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stolenfeather

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Blog Entries posted by stolenfeather

  1. stolenfeather
    Saturday, September 24th / 2011 (9:00 - 11:00pm)
    Actually this star session started in the late afternoon when I went through my second collimation (aligning my primary and secondary mirrors so the image being seen comes out crystal clear). This time, it was much easier and I was able to finish it in 20 minutes. I was extremely surprised when I stepped outside since the night greeted me with a very comfortable 10 ºC or if you prefer, 50 ºF. There was no wind and everything was quiet. Finally, I would lose myself in the stars!
    There are times when stargazing when everything goes wrong. This was NOT one of those times! The night was absolutely still, there was no moon present and everything seen through the eyepiece was crystal clear! High above was the constellation Cygnus. Although it strained my neck, looking straight above in order to better orient the scope, I was extremely pleased with what I saw. First there was the open cluster M29 that seemed to pulsate with light and finally, after trying many times before, I saw the North American Nebula.


    Every time I have used my program Stellarium in the past month, it has shown me the location of a certain Vesta. This object, found in the constellation Capricornus would be my first seen asteroid. The night was going so well so why not? I found this object hard to locate when suddenly, I came across a familiar looking "fuzzy" star! This was no asteroid but M30! I was so lost! I didn't mind the mistake since this little object was worth further investigation. I had never come across it before and this is probably because I found it so faint! What wasn't helping was that this particular constellation was low to the horizon. It was around this point that I gave up on Vesta. My sense of direction was completely off and even if I saw it, I'm sure that most of it would be concealed due to it's location in the sky.
    There was one more destination I wanted to see and it lay deep within the Great Square of Pegasus. I wanted to experience the Andromeda galaxy once more. When I located it, my eyes actually watered with excitement. I had seen this little beauty many times before but this was last year when I had not mastered (or even tried) the art of collimation. I had seen this majesty of a galaxy with a very misaligned scope. Not this time! The image was crystal clear and seemed to jump out of the sky! When M32, an elliptical galaxy sprang into view I couldn't restrain myself and actually looked around to see if there was anyone around to share this with.
    My new neighbour, as if on cue, called out to me, "Isabelle, are you out there?" Of course it is hard to see me since I am blanketed with darkness when outside with my telescope. "Come quick, I need to show you something!" I said. It was her first time looking through a telescope and what she saw was Andromeda! Since the constellation Pisces lingered below, I decided to find Uranus as well. I have to admit that unlike many who have stated that they saw colour when looking at this particular planet, I never have.
    I wanted to show my neighbour the planet Jupiter but it was found on the other side of the house so, like I had done with my students about a week ago, we carried the telescope through the house to the front door, The view it shared was one of extreme clarity and the bands were clearly defined.
    When my neighbour left, I decided to stay indoors for a couple of minutes to warm up and work on my "Ultimate Messier Object Log" (program found online) which can be printed and filed, as seen below:







    Yeah, It doesn't get better than this!



    Isabelle
  2. stolenfeather
    April 1st, 2011
    After watching one of my favourite science fiction movies of all time "Alien", I decided to take out my telescope. It was around 10:00pm and since the night sky doesn't become dark till later, this was the perfect time.
    Orion was already very low to the horizon. It was with ultimate respect that I gave it a wave goodnight. The final curtain was falling for my dearest constellation since the center stage will soon be ready for the spring / summer night sky.
    I sat in my astro-chair watching the stars as my eyes became accustomed to the darkness. I can't do this comfortably during the winter months because of the cold which made this particular moment that much more divine! I knew where my next deep sky challenge would be: M44, the Beehive cluster. I told myself that my eyesight was NOT going to be a barrier this time and since the moon was nowhere to be found, neither would there be any celestial interference. With my back facing west, I decided to take a small detour to knock on Saturn's door. It was bright and very welcoming but the meeting wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. As I looked through my eyepiece, the fact that my telescope needed collimation (the mirrors need to be realigned) screamed under my skin. Soon my collimator would arrive. Soon, very soon,...
    My thirst for something a little father tugged once more and I set my viewfinder to the north. My target resided in the constellation of Cancer. For some reason, I had trouble distinguishing it's stars. This baffled me since my area is usually relatively free of light pollution. A little push here and a couple of quick glimpses there, and,.. Oh there goes a satellite! Oh yeah back to the cluster,...



    I had found it!







