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[patrickm]

Still have much to write about last week, but on the off-chance that anybody's around, rather than sit here in a dimly lit room and type about stuff, I'm going over to the hill at Horner Park to see what I can see.

Got new gear yesterday, so apologies to all for the crap weather we had yest. eve. New 9x50 finderscope (woohoo!), 40mm Celestron Omni Plössl, some shock pads cuz nothing I tried on our deck cut it, and...wait for it...a digital camera adapter. (If you are scoring at home, that is Paulie 1, PatrickM 0.)

Am gonna stay til I am politely asked to leave by Chicago's finest or I fall asleep and start drooling on myself. Coin flip for that one.

If you are out in the neighborhood, stop by and say hi. I'll be the dork on the hill with the scope and the cartoon questionmark over his head.

More later.
p

[patrickm]

At the park from 20:30 until 00:15. Had to wade through a Latino soccer game to reach my spot, but they politely held up while I passed.

Spoke to a few people as I set up. As I tried to get my new finder scope aligned using an antenna a few blocks away, a guy with dog wanted to know if I was looking at the contrails. When I politely tried to explain what I was doing, he just really wanted to know what was causing the vapor trails. I did my best to explain.

A few minutes later, an older couple walked by and wanted to know if I was setting up a camera. When I told them it was a scope, they immediately asked me what special objects would be visible tonight. I told them that every night was special, and that as far as I could tell, nothing ever looks the same twice. They asked what the super bright object in the east was early in the morning and I told them that they were probably describing Jupiter. I invited them back for a peak once the sun finally set, but I didn't see them again.

On my new finder scope, I will have to drill new holes as the mount alone makes my wee scope very top heavy when swapped with the stock plastic, red dot finder. I hung a little improvised weight off the back, but it wasn't enough to keep it horizontal when I got below about 15deg. Drilling my tube makes me nervous so I shall ask for help on that front elsewhere on the forum.

Once Venus finally popped up I got it centered and hung out with it until I got bored and then picked up Mars, which I haven't viewed for more than a minute or two since it was really cold outside. Got kicked to the curb as soon as I got infatuated with Saturn. Mars was in full orange effect this eve, but could see far fewer surface features than over the winter when it was much closer to zenith. The soccer game had broken up and the guys were lounging around talking, so I asked if they wanted to see Mars. One guy said "YES!" and practically ran over to the scope. Most of the other guys soon followed and I also showed them Saturn, which was not yet visible to my naked eyes. Thanks GOTO! Of course Saturn (and Titan?!) was a big hit and all the guys ooh'd and aah'd over it in Spanish, with my new friend doing his best to translate for me. Most of the guys got bored quickly after that, but a few stuck around and started asking questions. I shared info and pics from my SkyVoyager iPhone program and my CalSky printouts. I answered some basic telescope cost questions until the rest of the guys decided they were all leaving.

Almost everybody I have ever talked to thinks that telescopes are out of their price range. They are universally blown away when I tell them how cheap they are and how much they can see with a simple pair of cheap binocs, even in the city. I know we passed the Year of the Telescope already, but I don't think it was very effective in getting the word out about what an accessible hobby that astronomy really is. Sure you can spend a bajillion dollars, but you can also spend zero if you have even a remotely passable pair of travel binocs and a library card. I think the Year of Astronomy needs a serious do-over.

Once the sun was fully down, I was largely left to myself for the rest of the night except for a pair of brown bats that circled me for about an hour yacking it up and doing a pretty good job of keeping the bugs off of me.





I went back to Mars for a while, but still couldn't make out any surface features at all. Looked very much like an orange nerfball under water. Saturn yielded much more satisfaction, with two moons visible—Titan, and I am not sure the other, smaller, more interior moon. It winked at me periodically, but I couldn't get a fix on it for very long.

I then set off on a Messier hunt. M44 was gorgeous tonight and I even got an image of it using my new setup.



Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. The camera mount yielded much more frustration than pleasure and I clearly have much work to do. It threw my scope even more off balance, and getting it all to line up without having to cheat the camera with a hand was mostly fruitless, and only got worse as the nighttime chill and frustration set in.

After M44, I looked up the skyandtelescope.com "Week at a Glance," and tried my hardest to locate M51, M63, M94 and M106, but pretty much with no luck. The only one I may have gotten a glance at was M94, but it was definitely ghost-chasing so I can't honestly say one way or the other. No luck with NGC4530 either beyond what looked like an ordinary star.

If I ever got any purposefully good photos, I wouldn't have to keep sharing happy accidents, but I dig this one all the same:


At around 23:30, the police had me square in their headlights from near the field house, and I resigned myself to packing up, but they took a left and split. I don't know how they couldn't have seen me, so perhaps they decided that I wasn't worth the effort.

No big feat, but I did manage to split Cor Caroli, making it my first clearly visible double star, at least of which I am aware. It also puts images of a Romanian gym coach on my head.

Thanks to Joe's ringing endorsement, I even tried M57, again with absolutely no luck. Nada. Zip.

When I finally decided to pack it in, I took one last crack at a Messier object and hit M3 for the first time. This one was very clearly visible and was spectacular in my eyepiece all the way up to 4mm! I am in love and will visit it again the very next time I have a shot.

I ended the evening back on Saturn, where I could more clearly make out the interior moon.



I said good night and packed up. I now need sleep!
p

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Patrick,

Great open skies there at Horner park.

