hopeless - especially from Melbourne. I think I'll upgrade to a 8x50. Bintel seem to have them and it looks like the dovetail will slide nicely into the mount on the OTA of the 100mm.

iceman (Mike) · #2 16-12-2004, 02:45 PM

Great report Doug! It was cloudy (again) for me last night.. I don't think i'll ever get to see this darn comet. Did you look for Maccholz?

Did you try the 30mm EP in the dob?

The UW30 is looking good as a budget widefield for my next EP purchase. I know it won't be great in an f5 scope but it should still be pretty darn good.

A good read Doug, looking forward to more!

beren · #3 16-12-2004, 07:21 PM

Thanks Doug for the report and your thoughts on the 30mm UW , this eyepiece is starting to tempt me with all the good reports on it .

Dave47tuc (David) · #4 16-12-2004, 09:14 PM

Good report Doug,
I have not been able to get out with kids concerts etc, busy time of year.

The Globular you saw near 47 Tuc, would have been NGC 362.
A lot smaller than 47, but still very nice. Use higher powers on small globulars to help resolve them.

Best.

DougAdams · #5 17-12-2004, 08:47 AM

Didn't see the comet - forgot to look for it! If the high cloud holds off today, I'll go looking for it tonight.

Yes, I pegged that faint glob as 362 - couldn't see the SMC though!

My Starhopper dob doesn't take 2" eyepieces, so couldn't try the UW in it.

Finally, Doug would *love* to live 2 hours north of Doug ;-) I took the Dob up to Heathcote a couple of years ago and had some amazing sights up there.

DougAdams · #6 18-12-2004, 08:15 AM

Hi Astrojase,

No, we were just on a few days holiday up at a B&B in Heathcote. We looked for the ASV dark sky site, but couldn't find it. I take it you get the glow from Melbourne there?

I did see the review on the Orion 80mm APO. I can't comment on how good they are - this is the first refractor I've ever owned. I was tempted to get the C6R but after having a 30 minute play with one at York Optical - I figured it was way too big for me. The 100mm F9 seemed just the right size, and I think in hindsight that was the correct decision.

I've enjoyed it so far - the optics seem good, mechanically it is solid. The focuser is wonderful compared to the dob - very nice and precise. I've seen some nice views through it so far. The diagonal has a rather alarming habit of coming loose and wanting to fall out (is this common?) - I picked up an Everbrite diagonal and I don't want it to fall 1.5m back to mother earth just yet! I suspect this was my fault as I have been tending to grab the diagonal to slew the scope around - probably should do that.

I like it but I don't really have a frame of reference to compare it to.

silvinator · #7 19-12-2004, 12:13 AM

I'm too lazy to start a new thread so I'll add my thoughts in here. I got a few wonderful hours of observing tonight from 8:00PM to 11:00PM, which is probably what everyone else is doing at the moment! It was very clear and started off a bit windy but then it died down. I did my observing out the front lawn of my fiance's house this time, instead of my parent's backyard. This time, I had to contend with only one streetlight instead of three but alas, the neighbours all have automatic motion sensor lights which kept turning on for no apparent reason! There was also an abundance of mozzies so I slathered on the repellant. Only got bitten about 5 times this time! YAY!