    Once again, the light bothered me. Turning around I looked to the west and,..
    :eek: HOLY ---- !! :eek:
    (Mind you if it really had been blessed fecal matter, Steven's pictures of the event would have surely never come out this good!)













    All winter, the news announced solar activity, and many nights I made my way outside to be welcomed by clouds. After sometime, I pretty much told myself that "I would see it when I see it". The fact that I had my back to them. completely unaware all this time doesn't show me in my best light. I call myself a backyard astronomer and don't even take the time to look at ALL the regions of my backyard? I guess I became too involved in my quest to locate my little Messier Object that I neglected the (ahem) big picture of things to the west!
  3. stolenfeather
    January 16th, 2012
    It has been nearly 2 months since I last gazed at the stars. As each night filled with clouds passed, a small part of me ached and succumbed to darkness. December sneaked by without revealing any sky splendours yet I rejoiced about being reunited with loved ones. My return to the north was one filled with many teaching responsibilities making stargazing difficult. That January night, the skies seemed to come out and embrace me as I brought out my telescope to acclimate to the cold.
    Since this felt more like a reunion than mere exploration, I decided to gaze at sights I knew well but stirred strong emotions from the past. The first was Venus, the first planet I found and observed with my telescope a long time ago. Looking at this planet like it's first observers from earth did in antiquity, I marveled at its beauty. I resisted thinking about its hostile surface and tried to imagine exactly how early astronomers saw this planet. Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty,.. With time we now recognize it as something totally different. Mind you, does that translate to our view of love and beauty today? Can danger be beautiful? Is love, a state of mind and emotion, devoid of danger?



    Tell me now,.. Does this look dangerous to you?






    With an atmospheric pressure 92 times more prevalent than earth's, an atmosphere consisting mainly of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulfuric acid,.. you should. Then again, we say that a sunset is beautiful as well but I wouldn't go strolling around on it's surface either. Love? We all know the perils yet we still venture forward. So Venus,... shine bright, your title is well deserving!
    Jupiter was also shining brightly but was quite camera shy so I tried my luck with something that pushed the limits of my small point-and-shoot technology. It was with this picture of the Orion Nebula that I packed up my equipment and returned to the warmth of my living room. It just doesn't get any better than this:



    Isabelle



  4. stolenfeather
    February 24th, 2012

    The mercury boasted a temperature of -21. Since the wind was inactive, this created comfortable viewing conditions outside. I wanted to post many of my own pictures with this entry but my chosen photographic subjects were not very cooperative except for the first two seen on the bottom left.


    Early in the evening, around 6:30 pm, a small crescent moon seemed to dance in the advancing darkness while Venus and Jupiter praised our natural satellite with their brilliancy. The night surely promised to be interesting!


    The "moon shadow" can be seen in this picture giving a new significance to the term "Dark Side of the Moon".


    Yeah, yeah,.. I know, "There is no dark side of the moon. As a matter of fact, it's all dark" Pink Floyd







    Venus on the other hand did not show any hint of a shadow and it's light beams seemed to stretch beyond what I could see in my eyepiece. With these two pictures I went back indoors to cook and eat my supper since it was past 7:00pm. I made scallops, balsamic rice and asparagus. I washed this culinary delight down with a small glass of Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux). For dessert I made myself a small apple turnover and Espresso.
    Dessert is supposed to be the last delight of the evening. It my case, it had just begun!
    I had noticed for some time now an interesting object in the constellation Monoceros on my Stellarium program. The catalogue indicated a cluster of bright stars engulfed in a reddish haze named the Rosette Nebula or NGC 2244. Further research unraveled this majestic image:






    A favourite object for many astro-photographers, and backyard astronomers, it was about time the nebula and I became better acquainted. I was not looking to be completely mesmerized sinceI know far too well that pictures seen above cannot be seen in a telescope but only through a camera with long exposure capacities. Needless to say that the human eye is therefore incapable of such a feat but I would see something right? A blur, a small distortion in the darkness?
    Alternating between my telescope at low power and my birdwatching binoculars, I made out something of a haze (maybe more out of wishful thinking) and some bright stars. Further reading highlighted the importance of extremely dark skies and pristine viewing conditions. I had neither. Disappointed? Come now, knowing exactly where these super hot stars delivering extreme amounts of radiation can be found in the night sky is enough to give me chills!
    The constellation Gemini is one easily recognized and holds many treasures of its own. I therefore set my gaze towards M35 (NGC 2168).







