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kroum
super member
Reged: 08/28/08
Posts: 166
Loc: Bay Area, CA
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Last week I decide to take a couple friends and my new 100mm f6 orion achro to a new dark sky site (Henry Coe State park) We get there after about an hour drive, the last half of which was through a very twisty 1 lane mountain road. We get there, get out of the car: Wow! Awesome sky, the milky way immediately visible unpon vehicle exit, I get super excited, and open the trunk:
Foldable table, check, camping chairs check, sky charts check, telescope check, mount check....OOPS NO eyepieces 
We were reduced to taking turns with my 15X70 cheapo barskas and the 10X50 straight thru finder scope  All in all not horrible, the milky way was gorgeous through the binocs, but still... stupid.
About 4 years ago when I first got my 10in hardion optical dob one day for some stupid reason I decided it would be interesting to point it at the sun, no filter and see how strong the light was. Well, it was strong enough that a sheet of paper immediately burst into flames, .5 seconds and it burned a hole through a CD, and then I ruined a pair of sunglasses as well. I didn't look through it of course, but I believe it fried my 25mm orion plossl... atleast it wasn't a nicer eyepiece... That's probably the stupidest thing I've done with my telescope.
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1609
Loc: Cayce, SC
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Quote:
I decided it would be interesting to point it at the sun, no filter and see how strong the light was.
Been there--almost. When I was a teenager, I looked at the sun through a piece of welder's glass over the eyepiece. Nothing over the end of the tube. Ruined the primary coating. 
Just think what the sun would've done to your eyeball! 
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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kroum
super member
Reged: 08/28/08
Posts: 166
Loc: Bay Area, CA
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Luckily I didn't ruin mine, though I'm not sure about the eyepiece's coatings.
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InkDark
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1506
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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This thread is great.
Quote:
In the course of an observing session I end up with eyepieces, filters etc in all different pockets. Occasionally I'll go back to the van to have a sort out and usually put my torch in my mouth to keep both hands free. After one sort out I did a check that I had everything I needed, eyepiece, OIII filter, barlow. Where's the torch? Started moving my head around so I could use the torch to look for the torch!!
Dave
Been there... Searching for the toothbrush when it's actually in my mouth...Yikes!
These behaviors can remind us that we are barely smarter than an apple. A bit of distraction and its back down the complexity line...
When I tried for the first time my first scope I started to look around and thought that it was not showing me a lot more stuff than my binoculars...than I realise that the little 2 inch dust cap at the front of the scope was only a part of the bigger dust cap that covers the entire front end of the tube... Now I can use the entire 6 inch aperture...much better, and just a bit less dumb. 
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
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InkDark
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1506
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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Quote:
Called my family out to watch a big ISS pass that I had been planning for several days. Had everything setup, scoped out, clocks aligned, yada, yada. We all stood there for 10 minutes and never saw a thing. Clueless I went inside to check Heavens Above.
Azimuth? Check.
Elevation? Check.
Site location? Check.
Correct satellite? Check.
Time? Check.
Date? Yesterday.
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
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HughB
journeyman
Reged: 12/28/07
Posts: 55
Loc: UK
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1) Moved to the south-westernmost tip of England, in the neighbourhood of a Royal Navy base. Later discovered that the base had been located there during the cold war to prevent observation by soviet spy satellites... because of its consistent, dense, all-year-round cloud cover.
2) Invited my wife to scan around with my beginner-scope. GEM mount with two nice manual slow-motion controls. Forgot to explain that they worked by twisting the ends; she steered the scope around like they were bicycle handles 
Some IMPRESSIVE candour in this thread.  Fantastic! Now I can't wait to have my own REALLY embarrassing story!
