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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Chicago Astronomers Field Trip to the Indiana Dunes for an extended observation session

09 October 2010

Recently, Chicago Astronomer Bill and I ventured across the Indiana border for some quick observations at the Dunes...which was very nice and we caught Comet Hartley easily...

astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Observations&action=display&thread=2909

We enjoyed it so much, that we are going back again this Saturday afternoon, but with exclusive permission from park security for an extended session in a more secluded and darkened area...



Now...

Area Number 1 is the usual locale that we have been setting up..which is... ok. Better than Chicago by far.

But...

Area number 2 is much more secluded, with no lighting..much better.

And area 3 is up a trail, (Accessible by auto), restricted to authorized personnel only and very dark.

I'm eager to explore area number 3 and see how the vista is and if indeed the darker of the locales. It will be warm and clear for this rare session and I'm looking forward to it.

This courtesy is extended solely to the Chicago Astronomers and planned ahead with the proper authorities for this session.

Full narrative and pics upon our return.

[RobbW]

So, what time is everyone leaving? I may have to be extra nice to my wife today and tomorrow in order to not tick her off by leaving her with several small children while I gallivant across the border. Hmm, I gotta figure an angle I can work for this.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Heh...angles....heh.

Bill is picking me up at 4:00 pm and off we go.

An hour or so drive to the area, but we are gonna catch some eats first in Michigan city...just over there. We figure we will be on-site to explore the area around 6:30 pm at the latest. Those who are interested should contact me so we can coordinate and rendezvous.

The entire security crew is aware of our arrival and is prepared. We may have Chicago Astronomers arrive at their own time set, but I would prefer that those who have been invited to arrive no later than 11:00 pm.

No unannounced visitors to this session...and if you wish to attend - let me know ahead of time so I can clear you. It's gonna be a tight accountability.

This will make it easier for the security detail, knowing exactly who is in the park and they assure us that no one will bother us.

We may stay till dawn.

They are just too cool.

[RobbW]

Joe, as of the moment, I am tentatively planning on attending. I have to go strip my in-laws' deck right now. So it depends on how long that takes. I will probably be there a little later, maybe around 8pm or so. We'll see. I have to go use power tools now! R! R! R! I'll post or call if my plans change at all. Maybe send me a quick text on my cell to let me know you got this message. Thanks!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb...

It's cool.

Just texted you and get there before 11pm.

Epic night ahead of us all.

[Paulie pchris00]

I know it's warm right now, but I'm bringing cold weather gear. It was quite frosty when I got home two nights ago, and the cold forced me in before sunrise. I advise winter clothes just in case the temperature drops below the predicted 55 degrees.

[RobbW]

Hey all. I hope you're having a great time at the Dunes on this beautiful, clear, moonless night. Sorry I couldn't be there. I initially planned to go and even got the go-ahead nod from the boss lady (love you honey!). Problem was I already had promised my time today to strip my in-laws deck in preparation to restain it. No worries, I had plenty of time to get that done and still make it across the border, right?! WRONG! It took WAAAAAAYYYY longer than expected, and at the end of it all, I was a tired, broken little monkey. There is no way possible I could have made the drive to the dunes, observed all night, and then driven back in the early morning. I would have been dead asleep be 1am! So, I stayed home and hung out with our friends. Their kids are sleeping over tonight, and my daughter is ecstatic about that. She was really looking forward to Daddy seeting up the telescope and her and her friends getting to see the night skies. When she found out I was probably going to Indiana instead, she was heartbroken. So, it was better that I stayed home anyway.

All is not lost, though. My scope is set up. The kids got their fill of observing. And now I am all alone with my scope. I have found Comet Hartley. I hooked my Canon 40D up for prime focus and am imaging as I type. I may not be with you all in person, but we are all in the sky together!!!

Have a great time everyone. I will post my images sometime within the next day or two.

[Paulie pchris00]

What a night, and what a week. I'm exhausted, and need to get ready for work, so I will throw my two cents in tomorrow (hopefully; I have nearly a week's worth of writing to catch up on).

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Chicago Astronomers invade the Indiana Dunes for a 9 hour session...

I was anticipating this trek to Indiana and with special courtesies extended by our new friends at the Dunes and clear weather, this will be one of the great sessions ever for the crew.

Chicago Astronomer Bill would be driving for the trip and I piled the equipment while waiting for the pick-up. We not only load my C11 stuff in, but Bill's two scopes were in there too...

A nice fit...

We stopped along the way at a Denny's for some sup-par below average eats and headed out to the Dunes. It was about 7:00 pm now, with the Sun already set and we explored our options on observation sites. We went up the hill and scouted that locale...which was nice, but trees would obscure a vista or two. It would be a great site for meteor showers, but I did catch the crescent Moon...

Chicago Astronomer Paulie, (Already in the area), had already spotted it an hour earlier and won the challenge.

