Halfway mark on the AL-DS programme and first light for the Baader Polaris I

[josefk]

So last night i got to the halfway point on the Astro League Double Star observing programme. I'm not going at it full blast but rather using it as an infill activity on manual find grab and go nights or when the moon is high and bright as it was last night.

It's a superb programme - not so much for the double stars to be observed - "listing" and picking from lists is easy. More it is improving my discipline at the EP for note taking and sketching. Huge fun (not) trying to determine West near Polaris at only 15x in binoculars and ordinarily not something i would bother trying to nail down but this programme kind of asks you to and it is definitely improving my methodology.

Last night i was trying to use my larger scope on tighter doubles that i can't split in my GnG. Unfortunately the seeing wasn't cooperating and i was failing at the 5" level (diffraction rings just looked like squirming finger prints).  In between views of Mars I moved onto three wider targets in Cepheus (Xi, Beta, Delta) and one in Lacertae (8 Lac) and trialled first light in my new Baader Polaris I illuminated reticle. It's a bit of a game changer. 

While not the nicest EP to use; having a narrower FOV than i'm used to (and i have a non tracking mount), a little tendency to black out on this first use and having a hard cold eye lens rubber surround, i have to say as a "tool" it's great. Easily used to align with the exit of stars at the field stop of the eyepiece to the west its then great for narrowing down position angle and separation by giving the eye much smaller nearby markers to check against. The example below isn't a difficult one but where my notes 8"...10" are wrong the sketch is "spot-on" for the separation of this pair at 2/3 of a reticle division (21" per division in this scope using a powermate, separation = 14").While i would still use a "regular" eyepiece on the same target before or after for the most aesthetic view i'm really happy to add this EP to my toolkit.

Super chuffed and i highly recommend the EP. I believe it is discontinued so mmh...

 

Obviously other stuff was happening last night so after a first session of doubles it ended like this in a second and third session respectively with the lunar occultation of Mars entry and exit (not a sketch at the EP so no excuses for the rubbish moon):

Cheers all

[Ratlet]

Nice sketches mate

[josefk]

Thanks @Ratlet - i'm trying to make a sketch of nearly every observation since about Agust onwards this year - less electronic note taking - more care and method (ish) at the EP. I transfer rough ones done at the EP to clean index cards the morning after typically so miraculously all my mistakes disappear :-). 

[Ratlet]

51 minutes ago, josefk said:

Thanks @Ratlet - i'm trying to make a sketch of nearly every observation since about Agust onwards this year - less electronic note taking - more care and method (ish) at the EP. I transfer rough ones done at the EP to clean index cards the morning after typically so miraculously all my mistakes disappear :-). 

I'm in much the same boat, I think it makes it easier to observe and object rather than just look at it.

I've started sketching from photos when it is cloudy out.  Much more detail than I could hope to see and gives nice controlled conditions to practice.  Currently trying to do a sketch a day.  Mostly sticking to lunar as I think it is great practice due to the combination of subtle changes in contrast and detail.

Unfortunately this has led to me getting a renewed interest in planetary and lunar observing, about 2 months after I sold me mak lol.

[josefk]

19 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

I'm in much the same boat, I think it makes it easier to observe and object rather than just look at it.

I've started sketching from photos when it is cloudy out.  Much more detail than I could hope to see and gives nice controlled conditions to practice.  Currently trying to do a sketch a day.  Mostly sticking to lunar as I think it is great practice due to the combination of subtle changes in contrast and detail.

Unfortunately this has led to me getting a renewed interest in planetary and lunar observing, about 2 months after I sold me mak lol.

There are always open clusters if you miss the longer focal length scope 🤣.  It's definitely the looking and looking bit that is the benefit but i need glasses (but so far not at the EP itself) so its always a faff and juggle and never enough hands - hence the scrap paper approach at the scope and clean up later 'for the record" even for double star plots. Lunar looks difficult indeed.

I used to draw birds (still do sometimes) - at the beginning they all looked like chickens or pigeons but i read (and i believe it) that drawing is as much a skill as a talent (will probably get shot for that) so practise is absolutely the way to go...(though i still turn out pigeons and chickens fairly often)...