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Naked Eyes
Enhanced Optics OEW (Open Eyes Wider)
4.5" Newt CheapScope (The Last Scope I Will Ever Buy)
Orion Optics UK OMC140 (The Very Last Scope I Will Ever Buy And This Time I Mean It)
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Crusader
sage
Reged: 08/14/05
Posts: 402
Loc: Karoo, South Africa
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Well I haven't had much time to have a REALLY embarrassing story yet. However some weeks ago, after not taking the scope out for a month or so, I set up my dob at dusk to try to catch a sight of Venus, Mercury and Mars, which should have been just visible above the roofs of the surrounding houses.
Only Venus was cleary visible since it wasn't very dark yet. Earlier I checked the position of Mercury in Starry Night, so I knew it was just to the left of Venus.
I used the 9x50 finderscope and zeroed in on a bright "star" which should definitely be Venus. Tried to track down Mercury for 5 mins but simply couldn't find it - regardless of the amount of sweeping I did to the left of Venus.
Ran back into the house to make sure that I wasn't mistaking Mercury's location. Double-check and it should definitely be to the left. My brother wanted to know what I'm up to and I told him I was trying to pinpoint Mercury, but that I couldn't find it next to Venus. He jokingly said that I must be looking at Mars, but I said that simply can't be the case.
Went back to the scope and panned downward and there was the real Venus, with Mercury to the left. The whole time I was indeed looking at Mars, even though it wasn't visible with the naked eye the finderscope showed it clear as day!
Luckily my newly added red dot finder prevents little mishaps like that from happening again. 
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Orion Skyquest XT10 10" dob.
Skywatcher Evostar 90mm F/10 Refractor on AZ3 mount.
25mm and 10mm Sirius Plossl eyepieces, Skywatcher 8-24mm Zoom EP. Orion O-III filter & Shorty Plus Barlow.
Spacewallpapers.net - The Ultimate Free Space wallpapers
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NyxAither
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/11/07
Posts: 835
Loc: Arlington VA
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Haha! I hear you Crusader! I love the "ease of use" of right angle finder scopes. I have done the same thing as you while doing the two star alignment with my xt8i dob. "Okay..and there's altair...*enter*....What!? w -9.4!?...Oh, wait..there's altair!"
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Thomas
✸Orion XT8i✸Orion 80-T✸CG5 GT Mount ✸Meade DSI II Color✸Meade DSI (THANKS TODD N!!!)✸Orion 4.5" Reflector OTA✸Trusty Mac Powerbook G4✸1960's Gilbert 3" telescope✸10x50 binoculars✸SPC900NC✸
..::*~*Clear Skies*~*::..
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1609
Loc: Cayce, SC
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The other night I was happily crawling around on my knees, joyously enjoying the pain in my neck while trying to look at the zenith in my beautifully designed 8x20 straight-through finder scope with its dark field and 2mm eye relief. (Ain't it fun?). I was wearing shorts with the baggy, pleated cargo pockets, and I was pretty much under the scope between the tripod legs. The wet, cut grass was caking up on my kneecaps as I gave up on my aim and decided to get up--if I could. On the way up I learned an important lesson about cargo pockets. As good as they are about holding all manner of eyepieces, filters, cigarettes, small drinks, and the like, they're equally good at catching the lock knob on a tripod leg. I froze halfway up to catch the whole scope already at a 45-degree angle about to topple. The good thing is that the pocket that caught the knob was also holding it to keep the scope from getting away from me. Now wouldn't that have been nice to see at an outreach party?
I'm a klutz sometimes. Tripped over the cat another time getting out of my chair.
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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FirstSight
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/26/05
Posts: 2517
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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A dreadful sound under dim light conditions at night is that made by a loose screw or hex key used to adjust same, when it falls and hits some hard surface, and pings off in some indeterminate direction an indeterminate distance into terrain that contrasts poorly with the now-missing part. It can actually be more dreadful still if you hear it taking a second or third bounce off a hard surface before settling down in an uncertain location, because the odds are worrisome that one of those surfaces could be an optical one.
And you invariably feel really stupid for not taking sufficient precautions against dropping the part in the dark.
