Vogelsberg International Star Party

I just returned from the Vogelsberg International Star Party in Gedern, Germany, yesterday. Gedern is about 40 kms NE of Frankfurt. The party runs from 1-4 May, but I only went for the evening of 2-3 May, as I had other commitments. This was my first visit. I'd guess there were around 800 people a this shindig, from all walks of life. Americans, Swiss, Dutch, lots of Germans, and many others. Had one 30 inch Dob there, one 24 inch, a couple of 18 inch Dobs as well. Guy camped next to me had a nice 11" Celestron Orange Tube on a nice motorized mount. Lots of 8" Dobs, similar to my Orion, but made by GSO and marketed under the name "Galaxy". It rained part of the day, but as the sun started to set, the clouds completely exited and we had a very clear sky. The site is in a field, in a valley, surrounded by hills and completely secluded from roads. No moon, really dark. Really good seeing. My first effort was to try and get a view of Mercury, at sundown. I bunch of us gathered with our binoculars on a hill, trying to find it. My new Celestron SkyScout was a hit, since we used it to determine where to look. Unfortunately, it never cleared the glare of the sun. Later, Thomas, a school teacher with his family who were camped next to me, helped me pick out M57, the Ring Nebula, in my scope, using my Nebula filter. Amazing and unbelievable! I really thought most Nebulas were best viewed in astrophotographs, but not this one. It was shimmering, just lovely. He also showed me M13 on his scope, as well as three galaxies in Leo. For myself, I found M44 by accident while looking for M67 - I love surprise discoveries! Then I found M67, which was just lovely, at 120x I could make out lanes in it. The guy with the 11" SCT also had it, so we compared. by 1 a.m., I was losing my battle with the dew on my Telrad and finder scope, so I packed it in. Woke up at about 5:45 a.m., curled into a fetal position in my sleeping bag, half frozen. I finally decided to get out of the bag and the tent to try to warm up. When I got outside, there was ice on the tent! It got that cold! I stupidly brought my summerweight sleeping bag, though everyone else complained about the cold as well. Anyway, after swapping star stories with my new friends for a while, I packed up and headed back home to Stuttgart. It was great!

Jupiter

Got up this morning and Jupiter was up, though it was a bit hazy. Temperature was about 32F with slight haze, which obscured the moon initially. I set up at 0515 hours (5:15am) and got my first view of the planet with the 5.2mm ED, which proved to be too much and I couldn't get good focus, though I could see the moons. I tried my 10mm Plossl and it, too, was a bit much. Switched to 25mm Plossl and it was clear, but fuzzed up a bit when I used the 2x Barlow. I tried a red filter but it blocked too much light and some of the moons. With the blue filter I could see four moons and some striping on the planet. Three moons were straight West of the planet, one was to the Northeast and I think I saw one flickering to the Southeast. As the scope cooled down I was better able to see detail on the planets surface, but the scope never completely cooled down before it started to get light. Though the seeing was marginal, I did get occasional moments of stunning clarity which made it all worthwhile. Glad I got up in time.

New Dark Site - 29 MAR 08

Today I reconnoitered a new dark site near Schafhausen and headed out there this evening. It was pretty clear all day, but a light haze moved in as it got dark. Temperature was about 40F. I got out to the site about 19:00 (7pm) while it was still light. I sighted the scope on Mars, as it turned out, it was the first bright object to appear. Mars is headed away from us now and it was kind of small, a little bigger than a BB in the 5.2mm ED. I tried the red filter on it and it gave me a bit more definition occasionally. "Seeing" (the condition of the atmosphere) was fair to poor and inconsistent in different directions. Working the focuser and sticking with it, I was able to make out the dark spot on Mars, as my eyes got adjusted. It was fun and interesting as I nudged the scope and worked at bringing resolution to her. The Barlow did not help with the 5.2mm EP at all. Since it was still a bit hazy, I found Saturn. I was able to see one moon, Titan, and when I put on the red filter, I couldn't see the moon at all. However the filter did allow me to see some striation in the surface of the planet and the rings were very, very clear. I could see the Cassini division quite clearly in the rings. Interesting that the seeing in this part of the sky was clearer than with Mars. As it had gotten darker, I tried to look at the Orion nebula. It was very dim, with the Trapezium fading in and out and then it all faded as the haze completely obscured the view. By this time, there was only a small hole of clear seeing almost directly overhead, so I decided to call it quits. Time was about 2035(8:35pm). I may try tomorrow morning to see Jupiter or Venus, if I can get up early enough. Even in spite of the dodgy seeing, I really enjoyed the opportunity to get out. I've only had four nights this month where I could even see the stars.

