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Astralstroll

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Blog Entries posted by Astralstroll

  1. Astralstroll
    Have the Friday booked off from work, so it's a late night one for me. Lots of coffee to keep me warm and alert! A very enjoyable few hours in the garden. Managed to catchable glimpse of the following:
    M11
    M14
    M26
    M29
    M39
    M40
    M52
    M91
    M99
    M100
    M103
    M109
    really need a dark sky and a low horizon to get the remainder of my Messiers. Hartland Point perhaps?.
  2. Astralstroll
    Mostly revisiting old friends this evening. In no particular order of viewing or preference there were appearances by the following:
    ISS
    M13
    M92
    M51
    NGC5195
    M101
    M63
    M64
    M81
    M82
    M88
    M94
    M97
    M98
    M99
    M100
    M102
    M106
    M108
    M3
    M5
  4. Astralstroll
    I missed an opportunity this evening to go to a new viewing site. That will teach me not to check my mail frequently enough!! As a consolation prize, I decided to have a second look at PANSTARRS, this time from my back garden. It was possible to see it from the bottom of the garden and it was just clearing the side of the neighbours house. As I was going to be observing later, I decided to put the scope at the bottom of the garden for a view of the comet. Curses!! It was too low to see with the dob. A couple of minutes later I had removed the coffee table from the lounge and had raised the dob enough to get a view. The tail was a lot more spectacular in the scope, and at x100 it was a respectable size. Feeling rather chuffed, I had a glass of wine whilst watching the comet a little longer.
    after the excitement, the scope was relocated to its usual viewing spot and left to cool down. Not the best of nights for viewing, but a few new ticks were obtained. These were:
    M99
    M109
    M100
    M104
    All of these were rather dim and took some tracking down. I had tried to see all four of these on previous occasions without luck. This time, they were seen, but in each case a long view as well as occasional averted vision was needed. Roll on a trip to a darker site.
    I then spent a bit of time enjoying a few favourites before heading indoors. My remaining Messier objects are going to be tricky from my current location, so an expedition door two will be called for in the hopefully not too distant future.
  5. Astralstroll
    Tonight started out with a Chinese meal with my girlfriend. Prawn crackers, Mixed hors d'oeuvres ( crispy seaweed, sesame toast, spare ribs, spring rolls and crispy sweet and sour wanton), rice noodles Singapore style and sizzling king prawns in satay sauce with egg fried rice and toffee banana to finish.
    On the way home, the sky was rather clear, so we decided to have a quick change into warm clothes and sensible shoes. The binoculars and tripod were then grabbed and we headed off to a local high spot with good views of the sky.
    I managed to find M31 reasonable easily, and then several degrees lower was the comet (aka PANSTARRS C2011/L4). My girlfriend was suitably wowed as it was her first comet. Sadly, she thought the name a little less romantic than some other comets. I don't suppose she will find ISON any better as a romantic name, but it might be two comets in a year to add to the list.
  8. Astralstroll
    Another Messier bagging session this evening. The following were viewed and enjoyed with the aid of copious amounts of coffee.
    M106
    M53
    M64
    M94
    M3
    M13
    M92
    M5
    M57
    M56
    M10
    M12
    Looking forward to enjoying the rest in the not so distant future.
  9. Astralstroll
    Had no set plan this evening, but the sky was clear, and I had promised my girlfriend a view of Saturn if she could stay up long enough. Needless to say, she had decamped from outside and was fast asleep on the settee when I woke her up for a view of Saturn. Despite still being rather low it looked amazing. Couldn't have wanted a better view!! Fingers crossed for more nights like this one.
  11. Astralstroll
    Just a brief session this evening. Conditions weren't the best, but still managed to enjoy M89 and M98. I also had a good view of M13 and M92. Rather short and sweet, but every cleanish night counts.
  12. Astralstroll