We decided that the west parking lot would be suitable to set-up, but unsure exactly where the sweet spot would be - where trees would block out the light from a nearby building and overpowering headlights form approaching cars.. While scouting the area, I ran into a fellow Astronomer from Indiana. Larry and his wife Sharon were there on their own, ready for some clear night observation. So spotting a scope, of course I make my way to it and introduce myself. We talk and I dig his homemade hardwood scope, (more on this later). Larry piles his scope into his car and joins Bill nearer the lake shore to join us....but in searching for the sweet spot...it was close to where Larry was to begin with. So he moved back to his area.

Sorry Larry...

We would tolerate the automotive headlights till the park closed....then enjoy the darkness. Paulie kept a blanket draped on his car to cover his interiors lights from blinding us. Nice.

The skies had some loose collection of clouds, but would soon dissipate and I set up the area with red lights - with one L.E.D. light high above the site, bathing it in red glow...

Here, looking like 2001's H.A.L - it keeps a red eye open for the Chicago Astronomers so we don't trip on each other...

I think it worked well, and another one or two could be used from different angles.

And so we start...but not before Chicago Astronomer Hillary offer up some space cookies...

There was still some light pollution ambient lighting, so it was not completely dark, but a great deal better than what we get in Chicago...with our orange skies and seven stars...

With the glow of Chicago to the northwest well after sunset, we begin our session - with no time restriction to get out, it was relaxing and we took our time.

The C11 behaved well, with some minor tracking issues. I had replaced the two rubber washers on the tracking/slew gears, and I think they were not suitable or too hard..or something, as in the astroimaging, I was getting small jumps in the image...

This must be investigated soon.

But, we had a mission to do some Comet Hartley hunting and did spot it...

Easily spotted near the star Miram and passed the Double-Cluster, faintly showing a nucleus and dim haze, but I think that this is the best it's gonna get unless it fractures.

Using my Laptop with "Redshift Premium" I updated it before leaving Chicago and using nearby stars to triangulate, Comet Hartley could not hide. Shown in this pic is Indiana astronomer Larry who I just met earlier in the parking lot. I was impressed by his homemade Dob, crafted from discarded materials...

He writes....

Joe,

Here is the 8 inch wood-dob. The mirror is one of 5 that I figured at Jim Seever's shop and the tube and base is the third set. Most of the scope is made of recycled wood. I used pieces of a discarded dining room table, kitchen cabinets from construction waste, and a warped & split mahogany beam. I cut the curved spider vane off the end of a chimney liner. The whole thing cost about $25, not counting the Moonlite focuser and eyepieces. I'll bring my cass next time.

Larry

Great to have met Larry on just pure luck and hope we can share more sessions together soon!

Young Mac from Chicago made the trip with his Dad Joe and shorty tube 6" Dob joining us and pleased for opting in on the star party. Kudos to Joe on fostering his son's astronomy interests...the noblest of the Sciences...

Our extended trip to the Dunes was made possible through the courtesies of two fine gentlemen from the Dunes security detail. First Joel, who on patrol with partner Mike, (and really into astronomy), first noticed my C11 beast last week when we set up in the east parking lot. I called Joel up, informing him that we would be heading out to the Dunes... and he started the chain of notifications and permissions in granting us this great time...

And to Mike, who made sure everything was set up for us. Mike also took me along for a tour of the area, checking out potential observation sites throughout the immediate area. We located several spots and would make for good sites...with direct automobile access.

Here, Mike's wife joins us and Paulie, Hillary and Bill avert their eyes to the camera flash...

Thanks to Joel and Mike for taking good care of us and the Chicago Astronomer crew are forever grateful... ;D

Also joining us this session was Brad, resident naturalist for the Indiana Dunes State Park...

Shown are: Myself, Brad, Hillary & Paulie, Sharon & Larry, Bill, Mac and Joe.

Brad and I were discussing the possibility of joint efforts of the Chicago Astronomers, the Dunes and other local astronomy groups. Perhaps for the Leonids...? Something to plan out and enjoy.

And... we head into the early wee hours of the session, now after 12 midnight and still hours to go. Sweet!

Here Chicago Astronomer Paulie grabs a peek at Comet Hartley..

Paulie was identifying and targeting objects as soon as they cleared the tree line with his Dob, compiling a long list of targets for this session...quite cool.

Seven Sisters make their way past the tree line...

..and Orion soon follows...

I attempt to take some images of M42, but with the tracking acting up, I get semi-acceptable captures...

But here is a tight shot of the Triangulum...

Bill was capturing some incredible images with his DSLR, faint galaxies, nebula tendrils etc.... I hope he posts them!

I was imaging the comet, and captured this...

But, looking at the camera lens, I noticed some smudge...and think it's just a gunk shot.

