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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Mini observation session with Chicago Astronomers
04 May 2010

The weather forecast for Tuesday - 04th of May, promises for clear deep skies.

Clear Sky Clock says the same...

cleardarksky.com/c/Chicagokey.html?1

It's a shame to waste such a great night and not take out a scope.

Ergo...

I will set up the C11 beast off the Adler parking lot at 8:00 pm...

...and stay for a couple of hours.

I will astro-image Saturn, enjoy Venus and tolerate Mars.

If in the area or free - stop by, say hi and share some astronomy with us.

[RobbW]

Wish I could make downtown to meet and greet, Joe. But alas, I have projects around the house that my wife says take priority. However, I may try to sneak out back for a quick peek before heading to bed. I got out for a bit last night as the skies out here were relatively clear. The GoTo mount that came with my scope is trash now. So I borrowed the EQ motor-drive/tripod my mom has for a Galileo scope she never uses. Turns out my mom's mount is trash, too. When you turn on the power, all it wants to do is continuously slew in a clockwise circle. So I turned off the power and targeted manually.

I viewed Venus before it set, Mars, Arcturus, and some other random stars. I tried to find Andromeda, but it was just too low on the horizon. I would love to view that! And, finally, I spotted and manually tracked what I believe is the Lacrosse 5 satellite.

I finally packed up and headed home around 22:30 as the viewing location was poor (too many cars driving by) and I was getting really frustrated with the EQ mount. Without the motor on, the axes were too loose and I couldn't keep the scope on target if it was leaning over too far. If I go out tonight, I'm going to try using my GoTo mount manually. I think it will probably stay in position better than my mom's EQ mount.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb,

So sorry you are having mount issues now.

Satellite spotting a cool past time, and there are times when a fellow Chicago Astronomer and I just bring our binoculars to the lakefront and spot them just after sunset...a host easily spotted.

There will be plenty of opportunities for you to join us in a session in the coming months.

[RobbW]

Yeah, it's kind of a pain having one frustration after another, but I'll eventually get it worked out. I'm going to duct tape my GoTo mount back together and use it manually until I can get a proper manual EQ mount (or equivalent). That'll have to wait, though, as I've expended all "hobby funds" for a while.

I picked up a tripod adapter for my binos today. So maybe I'll just take those tonight if I don't have enough time to piece my GoTo back together tonight.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Chicago Astronomers enjoyed a great fun session...

Although the day was a bright sunny one...it was windy - very windy. But, the skies were nice and we assembled around 8:00pm to view and share.

The Chicago Astronomer crew for this session was: myself, Bill, Steve & John. With two new participants, Patrick & Kyle. (Kyle subscribes to my Twitter feed and is notified on Chicago Astronomer activities...cool! )

www.twitter.com/astronomerjoe

I also brought along for the first time, my new dog Laika, for her first astro session...

Venus was shining brightly in the west, and both Mars & Saturn high overhead. I ignored Mars for this session and concentrated on Saturn - and despite the windy conditions that would shake the C11 beast - the views were very good. With transiting ring system and satellites.

We set up in a location that is not suitable for serious astronomy, but more for public interaction and fun...and with Saturn taking the show. We had individuals and families come up and ask what we were doing...and of course, shared the sights...

Marco and his family share Saturn...which almost brought his wife to tears

Patrick, a Chicago Astronomer "lurker" for awhile, joined us in this session and brought along his scope...

Patrick with John looking on.

Bill, our master target locater was handling the C11 SCT, but this session would not prove too fruitful in prying out deep space objects- as street lamps were very offensive and the glare incredible - limiting any serious DSO observations...

I had Laika leashed on to a ground screw device while we did our session. There were rabbits all about the place and she was quite excited to see them...

From time to time, she would rest in a bed of spring plants...

But, seems that everyone digs Laika and she's such a tramp for attention...

Back to astronomy...

John had his 5" SCT Go-to scope, and punched in targets via his controller - catching M13 and other targets we could not get in the C11 - while Steve brought along his Mak and Patrick his 4.5". I lugged the C11 beast....

It was a good evening of laughs and astro play. Nothing serious, but light targeting and going from scope to scope - comparing views, swapping eyepices and sharing insights...

We stayed until the area closed at 11:00 pm. The evening went by very quickly and I enjoyed my time with old and new friends. Kyle and Patrick are most welcomed to join in our our activities and become regular members of the Chicago Astronomer crew.

Shown are: Bill, myself & Laika, Kyle, John. Steve and Patrick

There are times for serious study of the cosmos and other times for loose collar astro fun. Tonight was a good night for fun, no pressure astronomy.

On to the next event....

[patrickm]

Hey guys.
I had SO MUCH FUN. I might still be there if the police hadn't kicked us all out.

"Hey! Where did everybody go??!!"

I am still so excited from the camaraderie, the fantastic views from the other scopes, and the kindness that all of you showed a wet behind the ears newbie.

As I said at the end of the eve, thanks for tolerating me and my questions and I promise to keep asking until I find the boundaries. They must be there somewhere. :-) I also admire that you set up under far less than stellar conditions (pun intended) and force unsuspecting wanderers to pay attention or try really hard not to.

Does anybody else find it odd that an entire planetarium was full of attorneys and not one of them bothered to come over for a look? That struck me as a bit strange.

I still need help with the collimation, as trying it on my own in the daytime seems to have made things WORSE, not better.