My first target was the neighbours antennae just to make sure my finderscope was aligned which it wasn't. Next was the moon. It was very sharp tonight, one of the sharpest views I've seen for a while. I took a few snapshots of the moon on film with the OM-1 at prime. I tried ep projection as well but found that I had to strip the focuser to bare minimum in order to achieve focus with the camera and 9.7mm ep and camera adapter combination. It was racked almost all the way inwards! While observing the moon, I did notice a slight purpley/blue tinge on the side of the moon opposite the terminator. I never noticed it before so maybe my collimation is out. Must check it the next time I'm out.
The next target was 47 tucanae. I tried using my sky atlas 2000 monster map to figure out where the glob was but it was difficult as I could not locate very many stars towards the south. All I could see was skyglow, an eerie unnatural pinky colour. But I eventually found it by sighting it with the binos first. That was my very first time viewing this highly acclaimed globular and it's safe to say that it lived up to my expectations. It is amazing! I could actually see individual points of light. It was like a magnificent swarm! It was much more easily resolved in the 9.7mm than the 26mm. I must have stared at this glob for a full ten minutes. I just couldn't take my eyes away from it. I even tried using my astronomik CLS filter on it and I think it actually made the glob seem clearer. Maybe it was just my eyes. There is a slight blue tinge with this filter but it works a treat on nebs. I also tried a few shots with the OM-1 at prime and boy was it fun to try and focus. I tried to use the varimagni finder and upped the mag to x2.5 but it was dim and the field of view was tight. I also found the finder flopped a bit and had to be held in place. It was the first time I've used the finder and having heard so many good things about this being a useful tool for astrophotography, I have to say that it's not completely wonderful. I have to say it did help me focus a little but the image does blink out a bit so my eyes had to be right up close to see the full field and it is quite dim.
I then moved the scope...yes the massive 10inch with counterweights and everything else attached, all by myself, to a better position so that I could view comet machholz. And now my upper back is really sore! But it was worth it. The comet looked really fuzzy and bright in both my 26mm and 9.7mm ep's (I only have meade's by the way). No sign of a tail. It had a slight green tinge, though not as green as comet neat (or was it linear?) form earlier this year. I stared at the comet for while too, just standing there, awkardly, neck craned, pondering, soaking in the view of my third comet.
I couldn't find M1 either doug and then later when I went inside to check starry night pro, I realised I was looking in the wrong area. But I probably wouldn't have been able to see it anyway to due to amount of skyglow I have out here

All in all, it was great to be out there again. My only passing thought about tonight is that I wish I had something like the orion 100mm or 80mm as a grab and go setup. My gear needs two people to setup and packup quickly. Luckily, I have an understanding and super strong fiance.
Clear skies all! Hope you enjoyed my report

DougAdams · #8 19-12-2004, 09:20 AM

Nice stuff, Silvie. I think the 100mm is beyond the "grab and go" range. It takes me three trips to set up either the 8" dob or the refractor. Mount + OTA + esky full of bits

I must go hunting for this comet... off to the S&T website!

Starkler (Geoff) · #9 19-12-2004, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by silvinator

I couldn't find M1 either doug and then later when I went inside to check starry night pro, I realised I was looking in the wrong area. But I probably wouldn't have been able to see it anyway to due to amount of skyglow I have out here

I have only seen M1 once and that was from a semi-rural dark sky site. Its surface brightness is pretty dim so seeing it from a typical light poluted backyard isnt likely to happen .

silvinator · #10 19-12-2004, 01:25 PM

Hey Doug, I reckon the 100mm would be more of a grab and go than my current setup though! If I was just setting up by myself, my setup would take me 4 or five trips - tripod, mount head and rings, then counterweights and shaft, then the tube and then the accessories case. And that's just for a quick observing run. For a little sheila like me, that's a bit of strenous exercise in itslef!

If I'm attempting astrophotography, it's another trip to get both digital and film cameras and the tripod. With

, it's a little easier but I want something less painful to setup. SO maybe I should look at the 80mm instead?
Hey Starkler, that makes me feel a little better but then again, it doesn't as that means I may never see the critter until I move or create a massive blackout

Starkler (Geoff) · #11 19-12-2004, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by silvinator

Hey Starkler, that makes me feel a little better but then again, it doesn't as that means I may never see the critter until I move or create a massive blackout

Silvie , if you have never done so before, you really should pack your scope into the car and go for a drive away from city lights.
The difference in what you can see is almost like night and day.

I almost never bother observing from my backyard anymore unless its to view the planets or the moon.

Geoff

beren · #12 19-12-2004, 06:41 PM

From my city location M1 is invisible , even with the GOTO performing super i cant see anything . Glad to hear youve seen 47 tuc Silvie , beautiful sight. Whats this varimangi finder?Thats unusal about the bluish tinge , might be the eyepieces ...internal reflections ,chromatic abberation?

Ps ; i got my sky atlas 2000 laminated

Dave47tuc (David) · #13 19-12-2004, 09:51 PM

Guy's M1 is no problem form down here on the Mornington peninsula.

I have seen it many times, bigger is better but it has been no problem in a 4 inch.

