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[atomant]

Hi Fellow Starnuts,

After Joe and I ended our observing session at Copernicus tonight, we couldn't resist the cool Chicago night sky.
After grabbing a quick bite in Chinatown, Joe and I checked out a site just north of Chinatown on 18th street.

I introduced Joe to a few of my favorites sights.
Armed with a 10" dob and a collection of eyepieces, we began our search and destroy mission.
-The Great Hercules Cluster M13 started it off.
-Next was the Ring Nebula M57 high up toward zenith.
-Andromeda Galaxy M31 and companion M32.
[yes, galaxies from the city!]
-the nice Double Cluster
-globular clusters M15 and M2
-finally the neat M11 Wild Duck cluster

We closed our session by surfing the moon and Mars.
Joe can fill you in on the ridiculous magnifications we were throwing at the moon.

Anyhow, need to catch some zzz..

Hope you folks enjoyed the night sky as much as we did.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Extended Observation Session - 28/29 July 2005

Hoping to catch another night of deep clear skies that I saw yesterday, I made an effort to set up by my usual spot by Copernicus on the Adler grounds. Bill contacted me and said he would join up with me this fine evening. The skies were ok, but not as great as the night before.

I Set up around 8:30 pm and had people come up almost immediately. Showing them Jupiter and Venus, we discussed various astronomical topics, when Bill arrived with his cool 10" Dob. My 4.5" looked like a broomstick in comparison!... We met nice people there, and of course, I promoted the Chicago Astronomer Forum.

Now, my location by the Adler is mostly for interacting with the public and showing them major celestial targets. Serious observations are just not done there.

In Search of a Suitable Observation Site

As 11:00 pm approached, we couldn't just let this evening go without more observation time. Bill suggested this place just off of downtown and not too far from both our homes...(You all know how much I hate long drives!). We stopped by Chinatown for a snack, and I was quite thirsty from promoting Chicago Astronomy to the masses! Bill introduced me to a new dish of flat noodles and beef and we discussed all things astronomical and not.

We then headed out to a site off of 18th and State to see if it held promise...and this site was cool... ;D

It's located in a rather hidden area, next to a wide open field, railroad tracks and trains rumbling by on occasion. It was like our own private railroad set! Now, there was a ballgame in progress when we arrived with stadium-like lights blazing...but even like that, the sky opened up for Bill and I. I policed the area, looking for dangers of the animal and human kind, and satisfied with the safety of the area, we set up.

I left my scope in the car and solely utilized his 10". I targeted M57 off the bat, and it showed good definition and structure. Thru Bill's scope, we could even kick up magnification, and it held good views.

I had asked Bill to show me his DSO favorites, and so the session began. But before we did, a police tactical car drove up to us, gave us the once over and left. I guess we were too geeky to be considered any threat to public safety!...

Bill is quite proficient in manually finding targets thru star hopping and triangulation. I was impressed with his skill, and his eyesight is much better than mine too! We were just popping galaxies and star clusters left and right. All bright and we could even make out individual stars in some clusters. M31 & M32 was within the FOV was quite nice in my homemade eyepieces. Quite cool! ;D

After sometime exploring DSO's, we turned our attention on Mars. Icecap clearly displayed, with filtering, it made certain planetary features more prominent. Can't wait until it gets much closer! Then, with Earth shine illuminating the dark side, we gave the Moon it's due.

I like the Moon in Bill's scope. Bright, clear and we sought out familiar lunar features. Bill likes to seek out the "Straight Wall" , and I have decided that it will now be known as "The Great Wall of Bill". So it is written, so let it be done.

Also, Plato's mountain range and Mons Pico cast a great tooth-like shadows within the crater and surrounding areas. The different views of the last quarter moon was fantastic, as we are all more familiar with early evening lunar aspects, this different angle of sunlight brought out new views of old friends on the Moon.

Considering the light gathering ability of Bill's scope, I wanted to see how much we could push the magnification with the Moon. We tried a 7mm and a 4mm with good results and used my zoom barlow...also with good results. We were able to zoom right on in craters with some minor color aberration, but other wise it was good. I have a 3x Barlow in my arsenal, so I popped it in with a 4mm eyepiece, and remarkably...it was quite good.

Both Bill and I never used such mags on the Moon before and it was quite a treat. We discussed how much mag we were using and were astonished on what we discovered. If we calculated it properly...could we have been at 900X??!!! We figure it this way: 4mm into 1200mm focal length of the scope = 300x. Multiply that by the 3x of the barlow: 3X 300 = 900! Could this be right? Or is there a formula we are missing? Either way, the views were quite cool.

It was now approaching 3:00 am, and with a great night of impromptu observation, we called it a night. We found a good observation spot right smack in the city and coaxed out the secrets of the heavens regardless of the light pollution hanging over our heads. We are thinking about incorporating this site as a Chicago Astronomer site for "close to home" sessions. If those damned stadium lights were out, the sky would have been absolutely fantastic for inner city considerations.

It was certainly a great night of observation and pleased that Bill decided to join me on this night. I'm sure we will be going back real soon!... ;D

[jglover]

atomant said:

We closed our session by surfing the moon and Mars.
Joe can fill you in on the ridiculous magnifications we were throwing at the moon.

You should have went for some REALLY ridiculous magnification and stack a 2x barlow with that 3x!!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

John,

lol...I should have stacked the 3X barlow with the Zoom barlow and count the footprints on the surface!

Next time.

[tim]

Joe
Glad you got out of your 2by2 square in your backyard!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Tim,

Quite a dramatic vista in comparison to my backyard. The entire Andromeda sweep was unobstructed and good wide skies.

Damn the 2x2!

[Kalvis]

I would be interested in heading out to this interesting new sight. How does tonight (Mon. , Aug. 1) sound? The Chicago Clear Sky Clock predicts great conditions.

Kalvis

[atomant]

I'm game.

I just hope the ballpark lights are off tonight and the authorities are fine with our observing.

Since it's a worknight, I can't stay too long.

I'll plan on being at the park around 8:30pm.
I drive a silver Honda CR-V.
I plan to bring the 10" dob.

Anyone in the area is welcome to join us.
The park is at State and 18th Street. Entrance is on 18th Street.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Fellow Chicago Astronomers,

A great idea to meet up at the New Chicago Astronomer observation site...we must come up with a name.

I too will be there at around 8:30 pm.

The entrance is on the north side of 18th street, just to the west of a railroad bridge.

See all tonight.