    A hop, skip and a jump away from Propus, my eyes fell on this open cluster that takes up an area in the sky as big as our full moon. Rather faint, this 1billion year young cluster still packs enough punch to capture ones imagination.






    During all this time, Mars seemed to look over my shoulder probably wondering why it was being ignored. I just knew it wouldn't show me any detail but since our little red neighbour had made its way far from the horizon, I couldn't evade it any longer. This time, since there was little atmospheric disturbances, Mars gave me hints of black patches and not the usual red ball I had grown accustomed to! I attempted to take a picture to capture the glory I had just witnessed but the details were not distinct enough for my camera.
    Three planets and two deep sky objects were seen on this night but although my eyelids were protesting for some much needed sleep, I resisted packing up my equipment knowing full well That Saturn was out as well. I was being greedy. Saturn could be seen but was extremely low in the horizon at this time. I simply had to wait till the end of March and the view it will grant me would deliver much more detail than it could now. I shivered, looked in the direction of our ringed planet and gave a salute. Till next time sir Roman God of agriculture and justice!
    Isabelle
    Click on individual targets for image sources:
    - M35
    - Gemini Constellation
    - NGC 2244 (Rosette Nebula)
    Isabelle

  5. stolenfeather
    October 7th, 2011
    I was comfortable watching a movie with Steven when the doorbell rang. After a few seconds, I could hear a series of knocks. I made my way to the door and three of my science students were standing there.

    "Did you see the moon and the stars tonight Isabelle? We want to see it! Is your telescope out?" :rolleyes:
    The fact that it wasn't and that I preferred returning to the comforts of the couch to see the rest of the movie is proof that my husband had finally found something on video that was worth my while. We were watching "Thor" in 3D and I was completely mesmerized by the science fiction special effects. I told my students to come a little later and right on time, when the movie had finished,.. they were there!
    The students that make their way to my house on starry nights are usually boys. Unfortunately, in my class and in society in general, astronomy enthusiasts seem pretty much dominated by the Y chromosome. I say this because most people who enjoy discussing the wonders of the night sky with me and most of my contacts on my stargazing forum are all male. Seeing the inquisitiveness on these young girls' faces was a breath of fresh air to me.

    They asked if they could see Vesta (Yeah, I had told them that I had found it earlier this week and my whole class had clapped) but the moon had whitewashed that whole section of the sky. Besides, even if it hadn't, by the time my movie was finished, it would have been too low in the horizon to see much in any case.
    Like all the students that come to my house for the first time to look through the telescope, I quickly went over how it worked and then pointed out some constellations. I then showed them something small even if they kept insisting to see the moon. I explained that it was always wise to start with faint objects and make one's way to the brighter ones since, this way, a person retains their night vision longer.

    M31 didn't impress them much. Their eyes became wider when I told them what it was and showed them a picture but I knew that this was clearly not what they wanted to see.
    "What about Jupiter?" I said.
    This they became quite excited about. I told these wide eyed girls that I would show it to them only IF they could find it in the night sky. They responded to this with an air of gloom.
    "Come on,.. I know you can find it. Look up and point to me the brightest object in the sky besides the moon!"

    This they did and were quite happy with themselves in having found it "all by themselves". One after the other they crowded around the telescope trying to see Jupiter and its four moons. One of my students had her iPod with her and wanted to take a picture of it. I helped her, knowing full well the excitement of 'bringing a piece of space home".








    The moon's light was constant and so was the desire of my young observers to see it. Of course, as the teacher that wants everything to be exciting, I aimed the telescope at the moon and when it came into view put my hands in front of the eyepiece. Like a laser beam, the moon's light struck my fingers. I then opened my hands as if to cradle it. "See", I said, ",.. it IS possible to touch the moon!" With that sentence, I unleashed a power I never knew existed. These three girls all huddled desperately around the eyepiece hoping to capture the light of the moon. I then offered for them to see it:







    I proceeded to augment the magnification further with my Barlow lens and again the iPod came out for them to take pictures. I'm afraid that none of those will come out since I have had little success myself with my camera at this setting. They then asked what else they could see. Unfortunately with the light of the moon, there was little else I could show them. They offered to come by later since I had mentioned during class that Mars, Jupiter and Saturn could be seen in the early mornings. It was perfectly clear that I had succeeded in lighting a fire of curiosity but I couldn't do it. Staying up all night or waking up extremely early on a Saturday morning after a full week of teaching simply didn't "sit well by me".



