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[atomant]

Tonight's cool front really cleaned up the skies right in the heart of Chicago.
From my backyard in Bridgeport/Chinatown, I could see with my naked eye:
-the Teapot chasing Scorpius
-the little Dolphin swimming next to the Eagle.
-the grand Serpent Holder
-the entire wingspan of the Swan

With my 15 x 70 binoculars, I could spot:
-the grand globular cluster M22
-the Lagoon Nebula M8
-the other grand globular M13

I couldn't stop. I brought out my latest weapon of choice: Vixen 8" cassegrain on the Sphinx goto mount.
From my backyard, an elementary school blocks my entire north sky. However, with Vixen's StarBook, I was able to "goto" by aligning the scope to a few stars.
I was bouncing from a nicely resolved M13 to the elusive M92 , M15, M2, M22. I missed the globs in the Serpent Holder [blocked by neighbors house].
I moved on to a few other favorites: the smoky ring M57, the apple core M27, and a flock of ducks in M11.

My observing session ended with the appearance of a grand dance between La Luna and Mars.
Here's a quick shot with my digital camera:


I hope to enjoy the night sky the next couple of days. Don't miss your chance!

Clear skies.

[jglover]

atomant said:

Tonight's cool front really cleaned up the skies right in the heart of Chicago.
From my backyard in Bridgeport/Chinatown, I could see with my naked eye:
-the Teapot chasing Scorpius
-the little Dolphin swimming next to the Eagle.

...

I couldn't stop. I brought out my latest weapon of choice: Vixen 8" cassegrain on the Sphinx goto mount.

Now that is something I wish I could see. Unfortunately for me, the Sag/Sco region is behind my neighbor's quite large trees and I've not had much luck at all in getting to cut them down!

How is the Sphinx mount? It got a less than enthusiastic review in S&T although the review did finally recommend the mount. I'm just curious as I'm in the market for a good GOTO GEM however the price of the Sphinx has always been a concern, especially since the Celestron ASGT mount is out there for only about $700. The Celestron mount also got a good review and a recommendation but again there were some concerns, mostly with regard to periodic error in the drives and the ability to do photography from the mount.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Bill,

I too did notice the clear and deep skies of last night, but I wasn't as good as I should have been in getting in an oberservation session in. And besides, I really only have a 2'x2' patch of my backyard where I'm in darkness...in that no street, ally or neighbor lights hit me.

Tonight....me thinks I'll head out to the Adler around sundown and set up by Corpernicus for some friendly. although limited viewing.

[jglover]

admin said:

Tonight....me thinks I'll head out to the Adler around sundown and set up by Corpernicus for some friendly. although limited viewing.

I'll probably pull out the scope tonight as well for an hour or so. Last night was tough out for us because the dew was really bad. Hopefully we will have a lower dew point tonight and the temps will not drop off quickly, I hate soggy scopes!