12016 replies to this topic

[Joe1950]

Somehow, Terra, the utility companies slipped Mom Nature a couple billion to do away with Spring and Autumn weather; you know, where neither the heater or AC are running.

 

In the wonderful NJ climate we also get a couple days of 'just right' weather. Otherwise it's at the extremes... bitter cold in the 20's or 30's, or the Three H's, Hazy Hot, Humid. Of the two, I'll take the cooler. Just can't take hot and humid. 

 

Glad you escaped the hurricanes okay. This must be a very tense time of year for the folks who live in that entire area.

[John Higbee]

Well, last night was a good observing night in northern VA!  Beautifully clear skies (after the afternoon cumulus fragments dissipated)...light winds, and low humidity!  A little "boiling", but it got better as the night progressed.  We've only had to wait a month to get autumn skies.

 

Rolled the Cave 12.5" out last night after finishing a tuneup: 

• reset the mount's polar axis to home declination, once I found that the four set screws in the fork had worked themselves loose - they're nice and tight now
• tightened the saddle-to-declination-axis Allen-head bolt - surprised to find that loose
• rebalanced the mount - always an interesting evolution with 50 and 20 pound weights - thank goodness for the toesaver
• laser collimated the optics - a lot easier since I re-installed the secondary spider correctly - the original installation was an example of how Cave Optical's "attention to detail" left a lot to be desired in 1979

It hadn't been out in six months, due to the putrid weather we had this spring and summer.  Turned it onto the Moon, once I trundled it to the cul-de-sac, and saw this (26mm 2" Garrett Optical eyepiece - 75X):

 

 

We had an impromptu star party with three of my neighbors, who also took pictures with their smartphones.  Turned to Mars (same eyepiece, with a 2X GSO Barlow - 150X).  Mars was gibbous, but surface details (dark green) were clearly visible, as was the polar icecap.

 

I still need to fix my declination drive, and am considering installing a tube adjustable counterweight on the rear of the tube to better counterbalance the 2" oculars, but aside from that, the scope operated perfectly.  Looking forward to using it again later this week.

 

John

Edited by John Higbee, 14 October 2018 - 08:07 AM.

[photiost]

Our club has a scheduled lecture last night "what is a planet" ... later the skies were clear so we helped setup a members 15in f/5 Tectron reflector and I setup the 76.2mm 10TE.  Before we knew it other telescopes were getting setup, including 6in f/8 and 8in f/6 reflectors and a smaller 60mm refractor which one of the students had brought.

 

About 30 people participated.

 

We had a good view of Mars, dark surface features visible and Icecap very prominent.

 

The ET cluster (NGC 457) was a lot of fun ... around 11:0 pm ET was lying on his back with arms fully extended ... good observing session !!

[Juha]

Moon and Saturnus

[John Higbee]

here's a picture of the scope I used.

 

 

[MattT]

The 8" f14.3 Clark refractor "Leah" last night. Shared the Moon, Mars, and Neptune with about 100 visitors at Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, CA.

 

For the Moon I used my usual 36mm Hyperion for a comfortable full-disk view at 80x. The scope's native chromatic aberration really isn't bad, but a Baader Semi-Apo filter does a great job of cleaning up what defocused color there is and raising contrast without adding an unnatural tint. Theophilus was dramatically placed and the Moon got a lot of oohs and aahs.

 

Saturn was right below the Moon, visible in the photo.

 

Mars is below 14" apparent diameter now but during steady moments a 14mm Vixen LV delivering 200x revealed the south polar cap, north polar hood, and some fuzzy dark areas in the southern hemisphere. With the Baader Semi-Apo, again, which brings out both the dark areas and polar cap.

 

Just a quick look at Neptune before closing, a tiny light-blue dot at 200x. About the only "detail" to be seen was some noticeable limb darkening.

 

Chabot is open almost every Friday and Saturday night for free public viewing (and one Sunday a month for members only). If you're in the area make sure and visit! You may be interested in our 20" f16 Brashear as well.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by MattT, 15 October 2018 - 01:31 PM.

[clamchip]

I've been observing fog so thick I feel like I'm living in a cloud.

I did look out the window about 4 am this morning and Orion was framed there

beautiful it was.

I almost whipped out my Cave Student 6 inch that I have especially prepared

for times like this one, but before I could put my pants on Orion was swallowed up

by the soup.

I've pretty much narrowed down to observing with this one single telescope, yes

it's that good.

I was thinking about the mirrors in this Cave and I really can't believe how

marvelous it is. I suppose a 6"f/8 is easy peasy for a professional optician, to

make it perfect without even thinking about it, sorta like me a professional

tin bender making a pan, one of the first things I was taught to make.