    They were disappointed but they perked up once more when I said that soon Venus would be out in the evening sky and that I would be waiting for them!
    Don't worry girls,.. we'll do this again real soon!



    Isabelle



  6. stolenfeather
    I have been teaching in the north for over ten years now. Ever since I have arrived to this remote community, I have looked upon the heavens with a greater respect and admiration! You see, being far from cities has its inconveniences but grants me a remarkable view of the night sky! I have experimented with two different telescopes in the past but none like the one my husband gave me on my 37th birthday. These entries serve me as a way to keep a written account of what I see in the night sky and to share with those of you (who are a just a wee bit curious) what I see when the conditions are right.
    Please, I cannot repeat this enough,.. what I view does not resemble IN ANY WAY the pictures you have seen on the Internet or in any National Geographic Magazine. With a telescope such as mine, it is never what you see that takes precedence but what you know about it! Of course I am mesmerized by what I discover in my eyepiece but,... it's more than just seeing right?







    Thursday, December 23rd / 2010
    Alright, this is not the usual post to be seen this close to the Holiday season but if all truth be known, I had set out to find the Christmas Tree Cluster / Cone Nebula. See even astronomers have the Christmas spirit! This being said, finding this cluster proved to be difficult since it was still low to the horizon and my rooftop stood in the way. The constellation of Orion on the other hand was ripe for discovery and my eyepiece set on the Orion Nebula. M42 is a special target for me since it was the first deep-sky object I saw many years ago with my first telescope. However, tonight, I was able to do something I had wanted to do for such a long time which was to capture it on camera! I was told by many that I couldn't do it. That my point and shoot camera would never capture it's weak light but I beg to differ:









    Jupiter was close to setting so it's proximity to the horizon made it difficult to see with any clarity. Our natural satellite on the other hand, being a Waning Gibbous Moon, stood high in the sky, ready for photographs. So, of course, I couldn't say no.:











    Unfortunately, my telescope had fallen victim to some condensation issues and the fog soon turned to ice crystals that burned to the touch. Humidity won out and I shielded my fingers from exposure to the humid cold. Just a touch to my telescope and I would certainly feel it.






    Why on earth would I touch THAT with my bare hands? You see, when dealing with small parts such as lenses (that if dropped cracks), using bare hands just works better. No wonder I often suffer from frostbite!
  7. stolenfeather
    Tuesday, January 4th / 2011
    The winter is the part of the year that offers me the best seats of the night. First of all, the darkness falls faster so I can actually be outside much sooner than any other times of the year. Furthermore, the constellations from early January to the beginning of March has the most spectacular sights! Unfortunately, this all being said, the winter holds a very dangerous enemy for me,... FROSTBITE! It's not really that it's cold out there once all dressed up (see picture at the bottom -- it was only -22 Celsius / -7.6 ºF that night) . It is more the combination of the temperature with the metallic tools I use. Not, made of plastic, the slightest touch to my telescope let's the cold seep in. If I take my gloves off to handle lenses, move the telescope, or try to capture pictures,... I feel the bite. Many times, I escape to the warmth of my house only to be faced with the pain of frostbitten fingers returning to their normal state. This is why I gave up trying to take pictures last night after many images came out blurry since I was fighting against the cold.
    However, there was no way that I was staying inside! The sky had opened up completely with a new moon which meant that our natural satellite would not be shedding any light my way. I started my night by pointing my telescope towards NGC 1432 (M45). You might better know it as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. Easily spotted with the naked eye, I am always mesmerized by these hot blue stars giving off a hue that captures the imagination!

    Since I was close to the constellation Orion and Auriga, I made a small detour to the star clusters M36, 37 and 38. These are pretty close together and can be found here:




    M 42 was just a hop and a jump away so I dropped by for a visit. What is it about that particular Messier that makes me want to shout to everyone around, "Quick come and look!" I looked for NGC 2169 in the same constellation but my next door neighbours came home and decided to flash their car lights in my direction which basically stole my hard earned night vision. Oh well,...
    Once more Jupiter was low to the horizon by the time I made it to it's location which did not give me the greatest image but I couldn't ignore the King of all the Roman gods now could I? So 5 Messiers and 1 planet.
    Not bad for a night of viewing right? Now, if only my astro-chair was heated I would be in heaven!


