So far, so good..

[BeerMe]

Eventually, after about 9 months, I have managed to get my scope up and running again within the past few days.  I tried to use it a few months back to impress family at a party, but I must have been too far gone by the time we done it as we couldn't focus on a thing, and gave it up after about 30 minutes.  I thought maybe the collimation had gone or the lenses were a little dirty from a previous session and was trying to get funds to buy the necessary to solve these problems (if they existed), however a couple of nights ago the moon was very bright and, knowing my finderscope was goosed, I thought I could have a go at locating the moon just using the scope itself, just to see how it showed and whether I could tell what 'problem' I may have had.  Well, as it turned out, I found the moon easily with my 25mm stock EP and a couple of turns on the focuser brought it up nice and crisp, everything seeming clearly defined.  Switched to my 10mm, and after a little shift in focus I was once again greeted by that awesome sight of the terminator, with very clear images of craters in the centre and the mountains on the edge clearly visible.  To say I was elated that everything was good enough to be getting on with is an understatement, and I retired with the resolve to get my finderscope new batteries and realigned.

Fast forward to today, and just before sunset I managed to get out in to the country for 10 minutes to find an unobstructed view to align the finderscope.  Satisfied that everything was good to go, I got back home and set up my scope out the back to give it plenty of cooling time, while I waited for the last remnants of cloud to roll away.  By around 6pm, everything was looking good so I went out to check the scope was ok and had a cursory glance around the heavens to see if anything resembling a constellation or asterism had made itself visible against the darkening skies.  To my utter amazement, I caught a shooting star just as it made its reentry, seeing the full streak with a clear fireball-shaped head before it finally burned out a nanosecond later (it's amazing how time seems to slow down in these brief glimpses, almost as if we can replay it frame by frame in our head!).

This had to be a good sign, right?  Too right!  Back in to the house to change in to my layers and 5 minutes later I was set up and ready to go.  I had a clear target to start me off tonight - Andromeda!  Since I took this hobby up early this year, seeing another galaxy has been my absolute number 1 objective, no doubt about it.  I got around 4 or 5 serious observing sessions in at the start of the year and didn't come close to finding one, although I had been chiefly targeting the Pinwheel as it was closer to the Zenith and should have been the easier target.  Knowing that this time of year is good for Andromeda, I had spent the past few days poring over star charts, checking Stellarium, etc to make sure I was prepared and knew exactly where I was going.  

Since I'm not at all confident in my star-hopping abilities, my plan was to just use my eyes to get to the general area, point the finderscope there, then simply scan the sky in lines to see if I could find it.  How to find the 'general area' though?  I've read of 2 ways which I'm sure you both all know of, using either Cassiopeia or Pegasus.  Pegasus seemed the easiest from looking at star charts, however only Mirach and Alpheratz were visible as far as I could see so I wasn't sure it was actually Mirach I was looking at.  I used Cassiopeia at this time to try to point me to Pegasus and it was only then, once I 'broadened' my view, that I realised how vast an area of sky that the Great Square of Pegasus covers!  I had been looking too close to Alpheratz to see either Scheat or Algenib, but when I actually beheld them it put in to perspective some of the distances between stars, even from our perspective.  I assumed the square was around the same size as that on the Ploughm to give you some idea of how I missed it.  Anyway, I digress (again)...

Satisfied that Mirach was indeed Mirach, I could see the faint glimpse of the star just above it that helps point the way, and the same distance out again brought another, fainter glimpse that I knew must be the star that sits just to the left of the galaxy.  And was that just a very slight haze in the sky just at that point?!  Excited, I got the scope pointed up in to the area and peered through the 25mm - no luck yet.  I thought I may have been just a lil above and to the left of where I was wanting to be, so I moved rught 3 lens widths, down a lens width, left 3 lens widths, down a lens width, right 2 lens widths and whoah!  What is that tiny cloud doing suspended away up there?!  Eureka!!  It looks like virtually nothing to be honest and if I didn't know it was another galaxy, it wouldn't interest me.  That faint wisp suspended in the vastness of space however, was everything I have ever wanted to see, even though there's not much to actually look at!  I was beyond elated now, and not just the fact that I had seen it, but that I'd actually located it.

