The weather report looked good, and my friend Jim suggested trying a new spot so we met at Stratham Hill park and set up in one of the back parking lots on the grass. This is a great site, quite dark with trees on the edges of the field to block the lower sky glow. The brightest sky was in the SW where Exeter's lights reflected off of some low clouds.
I took out the XT8 and Jim set up his 6" Orion Mak-Newt which gives very nice views for a 6" scope. He has it on a tracking EQ mount so it's possible to keep objects in the field of view for quite a while. Not so the XT...
I did not take notes this night, so this post is from memory. This was one of the darkest and clearest nights in several years around the seacoast area. We spent about the first half hour viewing Saturn, trying out various eyepieces and enjoying the crisp views. The 5mm Hyperion in the XT8 gave crisp and pleasing views at 240X with several moons visible. (If I'd taken notes I could tell you how many! Next time...)
One of the highlights for me was M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. With the 13mm Hyperion the dual nature of the galaxy was obvious, with hundreds of individual stars around the perimeter resolved clearly and even a hint of the spiral nature of the arms (to my eyes anyway.)
I am using the XT8i Computer Object Locator to help find most of these objects, since my starhopping skills are pretty poor.
The "Leo Trio" finally fell to the clear skies and 8" of aperture. M65 and M66 were easily visible, and after much searching NGC 3628 was faintly visible marked by a triangle of brighter stars. I could not see all three in one field of view, because 3628 required higher magnification to darken the background sky.
M13 in Hercules was also a treat, as was M60 in Virgo. M81 and M82 were easily resolved, and I am pleased to say I found them without using the computer. However M101 was invisible in either of our scopes, in spite of the fact that Jim has found it and shown it to me in his mounted 20x80 binoculars! Very strange...
Dew began to settle about 11pm, and since I had forgotten to close the dew cover on the Telrad it was not much use for the rest of the evening. If I had been using the C9.25 this would have been a great night to test out the Astrozap heated dew shield and DewBuster controller. That will have to wait though.
After packing up, Jim mentioned he liked to finish up with a look around the sky, so he took me on a tour of the constellations with the green laser pointer. I am very impressed with how well he knows the sky and constellations. My goal for this summer is to spend more time outside with the planisphere and binoculars and get more familiar with the main guideposts.
I know I have left a few objects out, but regardless this was a wonderful observing session.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sidewalk Astronomy in Hampton Beach
Last Thursday night my friend Jim met me outside the band shell in Hampton Beach and we set up the 8" XTi and Jim's 8x20 binoculars on his Astronomics mount to give people views of Saturn and the moon. It was a bit chilly, but lots of people stopped by to take a look and then stayed to talk.
One of Hampton's finest came over to warn us that we should understand the risk of somebody damaging our equipment. I guess cops are trained to look for trouble, but we never had any.
One gentleman couldn't get enough of viewing Saturn through the 8" dob. This was his first night out in a year with his wife after being in a car accident and having an entire hip replaced. He felt the experience was a wonderful way to cap off the night out and the start of his new life, and must have spent fifteen minutes at the scope on and off over the evening.
Jim had his Atlas of the Moon open and several people worked with him to identify the major features, esp. Tycho. It was almost a full moon, so only those large features which don't need grazing light to be visible could be observed. Still these are the easiest to see, and Jim knows his lunar geography very well so many people learned a lot about the moon that evening.
A family of 8 rotated through viewing the moon, and then waited while I repositioned the scope and rotated through viewing Saturn.
Two cars sideswiped each other in the street just down the block from where we were (apparently one car tried to make a left turn from the right lane) so there was a lot of gawking at that activity. Nobody hurt thank goodness.
One of Hampton's finest came over to warn us that we should understand the risk of somebody damaging our equipment. I guess cops are trained to look for trouble, but we never had any.
One gentleman couldn't get enough of viewing Saturn through the 8" dob. This was his first night out in a year with his wife after being in a car accident and having an entire hip replaced. He felt the experience was a wonderful way to cap off the night out and the start of his new life, and must have spent fifteen minutes at the scope on and off over the evening.
Jim had his Atlas of the Moon open and several people worked with him to identify the major features, esp. Tycho. It was almost a full moon, so only those large features which don't need grazing light to be visible could be observed. Still these are the easiest to see, and Jim knows his lunar geography very well so many people learned a lot about the moon that evening.
A family of 8 rotated through viewing the moon, and then waited while I repositioned the scope and rotated through viewing Saturn.