And it's cool that you bring out the scope and share views with the public. (I have this thing about curmudgeon anti-social hermits who talk down to people and are all self-important. I stay away from these dark souls... )

By the beginning of August, Mars, Venus and Saturn will be in a tight conjunction, which will be great for star parties and imaging - look for the Chicago Astronomer's notices on this.

I dig that you are seeking a lot of Messiers with your go-to...some I haven't observed in years.

Drilling into the OTA is not all that nerve wracking and I did it with my C5 SCT and will do it to my C11 Beast to install grip handles on the tube.

Great that you are documenting your sessions and with pics, so that we all can share and experience it along with you.

[cmastony]

Hello there -- I loved the photos and the story of your observation session at Horner Park. My name is Colleen Mastony and I'm a reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

I'm wondering if Patrick, or Joe or another member might be willing to let me tag along on their next observation? I thought it could make a cool story for the newspaper. I suspect that many Chicagoans might be surprised by how much you can see--Venus and Mars!--from parks in the city. Anyway, if someone could call me, my desk number is 312-222-4201.

Thanks in advance. Colleen



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(I have removed certain contact data, as this site is visited world wide - you never know..)

[RobbW]

Oh wow, you guys! A story in the Trib?! That would be pretty cool, Colleen! I think you will learn a lot from Joe and others and see a lot, too. It is amazing that we can see as much as we do through our telescopes, even with the light pollution in the city. After you do a write-up about Joe and/or other Chicago Astronomer members, would you have any interest in a follow-up story on light pollution, how it is degrading the ability to see our beautiful night skies, and what can be done to prevent or reverse it? I would really appreciate seeing the topic brought up in such a public forum as the Chicago Tribune.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I have spoken with Colleen and she is anxious to join us at one of our star parties soon.

I'm thinking perhaps a Full Moon observation at our regular monthly gatherings. But we are in contact and will plan.

She is very nice and will be fun to have her part of the crew.

[patrickm]

Friends at the Trib give her a thumbs up, so it's probably ok to show her the secret handshake! Left her a message as well so hopefully she'll join us! That would be cool. Any plug for darker skies, while still probably howling at the moon, can never hurt. If they can't get the lights turned down at Adler, I feel like it would take a miracle. They happen, and we can all dream, but I'm good at playing the Greek chorus.

Colleen, thanks for even considering a story like this. If something positive were to happen for dark skies, it would likely start from something like this. I think our best bet for any action is to get The Mayor out to a session! That makes things happen!

[patrickm]

I just realized that I don't know the secret handshake either.

Camped out on the deck with binocs long enough last night to catch a less than great view of Jupiter very low on the horizon bathed in half moonlight. My first time! No definition at all, and definitely submarine, but it was thrilling nonetheless. Will get my scope upstairs next time for sure and try to catch it a little later in hopes of some detail.

Most of the 90 minutes was spent peering through, or trying to, or waiting for small gaps in, this:

[Paulie pchris00]

I've had some down time lately, and haven't been keeping up on the threads. Great story Patrick. I have to credit Joe for getting me to carry a camera everywhere, so I appreciate the pictures. And I also get the question of what's special in the sky tonight, and give pretty much the same answer! There's something special going on up there every night for those who take the time to look.

As for the IYA 2009, I'm not sure I would have known about it if I hadn't gotten into astronomy hardcore in 2008. It was a learning experience for all involved I'm sure, but it was a common complaint that promotion in non-astronomy circles was lacking. I think that's why they had Global Astronomy Month 2010 in April, to try to keep it going, but still I'm not too sure it was promoted right. I tried to get word out at my sidewalk sessions, but I don't think from a large perspective it was as good as it should have been. It's up to people like us to hit the streets and share our experiences I guess, an everybody I see post here seems to be cool with that.

I am woefully lacking in Messier objects, but M57 is a must. It should be an easy find, even in the city, although I must confess I tried to find it at the last full Moon session unsuccessfully. Maybe wait until it gets closer to the zenith. Mars always wants attention from the public, but it's really only good for viewing for four or five months every two years. Big aperture can extend that window, I suppose, but given January's opposition, June is just too late to really see anything, it's just too far away now, but it cool to point it out, especially with the Regulus conjunction.

People ask me all the time, "How much did your scope cost?" I tell them I paid $200 for my 6" Dob. My little 4.5" go-to was a Christmas gift, but I can't imagine it was all that expensive. I don't really have the money to dump into a lot of equipment, but I try to point out that astronomy has always been about trying to tease out as much as you can with whatever you have available, and I would guess that sentiment goes all the way up to the pros who get time in Hawaii or Hubble. The focus should always be on the effort rather than the equipment.

Again, great story Patrick, and let me know the when and where for the Trib story, and I will do my best to join you guys.

[Paulie pchris00]

I'm posting this on Facebook, btw.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The camera is as much a integral part of a session as is the scope and eyepieces.

It's great to share the sessions and experiences thru the pics.

It makes for better observing enjoyment all around with friends.

[Paulie pchris00]

I meant to tell Patrick also, for your Spanish speaking amigos, just say, "Yo miro las estrellas y las planetas con mi telescopio. Quieres mirar?" After that let the scope do the talking.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I'm impressed by Pauilie's handle on the spanish lanquage.

Ay carumba!... #wha#

[Paulie pchris00]

Yep, and I know how to order a chicken fajita and a beer. After that, ich verstahe nicht.


(That's German for I don't understand, the only German I remember).