    :icon_confused: Please excuse to blurriness of the last picture. I used the timer and it really didn't come out very well. :icon_confused:


  8. stolenfeather
    I did not know what to expect when Steven and I planned our trip to Florida. However, there was one day I really looked forward to,... the last one. That was the day when Steven and I would finally visit the Kennedy Space Center. That was also the moment where we would meet and discuss with a veteran astronaut during a lunch / question period. We would also see the magnificent nature at the National Wildlife Refuge that Cape Canaveral is known for. I was simply "blown away" by it all and left with so many facts and emotions that I was afraid to blink out of fear that I would lose it all. For the last few days, I have been working with the video files hoping to create something that would truly capture my excitement and ultimate respect to what surrounded me on that day.



    I don't know but I think I have succeeded.
    Let me know what you think!
    Click
    for viewingIsabelle


  9. stolenfeather
    May 28th, 2011
    Friday night means many different things to many different people. Since darkness takes longer to settle at this time of year, weekend evenings mean one thing for me: time to settle outside with my telescope since this is impossible during the weekdays when I have classes to teach the next day. At my latitude during this time of year, most of the constellations are not easily discerned until past 11:00. Full blackness makes its way to the north around midnight. This means that I seldom return indoors till one in the morning.

    Since I started my stargazing early, when the skies still showed a tinge of blue, I had to settle on an easy but popular target, Saturn. I let my eyes become accustomed to the darkness approaching and soon, I was ready for more difficult targets,... the Messier Objects.
    I started with a globular cluster found in the constellation Serpens. The Stellarium program and my trusty Telrad made finding it quite easy. I was taken aback by the individual stars I could see in the cluster. As my eyes became more accustomed, I was certain I could detect a hue of colour but maybe this was only wishful thinking from my part.



    Satisfied with my discovery, I decided to look for another globular cluster. I didn't have to look far and settled for M3. This one seemed easy but gave me quite a "run for my money". Finally, I found it and once again took the time to look more closely at it.



    My husband Steven always wonders why I go searching for Messier objects since according to him, they seem "all the same". "Once you've seen one smudge in the sky, why look for others?", is pretty much his motto but he comes outside every time I become excited and humours my passion by looking through the eyepiece. "You've got great eyesight to find those," Steven exclaimed when I came back inside. I had to smile since a couple of months ago, my MS had played a cruel game by blurring the vision in my right eye (the main eye I use when observing the stars). It is therefore official,... MY EYESIGHT HAS FULLY RETURNED!
    Isabelle

  10. stolenfeather

    PLINK!

    By stolenfeather,

    February 29th, 2012
    Stargazing during the week when there is school the next day is always very tricky since time is a factor. Each minute I remain outside means less time to prepare for classes to be taught for the next day but sometimes,... passion wins over. Last night was one of those nights! Besides it's not every night where one can stargaze on February 29th! Ready for the LEAP?
    Since I knew I had little time and had not made any previous research to what I was going to observe, I knew that being outdoors would consist of a rapid stroll around the block. My gaze was immediately captured by the moon. I decided to capture its spendour both with my point-and-shoot camera and with my video camera. Both files were subjected to photo-altering programs (one is Picasa which helps with normal pictures and the other Registax that renders raw video files to a single picture by stacking the individual frames. Here are the finished picture files:






    The one above was created with the aid of Registax but left the finished picture with a blueish hue which better represents what I saw through the telescope. The other, using my point-and shoot camera and altering the file with Picasa gave me a more rich black and white texture of the moon.
    Using Registax, I also tried my luck with the planet Venus that shone so brightly near our own satellite (seen below).
    My personal weather station announced -16 degrees Celsius but the tips of my fingers thought differently. As I stepped back to warm them up, I accidentally knocked over my carrying case holding all of my lenses and collimation instruments. That's when I heard it,.....


    PLINK!

    I instinctively looked to the ground but there was nothing to be seen but the wooded floor of the balcony. I sighed to myself,.. of course, whatever had fallen had to fall through the cracks! 5 minutes later, I was fumbling around in the snow with a flashlight looking for the runaway "plink". I knew what it was. Such a small "plink" could only mean my Allen key, used to align the mirrors of my telescope. It was small, practically insignificant but the only instrument I could use to alter my main mirror. In other words,.. "plink" was bad news!
    After 10 minutes of looking around in the snow, I found it!

