16" Light Bridge... the first week

[Talitha]

It's ironic that the first chance to use the LB fell on Saturday 24 July (the day before Full Moon), but it was clear and i was anxious to go out and have a look. First light was my old friend Polaris. After years and years of using EQ mounted scopes, i'd become quite accustomed to seeing him at the beginning of every session, so it seemed natural and befitting that his light should be the first to enter the LB's huge eye, and then be reflected into mine.

After lots of indoor collimation practice during the previous two weeks, it was pleasing to see that apparently i learned well... Polaris' delicate little companion star was sharp as a tack. The laser collimator is great, and seeing my progress on the screen without leaving the bottom of the scope is a real plus. My first mod to the scope was to remove the collimation locking screws from under the primary mirror. The slightest touch would move the laser's dot out of the center of the viewing screen, so i said 'off with their heads' and banished them to the spare parts drawer.

I cruised around a bit and did some celestial windowshopping, not really caring what i was looking at or exactly where i was. The constant nudging of the scope wasn't tiresome (like i was afraid it might have been), and after a while i didn't even realize i was doing it anymore. The Moon was almost 18 degrees above the horizon by the time i hopped over to Messier 12 and then to Messier 10, and finally to Messier 103... wow. If this is what they look like in a moonwashed sky, i can't wait to see what total darkness brings. Even through the opaque sky, the stars glowed like sunlit sugar crystals... absolutely stunning!

--------------------------------------------

The scope was disassembled on Sunday 25 July and reassembled at the Starpad where it will remain until the snow begins to fly. A low ramp was placed at the opening of the 5'x10' shed and TBH, at this point i still wasn't sure the LB would be able to swing into the shed with the UTA attached, but all went well and i was more than happy that the scope couls be moved in and out of the shed fully assembled. After practicing wheeling it in and out of the shed a few times, the collimation was tweaked and i went on a pleasure cruise up and down the Milky Way in my new starship, once again not knowing or caring exactly where i was or what i was looking at. The views were beautifulnice.

The stellar views were great, but Luna really rocked me back on my heels... wow! I've been looking at the Moon for over 10 years with the 8"SCT, but tonight i was actually on the Moon. Despite it being Full, libration caused a slight shadowline to flow across a portion of the southern limb and i could almost see/feel every grain of regolith. Buzz Aldrin certainly was right when he described the lunar surface as a 'magnificent desolation'.

Jupiter was next, and the first thing i noticed was the missing Southern Equatorial Band (SEB).. the planet certainly looks odd without it. The Northern Equatorial Band (NEB) was a deep terra cotta color and the polar regions looked a grey-ish baby blue. The Equatorial Zone (EZ), South Tropical Zone (STrZ), and area of the former SEB all had a delicate blue undertone to them. Absolutely lovely, i'd never seen blue on Jupiter before. At 133x the NEB showed some very nice details including a big black bar (barge?) in the lower left side and another dark area to the right.

At about 1:30am i decided to call it and haul it, and noticed that dew was literally runnning down the sides of the shroud i'd made. The secondary was dew-free though, protected by the 1/2 circumference dew shield on the UTA, made from a foam camping mat.

-----------------------------------------

On the night of 26-27 July (Mon-Tue), the GRS was due to transit at 3:27am and i didn't want to miss it. The scope was brought out and collimated just before sunset, and left to cool in the shadow of the shed. After a a three hour nap, i drove out to the Starpad at midnight and things were just about perfect. Jupiter was almost rising and i had plenty of time to look around in the moonbleached sky before the show would begin. A band of clouds marched overhead for 1/2 hour, and at 1:20am things were all clear again. When i looked at Jupiter, a shadow transit of Europa was in progress.. what a sweet little surprise! I also saw a lot of detail in the NEB. The seeing must have been pretty good because Jupiter was only 25° above the horizon. The details were fantastic though, so i made a sketch which will be placed into my planet sketch album after it's scanned. Don't expect too much though, i'm not much of a planet sketcher.

Because of the Dob's 'nudge factor', the shadow transit sketch took longer than usual. By the time it was finished, the GRS had already slipped into view but wasn't properly placed yet, so i did a bit of lunar viewing. There was actually a small terminator on the Moon tonight, and it was a fun challenge to interpret the upside-down view while doing high power nudging. The Celestron 5mm Ultima Series Eyepiece (366x) gave a clean, crisp view and once again, it felt as though i could reach out and touch the surface, especially in de la Rue and the western edge of Endymion.

Back on Jupiter, the delicate blue undertone seen the previous night was there again, and floating in it was the GRS. Curiously, the GRS was surrounded by a white ring, and looked like a big eye... very reminiscent of the way Solis Lacus looked the night of the Mars opposition on 27 August, 2003. The seeing decided to take a dive soon after the GRS sketch was begun, but i carried on and recorded it as best i could. That sketch will also be placed into my planet sketch album after it's scanned.