We had noticed that the area had gotten a bit darker, with Michigan city to our east and Chicago, (slightly dimmed) to our northwest, both were going to sleep for a few hours...

When we started, the Big Dipper was on our left...and now had re-risen from the gunk and now lifting to our right. With 15x70 binoculars, I was scanning the bowl area, and with confirmation from the others, found Bodes Nebula, (M81 & M82). Slewing the C11 to the spot, Bill found it for us and very nice I must say, but he took some great images of the cigar and hope again he posts his images.

Park authorities kept the restrooms open and unlocked for us all night and our site from the distance...

A few hours later at around 4:00 am, Orion was riding high and now was getting cold. Throughout the session from 7:00 pm on...the temps were comfortable. I was mostly in just the shirt, but every once in awhile, waves of heat and cold would wash over the site...and in strata. On and off with the hoodie, but at around 4:00 am a cold front passed and it got really cold. Luckily , I brought my heavy jacket, but I was starting to get uncomfortable...and with mostly standing for 8 hours...tired and achy.

And the C11, was started to dew up. I kept the Extended dew Shield off for the majority of the session, as the dew point was not a issue, but with the change in temp, we got fog on the corrector plate. Taking off the OTA and lugging it to Bill's cat, he cranked up the heat and cleared the plate. Bringing it back to the mount, I secured the E.D.S and it always keeps the plate clear.

Jupiter, who kept us company from the start, now was leaving our skies...

And...as much as I enjoy star gazing...I was ready too.

Silently, I packed my gear, not wanting to disrupt Paulie's and Bill's observation time, but they soon packed away their gear too...and by 5:00 am, we policed the area for trash, gear or other items..and were off.

It was a great long leisurely night, with a good crew and hospitality from the Indiana Dunes authorities and hope to be back for the November Leonid meteor shower.

Stay tuned for the updates.

[patrickm]

Have been eagerly awaiting reports. Wow am I jealous! What a great time. I just didn't have the energy to make the trip, had things to do around the house, and needed to spend quality time with Julia. But was there in spirit and happy to see the skies remain clear for y'all.

Can't wait to see what Paulie and Bill have to say and post.

Also happy to hear that there is hopefully some official collaboration to follow. Would especially love to hang out and chat with the official park naturalist (and the official naturist for that matter). Neat. More organized outreach and engagement with folks like that can only help Chicago area astronomy down the road.

p

[atomant]

Forever grateful to the crew at Indiana Dunes State Park for allowing us to enjoy and share this epic clear night sky.
From naked eye viewing of the crescent moon, telescope viewing the moons of Jupiter, the elusive Comet Hartley 2 and a bunch of Messier and NGCs, this was a very memorable night.

Joe and I were hoping to grab some local grub before heading to the park. Unfamiliar with the locale, we ended up at the Denny's at Portage. Unfortunately for Joe's virgin Denny's meal, it was a dud. Burgers shouldn't be that hard to make.
For $9 hard earned dollars, all I got was a small filet of tilapia and watered down corn. Ugghhh.

This evening I had planned to do both wide field and narrow field observing and photographing with my two Vixens:
R130sf, an f/5 shorty Newt
VC200L, an f/9 modified Cat
using Takahashi EM10 equatorial mount.

We also met Larry and Sharon, who brought their ingeniously beautiful 8inch Dob. Very sweet vista views of Jupiter and Double Cluster, to name a few. Even with my glasses, the Lanthanum eyepiece Larry used was very comfortable. Would love to get a chance to peek thru their Cassegrain next time.
Also Larry is very versed on skylore, a valuable asset for astronomy outreach.

With Hillary's cookies and Paulie's due diligence spotting of the comet, I began my onslaught on the heavens. For a city boy, this was like shooting fish in a barrel.

I started with wide field viewing with the 5in Newt, allowing my Cat to cool on the side.
Armed with entry level DSLR mounted on flip mirror, I also took photos. This single night blew away all my many nights under the stars with film camera. Not only do I get instant gratification, but I can shoot many photos and pick and choose on my computer at leisure.

Here are pics of the elusive Comet Hartley 2 [103P] closing in on Eta Persei aka Miram:

earlier in the evening

this little sucker can move

close up shot with vc200
All were 30sec exposures. First at iso400, the latter two iso3200.

We hit on a few summer items:

m13 globular setting toward Chitown thru the 5in newt

lonely lil brother m92 globular thru 5in newt

joe's fave lil smoke ring planetary neb thru 5in newt

the much larger m27 planetary neb thru 5in newt

Catching Mac's enthusiasm to see the Veil Nebula, I also tried a go at it:


Caught image of the fainties thru the 5in newt

Here's Autumn rising

This cool bino object barely fit in the 5in newt.


M31/M32/M110 galaxies thru 5in newt

thru 8in cat

m33 galaxy just below Andromeda thru 5in newt

I found UFO??!! creeping in the next series of photos of Crab Nebula M1.