Questions I didn't get answered:
Are all solar filters created equal for my little 114SLT?
What binocs do y'all recommend for home and also travel?
What kind of finder scope should I score?
What's the next logical step up in scope?
When do we get to do it again?

I was also glad that I wasn't the only one who found the Adler rooftop with my scope! ;-)

Tomorrow, we are taking the scope over to Rockford to Julia's folks retirement "institution," as Doug calls it, and I'll do my best to get it set up and check out the planets and my new friends M13 and M44 again. M65/66 and M81/82 are next on my hit list though as I am determined to see a galaxy without getting up at 5AM to see Andromeda.

IF I can get it working, I will take pics and report back on any success.

Next time somebody'd better help me drink my thermos of green tea. I was way too jacked up on caffeine, adrenaline, and stardust to sleep when I got home. And sorry it took me this long to post. I finally tried to get registered, but the confirm email never showed. I couldn't muster the energy to try again until tonight.

Thank you so much again.

Laika is a rock star.
patrick

[patrickm]

I'd post more, but don't see an obvious way how to post more photos. Let's see if this works.

-----------------

*Patrick, thanks for posting your pics. It's always good to see the activities from anothers point of view.

But, I recommend that you establish a free on-line photo storage account

(I like Photobucket and it's what I use).

Then, you can upload your pics and post them via the IMG tag...all you want.

Attachments:

[patrickm]

Bill with friend.

Attachments:

[patrickm]

Laika doing her best to pose, but secretly thinking of bunnies.

Attachments:

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Patrick,

It was great having with us for the fun night of scopes and laughs...and I invite you to future sessions.

I still need help with the collimation, as trying it on my own in the daytime seems to have made things WORSE, not better.

The collimation issue will resolve itself, as you get better, but it just takes time and a lot of patience. Sometimes it feels like three steps forward, one step back.

This Sky and Telescope article gives a good discription of the procedure....

www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/diy/3306876.html

If you still have difficulties, we can tackle it together.

Questions I didn't get answered:

Are all solar filters created equal for my little 114SLT?

Pretty much yes.

Different manufacturers use different materials for aperture filters - imparting either a bluish or orange tint to the solar disk.

You can get premade filters that fit snugly over the opening of your scope - (the glass ones are nice), but you can get sheets of the filter cheaper and make your own frame. A Google search will turn up many sources of filter material.


What binocs do y'all recommend for home and also travel?

I have used 10x50s for many years with good results, but dig my 15 x 70's the best. A bit heavy, but the FOV is good and great views...

For travel, a pair of 7×35 or 8×35 or 8 x 42's are a good compromise for portability and observation, but I would take the 10x50's.


What kind of finder scope should I score?

I like my 60mm finderscope on my C11...

Really a spotting scope of sorts, it accepts 1.25 eyepieces and with a right angle - with aperture big enough to show faint fuzzies. The original finderscope that came with it is a 9x50 straight through...

...and I use it from time to time, but prefer the 60mm....and with the right angle star directional, much easier on the neck.

With that, get a finderscope with a right directional - perhaps something like this...

What's the next logical step up in scope?

This depends on what you like to do.

Refractors are great for planetary and lunar observations, but reflectors are great for Deep Space Objects (DSO's), and a whole lot cheaper.

A 8" Dobsonian scope would be a good light gatherer and all around work horse scope. No motor or tracking drives normally on Dobs - it's all manual push & pull, but that isn't such a bad thing - but some fancier Dobs have "Digital Setting Circles", that "sense" where the scope is pointing to, (after proper alignment), and will direct you in where to push or pull the scope to find your desired objects.

A SCT might be your next step if you like the tracking and go-to capabilities, but now we are talking much bigger bucks.

I like my smaller C5 SCT scope a lot...

Light, quick to set up, motorized and good views.

(Shown is a 63.5mm finderscope attached, a red-dot finder and the Green laser holder.)

Most astronomers get "aperture fever", wanting larger and larger scopes, so perhaps the 8" Dob would be a good scope to move up to...and relatively easy to carry.


When do we get to do it again?

I'm asked often if the Chicago Astronomers have regular observation sessions.

For the most part...no.

But I always say three things must be aligned for a session...

1 - Weather
2 - Time
3 - Motivation

When all three sync, then the call goes out, messages posted on Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and here. Emails are sent out and calls are made.

But, we have many sessions throughout the months, and do our monthly Full Moon Rise parties, which are always great fun.

Patrick it's great to see your enthusiasm and enjoyment at our star party. In a PM, send me your email address and phone number, and you'll be in the close loop for our next activity.

Keep an eye out for the call....!

[patrickm]

Wow! Thanks for all the info. Much to learn. Much to see! I can see how it would be easy to get seduced by gear hunting to the detriment of star gazing, esp. for an OCD type like me! (This happens in music, too. Pursuit of a rare record that must be owned but is never enjoyed!)

I'll move further questions to appropriate forum. Thanks so much for taking the time!

p
--and DUH! My Flicker act...

[Paulie pchris00]

Okay, I'm just going to throw my two pennies here about the right angle on the finder scope. My only experience with one was at Navy Pier on a 6" Dob identical to mine except for the finder scope. I took the scope off Saturn to try to show somebody the Beehive, and was totally lost. Not only could I not find the Beehive, I couldn't find Saturn again! I need a straight-through. I don't even want to think about trying to use a right angle for spotting again...