Observing Session Summary - Saturday 17th May 2014

Butser Ancient Farm was open Saturday so had a another good chance to use the new scope and even the smartphone adapter for some astrophotography. It was a moonless night so had an ambitious list of targets. Although, some I could not see because the observing sight has a hill that makes objects in the far west difficult.

Here I provide the list of targets and a summary of the observations.

Some visual observations to get familar with navigating the skies: I used some tips from Turn Left at Orion to get familiar with the Spring skies. I successfully located stars' Castor and Pollux in Gemini and Regulus in Leo. Plus stars Arcturus and Spica and the constellation Corona Borealis.

M 13 Globular Cluster (HERCULES): A spectacular sight although I think a little impacted by dew.

Comet PANSTARRS C/2012 K: In URSA major. Chart 4 Chi Star. Think I saw it. Was certainly in the right place. Appeared like a small star with a slight haze on one side which I guess was the tail.

Planet Saturn (LIBRA): I have saved the best for last. A great visual view of the open rings both. Also had some success with capturing my first ever image with my smartphone. See below. It's simply 20 images taken with my Galaxy S3 mobile mounted to the eyepiece on my telescope and then stacked in software called RegiStax.

Here is a link to my session log:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q_jaEOMLGVd1MxVnpsNGtvMjA/edit?usp=sharing

Smartphone Adapter for Astrophotography

I've shared some pics of the progress and finished smartphone adapter I've been working on. Had lot's of help from my brother, and I mean lot's; he's the DIY one.

Materials and hardware were easy to source. The adapter is made from a bar of aluminium shaped using a metal drill, pliers and file. The wing nuts make for easy adjustments. This is then attached to an old smartphone case to mount my Samsung S3 mini.

Finished product is very robust. Can't wait to give it a go on the Moon and maybe even some planets.

Observing Session Summary - Saturday 19th April 2014

Butser Ancient Farm was open Saturday so had a good chance to use the new scope. It was a moonless night so even better for some deep sky observing. I took along my copy of "Turn Left At Orion" but found I mostly used the binoculars to spot some objects and only used the scope to get a better view of those target I found. Good to know that the bins wont be left out.
Here I provide the list of targets and a summary of the observations.

Mel 111 (Coma Cluster) Open Cluster: Spectacular sight. Found very quick with bins. Was also visible to the naked eye. Counted at least 20 stars with bins. Because of the wide field of this cluster it is best through binoculars.

M 53 Globular Cluster: Used the star chart to find this one on the fly with the bins. Found the right location with the bins but could not see it. Bob had this in his 10 inch goto and said this would be a tough find with my push to 8 inch. Was chuffed because I managed to find it with star hopping :)

Mars: Had a great view of Mars. I could see surface detail on the red planet. There was a dark patch on the top right as I looked at the planet through the eye piece. Dave said I had probably the best view of all the scope out that night, even the bigger 10 inch dobs.

ISS: We had a pass of the international space station at about 21.00. As it passed I put the cross hairs of my scope a little ahead of the stations trajectory and as I looked in the eye piece I saw it wiz by with some detail. It has a rectangular shape and was. Pretty cool.

Here is a link to my session log:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q_jaEOMLGVSVVsOHBZMHd3NXc/edit?usp=sharing

I also am working on an adapter to mount my smartphone in front of the eye piece to take some photos of what I can see. I can also load the data into some software to stack the images to get some more detail out. Once I have some results I will post the images up here with some detail of what I did.

Dived right in

Today I got my telescope. I went for the Altair Astro 8 inch f/5 newtonian and the alt-azimuth Sabre mount.

Quite an upgrade from my 10x50 binoculars and if I'm honest, a little intimidating. However,  looking forward to Christen it when we get a clear evening.

Also,  I bought 'Turn Left at Orion' from Amazon. It's a book that takes you through the process to find hundreds of objects and is ideal for a Dobsonian like set up. Comes with some excellent reviews.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

For some time I have been certain that my first telescope will be a large Dobsonian. I have heard this called aperture fever; “I want the biggest and the best”. It recently dawned on me that the choice of telescope needs a little more thought.

I have read that the best scope is the one you use the most. I live in a second floor flat and a large Dobsonian could be heavy and awkward to move around. I don't want to risk the chance that I will buy a scope that will deter me because it is cumbersome to transport, so time to re-evaluate.

Now, I still want the Dobsonian experience ie, no tracking, no motors, no electricity. After some research, the solution I have found is to buy a Newtonian reflector and put this with an alt azimuth mount. Less bulky than a Dobsonian, and only expect a couple of trips to and from the car. Below is the scope and mount I plan to go for:

Telescope:

http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16463&cat=271&page=1

Mount:

http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16589

Observing Session Summary - Saturday 1st March 2014

Butser Ancient Farm was open Saturday. No Moon, so a good evening for observing.

I used the list of targets I didn't see from last couple of months and 'Philip's Stargazing with Binocular's' to plan the session. Here I provide the list of targets and a summary of the observations.

Kembles Cascade: Finally got to see the cascade. Forms an obvious line. A bit hazy and difficult to resolve individual stars. However, a nice target and looks best when using averted vision

M  44 (Open Cluster): Nice open cluster and found it quite easily. Could resolve about 10-15 stars. Also pretty sure I could see the cluster with the naked eye.

M  66 (Galaxy): Managed to locate where this one should be but could not see it. Think it must be too faint for my 10x50 bins.

M81 & M82: Struggled to find the galaxies. Think they must be too faint for my bins. I confirmed this when I Found these 2 in the March Sky and night binoculars tour. In here it suggest that a minimum of 15x70 bins. One for the telescope (when I get one).

Here is a link to my session log:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q_jaEOMLGVMVFIS0ZHS3RlWmc/edit?usp=sharing

Clear Skies!!

Observing Session Summary - Saturday 15th February 2014

Butser Ancient Farm was open Saturday. Invited my brother along for his first free session. Was very glad he came. The full Moon was out so didn't expect to get all the targets I had planned earlier that day. However, we had a good go.

I used 'Philip's Stargazing with Binocular's' and February's Sky At Night magazine binocular's tour to plan the session. Here I provide the list of targets and a summary of the observations.

Kembles Cascade: Had another go given I couldn't find it in January. I successfully starhopped to the right location but I believe the Moon made it difficult to pick out the cascade of stars.

M36, M37 and M38: These are all in a similar location in the Auriga constellation. I was tough to find them. They were very faint but pretty sure I got them.

M41 & M44: I hadn't realised but these were in the same part of the sky as the full Moon (in the East) so had no luck.

M81 & M82: Was very keen to see these since the supernova in M82 was peeking and a good target for binocular's. However, unfortunately, the Moon was also the reason I could not do the star hop to find them.

Here is a link to my session log:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q_jaEOMLGVakhUQm10OUdNQU0/edit?usp=sharing

I have also been working on a list of the tasks to plan and log a session. Once I have this complete I will post the basics here.