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[patrickm]

Some of you know that my Mom was dealing with cancer for the last two years, well the last seven really. Last Monday she finally stopped fighting and reluctantly passed away. This exhausting journey necessitates a vacation for Julia and me to decompress and just spend time together near a large body of salt water, like the Caribbean Sea.

One of our favorite getaway spots is Jake's in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. It is a small fishing and farming community far from the intensity of the touristy parts of Jamaica and the sprawling borderline chaos of Kingston, which definitely does have its charm. Though we've been to Treasure Beach several times and fallen asleep watching shooting stars, we've never had anything but travel binocs.

For our trip, I've purchased a Celestron 70mm Refractor Travel Scope for $62 from Amazon, which was ordered on a Sunday and somehow delivered on a Monday for $3.99 thanks to Prime. It comes with a rotten diagonal and cheapo Barlow, 20mm, and 10mm lenses, and perhaps the world's worst tripod when at all extended, but whaddya want for $60 and about 3.5lbs? On the plus side, it's light, will give 40x mag with a 10mm (my binos are at 15x), takes standard 1.25" eyepieces, and has a dovetail mount that will also screw onto any standard tripod mount.

I plan on taking the whole kit down there, supplemented with my own tripod, eyepieces, and Barlow. My hope is to teach somebody at either Jake's, or more hopefully somebody from BREDS or Sandy Bank Primary School, how to use the thing and just leave it behind along with the factory lenses.

I'm really excited to get a shot at a real dark sky now that I have just a little bit of knowledge to go with my enthusiasm. The Thursday meteor shower should also be spectacular there.

Can't wait.
p

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[RobbW]

Sorry to hear about your mother, Patrick. Hopefully there is some relief knowing that it is over now. My in-laws are going through the same sort of circumstances with my wife's grandmother, except it's not cancer. My wife and I are trying to figure out how we can surprise them with a much-deserved getaway once all the turmoil is over. I hope you and Julia have a wonderfully relaxing time in Jamaica. When are you planning to go?

My wife and I are booked on a Disney Cruise of the Eastern Caribbean in October this year. I am hoping for some exceptionally dark skies out in the middle of the deep blue sea. There's a thread going on DISboards.com for everyone who is going to be on that cruise. So far, I have piqued the interest of several members in hosting a top-deck stargazing party one of the nights.

[Paulie pchris00]

Patrick, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you and Julia can relax on your vacation, and get your mind off things.

[patrickm]

Hi guys. We are HERE!!
woo!

Having gotten up at 0400, we crashed very early. I woke up about 1030 to cloudy skies. Back to sleep. Woke again at 1230 to mostly clear skies! Gathered tiny scope (realized I'd left my good tripod at home), and a cold Red Stripe and slowly made my way upstairs.

For some reason, there is a random, bright street light about 75' from our room in the middle of a field. WTF? It is Jamaica. Also, our neighbors had all their outdoor lights on for some reason. Also weird.

I found a shielded place and set the little guy up on the table. I dragged out my 25mm, 15mm and Barlow and went at it.

My first happy realization was that I CAN SEE S. HEMISPHERE OBJECTS low on the horizon. Since I first saw it in Peru last year, I have been enchanted by the C94 Jewel Box Cluster. THERE IT IS!! Woo! It is tiny in binos and this scope, but oh so beautiful! Also spotted M7 Ptolemy Cluster, which is big and beautiful and PERFECT for my little scope and binocs! Gorgeous.

Highlight of the session was easily Omega Centauri globular cluster. OH WOW WOW WOW! I have no adjectives for this guy. If you haven't seen it, imagine something almost as large as Andromeda Galaxy, but way more luminous! Go dig up a pic and be amazed. Can't wait to hang out withit some more.

Low light of the eve was...wait for it, Paulie, SATURN.

Could make out a Titan, but the rings were sort of smudge. As it is the rainy season, seeing was less than awesome with the humidity. I will give it several more chances to amaze me though! Nothing else to do.

