First Session This Year

[Nightspore]

I got out on Tuesday to see some stars, first time this year! Oddly exactly five years to the day after having first light with the 72mm Evostar. Being a disabled astronomer is not easy. I haven't been rushed to A&E in an ambulance for months now!

 

2022 Total: 108 observing sessions.

2023 Total: 1 observing session (so far ... ). 2 now actually ...

 

I almost took the Tichy Sixty out (below) as it's so small, but in the end went with the 72ED. It's a lovely little scope and one of my favourites. Barely heavier than the 60mm but better balanced plus I get slightly improved resolution. It normally goes out annually more than any of my other scopes.

It's been a tad customised over the years.

 

I had thirty sessions out of over a hundred with it last year, narrowly beating the 60mm. The doublet lens isn't quite as good as the 'Tichy' and can sometimes show a little bit of false colour, usually only on Venus and other very bright objects though. I had a dry run indoors to make sure everything worked. It's 2.8 inches (in ye olde measurements) in aperture. 72mm in normal measurements.

 

 

Everything worked well and Thunderbirds were go, well apart from the finder calibration. The red dot was working but too faint in daylight to test. In the end it turned out astonishingly accurate. I set-up around 19:30 British Summer Time while it was still light. It was gloriously hot. Not quite 'Soylent Green' hot, but very pleasant. It was a struggle getting everything ready and my recent loss of dexterity and range in my right arm/hand became more obviously apparent as I set-up.

 

 

All I had to do then was wait until it became darker. The first star (Arcturus) I saw was in twilight. A bit later the 'Summer Triangle' appeared. There's a load of stuff in and around the Triangle, including the Double Double, the Dumbbell/Apple Core Nebula and the most famous double in the sky; Albireo. I saw all of them! I had to wait a bit longer for Saturn to get high enough for me to see with the scope. I saw some nice detail including the orange-coloured moon Titan.

 

 

Conditions were cloudless and fairly clear, but not brilliant (slight haze). I spent the next few hours looking at as much as I could, including the three stars of Iota Cass (I call it the 'Mickey Mouse' star for obvious reasons) while I waited for Jupiter to be high enough in the east to see at around midnight. I even had time to make a mug of hot chocolate. Jovian detail was quite good and I could easily see the four main moons. The oddly coloured moon 'Io' was particularly satisfying.

 

Eventually 'the just a day before last Quarter Moon' (in Taurus) became visible to the scope. I had fallen on the garden path earlier, badly. It really winded me. So I decided to call it a night as I was in considerable pain. Nothing broken though, my paralysed right arm took the brunt of the fall (I fell over like a tree being felled). My head also hit a house brick. I've not felt right since, but I hugely enjoyed going out. I need to work on the dexterity/manipulation/balance issues I now have. It took me some time to physically recover from the session. I still have bruises lol.

 

 

 

[+Glafnazur]

Great report, I'm glad you've managed to get your first session of the year in 👍How's the head? I hope it is ok.

[Nightspore]

Thanks, I'm OK now (I think lol). I had an equally good session on Saturday. Might get out later in the week if the weather holds.

[+Bino-viewer]

Good to hear you are back observing 😊

Take it easy out there....

[+seven_legs]

nice report, hope are a alright though

[Nightspore]

1 hour ago, Bino-viewer said:

Good to hear you are back observing 😊

Take it easy out there....

I'm glad too. I try to take it easy, but it's not easy lol.

[Nightspore]

53 minutes ago, seven_legs said:

nice report, hope are a alright though

 

Glad you liked it. I'm fine, I think. For someone who stares through telescopes at stars a lot I suppose. lol

[+Streetbob]

Good to read your report and that you’re able to get out observing again. I hope the bang on the head hasn’t done any harm or even knocked any sense into you as that would put an end to your sessions.🙂

[Nightspore]

4 hours ago, Streetbob said:

Good to read your report and that you’re able to get out observing again. I hope the bang on the head hasn’t done any harm or even knocked any sense into you as that would put an end to your sessions.🙂

 

Glad you liked the report, luckily I've never had any sense lol.

 

 

 

If I had any sense I wouldn't have bought so many Tak' ortho's lol.

[BAZ]

Good to see you back Dave, but take care with your extreme observing. Another nice read, looking forwards to more as the nights draw in.

[Nightspore]

Cheers Baz. I'm looking forward to some crazy extreme darker sessions too. 🙂

[Nightspore]

 

Time for the Titchy Sixty and Tak ortho's I think.

 

[+Glafnazur]

Just need some nice clear skies now.

[Nightspore]

It was OK last night from around 22:00 to 04:00. I only lasted until about 00:30 though as I was tired. Saw a fair bit with the Titchy Sixty though (Jupiter, Saturn, Double Double, Andromeda Galaxy, Double Cluster). M27 was difficult, eventually found it with a 6mm SvBony.

