Helen

Thank you! (and to the other 3 people so far 🤗) Helen

A shameless bump! Can you spare me 5 minutes to fill in my (easy) questionnaire please? https://forms.gle/kDHXCBG5FqdkaD8x7 The wider the feedback, the better future missions should be 🙂 And you can say you've been part of the Rosetta Mision too 😎 Thanks 🤗 Helen

So something rare happened today.... the Welsh weather cooperated for a special event 😊 (OK it was very cold, very windy, there was some cloud and some spots of rain, but that's being picky 😉 ) The forecast suggested sunshine and clouds were likely so I decided to stay local. My garden was a non-starter given the trees and hedges which cut off my southern horizon. So I headed to a local country park which has a good carpark. When I arrived it was a bit cloudy, very gusty and so cold - it was also starting to spot with rain! But the wind meant that the clouds did move quickly, so I decided to stick it out. I started with the minimum set up though: the borg 71 on the solarquest mount with the solar funnel (it doesn't mind getting wet). I decided I could just try getting some photos of the projected image with my phone. I did manage to see Mercury at the solar edge, but the resolution wasn't really good enough to distinguish between first and second (not helped by the funnel acing like a small sail). At this point a lady walking her dog got intrigued at what I was doing - we had a lovely chat 🙂 She'd previously lived in Portugal for 20 years, and so we discussed the relative merits of Wales v Portugal for astronomy (no contest!!). I enjoyed just watching the transit, chuffed to actually see it! Then the weather improved a little so decided to give imaging a go. I put the asi1600mono in a lunt white light diagonal, with a continuum filter and a 2.25 barlow to give better scale and contrast. Focusing was a little easier too. I ran some images through until 13:45 (with one more interruption to show some more dog walkers 🙂 ). By this point there was more cloud and I was very cold!! so I decided to pack up. All in all a very satisfying and fun experience 😎 The processing has been a bit of a challenge this evening... but here is a rough gif (too much movement, and irregular gaps...) and a few stacks false coloured Helen

Got it !!! Tiny and hard to focus with the wind, but certainly got it 😁😁. Just had a nice chat to a dog walker too 👍 Now thinking of trying the camera.. Helen (happy 😁😁)

Hmmm which of the two will win... And will the tripod stay upright 🥺 Helen

Arrived at Plan A location....hazy sunshine (🤨), slight drizzle (🙄 - and I'm wearing duvet jacket for warmth rather than waterproof!), howling gale (how to use car as windbreak without obscuring view 🤔) Going to be a challenge!!! Helen

Weather looking reasonable (although hazy) - my biggest challenge is going to be finding somewhere with a low enough horizon... I just want to see something!! About to start packing the car - wish I had a travel kettle as its windy and I'm sure it will be perishing cold too brrrr Helen

Some you may know that I am currently studying for a PhD with the Open University 🙂 My research is entitled 'Observing Rosetta's Comet: the ground-based campaign'. My research questions are: 1 - How can a multi-scale analysis of observations of comets 67P and 46P help our understanding of comet evolution? 2 - And what lessons can we learn from an assessment of the effectiveness of the 67P amateur campaign and the 46P schools’ campaign that can the improve future campaigns? I am primarily considering the amateur data on comet 67P, and then looking at how that fits with data from professional observatiories and of course the close-up data from the Rosetta spacecraft 😉 Comet 46P was the original target for the mission, and it was favourably placed recently, hence the new observing campaign I ran with some schools. For the second part of the research I'm seeking views on the amateur campaign. I'm contacting directly those who signed up for the campaign. But I'm also really interested in the views of astronomers who didn't sign up, but might possibly consider becoming involved in future comet (or other pro-am) campaigns. This is where SGL comes in 🤗 I've devised a quick online questionnaire (google forms) which I'd like to get as many people as possible to fill in. If you could help that would be great! (thank you by cake at next SGL event 😉 ) https://forms.gle/kDHXCBG5FqdkaD8x7 Many thanks Helen