    Daves Blog 6/2/13

    By Astralstroll,

    Well, the forecast indicated that the skies would be clear, and they were spot on the money for once. Had the scope outside, collimated and cooling down whilst I sat in the garden enjoying a coffee and watching the clear sky. This was a novelty after a couple of months of very poor skies.
    Armed with the Messier Marathon field guide and a clear sky, I set about my nights hunt for Messier objects. To begin with, a wander in and around Ursa Major was called for. M106 and M97 were the first of the nights haul of new objects. These were closely followed by M108. Then a quick hop over to Canes Venatici for M63 and M94. Next was a hop to Cancer and M44 and M67. I think M44, the Beehive cluster was the gem of the night.
    Then it was a return to Ursa Major and M51, followed by M101 at long last. As I was following the Messier marathon list, I had a diversion over to Draco for a look at the alternative M102.
    With my Nemesis, M101 in the bag, it was off to Coma Berenices and M64, M85, M3 and M53. Then off to Leo for M95, M96, M105, M65 and M66. Then it was off to Virgo, and the motherlode of Messiers! M61, M49, M58, M59, M60, M84, M86, M87 and M88. By this time, it was about 3am and I had begun to feel in need of defrosting.
    So, I packed up and headed inside with a total of 28 new Messier objects in one evening. And the prospect of completing the remaining Virgo objects as soon as the weather improves.
    Dave.
  13. Astralstroll

    Daves Blog 11/11/12

    By Astralstroll,

    I wasnt planning on doing any observing this weekend. The forecast looked a bit on the poor side, and the clouds were present as I headed off to bed. However, the arrival of my neighbour at 4am prompted me to get up and make a coffee. Whilst I was filling the kettle in the darknes, I noticed the sky was totaly clear. Whilst the ketle was boining, I got dressed and relocated the Dob to the back garden. Armed with a coffee I set about aligning the scope to Polaris. The plan was to look for M51 and M101. I tracked down M51 as a ghostly gossamer barely there at all, and no sign of M101.
    M81 and M82, however, were much more pleasurable. at 50x the can both be viewed at the same time. A real treat indeed. Afterwards, I decidedthat the crescent moon and Venus werent going to be visible with the Dob, so I opted for the 20 x 80 binos. Sat there with a coffee and the binos pointed at the moon was a rather sublime experience. Finally headed back to bed about 6.30. A stolen nights viewing!
  14. Astralstroll

    Daves Blog 5/11/12

    By Astralstroll,

    Well after the alst of the fireworks had finally fizzed out and the clouds of smoke had dissipated, the night was rather clear and inviting. It had certainly been a while since the scope had been out, so long in fact that the scope had been dismalted and reloacted to its resting place upstairs in the library.
    Still the beauty of a dob is the speed at which it can be reassembled. About five minutes, then a few minutes to check the collimation. First on the list was M1, closely followed by the trio of M36, M37 and M38. After I couldnt resist a look at M45, aka The Pleiades or Subaru. Now I mknow why the Subarus have stars on their badge!!
    Afterwards, it was back to M42 with the nebula filter. Not the massive contrast improvement I was expecting, but it was better and very impressive. Then time to check out the trapezium. Very good fun indeed!
    Lastly, I was serenaded by a very loud owl in the vicinity. Not heard one for some time so it was a very pleasant surprise.
  15. Astralstroll

    Daves Blog 18/9/12

    By Astralstroll,

    Just a brief viewing opportunity tonight. First on thr list was M15, followed by M34. The treat of the evening, however, was M42. WOW is all I can say. At 50x it was really mpressive. Cant wait to get my mebula filter now.
    The night, albeit brief, was topped off with the appearance of a very bright meteor.
    Happy gazing indeed!
  16. Astralstroll

    Daves Blog 14/9/12

    By Astralstroll,

    Possibly the best night so far with the new scope! Left the scope outside to cool down, and then set to viewing about 11pm. First on the tick list were M81 and M82. These were closely followed by M52. Had a bit of an indulgence, and had a look at M13, quite possibly one of my all time favourites DSO's.
    After a coffee, moved on to M15 and then M34. It certainly felt like I was on a roll!! Then, I turned my sights (sorry for the cheesy but unintended pun) to M33. Try as I might, I couldnt find it. Tried several times, using star hopping and then my setting circle and inclinometer. No luck. Checked the setting circle and inclinometer on 31, pretty much centre of view at 48x. Had another coffee and tried again. At last!!! M33 was tracked down. Most definitely the faintest Messier to date by a long way! That is definitely one for a dark sky site!
    Then had a much easier time locating M45!!! Always a delight no matter what the magnification. Then, as I was waiting for Jupiter to get into an acceptable viewing positon, I had another trip to my favourite threesome. M31, M32 and M110.
    After a long wait and several coffees, and the time ticking on to well past 3am, it was time to check out Jupiter and the Gallilean satellites. I must check out to see if I can see any other of Jupiters moons, as there is definitely a few fainter objects in the vicinity.
    Counted 5 meteors in the nights viewing as well as numerous satellites. Non astro related sghtings were several bats, or one very acrobatic one as well as next doors very inquisitive and noisy kitten.
  17. Astralstroll