You can really only look at a faint wisp, however significant, before the coldness tells you that it's time to get some movement in to help warm up, so I took to scanning the skies with my naked eyes for some sign of the Plough, hoping to see if I could 'split' Mizar, but the roof of the house seemed to be blocking it.  I retired indoors for a quick heat and a look at Stellarium again, and decided to see if I could locate Uranus (doubtful) and then afterwards go searching for Andromeda again, just to make sure I could find it.  Using the 2 bright stars in Pisces to the lower left of Pegasus, I moved along to the general area and tried the 25mm EP.  I scanned around the general area for some time (always checking my finderscope to make sure I hadn't strayed too much) and, although I had no success with Uranus with the 25mm, I did stumble across what looked like a binary system.  These 2 stars were much closer than any I have ever seen before and I was transfixed on them for a few minutes.  Unfortunately, I neglected to check the finderscope in my haste to switch to the 10mm EP to see if I could eek out any more from these 2 stars however by the time I had faffed about changing EPs and refocusing, etc the stars in question had slipped from view and I was unable to relocate them.  Anyone know if there is a binary in that area of Pisces that would be viewable on my 130mm reflector?  Anyway, with the 10mm inserted I continued scanning around and, after a while, I found a good candidate.  I'm not 100% sure that it was Uranus I was actually viewing, but it certainly had a discernible difference to the surrounding stars, although by this time my eyes and nose were streaming because of the cold and it was difficult to discern anything!  A check of the finderscope showed that I was definitely in the general area for Uranus, so I'm claiming it!

Now, back to M31!  Was it a fluke the first time?  Could I really find it again using the same system I did earlier?  A quick star hop with the naked eye and I got the finderscope lined up best I could, although I sensed that I was just below and to the right of my target.  Knowing that I find it much easier to make tiny adjustments by just peering in to the EP and using both hands to work either end of the scope, I did just that and moved the view up a couple of lens diameters, then to the left just a little and, lo and behold, there was my little friend Andromeda again, exactly where I'd left him an hour before!  I'm getting good at this malarkey, I thought! :-)

And so with that, the clouds rolled in for a bit so I retired for some half-time refreshments and to write this up.  As of now, I am just about to head out for round 2 as Orion should be making an appearance out East around now, and M42 is next on my list.  I'd ask you to wish me luck, but somehow I don't think I'll need it tonight! :-)

 

p.s  Sorry for rambling lol

[FenlandPaul]

Nice report and congrats on finding Andromeda for the second time - that shows you're starting to learn the art of star hopping, which improves every time you go out.  It's a thrill to track something down that you've been after, isn't it?

Did you manage to track down the Orion Nebula too?  

 

[kerrylewis]

Wonderful report - you capture the spirit of this hobby perfectly. Often too much emphasis is put on the Wow factor of what an object actually looks like. The Andromeda galaxy can be pretty underwhelming in anything other than really dark skies - what you see is just the bright core. But I always prefer to think about what I am looking at: that splurge of light left its source around two million years ago. Two million years! And that's one of the nearest galaxies! How many beings are there up there looking back at us as their nearest galaxy (or rather as we were two million years ago)?

You don't say what you skies are like but there are many other interesting objects that you will be able to see. Did you have that second session? 

It seems that you've also discovered the joy of doubles. They can make wonderful targets even in less than ideal conditions. Uranus is a tricky one without goto. Do you have one of the planetarium apps such as Stellarium or Sky Safari? These will give you the planet's position in relation to the background stars to help you locate it and then, depending on your eyepieces, you can increase the magnification to see if you can confirm it as a tiny disc. The colour should be distinctive too.

Good luck with further sessions and I look forward to more of your reports. 

[BeerMe]

Thanks for the replies Paul and Kerry

I did indeed make it out for round 2, although by the time I did it was absolutely freezing lol.  The metallic parts of the scope were so cold that my bare hands were sticking to them!  I really need to invest in a decent pair of gloves.  The secondary mirror looked as if it had frosted over a little as the Heritage design means it is exposed, although the primary looked fine.

