11382 replies to this topic

[Cavs56]

Same here deSitter ask that I look for the double double by Altair. I can barely see the stars around Altair the light pollution is so bad. On the other hand I went out this morning at 5:00 and had one of if not the best views of Jupiter I’ve ever had. The moon is still washing out Orion, but Mars is getting better.

[Senex Bibax]

Drove to my favorite observing site yesterday evening with my little Celestron / Vixen grab 'n' go, and saw something new - a cloud of dust from the combine that was harvesting barley. I couldn't complain because it will probably end up in my beer eventually. I found another nearby spot but thin clouds were moving in and spoiling things, so it was only a few sweeps around Sagittarius to catch M22, M8 and some star fields.

[John Rogers]

Had the classic 10-inch Coulter Odyssey Compact out this morning.  The seeing was above average, yielding great views of the Moon and Jupiter using the Delos 6mm eyepiece.  There were so many craters on floor or Clavius, too many to count.  Rupus Recta (Straight Wall) was breath taking with the crater Bert casting a shadow onto the vertical face of feature.  I took a hand-held smartphone photo that provides a sense of the scene, but the level of detail with the steady seeing cannot be described.  Although photographed, I don't think I have seen craters on the floor of Plato.  

 

 

Many of the details shown in this photo were visible: http://the-moon.us/wiki/Straight_Wall

 

 

 

 

[CHASLX200]

Jup at 500x with the 826. 

[highfnum]

Did a bit of modern solar with

1790 P Dollond mini scope

https://www.cloudyni.../#entry13652235

[deSitter]

You guys can see things in the night sky.  They installed these new LED street lights.   Now I can only see the brightest stars from my yard.   I might have to take drastic measures to get my night sky back.   My county supervisor gave me his card last time I talked with him and said call me and we will see what we can do.   I am not holding my breath.  This is the worst case of light pollution I have seen with these new LED lights.   

We got LEDs about 5 years ago but it was a HUGE improvement over the sodium vapor lamps - I'd say 1/4th the brightness. So I gained at least a full magnitude. They are also well shielded and throw in all the trees and it made a huge difference. LED lights do not need to run at maximum brightness. Just ask them to turn it down to minimum and see how it goes.

 

-drl

[scout]

We got LEDs about 5 years ago but it was a HUGE improvement over the sodium vapor lamps - I'd say 1/4th the brightness. So I gained at least a full magnitude. They are also well shielded and throw in all the trees and it made a huge difference. 

 

Yes, the lack of shielding used on street lights is a massive reason for so much light pollution. Where I used to live, street lights had no shielding and were too bright. Most of the light went up into the sky instead of downwards. The sky was a milky gray.

 

Where I live now, the lights are shielded well and the glare is mostly tamed. The lights are aimed downward where it should be, and the sky looks almost black.

[oldmanastro]

We got LEDs about 5 years ago but it was a HUGE improvement over the sodium vapor lamps - I'd say 1/4th the brightness. So I gained at least a full magnitude. They are also well shielded and throw in all the trees and it made a huge difference. LED lights do not need to run at maximum brightness. Just ask them to turn it down to minimum and see how it goes.

 

-drl

At about the same time we got street LED lights installed here but unfortunately not well shielded. Some of them were defective and started to turn blue-violet and I mean very blue-violet. In my street we were left with the old but much better shielded sodium vapor lamp which is yellowish. The main problem have been neighbors installing bright LED security lights pointed everywhere except down. I had to make a PVC/Tarp shield to deal with these and they are all around. During the last 30 years my transparency in a clear sky has gone from 5.5 to 4.0. It just takes a little bit of Saharan dust haze to make it 3.0.

[Kasmos]

The last week at 2 am before bed I did some naked eye observing and was pleasantly surprised to see Jupiter and Mars rising. A few nights later (12 am) I used the Mayflower 814 to check out Saturn (first time this year) and a couple of doubles. I was surprised how bright the rings still are and noticed some banding. At low powers it looked kind of funny and was really cool how the .965"16mm Celestron Kellner showed Saturn in a wider field of stars with a brighter Titan.

 

Until last week, this Spring and Summer, the marine layer has pretty much made most nights a no go and during these sessions I was evaluating the increased light pollution.

