Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

The Tak, The Dob and Dark Skies


Littleguy80

Recommended Posts

Last night I made my first trip out to my local dark site of the year. It was my last chance to grap a tiny window of astro darkness before the summer. I recently became the proud owner of Takahashi FC100DF. I haven't been able to properly road test it due to the cloud which FLO deemed necessary to pack with it. Alongside the Tak, I brought my 10" dob. I arrived early and took my time getting everything setup in the twilight. I settled down with Tak and spent time observing Venus using the Nagler zoom. There was some false colour, probably coming from the mirror diagonal, but not something I wanted to investigate this session. Venus itself hinted a some cloud structure. I think I need to try doing a rough sketch in the hope I can compare with someone's image to confirm any observations on this. I followed Venus with a split of Izar which was really nice in the Tak. I think I've only ever split this with the dob previously. With skies darkening, I moved onto M3 which resolved pretty well with the Pentax XW 5mm. 

Skies were now dark enough to test the Tak with some fuzzies. The Leo triplet was the target of choice. M65/M66 with the Docter showed up well but I wasn't certain on NGC3628. In went  the Delos 10mm, some light tapping on the diagonal was enough to draw the final member of the trio out. Final confirmation coming with the 9mm BGO. I moved up up to Ursa Major for M81/M82 which both looked great with the high contrast views from the Tak. At this point, with the skies looking good, I sucumbed to aperture fever and moved over to the dob. M81 was nice but M82 was the real stand out in the dob. The dark lane running through it seen very easily. I lingered here for quite some time and then picked up NGC3077. M51 was the natural follow up. The Delos 10mm bringing out the spiral arms really nicely. I now ventured into Virgo picking off galaxies for awhile until views started to deteriorate. I was initially puzzled and then realised the secondary had dewed up. I popped a dew heater onto it and moved back to the Tak.

With the time approaching 1am, the Milky Way was clearly visible. Fantastic to see this so clearly naked eye. A check with the SQM meter gave readings just over 21 at the zenith. The Ring (M57) was easy to spot even a low power and was well defined with the Pentax XW 5mm. I screwed the TV OIII filter onto the diagonal and then moved into Cygnus. Using the Aero 40mm (3.7 degree TFOV), I could frame the entire Veil nebula, the Eastern Veil coming through more clearly than the West. Really looking forward to see this high in the sky later on in the year. Moving up, the NAN also popped out really well with Pelican seen next to it much more faintly. The Tak passed it's widefield test with flying colours.

The secondary on the dob was now clear. With the APM 20mm, I found and tracked all the way down Markarian's chain. It's one of those sights that just can't be beaten under dark skies. I picked off a few more galaxies including M88 and M91 before calling time. Everything was very damp from dew at this point. I arrived home at 2:30am with just a few short hours to sleep before work in the morning. Really happy with the Tak, a great new companion for the dob and I on our dark sky trips!

scopesseething.thumb.jpg.f80a0e37d93d3223591cac4f93bf96f1.jpg

SQM.thumb.jpg.fd1eccfcfcd93386bb7e2bae9651198a.jpg

TakSeething.thumb.jpg.61a1e29ea025004d7aaf864a952ebf88.jpg

  • Like 27
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Fab! Gotta love those widefield views in the Tak 👍
 

31mm Nag?? 😉

Thanks Stu. Haha I’ve been telling myself that I’m covered with the APM UFF 30mm and Aero 40mm but now you’ve gone and put that thought in my head 🤣

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Great report Neil, love that observing site, looks super.
Is the site your club one?

 

Thanks Alan. Yep, it's the home of the Norwich Astro Society. 30 mins drive from my house :) 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, mapstar said:

Nice report Neil. Looks to be a fantastic observing spot and very private? 

My scope will be back out at the end of August now 

Thanks Damian. Nice to hear from you :) It’s restricted to astro society to members only though we do run public outreach events 2 or 3 times a year. There’s a club night every Friday which makes for some nice social observing on clear nights. I’m a key holder which means I can open up on other nights when it’s clear for members to observe. I’ve had times when I’ve observed alone like this. 

Are the dob mob planning any sessions together later in the year?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 13/06/2023 at 08:05, Littleguy80 said:

Are the dob mob planning any sessions together later in the year?

We have Galloway star party planned upto now. It's been a while since we have been to elan valley so that could be our August trip to catch some more southerly objects. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mapstar said:

We have Galloway star party planned upto now. It's been a while since we have been to elan valley so that could be our August trip to catch some more southerly objects. 

Excellent. Looking forward to your reports :) 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
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
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • 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.