 

When I seen Orion a few days ago it looked in a good position to view it however, I had changed position from then.  From the centre of the back garden I could see it was actually just above the houses behind my home, so I was wary that this coupled with my dull looking secondary mirror, would probably limit my seeing significantly, but I ploughed on regardless and went to line up the finderscope, to find that the lens had frosted over on it too!!  No matter, the red dot was still clearly visible so I was able to roughly line it up, then just peered over the finderscope to check my position.  This proved just as accurate if not more so - I find that even in good conditions I struggle to see the stars through it as the coated lens appears to dull the sky that passes through it, even whenthe red dot is at its most transparent.  Having lined it up, I checked through the 25mm EP and had a bright star bang in the middle of the view, and just at the right hand side was a distinct haze.  I moved slightly over towards the haze to bring it in to the centre of the view.  Since this was my first glimpse of M42, I wasn't sure exactly what I was supposed to be seeing, but a faint smudge seemed about right although I have no doubt that if the conditions were better and my secondary mirror hadn't been clouded I could have eked out a lot more detail.  I tried moving around a little then going backto it to see if the seeing had improved, but it remained at best a faint smudge a best and disappeared completely now and again.  Satisfied that I had seen it, and with the promise I'd be back to see him when the conditions were better, it was time to move on.

My next target was to see if I could see locate and split Mizar.  Location came fairly easy once I got my bearings again.  We only moved in to this home in the summer and our old house was on an almost perfect E/W bearing.  The new house, however, is on a NE/SW bearing and it always kinda throws me.  The back garden is now SE facing too, almost the opposite of what I'd been used to.  This meant it took longer than it should have to locate the Plough, but as always when it came in to view I was left wondering how I was missing it.  It really is a sight to behold for me, even though I've watched and studied it countless times now.  Mizar always seems to stick out from the other stars in the handle too, undoubtedly due to it being a binary.  With the scope pointed exactly where I wanted, I checked the EP and could see 2 definite points of light, one larger than the other which I had read was the case however something was niggling at me that the bigger star was actually the binary, not split, and the other point of light was a background star.  The distance between them seemed greater than what I was expecting - about the same distance between Jupiter and its innermost moon in a 10 mm EP?  Does that seem about right?  

Satisfied that what I had seen was going to be the best of it, and aware of how freezing it actually was, I decided to pack up for the night.  I tried to collapse the tube on my Heritage but the metal had frozen solid by now so I had to carry it indoors in its extended position to thaw out a bit!

Some personal observations;

- Intuitively moving the Dobsonian to follow the path of stars is coming to me much easier now, to the extent that it was kinda throwing me when I was conscious that I was doing it.  It's still something I have to do without thinking, but it's definitely coming to me more and more.

- The sky around my back garden is terribly light-polluted.  Just before I headed indoors I spent 5 minutes just gazing around, and it became how apparent the problem is.  From my Zenith down to around 40 degrees, the sky was absolutely teeming with stars.  Below that, however, the sky was completely washed out and none but the brightest stars were visible - I could have counted them on one hand, which was such a stark contrast to the sky directly above.

- Even for a back garden session, I really must plan better.  My clothing was fine although a pair of good fingerless gloves would have helped, but I should have left my scope covered when I went indoors for a break.  It's been left in a cool place with the tube open and in a horizontal position overnight so any dew doesn't drip on the primary...I'm assuming the cold won't have permanently affected the secondary mirror in any way?  

- The Great Square of Pegasus is aptly named!  Even when the conditions were favourable at the early part of the night and Pegasus was closest to the Zenith, the expanse of space within that massive square was almost totally black.  I had no idea this was the case and it came as a big eye-opener.  I wish I had the presence of mind to give the area a sweep with the 25mm to see what secrets it would reveal, but that's something to look forward to in future.

- I love this hobby more than ever, I'm more eager to learn than I've ever been, and I've now decided that I will be investing more money in to it.  Not a great deal to begin with, but I really need some better EPS,  a Barlow and a Cheshire Collimator so I'll be making inroads once Santa has been and gone.  Hopefully pick up some nice unwanted gifts at good prices

 

Thanks for reading...there'll be more soon hopefully ?

