Lambda & Delta Cygni

[Stu]

With a decent forecast until around 10pm, I left the Ercole out after solar observing with the 85 today, and popped the big Vixen on it for a quick hour from 9 ish.

I had three targets in mind, Lambda and Delta Cygni and Iota Cass.

Iota Cass quickly ruled itself out with some stubborn cloud covering it. I thought I would start with the easier of the other two, but Delta Cyg was in an awkward position and the tripod leg was in the way. So, in at the deep end.

I managed to get the wrong star when first hunting for Lambda Cyg, was quick tricky as the transparency wasn't great. After revisiting SkySafari, I sorted a star hop out and got there. After locating it in the Leica, I switched to BGO's of varying focal lengths, working down from 12.5 all the way to 5 which means from x108 to x270.

The seeing wasn't particularly good, but after a little while of refining focus in the 5mm, I managed to get it. It was slap bang on the first diffraction ring which was pretty lively, but it was consistently there, and in exactly the right place. I will revisit to verify but am satisfied I got it. That's my first sub arc second double :-)

Delta Cyg was by comparison a breeze, very clear and a beautifully defined pin point secondary. It was visible down at lower mags in the 12.5mm too.

Having managed these two, I had a quick squiz at Polaris, very nice indeed. Then the Double Double at x270. Despite the seeing, I've never seen such clear separation between the close pairings.

Last up, a somewhat hazy view of Mizar and Alcor, an old friend.

In between these, I had some very nice, if bright views of the full moon, with just the tiniest hint of a terminator on the limb. I snapped a few iPhone shots which I will inflict on the long suffering image guys ;-)

First hints of dew forming, an unwelcome reminder of approaching autumn, but hopefully some dark clear skies to come.

Cheers,

Stu

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[Qualia]

Lovely report, Stu and it's great to hear you visiting new and old friends alike. If you've got a reasonably clear skies and contending with a full-moon, doubles just seem the perfect companion to hone one's hunting skills whilst still taking in all that glittering beauty in the branches of the Milky Way.

[Stu]

Thanks very much Rob, totally agree although the MW is a hopeless cause from my house unfortunately.

You probably won't have seen my new (but old) baby ......

Vixen Atlux 150 ED :-)

Stu

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[Moonshane]

nice one Stu

I regularly look at Delta Cyg and Iota Cass, two of my faves too. I got Lambda Cyg for the first time the other night too but it took extreme magnification (about 450x) with the 6" f11 dob.

[Paul M]

Nice report and a nice scope too!

I never used to read double star reports, but as light pollution at my home site is taking it's toll on the fuzzies I've started to take notice.

I'm quite looking forward to tackling some more doubles.

[Stu]

nice one Stu

I regularly look at Delta Cyg and Iota Cass, two of my faves too. I got Lambda Cyg for the first time the other night too but it took extreme magnification (about 450x) with the 6" f11 dob.

Cheers Shane. I found it best last night around x270, I ended up using the nag zoom which will give me up to x450. The scope was just a little wobbly at that sort of mag when trying to hone the focus. A motorised focuser would help, may look into that. I'm sure it would be a little steadier on the Atlux but I'm finding it so much quicker and easier to setup the Ercole.

It's a tricky little customer isn't it!! Need to get some decent seeing to have another crack at it

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[Stu]

Nice report and a nice scope too!

I never used to read double star reports, but as light pollution at my home site is taking it's toll on the fuzzies I've started to take notice.

I'm quite looking forward to tackling some more doubles.

Thanks Paul. It is a lovely scope and I'm just pleased to be getting some more use out of it.

I don't get too much time currently, or stay up that late as we have a near 6 month old baby! Just having a couple of challenging targets gives me something to focus on and achieve in a short space of time. My skies are pretty rubbish too, LP is bad plus the seeing is often pants because there are so many aircraft flying overhead!

One thing which really helps is my home made 80mm bino RACI finder. It has around a 4.4 degree fov and helps pull things out of the murk. Ideally I also need an RDF on there to get me in the right area a little more easily but normally just sighting along the tube works.

Stu

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[alan potts]

I can only agree with Paul, Nice report and nice scope too!

You really are a master of this sky safari thing, I've only just found out how to put a picture on SGL.