Did catch one more faint globular, but I don't recall which.

Moon coming up later each night, so looking forward to catching Coal Sack and Running Chicken dark nebulae!

More later.

Robb, you will have a blast. One night will not be enough.
Peace,
p

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

This is very cool Patrick.

Perhaps some pics coming our way of your observation spot and some Jamaican sky?

[patrickm]

Predawn sunrise from our observing location and roof of our room.

Venus pictured. (edited 4/27)

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[patrickm]

A pool or a pond. Either is nice.

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[patrickm]

4/22 Viewing with Julia
70mm refractor and 8x image stabilizing binos

Just took about 45 minutes and spied the following cool things. Look 'em up if you got time.

NGC 5139 Omega Centauri (staggering even in binos!)
Saturn (hard target at zenith w/world's worst non-cardboard tripod)
NGC 4755/C 94 Jewel Box Cluster (more power,please!)
Rigel Kentaurus Alpha1 Centauri
NGC 5617
C 100 Lambda Centauri Cluster/Running Chicken (dig it!)
C 102 Southern Pleiades/Theta Carinae Cluster (NICE!)
NGC 3293 Gem Cluster
NGC 3372 Eta Carinae/Keyhole Nebula

[patrickm]

Ok. After a uniquely horrible bout of food poisoning, I bounced back yesterday eve, fortified by 24 hrs sleep, rice & peas, wata, Jamaican Coca-Cola (no HFCS!), and live Easter Monday holiday Mento music!

Music was fantastically wacky. Poor guitar player fought his tuning all night. Ancient man with banjo. Singer with shakers, dance moves, and hand kazoo! And Jamaicans no clap.

Got to see old friends. Went from showing them Orion's Great Nebula, still up at 8:30, to a line of kids and adults wanting to see ANYTHING. Caught better but still rotten Saturn, Omega Centauri, and Sirius, which was actually the hit. Lesson learned (again).

Spying Saturn with enough magnification to make it meaningful also meant viewing it through a straw tube and difficult adjustments after each viewer.

Other lessons learned:
USE A TABLE, not a chair for a tripod base (face smack)
MOVE to an even slightly darker spot, especially w/this little scope
BRING BINOCULARS! Even 8x are awesome by themselves.
Julia was amazing help and good cheer while people patiently waited for me to keep tracking Saturn

After we all tired of lying on the ground trying to see Saturn through the 45' erector, J and I retired back to room around 10.

Julia and I sat out with the 8x binos for a while and then she hit the bed, leaving me to track fainter prey. Here is the list:
Centaurus A - NGC 5128
(Spiral Galaxy in Centaurus)
Omega Centauri - NGC 5139
(Globular Cluster in Centaurus)
Jewel Box Cluster - NGC 4755
(Open Cluster in Crux)
NGC 4103
(Open Cluster in Crux)
Pearl Cluster - NGC 3766
(Open Cluster in Centaurus)
Collinder 240
(Open Cluster in Carina)
NGC 3532
(Open Cluster in Carina)
Feinstein 1
(Open Cluster in Carina)
Lambda Centauri Cluster - IC 2944
(Open Cluster in Centaurus)
Rigil Kentaurus - Alpha1 Centauri
(Double Star in Centaurus)
Hadar - Beta Centauri
(Variable Double Star in Centaurus)
NGC 5460
(Open Cluster in Centaurus)
NGC 6067
(Open Cluster in Norma)
NGC 6025
(Open Cluster in Triangulum Australe)
Ptolemy's Cluster - Messier 7
(Open Cluster in Scorpius)
Butterfly Cluster - Messier 6
(Open Cluster in Scorpius)
Collinder 316
(Open Cluster in Scorpius)
NGC 6231
(Open Cluster in Scorpius)
NGC 6242
(Open Cluster in Scorpius)
NGC 6281
(Open Cluster in Scorpius)

This was fun sitting with a Red Stripe in a comfy chair on our veranda with the ocean at my feet!

