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davhei

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Everything posted by davhei

  1. Thermos of heavily sweetened rooibos tea for me as well. Very enjoyable to pour a cuppa and walk around a bit when the cold starts to get to me after observing for a while.
  2. Swearing aside, it does sound like you had an enjoyable evening after all. Remembering the cloudy less than perfect nights make the really good ones that much sweeter!
  3. Welcome Matt! I spent a lot of time with binoculars and star charts as well. Great fun.
  4. It certainly was one of my most memorable sessions, and I agree with the feeling of being transported out in the universe!
  5. Evening skies are getting brighter and brighter but we recently had a lucky break in the weather that gave several nights of clear skies and a moon below the horizon. I wanted to make the most of what would likely be the last dark sky session before summer and so packed my 15” dob for a trip to a neighbouring astronomy club’s scheduled observation night at their dark site. A bit of a drive so I had arranged to spend the night on a fold out sofa in one of the buildings if necessary. Set up shortly after sunset and it promised to be a fine, cloudless night with good transparency and decent humidity. When the sun was at -13 degrees or so I turned to the Coma star cluster and from there to NGC 4565 The Needle Galaxy. Shape and dust lane was visible, especially in higher magnification, but not as easily as I had recently seen it at my usual dark site. Attributed this to the object being in a brighter area of the sky for light pollution and the sun still affecting the sky somewhat. Still nice. With dark adaption improving and the sun approaching -18 degrees I turned to one of the objects I had been particularly looking forward to since getting my hands on a 15” scope last autumn. M51 high in a dark transparent sky. M51 & NGC 5195, the two cores very bright and indirect vision showed the arm/gap contrast differences, spiral structure blinking in and out. The bridge between cores faintly visible. Best view I’ve had of this object up until then. M101 core region easily visible, with contrast differences shaping out the brighter arms. The galaxy filled most of the field of view with the 14 Delos at x107. Made a quick sketch in my journal that allowed me to later identify HII-regions NGC 5450/5447, NGC 5461 and NGC 5471. M108 and M97 the Owl Nebula. Using an OIII-filter, the eyes could be subtly seen within the nebula, something I hadn’t been able to do in my 10” dob. Re-visited my favourite quasar in Draco, PG 1634+706 that at close to mag 14.6 I had just barely made out with a 10” dob from my regular dark site and quite readily with the same scope from a very good dark site. In the 15” dob from this site, that I would say was a bit better than my usual site, the quasar was easy to see and I noted a mag 15.4 field star nearby. I could have gone a few tenths deeper probably given the conditions. At this point I went over to the others making observations with the club’s big 30” scope and joined them at the eyepiece where I had a go at the following: Hickson 61, The Box. A tight galaxy cluster in Coma Berenices. All four components easily visible, the edge on galaxies shaping out the namesake box. NGC 4449, a nearby irregular galaxy similar to the LMC. Amazing view, spectacular. OB associations and HII-regions all over. Hickson 79 Seyfert’s Sextet. Tight grouping of galaxies with a clear v-shape. M51. Spiral structure almost visible with direct vision. With indirect vision you could trace the full length of each arm, with mottling and structure, all the way to the secondary core. Glorious, truly glorious. M101 Spiral arms filling the entire eyepiece, several HII-regions. Looked gigantic at the eyepiece. Amazing. M57 Made an attempt at the central star but no luck for me. Another observer said he could see it blink in and out a couple of times but it was difficult within the bright glow of the nebula. M64 The Black Eye galaxy in high magnification, filling the eyepiece. The dust lane obvious and the lane showing hints of structure. M3 fantastic in high magnification with many many resolved and surprisingly sharp stars. Time went by fast and when we saw Antares low in the south it was already well after three o’clock and people were packing up. Crawled into my sleeping bag in the sofa and got a couple of hours sleep before coffee and the drive home. Couldn’t have had a better end to the season!
  6. Yes! I got it from a member of my astro club who built it himself twenty odd years ago. Works well and is comfortable to use seated at f4. But honestly since getting it in Sep last year I have only used it in anger from a proper dark site twice, and those within the last few weeks. Weather has been awful! I really need to explore the potential more, but so far I noted that the Flame Nebula, that has eluded me with the 10", showed up with dark lane detail without too much effort. I look forward to galaxy season proper, when Virgo is higher. I think I can make some comparisons of the CVn galaxies and the spiral structure in M51 having been through the faint fuzzies there a number of times with the 10". I had on and off entertained the idea of a larger scope (who hasn't!), but in all honesty I didn't feel like I had exhausted the 10" by any means. But when the 15" came up for sale I just couldn't pass up on the opportunity! Edit: The 10" is a keeper by the way, I think it occupies a sweet spot for a scope. Ability, ease of setup etc.