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Chris M., aka "First Sight"
Orion XT12i Dob with Moonlite CR-2 focuser
WO Megrez 90 refractor on UniStar Light mount
Nikon 10x50 Binoculars
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hm insulators
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/22/07
Posts: 547
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We model builders can relate to that, FirstSight. Time and again, we'll cut a small part off the plastic frame only to hear it rocket off, bounce off the workbench and take off in an unknown direction. Often these little parts simply get permanently lost in the carpet; we modelers joke about the "carpet monster" all the time.
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KDizzle
member
Reged: 09/12/08
Posts: 66
Loc: Woodinville, WA
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I read a few stories related to dew -- here's mien from about a week ago.
My night started by taking the CPC 800 out to the front yard and setting it up. I find a beer or two helps make the night a bit more ... uh, warm inside, but alas it was a rum-n-pepsi night. There was a pretty hefty half moon flooding the sky, but I thought "well maybe I can really understand how bad moon-light pollution is tonight..." I started with taking a few moon photos, then hitting up jupiter real quick. Then I moved on to my very favorite, M13 (Which I am getting pretty good at finding just with stars and no 'GOTO').
So I view it for awhile, start taking the pictures (2 min exposures) and head on inside for a bit while the computer does it's thing. I head on back out, night vision mostly destroyed and check out the images which turned out well enough). Then I'm thinking "Hmm, maybe this moon isnt so bad after all." So I move on to a few other items but begin to fail miserably. No M31. No M101. No M15. Nothing. I figure I somehow got the telescope out of alignment. So I go to realign. However, I'm having a pretty tough time seeing altair even though the scope. It's there, just not very bright. I'm beginning to think I have had too much rum.
Eventually I'm able to get it realigned, but it was not easy. Everything just seemed really dim. Just to verify that my alignment worked, I 'GOTO' Jupiter. It goes, and I look and wow, it is prety faint, like the stars. After fiddling around a few more minutes with the eyepiece, I figure I must have drank too much. I grab some binoculars and look around - everything looks great. Stunned, I give up.
As I am putting the telescope away for the night, I notice that the entire telescope is covered with dew...
Ah, I love hard-earned wisdom. And the dew heater shield thing is in the mail.
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1609
Loc: Cayce, SC
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Well, here's another small one for me. Out last night with the ST80 scanning around in Sagittarius. The sky looked very good and clear, but I was noticing that my images were not. Stars just wouldn't focus well. What the...? So I'm looking the scope over, scrutinizing the eyepieces, diagonal, checking everything. I even took my glasses off to see if there was something on them. No luck. And the scope hadn't taken a blow or anything. I swivelled the diagonal to give me an easier view into the eyepiece, then it dawned on me what the problem was. The eyepiece was formerly just high enough that when I looked into it I was seeing right through the line on my bifocals. Good grief. Why did it take me so long to figure that out?
I grumbled a bit and then went on to have a good session. But I'm sure not getting any smarter. 
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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Winnie
super member
Reged: 04/28/07
Posts: 117
Loc: Las Vegas
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I was following Jupiter the other night, with my C130 Mak on a camera tripod. I let my girlfriend take a look while I was selecting a different EP. Before I changed EP's, I took a look to center Jupiter but it looked so hazy. I was kinda mad at her because I knew she had put a big finger print on the EP lens. I shined my red light on it to examine the damage... no print. It was then that I realized I was looking at Jupiter through the needles of a Pine tree.
Not long ago, when I was breaking down my CPC925 at the end of a session, I realized that when I had set it up, I had not screwed the fork mount to the tripod. It had been just sitting on the tripod, held there by the registration pin, for the entire session. I can't explain the feeling that went through me when I realized what had happened and how lucky I was that night!
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CPC925 GPS
Feather Touch Microfocuser
C130 Mak
Celestron Plossl Kit
15mm Pan
9T6 Nagler
Canon 10x30 IS
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mblack
Upperclass Twit of the Year
Reged: 10/31/05
Posts: 2336
Loc: Naples, Florida
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Quote:
I had not screwed the fork mount to the tripod. It had been just sitting on the tripod, held there by the registration pin
I'm sure that my story hasn't happened to anyone else. Nope.