I last observed it last summer with my 10" useing lpr filter.
Haven't botherd since.
May check it out in my freinds 18" in due course.

Best.

gaa_ian (Ian) · #14 19-12-2004, 10:24 PM

Hi Fellas
A quick word from the Far North NT
The Comet Mackholtz is an easy mark, project the distance between Betegeuse & Rigel up & look a little to the left & you will find it.
Binoculars will do the trick, but looks better in a 10" Dob :-)
To find out more of what goes on in the NT see our blog:
http://www.ntstargazer.blogspot.com/
Cheers
Ian

silvinator · #15 19-12-2004, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Silvie , if you have never done so before, you really should pack your scope into the car and go for a drive away from city lights.

Geoff, I would love to be able to do that every single weekend but you see, I don't drive! I know it's terrible that I don't have a license yet but I will get one soon...

Anyway, the last time (and first time) I packed my scope to a dark sky site in the Blue Mountains where we stayed the weekend, it started snowing

I hate having to rely on my fiance to drive me out to a dark sky just so I can do some observing but it will have to be done if I'm to find the elusive M1. It is such a shame that we observers have to go to such lengths.
Aragorn, I've never seen the bluish tinge before so I'll have to check it out more closely next time I'm out. I sure hope it isn't the ep's or the tube itself! I thought CA was only inherent in refractors

My 10 inch is a schmidt newtonian so I'm not sure, it could be that. The varimagni finder is a right angle magnifying eyepiece that attaches to the viewfinder of the OM-1 camera and enables you to focus more critically. It can be moved around to a more comfortable position for the eye. It wouldn't really help for focusing on very dim objects though. About the atlas, did you just get the ouside laminated or the individual pages?
You're so lucky to have seen it dave! One day I will find a dark site but until then, I will have to make do with the best that I have available

Mick (Michael) · #16 19-12-2004, 11:12 PM

Hello Ian and welcome, I'm having trouble seeing Machholz with all the cloud and rain we are having at the moment.

gaa_ian (Ian) · #17 20-12-2004, 12:20 AM

Hi Mick
Good to hear from you
We are lucky that our wet is coming late (touch wood)
I have in fact been able to see the 2 naked eye comets in the sky at the moment, the other is on the border of Carina & Vela.
I will have to look up tropical Stargazers next time I am in Mackay
I might be able to combine my two favourite pusuits Astronomy & Hanggliding (at Eungella)
Its good to see an active aussie astronomy Forum online again
Cheers

beren · #18 20-12-2004, 01:05 AM

Gday gaa_ian, welcome

Hmm strange Silvie , i thought it may be the eyepieces used , but i dont recall my meade plossls having similar symptoms. Check your collimation firstly of course and see how that goes , it could be simply that considering the the fast focal ratio, give us a update on how it goes.
I got individual pages done , just the southern hemisphere charts, came up good and has proved very hardy and resistant to my clumsiness and dew. thanks for the info on the viewfinder , with my FE2 the prism cant be removed so i dont think i can use a viewfinder ......if i had a nice nikon F2 i could

.

iceman (Mike) · #19 20-12-2004, 06:31 AM

Hi Ian, nice to see you here!

I bet you've got some pretty nice dark skies way up there.. also being much further north you'd get some much better views of M31 and other northern hemisphere objects which barely get above the horizon in sydney.

silvinator · #20 20-12-2004, 10:36 AM

hiya Ian, welcome to our home away from home.
Stuart, I have a bad feeling it could be the tube itself. Maybe internal reflections or something. I remember the first time I did prime focus shots on film of the moon when it was completely full, I got a bright blue arc appearing just off the side of the moon that seemed to be some kind of reflection. Once I get a colour scanner, I'll post the pic up for everyone to examine. But I will certainly give an update soon.
That a great idea laminating each page. I was having heart palpatations as I turned each page over in the semi-darkness and could feel the pages ripping in my mind. It does need to be delicately handled doesn't it!
Yeah the F2 does have a focus magnifier attachment as well called the DW-2 6x which is supposedly brighter than the varimagni finder. The OM-1 doesn't have a removable pentaprism either - the finder attaches to the camera's eyepiece I should have said. I would love to have a nikon F2 as well