Jump to content

sgl_imaging_challenge_2021_annual.thumb.jpg.3fc34f695a81b16210333189a3162ac7.jpg

Alignment Success

Patbloke

By Patbloke,
in Observing - Reports

 Share Followers 1

Recommended Posts

Patbloke

Patbloke 389

Posted
Posted

I spent a fair amount of Wednesday afternoon centering my polar scope... Little did I realise that the polar scope requires centering before you even attempt perfect polar alignment. It appears that my AVX has been very forgiving in the fact that in the past I have more or less just got polaris somewhere near the centre of the circle before aligning. However, after watching many YouTube clips on how to centre the polar scope I finally achieved my aim in having the polar scope centered. Last night was my first serious attempt at 'Bang on' polar alignment with a well centered polar scope!!

For some time I've been moaning about having to scramble around on the floor bending my knees and neck looking up for polaris through the polar scope! last night I raised my tripod to almost full extension and managed to look through the polar scope sat comfortably on a picnic chair. I started setting up early so used my compass during the early evening to point north ready for the appearance of polaris... Wow! when Polaris appeared I wasn't far out :-) I rotated the the reticule so the view through the polar scope matched what I could see in the sky with the plough above the centre circle, a quick tweak and 'Bingo' Polaris was spot on where it should be... let the fun begin!!

 

Oops before I did that I freelanced over to the crescent moon situated between two rooftops from my observing location... stunning! I tend to always overlook how wonderful the surface of the moon looks at high mag... Whilst observing using my Starwave 102 and a Vixen NPL 20mm I could see what looked like two bright spots at the top of the crescent like tiny stars. On closer observation I figure these must of been a couple of mountain tops caught in the sunlight... That was amazing, would lover to know the name of those peaks!

Here is my list of targets bagged using a combination of a Celestron 32mm, Vixen NPL 20mm, Meade 12 & 18mm, a trusty BST 8mm and for Jupiter a blue filter.

                Jupiter, M5, Epsilon Lyrae 1,2, Zeta Lyrae, Xi Bo, Theta 2 Can, Tegman, Kappa Bo (Loved this) Iota Cancer, Graffias, Delta Serpens, Theta Serpens, Algieba (Leo) Coma Star Cluster Melotte 111

Toward the end of the session I practised entering the RA & Dec into the handset, hitting targets pretty much bang on (very pleasing)... Although when referencing the 'Double Stars for small telescopes' book by Sissy Haas the coordinates given are not as long in numbers as the ones on the handset... I still hit the targets bang on though so was delighted. 

Nicks Tips No 5 - Throwing a blanket over the washing line to create a dark space removing a cluster of 3 streetlights 100m away over the neighbours fence... Genius! 

 

 

 

IMG_20180517_203700.jpg

IMG_20180517_210002.jpg

IMG_20180517_215957.jpg

  • Like 6
Link to post
Share on other sites
RayD

RayD 4,377

Posted
Posted (edited)

Great report and glad you got it sorted.

One tip from me to make viewing through the polar scope a little easier would be to spin your tripod so the single leg faces North.  This opens the back up for you to fit a bit easier under the scope without the single leg in the way.  Just move the alt-az dowel in the tripod head to the other side, then turn the tripod round.

As Geof says, lovely inscription in the compass.

Edited by RayD
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
wookie1965

wookie1965 2,970

Posted
Posted

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TS-Optics-90-Right-angle-finder-for-SkyWatcher-Celestron-Polar-Finder-PFZS/392014066588?epid=1363461065&hash=item5b45dbf39c:g:YnAAAOSwXeJYCFge

I got something similar to this way cheaper much easier to polar align no matter how low the tripod is, I got it because I have arthritis in my spine so cannot bend down.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites
RayD

RayD 4,377

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TS-Optics-90-Right-angle-finder-for-SkyWatcher-Celestron-Polar-Finder-PFZS/392014066588?epid=1363461065&hash=item5b45dbf39c:g:YnAAAOSwXeJYCFge

I got something similar to this way cheaper much easier to polar align no matter how low the tripod is, I got it because I have arthritis in my spine so cannot bend down.