 

A few years ago they put in LEDs and it's sort of a mixed bag. The Pros: They have better falloff into my yard so it make it darker, and the color is more natural than the Sodium Vapors. Cons: But where the light is in direct view they are brighter and have more glare. It's kind of ridiculous how bright they are when you stand directly under them and how they reflect off of parked cars etc., so I'm sure there's lots of bounce upwards. (BTW, I now absolutely hate driving at night around here because of the increased glare).

 

I'm only a mile from the ocean so from the zenith to the west the sky is much darker. I'm noticing how to the east and north the light dome seems to have become brighter than a few years ago. Sure there are some neighbors with bad lights here and there (thankfully mostly away from me), but I think the biggest problem is the many businesses that have put up more and brighter lighting. Especially the fast food chains and gas stations.

 

I'm waiting to see how the fall and winter skies will look this year. I dread seeing what's going to happen in the next few years. 

Edited by Kasmos, 29 August 2024 - 11:47 PM.

[deSitter]

The last week at 2 am before bed I did some naked eye observing and was pleasantly surprised to see Jupiter and Mars rising. A few nights later (12 am) I used the Mayflower 814 to check out Saturn (first time this year) and a couple of doubles. I was surprised how bright the rings still are and noticed some banding. At low powers it looked kind of funny and was really cool how the .965"16mm Celestron Kellner showed Saturn in a wider field of stars with a brighter Titan.

 

Until last week, this Spring and Summer, the marine layer has pretty much made most nights a no go and during these sessions I was evaluating the increased light pollution.

 

A few years ago they put in LEDs and it's sort of a mixed bag. The Pros: They have better falloff into my yard so it make it darker, and the color is more natural than the Sodium Vapors. Cons: But where the light is in direct view they are brighter and have more glare. It's kind of ridiculous how bright they are when you stand directly under them and how they reflect off of parked cars etc., so I'm sure there's lots of bounce upwards. (BTW, I now absoutely hate driving at night around here because of the increased glare).

 

I'm only a mile from the ocean so from the zenith to the west the sky is much darker. I'm noticing how to the east and north the light dome seems to have become brighter than a few years ago. Sure there are some neigbhors with bad lights here and there (thankfully mostly away from me), but I think the biggest problem is the many businesses that have put up more and brighter lighting. Especially the fast food chains and gas stations.

 

I'm waiting to see how the fall and winter skies will look this year. I dread seeing what's going to happen in the next few years. 

As Saturn approaches opposition you can get the same sort of coherent backscatter that makes glories seen out of airplane windows - also brightens the Moon and Mars at opposition - the rings of Saturn are particulate so they obey the same phenomenon. It may be that this was early evidence of the non-solid nature of the rings. You can even see this in your yard when the Sun is directly behind you (check out the shadow of your head).

 

-drl

Edited by deSitter, 29 August 2024 - 03:52 PM.

[deSitter]

The last week at 2 am before bed I did some naked eye observing and was pleasantly surprised to see Jupiter and Mars rising. A few nights later (12 am) I used the Mayflower 814 to check out Saturn (first time this year) and a couple of doubles. I was surprised how bright the rings still are and noticed some banding. At low powers it looked kind of funny and was really cool how the .965"16mm Celestron Kellner showed Saturn in a wider field of stars with a brighter Titan.

 

Until last week, this Spring and Summer, the marine layer has pretty much made most nights a no go and during these sessions I was evaluating the increased light pollution.

 

A few years ago they put in LEDs and it's sort of a mixed bag. The Pros: They have better falloff into my yard so it make it darker, and the color is more natural than the Sodium Vapors. Cons: But where the light is in direct view they are brighter and have more glare. It's kind of ridiculous how bright they are when you stand directly under them and how they reflect off of parked cars etc., so I'm sure there's lots of bounce upwards. (BTW, I now absoutely hate driving at night around here because of the increased glare).

 

I'm only a mile from the ocean so from the zenith to the west the sky is much darker. I'm noticing how to the east and north the light dome seems to have become brighter than a few years ago. Sure there are some neigbhors with bad lights here and there (thankfully mostly away from me), but I think the biggest problem is the many businesses that have put up more and brighter lighting. Especially the fast food chains and gas stations.

 

I'm waiting to see how the fall and winter skies will look this year. I dread seeing what's going to happen in the next few years. 

Again LEDs can be run at less brightness - and energy usage. I would really try to lean on someone who represents your 'hood to have them turn the things down. It's really a huge difference - the same lights here over at the large city park are cranked up full blast and it's WAY WAY brighter than the one in front of my house. That one is dim enough to resemble a 60w porch bulb. The skirt keeps the light pointed down. None of the surrounding trees are illuminated.