Robert 

 

Edited by clamchip, 15 October 2018 - 04:38 PM.

[Garyth64]

I have a silly question, and an observation.

 

Clamchip,  I/we have seen many of your scopes out in the driveway, and they all seem to have a wood block under one of the legs.

I understand that it would be to make them level.

 

But doesn't that tripod have adjustable legs? 

[clamchip]

I have a silly question, and an observation.

 

Clamchip,  I/we have seen many of your scopes out in the driveway, and they all seem to have a wood block under one of the legs.

I understand that it would be to make them level.

 

But doesn't that tripod have adjustable legs? 

Yes most of them do have adjustable legs but I find myself observing from both flat ground or the sloped

driveway through the night because of the trees.

Its a real pain sometimes if it's a big scope.

The cedar grove in my SE view has gotten so tall, and the S view has a gigantic maple, W there is a hill

so I can't see horizon.

It could be worse, I'm thankful I have what I have.

 

Robert 

[starman876]

I have experienced some of the worst seeing ever this year.  Each time I think about it the rain comes down.

[Juha]

Moon

[shredder1656]

Relatively clear morning.  Looked at Andromeda (FOUND IT EASILY THIS TIME), Pleiades, Orion, and a few clusters of stars that I have yet to identify, and likely won't any time soon.  I couldn't find them (confident in whether they were what I saw originally or not) again if my scopes' lives depended on it.  

 

Very pretty through my C102F, Celestron Silvertop 26mm, and my Ultima 30mm.  The used TV Everbrite diagonal does seem to make a positive difference, but it might just be power of suggestion.  Liked it, though.

 

Seeing, according to new app, Astropheric, was "below average".  Transparency was "good".  I suspect that the seeing was contributing to the difficulty in getting the stars to pinpoints.  Or, maybe a combo between the seeing and the temp change from our unheated, though warmer, front porch to the outside.  I only waited a few minutes to observe.  Temp diff was probably no more than 10 to 15 degrees, if that much.  Did not diminish the views really, but just did not have perfectly circular in and out of focus, and not perfect pinpoints at focus.  

 

Nice morning all the way around. 

[Paul Sweeney]

Sad to hear that some of you are having such a crappy observing year. Here in Germany, it has been one of the warmest and sunniest years ever. Since April we have been in "Summer" mode. Even now it is in the 70s and clear. But by far not enough rain.

 

Sunday morning I got up to look at the winter sky while it was still warm. Took out the Vixen 80L to see the sights. M81 & M82 were easy. The Trapezium was easy, but no E or F visible. Sigma Orionis was visible, with the faintist (C, I think) just on the edge of visibility, blinking in and out. I hit numerous double stars and a few clusters. M46 and M47 are two of my favorites. Because they are low in my southern sky, the best time to see them is morning when the dew is down and the sky clear. Even so, they were both really dim. Higher in the sky things were much better and I spent a few enjoyable hours splitting doubles and looking at M42. And the skeeters were out in force, too, trying to get one last drink before winter , I guess. I counted 5!

[DMala]

Also, since you used fairly low magnification and wide field eyepieces, is it possible that some peripheral distortion may have contributed to the less-than-pinpoint views?

[Steve Allison]

I am still waiting for the finder bracket I ordered to attach a Tak 5X30 finder scope I already own to my just purchased Tac FS-102 NSV. It is due to be delivered tomorrow. But being impatient to test out my new APO, I used a Styrofoam block as a spacer and taped the finder to the telescope as a stop-gap solution. Its pointing accuracy was sufficient to allow objects to be seen in the telescope's field of view at 32 power.

 

I also took out my diminutive 4 inch Meade SCT for comparison, as it is the only other 4 inch telescope I own. Viewing through this tiny treasure earlier this evening reaffirmed my belief that its optics are not just good, but shockingly so!

 

While the telescopes cooled, I pointed them at the moon for views at 100 to 125 power. While the FS-102 was much brighter, as expected, and sharper, the little Meade came closer the Takahashi's level of sharpness than anyone would have any right to expect. I had to look at very faint and intricate features to really to see the differences in sharpness. 

 

Don't get me wrong, the Tak was bitingly sharp, and its superior contrast made subtle details more distinct. But on a high contrast object like the moon, the resolution of the micro Meade was something to behold!  And how about this...? 

 

Last night I pushed the punchy little Meade to 286 power for a peek at Eta Orionis, a double with a separation of 1.5 to 1.7 arc seconds. Even though the seeing was not perfect, the double was cleanly split, with no flaring and dark sky between the components. I have separated even closer doubles on occasion, and the double-double is laughably easy.

