Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jul 17, 2010 3:45:39 GMT -6
Chicago Astronomer Semi-Private Star party at Chicago Astronomer's Patrick's Observation site
16/17 July 2010
16/17 July 2010
With a clear night before us, it was hard to deny ourselves a night out under the stars and a semi-private session was hastily organized.
With the Adler area locked down for a concert at Northerly Island, auto traffic was to be limited....and I did not want to deal with it. We had several options to select from and Chicago Astronomer Paulie was in Chicago from Indiana, mentioning that we can utlilize Chicago Astronomer Patrick's local observation site at Horner Park hill...
I was game...and with Chicago Astronomer Bill's lift to the site, we met Paulie already there and set up at various close locations on "The Hill".
I had a lot of bulky equipment - (including the C11) - to lug and with help from the crew, set down near a semi-flat spot. No way I was dragging it all up the hill...
Bill brought his William Optics refractor and both Paulie & Patrick their 4.5" Go-To Newtonians.
Patrick's wife, nephew and dog joined us for this new observation site of the crew...
There was a musical concert going on nearby and provided a nice background of tunes. Several people in attendance came up to see our scopes and ask questions, of which I passed out my cards for those interested in urban astronomy.
But before we start....a group shot...
I dig that Cassiopeia is raising here in the pic.
We can see Patrick set up high on the hill here...
Every once in awhile, blinding him with flash photography.
The area is nice with wide 360 skies, trees blocking out most of the streetlight glare. Although the south was washed out with light pollution and the air kinda hazy.
This was the first true tryout of my new 2" eyepieces, and they performed well. Pinpoints across the field and only at the very edge of the eyepiece was there any limited distortions. Starting out with the 40mm on new targets, we progressed through the mag series of 32mm & 26mm - then throwing in the 2x Barlow to finish off.
One of the first objects was M13 in Hercules, almost straight up. The C11 always brought out the marvel of the star cluster, even with 1.25' eyepieces, but the view through 2 inchers was spectacular. Wide comfortable field, yet decent magnification with the 40mm - resolving individual stars and lanes in the cluster. Popping in the other eyepieces, it took the magnification very well and even accepted the 26mm with Barlow , (making it a 13mm), still bright and detailed.
Very similar to this astroimage of M13 (Not mine).
The best I have ever viewed it from Chicago skies... ;D
We also targeted NGC 6341/M92 - M13's forgotten brother. It was bright and well defined in the C11, resolving individual stars.
Very similar to the above, but not as bright, (Not mine).
Saturn was good too, but we set up late and by the time I was ready, Saturn was already in the muck. But Paulie made sure that Bill and I caught Mercury in his Binoculars before it sank behind a building across the street.
M57 was equally as nice, bright, defined and sharp in the 2". Patricks's OIII & Nebula filters increased the contrast nicely and it was a wide comfortable view of the planetary nebula. And again, took the high magnification of the 26mm/Barlow combo well.
The Owl Star Cluster, (E.T.), was pin point in both 1.25" & 2" eyepieces...with the 1.25" bringing out a slightly darker contrast over the 2". (But only because the light path of the 1.25mm is smaller.)
Views of NGC 457 were similar to the above, (Not my image)
Whips of high clouds started to form and made the Dumbbell Nebula washed out a bit, but one could still discern the familiar shape. I knew regular filter would not bring out anything, but I still tried.
Good friend Gerry stopped by to share in the company and views...
(His pics of the session are coming shortly.)
And here they are.....
Andromeda and Satellite was nice in the 2". Bright core and took magnification well.
Similar to this image, (Not mine).
And speaking of satellites....
I saw an Iridium Satellelite flash in the east and followed another satellite in the C11 for quite a long time - manually pushing it until I lost it.
Patrick enjoyed all views through the C11...and so do I, especially now with the 2" hardware - which unbalances the OTA and needs adjustment.
Paulie and Hillary left after a long day for the long drive to Indiana, but so very cool to have them as part of the crew! We need to head out his way for some darker-Milky Way filled skies soon. As our resident Deep Sky Expert, Bill was busy assisting others in locating various DSO's and targets throughout the evenings session.
Throughout the session, I popped in a 40mm 1.25" eyepiece to compare the views of the 40mm 2" with each object we observed. And although the magnifications and clarity were similar between the 1.25" & 2" eyepieces...the 2 inchers are brighter, slightly sharper and much more comfortable to use...especially allowing us to keep our glasses on with great eye relief.
I can't go back to 1.25", but reserve them for high magnification, study work. I do need now, a camera adapter for the Canon Powershot S3 mating with the 2" Eyepieces. (It never ends...sigh... )
I recently got myself a 1.25" Focal Reducer on Ebay for $10.00 and tried it out this session. Bill and I were disappointed with the results. More later on another thread.
Jupiter rose above the tree line by 12:00 am, and we all slew to it. While still in the muck, we did enjoy views of the planet in our scopes. Jupiter took the 26mm/Barlow combo very well, bringing a small disk up to one of a sizable orb. Biggest I have ever seen Jupiter in a telescope! ( I think eventually some 17mm, 10mm and 5mm 2" eyepieces might be on the Chicago Astronomer wish list... )
I spent a large amount of time just slowly and randomly slewing the skies with the 40mm, enjoying the wide vista - around Cygnus, Cassiopeia and points due east. We remained long after the park closed and did not leave until 1:30 am - with the park and open sky to ourselves.
The crew will certainly return here again for more sessions, as we had fun and was a good night.
Thanks to Patrick for the find and Paulie for the recommendation...