At 4am, i checked out the Pleiades and M38 and noticed that the NE horizon was beginning to lighten with the approaching Dawn. The Wood Thrush began it's hauntingly beautiful flute-like song just after 4:30am and was quickly accompanied by the Red Squirrels' rolling chatter. As is customary when i stay out all night, i'd brought along "a bit of something to sip on" while watching the sky lighten. There's something magical about twilight, whether it's Dusk or Dawn. We're priviledged to a glimpse into the surreal greytime... a world between the wakeful and the sleeping, when Morpheus has a foot in both dreamworlds. It was 5:15 when i finally went home.. what a fantastic night!

---------------------------------------------------------

There was a very slight balance problem when viewing low to the horizon with the 2" 26mm QX supplied with the scope. The manual brake worked well, but made alt movements a bit sticky, so i went to the hardware store and bought a few heavy magnets for the OTA as counterweights. If more is needed, the balancing weights from the SCT can be stacked onto the magnets. While at the hardware store i also bought six dowel rods to place between the open spots in the truss system where the dewsoaked shroud seemed to be drooping. Something more permanent (and better looking) will be figured out in time, but for now the dowel rods and duct tape will have to do.

Wednesday 28 July. Thirty minutes after moonrise, i'm on M22 (406x) and can detect a small 'knot' in the lower right area of the cluster... it'll be interesting to see what it looks like without any lunar interference. Next was M51 and his little buddy, both cores easily seen at 133x. The very best view i ever had of M51 with the 8"SCT showed averted hints of the spirals, but it took a rare night of better-than-average transparency. This galactic duo is another target i'm quite anxious to see under better conditions. Swinging back towards the south, it's time to revisit Saturday night's targets, M12 and M10... the Moon's twice as far away from them tonight, and i can easily see an improvement. M12 appears to have stellar structure which is splayed out like the legs of a Crab, and the 6 stars running through the center of M10 are much more apparent tonight. Going north into CAS, the ET Cluster (ngc457) is always a delight, it looks like he swallowed a question mark.

At about 11:15 the seeing got better so i went to the Moon again. Wow. The 5mm was giving a flawless view, so i decided to add the 2x Barlow and kick things up to 'stupid power'. As expected, the view degraded but it closely matched what i'd been seeing for a number of years at 222x in the SCT, so it was still fairly good. I stayed on the Moon for a while and then decided to call it a night when the yawns came with more and more frequency. BTW, the dowel rods did a splendid job of keeping the dew soaked shroud from sagging between the truss poles.

You know, it's odd to think of a 16" Dob as a grab'n'go scope, but for me it truly is. This is the easiest and quickest set-up i've ever had. Wheel it out, wheel it in... how much simpler could it be? Collimation takes less time than polarization used to, and there's no tripods, no wedges, no wires to trip on, and no tracking motors to glitch.

As Bogie once said, "... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".

Thanks for reading!

[Sam]

Excellent report Carol and very nice to see you're getting the right weather to get out there and use it. You're right about the grab and go aspect to the LB!

Sam

[John]

Great report Carol

It's amazing how a decent step up in aperture makes you see familliar objects in a different way - little details and subtle features catch your eye and you find youself wondering "now why have I not noticed that before ?".

To my mind, globular clusters are some of the objects which show a dramatic difference with a really large aperture scope - your 16" will be able to drill right into the core of them, and not just the brightest ones.

I've seen Jupiter a couple of times so far this year but I've not had a "serious" session on it. It certainly does look odd with the faded SEB but I reckon the NEB has sort of made up for that by being much more distinct and a stronger hue than last time around.

The biggest Meade Lightbridge may not be perfect but it's certainly bought big aperture within the reach of many more amateurs.

Thanks for posting - I'll look forward to further installments

[AndrewT]

:hello2:Great report talitha i can only imagine the great views you will have with the 16"LB i must say i am a little bit jealous

[kev 102 42]

Superb write up,makes me want to get my Mead 10 out....................kev

[Doug]

Hi Carol

love your report will look forward to seeing what else you will see throw a 16" dob

O and while I'M here thank you for the peice on The Veil Nebula in Sky at Night this month great peice love the drewings you do

Could you tell us what make of scopes you got ?

Many thanks

Doug

Essex

England

[Beulah]

An excellent read for someone like me who has endured cloudy nights for the past three weeks. Thanks Carol.

[Moonshane]

Great report Carol and welcome to the dob club!

I can also get stupid powers with my 12" dob on the moon. The other night was was trying my new 3-6mm Nagler zoom on an almost full moon with just a little terminator left (27th-28th July) and the views were simply awe inspiring. I was managing good images all the way from 3-6mm (500x+ to 250x+) and this was when the moon was relatively low in the sky. for me it was also like looking at the moon for the first time, just amazing. I cannot wait for the next crescent or half moon phase.....Hadley Rille, here we come again!