Finally, a break in the clouds

Got some viewing in from 1930 to 2030 Central European Time tonight. I'm really grateful, since we have not had a break in nearly two weeks. Only got to look at the moon and the Orion nebula and as scattered clouds were a problem. Did get a glimpse of the trapezium and the nebula, though, which improved a bit with my skylight filter. I was viewing off the balcony, so light pollution was a real factor as well. All things considered, I decided to move on to the moon - it was beautiful and bright enough so that the light cloud was not a serious problem. I used my new 5.2mm ED from Agena and it worked superbly. Very, very sharp, clear views, much better than I got with my 10mm Celestron Plossl, barlowed. I am really happy with it. Looked at Clavius, Maginus, Tyco, Longomontanus. Moon was 3/4 full. For kicks I barlowed the new EP to see what would happen; actually got some pretty good views, but lacked the sharpness I had at 230x. Frankly, I was amazed they looked as good at they did at 560x - I was expecting a blur since the scope's theoretical limit is 400x. I'm sure it would have been ugly if I'd been looking at a planet though. Clouds finally ended the session, but I'm grateful for that precious hour. I love this stuff.

Lousy Weather

I suppose I should not be surprised by lousy weather in Germany in March, but this month has been pretty dismal. I had one short session on about the 4th of March before things clouded over. It is partly cloudy today and looks dicey for any stargazing tonight. Picked up a few things, including a Telrad finder, which I am really anxious to try out. A Telrad is a 1 x finder for a telescope that works like a gun sight. You mount it on your scope and it provides an illuminated reticle that you can aim at celestial objects. I was having trouble locating stuff with my finder scope, since even the finder scope is sort of like looking through a soda straw at the sky. the telrad will allow me to see the entire sky as I line up the scope. They also sell star charts for telrads at a website called www.sky-spot.com. I also bought an observers chair, a pretty handy seat, for stargazing. Got a good price at www.buyastrostuff.com. I really need the weather to clear so I can stop buying gadgets and start using them. Maybe tonight...

Atmospheric Conditions

These last few nights I've gotten some real lessons on the effect of atmosphere on all manner of things.

• Last night, I observed from the backyard; we live in town and there is a streetlight, though a dim one, that shines into the backyard. Light pollution has a terrible effect on observing - the comparison between the backyard and my site out in the country is profound. The site in the country still has some light pollution from towns one to two miles away. I could barely see the nebulosity in the Great Orion Nebula. I also had great difficulty finding Saturn, which is a .87 magnitude (pretty bright, supposedly).
• I've been having trouble splitting binary stars, but was successful tonight, with Sirius, this evening. Earlier this week, Sirius appeared to flicker and I'm certain this was because of a combination of moisture and turbulent conditions.
• Tonight was calm, about 35 degrees and I went to my site in the country. Best night so far. I think I found M79 up above Ainitak and was able to make out the Horsehead Nebula. I tried to find M78, below Lepus, but was unsuccessful. I really think I need a good skylight filter to find some of these nebulae. The moon is almost full, as well, and this provides its own light pollution.
• I also got a good look at Saturn, which was about 40 degrees off the eastern horizon. I was just able to make out the Cassini Division, using my 10 mm Plossl and new, 2x Barlow. I think a filter would have been a big help here.

Overall a very productive evening. Happy with my scope, happy with my new barlow.

My new scope - Initial costs to take up astronomy.

I've decided I picked the right scope for a first scope. I've now owned my Orion Skyquest XT8 for a little over a week and am perfectly happy with it. It is an 8" Dobsonian Reflector scope, and is depicted in my avatar picture. It cost $369, plus $60 shipping, plus $64 for a case for the optical tube assembly (OTA). The scope came with a laser collimator and two good ploessl eyepieces. So, about $500 to start. I've just purchased an eyepiece case for $30, including shipping, a decent filter set for $70 including shipping, and a 2X Barlow lens, for $47. I think this is all I should need for a long while to really go to town with this hobby. So, the hobby costs roughly $600 to start. I'd say that is pretty close to the minimum one should spend on this to start (though ove can argue that once could do without the filters and and Barlow). You can go up from there. If you get a comparable refractor, or Cassegraine, it will cost you probably a few hundred more. If you want a computerized mount and scope, you are talking not less than about $1200, not including filters and extra eyepieces. I have now seen spectacular views of the moon, numerous star clusters, Saturn (including the rings), Mars, at least two galaxies and lots of stars.

For me, this was the perfect starter scope. I wanted to learn my way around the sky and the way to do that is by reading about it and using star charts. Personally, I think for me, as a beginner, a computerized mount would have been a mistake.

The Orion Skyquest XT8 is a high quality scope, and very easy to work with. Orion also has excellent customer service. The views I have seen are unbelievable. The optics are simply fantastic.

I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Collimation Safety Tips

Collimation is the process of aligning the mirrors in a reflector telescope. They have a large mirror in the back, called a primary, and a small mirror that reflects into the eyepiece, called a secondary. I just learned some hard lessons:

1. Do not mess with the secondary mirror unless there is a real problem. Perfect is definitely the enemy of good enough.
2. Read your instructions carefully, if you decide you must collimate your secondary. Failure to do this has dire consequences.
3. It appears that most collimation issues can be resolved by adjusting the primary, which is much easier than adjusting the secondary.
I just finished about two hours of intense pain and suffering undoing what it took me about 15 seconds to mess up. This could have been avoided.
I am truly a rank amateur, so if you vets need to disabuse me of these lessons I've learned, please do. I never want to go through this again if I don't have to.