What a great idea that.  I wish I knew about them when I was using my polar scope!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Patbloke

Patbloke 389

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TS-Optics-90-Right-angle-finder-for-SkyWatcher-Celestron-Polar-Finder-PFZS/392014066588?epid=1363461065&hash=item5b45dbf39c:g:YnAAAOSwXeJYCFge

I got something similar to this way cheaper much easier to polar align no matter how low the tripod is, I got it because I have arthritis in my spine so cannot bend down.

I've been looking at those and am in the research phase of making my own... after last night I might try to repeat my success without it for now. I have rubbish knees and stiff neck so feel for you with the arthritis bloke...

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Patbloke

Patbloke 389

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, RayD said:

One tip from me to make viewing through the polar scope a little easier would be to spin your tripod so the single leg faces North.  This opens the back up for you to fit a bit easier under the scope without the single leg in the way.  Just move the alt-az dowel in the tripod head to the other side, then turn the tripod round.

Great point I forgot that, I think my old Skywatcher EQ5 had N marked on the mount? Anyway, it's great to get tips, such as yours and the simple blanket on the washing line... it all helps for a good night

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
RayD

RayD 4,377

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Patbloke said:

Great point I forgot that, I think my old Skywatcher EQ5 had N marked on the mount? Anyway, it's great to get tips, such as yours and the simple blanket on the washing line... it all helps for a good night

Yes I think you're right, some do, Pat.

Good nights under the stars is what it's all about, and what a satisfying hobby when that happens.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
wookie1965

wookie1965 2,970

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Patbloke said:

Great point I forgot that, I think my old Skywatcher EQ5 had N marked on the mount? Anyway, it's great to get tips, such as yours and the simple blanket on the washing line... it all helps for a good night

My EQ5 has a N on one of the legs.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Followers 1
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • Stargazer33
      Mare Fecunditatis and Crater Langrenus
      By Stargazer33
      Mare Fecunditatis and crater Langrenus. Saturation has been increased to show the different surface material/colours.
      C9.25; CGEM; ASI385MC; Baader Neodymium filter.

    • Adaaam75
      No more ICE !!!!
      By Adaaam75
      Just a quickie,
      I took a shed load of images last night of the moon using my DSLR on my scope with the intention to stitch using Microsoft ICE but its been pulled!
      Any free software suggestions for image stitching (not stacking)?
    • Cobberwebb
      Andromeda, Full Moon
      By Cobberwebb
      Hi everyone.
      Looks like I will get some favourable weather in the coming days, but the moon is out and full. I finally have a car so I can get away from light polluted Weymouth, and tonight I took a drive and found a great spot to shoot (see image).
      So to the point, I want to shoot Andromeda during these moonlit nights since the moon will be directly behind me. How much will it still affect my images?
      I'm still a beginner, using a Nikon Z50 and the 50-250mm kit lens @250 (F6.3), but I do have a Star Adventurer now, so I'll go out and shoot if nothing for the practice (my polar alignments have been pretty good).

