Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Observing from La Palma

angusb1

By angusb1
in Observing - Reports

Recommended Posts

angusb1

angusb1

Posted
Posted

I just got back from a week in La Palma in the Canary Islands with my Mak127. Its the second time I have taken a scope on holiday abroad and despite Iberia losing my luggage in transit for 3 days I still managed to get 3 nights of observing in. I had taken my scope and eyepieces as hand luggage but had my Vixen GP and tripod in my suitcase so no observing for the first 3 nights. On the 3rd day I decided to hire a mount so I could at least get some use out of my scope whilst on holiday and just after getting off the phone to the very helpful Agustin from astrolapalma, from whom I arranged to hire an HEQ5 for the rest of my holiday, my luggage arrived.

The seeing on all 3 nights was steady, on the first night excellent, and as the temperature in La Palma doesn't vary more than a few degrees between day and night at this time of year it didn't take long for the mak to cool down. Following that each night I used Saturn as my first target and was able to use the 6.7mm ep on it to give 223x at times on the first night, although mostly my 9.7mm gave the clearest views. I could make out equatorial banding and the Cassini division. I think the 6.7mm was probably a bit too much and I would have been better with something around the 8mm.

After Saturn, each night I made my way over to Scorpio and Sagittarius and tried for the various Messiers in that area. I managed to view M4, M80, M7, M6, M8, M20, M21, M28, and M22. I followed the same sequence each night and managed to find each object slightly more easily each night. I also viewed a few favourites, M57, M29 and M13 and Albireo, as well as the Moon which was a little too full to be enjoyable and which washed out the views of the Sagittarius/Scorpio area later on the first night and a bit on the second night as well. It was quite a different experience to the viewing I usually do in the UK, some targets not easily available were higher in the sky due to being farther south, and it was lovely to have a sky with a fairly open horizon and very little light pollution, as well as fairly steady seeing conditions. Also to be fairly warm at night meant my better half was happy to share the viewing, something she won't usually do at home due to a dislike of cold muddy fields in the middle of the night. Unexpectedly, I found I really enjoyed not having GOTO or even a motorised RA axis. A quick polar alignment and manual tracking with the GP was really hassle-free setup and I enjoyed hopping from star to star using the RDF and Google Sky Map on my phone to find targets.

I'm hoping to go back another time and will definately be taking my scope again, but possibly just hiring a mount when I get there so as to make the most of my time on the island without the hassle of lost luggage.

The last but one night we were there it clouded over at about 12:30am but I had managed a couple of hours of viewing so wasn't too upset, and the last night was cloudy. If I had driven to a higher part of the island I could probably have still observed but I was happy with what I had managed and decided not to bother. Cracking holiday (not just for the astronomy, its a really beautiful place) and worth hauling my scope and eyepieces around as hand luggage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angusb1

angusb1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sounds like you had a great time. It's lovely observing in the warm and enjoying the showpiece objects you can't see too well from the UK isn't it?

What was your favourite object? Betcha glad to be back in the UK now!

I think I most enjoyed the massive fireball with flaming tail we saw whilst out observing on the Wednesday? night, but M8 was pretty cool and M7 as well, I really like open clusters.

Back in the UK to torrential rain and night shifts.... nuff said :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angusb1

angusb1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sounds like you had an enjoyable trip - luggage apart ! Did you visit the observatory complex? I think they have public viewings with some of the telescopes.

We saw it from the road but didn't look round it. Might go next time, apparently they will show people round if there are more than 10 of you so it depends on whether there are enough other people interested that day. Its in an amazing location though, you can look in one direction over the sea covered in cloud with Tenerife sticking out like a mountain, and the other direction is the volcanic crater full of cloud with the Roques de los Muchachos Observatory complex along the crater rim.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Per167

Per167

Posted
Posted

Nice report! I always wondered how you deal with dew prevention on the scope on a trip like this. Is the air dry and windy enough so that no dew forms or is a dew shield enough? It feels like a little too much bringing a 10lb power pack just for the dew heater.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angusb1

angusb1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Nice report! I always wondered how you deal with dew prevention on the scope on a trip like this. Is the air dry and windy enough so that no dew forms or is a dew shield enough? It feels like a little too much bringing a 10lb power pack just for the dew heater.

Thanks. I didn't take a dew shield or heater and had no trouble with dew (although maks are normally quite affected by it) but I was only out for 3-4 hours each night. I think it wasn't a problem maybe because when it is a clear night there it is very dry as you are above the clouds, and the air is only 3-4 degrees below daytime temperature. On the cloudy nights it was colder and everything was soaked in dew the next morning but we were in the clouds so no surprise really. The main reason for taking my manual tracking GP was so I wouldn't have to faff about with power packs etc. Its one of several reasons I only did visual observing there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Peter Drew

Peter Drew

Posted
Posted

I frequently visit Tenerife, just across the sea from La Palma. Observing with a C8 at close to sea level I've never had any dewing problems but one night half way up Mount Teide I experienced the worst dewing ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angusb1

angusb1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I frequently visit Tenerife, just across the sea from La Palma. Observing with a C8 at close to sea level I've never had any dewing problems but one night half way up Mount Teide I experienced the worst dewing ever.

Do you take the C8 as hand luggage?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
m_j_lyons

m_j_lyons

Posted
Posted

Awesome report. It's such a treat to observe from clear dark skies...and three good night's of it are a rarity for most. Great selection of targets and I agree that manual star hopping is a fun way to spend a night (vs reliance upon GOTO).

Happy hunting.

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angusb1

angusb1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Awesome report.

Thanks very much

it lives in my apartment out there.

Undoubtedly the best way to avoid the baggage lottery. I have told my better half I am planning to do the same in the (very distant) future. She has dismissed this as another one of my crackpot flights of fancy. We'll see....

Where did you observe in La Palma ?

I understand the road up to the observatory is closed at night.

We had a villa with a patio around the pool so I used a corner of the patio. I thought it wouldn't be ideal with heat rising from the stone but I used a corner and it didn't seem noticeable. We were on the edge of a village at 700m altitude so it wasn't above the clouds but near the top of them.

04072012255.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Avo

Avo

Posted
Posted

Well, may not be the best time in the lunar cycle, but me and me mujer (i've started already) are off there end of sep, on the waning moon, for an initial look-see, can't wait.

Might try that guy who rents scopes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.