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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Mini Chicago Astronomer gathering

01 August 2010

We had such a great time last Tuesday evening at our star party by the Adler, that many wished to do another one soon - especially those who could not make the last one - members and fans alike.

We had discussed that Saturday would be a good night for the next one, but weather and a concert at Soldier's Field cancels that.

But...

Sunday, the 1st of August at 8:00 pm looks like a winner.

Clear skies, warm temps and no concerts around to annoy star lovers.

We will meet and set up scopes at Chicago Astronomer Observation site #1...

If our friend Terry comes and brings his 10" Meade, then we will have two large aperture scopes to enjoy and compare - along with our other cool scopes.

We will have a nice conjunction of planets, but no Moon this session. I don't expect a large crowd, but...you never know.

See all then.

[RobbW]

Joe, I will definitely be there. I hope the weather holds out for us. I'm getting conflicting reports from several different sources. Seems no weather service can agree on what Sunday night will bring for us.

If all goes well, I'll be bringing along my latest project. I got tired of humping my scope around piece by piece. So I fashioned a telescope case out of an unused golf bag travel/flight case. It's a pretty bad hack job, nothing spit and polished like most of your projects. But, it'll get the job done. I also made my own dew shield/scope extender/contrast enhancer. I can't wait to see if that makes any difference.

See you all tomorrow night!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb,

Golf cases make excellent telescope transports.

I get mine at thrift stores for a few bucks, and some even have wheels. Highly recommended.

The EDS, (Extended Dew Shield), on my C11 makes for a great improvement in contrast and keeps the ambient light off my Corrector plate....not to mention keeping the dew at bay longer. Considering your mirror is already down the far end of the tube, I don't know how much of an increased contrast you'll get, but even a wee bit is good.

I anticipate your upgrades.

[RobbW]

Yep, my telescope transport came with wheels. It's from my father-in-law. His wife bought him the travel case a few years ago, but he never got to use it due to a shoulder injury. He was going to sell it in a garage this weekend until he spotted me looking it over. After explaining what I had in mind, he told me to take it home and do with it what I could. I took photos of the process and will post the narrative in a day or two.

As for the EDS, yes, the primary mirror is already at the far end of the OTA, but I still get an ungodly amount of light bouncing around the top of the OTA by the secondary mirror. That's where I'm hoping to see an improvement. But, the proof will be in the pudding tonight!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Hmmmmm.....I like pudding.

[patrickm]

Hey gang,
Planning on being down there, but life is pretty fluxy right now, which explains my recent quiet.

If we do make it, will bring scope and binocs and we'll have some fun. Good riddance to the moon for a bit. Am still mad at it for blowing up my dark sky at Lake Superior! (more later)
Patrick and Jordan

[Paulie pchris00]

I was planning all week to be there last night, but I didn't get much sleep Saturday, then slept until 6:30 Sunday night. Was planning on bringing Hillary too, but since I woke up late, I figured I might save some time sneaking off by myself. traffic on the Borman Expressway (I'm so lucky to get to drive an expressway named for an Apollo astronaut) was backed up for miles, and the Indiana Toll Road was worse. I was still in Gary by 8:00, and since I had to work alst night and couldn't stay out long, I just decided to turn around, and went down to the beach with Hillary for some quick planetary viewing before the mosquitoes chased us off. I hope everybody had a good time, but the haze looked like a problem. The only part of the Chicago Skyline we could see were 311 S. Wacker and that really tall building on north Michigan Ave. But at least clouds didn't look to be a problem for you.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chicago Astronomers Command the Night

On a warm, humid and hazy Sunday evening, a host of Chicago Astronomers assembled and enjoyed a very nice time together - sharing the skies with friends and the curious. A nice way to spend the end of the weekend.

I arrived around 7:30 pm at our usual Chicago Astronomer Public Observation site #1 to find Terry already starting to set up his neat Meade 10" SCT on a fork mount...

I have a set agenda on set-up/take down of my C11 and in no time was ready to go. Terry thought he forgot some accessories to operate his scope, so with a friendly exchange from Astro Joe's assembly of organized astronomical stuff, he was ready for a night's observation.

Visitors and astronomers started to show up enmasse now - and we took over the locale with telescopes, vehicles and the curious.

Chicago Astronomer Robb arrived with his 4" Galileo go-to and newly aquired case...which is cool...

We await for Robb's detailed pictorial on his telescope transport case modification.

Chicago Astronomer Linda arrived with her razor sharp 4" Vixan Refractor and sets up along the forming line now...