    • SuburbanMak
      A Cluster of clusters and a couple of frosty Doubles
      By SuburbanMak
      (Originally posted this in the wrong section Notes from 10.2. )
      Had three sessions last night, the first the CPRE Orion star count with my 11 year old daughter, magic. 
      The second was from the light-blighted garden mid evening - successfully picked up M41, M35 and M67 all for the first time - then a neighbour put on more lights so had a go at Polaris, nearly, almost sort of resolved as a double this time. 
      After a tea and warm break I managed to convince myself that the Mak 127 carry over to the park at 11:30 pm constituted allowable lockdown exercise (body AND mind officer...) so headed out to a wider and, it turned out, reasonably darker viewing spot in the park.
       I haven't yet much comparative experience of conditions but I would say seeing was quite steady while transparency a bit milky. Winchester sits in a river valley and I suspect this may be a local feature until I can get up & out of town. Anyhoo, what started as proof-of-concept of some grab & go bag & padding ideas, turned into a really super session of clusters and doubles, most of which I had never seen before, & fruitless searches for fainter things. 
      Technique-wise I brightest star aligned on Sirius and Arcturus & did have a few accuracy niggles with the GoTo , however a combination of the Telrad + 10x50 Bino sweeps got most of the bright targets quickly in the Finderscope and centred.    Highlight has to be the Beehive, M44 which I found breathtaking & can't believe I have never looked for before, Beta Mono triple-star which was amazingly 3D and set me off on a Tatooine sunset imagination-trip  and M67, dim & red the kind of place where Klingons might hang out!   After much reading on here over all these starless nights I had made a list and although I deviated a bit from it and failed to find ANY galaxies or planetary nebula, the list was a great idea and reminded me that I wanted to go and hunt down the targets in Cancer which I would otherwise have forgotten and missed two of the highlights of the evening.   Eventually my phone battery gave out and as I was wi-fi tethered to the AZ GTi this ended my session shortly before frost-bite ensued.
      That dew shield was a good buy 
      For what its worth, here are my notes, all observations made on SW Mak 127 on AZ GTi, Baader Hyeprion 24mm 68 degree fixed  for most & occasional higher mag on Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom. Telrad & SW 9x50 finder, supplemented by Celestron Nature DX ED 10x50 Bins.   
       

    • SuburbanMak
      A Cluster of Clusters and a couple of frosty Doubles...
      By SuburbanMak
      Had three sessions last night, the first the CPRE Orion star count with my 11 year old daughter, magic. 
      The second was from the light-blighted garden mid evening - successfully picked up M41, M35 and M67 all for the first time - then a neighbour put on more lights so had a go at Polaris, nearly, almost sort of resolved as a double this time. 
      After a tea and warm break I managed to convince myself that the Mak 127 carry over to the park at 11:30 pm constituted allowable lockdown exercise (body AND mind officer...) so headed out to a wider and, it turned out, reasonably darker viewing spot in the park.
       I haven't yet much comparative experience of conditions but I would say seeing was quite steady while transparency a bit milky. Winchester sits in a river valley and I suspect this may be a local feature until I can get up & out of town. Anyhoo, what started as proof-of-concept of some grab & go bag & padding ideas, turned into a really super session of clusters and doubles, most of which I had never seen before, & fruitless searches for fainter things. 
      Technique-wise I brightest star aligned on Sirius and Arcturus & did have a few accuracy niggles with the GoTo , however a combination of the Telrad + 10x50 Bino sweeps got most of the bright targets quickly in the Finderscope and centred.    Highlight has to be the Beehive, M44 which I found breathtaking & can't believe I have never looked for before, Beta Mono triple-star which was amazingly 3D and set me off on a Tatooine sunset imagination-trip  and M67, dim & red the kind of place where Klingons might hang out!   After much reading on here over all these starless nights I had made a list and although I deviated a bit from it and failed to find ANY galaxies or planetary nebula, the list was a great idea and reminded me that I wanted to go and hunt down the targets in Cancer which I would otherwise have forgotten and missed two of the highlights of the evening.   Eventually my phone battery gave out and as I was wi-fi tethered to the AZ GTi this ended my session shortly before frost-bite ensued.
      That dew shield was a good buy
      For what its worth, here are my notes, all observations made on SW Mak 127 on AZ GTi, Baader Hyeprion 24mm 68 degree fixed  for most & occasional higher mag on Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom. Telrad & SW 9x50 finder, supplemented by Celestron Nature DX ED 10x50 Bins.   
       

×
×
  • 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.

  I accept