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Ardeche


Guest Steve

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Guest Steve

Hi all,

After nightmare drive through constant rain and spray through the body of France I have broken through the jet stream to find blue skies and black skies.

I sneaked the Williams Optics 66mm Refractor with Hyperion 8-24 zoom into the car, along with Ron's old AZ4 mount, so I'll be looking to see what I can see.

I am in a rural Gite on a hill side right on the edge of the village, so it is pretty dark, considering the time of year.

Yesterday, Saturday, I had chance to take a look at the sun and saw a couple of lovely spots. I hope to get my camera connected up during this holiday and start taking some snaps.

It got reasonably dark at around 11, and by 12 the Milky Way was clearly in view. To be honest I was finding it a bit difficult finding my way around as there were too many stars when I was looking through the scope!!!

I had a gander at Saturn and could see one moon. I found M13, which was a definite fuzzy object, (oh to have been able to sneak the C9.25 in - maybe if I'd left the kids behind...), but my main First of the trip was Andromeda, which I hadn't seen before. Again, a definite fuzzy, but I can tick it off now.

I was a bit tired after the driving, so called it a night at about 1.

I'll keep this thread updated throughout the week. Has anyone got any suggestions for nice objects that the WO66 is going to be able to resolve? Any requests!!!

Steve

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I just typed a whole list of stuff for you Steve but the darned computer crashed - here's a couple I'll do some more later Dumbell (M27), Ring Neb (M57), Eagle Neb, M16, M17, M18, Double cluster in perseus, Great cluster in Hercules, Corona Borealis, M39, NGC6960 (Veil Neb), Albireo (striking double star), Wild Duck cluster, M92 double cluster, M25, M10 and M12, M29,

The southern objects (mostly just above the teapot) might be difficult depending on your vista - but most should be visible (some may need filtering). All from Stellarium at midnght - more later. Glad to hear you got there safely and nice hearing from you in France you lucky thing :)

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It's coming to something when you have to travel to France to get a clear sky.

Nice one Steve.

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Guest Steve

Wow - thanks Kim, that's a great list for me to have a go at. Looking forward to it.

The AZ4 is great - I tried my photo tripod initially for a quick setup - waste of space! The AZ4 is perfect. Cheers Ron.

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It got reasonably dark at around 11, and by 12 the Milky Way was clearly in view. To be honest I was finding it a bit difficult finding my way around as there were too many stars when I was looking through the scope!!!

Sounds great Steve. It is such a thrill to be away from the light pollution and see maybe 10 times as many stars.

Very envious.

Heres an easy one that will look great in that WO66 from a dark sky. Collinder 399 the Coathanger Cluster, or Brocchi's Cluster. It's about 7 degrees south of Albireo that nice coloured double at the beak of Cygnus. Just a tad right and above Sagitta the arrows tail feathers.

Enjoy your holiday.

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Guest Steve

Gutted. Thought I could attach my Canon 450d DSLR up to the WO66mm - no joy. I have the bayonet adapter that I can attach to an adapter that attaches to my barlow that I can then slot into a collar and a number of dooflaps. But no combination of unscrewed sections of eye pieces, adapters, diagonals, etc will quite allow me to achieve focus.

Without the diagonal, attached straight to the back of the scope it about 1cm too short at maximum focuser extension. And with the 2"diagonal it is about 1cm too long at minimum focuser extension.

I sat there for an hour trying every combination. Why does it have to be so complicated??? I think it is a conspiracy by the Astro community to sell more widgets!!!

Ah well, will have to go with the camera lens and try and get star trails and see if I can get the Milky Way.

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Steve - if you PM Olly (in the south of France) he may know a local source where you can get the appropriate length adaptor. I think you need one that gives 110mm from reducer/flatenner to the camera chip. Failing that - see if FLO can help out - they often get stuff out within 24hrs if it's in stock :)

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Guest Steve

Thanks Kim - I think I'll have to live with it. Bad enough that I keep disappearing into the garden at night, but if I was to suggest we take time out of the holiday to hunt down telescope parts I think the atmosphere in the gite would get a little frosty. (Not easy when it is 30 degrees outside)!!!

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Guest Steve

Busy day yesterday - paddled 26km down the Ardeche gorge. Beautiful and great fun, but my typing hand is now like a claw after gripping the paddle all day.

I fought through the sleep barrier and got out at 11:30 for a couple of hours. Completely clear sky again :-)

I started on Kim's list. M27, the Dumbell Nebula. Not sure - maybe a fuzzy patch. There were so many stars in that patch of sky that it was impossible to be sure I was looking at the right thing.

M57, Ring Nebula. Yes, I am going to claim this one. Very small in the 66mm refractor, but I could just about make it out.

Then over to the M16 Eagle Nebula, M17 Omega Nebula and the little cluster M18. After a little searching these jumped out as nice patches. Tick, tick, tick. I'm really looking forward to some darkskies in the UK so Ican revisit these objects with the C9.25 - I feel some Wows coming on!

I then took a look at Sky Safari's pick of the day and Scooted right over to the other side of the sky for M81 and M82. These were really clear and the best galaxies I've seen. Really chuffed.

A good night!!

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Glad to hear you got going on the list - and yes they'll all be a lot better in the 925 - the dumbbell looks distinctly like an apple with a chunk out of either side - but may have been just a smudge in the 66 :)

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Glad to hear one of us has clear skies, Iam not jealous really.

Sounds like you are having a great time, and bagging some nice objects along the way.

The coathanger is a nice wide field target, use minimum magnification and it will stand right out.

Don't forget to bring back a stick of rock!

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Guest Steve

Out again last night. Started with the Whirlpool M51. Very faint so I spent quite a while on this trying to tease out some detail. Definitely could make out it was in two pieces, which is about as much as I can expect with 66mm.

Then I wandered around a few globulars - M5, M10, M12 and M14.

And the Space Station put in a very bright appearance at one point.

I tried to interest the missus with Saturn. She was unmoved. She looks down microscopes professionally and prefers looking at chromosomes. To me that just looks like a rugby team's sock collection that needs to be sorted by eye. Horses for courses I suppose!

I don't think I'll get out again this week - an early start for a full day's canyoning tomorrow and an early start for the long trip home on Saturday :-(

Just being buzzed by the French Airforce in their Mirages. They seem to love zooming around the hills here. Plenty of sonic booms and they were doing a full on dogfight routine on Monday over the Ardeche Gorge - quite a sight while drifting along in a canoe!

Right, better get off - got to go and walk around some caves - hopefully they will be cool!!

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How long is the drive from the port Steve, always fancied a trip to that area?

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Guest Steve

It was 8 hours to Lyon from the Chunnel for our over-night stop, then about 3down to the Ardeche region.

Today I discovered the tapping noise I'd heard out of the car window all week wasn't a trapped stone - but instead a large galvanised nail is totally embedded in the middle of the front tyre. I was tempted to leave it well alone, as it has been OK all week, but sense has prevailed, as I have a thousand mile drive home over the weekend, and have swapped it for the 'get-you-home' 80kmh spare and have got to take it to the local 'garage' for 8am tomorrow. The garage looks like it went bankrupt 15 years ago, but the gite owner reckons it will be OK!!!

Fun and games!

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Wow! 11hrs, didn't think it was that far!! Maybe Normandy will do !! ha ha :)

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Guest Tweedledum

My wife's unc used to live in Alicante, did uk to alicante without doors or roof on the jelope except for the border at Perpignan.

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