Two cars sideswiped each other in the street just down the block from where we were (apparently one car tried to make a left turn from the right lane) so there was a lot of gawking at that activity. Nobody hurt thank goodness.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Successful Sunday Evening in Portsmouth
Saturday evening was clouded out, but by 5pm Sunday the sky was completely clear. My friend Steve Loring and I set up our scopes in downtown Portsmouth from 8-10pm. Temperature was a chilly 35 deg. F. with a wind of about 10 mph.
I set up a pair of 15x70 binoculars on a tripod to give early passers-by something to use to see the moon while I was setting up the mount and C9 for views of Saturn. There were quite a few people who said this was their best view of the moon ever, implying they had never looked at it through a telescope.
Steve arrived and brought his Odyssey 10". He has incorporated a home-made wedge into the base with a very creative lever that allows you to use one knee to track an object while your eye remains at the eyepiece. It works outstandingly well. Steve kept the dob on the moon and varied the eyepieces from 10 to 25mm. 100x was the most popular magnification.
Downtown was very bright, but after finding Polaris and properly aligning the mount, it kept Saturn in view faithfully all evening.
About 75 people stopped by, including several families with kids. Many people asked me if the image of Saturn was real, or some kind of transparency in front of the telescope. My sharpest-eyed observer was a Portsmouth policeman who spotted four of Saturn's moons and may have seen a fifth. We had three different patrolment stop by for a look (not much activity on a cold Sunday evening for police to worry about.)
People were also amazed that they could see Saturn clearly by eye. When people asked me which 'star' was Saturn, I asked if they could tell which of the pair (Regulus and Saturn) was more of a golden color. About 90% of the people could see Saturn's pale golden hue especially with bright white Regulus close by for reference. Much of science progresses by this kind of comparison rather than by just observation. (In fact, as Stephen Jay Gould pointed out, the official name of the facility where he worked is the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology.)
There was a restaurant very close by and over the course of the evening every employee made it out to observe. Apparently they went back in and told their colleagues "you have to go see the moon and Saturn" and several came out twice. One of the cooks actually drove home at 9:30 to bring his son back, which was a treat for us, and I think for young Gregory too.
All in all it was a wonderful night. Looking forward to many more, especially when the weather warms up a bit.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Sunday evening will be a go in Portsmouth!
At least one and maybe two telescopes will be up this evening from about 8-10pm in Portsmouth outside the main entrance to the parking garage on Hanover St. Hope to see you there!
50% chance of clear skies Sunday evening Apr 13
From the weather reports, it looks like this evening (Sunday) might work out after all. Stay tuned, and if it looks promising I'll post here with the final go/no-go about 5 or 6pm. Scopes will be up from 8pm to 10pm if we do have a break in the clouds, on the sidewalk outside the Portsmouth, NH main parking garage entrance on Hanover St.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Sidewalk Astronomy Night (Apr 12) unlikely due to weather
Due to weather reports of clouds and rain for Saturday and Sunday Apr. 12-13, we'll likely have to schedule our celebration of ISAN for the following weekend. If the weather clears early and Sunday evening looks possible, I'll put a post up here with that information.
Last night I set up the XT8i for a couple of hours in our new Sidewalk Astronomy site in downtown Portsmouth, just outside the Parking Garage on Hanover St. It's got the usual light problems of any downtown location, but there were lots of people walking by and over fifty people got a chance to see Saturn and the Moon in spite of a few high clouds early on. This area is very convenient to pedestrian traffic but is off the sidewalk so there is no impact on passersby. Hats off to the City Manager's office for approving this site. Many of the folks who stopped by were on their way back to their cars after their visit to downtown, so they left with some extra happiness. Several saw either one or two of Saturn's moons in addition to the rings.
On a technical note, the moon's image was very low contrast, consistent with a lot of stray light entering the tube from all directions. (The sky behind Saturn seemed brighter than usual as well.) It's time to add black flocking to the inside of the tube, along with a light shield on the front to eliminate stray light from making it to the eyepiece. This is a project I've wanted to do for some time, so now there's a good reason, since there are bright streetlights all around that area.
Last night I set up the XT8i for a couple of hours in our new Sidewalk Astronomy site in downtown Portsmouth, just outside the Parking Garage on Hanover St. It's got the usual light problems of any downtown location, but there were lots of people walking by and over fifty people got a chance to see Saturn and the Moon in spite of a few high clouds early on. This area is very convenient to pedestrian traffic but is off the sidewalk so there is no impact on passersby. Hats off to the City Manager's office for approving this site. Many of the folks who stopped by were on their way back to their cars after their visit to downtown, so they left with some extra happiness. Several saw either one or two of Saturn's moons in addition to the rings.