 

 

Melotte 20 looked good through the 32mm Tak' orthoscopic.

 

[Nightspore]

Eyepieces used in session.

 

On the 18th, 20:00-22:00, I got my fifth session this year (Altair 60 EDF). The conditions were far from perfect but I got around an hour of cloud free observing. Albireo was nice, and I even observed both of the Hercules Clusters at 11.25x. The Ring Nebula was impossible with the 6mm SvBony (60x), but with the aid of an OIII filter I did manage M27 at about 11x. I eschewed the Tak' 32mm ortho' for a 32mm TV Plossl. The TV is bulkier and heavier but the expansive FOV compensates slightly for the Tak's better contrast.

 

 

The real surprise was being able to see a bit of the Western and Eastern Veil Nebulae (Caldwell 33/34), with the aid of the ES OIII filter. This is the first time I've seen it this year!

 

Stellarium 23.2 (Ubuntu).

 

The clouds were coming in with an ever increasing rapidity though , so I thought I'd take a peek at Iota Cass while I could. 

 

 

This meant going a bit high powered. The Tak' 4mm ortho' combined with the SvBony Barlow element can give 144x (0.4mm exit pupil), the Titchy Sixty can often handle this if conditions allow.

 

 

On it's own the 4mm gives me 90x, which was good enough for Saturn in the conditions. 

 

 

It also gave me an opportunity to try the Tak' prism for a while. Most low power observing was with a TV Everbrite. The Tak' prism is very light, but surprisingly good. Admittedly the build quality feels a bit 'Christmas Cracker' but it's tougher than it appears. It doesn't always play well with undercuts and there is no filter thread in the nose. It is beautifully light though, which is useful on such a small and highly portable rig.

 

 

A 6mm Tak' ortho' and a TV Barlow gave me a decent 120x (0.5mm exit pupil). I had a bit of a 'Homer Simpson' moment (doh!) when I thought there was something wrong with the Titchy's focuser, when it dawned on me that it rotated and had just become loose. I had forgotten that it can be rotated and was loosening the screw actually holding the diagonal to rotate. Well, I have had brain damage lol, and this is only the second time I've had the 60 EDF out this year. Not a bad session, but I wish I'd had more time before the cloud rolled in. 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Nightspore

[+Glafnazur]

Nice report, it sounds like you are really enjoying getting back to observing 👍

[Nightspore]

2 hours ago, Glafnazur said:

Nice report, it sounds like you are really enjoying getting back to observing 👍

 

Thanks, yeah I'm enjoying it. I just wish I'd re-started earlier in the summer lol. 

[Nightspore]

 

I've owned these for nearly seven years, they really need to get out more. Hopefully tonight.

[+Glafnazur]

I've not heard of those, are they good performers?

[Nightspore]

14 minutes ago, Glafnazur said:

I've not heard of those, are they good performers?

 

Yes, they're very orthoscopic-like with a flat field. They have been marketed under a variety of names. I'm pretty sure they're made by Ohi in Japan. They have a bit of a cult following, especially Stateside.

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Nightspore

[Sojourneyer]

On 11/09/2023 at 06:53, Nightspore said:

I got out on Tuesday to see some stars, first time this year! Oddly exactly five years to the day after having first light with the 72mm Evostar. Being a disabled astronomer is not easy. I haven't been rushed to A&E in an ambulance for months now!

 

2022 Total: 108 observing sessions.

2023 Total: 1 observing session (so far ... ). 2 now actually ...

 

I almost took the Tichy Sixty out (below) as it's so small, but in the end went with the 72ED. It's a lovely little scope and one of my favourites. Barely heavier than the 60mm but better balanced plus I get slightly improved resolution. It normally goes out annually more than any of my other scopes.

It's been a tad customised over the years.

 

I had thirty sessions out of over a hundred with it last year, narrowly beating the 60mm. The doublet lens isn't quite as good as the 'Tichy' and can sometimes show a little bit of false colour, usually only on Venus and other very bright objects though. I had a dry run indoors to make sure everything worked. It's 2.8 inches (in ye olde measurements) in aperture. 72mm in normal measurements.

 

 

Everything worked well and Thunderbirds were go, well apart from the finder calibration. The red dot was working but too faint in daylight to test. In the end it turned out astonishingly accurate. I set-up around 19:30 British Summer Time while it was still light. It was gloriously hot. Not quite 'Soylent Green' hot, but very pleasant. It was a struggle getting everything ready and my recent loss of dexterity and range in my right arm/hand became more obviously apparent as I set-up.

 

 

All I had to do then was wait until it became darker. The first star (Arcturus) I saw was in twilight. A bit later the 'Summer Triangle' appeared. There's a load of stuff in and around the Triangle, including the Double Double, the Dumbbell/Apple Core Nebula and the most famous double in the sky; Albireo. I saw all of them! I had to wait a bit longer for Saturn to get high enough for me to see with the scope. I saw some nice detail including the orange-coloured moon Titan.

