12052 replies to this topic

[Astrojensen]

Attended a star party during the weekend from thursday september 5th through sunday september 8th. I brought nothing but classic scopes and binoculars, though the eyepieces were modern. Zeiss Meniscas 150/2250, Zeiss C63/840, Zeiss Oberkochen 8x30B and 10x50 binoculars. 

 

Although the main focus on the star party was visual observing, I also grabbed some deep sky images with the Meniscas and my smartphone. The best, by far, was this shot of M27: 

 

M27, September 6th, 2024. Zeiss Meniscas 150/2250, 40mm GSO projection eyepiece, 56x, 0.7° TFOV. OnePlus Nord CE3, ProCam X Lite app. 26 x 30 seconds, 6400 ISO. Stacked in DSS, image processing in Windows Pictures. Taken at Venø Star Party.

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[scout]

Wow Thomas, that's beautiful. It's amazing what can be done with phone cameras now.

[deSitter]

Attended a star party during the weekend from thursday september 5th through sunday september 8th. I brought nothing but classic scopes and binoculars, though the eyepieces were modern. Zeiss Meniscas 150/2250, Zeiss C63/840, Zeiss Oberkochen 8x30B and 10x50 binoculars. 

 

Although the main focus on the star party was visual observing, I also grabbed some deep sky images with the Meniscas and my smartphone. The best, by far, was this shot of M27: 

 

M27, September 6th, 2024. Zeiss Meniscas 150/2250, 40mm GSO projection eyepiece, 56x, 0.7° TFOV. OnePlus Nord CE3, ProCam X Lite app. 26 x 30 seconds, 6400 ISO. Stacked in DSS, image processing in Windows Pictures. Taken at Venø Star Party.

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

That's just great!! What a scope!

 

-drl

[clamchip]

I found a map of Mars from The Optical Craftsmen. This must be a fairly recent printing to have 'The Optical Craftsmen' on it.

I'd sure like to see those canals. Unless they were added willy-nilly to make the map stylish.

In certain conditions this phenomena can be seen. I've seen the canals in photographs.

Robert

 

Edited by clamchip, 12 September 2024 - 08:10 PM.

[scout]

Last night I barely split the two companions of the Double Double Epsilon Lyrae with my 60mm Asahi-Pentax. The sky was a little hazy and seeing was barely average at times, but there were moments of stillness as it got later.

 

First I used a 7-21 zoom and had a definite split of one pair at 114x. The other pair was overlapping. So I put in a 4mm UWA for 200x (83x per inch!) and though it was very dim, I could just make out the tiniest black between the other two pinballs when the sky steadied. I'm sure it would have been much easier to split on a night of good seeing. Patience is the name of the game with a small refractor.

 

I also looked for carbon stars in the area and my favorite was the bright red T Lyrae. I'm not sure if it's an illusion, but it seems like star colors are more intense in this 60mm compared to my larger scopes. Albireo looks especially gorgeous in a small sharp refractor. Izar is also a beautiful sight of contrasting colors in a 60mm, but it was too low and behind a tree.

[Kitfox]

Last night I barely split the two companions of the Double Double Epsilon Lyrae with my 60mm Asahi-Pentax. The sky was a little hazy and seeing was barely average at times, but there were moments of stillness as it got later.

 

First I used a 7-21 zoom and had a definite split of one pair at 114x. The other pair was overlapping. So I put in a 4mm UWA for 200x (83x per inch!) and though it was very dim, I could just make out the tiniest black between the other two pinballs when the sky steadied. I'm sure it would have been much easier to split on a night of good seeing. Patience is the name of the game with a small refractor.

 

I also looked for carbon stars in the area and my favorite was the bright red T Lyrae. I'm not sure if it's an illusion, but it seems like star colors are more intense in this 60mm compared to my larger scopes. Albireo looks especially gorgeous in a small sharp refractor. Izar is also a beautiful sight of contrasting colors in a 60mm, but it was too low and behind a tree.

 

I have an overly-large collection of refractors, and have just about finished my dream observatory.  If it won't fit, it's gotta go.  The long, skinny Asahi Pentax will fit.

[John Rogers]

I found a map of Mars from The Optical Craftsmen. This must be a fairly recent printing to have 'The Optical Craftsmen' on it.

I'd sure like to see those canals. Unless they were added willy-nilly to make the map stylish.

In certain conditions this phenomena can be seen. I've seen the canals in photographs.

Robert

 

post-50896-0-22643300-1468083892_thumb.jpg

That looks very familiar.  It might have come from an old Sky and Telescope magazine issue.

