2021-01-21 Moon, Orion Trapezium, Vesta and tinkering.

[Fraunhoffer]

Observing Report 21-22 Jan 2021
The sky cleared as though a switch had been toggled soon after 9.00 and the Dob’ was already out cooling down. 
I had been tinkering with it in the week and this was another shakedown test. Id always thought the image from this (4th hand) scope could be better and had resigned myself to ‘maybe thats just how it is’ or I got a poor one . This week I checked the mirror clamps in preparation for a ‘lock down mirror clean’. Boy they were tight (2-3 turns of each crew before the clamps released!) so I loosened them up to the customary business card clearance. Collimation was a simple affair just using my trusty 35mm film cannister rather than the laser or Cheshire (long story here).

My start routine is to align the finder and scope on Polaris and then drop down to make the scope horizontal before a 2 star align. Straight away I could tell the image was better. Polaris was a dead easy split.
Next step the quarter moon (before it set behind houses). Wow, just wow. So much detail. The field was pin sharp to about 60-70% before starting to get defocussed (coma I expect). Starting to feel elated that my love-hate relationship with this scope was tending to the love. Sketch book out for a long look at the straight wall which was so clear and the multiwalled Thebit crater complex (sketch).

I waited for the occultation of 38 Ari to start. Star there – star gone. Timed at 21:58:11.

Mars and Uranus next. Mars was showing a distinct waning orange oval shape with a dark feature near the centre which I suspected was Syrtis Major (since confirmed). Uranus a pale bluish disk. Nice clear shapes.

Gemini: Castor was a very clean split with the two, white similar magnitude, stars 4.3” apart and a clean gap between them, suggesting that I was resolving about 2-3”, which is quite good for UK skies after a heavy storm near west London. Wasat with a 5.7” separation was also a clear gap in spite of the much fainter companion star making this not so easy. (I could get into double stars).

I dropped down to M42 and the Trapezium. Wow again. 6 stars in the trapezium (a first) and lots of wavy structure in the nebula. (Sketch)
A tour of some star clusters and a look at some of the grey fuzzy galaxies against my grey sky (oh for lockdown to end and be able to get to a dark sky again) followed. The star clusters just looked amazing tonight with the stars small points of coloured light.

To finish, I looked for the asteroid Vesta which was in Leo. There it was- so bright. Another first.

Feeling well pleased with my scope tinkering. I guess sometime in the past of this 4th hand Dob’ the mirror screws got cranked up to the detriment of all. What a difference. Some new things seen too 😊
Now where’s that list of double/multiple stars gone?

Clear skies…
 

[Saganite]

Excellent report and lovely sketches covering a very good session.

  I was out with my 4" Vixen refractor and was unable to see either E or F in the Trap.  The Moon , as you said took high powers last night and binoviewing was superb...