stolenfeather

Like you, I use my birding binoculars when stargazing and it suits me fine. What strikes me from the Andromeda galaxy is not what I see (mind you I do have a 10" dob) but what I know about it. I find it overwhelming to know that a galaxy of that calibre is our neighbour. To me it's like finding out that a HUGE Hollywood star is camping in my backyard. Can I suggest purchasing a TELRAD as a finderscope? It suits me just fine. Isabelle

I think writing this will be very helpful to learners and yourself. I did the same thing when I first started and now like to read previous journals and my many mistakes for a good laugh! With time the journals served as a great collection to what I had seen and helped me plan my stargazing evenings in the future. I wish you clear skies and the best in your new endeavour! Isabelle

I tried to look at your picture but the page was empty. I have been wanting a prize picture of Mars myself but unfortunately, I am ill equipped! Isabelle

There is no mistaking it,.. Saturn is indeed glorious! I'm sorry that your new born is having issues with acid reflux. Poor little one! Isabelle

Very nice capture! You must be happy! Isabelle

Saturday, March 31st, 2012 and into the wee hours of the first day of April. It had been nearly a month since my last serious stargazing session although I had caught many glimpses as the weeks strolled by. Each time, I was either swamped with school-related work, had no time to properly record what was observed or was away from my telescope altogether. There were times that I ached to be outside and other moments when my passion for the stars completely overwhelmed my senses. However, I remained silent and my telescope collected dust from lack of use. On March 15th, I definitely wanted to scream so all could hear. I'm sure that many of you would agree that there are moments in life when you experience something you never thought you would and are well aware that the occasion would never present itself again. The evening of March 15th was such a night. My science students had participated in the Regional Science Fair and had placed first and third in their categories. As we left the building, we witnessed the most spectacular auroras ever! Unfortunately, I did not have my camera and all I could do was stare. The moment was fleeting yet awakened a most profound part of me. As the small bus drove away from the small building where the students had displayed their winning projects, all I could do was lower my head and cry. I knew, I knew,.. that I had seen something that few had experienced and that I would never see again. I attempted to find a picture online to share a little of what I had seen (image from borealis2000.com). On March 31st, I was finally able to perform my much needed collimation. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes as I align the primary and secondary mirrors. This routine task ended up taking me 45! For reasons that have me completely baffled, the mirrors were completely misaligned, enough for the adjusting laser to miss the secondary mirror completely and appear on the wall behind it! I was careful to keep my eyes away from the light as I attempted to fix the situation to no avail. The mirrors refused to budge so I concluded that the Allen key used was dysfunctional. Frustration set in as I vowed vengeance to all that reflected light until I finally found a new tool hiding in the bottom of our kitchen drawer. You know the drawer that simply accumulates all unused items of the household? That's right, you have one of those too I'm sure. Imagine trying to find something of value there! Finally, the mirrors were perfectly aligned and the telescope was acclimated to the cold. It was -14 degrees Celsius with humidity levels at 92 percent. This was clearly not ideal conditions to be outside (in terms of condensation issues) but I was in no position to complain. Venus welcomed me as soon as I stepped into the tampered darkness. Once again, she shone beautifully while the moon basked the rest of the sky in light. I am extremely proud even if other images on this forum is 100 times better! 30 minutes into my session, both my eyepiece and my viewfinder (TELRAD) suffered from condensation greatly reducing what could be seen. I decided to abandon my quest but left my telescope outside in case the conditions changed. It did! As the clock struck 12:30 am of April first, I made my way outside once more. I knew it was there,... I had not seen it for many months BUT I knew it was there. There it was! Please help me in welcoming our ringed wonder to our night sky once more! The tilt of the planet displayed the rings beautifully! I decided to attempt using my husband's camera (a Panasonic Lumix - DMC LX5) which is more sophisticated than mine. Eureka! Yes, I think I finally have a picture of Saturn that I can be proud of! Isabelle

This 'blind stab" is perfect for me! Take in the night sky,.. mine is still littered with clouds! Isabelle

The trees in my backyard hide Mercury so you are very lucky to have seen it. Isabelle

I can't believe it but in one night, we ca see Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn and here I am under cloud cover. I just need to be a little patient! Isabelle

We saw some on Friday but since then, we have been under cloud cover. :( Isabelle

All your pictures are incredible but once again, I am most attracted by your shots of the moon. Such clarity! Isabelle

Remarkable! Isabelle

Our skies look good right now but at -37 degrees Celsius,.. I think I'll remain indoors! Isabelle

The rain gave you a start but you made it back out there again for a great sight of Saturn! I have to say,.. any sight of Saturn is a great sight so am looking forward to seeing it when it comes out earlier in the evening. I'm afraid that for a backyard astronomer,... I can't stay up too late! Isabelle

That's great! I'm assuming that our ringed neighbour doesn't come out and play till much later in the evening. I was thinking of keeping my eyes open for it at the end of the month. Isabelle

I know but my bug will not be as devastating as yours since I'm not looking to purchasing more equipment. Furthermore, with a dob,.. pictures aren't the best use of the scope! I'll remain a visual stargazer for now. Maybe one day, I'll look for something different. Let's see, I'll start by capturing all those Messier objects first! Isabelle

Good luck tonight It looks like the clouds are rolling in around my region. :(

Yeah! It's hard for me to obtain tools where I am since I teach in a very isolated community. The nearest town with stores is an eight hour drive away! Isabelle

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

Aha! Now I see where your new profile picture was taking from! Wonderful pictures Pat! The one of the moon really blows my mind! Isabelle

Thank you for this profound posting Adrian. It is true that in our everyday lives we sometimes take for granted the marvels around us. How they are connected,.. how we are so small amidst all that has been "brewing" for so many years, our mind can't even comprehend the immensity of the number. Isabelle

Hi there! Sorry I have not come around till now. I'm happy that you find such a considerable difference with your Dob. Any improvement is a good one! I think you should get a bigger scope if you are really serious about deep space objects, something with bigger light capturing abilities. Isabelle

hasn't it been great to see the three together like this this week? They are like the reigning trio out there! Great picture! Isabelle

Congratulations on the news of the little one coming! Isabelle

Thanks for coming by Pat and yes hubby and I are doing fine! Yes, finding the Rosette nebula with that much light pollution would be impossible.