11875 replies to this topic

[Dan /schechter]

Had the 4" f/15 Brasher refractor out last night. I used a Brasher diagonal and a TeleVue 9mm type 2 Nagler. The seeing was 3 to 4 and I was very pleased with the view. This is the first time I have used a 9mm Nagler type 2 with my Brasher. The view was fabulous. I tried to take some pictures with my I phone and will attach two.

 

Enjoy,

Dan

Edited by Dan /schechter, 14 March 2016 - 10:41 PM.

[Bomber Bob]

I got to test the Tinsley's recoated mirrors on the Moon & Jupiter.  Mission accomplished.  More detail than I can describe or sketch, but maybe I'll get to image next week.

[Terra Nova]

Glad it is working out for you!

[Bomber Bob]

Terra, the Tinsley knocked my sox off.  You know how much I love my Edmund 4, and that won't change, but the Cass is a serious contender - even with its complicated setup, tweaking, thermals, and quirks.

 

If it's clear tonight, I'll have another Edmund 4 versus Tinsley 6 shoot-out at The Swamp.

[Terra Nova]

That should be a very interesting contest.

[Bomber Bob]

Too hot for the Tinsley!  We missed the record high (93* F) by 1 measley degree.  And, we have high thin streamer clouds coming in from the Gulf, so after a brief look at a boiling Moon, I put it back in the shed.  But the Space Scope overcame:  I had to move it around on the lawn, but its 60mm lens scoffed at the heat.

 

During breaks in the clouds, I got the GRS.  Best view at 150x.  GRS had a hint of rusty contrast with the gray belts, and there were 6 to count.  I played the 'how low will it show' game.  Nope at 23x.  A tiny blackish dot at 30x with the original funky KE30.  But it took the Vixen KE18 @ 50x to see a very tiny oval distinct from the belt.  That is my lowest with this scope.

 

I'm thinking the Tinsley will be my cold weather friend.  Based on my limited past experience, it's most stable & reliable when our highs are 40* lower than today!  Or, once we're finally settled in retirement land, build an observatory around it - or at least make a small pad that it can sit on amongst the grass.

[Mr Magoo]

The Lunar X (Werner X) taken through my RV-6. Afocally, Canon T3i on a tripod.

 

[Mr Magoo]

The old RV-6 pointed at Jupiter here.

[combatdad]

Had the Unitron 4 inch, f/15 on a Unistar Super Deluxe mount out again last night showing the neighbors Jupiter and the moon.  Was using the original set of 1.25" EP's this time.  Jupiter is really showing off with great color and detailed structure in the bands the longer you view!  The moon was amazing at 250x with the 6mm Plossl.  I keep saying this, but I really need to work on getting an imaging capability that is worthy of the views!!!

 

Dave 

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[Vesper818]

Last night was a beautiful clear night, quarter moon and departing winter constellations. By the time I got evening chores done, I was too worn out, and went to bed.
This morning, the scopes and chair are getting set up during daylight, a one-pot meal on the back of the stove.

[photiost]

Temp fell below freezing here last night but it was clear so I setup the Tasco 14TE ota on a simple Alt Az mount.

 

Due to the cold it was only a 30 minute observing session but I had some beautiful views of the Orion nebula, the Moon and Jupiter.

[BillShakes]

Had the Celestron/Vixen orange tube C60 out last night. Cold but clear with the waxing gibbous moon high up. Started with NGC 457, the owl cluster, the double cluster,then tried a few other clusters in Aur. This is a very nice 60mm with a 1.25" focuser. It handles the 68* ES eyepieces without vignetting. Best views with the HD Orthos however. Really nice looks at Jupiter and the moon at 150X even with the poor seeing. I also had the C80ED out and, while the views through the 60mm were dimmer, they seemed just as sharp while under 100X. Lots of fun.

[Bomber Bob]

The Moon & Jupiter with my 6336.  I wanted to have a "pedestal scope" shoot out, but clouds didn't break up until 11PM local, and I wimped out on lugging the Tinsley from the shed.

 

In the gaps, the GRS was obvious at 40x - better than 50x in the SS 151.  Brick red at 100x, which made the white halo stand out.  As I posted elsewhere, the GRS looks smaller and more intense compared to last season.  Tried 200x, but the gusts shook the tube too much!

 

Nice to have Jupiter high in the sky on a weekend night for a change.  The 76mm gave lots of detail despite the clouds & wind, though the latter toyed with drive tracking.

[davidmcgo]

Not a classic scope but a classic mirror.  My old perfect Meade 8" f6 that I built into a primo OTA ( thin wall aluminum tube with air spaced flocked liner, 1.52" quartz secondary, active cooling, Feathertouch focuser) was showing me breathtaking detail on Jupiter last night at 400x (3-6 Nagler Zoom).  The image would just crisp up and look absolutely etched.  Hints of shading and a distinct sharp edge to Ganymede.  Interesting area around the GRS where the darker streamer at the southern edge of the SEB wraps only partway around the GRS Hollow.  Some white ovals in the STB, and way more.

 

I was hand tracking with the scope on my DM6 and preferred the 3.5 and 5 mm Pentax XWs for ease of use but still played around with small AFOV like the Nagler Zoom, 5.1mm XO, Tahahashi 4mm Hi-Ortho, and a 5mm University HD ortho.

 

Also snagged the Pup with the 7mm Pentax, and "in orbit" views of the moon.

 

Overall the night was surprising since there were a lot of high clouds and forecast for the marine gayer and fog early but I was desperate for some viewing and set up when I saw the Moon had come out from behind the clouds it was in earlier in twilight.

