First clear night -this year!!!

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Well, I've got the 10" LX200 set-up ( with its new Dec needle bearings!!), balanced and the 300D (Baader) with the Baader 207lpm grating....
The battery obviously went flat in about 10 mins ....Dohh!!
Replaced.... the guide and setting eyepiece battery died after a few minutes...Dohh!!!.... Replaced... What else can go wrong??
Can't find the x2.5 angle viewer for the camera ( an old Oly one which works well).....at least the TC-80 controller works!
Ok here we go... a few 20sec shots of ..... where did those clouds come from!!!!!!
Hopefully I have a couple of spectra of Beta/ Alpha/ Gama Cass......
I'll let you know soon....
Trial and tribulations of observing in the UK!!!!

[jakob]

Don't despair, I had my scope out last night for the first time this year. Last use was at the Pony Club in November!

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

After all that I never achieved success. Set-up was the 10" LX200, Baader grating (207lpm) and Canon 300. For what it's worth:

- Don't think I achieved focus correctly, measuring the star image I found FWHM 18pixel, at 7.1 micron/pixel this is 127 micron. With a FL of 2500mm this gives 10.4 sec arc. Almost 3 times what I thought it would be!!
I'll use the Bat mask next time!

- The spectra of 2 mag stars were far over-exposed with a 20sec exposure.
The opposite spectra ( about 25% if the intensity of the primary) was close.. there's a couple which maybe useable..maybe.

- The specta are therefore washed out of detail and saturated!! On the gama Cass you can just make out the Ha emission

Oh well, back to the drawing board; I'll use the Littrow with the 20micron slit the next time.

[theodog (Jeff)]

Yep, you certainly have my understanding.
Don't want to mention, but I will, it looks like a cracker here tonight.
Sorry Merlin
I'm trialing a home made SA with a 300l/mm later.

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Geeee thanks guys!!!!
The long range forecast is showing cloud and rain for the next five days!!

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

after november last year, today is the first night i have had the scope out -and cloud is still only on the horizon and not directly overhead-yet

[toryglen-boy (Duncan)]

Originally Posted by Merlin66

Geeee thanks guys!!!!
The long range forecast is showing cloud and rain for the next five days!!

Observing in the UK isnt that bad, i know i was born there and lived there up until i was 36, 2 years ago, and i can asure you, i have had some wonderfully clear, dark tranparent nights.





maybe i will start a thread, "first night this year where i have been able to observe without getting munched to death by mozzies" ... there is good and bad everywhere.

[GrahamL]

Your old northern hemisphere uranometria is well used Ken .. Did you come from the UK to down under originaly ?.. I often get a chuckle out
of your "exile" coment .. Do you get to come back at some point?

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Originally from Scotland. Left there in 1970 "to see the world"
The assignment over here is a 2-5 year and we're 18 months in... don't know what the current financial crisis will do to the business plans...
We get back to Oz at least once a year, hoping to get back probably in Sept.
BTW Observing in the UK.... I built a TSO ( Tin Shed Observatory) because the weather was so changeable; you'd get everything set up, just in time for the clouds.... I do remember it WAS clear on the 15th October!!!

[pgc hunter]

First clear night here in centuries, though seeing appears to be typically garbage, but being Melbourne , choosers are losers! The next clear night could well be after the sun has turned into a planetary nebula

Have the 10" dob outside, will be viewing the moon and saturn. Might try for a few HSB planetaries aswell. I already had a quick peak at the moon and made out the 4 major Plato craterlets at 156x. Good start....