    With my Allen key in hand I made my way back outdoors. Mars and Jupiter were also out and for once, I was more enthralled with what our little red neighbour had to share than the biggest planet of our solar system. The truth of the matter is that Jupiter was slowly exiting out of our evening sky. He shall be back and soon,... Saturn will be coming out to play! I wonder how much of its ring system will be seen this year?
    Although I had little time, I scanned the constellation Monoceros once more since my discovery of M47 earlier this week. I wanted to see more since M46 another open cluster was close by but harder to see, especially with the baseball flood lights on down the road. I waited patiently for my eyes to become accustomed to the darkness and,...
    Alright, I hope many of you will skim over this part without really reading it since I would hate to be "one of those people" that claim to see things but,...
    I saw something. I know what a satellite created by humans looks like through a telescope for I have seen many. This didn't whiz slowly by like an overly tired meteor. It was very, very slow and steady. I glanced away from my telescope to see if it could be seen with the unaided eye but no. When I looked back in the eyepiece it was gone. Could it have been a different type of satellite? I looked to my Stellarium program that lists all natural and human born objects in the sky according to latitude and time of stargazing and no,... No satellites were to be seen within the vicinity of the place I had been looking at. So my Stellarium program had a glitch, I was overly tired after a day teaching, it was a "different satellite than I have seen in the past,... I do not know what it was. Let's leave it like that okay?
    I packed everything and returned to the warmth indoors. What did I see tonight? Venus, Jupiter, a new Messier object, Mars, something weird (that's it) and the moon.
    And what a moon it was!




    Isabelle
  11. stolenfeather
    September 9th, 2011
    The stargazing forum had been abuzz for the last couple of days about a supernova that had been recently discovered in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M 101). Boasting an easy find, I decided to give it a whir after a succulent supper of lobster tails, rice and broccoli (I'll eat broccoli with just about everything).







    The supper was perfect and adding a glass of wine from the Loire Valley made it sublime! I left the table for a well deserved dessert,... a galaxy and it's supernova! Unfortunately, I encountered a couple of inconveniences. You see, the Gibbous Moon was casting way too much light and what was not basked in our natural satellite's glory was overtaken by wisps of auroras! The entire night sky seemed all aglow! Inconveniences couldn't come with more beauty!
    Some students came by for a look and what astounded them was not the auroras since they are pretty much a common happening in the north but the moon. It was the first time they experienced it through a telescope and they were completely taken aback! Come now,.. why would they NOT be?





    My students were full of questions and listened carefully to what I was saying but deep down, I knew what they wanted to see. A couple of nights before, I had showed another bunch of young enthusiasts the planet Jupiter and that's all they could talk about the next day at school. These new faces wanted to see it too. We therefore brought the telescope to the front of the house where the Roman God had taken center stage. "Behold the mighty Jupiter!", I said as I let them look through the eyepiece. When I told them to count the stars they saw around them, they gladly said, "4!". Imagine their surprise when I said that they were not stars at all but the planet's moons!

    This is exactly what they saw through my telescope and that's all it took to make them gasp in wonder.






    I then reached for my Barlow which increased the image by two. I think I did it,... these young ones are hooked. There's only one problem though. I don't think I'll be able to look at the night sky alone ever again!
    Isabelle
  12. stolenfeather
    Being on vacation makes it hard for me to come online. This entry is a feeble attempt to reconnect with those that thirst for the stars. I hope everyone is doing well!

    July 12th, 2011

    I couldn't wait to try my summer telescope ever since I had purchased it many weeks ago, My new acquisition was nothing compared to my ocular masterpiece (Sky-Watcher seen below) back in the north. Let's just say that there is quite a difference between an aperture of 10" and one of 4.5". However, this being said,... my little Orion Starblast held its own!





    Granted, its light capturing abilities came short but it still had much to deliver! At first I had to become reacquainted with the stars since not only was I using a new telescope but the surroundings were very different as well. I decided to set up in front of my mother's house since there were less trees. However, being close to the road meant that I was periodically blinded by passing cars.
    This little telescope had traveled 14 hours on our backseat from the north. We then surrounded it with camping gear and drove an extra 4 hours to our first park. It was carried across heavily wooded areas and it even toppled (albeit gently) from the car seat to camping bags beneath. Could you believe that after all this abuse, the little telescope needed no collimation? How could the mirrors have remained perfectly aligned?
    It granted me a very detailed view of the moon and gave me no issues in spotting the rings of Saturn (however, I definitely saw it with lesser detail then my Sky-Watcher). I am therefore very pleased with what my new telescope has to offer. The biggest test, however, will be seeing my first Messier Object. Since it has much less light gathering power, I know this is where it's small size will show. Instead of being disappointed in this little telescope, I will see this as a new challenge. Finding galaxies and clusters might be harder but well worth the effort!
    Isabelle

  13. stolenfeather
    There is much less darkness and when it does appear, coffee becomes our best friend!