 

After the telescopes had fully cooled, I pointed both toward Polaris for some impromptu star-testing. The Meade displayed one of the most aesthetically beautiful star images I have ever seen! By aesthetically beautiful, I don't mean optically perfect, like was displayed by the Tak FS-102. I just mean visually impressive.

 

In the Meade, the stellar disk was hard and round, and was surrounded by a very distinct and perfectly circular diffraction ring. It was the visibility and intensity of this ring, resulting from the SCT's large central obstruction, that made the image so striking.

 

On the other hand, the image in the Tak was, to use a somewhat worn-out cliche, textbook perfect. The diffraction ring was much fainter, and the central disk much brighter and more intense, as would be expected in an optically perfect, unobstructed system.

 

I finished out the evening using the FS for peeks at Alberio and Almach. Both were indescribably lovely, their colors intense and true.

 

I stand by my previous posts extolling the virtues of beautifully corrected achromats, but I must confess I am having to re-adjust my understanding of just what is possible in a refractive optical system!

 

Sincerely,

 

Steve

Edited by Steve Allison, 17 October 2018 - 02:29 AM.

[shredder1656]

I am still waiting for the finder bracket I ordered to attach a Tak 5X30 finder scope I already own to my just purchased Tac FS-102 NSV. It is due to be delivered tomorrow. But being impatient to test out my new APO, I used a Styrofoam block as a spacer and taped the finder to the telescope as a stop-gap solution. Its pointing accuracy was sufficient to allow objects to be seen in the telescope's field of view at 32 power.

 

I also took out my diminutive 4 inch Meade SCT for comparison, as it is the only other 4 inch telescope I own. Viewing through this tiny treasure earlier this evening reaffirmed my belief that its optics are not just good, but shockingly so!

 

While the telescopes cooled, I pointed them at the moon for views at 100 to 125 power. While the FS-102 was much brighter, as expected, and sharper, the little Meade came closer the Takahashi's level of sharpness than anyone would have any right to expect. I had to look at very faint and intricate features to really to see the differences in sharpness. 

 

Don't get me wrong, the Tak was bitingly sharp, and its superior contrast made subtle details more distinct. But on a high contrast object like the moon, the resolution of the micro Meade was something to behold!  And how about this...? 

 

Last night I pushed the punchy little Meade to 286 power for a peek at Eta Orionis, a double with a separation of 1.5 to 1.7 arc seconds. Even though the seeing was not perfect, the double was cleanly split, with no flaring and dark sky between the components. I have separated even closer doubles on occasion, and the double-double is laughably easy.

 

After the telescopes had fully cooled, I pointed both toward Polaris for some impromptu star-testing. The Meade displayed one of the most aesthetically beautiful star images I have ever seen! By aesthetically beautiful, I don't mean optically perfect, like was displayed by the Tak FS-102. I just mean visually impressive.

 

In the Meade, the stellar disk was hard and round, and was surrounded by a very distinct and perfectly circular diffraction ring. It was the visibility and intensity of this ring, resulting from the SCT's large central obstruction, that made the image so striking.

 

On the other hand, the image in the Tak was, to use a somewhat worn-out cliche, textbook perfect. The diffraction ring was much fainter, and the central disk much brighter and more intense, as would be expected in an optically perfect, unobstructed system.

 

I finished out the evening using the FS for peeks at Alberio and Almach. Both were indescribably lovely, their colors intense and true.

 

I stand by my previous posts extolling the virtues of beautifully corrected achromats, but I must confess I am having to re-adjust my understanding of just what is possible in a refractive optical system!

 

Sincerely,

 

Steve

GREAT!  Very nice write-up!  I am glad that the Tak is outstanding.  Excellent report.

[Steve Allison]

Hi gang-

 

If my post last night were to be considered part one in a Telescope Wars Trilogy, I should entitle this post:

 

Part Two:The Achromat Strikes Back!

 

After staying up until two in the morning writing my previous post and extolling the virtues of my newly acquired Takahashi FS-102NSV Apo, I started feeling bad for my long-suffering, long-focus achromats. Foregoing bed to ease my feelings of guilt, I set up my mighty Sears model 6345, 90mm F15.6 refractor in my front yard.

 

"Setting-up" this impressive instrument consists of lifting the tripod (with the legs hanging straight down) and equatorial head together in one piece and carrying it out the door, followed by the counterweight and shaft and finally, the optical tube itself with its crystal clear, jewel-like objective lens.

 

I started with Polaris using a 7mm UO ortho, which provided 200X. Cool-down time was negligible and I was soon greeted with a hard, round Airy disk surrounded by a single faint, but beautiful diffraction ring. Its tiny companion looked on approvingly. There was no flare or blur in the image, and any color was nugatory. Beautiful, just beautiful!