On a technical note, the moon's image was very low contrast, consistent with a lot of stray light entering the tube from all directions. (The sky behind Saturn seemed brighter than usual as well.) It's time to add black flocking to the inside of the tube, along with a light shield on the front to eliminate stray light from making it to the eyepiece. This is a project I've wanted to do for some time, so now there's a good reason, since there are bright streetlights all around that area.
Friday, April 4, 2008
International Sidewalk Astronomy Night - April 12th
Location: Small seating area off the sidewalk near the main entrance to the Portsmouth Parking Garage on Hanover St.
Tonight, Thursday, April 10th: At least one scope will be there from approximately 8pm to 10pm if the current clear sky conditions hold up. Could we call this a "dry run?" :-)
Weekend: the weather forecast for the weekend does not look good, unless you are a duck.
Automatic notification: To receive automatic notifications of upcoming Sidewalk Astronomy events, please subscribe to Yahoo group SeacoastSidewalkAstronomers-Notify at http://groups.yahoo.com/
Scope update: Are you an amateur astronomer? If so, set up your scope somewhere convenient and give your neighbors a peek at Saturn or the Moon in the next few weeks. You'll be glad you did!
April 12th is the date for the 2nd annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night. Sidewalk astronomy can be done any time and any where, but on this night amateurs will be out in cities all around the world showing people the wonders of the sky all on the same night. It's a nice way to bring the people of the world together. Pictures will be posted on http://www.sidewalkastronomynight.com/ where you can see last year's pictures. Right now there are about fifteen countries with people signed up to participate. I expect many more.
Stay tuned to this blog for a decision on where we will set up the scopes. Of course if it is cloudy or raining out, the event will be postponed.
I have put in an application to the Portsmouth City Council for permission to set up on the sidewalk in the downtown area where there will be a lot of people around. We are working to find a location in town which has the right sky view but does not interfere with pedestrian traffic. Hampton Beach is also a possibility. We'll stick with very bright objects like the moon and Saturn, and perhaps some double stars.
At this moment, Harvey, Steve and Jim are all likely to join me for the evening with their scopes, so there should be plenty of eyepieces to look through for the public.
Stay tuned to this blog for the eventual location, and a final decision based on the weather. Rain date will be Sunday night, April 13th, but if both nights are rained out we'll try again the following weekend.
Tonight, Thursday, April 10th: At least one scope will be there from approximately 8pm to 10pm if the current clear sky conditions hold up. Could we call this a "dry run?" :-)
Weekend: the weather forecast for the weekend does not look good, unless you are a duck.
Automatic notification: To receive automatic notifications of upcoming Sidewalk Astronomy events, please subscribe to Yahoo group SeacoastSidewalkAstronomers-Notify at http://groups.yahoo.com/
Scope update: Are you an amateur astronomer? If so, set up your scope somewhere convenient and give your neighbors a peek at Saturn or the Moon in the next few weeks. You'll be glad you did!
April 12th is the date for the 2nd annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night. Sidewalk astronomy can be done any time and any where, but on this night amateurs will be out in cities all around the world showing people the wonders of the sky all on the same night. It's a nice way to bring the people of the world together. Pictures will be posted on http://www.sidewalkastronomynight.com/ where you can see last year's pictures. Right now there are about fifteen countries with people signed up to participate. I expect many more.
Stay tuned to this blog for a decision on where we will set up the scopes. Of course if it is cloudy or raining out, the event will be postponed.
I have put in an application to the Portsmouth City Council for permission to set up on the sidewalk in the downtown area where there will be a lot of people around. We are working to find a location in town which has the right sky view but does not interfere with pedestrian traffic. Hampton Beach is also a possibility. We'll stick with very bright objects like the moon and Saturn, and perhaps some double stars.
At this moment, Harvey, Steve and Jim are all likely to join me for the evening with their scopes, so there should be plenty of eyepieces to look through for the public.
Stay tuned to this blog for the eventual location, and a final decision based on the weather. Rain date will be Sunday night, April 13th, but if both nights are rained out we'll try again the following weekend.
March activities
It's been a busy month and I've missed a few posts so I'll try to summarize.