    We never stargaze alone,. there are always mosquitoes to keep us company.
    Stargazing means grabbing a t-shirt and shorts. Heavy coats and mitts can be left aside. This is a huge plus for me since it means no FROSTBITE!




    and,.. and,.. and,..

    Wait for it,...

    Wait for it,...

    School's out!



    Sigh! :rolleyes: Yes, I am a high school teacher and I can now taste the sweet nectar of freedom! I will be leaving my isolated teaching community (8 hours from the nearest city or town) for a much warmer place (about 45 minutes from Montreal). Here I will stargaze to my heart's content and spend time camping in various provincial parks. Unfortunately, since I will be "roughing it" I will not be online much.

    Pssssst! There's no electricity out there! Just bears, stars, waterfowl, deer and,. well mosquitoes right?








    :headbang: As you can see, we are well equipped. :headbang:



    I will try and make my way to this forum once in awhile but for now, I wish you all a wonderful summer!
    Isabelle
  14. stolenfeather
    June 11th, 2011
    The clocked seemed to tick forever yet still,.. the sun wouldn't disappear completely. It wasn't before midnight when most of the stars could be seen and the last light of day disappeared. I waited impatiently since it was the first time I would take my telescope out since my first collimation one week ago. No collimation after using my telescope fifty-eight times! What was I thinking? That's the problem, I wasn't thinking. I was simply nervous about tampering with the telescope. Now? Well, I feel like a chump. It was relatively easy and was done within 30 minutes or less. With time i believe I can reduce this to 10.
    I was also excited about this stargazing moment because I was having an "inauguration ceremony" for my new Celestron Ultima 2x Barlow lens which consisted of me simply breaking the seal of the box. The balloons and hoopla were all in my mind. The old Barlow I was using had developed a crack (top left) in it. I have no idea how this happened, I never dropped it and am tempted to believe that it was caused by the extreme difference of temperatures of going outside in -40 weather and back to 22 (inside the house). All I know is that I had been using it for months and it was about time I purchased a new one. Let's see here,....


    No collimation for 58 nights AND a cracked Barlow? How on earth could I see anything?
    You'd be surprised what determination will get you!



    The weather, after a long week of temperatures flirting with the freezing point, was quite comfortable. I knew exactly what my target would be: Saturn. With spring advancing fast, I was well aware that Saturn's moments of fame was coming to a close. With the collimation finally done and the new Barlow, I was in for a spectacular view! The bands were clearly marked with no haziness due to the collimation and this combined with my new Barlow gave me a crisp image. I felt like I was looking through a completely different telescope altogether! I would love to try share this with you but please believe me, the picture taken below does not do justice to what I saw:





    I filmed this wonderful ringed planet for one of the last times this year and used the program RegiStax to stack the files (for some reason it always comes out small). My summer vacation is looming closer and I'm afraid I won't be able to do this while camping. The reason is very simple: I don't have any electricity out there! Well, we'll see, I will be touching "home base" many times during the following month and a half.
    Isabelle

  15. stolenfeather
    I couldn't believe it, I had waited till 10:00 pm and I still didn't have the inky black skies needed to see most of the stars except the brighter ones in each constellations. Deep-sky objects were clearly NOT going to be on the table for this particular night! I will have to take a strong coffee before doing any serious stargazing from now on as spring approaches summer! Since the planets outshone everything else, I decided to concentrate on them.
    Like usual, my first gaze fell on Venus. When the moon is not around, it is still outshining everything else! Once again, its clarity surprised me and I took the picture you see at the bottom. I am quite proud of it!



    I used my 26 mm Plössl with my 2X Barlow lens which gave me a magnification of 76.9x.


    I then, using the same magnification, took my chances with Mars once more but like the previous night, it offered little. In its defense, it's not because he wasn't picture-friendly but simply because the planet is slowly receding away. My last stop was Saturn and it surely didn't disappoint! Using my Sony point-and-shoot, I caught a short 20 second video file. Once by my computer, I utilized the RegiStax 6 program to stack the individual frames. The result gave me the following! I couldn't be happier!