    Daves Blog 12/9/12

    By Astralstroll,

    Only had a very brief viewing session on account of being in town until gone midnight. The clear skies were an added bonus after the torrential rain that had been around for most of the day.An added bonus was the very clear skies.
    As I had an early morning the day after, only managed to check out M31, M32 and M110. I never tire of this particular trio. Awesome as always.
  18. Astralstroll
    Sunday night saw a surprisingly clear sky with very little i the way of cloud cover. Started with M31, as I had unfinished business there. Firstly, worked out a foolproof way to starhop quickly to M31, then set about hunting for M32. My first thought was that tis was the best view of M31 I have had to date with the new Dob. From there, M32 was very small in comparison, but relatively easy to spot. The previous time I was out in this part of the sky, there was no sign of M110. This time, however, I managed to spot the faint blur of M110 with a lot of inverted vision.
    Also spotted my first ever pair of satellites in close formation. All in all, a god night out with the scope.
  19. Astralstroll
    Well, I guess Im not the only person who has been cusring the Rain Gods recently! Having ordered my new Dob far too many weeks ago, it duly turned up. My first impression when the delivery driver was unloading the two boxes was that there must be something missing. Thankfully, I was comforted by the words Box 1 of 2 and Box 2 of 2 on the delivery. Later that day, despite near deluge conditions outside I set about unpacking and assembling my new scope. As far as scopes go, it is rather a good looking beast.
    A couple of days later and the latest addition, a laser collimator from Hotech also arrived. After marevelling at the design of the Hotech laser collimator, for it is truly a wondrous piece of equipment, I set about learning the fabled art of colimation. I had watched numerous video clips, including the one by the designer of the Hotech colimating a Meade Lightbridge, and the legendary "men in black" video clip. After reading the instructions, I installed the laser. The secondary was almost perfect, and only required the smallest of adjustments to hit the doughnut. If only that was the end of the story!! The primary was well off. A lot of adjustment later and all appeared well. I then proceeded to move the scope around on its mount. After checking the collimation again, I was not amused to find that the primary was once again well off!! Adjustment the first time semed hard work, the second time around semed even worse. Something didnt feel right at all. In the midst of the adjustments I managed to totally unscrew one of the adjustment screws and lose the spring somewhere in the lounge! A few cursed mutterings later, well a lot of cursed mutterings later to be honest and the spring was located and reunited with the scope. From that moment on, it took literally seconds to collimate the primary! Not sure if something was amiss from the start, but all seemed well afterwards.
    Come the weekend, I had the chance of a darker garden than my own for the Dobs first outing. It was duly dismantled and packed into the car and transported to Somerset and reassembled. A whole sunny and glorious Friday and Saturday followed, with cloudy skies both evenings. Come Sunday, the scope was dismantled and loaded back intot he car without being usd in anger. Back at the ranch it was unloaded and reassembled once again. As the evening headed towards eleven pm and the latest episode of Wallander was but a dim and distant memory I spurned the lure of the German Grand Prix highlights as the sky was looking as clear as I had seen it in a long time. After all the dismantling, transport and rebuilding the collimation was still spot on, much to my surprise. It was time t head outside and see what I had been eagerly waiting for.
    Armed with a flask of strong coffee, my iPhone, torch and Turn Left at Orion, I was all set. Using my not yet adjusted red dot finder and compensating for the offset I had discovered after sighting it on Vega, I set about bagging a few Messier objects. The following were found with varying degrees of difficulty:
    M13, M92, M57, M56 and M31 (at long last!!!).
    By far the most spectaclar was M13.I found M31 was somewhat of a disappointment, but I was viewing it in competition with two street lights in the close vicinity.
    In addition to the modest haul of Messiers, I also saw several meteors, the local police helicoptor (thankfully without the bad guy chasing spotlight switched on) and a small frog who had decided to hide under the base of the Dob. After returning the scope indoors, I made a fresh coffee, grabbed the binoculars and had a peep at Jupiter and Venus. Unfortunately, they were too low to be visible using the Dob owing to a rather inconveniently located fence and garage.