  7. Enjoyed reading the report, thank you! Went after the same SN on Sunday evening with my 15" dob from a nearby dark site. The SN was fairly bright but only hints of the host galaxy could be seen, Hydra being quite low in the sky as you said. It was the grand final to my evening as well!
  8. I am terribly sorry to hear that and very grateful for the knowledge he shared.
  9. Using ephemerids from minorplanetcenter.net I managed to visually observe the near earth asteroid 2023 BU with a 15” f4 dob from my Swedish horizon. A little bit later than I expected which made me start to think I missed it but then it appeared close to the expected position . Easy to see and track, which I did for a minute or so. Very happy to have caught it! About five meters across and within the orbits of geosynchronous satellites. 3600 km above south america. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-system-predicts-small-asteroid-to-pass-close-by-earth-this-week
  10. Looks great! Please post a first light report and a review when you are up and running, I’d love to read those.
  11. I observed this object as starlike at the end of August with a 10-inch dob. Found it very difficult and at the limit of my ability. Visible as an occasionally flickering point of light with averted vision, but I did manage to repeat the observation a handful of times. I would say it was visible for less than 10% of the time. I asked an experienced deep sky observer to have a look to confirm and looking through my 10 inch he confirmed he saw it as well. That made me more confident I actually saw it and that it wasn’t just a trick of the mind. This was really one of the most demanding observations I have made and I was excited to have managed it. Would like to revisit at some point with a bit more aperture.
  12. Two plössls that came with the scope (not in use). In use and permanently residing in EP-case: One Panoptic Four Delos x2 Barlow Initially had a minimalist approach to eyepieces, and even though that’s not really the case anymore I still try to limit myself. Not just because of cost but I think if I had a wide array of EP’s I would constantly be changing eyepieces to find an optimal view instead of just relaxing and enjoying what is there. With the barlow there is a lot of choice actually but the threshold of adding it limits the number of times I use it.
  13. Made one for my 10 inch dob from a rolled up camping mat and duct tape. Length about twice the aperture. Never had problems with secondary dew since, and I observere in quite high humidity. Great DIY mod.
  14. I have had an interest in astronomy since I was little but apart from seeing the big comets of the 90’s, timing a few Iridium flares and casually looking up I hadn’t done any proper observing well into my thirties. Every now and then I was trying to learn more about telescope types but never really landed in which one would be best for me. You know how daunting that selection process can be. After reading somewhere about binocular astronomy and realising I had 10x50 binos at home I got a copy of the Cambridge Star Atlas and a reclining chair and started planning sessions at a dark golf course near my house. Very low threshold to get started and I found it really fun to do the planning and research to determine what objects could be seen. Learning how to use the charts, identifying brighter stars and constellations, reading up on objects beforehand. Not having done any of that before, it was really quite a challenge. I remember the feeling of how awesome it was to actually be able to pick out deep sky objects, things I had only read about before, such as the Auriga clusters, the brightest globulars and even galaxies such as M81 & M82, M33 and a few in Canes Venatici. Having read up on the objects beforehand, just seeing them, although faintly, was fantastic. They were actually there and visible if you just knew where to look! Seeing carbon star red giants stand out visually as different from other stars was fascinating and finding larger asterisms such as the Coathanger, Kemble’s Cascade and the Cheshire cat-face in Auriga was also fun, not to mention the large open clusters that actually benefit from wide field, the Hyades, Coma star cluster and the Alpha Persei cluster. Going over my log I see that I spotted Ceres and Uranus as well. I think I bagged forty Messier objects and a number of NGC’s in addition to various other objects (such as asterisms and interesting stars) over the course of a year. Today, owning a handful of scopes, it is very often not what I actually see at the EP that fascinates me but the nature of the object. I certainly believe that same feeling was stirred when bino-observing. Also, I personally find great satisfaction navigating with star charts and trying to find objects by identifying constellations and patterns. Doing so with larger scale charts and binoculars was very rewarding and I felt I learned a lot about finding my way on the night sky. Never having observed though a telescope I was not really expecting anything. I mean it was after all only ordinary binoculars. To actually be able to pick out lots and lots of astronomical objects was very effective in throwing me deeper into the astronomy rabbit hole. My expectations were a lot higher when I eventually got around to viewing through larger scopes actually. Saw quite a few at astronomy club star parties and my thoughts as a beginner was that given the difference in size compared to my binos, the difference at the eyepiece must be dramatic right? Well, if you are just starting out and depending on the object, the difference might not be that dramatic. I got a bit underwhelmed to be honest and that took a while to work through. Eventually I felt comfortable making a choice for a first scope though, a 10-inch dob and that really set me off! For me, starting out, binos were great. I still use them every now and then but since I have access to bigger scopes, those are what I reach for. Quite glad for having spent time with them before moving up. I realise it might not be for everyone though!
