9th August 2010

Observing Session at Walney Island (Not the Normal Site).

After weeks of cloudy weather I was eager to actually get out and use the Skywatcher 130p scope again. checked the cloud situation and decided that it was clear enough to make the effort and pack the car with all the gear, final sky check 21:00, very light cloud and slight wind.

Drove to the site, the decision to go to Walney instead of Birkrigg (which is my normal site) was based on conditions at 21:00 and also the fact I had to pick my son up from his girlfriends house after I had finished, and she lives on Walney Island.

Arrived about 21:40 and instantly knew it was the wrong decision, Walney is known for it’s blustery conditions. Cloud was blowing South to North and I could see that there was no cloud coming over the Irish sea and it was going to be a clear night.

First job was to set up the camera to try and capture some Perseid meteors. Next job was to set up the scope and polar align and check tracking, but as soon as the scope was set up and eyepiece inserted I knew it was not going to be an imaging night, as the scope was being buffeted by the sea breeze from the Irish sea.

I thought at least I can try some of my camera experiments and see if they work for future reference. Started taking pictures on the Canon s31s, found the optimum setting for this camera to capture background stars and meteors is 15 second exposures f/3.2 and batches of 10 on a continuous cycle until I physically stop the camera from taking pictures.

Whilst waiting for the last of the cloud to pass by I spent my time getting the other camera ready, this has a 32mm planetary eyepiece and fits on the front of my other camera the Canon D30 DSLR.

Fitted the DSLR to the scope and rebalanced the mount, it’s quite a heavy camera and puts a lot

of stress on the focuser, as I found out!

Waited for Jupiter to rise above the horizon and checked focus, in the DSLR, slightly out of focus so I extended the focal length of the eyepiece and adjusted the focuser once again, which by this time was fully extended and whilst trying to adjusting it further it actually came right out of the tube! Managed to re insert the focuser in the tube, and scrapped that plan, at least the eyepiece is a wide angle type and is great for exploring the sky with.

(Note: Need to sort out a better focal reducer to allow easier focusing of the object and someway of reducing the stress on the focuser)

Went back to the old method of using camera adaptors for digiscope method of photography using the CoolPix s220, which is very light, but does not allow for exposure times to be adjusted, (point and shoot type).

Again it became obvious that imaging was out of the question until the wind dropped although Jupiter by this time was a truly stunning image in the eyepiece and the amount of detail I could make out was remarkable.

All the time I was doing various observations with the scope, the Canon s31s was taking batches of 10 pictures, 240 pictures in total and not one meteor? Although I did see 7 really fast Perseids with my eyes.

I always have a pair of binoculars with me, so I thought this was a perfect time to scan the Milky Way which was showing up nicely by this time. I did manage to find a fuzzy blob to the North but my knowledge of this area is limited and im not sure what it was, My first thought was M31 but this is doubtful, I checked with my Iphone Pocket Universe App and this informed me it was M39 an Open Cluster, though it did just look like a fuzzy blob in my scopes eyepiece,.by this time it was 01:00 which is early for me but as I had to pick my son up on the way home, I thought I would call it a night.

It was a great pity I chose Walney for the observing session as Birkrigg Common is a darker sky site and more sheltered from the elements.

My next session I hope to CCD Jupiter as well as other projects, I’m always planning my next trip even though the Cumbrian weather has been so poor in the last couple of months.

My Picture Looking North/North-East from Walney - Cassiopeia