[rockystar]

nice couple of sessions there once you've found Andrommeda a couple of times, it'll become really easy - until the constellation turns on its side and you head off in the wrong direction (not that I've done that, hmmm).

It sounds like you've got Mizar & Alcor in your view, part of the same system, but Mizar can also be split again, much closer. Also check out iota orionis, lovely triple system, while you're in the area of M42

[BeerMe]

1 minute ago, rockystar said:

 

It sounds like you've got Mizar & Alcor in your view, part of the same system, but Mizar can also be split again, much closer. Also check out iota orionis, lovely triple system, while you're in the area of M42

That's what I thought, although I'm unsure of the FOV of my stock EPs and if both would look so close on a 25mm EP?  

It's looking good for another session tonight, so I'll spend some more time on that for sure.  That said, Celtic are playing Barca tonight and if Celtic get a win, I may be a little too inebriated to do any stargazing ?

[rockystar]

try this image

 

[kerrylewis]

BeerMe

Glad you got the second session in. I see that you have been having clear skies up there (still cloudy down south) but with them comes the cold of course. I have some Astro gloves which are very warm but leave the fingers free. If it gets too cold even for them I have a pair of thin leather gloves which just about allow me to to twiddle knobs etc. 

It sounds like your view of M42 was compromised by the dew/frost problem as well as the LP. I find that the secondary on my Dob dews up almost immediately in some conditions and makes observing almost impossible. I have now fitted a dew heater to the back of the mirror. You can also use a hair dryer if you are able to plug it in somewhere - or get a 12v version but they do take  a lot of current.

M42 should look great in your scope - I always think of it as a ghostly bird with arching wings to each side which stretch out further if the conditions are good. Try it again if you are certain that your mirrors are clear.

Yes, the square of Pegasus is surprisingly devoid of stars. In fact, it is supposed to be a good measure of your local conditions depending on how many you can see - above 7 from a suburban site and you are doing well but there are likely to be fewer!

Kerry 

 

[BeerMe]

56 minutes ago, kerrylewis said:

BeerMe

Glad you got the second session in. I see that you have been having clear skies up there (still cloudy down south) but with them comes the cold of course. I have some Astro gloves which are very warm but leave the fingers free. If it gets too cold even for them I have a pair of thin leather gloves which just about allow me to to twiddle knobs etc. 

It sounds like your view of M42 was compromised by the dew/frost problem as well as the LP. I find that the secondary on my Dob dews up almost immediately in some conditions and makes observing almost impossible. I have now fitted a dew heater to the back of the mirror. You can also use a hair dryer if you are able to plug it in somewhere - or get a 12v version but they do take  a lot of current.

M42 should look great in your scope - I always think of it as a ghostly bird with arching wings to each side which stretch out further if the conditions are good. Try it again if you are certain that your mirrors are clear.

Yes, the square of Pegasus is surprisingly devoid of stars. In fact, it is supposed to be a good measure of your local conditions depending on how many you can see - above 7 from a suburban site and you are doing well but there are likely to be fewer!

Kerry 

 

Great info thanks Kerry!  As I said, I wasn't sure what to expect from M42 so although I knew I was looking at it, I definitely felt like the conditions were limiting how much I could see.  It's good to know there's more - I'll definitely be revisiting it.

I'd like to get up North soon in to some darker skies, I can only imagine what last night would have looked like from a true dark site with a low horizon..

[laudropb]

Very nice reports. Your obvious enthusiasm is a joy to behold.

[BeerMe]

Thanks laudropb, I get a lot of enjoyment revisiting my observations in my minds eye and recording them here ?

Tonight I decided to wait til after the football ended before I started my viewings.  The result put paid to any wild celebrations, so I had to content myself with a few beers and the wonders of the night sky.  A fair compromise, eh?  Onwards and upwards, with the emphasis on upwards!

Since it was a late start and the frost from the night before was gathering a new icy crust, it was only ever going to be a quick session, but quite worthwhile.  First up was the Pleiades, which I had visited the night before but forgot to mention.  It was very visible once again, although this time I caught it in much better conditions.  It really is beautiful and I know I'll get round to really studying it some day, but for now it's just nice to sweep back and forth trying to capture it all, and seeing how much of the background I can make out.