[Kasmos]

Early this morning my wife and I observered the occultation of Saturn by the Moon. I was unware of it, but being the night owl I am, I looked up at the Moon at almost 2:30 am and thought the star near it had to be Saturn and it was likely to happen. After checking the internet and surprised there wasn't much in a way of results, I found it could be seen from my location at 4:10 am. I kind of didn't know what to do. Do I go to bed and set an alarm, or stay up? Also, my wife had recently said,"if something cool is going on in the sky let me know", so I cautiously woke her and explained. She was game, so the easiest thing to do was set up the Mayflower 814 (which is always at hand), and the C60 on a quick to set up Unitron 114 mount and tripod. I did this so we could both watch it disappear behind the Moon.

 

I was fun talking to each other as it sunk to and behind the Moon appearing like it was going right into the center of a large crater. We exchanged words like, "it's close, the rings are starting to touch, the ball is touching, and finnaly a tip of the ring is still barely showing!"

 

To make it a wider field and easy to track, both scopes used 12mm Orthos. At first we took turns with C60,

but since she had to stand on a small stool to view it, she viewed the final seconds with the Mayflower.

 

Afrer that, before calling it quits we both viewed Jupiter and M42 thru the C60.

 

I can't remember the last time I saw this happen with Saturn, and it's so much cooler to see a planet next to another one or the Moon. It was a clear and steady sky and a viewing session both of us will remember, so I'm really glad I made the effort.

[highfnum]

eclipse lunar partial 

jaeger 80mm F5

[Kasmos]

I was out earlier and thought the penumbra appeared to enhance the contrast of the Maria.

 

My wife said, "it looks like the Man on the Moon is wearing a beret". 

 

[deSitter]

Early this morning my wife and I observered the occultation of Saturn by the Moon. I was unware of it, but being the night owl I am, I looked up at the Moon at almost 2:30 am and thought the star near it had to be Saturn and it was likely to happen. After checking the internet and surprised there wasn't much in a way of results, I found it could be seen from my location at 4:10 am. I kind of didn't know what to do. Do I go to bed and set an alarm, or stay up? Also, my wife had recently said,"if something cool is going on in the sky let me know", so I cautiously woke her and explained. She was game, so the easiest thing to do was set up the Mayflower 814 (which is always at hand), and the C60 on a quick to set up Unitron 114 mount and tripod. I did this so we could both watch it disappear behind the Moon.

 

I was fun talking to each other as it sunk to and behind the Moon appearing like it was going right into the center of a large crater. We exchanged words like, "it's close, the rings are starting to touch, the ball is touching, and finnaly a tip of the ring is still barely showing!"

 

C60-Sat-Moon-NK.jpg

To make it a wider field and easy to track, both scopes used 12mm Orthos. At first we took turns with C60,

but since she had to stand on a small stool to view it, she viewed the final seconds with the Mayflower.

 

Afrer that, before calling it quits we both viewed Jupiter and M42 thru the C60.

 

I can't remember the last time I saw this happen with Saturn, and it's so much cooler to see a planet next to another one or the Moon. It was a clear and steady sky and a viewing session both of us will remember, so I'm really glad I made the effort.

 

Argh! I can't believe I missed this!!! Maybe Saturn moves so slowly we'll get another shot next month.

 

edit: Well I feel better, wasn't visible this far east. And no dice next month, but it's close - during the day. Might be a good time to check out Saturn during daylight.

 

-drl
 

Edited by deSitter, 18 September 2024 - 03:58 AM.

[Bomber Bob]

Last night's 1st test of the BORG K10-76 was a bust.  I didn't notice that the Turret had slipped, and wasn't flush with the end of the r&p focuser tube.  After a long day of yard work, I was not in a mood to correct it.  So, swapped out for my FC-76.

 

I'm very pleased with the AT UWA 10mm.  Nice split of Epsilon Lyrae @ 60x; and, it nabbed The Ring about 20mins after sunset.  Half the sky was in Moonglow; and, Saturn was behind our neighbor's oak tree.  So, I enjoyed doubles from Delphinus to Aquila.  This eyepiece is a good area sweeper.  Usually, I keep the power at 25x to 30x for star hopping, and the UWA is twice that, and it shows more field stars -- compared with my RKE 21 or Radian 18.  

 

Also, very good contrast.  Gave me a hint of M71, and a good view of M27, despite the seeing.  (Gotta give some credit to the TAK, too.)  It's no Radian in this scope, but it's a much better zoom-in eyepiece than my RKE 8.