I then tried to sleep and was unsuccessful. I finally hopped up and caught Venus, rising in the east, and the waning crescent Luna. Sleep? Who needs it.

We tentatively have something perhaps maybe planned with 6th graders on Thursday eve and I will hopefully be able to find a teacher to leave the scope with!

OK. Back to vacation, fellow geeks.
p
-no pics, Joe. Sorry. Next time.
--if you hit yourself in the head and then quickly look at the twilight shot above while squinting, you might be able to see Venus just off stage upper left.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Patrick,

This is mighty cool and a list to be envied.....which I am.

Did you use a star chart and hop from target to target?

Excellent stuff.

[patrickm]

AstroJoe wrote:

Apr 26, 2011 11:12:06 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Patrick,

This is mighty cool and a list to be envied.....which I am.

Did you use a star chart and hop from target to target?

Excellent stuff.

Thanks! Not hard to see excellent stuff when you have mostly clear skies and are 18' from Equator, mixed with a weird sleepless binge after being sick. Food? Sleep? Bah!

Just using my eyes and going either from sky to SkySafari in iPhone ("WTF IS THAT!!!") or SkySafari to sky. With 8x15 binos, looking low on the horizon here, about 3' up to 20', finds something new in just about every view. Nebulosity abounds! Oh, for a good travelscope!

For the telescopular objects, the ones near the top of the charts the last two reports, I've been using 25mm and 15mm ep's Plössls, going to 9mm ONLY for Saturn, and like I said, limited happy results with that. Mr. Barlow seems to add a layer of fuzz, but maybe just needs cleaning. Though actual rain has been pretty limited on SW coast, it is humid as all get out here in the Rainy Season.

Laser is a big hit.

I did pick out some prospects before the night started. SkySafari lets you keep observing lists, so I have "To See" and then a "Seen" list for each night. You can then check "Add to list" on the item after you have hung out with it a bit. Next day, it will regurgitate a text file for you from your Observed list, which I remembered only for the second post above. Yay me!

So, no GoTo or PushTo or anything, unless I have to RunTo the bathroom, just old fashioned amazement at low power. Also found myself wishing for my 9.25 with my new 56mm Super Plössl that has yet to see first light. That would star here!

Reading Uncle Rod's latest blog post about his Herschel project did make me want for a great travel scope to spy the galaxies that litter my star charts here. And I KNOW they are visible with the magnification. Heck, even my 4" could nail a bunch of them here. Say what you want about our intrepid Chicago Astronomer crew, and urban astronomers everywhere, but there ARE serious limitations to it, and Rod's posts and my binoculars here prove it.

Look at this picture and see what is within one 10'x15' hunk of sky! And just off to the left is the awesome (in classic sense of the word, not the Spicoli sense) CoalSack topped by the lovely Jewel Box and to the right is Omnicron Velorum cluster. Like, holy sh|+, DOOD!

Sometimes, the cosmos leave me speechless except for the most primal utterances. I KNOW I was talking to myself even more than normal last night.

The only downside was that Mento music spoiled our crack at great viewing opps for X-37B and HST. Sadly, it appears X-37B won't make another appearance here during our stay. Hubble yes.

Planning on heading down near closed office tonight to watch STS-134 lift off if I can swing it. Wi-Fi should be free and easy that time of night.

Sandy Bank Elementary principle is being called, so hopefully we can arrange Thurs night.

p out.

--Where does one find a hockey game on TV in the West Indies? (smirk)
--There was the time I tried to find the Super Bowl in Costa Rican mtns. "¿¡Que?!" I fear similar results.

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[patrickm]

My first and last time using Microsoft's Photosynth.

360' panoramic
Our abode is the blue one in the distance.

photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=eeca2754-d106-409a-a558-56e48a7fa692

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Patrick,


This is cool.

Did you do your observations from this site?

I don't see an fruity drinks.

[patrickm]

Apr 26, 2011 23:48:21 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Patrick,


This is cool.

Did you do your observations from this site?

I don't see an fruity drinks.