Getting in the mood - not sure about the scale though 😉

I missed the last mercury transit as I was in a 'Physics and Reality' exam for my MSc - so tomorrow will be an improvement whatever the weather 😉 Helen

Me!! Works brilliantly - was my favourite viewing method for the US total eclipse (the unfiltered telescope view at totality was the ultimate, but apart from those 2 minutes 😉) If you need projection screen material give me a shout - minimum order was rather bigger than the funnel 🙄 Helen

It looks like your finder has cross hairs - those will fry 🥺 Helen

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Ah, I'm busy on 11 May 2187 too - at my Mum's 247th birthday party 😁

Given the statistics show that women need a higher body temperature to function effectively I think for £20 might well be worth a go! You can do layers too 😉 and turn off if you get overheated! Helen

I've used a Blazewear gilet (the old style they did with heavier padding/fleece rather than the new lightweight ones) - really effective 🙂 Helen

Due to a change of plan it might be Saturday now 😉🤗 Helen

I agree Stu - I read it last year and thoroughly enjoyed it 👍. The scale of the challenge (political, mechanical, human, etc) was immense. Helen

The pressure sets the cap off before even half the Alka seltzer dissolves, so there's no point using more 😉 I agree with rockets being better when bigger though 😁. I've got a cool compressed air rocket launcher, which fires paper rockets surprisingly high (see previous star party pics). I've now bought an extra attachment to launch bottles partially filled with water. That's a bigger bang, and a bit wet 🤗 Helen

You can make a neat rocket with a film cannister, a bit of water and half an Alka seltzer (or soluble vitamin tablet or sterident) 😉 Helen

I'll probably be there, but Friday rather than Saturday. I would have loved to have finally met you Alexandra 😊 Helen

🤭

A quick guide to mounts... Two basic types: - Alt Az which move up and down (ALTitude) and left and right (AZimuth). These are intuative to point, and so great for visual work. For alt-az mounts to follow objects (ie compensate for the rotation of the Earth) you need to move the mount in both axes (as the relative path of the object is an arc). This can be done manually, or with motors. If you take a long exposure photo with a tracking alt az mount you will notice the field of view rotates - the camera chip stays at the same oriention to the horizontal while the object moves in an arc. Hence, alt az mounts are not ideal for long exposure photography. - EQ equatorial mounts are designed to mirror the Earth's rotation (that's what your SA is). By setting the axis of rotation to the pole you can follow objects in arcs with movement of just one axis. This is better for photography, but takes a little getting used to for visual! And the orientation of the scope and camera changes, which can also cause challenges.... Again, these can be manual (often with slow motion controls) or motorised for automatic tracking. For both these types of mounts it is possible to add GOTO. After aligning the scope (ie telling it where it is, what time it is, and where in the sky it is positioned) the scope can take you to objects you select. Proper goto uses the motors of a tracking mount to take you there and then tracks the object for you too. There is a manual version often called 'Push-to' where the mount has encoders for position so it knows where it is pointing (once aligned) and it gives you information so that you can move the mount manually to the object, you then have to nudge the mount to keep viewing the object as it moves with the sky. For photography you need a tracking mount, but not necessarily goto (eg your SA). But goto undoubtedly makes things easier! The difference then in mounts is about carrying capacity, tracking accuracy, ease of use. For imaging, particularly at longer focal lengths, you need an accurate reliable mount. An EQ3 Pro is a nice small mount, with goto. It would be an improvement in your SA more for the load it can carry, rather than the accuracy of the tracking (the SA is very good for this), as well as the goto of course. I'd say that if you think you will get more into this and want better results then a secondhand HEQ5 is much better value than a new EQ3 or EQ5. Match it with an ED80 and you can keep yourself amused (well challenged!) for years!! If you haven't already got the book Making Every Photon Count get it now!!! https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html Have fun! Helen