In early March I set up the XT8 in front of Barnes & Noble in Newington. About 20 people on their way in or out of the store stopped by for a look at Saturn and the Moon. I heard several people say "that can't be real" and "you can't see Saturn from a parking lot can you?" I was very impressed that several people immediately suggested that they might be seeing Saturn's moons (in fact they were!). The moon was almost full but there was still some area where the terminator provided some grazing illumination so people could see the craters and mountains in more relief.
Mall security eventually suggested I needed approval from the mall management to be on the sidewalk so I packed up and went inside to speak to the store manager. She was very nice and gave my name to their Customer Relations Manager who called me the next day and asked if I could present an astronomy talk to the home schooler group which meets at the store once a month. I agreed of course, and that is scheduled for May 29th. I'll bring a scope of course, and the mall has given permission for us to go out on the sidewalk afterward for some observing. Weather permitting that's just what we'll do.
Since then, I've been over at the Hampton Beach State Park several times with friends Patrick and Jim. I've just gotten a new telescope, the Celestron C9, a 9.25" Schmitt Cassegrain design. This scope has already given awesome views of Saturn, but it has a long focal length (2350 mm) so magnification is fairly high - even with my 30mm EP I cannot fit the entire Pleiades into the field of view. I am practicing the procedure for collimating the optics, and while not too difficult it is best done at high magnification, which requires if not perfect seeing at least calm air. Calm air has been in short supply around Hampton Beach this year - more typically we have 30 mph winds than not, and gusts to 50 have not been uncommon. (I'm thinking of laying in a supply of Dramamine for when I work in my 3rd floor office!)
Patrick is new to amateur astronomy. He has a CR6 refractor and a C9 carbon tube so we are working on getting him familiar with the operation of his go-to mount and scopes. He lives down in Mass. so it's a bit of a drive up to Hampton, but he says the skies are much darker here. Of course, I look at the Boston light dome and imagine how the sky must look farther North also!
Jim is an experienced observer with a Mak-Cass and a parallelogram binocular mount. He brought this binocular setup over the other night and let me try it out with his 20x80's. What a pleasure to lay on a reclining chair with your head on a pillow and have the binoculars floating right above your eyes. It really is like floating in space and a completely different experience than looking through a telescope, even with a nice observing chair like my Stardust chair.
In early March I set up the XT8 in front of Barnes & Noble in Newington. About 20 people on their way in or out of the store stopped by for a look at Saturn and the Moon. I heard several people say "that can't be real" and "you can't see Saturn from a parking lot can you?" I was very impressed that several people immediately suggested that they might be seeing Saturn's moons (in fact they were!). The moon was almost full but there was still some area where the terminator provided some grazing illumination so people could see the craters and mountains in more relief.
Mall security eventually suggested I needed approval from the mall management to be on the sidewalk so I packed up and went inside to speak to the store manager. She was very nice and gave my name to their Customer Relations Manager who called me the next day and asked if I could present an astronomy talk to the home schooler group which meets at the store once a month. I agreed of course, and that is scheduled for May 29th. I'll bring a scope of course, and the mall has given permission for us to go out on the sidewalk afterward for some observing. Weather permitting that's just what we'll do.
Since then, I've been over at the Hampton Beach State Park several times with friends Patrick and Jim. I've just gotten a new telescope, the Celestron C9, a 9.25" Schmitt Cassegrain design. This scope has already given awesome views of Saturn, but it has a long focal length (2350 mm) so magnification is fairly high - even with my 30mm EP I cannot fit the entire Pleiades into the field of view. I am practicing the procedure for collimating the optics, and while not too difficult it is best done at high magnification, which requires if not perfect seeing at least calm air. Calm air has been in short supply around Hampton Beach this year - more typically we have 30 mph winds than not, and gusts to 50 have not been uncommon. (I'm thinking of laying in a supply of Dramamine for when I work in my 3rd floor office!)
Patrick is new to amateur astronomy. He has a CR6 refractor and a C9 carbon tube so we are working on getting him familiar with the operation of his go-to mount and scopes. He lives down in Mass. so it's a bit of a drive up to Hampton, but he says the skies are much darker here. Of course, I look at the Boston light dome and imagine how the sky must look farther North also!
Jim is an experienced observer with a Mak-Cass and a parallelogram binocular mount. He brought this binocular setup over the other night and let me try it out with his 20x80's. What a pleasure to lay on a reclining chair with your head on a pillow and have the binoculars floating right above your eyes. It really is like floating in space and a completely different experience than looking through a telescope, even with a nice observing chair like my Stardust chair.
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