Using 15x70 binoculars, Joe spotted smudges at the tip of the Big Dipper. Using the C11, we captured them:

M81

and this Cigar!

Winter's next up...

ngc 2392 the clown face or eskimo nebula aka "the Inuit" thru c11

The mighty Orion Nebula thru C11


ngc 2024 and ?? thru 5in newt

ngc 2023 and b33 horsehead??!! thru 8in cat

what a spectacular mild night to get 3 seasons of stars under our belts.
Can't wait for spring galaxies and the Messier Marathon.

ngc 1973 aka "the running man" thru 8in cat


orion's sword thru 5in newt

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Yay...!

Now, these are quite cool and I was amazed when viewing them on Bill's Viewfider, but here larger...I am totally amazed at his captures.

That blue tumbling U.F.O is quite cool...I wonder what the hell it was?

There are all really amazing...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I was getting those little star triangles and other wired stuff too..so it's the drive on the Losmandy.


But that blue tumbling artifact is also off M42 too. Camera issue? Bug?

I don't know if it's the rubber washers I replaced, off-balance or not enough weight on the shaft. But tonight, I'm gonna set it up and do some experiments out side of the garage.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I took the liberty of manipulating Bill's slick images...

Removing some of the noise and increasing contrast.

These should be submitted to S&T...no...really.

[patrickm]

Holy Moses, gang!!

[RobbW]

Hey, Bill. Are your images stacks or are those single frames? How long of an exposure did you take for the M31 on the 8" CAT? I have a C8 and my images aren't nearly that bright or detailed. Then again, I'm only taking 30 second subs because my tracking isn't exactly spot on. That Comet Hartley sure was cruising! It's really cool to actually witness something moving in the night sky like that. I was imaging Hartley the same night and will post my stacked image once I figure out how to use DSS properly! Thanks for the images, one and all. I really hate myself for missing the event!

[atomant]

Hi Robb,

All those shots were single frames.
I do not have software for my unmod Nikon to process the images.
All I have is Microsoft Office Picture Manager for minor contrast adjustments.
You can see that iso 3200 brings up a lot of noise.
The M31 thru 8in cat was just shy of 4 minutes.
Compared to the faster 5in newt shot of just 30 seconds.

You can see coma on the images thru the 5in newt.
Not too distracting from afar.
I was actually glad the sticky Chinese grease kept my camera from slipping. The focuser on the 5in newt has no lock.

The Tak mount held up alignment nicely as I switched scopes midway of the observing session.
I had the tripod legs just a tad short for the Cat though.
Newts are a pain on EQ mounts as one has to rotate entire tube instead of the mirror diagonal.
Not recommended for beginners.

Joe,

What software did you use to rid the noise?
I don't think they're worthy to be on S&T.
The field is crowded in the astro-imaging world.
Without a laptop and software to take stacks of images, I'm at the point and shoot phase.

I am curious how the new entry Nikon DSLRs compare to the Canons. Canons are the AP fave. Look forward to a shootout.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Bill,

I don't think they're worthy to be on S&T.

No, I disagree.

Apart from the incredible imaging with a simple DSLR - without stacking or massive post processing -( I was there and was amazed at the on-the-spot results from our session)....how many images are submitted like this from the Chicago Area?

Slim or none.

You are gonna make me get a DSLR man...

The software I use is called "Noiseware Community Edition"

It's free and I have been using it for years in our Chicago Astronomer pics.

It can be found here:

noiseware-community-edition.en.softonic.com/

All digital camera impart some "noise". Just the nature of the beast. But this program helps to smooth things out and remove as much noise as you desire.

All too cool!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Here is a dirty animation of Comet Hartley:

Ideally, the stars should be aligned, but I just ain't got the time now.

Perhaps tonight, I'll clean this up.

[patrickm]

Oct 12, 2010 14:40:53 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Bill,

I don't think they're worthy to be on S&T.

No, I disagree.

Apart from the incredible imaging with a simple DSLR - without stacking or massive post processing -( I was there and was amazed at the on-the-spot results from our session)....how many images are submitted like this from the Chicago Area?

Slim or none...

All too cool!

Dunno "S+T worthy" really means, but they are too cool. Just beautifully done, especially for what you are working with. I think they are especially notable because, like Joe says, there are people out there, and here, who would be stunned to see that our skies are capable of producing these photos at all, much less without stacks.

I say, go for it. And mostly I say bravo for you and the Vixen!

[orionm42]

Great time and i cant wait to come out there again. Thanks joe for being my guide to the universe.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Young Mac...

Great to have you join the crew across the border.

I have received many compliments and thanks over the years from members, fans and visitors to the Chicago Astronomer Star Parties, but your post made me smile a big grin and means a lot.

You are welcome and your enthusiasm is what it's all about.