Later edit: Most important lesson: Watch the video on collimation at www.andysshotglass.com . I just watched it and fixed the scope. It's exactly collimated now.

Saturn and the Moon

Last night was a very clear night, and I headed out to my stargazing site. Had a sliver of a crescent moon, so, after getting the scope set up, that was my first target. I decided to have a look, even though the scope was not yet cooled down, just to get an idea of what I would see(I knew you were supposed to wait for the thing to cool down). I was able to get the moon into a sort of focus, but it was distorting, kind of like looking through a liquid - I'm guessing I was picking up heatwaves and heated air currents coming off the mirror as it cooled down. Eventually it settled in and settled down, as the scope cooled off. Incredible the detail I was able to see at both 48x and 120x.

From there I did some star gazing with my binos as I let my right eye re-adjust to the darkness (the moon is really bright). In the eastern sky, at about 12 degrees above the horizon, I saw an object I thought might be Saturn. Lo and behold, I was able to make out the rings at 48x and get much better definition at 120x, though I could not make out the Cassini division. I really need my barlow lens.

So far, I've found that manually tracking stuff (as one has to do with a Dobsonian mount), is pretty easy, and the more you use the scope, the more familiar with it you become, and the easier tracking becomes. Once you get used to right is left and left is right and up is down and down is up in the scope, its a snap. I got that down the very first night. I expect it will be a bit more of a challenge when I am able to achieve higher magnification, which means even smaller field of view.

I then started exploring around Orion; the view of M42 was the best I've seen so far. I then focused in on a double star system just to the left of and above Bellatrix and thought I observed some nebulosity around the brighter of the three stars in that grouping.

Overall a great night.

Stargazing with a friend

I took my friend out stargazing last night. Fortunately we are good friends, but I learned that for the fresh novice, this is not such a hot idea, not unless your friend also has a scope. As I was trying to find various deep sky object (DSO), my friend was trying to keep himself occupied, waiting for me to find something exciting to look at. This, in turn, increased my stress level and made it more difficult to find what the things we were looking for.

Lesson learned:
- Its better to stargaze alone, or with someone who has their own scope when you are a newbie amateur.
- Taking friends out is fine: 1) after you know your own scope, and 2) know your way around the sky.

Good Reference

One of my key references for stargazing is Terence Dickinson's "Night Watch". It contains everything a newbie astronomer needs to start this hobby and reduce frustrations at the same time. It has excellent star charts. I realized, upon re-reading my last post, that I've started to use astronomy jargon without explanation - I'll try to avoid that.

M42, which I mentioned in my last post, is a catalog name (Messier Object catalog) for the Great Orion Nebula. It can be found in the constellation Orion, just below the three stars that form Orion's belt. M42 is called the jewel in the sword of Orion. It is very easy to find and truly breathtaking.

First night out - 6 FEB 08

I just took my brand new 8" reflector out tonight and observed, among other things, Mars. The nice thing about taking this hobby up at the age of 52 is that I've acquired some patience over the years. I found Mars, but the resolution was not what I expected. However it was right where it was supposed to be, and clearly a disc at 48x and 120x. It was washed out and a little fuzzy, but there seems to be a bit of haze here, and I attributed it to that. Folks on astronomy.com forum, afterwards, helped me to understand a lot of what I observed. For example, to get decent planetary detail, one needs at least 200 power, which I will be able to get easily by purchasing a barlow lens. Also, a red or orange filter helps bring out Martian detail. The people who subscribe to that forum have a wealth of experience that they are more than happy to share.

M42 was simply amazing, I am flabbergasted and amazed and full of wonder.

Lessons learned tonight: need a barlow and some filters and I should be good to go for years. Also learned that an 8" Dobsonian is a fantastic first scope.

Arrival of my first scope: Orion Skyquest XT8

Just got my Orion Skyquest XT 8 in the mail from Orion. This is my first real scope. I am in Stuttgart, so I ordered it to be delivered by USPS through the APO (that's Army Post Office, not Apochromatic in this case). I ordered it on 24 JAN and it arrived today 5 FEB 08, having travelled from California. Fairly speedy in my view. It was superbly packed and arrived in pristine condition. I carefully checked the exterior of the boxes and opened it carefully. Mirrors were good to go. I comes with a laser collimator and, after checking the secondary mirror (good-to-go), had it collimated in under a minute (primary needed a couple of tweaks). Really fast. It took me an hour to assemble it. The instructions were exactly right on. I did not hit any glitches. Nice action on both altitude and azimuth adjustments. Appears to be superb quality as well. Aligned the nice 9x50 finders scope very easily. Eyepieces seem to be good quality as well. Now if the clouds would only clear....

Why an Astro Lessons BLOG

There several good forums that are good for learning about astronomy, but it is hard to find a thread on them that deals with the lessons we newbies learn about our telescopes and stargazing. I've only been out twice, but I'm learning important lessons each time I go out. The purpose of this blog is to record those lessons and share them with anyone who cares.