 

IF the Sun cooperates, I'll get the BORG hardware aligned today.  The Turret doesn't thread-in to the focuser tube, it just rests against it, and 3 thumbscrews hold it in place.  I also noticed that the 2" & 1.25" straight-through adapters slipped, too.

 

BIF:  These UWAs pair well with AT's Paradigm Series.  They're close to parfocal.  Why own both?  The P's have a flat field, and more natural colors.  And, their 65* fields ain't too bad.  VG Eye Relief from both Series, too.

Edited by Bomber Bob, 18 September 2024 - 11:48 AM.

[Kefka1138]

Partial eclipse and spent a fair amount of time tracking Saturn last night. Gorgeous weather and crystal skies - love this time of year!

 

[Terra Nova]

I watched the partial eclipse last nigh with a pair of 20-20 classic eyes from 1949 and a pair of modern Meade 8x42 binoculars from 2023 and it was a very enjoyable experience. 
 

My report is here:

https://www.cloudyni...t-3/?p=13693130

Edited by Terra Nova, 18 September 2024 - 12:08 PM.

[Bomber Bob]

Lovely Views of Saturn last night in my Mizar 130SL F5 + VersaGo.  I had to set it up less than a foot from the fence at the north end of the back yard, but it was worth it.  Before that, grabbed doubles & DSOs from Lyra to Cygnus to Sagitta.  Dumbbell was large & bright at 72x (LV10); and, Albireo... very pretty.  I love all the rich fields in this triangle, too.  Not a cloud in the sky, and relatively dry -- for The Swamp.  The Coathanger was easy in the 30mm finder, until The Moon rose...

 

Edge-on Saturn -- what a sight!  Today, we know about The Rings, but imagine back in Galileo's time -- it was a UFO.  Best Views at 144x (LV 5).

 

Elon's satellites... saw an article yesterday about astronomers making complaints now.  I can't blame them.  They streak across the fields -- very distracting.

[steve t]

This morning at 8:00 UTC, using the 4" F/10 Newtonian @ 125X, we had very clear and steady skies for Jupiter's Io shadow transient. 

 

By the time I started, @ 4:30 CDT, Io's shadow was already just past Jupiter's meridian with Io itself just off the edge of the planet. After a few minutes Io started its transient by moved over the South Equatorial Band, I could just make out the moon silhouetted as a light spot against the darker band. 

 

I played with a few eyepiece filters, but found no filter provided the best view. Having the moon bright and nearby may have helped this.

 

Steve T

[Creedence]

I got the orange tube C8 out for the first time in a couple seasons - at the request of my little girl (now 8). We got 2 minutes on Saturn before it was eclipsed by clouds, and after some (internal) swearing, I managed to finagle the fork mount (while in alt-az) well enough to get the ring nebula while it was at near-perfect zenith.

We saw a dozen of Elon’s toys floating out there, and got 3 shooting stars while staring at the sky.

Absolutely nothing of any technical interest, but one of the best sessions I’ve ever had. I only offer it here because she might stumble on this post some day and remember how excited she was. I got her a spiral bound notebook to sketch out her critical observations.

Time will tell, but a spark may be lit. Chalk up a win for the old Orange tube C8!

Edited by Creedence, 22 September 2024 - 01:19 PM.

[Bomber Bob]

A 6 / 10 night, but I got to test the converted Carton ZO-101:

 

 

As expected, I had to add a second 2" extender, and that was just to use 1.25" eyepieces in the GSO diagonal.  Bolted that GW Tasco 60mm cradle to a dovetail, and put it on the VersaGo.

 

I had to jump from hole to hole in the clouds, but I got The Ring with an LV 10.  Pretty good objective.  Sweeping with the RKE 28 Space Walk eyepiece is the most fun.  Much easier to deal with than my Jaegers 6!  Besides the LVs, nice sharp fields with the AT Paradigms, too.

 

Saturn was in the cloud bank.  We have a potential hurricane forming that may be here by Thursday, so this is probably the only night this week to get any views, even lousy ones.

[Bomber Bob]

Can't catch a break... I was all set to test my 2 "new" RFTs last night, but Helene - stuck over TN - swung a spiral arm over The Swamp around 1820L, and that was that.  We even got bouts of frizzle - heavier than fog, lighter than drizzle.  Mark My Words:  We won't have a clear night down here until The Moon returns to wash out the skies...

[k5apl]

Tonight in mediocre skies I was sighting Polaris in my Jason 60mm scope and noticed the ISS passed almost directly in front of Polaris.  It traveled through Cassiopaeia and finally, when it was due East of me, extinguished.  A nice surprise.  My H9mm eyepiece was way too powerful and small FOV to try and follow it with the telescope. 