 

When Atlanta had pervasive sodium lights, which not only illuminate the street but everything around, the entire city would take on a sickly yellow appearance from the air as you were landing at our world-famous airport. Sometimes we'd have puffy clouds in blue sky that, at night, turned into puffy yellow clouds in a midnight blue sky - really sort of pretty. You could read a book by that light. Now, I have to be careful not to trip on things or walk into a joro spider web. It's actually sort of dark in my back yard.

 

-drl

Edited by deSitter, 29 August 2024 - 03:59 PM.

[davidmcgo]

Took,my orange tube C11 to the club’s dark sky site since my back is still recovering from a toilet valve replacement in my small bathroom and I didn’t feel up to wrestling the 15” Obsession or Celestron 14 tube and case into the car.  But I stupidly grabbed the wedge for the 1973 C14.

 

When I got out to the club site after enough number to bumper where Caltrains has been not finishing the same stretch  of highway for over a year now where all the trucks hit the mountain grades I realized the wedge didn’t have the extra smaller bolt circle holes for the C11 drive base.  It doeshave the same shoulder bolts that engage the keyhole slots in the drive base.  So I hang it on the shoulder bolts and it feels pretty solid so I make a little shim with the pop top of my ice tea can and my multi tool pliers to wedge in the little gap to keep it from wobbling and figure I am all set.

 

Later, at Sunset I mount the tube to the fork, then grab the power cable and then realize the C14 wedge also doesn’t have the pass through for the power cord which on the C11 is on the bottom of the drive base.  Aggghhhhh!  All the high power eyepieces I brought are Orthos, and my only low power are big 2” with the oversized diagonal for the 5/8/11 with the big plumbing looking housing.  So a very out of balance scope with really smooth bearings on the fork and no drag since the clamp is pretty much on or off.  This is going to be interesting.  I decide not to just pack up and go home but see if I can get the tube close to balanced in RA to leave the RA clamp loose enough for the slow motions.  A second 10x40 finder in the 5 o clock position, rotating the eyepiece holder of the ginormous diagonal to the 2 o clock, and then a counterweight on the tube bar and a dew shield gets me there.  Whew.

 

Perfect night, really dry with no dew, negligible wind, and really good seeing at times.  Saturn just popped with the 10.2 and 6.8mm University Professional series eyepieces, saw my clearest view of Enceladus ever right up next to the ring.  Fantastic views of globulars and a bund of planetaries.  Kept at it until the Great Red Spot on Jupiter was coming around and M42 was coming up.

 

Now that I am back home, I put the C14 only wedge out of reach and away from the later C11/14 wedge.  Will either get a label maker and mark them so I don’t give myself another “wedgie” or a drill press and make the extra holes…

 

Dave

Edited by davidmcgo, 01 September 2024 - 01:51 PM.

[Bill Griffith]

Sorry that I missed you Dave.

 

We are very fortunate to have TDS!

 

Bill

[Kasmos]

We had a small blackout last night at about 8:48 pm for about an hour or so. It was limited to our block and the local street lights, but the houses across the street and everybody else still had power. Since I wasn't ready for it, I just went out to take a look and then grabed some binoculars. While it was nice having a few streetlights out it was very disappointing that it really didn't help with the overall view of the sky that much or if at all. It may have helped a little since I did spot a satellite.

 

Because of the sky glow I had no problem seeing when walking about my yard. It also demonsrated how much the porch, garage, and even interior lights lights from across the street can envade my backyard even though they aren't terribly bright. I always notice that the darker it is, even the smallest sources  of light becomes a nuisance. It also really illustrated how bad the overall light pollution has become. It was mostly depressing so I gave up and went inside. 

 

I don't think it's a healthy way to live, so I should move for my own good.

Edited by Kasmos, 01 September 2024 - 02:26 PM.

[Bungee]

Just came in from a few hours with the Unitron. Spied the usual suspects, but spent most of the evening straining to find Neptune. I imagine the 3" is just not enough to pull it out. Saturn is sharp, this is my first go around with the rings on edge. Uranus was easy enough to find, the Unitron presented a clear green disc at 92x. Wrapped it up with Jupiter on the horizon.