 

Dave

[Bomber Bob]

My wife was surprised when I went out, the wind was howling around the fireplace vents.  The high clouds moved slowly and had large gaps, the mid-level were thin fast moving streaks.  Weird & wonderful effects for the Moon.  Less fun with Jupiter, but I'm glad to get a GRS view.

 

My last shout-out for the KE30 from my Space Scope 151.  Gave 40x in the 6336, and a stunning Moon.  I had to look far off axis - almost to the point of seeing nothing - to get fringing on the limb.  I didn't think I'd see the GRS with it, but it stood out.

[DreamWeaver]

Like Bob (rcwolpert), all my scopes, except the LX3, went into a Pods moving container today.  They won't be seeing any starlight for a couple weeks.  I'm glad I don't have anything to store the LX3 in or I would start getting the withdrawal shakes in a couple days!  

[rcwolpert]

Like Bob (rcwolpert), all my scopes, except the LX3, went into a Pods moving container today.  They won't be seeing any starlight for a couple weeks.  I'm glad I don't have anything to store the LX3 in or I would start getting the withdrawal shakes in a couple days!  

 

I hope all goes well with your move!

 

After driving the U-Haul truck exactly 3000 miles (amazing how that happened) I arrived at my FL home at 10:00 last night. The telescopes, carefully packed in the "Mom's Attic" part of the truck, arrived in perfect condition. Looking forward to a clear night to give first light to the Royal Astro. 

 

- Bob

[DreamWeaver]

Glad to hear you and the telescopes made it there safely.  My drive will be around 2850 miles shorter than yours!     My wife and I figured it was a good time to sell our house and get a fixer-upper like we've wanted to for a while now.

[TSSClay]

I got "first light" on the RKMT 4.2" last night.  I started out on the moon well before sunset, transitioned to Jupiter, star tested on Sirius and looked at M42.  I had what I considered "mixed" results.  The moon seemed sharp but low contrast during the daytime.  Jupiter showed bands and - I think - the GRS but it was soft.  I could not go much above a 12mm eyepiece (about 140X).  The star test showed nice concentric rings on one side of focus and lots of "blob" on the other side.  A fair amount of purple as well.  The dimmer stars in M42 looked great with small diffraction rings.  The trap shower 4 stars with a few hints of e and f.  It seemed like there was a lot of scattered unfocused light.  One of my shopping list items for NEAF is a Baader Semi-APO filter.

 

Still - not too bad and there may be some adjustments to be done as well as going for a night with better seeing - it was too early for me to make any judgements of the seeing last night.

 

I have a few questions on the objective design but that will probably be better addressed in the ATM group.

 

Clay

[DMala]

Hope this is the right way to avoid posting the same subject twice, see post #7 for a semi-classic like the Pronto. Some of the DSO/>10000$-equipment-guys/gals may get a bit depressed at my thread but that is enough of fun for me  . For various reasons I am not yet set up to try the same with an older classic but I hope to get there quite soon:

 

http://www.cloudynig...trophotography/

[Terra Nova]

The little 70mm x 300mm Carton RFT that I used last night to view the conjunction was sitting in its shoebox on the kitchen table this morning, so I thought, it'll be a son-of-a-gun; low and behold, out it went again wearing a Baader solar filter to what old Sol was up to. Two nice-sized sunspots were front and center!

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Edited by terraclarke, 22 March 2016 - 06:43 PM.

[combatdad]

King Kong meets Unitron!  Was out doing some comparative viewing of the GRS transit last evening using a 30 inch Obsession and my 4 inch, f/15 Unitron...with my Stellarvue SV110ED thrown into the mix!  Unfair you say! Seeing wasn't great...but good at times.  Nice bright view with the Obsession at 191x; that is quite the light bucket.  The Unitron at 120x (using a 12.5mm Plossl) held its own though.  Both showed off the GRS although a bit brighter and with more detail in the Obsession  .  It's always fun to get these different perspectives.

 

Dave

[combatdad]

Had the 4 inch, f/15 Unitron (using mostly the 12.5mm Plossl but occasionally slipping in the 9mm Plossl) out again tonight observing the Io and Ganymede Transits.  Was neat seeing both Io and Ganymede reappear against the dark sky and later Europa exit from Jupiter's shadow.   Callisto looked pretty lonely until they arrived!!

 

I was joined tonight by my 11 year old neighbor who is also a member of our local astronomy club.  He brought over his Tasco 10TE that he inherited as a result of a donation Johann (Starman876) made to our Outreach program.  The optics on that 76mm/1200mm scope are amazing!

 

Dave

[DMala]

This evening I had the best views of Jupiter so far (relative to my limited experience) with the Meade 320, despite the skinny tripod. I may have glimpsed the great spot, is that possible? Best view was with the 6mm Unitron OR, at lower magnification to my surprise a TV Plossl 20mm seemed to have a clear edge in sharpness over a Meade OR 25 mm. I decided to try something silly and mounted my Sony NEX5N. I actually managed to get for the first time a decent beginner video that loaded in Registax, and fooled around with it without knowing exactly what I was doing, to get the result below. The Mizar-made Meade 320 is a keeper for what it concerns me, I am now curious to compare it with the Towa 339 whenever I finally get to put it back in function.

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Edited by DMala, 23 March 2016 - 11:04 PM.

[bob midiri]

Saw the transit with my old Jaegers 6"F15. I forgot how good this scope really is!!