    Tonight, I'm going to stretch the limits of this procedure. If the length of the video file creates better images then we'll see what I can capture by filming the planet for an extensive period of time! This is very tricky because a Dobsonian telescope isn't the most stable when it comes to photography. I should accept my equipment's limitations but then, it's just a "tongue-tied, twisted earth bound misfit" as I am right?
    Isabelle

  16. stolenfeather

    WARM FUZZIES

    By stolenfeather,

    April 25th, 2011
    It was -16°C (3.2 ºF) outside so I knew that I didn't have to worry about frostbite. I was also well aware that the weather station was predicting rain for the rest of the week and I was leaving on vacation on Friday. Yeah,.. It was to be my last time outside with my telescope for a good three weeks. I didn't even think twice about it. Even if I had classes to teach the very next morning, even if I knew that it would take some time for darkness to fall,.. I brought my telescope out for some star gazing.
    I decided to set my sights on the constellation Leo since it seems that all one has to do in this sector of space is sneeze and one stumbles on a galaxy. I stumbled on two right away: M 95 and 96 (both spiral galaxies found over 30 million light years from where I was standing).
    I looked away from my eyepiece when I spotted them since a strong emotion overtook me. It's not that I hadn't seen galaxies before, it's also not because they were overly interesting,.. it was because I could see them. When I am struck with an MS relapse, my eyesight becomes blurry and remains as such for many weeks. Recovery is slow. Many times I wonder, "Is it becoming better?" or "Am I just getting used to it?",... To strain through blurriness to see what stands in front of me is one thing. To see perfectly and become excited in discovering something blurry through an eyepiece is quite another. I saw two. Nah,... they weren't blurry,... let's just call them for what they are: WARM FUZZIES.


    Since I was clearly able to see them, I can now officially declare that my vision has returned (no matter what my doctor says when I see him this summer). One doesn't need eyesight to have vision right?




    Before calling it a night I took a small detour to see my dazzling neighbour that had remained silent up till then. Saturn showed its rings proudly when I finally settled on its face. I guess we both were sharing the same tune that night:




    YOU CRAZY DIAMOND!

  17. stolenfeather

    WARM FUZZIES

    By stolenfeather,

    April 25th, 2011
    It was -16°C (3.2 ºF) outside so I knew that I didn't have to worry about frostbite. I was also well aware that the weather station was predicting rain for the rest of the week and I was leaving on vacation on Friday. Yeah,.. It was to be my last time outside with my telescope for a good three weeks. I didn't even think twice about it. Even if I had classes to teach the very next morning, even if I knew that it would take some time for darkness to fall,.. I brought my telescope out for some star gazing.
    I decided to set my sights on the constellation Leo since it seems that all one has to do in this sector of space is sneeze and one stumbles on a galaxy. I stumbled on two right away: M 95 and 96 (both spiral galaxies found over 30 million light years from where I was standing).
    I looked away from my eyepiece when I spotted them since a strong emotion overtook me. It's not that I hadn't seen galaxies before, it's also not because they were overly interesting,.. it was because I could see them. When I am struck with an MS relapse, my eyesight becomes blurry and remains as such for many weeks. Recovery is slow. Many times I wonder, "Is it becoming better?" or "Am I just getting used to it?",... To strain through blurriness to see what stands in front of me is one thing. To see perfectly and become excited in discovering something blurry through an eyepiece is quite another. I saw two. Nah,... they weren't blurry,... let's just call them for what they are: WARM FUZZIES.


    Since I was clearly able to see them, I can now officially declare that my vision has returned (no matter what my doctor says when I see him this summer). One doesn't need eyesight to have vision right?




    Before calling it a night I took a small detour to see my dazzling neighbour that had remained silent up till then. Saturn showed its rings proudly when I finally settled on its face. I guess we both were sharing the same tune that night:




    YOU CRAZY DIAMOND!

  18. stolenfeather

    With Eyes ANEW!

    By stolenfeather,

    Sunday, March 6th / 2011
    My eyes were not strong enough (recent MS relapse) to make out any Messier objects when I went outside with my telescope but this didn't bother me very much. I was simply ecstatic that I could see how beautiful the moon was that night. There will be other times to chase galaxies, nebula, and star clusters. Sometimes, one has to relish with the simplest, with eyes anew.



    I love the first picture I captured with the
    earthshine!First picture taken "as is".
    Second picture altered by RegiStax





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