It was now time to turn my attention to Mizar, and see if I could split my particular atom after missing out last night.  The Plough was very visible up in the North East, and Mizar was soon in my sights.  Talking about "sights", I was perhaps a little harsh on my earlier posting about the red dot finderscope that comes with the 130p.  It does tend to blank out fainter stars that are visible to the eye, but in lining it up with Mizar which is visible through it, and then looking in my 25mm EP, it was exactly in the centre of the view.  I can't fault its accuracy for sure.

With Mizar centred, I realised that I hadn't used the 10mm last night on it - I can only think the coldness had seeped in to stupifying places.  Sans runny eyes and nose, the binary was actually much clearer than I expected with the 10mm on, and I just fixated on keeping it centred for a few minutes and peering for all I could.  It's just a couple of points of light but yeah, it did feel like splitting my own astronomy atom, and it was beautiful and well worth it.  I'll be back to this many times in future and its one I know that will impress any first-timer, so it's a good easy one to have up my sleeve if all else fails lol.

I tried for 15 minutes afterwards to locate M31 again which was high in the West, but that end of the sky was so much more washed out and locating even Mirach was a pain.  I had a good try at locating the stars above Mirach but I could catch only glimpses, but enough to get the scope pointed in the general direction.  Despite the fact that I was sure I could see glimpses of a haze with my naked eye through the fairly poor conditions, I just couldn't locate it in the scope tonight, so instead I decided to try a star test with my 10mm EP.

Now, I know that the recommendation is to do a star test with an EP with higher mag than a 10mm affords my scope, but I get as many free goes at star tests as I want, so what the heck right?  Using Polaris owing to the lack of a goto system, Polaris was easily found with my 25mm and centred in the 10mm moments later.  Once I was in focus, I twisted a few times clockwise  (inside or outside focus?) until the rings started to appear.  After perhaps 15-20 seconds of peering through the EP, the circular rings began to show clearly, and with a little struggling to keep my head straight and my eyes pinned on the centre of the view, I was able to clearly make out several perfectly circular rings broken only be the reflection of the spider vein, and the dark circle in the centre denoting the secondary mirror.  A few things have really pleased me these past couple of days - this limited star test was right up there.  I really can't wait for some better EPs, as I feel this scope has so much more to offer me before I need to look at upgrading it.

After the star test, it was time to try for M42 again.  I had been trying to work out Orion from my position in the back garden but I didn't realise it was still so low in the South at ~11pm, so I was lucky to stumble on it through the gable of 2 blocks across the back from our house.  It's definitely one for later in the night/early hours of the morning from our back garden, as it doesn't clear the houses tIl well after midnight and before that is fairly washed out from LP.  I had no success at all with it, but it didn't bother me in the slightest.  I know the conditions just weren't right for it, and a good proper view of it is just something else that's been postponed til a better time

All in all, a great hour or so just enjoying the skies and piecing things together.  I probably spent more time writing it up...ouch

[kerrylewis]

Another lovely report BM (you must tell us your name!). You seem to have cracked collimation too, which is great.

If you have a good view of the Ursa Major region, another interesting target(s) is M81 and M82: a comparatively bright pair of galaxies that you can get in the same FOV. Not the easiest of star hops, I sometimes find, but worth a go.

Lots more doubles to try as well - you must try Albireo - beautiful colours. 

Another suggestion - have you heard of the book Turn Left at Orion? Great book to begin with. It gives clear star hopping directions for a variety of objects and then a realistic idea of what you can expect to see. Recommended.

Cheers 

Kerry 

[Astro Imp]

Paul those are great reports. Its always nice to see newcomers enjoying their first forays under the stars.

When next you look at M42 try using your 10mm eyepiece and you should see the four stars of the Trapezium a sight I always enjoy.

Whilst in the area of Mirach go along to the east to the last bright star in the chain, this is Almach, with your 10mm eyepiece you may be able to split this into two. To be honest I'm not sure you will have enough magnification for this with your present equipment.

Good luck with your observations and do keep posting.