[RichieJarvis]

Lovely report Carol - glad the 16" LB is doing the business

I look forward to hearing the second-hand 'wows' when you hit a moonless sky with that baby!

Cheers,

Richie

[barkis]

It's great to know Lurch and you have become good friends Carol.

I'm sure he will be a faithful and rewarding servant.

We can look forward to more of the excellent reports, just like the one you've posted here.

The Winsconsin winter skies will be a magical experience with this new scope.

Ron.

[ZOG]

Great report Carol, as has been said, when you get a clear, dark sky over there, it's gonna blow your cotton socks right off

[davy999]

Great report, I like the fact that you report not just on the things you see skyward but also the extra bits like the squirrel chatter etc. Sounds like my 6" should be upgraded now!

Happy viewing.

[Doc]

I know exactly how you feel Carol, the 16" really delivers on the moon, I've looked at Lunar with alot of different scopes and the only one that truly gives you the feeling that you are only km's above the surface is the 16" LB, it is one awesome experience.

[RichieJarvis]

Doesn't it blind you when you look at the moon though? I would have thought you'd have to put a ton of filters on to dim it down enough with 16" of aperature??

[Doc]

Doesn't it blind you when you look at the moon though? I would have thought you'd have to put a ton of filters on to dim it down enough with 16" of aperature??

I just use the Neodydium filter. I find I only stick to DSO's when the moon is not up, if it's on show then only do lunar so that way your night vision is not lost.

[bish]

Great report - that's what it's all about!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Fantastic report. It was a joy to read (all 17 pages). I love your attention to detail (GRS having a white ring around it making it look like an eye).

Thanks for sharing and i'm glad the DOB is working out well for you.

For the 1st time ever...i am jealous of someone else's scope. I think thats due more to the way you detailed your report.

[Talitha]

Thanks, everyone! It was great to finally get some views in, although i do have to admit it got to be exhausting night after night but hey, that's what they make tea for. The sketches will get scanned as soon as the humidity drops a bit, it makes the paper wavy and it doesn't lay flat.

Wow... "drill right into the core of them". I like the sound of that, John.

Glad you enjoy the articles Doug, thanks. My kit is: 8" Meade LX-10 f/10 SCT, 90mm ETX RA f/13.9 Mak, 120 Skywatcher f/8.3 achro, Orion 120ST f/5 achro, Orion 80ST f/5 achro, Orion 11x70 binos, and Oberwerk 22x100 binos. The magazine sketches were done using the 8"SCT, both 120 achros, and the 80ST.

Shane, i'll be a happy camper when/if i get a glimpse of Rima Sheepshanks. It's notoriously difficult because the E-W placement barely catches a shadow but hopefully favorable libration might help me along.

Richie, i put a note in my logbook that i might need another Moon filter to double up with the one i have. The fov of the Celestron 5mm Ultima Series goes from the bottom of Mare Fecunditatis all the way to Crater Peirce in Mare Crisium, and with that ep there's no discomfort at all. But i almost heard my pupil slam shut when the 9mm was used without the filter. For over 10 years, i've become accustomed to putting the Moon filter in the diagonal of my other scopes, and when i switched from the 5mm to the 9mm, the filter remained in the 5mm. That's one mistake i'm not likely to make again.

[ZOG]

I well remember the time I tried out the 13mm Nagler on the moon unfiltered. Felt like I had been hit in the eye with a light sabre and I had a green circle in my eye for ages after.

[DarkerSky]

That's brilliant Carol

The ring around the GRS is something I have seen too with the 16". It appeared an off-white with a hint of dirty yellow to it when I last saw it at the end of June.

[BAZ Senior]

An inspiring read Carol, Iam envy you for the scope and your skies, it's been rubbish here for weeks now.

I look forward to further Lurch outings, (Three nights in a row as well!) and more saliva inducing reports.

Enjoy!

[iamjulian]

Damn, I knew I shouldn't have clicked on a thread titled "16 inch". Sounds like an amzing piece of kit. But can think of few people who would get more out of it than you. Enjoy and keep us informed of more beautifulnice stuff.

[sumerian]

Why do women always like a Light Bridge? The color?

Very nice report.

[russ]

Superb report Carol and i especially enjoyed the Jupiter extracts. Sounds amazing. I've not had the seeing yet to pick out that level of detail.

i drove out to the Starpad at midnight and things were just about perfect.

Just love this bit.

[Talitha]

Thanks so much everyone, i can't wait to see what things look like without the lunar interference. It'll be stormy tonight, but the rest of the week will be either 'partly cloudy' or 'mostly clear'. We all know how quickly the summer weather can change though, so i'll just keep checking (and waiting, and hoping).

But can think of few people who would get more out of it than you.

Julian, that's one of the loveliest compliments this Amateur has ever received... thank you.

I'll try my best to live up to it.