Chicago Astronomer John joins the growing crew with both his 5" C5 SCT go-to and his 10" Reflector...

Capping off the extended line of telescopes, Chicago Astronomer Patrick sets up his 4.5" reflector go-to...

Seven Telescopes - six astronomers.....no waiting!

My new friend Barbara stopped by with grapes for the crew...very cool!...

Hand fed grapes taste much better...

The day's haze did not promise good observing conditions, warm and heavy. But it was more of the camaraderie and seeing old friends than serious astronomy...

Many visitors, police and smiling faces desired to peek thru our instruments, going down the line and enjoying different objects in different type of telescopes. Venus was the first target, bright and gibbous. I kept Saturn as my main object of the session, always a crowd pleaser and it accepted magnifications of 225x very well with the 2 Inch eyepieces - pleasing the public.

A nice assembly spreading out over the entire open area was had - and with the street lamp out, made for a nicely darkened area...

I was busy answering questions, seeing what the others were doing and catching brief views through scopes before returning to the C11. Barbara was a great ambassador, guiding visitors to the scopes and making sure I was hydrated.

Thanks Barbara!

Patrick's nephew Jordan not only brought along Tripod mouted Binoculars, but his iPad...which is sooooo cool....

With GPS and a Star Chart program - it mimicked the night sky suberbly, adjusting to direction and displaying the hazy light polluted sky...

I want one...

Attached to the C11, it would make a great aid in locating targets with such ease.

Here, Barbara takes a pic of Dan, his visiting relative and myself.

With Carmen & Heidi



And with Barbara, Kyke, Terry and Tom

Tom also brought tripod binoculars to scan the skies...

We took over the entire area, well - because we are Chicago Astronomers...

I targeted both M57 & M13, but the night did not lend to spectacular views, but still...cool. Using the 50 Mw laser attached to the C11, makes rough aiming easier, together with the Rigel finder, punching through the hazy muck and finding the keystone stars for M13.

Speaking of lasers...

Robb bounces his off Atlas John's mirror in a great display of fortitude.

With the night winding down, we spotted Jupiter rising and even in the muck and boiling - them 2 inch eyepieces are a great addition.

A last down the line image of tonight's crew:

I appreciate everybody coming down and bringing their equipment to the site - some bulky and heavy and some travelling far distances. The site is not prime for serious astronomy, but a great area for foot traffic and fun.

Thanks all....we will do it again soon...

The Chicago Astronomer Crew for the night: Patrick, Terry, Myself, Jason, John, Robb & Linda

[RobbW]

I had a great time again last night, all. Wow, two nights in one week! It was good to finally meet Patrick and his nephew Jordan. Special thanks again to Barbara for the delicious grapes. I had lots of fun meeting and hanging out with fellow Chicago Astronomers. Definitely looking forward to many more sessions!

Hey Joe, quick question. In your photo above of Patrick setting up his 4.5" Go-To, Carmen is standing off to the right in the background. Ummm... What happened to her head? It appears you may have misplaced it!

[Paulie pchris00]

Wow. I should have been there...


But...


It looks like a successful night for everybody.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb,
Carmen seems to have lost her head...spooky!



Paulie,
Understand the transportation hassles that faced you last night...and all cool. But would have been cool to have had you with the crew.


Luckily, the Chicago Astronomers meet often and plenty of other future opportunities.

Make it so.

[John]

Joe,

I really enjoyed taking out the C5 and Helter Skelter & sharing the night with everyone. The only way to make it better is to have more laser groin shots - provided my coatings survive!!!

We Chicago Astronomers & friends put a unique twist on outdoor fun, Chicago style, don't we?

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

John,

We are going to have to spend an evening collimating Helter Skelter and make excellent use of all that aperture. I didn't get a chance to peer thur the tube during this session, but one clear evening soon, we'll set up up in your backyard and do a shoot out between the c11 and the Meade 10".

Then I'll shoot the 50mw green laser and sinter off aluminum particles from your primary.

No extra charge.

[patrickm]

Man, am I behind!

This was a really great night. We had so much fun. Being able to show the cops the cluster and the girls Andromeda Galaxy, even on a crap night, was very cool. I love that reaction from people. Even the angry guy kicking us out was funny, though I don't think he meant to be. He followed us to the car and started all over again as we loaded up and then sat in our car at the paid meter. Jordan and I laughed and laughed until the security guard finally had his heart attack and was rushed to the cardiac unit.

Thanks for the grapes and views and it was great to finally meet Robb face to face. When he expounded on dark skies, I knew I'd finally run into him! :-)

Pictures later I hope.
p