 

Orion's nebula and Trapezium were awe-inspiring at 200X. I am talking about lifetime views here!

 

At some point, I will set up the Sears and the Tak side by side for a direct comparison. On a purely optical quality basis, I have no doubt that the FS-102 will prevail. But on an emotional and aesthetic level, I know there will be no winner or loser here....

 

Steve

Edited by Steve Allison, 17 October 2018 - 05:38 PM.

[Augustus]

First light with the '73 orange C8:

 

Star tested and got collimated on Altair. Near-identical diffraction rings inside and outside focus - only aberration I could see was a slight turned-down edge.

 

The 40mm Kellner throws up fuzzy stars for some reason, need to fix it because the next lowest power I have is a 25mm Plossl which is a bit much.

 

Moon - Very good.

 

Mars - Mare Acidalium, Sinus Meridiani, Syrtis Major, and the ice cap were visible despite the poor seeing.

 

M31 - Dust lane just barely visible.

 

M13 - Resolved at high magnification, very good.

 

Double Cluster - Nice colors in the stars, couldn't fit both in the field though.

 

M57 - Good, very slight blue-green color.

 

Neptune - Nice blue disk with Triton just barely visible.

 

Clouds rolled in before I could hunt down Uranus.

[kansas skies]

Had to leave work early today, so had a couple of hours to kill this afternoon. For once, the sky wasn't overcast and the outside temperature was close to perfect, so I thought I might take the opportunity to check out a few sunspots. I thought about it for awhile and decided it was time to try the Lunt wedge with the C100E, which I hadn't yet done. Setting the scope up is no easy task, but it went together fairly quick and I was soon ready. Since I was using the solar continuum filter with an added polarizer, I was presented with what resembled a perfectly smooth green cue ball. Not a sunspot in sight. Finally, after about five minutes of fiddling with the focus and close scrutiny, I found a slightly discolored spot about the size of a pin-point. Following the equator to the other side and I was able to barely discern a tiny and very faint jagged line. Definitely not a good day for sunspots.

 

Oh well, if nothing else, it was good exercise...

 

Bill

Edited by kansas skies, 18 October 2018 - 06:17 AM.

[wfj]

Last night woke up in the early morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Went out and hunted clusters, doubles+, and M's through Orion and Taurus. Been a long while since I found M1 with a f/15 refractor (3") near zenith. Hard to make out the "S" shape in it.

 

This evening (still in early twilight) spotted a hole in the tree foliage from the house's rear deck to spy Mars. At 200x with a 14' disc (no filters) could make out Meridiani on the edge, and Solis Lacus near center - very stable air (unlike past days), definitely Antoniadi 1 conditions. And I didn't have to climb up the south ridge to see it!

[Terra Nova]

Last night woke up in the early morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Went out and hunted clusters, doubles+, and M's through Orion and Taurus. Been a long while since I found M1 with a f/15 refractor (3") near zenith. Hard to make out the "S" shape in it.

 

This evening (still in early twilight) spotted a hole in the tree foliage from the house's rear deck to spy Mars. At 200x with a 14' disc (no filters) could make out Meridiani on the edge, and Solis Lacus near center - very stable air (unlike past days), definitely Antoniadi 1 conditions. And I didn't have to climb up the south ridge to see it!

 

I had one of those nights last night. Woke up at 3:20 for my regular mid-sleep pit stop and had a heck of a time going back to sleep. It was clear and cold. I thought about going out. Then I thought a little more, naw! Pulled up the covers and after a while, it was back to dreamland.

[Steve Allison]

Got the finder scope bracket for the FS-102 yesterday, so was able to put the 4 inch Tak through its paces. Every object I observed was just beautiful, as I expected. In fact, my split of the triple star Iota Cassiopeiae might have been the most impressive display of optical excellence I have ever seen!

 

But a not too distant second was my view of the same object through the mighty Sears 6345, 90mm refractor. The stars were the tiniest bit less hard and intense, but as with the Tak, contrasted beautifully with the dark, dark sky.

 

On object after object, the old Sears nipped at the heels of the modern day wonder and reinforced my belief that an optically perfect, long focus achromatic refractor continues to be deserving of respect.

 

Tonight, the Takahashi will have the entire sky to herself. Watch this space...

 

Steve

[Juha]

Moon and mars.

[Steve Allison]

Juha-

 

Great example of pithy and succinct writing. 

 

I will have to work on my own verbosity.

 

On the other hand, blah, blah blah...

[Garyth64]

Sometimes less is more.   (more or less)

Edited by Garyth64, 18 October 2018 - 05:25 PM.