[deSitter]

Just came in from a few hours with the Unitron. Spied the usual suspects, but spent most of the evening straining to find Neptune. I imagine the 3" is just not enough to pull it out. Saturn is sharp, this is my first go around with the rings on edge. Uranus was easy enough to find, the Unitron presented a clear green disc at 92x. Wrapped it up with Jupiter on the horizon.

You need a good chart accurate to the hour, then sweep around until you've got the star field in your finder. Neptune is unmistakable by its color, like no star. It is one of my favorite things in the sky - no person will ever live for a full orbit.

 

-drl

[CHASLX200]

Jup at 450x in the 826.

[CHASLX200]

Just came in from a few hours with the Unitron. Spied the usual suspects, but spent most of the evening straining to find Neptune. I imagine the 3" is just not enough to pull it out. Saturn is sharp, this is my first go around with the rings on edge. Uranus was easy enough to find, the Unitron presented a clear green disc at 92x. Wrapped it up with Jupiter on the horizon.

A 3 will make it a disk once ya find it.  Just at low pow wow''s it is hard to find sometimes if it is in a star field with many stars.

[davidmcgo]

Figured it would be cloudy last night so didn’t see up anything early and went to sleep around 8 to recover from the previous all nighter at the club site.  But woke up this morning at 4 for a nature call and saw Jupiter up.  So I grabbed the 1975 C8 and plopped it,on the C10 pier which was already assembled.  Really nice views of Saturns, Jupiter, M42, Rigel.  I was using a 9mm Keller and Saturn looked really good.  So I grabbed a 7.5mm Takahashi LE and that was even better.  Mars was too glaringly bright to see surface markings well even with the 7.5.  So I grabbed and old University Zerbra top 4mm ortho I picked up recently and it tamed the brightness down to where I could see Syrtis Major and some other features and a hint of a polar hood.  The eyepiece looked completely free of any debris or marks looking at with a 30x magnifier did put a fare amount of diffraction spikes and glare around the planet depending where in the field of view it was but the detail and focus were good.  I think straight non Barlowed 4mm is just pushing things too much, This is the second 4mm UO that has been less than great, age of them may be a big factor.since the balsam can degrade.

 

Dave

[deSitter]

Figured it would be cloudy last night so didn’t see up anything early and went to sleep around 8 to recover from the previous all nighter at the club site.  But woke up this morning at 4 for a nature call and saw Jupiter up.  So I grabbed the 1975 C8 and plopped it,on the C10 pier which was already assembled.  Really nice views of Saturns, Jupiter, M42, Rigel.  I was using a 9mm Keller and Saturn looked really good.  So I grabbed a 7.5mm Takahashi LE and that was even better.  Mars was too glaringly bright to see surface markings well even with the 7.5.  So I grabbed and old University Zerbra top 4mm ortho I picked up recently and it tamed the brightness down to where I could see Syrtis Major and some other features and a hint of a polar hood.  The eyepiece looked completely free of any debris or marks looking at with a 30x magnifier did put a fare amount of diffraction spikes and glare around the planet depending where in the field of view it was but the detail and focus were good.  I think straight non Barlowed 4mm is just pushing things too much, This is the second 4mm UO that has been less than great, age of them may be a big factor.since the balsam can degrade.

 

Dave

4mm is just too short for a straight eyepiece. I've never seen a top notch one. My best in that class is a 4.7mm UWA, but it's got a built-in Barlow and 3 or 4 hundred lenses.

 

-drl

[CHASLX200]

4mm is just too short for a straight eyepiece. I've never seen a top notch one. My best in that class is a 4.7mm UWA, but it's got a built-in Barlow and 3 or 4 hundred lenses.

 

-drl

4mm Raidian is top notch.

[lwbehney]

Not sure if my modern Mewlon 210 is a classic telescope, but the design is classic (1993).  M22 looked grand last night. The coma of the Mewlon DK design manifests itself IMHO at true fields beyond 35 minutes of arc. A dark sky really helps it, but if your telescope has the magnitude reach, the view keeps getting better as the eyepiece focal lengths get smaller. This is when the Nagler 16 becomes your new best friend. 

[deSitter]

4mm Raidian is top notch.

The Radians also have built-in Barlows - not straight 4mm.

 

-drl

[highfnum]

sun in Ha with Jeager 83mm F11 and sol ex

 

[CHASLX200]

The Radians also have built-in Barlows - not straight 4mm.

 

-drl

Only other 4mm i had was the SR4mm with my 60mm that i used with a barlow. That scope lived at 400x+.