Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Oct 11, 2012 11:44:10 GMT -6
A Mt. Greenwood Park bash of a session...
Arriving on-scene at 6:30 pm in Chicago's far south side, C.A. Support Crew member Barbara and I scoped out the area and set up the C11 gear. We had individuals already looking for us and one group from Channahon Illinois...!
Very cool.
I claimed ground where I had indicated in the above aerial pic, but the ground lighting was just too overpowering, with several supernovae light posts bathing the area in glare. I asked our waiting participants to assist me in moving the gear to a better location, at least away from the direct sunlamps...
We made new friends this session and all anticipated their first Chicago Astronomer star party...
Joe, C.A. Forum Member Jay and Jon - all top notch guys..and really - everybody at this session was enthusiastic and high with energy. And we start...
Jon brought along his Meade 90mm ETX ...
...but was having a tough time doing anything with it. Looking it over, things seemed to be ok, but I noticed that he had a 9mm 1.25" eyepiece in...much too powerful to start out with. I asked if he had a smaller mm eyepiece, but that was the only one he had. I did not bring along my 1.25" eyepieces, but dazedandconfused Jay had 1.25"s and popped in a 25mm...and John's eyes were open and actually started to observe the heavens through his scope. I took quick peeks and the views were good and with a wide FOV.
Enhancing our session, was a International Space Station pass at 38 degrees high and at -2.0 at SSW. And on time, she made her appearance...
Using the Canon Powershot S3 and with a 15 Second exposure, a decent capture, with a bump here and there...
Although this site was better than the first one, the lighting still was a factor and the fainter celestial objects were not easily located with all the glare, but the brighter objects such as the E.T Star Cluster, Double Cluster in Perseus and Binaries were enjoyed...
This was a teaching session, as I guided telescope owners in proper use of their scopes, discussing the Pluto decision, cosmology and a host of other related topics though out our evening together....
Class in session.
New Chicago Astronomer member Marie joined us this evening and brought along her 4.5 Meade long tube Newtonian...
I adjusted and tweaked her scoped and we got her red-dot finder aligned with the OTA. She got solid views of the low layin' Jupiter later on just as the session came to a close. I like her enthusiasm and will make a great Chicago Astronomer participant.
And we continue with our night....
Jon was showing others his Venus Transit pics, which caught my attention. I then offered him a rare "Chicago Astronomer Venus Transit" button, which he really dug. Jay, who also viewed the transit got one as well...smiles all around. (Should have taken a pic...damn!
)
Early on, I went jacket-less, quite comfortable in the cool fall air, but at around 8pm the temps drops and it got chilly. I noticed later on in the session, that frost was clinging to the gear the eyepieces of others had frosted up, but my optics remained clear and with the help of the Extended Dew Shield kept the corrector plate dew and frost free....also helping to keep the glass in the shade from the glare very nicely.
C.A. member Jay brought along his Tasco 8V reflector scope and I assisted a little bit on the procedure in collimating the instrument, but with attending to others, I did not have the proper time to devote and get it near a acceptable functionality. Jay adjusted the three collimating screws at my instruction, at the rear of the tube and discovered the frustration procedure that Astronomers have in this task. Tweak that, loosen that...it's all a balancing act...and then in a quick moment...clarity and sharp focus! He also has the additional problem in that this is a closed system, with a corrector plate in front - and the secondary attached to that. I think we can get it nudged along to a usable scope, but all we can hope for is a primary mirror adjustment here...
And...great to see Mac and his Dad Joe join us...
They have been long time Chicago Astronomer participants and this makes three Joe's onsite - cubed.
Solid.
At 10:30 pm...we broke down our site and brought to an end our Mt. Greenwood Park session. We had a count of 76 visitors on this chilly evening. Great enthusiasm, laughs and a solid learning session.
Onward to our next Park Dist Star Party on the 23rd of October at Gompers Park.
Arriving on-scene at 6:30 pm in Chicago's far south side, C.A. Support Crew member Barbara and I scoped out the area and set up the C11 gear. We had individuals already looking for us and one group from Channahon Illinois...!
Very cool.
I claimed ground where I had indicated in the above aerial pic, but the ground lighting was just too overpowering, with several supernovae light posts bathing the area in glare. I asked our waiting participants to assist me in moving the gear to a better location, at least away from the direct sunlamps...
We made new friends this session and all anticipated their first Chicago Astronomer star party...
Joe, C.A. Forum Member Jay and Jon - all top notch guys..and really - everybody at this session was enthusiastic and high with energy. And we start...
Jon brought along his Meade 90mm ETX ...
...but was having a tough time doing anything with it. Looking it over, things seemed to be ok, but I noticed that he had a 9mm 1.25" eyepiece in...much too powerful to start out with. I asked if he had a smaller mm eyepiece, but that was the only one he had. I did not bring along my 1.25" eyepieces, but dazedandconfused Jay had 1.25"s and popped in a 25mm...and John's eyes were open and actually started to observe the heavens through his scope. I took quick peeks and the views were good and with a wide FOV.
Enhancing our session, was a International Space Station pass at 38 degrees high and at -2.0 at SSW. And on time, she made her appearance...
Using the Canon Powershot S3 and with a 15 Second exposure, a decent capture, with a bump here and there...
Although this site was better than the first one, the lighting still was a factor and the fainter celestial objects were not easily located with all the glare, but the brighter objects such as the E.T Star Cluster, Double Cluster in Perseus and Binaries were enjoyed...
This was a teaching session, as I guided telescope owners in proper use of their scopes, discussing the Pluto decision, cosmology and a host of other related topics though out our evening together....
Class in session.
New Chicago Astronomer member Marie joined us this evening and brought along her 4.5 Meade long tube Newtonian...
I adjusted and tweaked her scoped and we got her red-dot finder aligned with the OTA. She got solid views of the low layin' Jupiter later on just as the session came to a close. I like her enthusiasm and will make a great Chicago Astronomer participant.
And we continue with our night....
Jon was showing others his Venus Transit pics, which caught my attention. I then offered him a rare "Chicago Astronomer Venus Transit" button, which he really dug. Jay, who also viewed the transit got one as well...smiles all around. (Should have taken a pic...damn!
)Early on, I went jacket-less, quite comfortable in the cool fall air, but at around 8pm the temps drops and it got chilly. I noticed later on in the session, that frost was clinging to the gear the eyepieces of others had frosted up, but my optics remained clear and with the help of the Extended Dew Shield kept the corrector plate dew and frost free....also helping to keep the glass in the shade from the glare very nicely.
C.A. member Jay brought along his Tasco 8V reflector scope and I assisted a little bit on the procedure in collimating the instrument, but with attending to others, I did not have the proper time to devote and get it near a acceptable functionality. Jay adjusted the three collimating screws at my instruction, at the rear of the tube and discovered the frustration procedure that Astronomers have in this task. Tweak that, loosen that...it's all a balancing act...and then in a quick moment...clarity and sharp focus! He also has the additional problem in that this is a closed system, with a corrector plate in front - and the secondary attached to that. I think we can get it nudged along to a usable scope, but all we can hope for is a primary mirror adjustment here...
And...great to see Mac and his Dad Joe join us...
They have been long time Chicago Astronomer participants and this makes three Joe's onsite - cubed.
Solid.
At 10:30 pm...we broke down our site and brought to an end our Mt. Greenwood Park session. We had a count of 76 visitors on this chilly evening. Great enthusiasm, laughs and a solid learning session.
Onward to our next Park Dist Star Party on the 23rd of October at Gompers Park.