My home owners association, usually mandated by the county, alters the time and days that the sprinklers run. They always run at night 'round here.
One very late friday evening I had Dave's choice. Save the 10" sct or the eyepiece case.
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-Dave
C11 ~ CGE ~ 101mm refractor ~ EZtouch ~ various eyepieces
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1609
Loc: Cayce, SC
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Quote:
It was then that I realized I was looking at Jupiter through the needles of a Pine tree.
I've had that happen more than once.
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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zee
super member
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 134
Loc: Arizona (varies)
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I was driving a ways in my RV, with the scope securely in bed, where it always travels. A still, hot day--108 degrees F outside, and when I stopped at a Wal-Mart in the evening, put the scope upright in its non-driving position, and climbed into bed. A half hour later, it was still 100 degrees inside, so I thought, okay, I'll drive a couple miles up and down the road with the windows all open and blow out this hot air. I took a corner rather too fast and heard something go "bang" back there--the scope, which I had forgotten (my brains were scrambled by the heat, is my excuse) to secure. It took me another two days to work up the courage to look at the mirrors, which were both fine. Whew!
A year ago, when the scope was less familiar to me, at the beginning of an evening, I had gotten my finder and scope aligned to a distant saguaro, but when I looked at Jupiter, I realized I could tweak the finder just a bit better. Reached up to twist the screw that aims the finder, which didn't shift, and I kept twisting wondering what was wrong...and the finder slides right out and thumps on the desert floor. (oh, wrong screw)
Or my habit of putting eyepiece covers into pants pocket, and having a hole in a pocket and dribbling eyepiece covers. Even after I realized it was happening, I could not break the habit of putting them there. I had to wait for morning to find the last one.
I'm usually a keystone kops show of misadventure, so I do expect more. Many, many more.
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8" Orion classic dob
15x70 Celestron Skymaster
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1609
Loc: Cayce, SC
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Quote:
Reached up to twist the screw that aims the finder, which didn't shift,
Similarly, my finder and bracket fell off my ST80 refractor the other night while I was carrying the scope out. Hm, I thought, I guess I loosened the wrong screw the night before. I meant to loosen the focus lock screw. The two screws are close by each other and the same size. Easy to mistake one for the other feeling around in the dark with my eye in the eyepiece, especially when the OTA gets rotated in a different direction depending on where I'm aimed. I just knew that was gonna happen one night.
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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AlanK
super member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 130
Loc: Auckland, New Zealand
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Here's mine. Early one evening I headed out to the site and went to set my scope then realised I'd left the shroud at home. After a few minutes of cursing thinking all was lost I suddenly remembered the old bedsheet used to cover the scope while in storage, which ended up fitting and doing the job quite well whenever held in place with some rope - Had a successful night after all  . And then there was the other time I had it all set up and collimated but had the UTA connected 180 degree the wrong way with the finder and telrad in a lower position than the focuser. Could still observe but literally a pain in the neck!
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Clear skies!
12.5 inch f5.4 reflector
18 inch f4.5 Obsession #1637
Auckland NZ
6,116 deep sky objects incl 4,268 ngcs
If it's up there, I'll look for it!
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hm insulators
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/22/07
Posts: 547
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Quote:
This thread is great.
Quote:
In the course of an observing session I end up with eyepieces, filters etc in all different pockets. Occasionally I'll go back to the van to have a sort out and usually put my torch in my mouth to keep both hands free. After one sort out I did a check that I had everything I needed, eyepiece, OIII filter, barlow. Where's the torch? Started moving my head around so I could use the torch to look for the torch!!
Dave
Been there... Searching for the toothbrush when it's actually in my mouth...Yikes!
Just the other night I misplaced the TV remote and started searching for it. It took about twenty seconds to realize I had the thing in my hand! 
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