Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Apr 11, 2012 6:34:58 GMT -6
C11 Saturn imaging from the backyard
11 April 2012
11 April 2012
On a spring early morning, I decided to set-up the C11 in the backyard for some Saturn imaging, which was riding high at 2:00 am.
It was a cold session...
I had a hoodie initially, but I got chilled and donned on my Goose feather Eddie Bauer "Space Suit", which kept me toasty till dawn. Atmosperic conditions were very poor this morning, as the image of Saturn kept blurring, but during moments of clarity, I enjoyed a great sharp and defined planet...
I popped in the bino-viewers with 25mm 1.25mm eyepieces, which brought out Saturn in a 3-D experience rarely enjoyed...
The planet stood against a black velvet background, with well defined Cassini division and surface banding ....popping it in front of it's satellites...
...here, overexposing the planet's disk, quite a few satellites show themselves, according to Stellarium...
It's interesting that the different Satellites, display different colors, especially Titan - all methane all the time. Bright star near the top, I seem to catch Tehys in the first overexposure, but lose it in the second. I blame atmosphere. Five "Moons" of Saturn ain't too bad!
While waiting for the Moon to pop out from my neighbor's building, I slew to Polaris...
...just because I can and catching a star that I really had not noticed in the close proximity before.
I did a optical star test on a un-focused concentric ring exam on the north star while I was there. I'm pretty much spot-on, but could use a minor tweak. But the C11 needs a major cleaning, especially the Corrector Plate. This is a perennial maintenance task, accomplished when it get's a bit warmer.
At around 4:45am, the waning Moon finally makes a quick appearance in-between buildings and I enjoy examining the lunar surface with the limited time I have...
I will enjoy the binoiviewers much when it get's warmer and when I can steal away some solo time. The mount needs work and I need more room to move about with the C11 - she's such a beast. I would like to set-up something on top of my garage - like I did when I was a kid with my trusty 60mm Montgomery Wards refractor.
I got more stuff now....