Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 1, 2011 20:33:04 GMT -6
12 Hour Observation session for Chicago Astronomer Joe
30 July 2011
30 July 2011
After our Star Party by the south side of the Adler building, I asked the Chicago Astronomer crew if they wanted to extend the scope time by setting up at the private Chicago Astronomer Observation site for a bit. Bill and Rich were in, and off we went after we closed down the Chicago Astronomer star party.
Securing clearance, I went for a hot dog run while Bill and Rich set up their scopes. After a nice meal together on Bill's table, we started our session. This time, I brought all the pieces to set up the Astro-brella - providing us a nice shade pocket.
Bill was doing some astrophotgraphy with his shorty refractor, capturing comet Garradd...he should be posting the results soon.
I took some Jupiter shots while we were at it...
Early on, Callisto was riding high over Jupiter and later on in the session, the GRS made it's appearance. I swear that the color changes night to night on the GRS.
I attached the Smartphone windshield holder to the OTA, (That suction cup makes for a very secure grab.)...
With Jupiter already centered in the eyepiece, I calibrated the Google Sky app as best I could, but it's touchy and rather laggy. Then I attempted to image Uranus again and maybe Neptune, but by this time, an Iridium flare was scheduled...and right on the mark...it manifested over the Chicago skyline...
I only had a 8 second exposure, so only half of the flare got captured.
And we spent time moving from target to target...
Rich left first, after experimenting with different eyepieces I had on his 10" Dob. Glad he came out and spent time here with us.
I asked Skymaster Bill to help with using the setting circles on the Losmandy type mount, as I should be more adapt on using them. He called out the coordinates via laptop and I slewed...but it was a very coarse locater - getting us in the general area, but not within the 40mm eyepiece FOV. A slight nudging was required to reach it. After some time doing other targets, we discovered that the line indicator on the R.A. circle could be off by a couple of degrees. Looking underneath I saw that the pointer is adjustable via two tiny hex screws. I had hex wrenches on site, but none were of proper size. I will do an adjustment session soon one night outside of the garage.
I also played around with the digital setting circles, but it was giving me error messages.
Bill then left, and I decided to remain once again till dawn, practicing slewing to various targets...
Dawn comes quick and the birds first sense it even before any brightening of the sky is noticed. But early on in the session the night was heavy with temps and dew...but now a comfortable cool breeze washed over the site and I continued the observations...
And then comes the time when we stop and break down the site...
Again, the entire site was damp with dew, including myself, but the Corrector Plate remained clear and dry with the Extended Dew Shield.
I took some time to catch the sunrise after a pleasant evening of observations...
Tired, this ended a 12 hour session with scopes, starting at 7:00pm the night before and the second consecutive all nighter...
Astronomy is very cool, but I need a few days off from looking up...at least until Wednesday... ;D