 

 

Conditions were cloudless and fairly clear, but not brilliant (slight haze). I spent the next few hours looking at as much as I could, including the three stars of Iota Cass (I call it the 'Mickey Mouse' star for obvious reasons) while I waited for Jupiter to be high enough in the east to see at around midnight. I even had time to make a mug of hot chocolate. Jovian detail was quite good and I could easily see the four main moons. The oddly coloured moon 'Io' was particularly satisfying.

 

Eventually 'the just a day before last Quarter Moon' (in Taurus) became visible to the scope. I had fallen on the garden path earlier, badly. It really winded me. So I decided to call it a night as I was in considerable pain. Nothing broken though, my paralysed right arm took the brunt of the fall (I fell over like a tree being felled). My head also hit a house brick. I've not felt right since, but I hugely enjoyed going out. I need to work on the dexterity/manipulation/balance issues I now have. It took me some time to physically recover from the session. I still have bruises lol.

 

 

 

Super report Nightspore.  Glad you finally got out to view the skies. More importantly I am glad you were not seriously injured in your fall. I look forward to future postings...

[Sojourneyer]

On 19/09/2023 at 02:20, Nightspore said:

Eyepieces used in session.

 

On the 18th, 20:00-22:00, I got my fifth session this year (Altair 60 EDF). The conditions were far from perfect but I got around an hour of cloud free observing. Albireo was nice, and I even observed both of the Hercules Clusters at 11.25x. The Ring Nebula was impossible with the 6mm SvBony (60x), but with the aid of an OIII filter I did manage M27 at about 11x. I eschewed the Tak' 32mm ortho' for a 32mm TV Plossl. The TV is bulkier and heavier but the expansive FOV compensates slightly for the Tak's better contrast.

 

 

The real surprise was being able to see a bit of the Western and Eastern Veil Nebulae (Caldwell 33/34), with the aid of the ES OIII filter. This is the first time I've seen it this year!

 

Stellarium 23.2 (Ubuntu).

 

The clouds were coming in with an ever increasing rapidity though , so I thought I'd take a peek at Iota Cass while I could. 

 

 

This meant going a bit high powered. The Tak' 4mm ortho' combined with the SvBony Barlow element can give 144x (0.4mm exit pupil), the Titchy Sixty can often handle this if conditions allow.

 

 

On it's own the 4mm gives me 90x, which was good enough for Saturn in the conditions. 

 

 

It also gave me an opportunity to try the Tak' prism for a while. Most low power observing was with a TV Everbrite. The Tak' prism is very light, but surprisingly good. Admittedly the build quality feels a bit 'Christmas Cracker' but it's tougher than it appears. It doesn't always play well with undercuts and there is no filter thread in the nose. It is beautifully light though, which is useful on such a small and highly portable rig.

 

 

A 6mm Tak' ortho' and a TV Barlow gave me a decent 120x (0.5mm exit pupil). I had a bit of a 'Homer Simpson' moment (doh!) when I thought there was something wrong with the Titchy's focuser, when it dawned on me that it rotated and had just become loose. I had forgotten that it can be rotated and was loosening the screw actually holding the diagonal to rotate. Well, I have had brain damage lol, and this is only the second time I've had the 60 EDF out this year. Not a bad session, but I wish I'd had more time before the cloud rolled in. 

 

 

Nice report.

[Sojourneyer]

My gosh. Eudiascopic lenses. Who the heavens conjured up that name?  😄

[Nightspore]

1 hour ago, Sojourneyer said:

My gosh. Eudiascopic lenses. Who the heavens conjured up that name?  😄

 

I think it's a Baader thing, the Celestron equivalents were called something else lol.

[Nightspore]

20/9/23 21:00-00:00. Sixth session! Sky was clearer than previous sessions. Which was odd considering the rain earlier and the overall dampness. Had some good views in the Summer Triangle with the Eudiascopic, particularly the Veil Nebula and M29. The Ring Nebula was easy at 60x (SvBony WA). The Double Double was good at 90 & 120x.

 

 

Turning my attention to Cassiopeia I had a really nice view of Caroline's Rose.

 

 

I could just about make out the Hercules Clusters at 10.2x. Oddly M92 seemed the brighter of the two. I was particularly proud of splitting Iota Cass at 90x with the 4mm Tak' ortho' (90x), and then again at 144x. 

 

 

I switched to the Tak' prism for Saturn and then Jupiter. I thought the contrast on planetary detail was slightly more contrasted than the dielectric, or it was my imagination lol.

 

 

Saturn at transit looked good at 90x, 120x and 144x. Although Jupiter was easier at 90x. The equatorial detail was quite well defined for a 60mm objective. Not a long session, and fairly damp, although this didn't seem to affect the viewing particularly. Eventually the wet conditions won and I decided to call it a night. I enjoyed the session immensely.