After a quick trip to Newington to 'scope out' the store setup for tomorrow night's class, I headed over to the Stratham Hill park for the darkest site around Portsmouth that I know of.
My goal was to explore the Virgo galaxies for the first time using the Telrad and starhopping with the standard Telrad charts, and my Pocket Sky Atlas. I used the XT8i with mostly the 24mm and 35mm Panoptic, and the 13 mm Hyperion.
Starting from Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis) I found Rho Virginis, the center of a Y-shaped asterism. By using that as an "arrow" to take off in various directions, I found M58 and M60, then M89, then finally M84 and M86. The Milky Way is 100,000 L.Y. in diameter - these two galaxies are 50 million L.Y. away! No wonder they are pretty dim.
Then following the arc of Markarian's chain, I found the rest of the Markarian galaxies ending with the brighter M88. This was all based on recommendations from Cloudy Nights members - thanks!
I then spent about a half hour looking at M13 and then finding M81 and M82 without the COL assistance. This is very satisfying to get to know the sky this way.
Finally as I was packing up to leave, an enormously bright star rose above the trees in the SE. Of course it was Jupiter, seemingly bright enough to read by.
The plan for viewing after class tomorrow night will be Saturn and M13. If anyone can find anything else under the parking lot lights, that will be great.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
First light for the WO Zenithstar ED 80
Grab-and-go is back! In just under a year I am back to owning a (used) 80mm (3 inch) ED (extra-low dispersion) APO (apochromatic, low false color) short tube (fl=545mm) wide-field scope. This was where I started in amateur observing in July of 2007 with the purchase of a Vixen ED80sf on a Portamount. That was the scope we took to Nantucket with my son Ryan just before he joined the Navy and I still remember his "wows" when he first got the moon in focus. It was a wonderful piece of gear, but I remember thinking how big it was! :-) The ZS80 is only 17" long and fits nicely into a small aluminum carry case. It's definitely coming to California with me in June.
This scope is the ultimate in portability and ease of use. It's specialty is wide-field views, but I could not resist pointing it at Saturn. Crisp and clear view of the planet and rings plus two moons, enough to satisfy anyone that they had seen the planet in all its glory. (For more details on planets, of course a longer focal length and bigger aperture is required.)
But how lucky can I be that Mars is now passing directly through the Beehive Cluster, M44, so I next pointed Southwest at Mars. Since the scope has a focal length of 545 mm, a 13mm Hyperion gives a magnfication of 545/13 = 42X. And the 68 deg. AFOV of the Hyperion becomes 68/42 = 1.9 degrees of sky, an huge amount (thus the term "wide field") for viewing extended objects like the Beehive cluster. They say every scope is a compromise, and this one's sweet spot is low power wide-field views.
And there was Mars, I think even showing a small disk, definitely orange in color, but now floating above a background of black sky absolutely spangled with 50+ bright stars in the Beehive cluster. Clouds came and went and made it a frustrating wait for the 2 or 3 second glimpses I could get through the holes but they were worth the wait. Tonight promises to be clear, and I will be out for another look at that beautiful vision. It was also beautiful in binoculars. I'll say it too - Wow!
Last night I visited Tony at Astronomy Shoppe in Plaistow and picked up a 1 1/4" diagonal for the scope. I've mounted the ZS80 on my video tripod for now (Bogen 3011N) using a piece of wood with a couple of holes drilled for a T-nut and a 1/4x20 handle. It kind of slips around a bit, I think I used a piece of wood which was too slippery (very hard cocobolo from my scrap bin). I'll make another one out of unfinished scrap - it needs the rough surface to grab the rubber of the mount and keep things from swinging when the scope is pointed up. Shouldn't be too much trouble, then I'll be ready for tonight.
I should also mention that I enjoyed another backyard rendezvous with my neighbors Chris and Scott to watch the ISS pass at 9:31pm. Chris was the first to spot it rising directly up out of the SW. It passed between several cloud layers and we watched it pick up (apparent) speed as it arched overhead. There must have been some high patchy clouds because there was a very apparent rapid fluctuation in the brightness of the station to the eye, something I've never seen before. Almost every ISS pass is visible evenings and mornings now as we are aligned favorably with the orbital plane of the station during our sunrise/sunset times.
Saturday night is a good possibility for going to Portsmouth for some Sidewalk Astronomy, esp. since there is an outstanding ISS pass at 8:41pm which will arch directly overhead. That should be a real special sight!
Clear skies!
This scope is the ultimate in portability and ease of use. It's specialty is wide-field views, but I could not resist pointing it at Saturn. Crisp and clear view of the planet and rings plus two moons, enough to satisfy anyone that they had seen the planet in all its glory. (For more details on planets, of course a longer focal length and bigger aperture is required.)
But how lucky can I be that Mars is now passing directly through the Beehive Cluster, M44, so I next pointed Southwest at Mars. Since the scope has a focal length of 545 mm, a 13mm Hyperion gives a magnfication of 545/13 = 42X. And the 68 deg. AFOV of the Hyperion becomes 68/42 = 1.9 degrees of sky, an huge amount (thus the term "wide field") for viewing extended objects like the Beehive cluster. They say every scope is a compromise, and this one's sweet spot is low power wide-field views.
And there was Mars, I think even showing a small disk, definitely orange in color, but now floating above a background of black sky absolutely spangled with 50+ bright stars in the Beehive cluster. Clouds came and went and made it a frustrating wait for the 2 or 3 second glimpses I could get through the holes but they were worth the wait. Tonight promises to be clear, and I will be out for another look at that beautiful vision. It was also beautiful in binoculars. I'll say it too - Wow!
Last night I visited Tony at Astronomy Shoppe in Plaistow and picked up a 1 1/4" diagonal for the scope. I've mounted the ZS80 on my video tripod for now (Bogen 3011N) using a piece of wood with a couple of holes drilled for a T-nut and a 1/4x20 handle. It kind of slips around a bit, I think I used a piece of wood which was too slippery (very hard cocobolo from my scrap bin). I'll make another one out of unfinished scrap - it needs the rough surface to grab the rubber of the mount and keep things from swinging when the scope is pointed up. Shouldn't be too much trouble, then I'll be ready for tonight.
I should also mention that I enjoyed another backyard rendezvous with my neighbors Chris and Scott to watch the ISS pass at 9:31pm. Chris was the first to spot it rising directly up out of the SW. It passed between several cloud layers and we watched it pick up (apparent) speed as it arched overhead. There must have been some high patchy clouds because there was a very apparent rapid fluctuation in the brightness of the station to the eye, something I've never seen before. Almost every ISS pass is visible evenings and mornings now as we are aligned favorably with the orbital plane of the station during our sunrise/sunset times.
Saturday night is a good possibility for going to Portsmouth for some Sidewalk Astronomy, esp. since there is an outstanding ISS pass at 8:41pm which will arch directly overhead. That should be a real special sight!
Clear skies!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Observing session notes April 25, 2008
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.
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 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.
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