    The following evening, the sky was nowhere as clear, but despite this I still managed to track down M27 and M71.
    Tuesday evening was a night out for curry (special Biryani) and beer (x3), so apart from watching the moon set on the walk home, it was a viewing free night. I have given my self a rule, no manhandling the scope whilst under the influence!
    Wednesday evening was very hazy and esentially a wash out. However, I took the opportunity to align the red dot viewer. This proved to be a lot of fun, as the elevation screw appeared to do nothing! After a small bit of dismantling and relocaing a spring that looked very out of place, all was well. Checked the alignment on a few stars that were visible. Then set about trying my newest gadget, the Wixey digital inclinometer. After checking the base was as level as I could get it, I found that the Wixey was within about 0.5 degrees of the Alt reading I got from Starwalk.
    All in all, after a bit of teething trouble, I am happy with my new scope. My only niggle is that if I could go back to the day I ordered it, I might have opted for the 12". However, even as I am typing this, I am thinking of what mods I can do to the scope I got. The next is likely to be a setting circle. I like the idea of a digital one, but am not sure there is enough clearance between the bottom of the scope and the dob base. Looks like it might have to be a paper setting circle to begin with. That, and saving up for some more eyepieces and filters. Then I need a case to keep the eyepieces in. And do I need to upgrade to a TelRad. Is there room to squeeze in a finderscope as well? I can see a long list for Santa coming along.
    So until the next clear night, I can flick through "Turn Left" and dream of more DSOs to hunt down.
  20. Astralstroll
    Weather and conditions too indifferent to get the Dob out, so opted for the binoculars instead. Despite the not too dark skies, still managed to see a pair of my perennial favourites, namely M31 and M13.
    Tried to see a couple of other Messiers (M51 and M101) in the vicinity of Ursa Major. I thought I was pushing my luck more than a bit as Alcor and Mizar werent really that separated with naked eye observation. As suspected, no joy on this occasion, which is a pity as my neightbours house is rather inconveniently in the way from where I view with the Dob.
  21. Astralstroll
    Finally added version 1 of the setting circle. Printed out onto about 8 sheets of A4, cut to size, sellotaped together and then covered in sticky backed plastic. Total cost was 64p. Spray mounted onto the top of the upper base board. Made a pointer from two pieces of metal. Time for the moment of truth!
    Base was level to about +/- 0.5 degrees.
    Used Altair and Polaris to check the setting circle. Not spot on when switching between the two, but mostly within about a degree or so. I am assuming it would be beter with a totally flat base.
    Managed to use the Wixey, the setting circle and the co ordinates from Star Walk on my iPhone to find the following:
    M13, M31, M57, M56, M27 and eventually with a lot of squinting M32. Moonrise made everyting even more washed out. Should have staed up to see moon and Jupiter clear the neighbours garden, bu it was already geting light. Looking forward to the moon in a better viewing position soon.
    Nowhere as satisfying as star hopping, but less frustrating Im sure if time is limited.
    Nest time, I need to have a much more level base Then time for version 2 with a better printed / laminated seting circle as well as maybe a PDA with astro software. The iPhone is OK, but you have to constantly update to get the latest co ordinates. After that, version 3 is a digital encoder, but thats for later in the year.
    Also got so see a fair few Perseids as well as what looked like two passes of the ISS.
    Looking forward to working on some levellers next.
  22. Astralstroll
    Seemed to be nowhere near as dark the second time around. Still, it was a good excuse to work on my star hopping skills. First job was to align te RDF. Seemed easy enough to move left - right, but no joy with up - down. Finally got out the tools and took the RDF to bits and found a very badly placed spring. After replacing the spring and rebuilding, all semed well. Now I wasnt having to compensate for a misaligned RDF any more.
    Only managed two extra Messiers tonight, M27 and M71. Had a quick look at both M13 and M31 again, but both looked rather washed out.
    Still, looking forward to a lot of darker nights with better conditions.
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