If you mean observing the ocean while reading, yes. If you mean stargazing, no. The deck and upstairs porch of the blue building for the most part. For the night with the Mento band, we were just at the beach bar down a bit from our room, lights and all. As close to sidewalk astronomy as you can get, without a sidewalk.

By the way, Venus is in that predawn pic above. I fear Neptune is beyond my scope's purview though. The rest behind Venus are too low behind the hills.

More pix later when I get a chance.

[patrickm]

School is out this week in Treasure Beach, but we did manage to wrangle the principal of Sandy Bank Elementary, her nephew, two sixth graders, and a friend and his kid for a really fun evening of observing!

We were scheduled for 7:30, but at 6:45, skies were as overcast as they have been since we got here. I asked a local boatman for a guess and he said it might clear by about 8:15, so we pushed everything back a forty-five minutes. IR radar did not look good, but when they showed, the skies were perfectly clear! Thanks astrogodz!

We set up in a little clearing behind our cottage and I started explaining some rudiments. We started observing at about 9:30. Because everybody knows Orion's Belt, and it was sinking fast, I started with The Great Nebula in Orion. Everyone went "woah," and I was able to show them better shots on my iPad and phone.

We then looked at Sirius and then up to M47, which everybody enjoyed. Saturn was the next logical target before it got too close to zenith for my 45' erecting diagonal. Was able to get it into the 9mm, but it moves so fast in that thing that it was quite the PITA keeping it centered for such a large group. We were able to make out the rings and the faint dot of Titan. People were more jazzed by the Saturnian iPad photos though.

We then swing over to the SW and saw Omega Centauri, Jewel Box Cluster and Becrux, Eta Carinae Nebula, and the Southern Pleiades.

By then, the kids were burned out and ready to run around, and I was exhausted! We dutifully took a group photo and then I explained the rudiments of the scope to Principal Banks.

Our Observing Group (l-r) Patrick Monaghan, Ted Parchment, Dave Lloyd, student Brittina Sinclair, Sandy Bank Elementary School Principal Zane Ebanks, Verene Ebanks, student Tray McLean, Delanie Hill, Julia Adams, John Andrews (w/scope).
(Not pictured: Dianne Andrews and Akeem Parchment) by pmonaghan, on Flickr

Patrick explains the telescope to the Sandy Bank Elementary principal by Julia Adams, on pmonaghan's Flickr

Akeem Parchment by pmonaghan, on Flickr

[patrickm]

I forgot to mention that I also left a copy of "Nighthwatch" with Principal Ebanks. I have another care package to send down to TB, so if anybody has anything to include that might be kid edu friendly—astro or otherwise, please let me know and we'll work out a way for me to get ahold of it to include in the package.

Photo links are fixed. Forgot that the Flickr "links" aren't really photo links but page links. I do enjoy the new, though buried, BBS-friendly copy and paste links they are providing.

The stock diagonal/erector, 20mm, & 10mm lenses that came with the 70mm refractor are horrible, so I left behind the 25m lens that came with my 114SLT (which I hardly ever use), and the 15mm, 9mm, & the Moon filter that came with my Celestron Accessory Kit. Will now have to replace those, but honestly, the stock pieces were so bad there was nearly no point in leaving the thing.

Replacements can be had cheaply, but also a chance to (ahem) trade up on those sizes. Will investigate when I get a chance.

[patrickm]

My ONLY regret about the whole evening was forgetting about The Beehive Cluster until after they were all gone!!

[Paulie pchris00]

Nice observing list. And all kidding aside, this was a seriously cool thing you did.

[patrickm]

May 3, 2011 17:43:04 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

Nice observing list. And all kidding aside, this was a seriously cool thing you did.

Aww, thanks man. As usual, I think I got more out of it than the others, but hopefully it's a little seed that can grow. Will do my best to stay in touch with the principal and help them along where I can.

[Paulie pchris00]

Give it time. I think somebody will come to appreciate it in a very big way. Staring at the sky ain't for everybody, ya know.