12" grab and go

[FenlandPaul]

Clear Outside was predicting fine skies all evening, which had excited me through the day but by 8pm the clouds were stubbornly hanging on.  Staring down the barrel of having to watch the Bake Off (OK, it was bread week, so I would probably have enjoyed it) I was granted a reprieve just before 9 when a crisp waxing moon appeared in the west and Mars and Saturn could clearly be seen in the south.

So I rushed outside and had the dob set up in about 3 minutes - probably less time that it takes for me to set up my fracs and only slightly longer than getting the bins on a tripod.  My mother in law was staying so I called her out first of all to come and look at Saturn, the Moon and Albireo.  She whooped with delight (referring to the Moon - "there's a hole, and another one, wow and there's a huge hole!") and then asked a surprising amount of detail about Albireo and its physics.  

Unfortunately that interlude allowed the clouds to regather in the west and were heading my way quickly.  So I turned north to Schedar (Alpha Cass).  Pleasanly wide pair with a gold-tinted primary and a much fainter but easily seen secondary, which seemed white with a hint of orange (originally I thought it was blue-tinged but changed my mind) - it almost reflects the primary's hue, but less intensely.

The best view was in the 32mm Plossl becuase it was surrounded by a nice scattering of field stars including being followed in the east by a chevron of well-matched stars that are about the same brightness as the secondary; the chevron arrow points NNE.

I estimate the PA to be about 275 degrees using the drift method - was quite chuffed when I came in and saw Burnham's quoting it at 280 degrees!!

The clouds then thickened up so I did the sensible thing on a school night and packed in.  It was only a half-hour session, mostly with someone else looking through the scope, but I went to bed happy.  Amazing how, if you have the scope stored in a sensible place, even a 12" dob can be a grab and go scope.  So much so that I'm really wondering if I need to hang on to my fracs.

Paul

[Stu]

Nice one Paul, although I struggled to press like on a post questioning whether you should keep your fracs  

There's no doubt a dob can be very quick and easy to set up as long as it's kept somewhere cool.

Good to share with your mother in law, sounds like she has an interest which might develop?

[Chris]

Hi Paul, nice session, always nice to show someone new the views through a scope and what a treat looking through a 12" scope. I've not even looked through anything bigger than an 8" as an amateur and I've been doing this for years so I'm slightly jealous of your mother in law lol  Sounds like she really enjoyed it which is great!  

The devil on my shoulder is saying ask Paul to sell back the Bresser lol, seriously though I would keep one refractor at least, there is something special about fracs and I'm sure you'd miss it.

 

[FenlandPaul]

18 minutes ago, Chris Lock said:

The devil on my shoulder is saying ask Paul to sell back the Bresser lol, seriously though I would keep one refractor at least, there is something special about fracs and I'm sure you'd miss it.

 

Hee hee!  There is something very lovely about the comparatively tack-sharp star images, and the AR127L always gets gasps and wows from onlookers because it really looks the part.  I'm going to run another few months with both the fracs and the dob I think and then see whether it's working - I suspect I'll get into using the frac during moon-filled nights and the dob during the darker nights.  But if I decide to move the AR on you'll be the first to know!

[DRT]

1 hour ago, FenlandPaul said:

My mother in law was staying so I called her out first of all to come and look at Saturn, the Moon and Albireo ...  Unfortunately that interlude allowed the clouds to regather in the west and were heading my way quickly.

A Mother-in-law causing clouds to gather in the west is an analogy I can relate to

Great report, Paul, and a very good example of why a large Dob doesn't need to be viewed as a barrier to a quick session

 

[ronin]

Noticed that it said Clear all night, so why did the clouds close in at 8:30 ?

By 9:00 you couldn't see a thing with any real chance.

[FenlandPaul]

22 minutes ago, ronin said:

Noticed that it said Clear all night, so why did the clouds close in at 8:30 ?

By 9:00 you couldn't see a thing with any real chance.

And irritatingly it was absolutely sensational transparency between the tufts until it became complete cover.  Very dewy though this morning.

[Special K]

Keep the fracs!!!   A little set of steel rail tracks leading out from storage shed to obs position would be fantastic for the dob!  

Very nice report and it really is special to share these views with others. Well done on a record setup time! 

[Astro Imp]

Nice report Paul, the skies haven't been kind of late so its about making the most of what we have.

[alan potts]

Nice report, I love the line 12 inch grab and go, I guess if you are a power lifter even a 24 inch is the same.

Alan

[jetstream]

Great report Paul , it is so refreshing to get some viewing in and these dobs are so easy and fast to set up...I think the same thing about my refractors...