Wes

[andylsun]

Hauled out the celestron star hopper (8" mirror, sonotube with single stalk secondary) dob for a good look at Saturn last night. Tested the Parks eyepieces (25mm GS and 6mm) and gave a nice view with the 6.

Also managed to catch the ISS visually for the first time.

 

Both with thin high cloud, so worked out perfectly.

Edited by andylsun, 01 October 2024 - 08:58 AM.

[jragsdale]

Got some sunset views of Venus with a 1959 Goto Hy-Score 452 (60/1200). Could see a glimpse of the phase, plenty of atmospheric dispersion visible as well. This homemade "grab-n-roll" pedestal with slow motion controls has made an excellent addition for comfortable and casual quick views using any of my old vintage refractors. Especially with the 3D printer, I can print a quick set of custom rings and a dovetail for virtually any of my scopes then I don't need to bother with unpacking and setting up the older equatorial mounts which can be quite labor intensive.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by jragsdale, 01 October 2024 - 09:30 AM.

[clamchip]

I've been observing Saturn over the past few nights.

These are the telescopes I used each night:

My new RV-6. Fantastic original cast iron and brass focuser is so wonderful. It is a very precision mechanical

device like a micrometer, tight with no backlash and smooth and predictable.  It works so well for tiny focusing

corrections and a real solid increase in the quality of the view obtainable in the eyepiece.

Wonderful optically, and the moons were far enough away I could see 4 moons and a fifth with averted vision. 

 

Cave 6 inch f/8 Student Deluxe. What a Cadillac this scope is, pure luxury. It snaps to focus so beautifully, it

makes me think it's the gear ratio of the rack and pinion in the focuser. I suppose it could be the optics.

Resolved 5 of Saturn's moons. 

 

My old RV-6. This scope and I go back many years. My record holder for the most craterlets in Plato and I know

it was a case of being there at the right time, but I haven't bettered it !

Last night deteriorated quickly but in the short time I was observing Saturn 4 moons.

 

These telescopes optically are hard to tell apart and I'm glad otherwise I would just go for the optical best and

put the others upstairs and never see them again.

I have one more 6 inch to take for a test drive. I guess you can say there is at lease one thing good about getting

old, I can't remember anything ! so now I get to try out my Edmund Super Space Conqueror all over again !

Robert 

 

[deSitter]

I've been observing Saturn over the past few nights.

These are the telescopes I used each night:

My new RV-6. Fantastic original cast iron and brass focuser is so wonderful. It is a very precision mechanical

device like a micrometer, tight with no backlash and smooth and predictable.  It works so well for tiny focusing

corrections and a real solid increase in the quality of the view obtainable in the eyepiece.

Wonderful optically, and the moons were far enough away I could see 4 moons and a fifth with averted vision. 

 

Cave 6 inch f/8 Student Deluxe. What a Cadillac this scope is, pure luxury. It snaps to focus so beautifully, it

makes me think it's the gear ratio of the rack and pinion in the focuser. I suppose it could be the optics.

Resolved 5 of Saturn's moons. 

 

My old RV-6. This scope and I go back many years. My record holder for the most craterlets in Plato and I know

it was a case of being there at the right time, but I haven't bettered it !

Last night deteriorated quickly but in the short time I was observing Saturn 4 moons.

 

These telescopes optically are hard to tell apart and I'm glad otherwise I would just go for the optical best and

put the others upstairs and never see them again.

I have one more 6 inch to take for a test drive. I guess you can say there is at lease one thing good about getting

old, I can't remember anything ! so now I get to try out my Edmund Super Space Conqueror all over again !

Robert 

 

post-50896-0-15062900-1451529510_thumb.jpg

That's odd because the thing I least liked about the RV-6 was the focuser because of the extremely stiff drawtube. It was not possible to blacken the focuser tube because the drawtube would scrape anything away. I tried blackening it with smoke from a candle and that worked far better than paint. But that would get scraped away eventually as well.

 

-drl

[clamchip]

That's odd because the thing I least liked about the RV-6 was the focuser because of the extremely stiff drawtube. It was not possible to blacken the focuser tube because the drawtube would scrape anything away. I tried blackening it with smoke from a candle and that worked far better than paint. But that would get scraped away eventually as well.

 

-drl

Hmm I wonder if its because this RV-6 focuser is cast iron, a pretty dark metal.

Or could it be my eyepiece selection. Old orthoscopic's that don't see much of

the focuser wall. 

 

Robert