Alan

[Stu]

Thanks Alan. I am looking forward to having a crack a Sirius when it makes an appearance. Will put the scope out at the front of the house to get some better seeing.

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[John]

Well done Stu

I managed to get Lambda with my 12" dob the night before last. My ED120 shows elongation but I've yet to get a definite split with that one. The Istar 6" will also split it bit that scope does not get out much.

[Stu]

Well done Stu

I managed to get Lambda with my 12" dob the night before last. My ED120 shows elongation but I've yet to get a definite split with that one. The Istar 6" will also split it bit that scope does not get out much.

Thanks John. Would be great to see it under good conditions, was pretty tricky last night!

I'm finding the Vixen manageable on the Ercole which is good news. Vibrations damp down within a second or so even at higher powers so I can deal with that given the simplicity of setting it up.

I guess the additional length of the Istar makes a big difference?

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[John]

I guess the additional length of the Istar makes a big difference?

Big difference, Stu. I looked at an Ercole at the SW Astro Fair last year but even the dealer went pale when I gave him the length and weight of the Istar tube. My Ambermille Giro-type mount has a similar capacity to the Ercole but it's not up to the Istar. I managed to get a Bray Tablet mount which is a type of "super-Giro" with a 150mm azimuth bearing and can handle a C14 SCT without counter weights but even that was not really stable enough.

It's the length that does it. Many mounts can handle 35 lbs which is the tube weight.

[Stu]

Interesting. What are you using currently? EQ6?

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[John]

Interesting. What are you using currently? EQ6?

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EQ6 on a Meade Giant Field Tripod. With the scope on board plus the 15kg of counter weights thats somthing over 100 lbs in total and the objective is nearly 9 feet off the ground when pointing towards the zenith. It's a big rig !

[cotterless45]

By jinks, some impressive gear here !

Next time you look , separate NGC 869 from NGC884. There's quite a "space hole " chained to the middle !

Great forecast tonight, but that Moon , itching to see the " missing Herschels",

Nick.

[Stu]

EQ6 on a Meade Giant Field Tripod. With the scope on board plus the 15kg of counter weights thats somthing over 100 lbs in total and the objective is nearly 9 feet off the ground when pointing towards the zenith. It's a big rig !

Eeeek! :-)

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[Special K]

Nice report, Stu, and having a baby around sure puts a premium on any spare time. dont i know it! I need to do more double work, and by chumly, with a moon this bright, tonight seems a perfect time.

John, that is some seriously heavy artillery! All these wonderful toys

[John]

John, that is some seriously heavy artillery! All these wonderful toys

Thanks but if I'm honest I've always dreamed of owning the Vixen 150 that Stu has, since I read a review on the scope about 20 years ago. He's a lucky fella !!

[mdstuart]

I expect that massive finder scope makes the whole thing difficult to balance?

[Stu]

Thanks but if I'm honest I've always dreamed of owning the Vixen 150 that Stu has, since I read a review on the scope about 20 years ago. He's a lucky fella !!

:-( I feel bad now! :-) Must get you together with it at some point John

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[Stu]

I expect that massive finder scope makes the whole thing difficult to balance?

It's actually not too bad Mark, but obviously gets trickier at the zenith where I was quite a lot last night. You then have to add more tension to the clutches which makes the movement less smooth.

Coincidentally, given your comment, earlier today I ordered a Losmandy balance kit to be able to sling some weight under the front to make things better. I've tried this sort of approach with a home made job on my 85 and it works really well. You can leave the clutches quite lose and still keep balance right to the zenith.

Stu

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[John]

:-( I feel bad now! :-) Must get you together with it at some point John

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One day that would be nice Stu

I've been giving Lambda Cygni a try with my ED120 this evening and I've managed a nice "snowman" look with one componant dimmer than the other. Thats at 257x and 300x.

[Stu]

One day that would be nice Stu

I've been giving Lambda Cygni a try with my ED120 this evening and I've managed a nice "snowman" look with one componant dimmer than the other. Thats at 257x and 300x.

That's pretty good going :-)

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[John]

Thanks - not quite a split though as the snowmans head still appears joined to his body !

[Stu]

I expect that massive finder scope makes the whole thing difficult to balance?

Just to add, that under my skies I finder the larger finder very useful. I often have trouble seeing stars to hop between so this makes things far easier. Well worth the hassle with balance

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