  15. I recently got the Berlebach Charon chair and it is really good. Feels well built and I’m sure I will use it for a long time. I should have gotten one earlier. Had been using a foldable chair and cushions to adjust the height before.
  16. Exactly! I was thinking afterwards about what I enjoy about the experience. The view at the eyepiece can vary depending on the object. Some certainly impress more than others. But the wonder to see something incredible even if only a few photons, and getting rewarded after spending time and effort finding and meticulously observing an object is certainly a big part for me. Realising this reminds me to keep using manual mounts and not fall for the sometimes tempting goto options. Were I to indulge every whim I’d have to sell my house and live under a bridge (with many scopes though!).
  17. I was attending a star party the other day and in between socialising and checking out other people’s scopes (30 inch dob among them) I had a little list of challenging objects to attempt with my 10 inch dob in addition to observing the more classic objects. First enjoyed views of a few southerly globulars, M10, M12, M30, NGC 6712 and open clusters such as the Wild Duck, M26 and M58. Also lingered a while on the Helix nebula, trying different filters for comparison. Observed a few galaxies such as NGC 891 and NGC 7814 the little sombrero. NGC 891 is quite faint from my usual dark site at home but from here it was readily visible, although I couldn’t spot the prominent dust lane. A bit later that evening I went past the 30 inch dob when they were observing NGC 891 giving me a fantastic chance to compare views. Climbing the high ladder and peering through the eyepiece I was stunned to see the elongated shape and dust lane smacking me right in the face. No problem to see the dust lane with direct vision! Very cool. First on the list of challenges were three extragalactic globulars in M31. Having observed G1 a few years back I had been wanting to give the next brighter ones, G076, G078 and G280 a go, all listed as being in the 14.2 magnitude range. I had actually tried to spot them a year or so ago but hadn’t done my preparations well enough and ended up struggling to find them. This time I made structured preparations with appropriate charts and picked them up one after another quite easily. Starlike with averted vision. As an interesting note it seems recent papers have G078 not as a globular cluster but as a stripped core of a galaxy disrupted by M31 and containing an intermediate mass black hole in its centre. Quite a rare object and well worth observing for that reason alone! Elated by the extragalactic globulars I moved to the next object on my list, Andromeda’s Parachute. Even though dark adaption wasn’t the best, being at a star party you have to accept a certain amount of unexpected bright lights from cars coming and going and flashlights used to troubleshoot equipment, I still thought the conditions good enough to try for it. I heard someone measured SQM about 21.6 and the object was close to 70 degrees altitude. Ever since I first read about the object it has fascinated me. Discovered quite recently, a quadruple gravitationally lensed quasar appearing as three images in a canopy shape and a dimmer fourth image some distance below the canopy. The lensing galaxy being in the middle but very dim. The redshift is high at z=2.4 which corresponds to a light travel time of 11 billion years. The brighter canopy components are stated in various sources as mag 15.6-15.7 with a combined magnitude of around 14.6. Observing reports have stated the canopy appearing about as bright as a 15.0 magnitude star. Spotting the brighter components visually should be difficult but doable with a 10 inch scope. Starhop is quite easy from Gamma Andromedae and a nearby ”bright” 12th magnitude star is a good aid for navigation. With averted vision I could pick up a close 14.6 magnitude star that was visible intermittently but the quasar eluded me. Switched between x267 and x400 magnification and tried to put the object in the part of the FOV where I usually am able to spot faint stars. Suddenly I saw a starlike point flicker in the right position. I managed to repeat it a handful of times but I would say it was visible for less than 10% of the time. I asked a veteran deep sky observer to have a look to confirm. I knew he had observed the object with his 12 inch a while back and looking through my 10 inch he confirmed he saw it as well. That made me more confident I actually saw it and that it wasn’t just a trick of the mind. This was one of the most demanding observations I have made! Spent quite a long time concentrating with averted vision and had to rest for a while afterwards with a mug of tea. A fantastic feeling to spot something so elusive, I was buzzing for a long time afterwards. Rounded off the evening with a bit of planetary, binoviewing Jupiter through a 20 inch dob. Quite a sight! The night before had been so-so with haze and late cloud coming in, but this evening more than compensated for it. Lots of nice objects and an evening when starhopping and finding things just felt easy and natural. Thanks for reading!
  18. I’d be interested to know what laminate it is. If you are able to ascertain somehow.
  19. I just came home from my dark site after a late session with my 10” dob. Still excited after also observing SN2022hrs and it was nice to read your report. I was pretty well dark adapted and the sight of the point of light right in the hazy disk of NGC 4647 and M60 just beside it was amazing. I love seeing supernovae within a visible galaxy. Definitely the sight of the night even though I also had a very nice globular bonanza that I enjoyed a lot. Also thought it seemed quite a bit brighter than the stated 13.7.
  20. I hope to get one more dark session in sometime late April to catch M5, M10, M12 and M14 that are quite low here. After that, next time will be August!
  21. Typical April weather yesterday, starting off sunny only to have a good amount of snow dump around lunch, most of it melting before the evening. Clear skies forecasted for +24 hours starting after six in the evening so a good time to haul the 10” dob to my nearby dark site. Orion was setting by the time I got the scope ready for action. Sky looked very crisp and promised good prospects for faint fuzzies. Started with M67 in Cancer, first in my lowest mag and then going deeper with the 14 delos. Lovely cluster. In an attempt to learn something I was actually looking at a HR-diagram of the cluster the other day trying to determine its age. Cool to be visually observing it as well. Continued down to nearby M48 that filled the field of view with sparkling stars. Quite a big cluster this! Turned next to M3 that resolved nicely into a myriad of stars. Star hopped to the fainter M53 that also showed resolved stars, fewer though. A nice globular, fainter but lots of detail. I love globular clusters. Made an attempt to find the fainter neighbour NGC 5053 but no luck. Not sure I looked in the right place though. Moved on to M64, the Black Eye galaxy. Now that was really something. Stayed with it for probably half an hour, admiring the detail. The bright core and the prominent dust lane quite distinct (relatively speaking) using averted vision. The outer parts of the galaxy also clearly visible. It’s large this one! The vast oval extent of the galaxy, getting fainter the further out you go and the dark shadow of the dust lane framing the north part of the core. Break for tea. Sipped a warm mug of sweetened tea while gazing at the sky. The big Coma star cluster standing out naked eye. Praesepe too, although setting. The quiet night occasionally interrupted by the singing sound of ice moving on a nearby lake and distant bird calls. Took a short walk to get some circulation and get warmer before continuing. Moved up to M51 to tease out the spirals. Structure certainly, a bit of imagination needed to visualise spirals. Always a pleasure. Went in search of fainter stuff in the Leo II-group near the lion’s tail end. Casually scanned through the east and west cores and could make out a good many fuzzies. Spent some time going back and forth, enjoying seeing the small galaxies appearing here and there. Started to get cold now, the metal tube all covered in frost and eyepieces having a tendency to get condensation if I looked too close for too long. Had to visit the center of the Virgo galaxies before packing up though and from M87 went to Markarian’s chain that in x120 was a joy to move through. The eyes, NGC 4461 & 4458 nearby, the fainter galaxies south of M84 and more. Two hours went by fast, but the cold was starting to get to me so loaded up and headed home. Glad to have gotten a session in, even if it wasn’t an all nighter!
  22. Looking outside I saw an opening between scudding clouds and with orion rising I quickly hauled out my 80mm for a quick session on M42. Recently fallen snow and street lamps just beyond my house in the south east don’t help, but the core region was bright and clear. The trapezium suffered from poor seeing conditions though. Still, hints of bat wings could be seen when my dark adaption improved and when I popped in a UHC they became quite visible. Didn’t think I could pick up so much of the nebula given the conditions, very nice. Spent a bit more than half an hour admiring and comparing magnifications and the effect of the UHC before carrying everything inside again. Short sessions are really fun and often exceed expectations!
  23. Had an hour or so yesterday evening with the TS 80mm f6 from my back yard and went through some open clusters in the Andromeda-/Perseus area. Started with NGC 752 and on to M34, then to NGC 1528 and 1545. Quite a difference viewing 1528 and 1545 in a larger dob a few nights back. Still nice though. Moved on up to Trumpler 2 near the double cluster where I looked specifically at ARY 72, a multiple star system or comoving group with five components visible within the natal cluster. Was elated when I identified all the members that was quite easy to do actually. Also picked up doubles Sigma 268 and 307 close by. On to the always wonderful double cluster and Muscleman and finished with a visit to the small nearby NGC 663 cluster. Certainly a nice area to drift through!
  24. I didn’t follow up on this but in the end I kept the 27 Pan and am quite pleased. It is light, has good contrast, good eye relief, acceptable coma, even without paracorr, and complements my delos ep’s well with a similar afov. The step in magnification between it and my longest focal length delos, the 14 mm, suits me well. The exit pupil is 5,8 mm in my 10” dob. Also works very well in my f6 80mm refractor and the field stop fits the smaller Baader BBHS T2 mirror diagonal that I like a lot. Has been a workhorse EP for star hopping and variable star observing for two years now and has certainly found its spot in my eyepiece case. Didn’t have to trim my eyelashes either! Thanks everyone for your input.
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