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Last Friday a number of my friends (Kevin, David and Ryan) called me and wanted to do some observing... at a new dark site, primarily to open up the Northern sky to see Neowise.
I went along, and am very glad I did. The site is a gravel pit site near Richer, a small hamlet to the east of the city.
I noted a number of nebula in Saggitarius (M16, M17, M8 etc), the Veil nebula, and a number of NGC members near Sadr in Cygnus. I spent some time in the North too, as it is rare for me to find it in such pristine conditions... due to my normal close dark site (south of the city rather than east). I had some fun finding and observing the Iris nebula.
At 2:45 am, we caught site of C/2020 F3 Neowise rising almost due North.
One of the finest comets I have ever seen. I used Celestron 15x70 binoculars as well as my finder scope - a fast 60mm to see some of these DSOs.
Thanks for looking.
Neowise
M17 - somewhat overexposed in the core.
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars List Counts:Messier: 75;Herschel 400: 30;Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16 Brett's Carbon Star Hunt
Gabrielle See Far Sticks: Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser 127/1200 BV, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS 100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885 EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, SXP2, AXJ, AXD Az/Alt: AYO Digi II, Stellarvue M2C, Argo Navis encoders on both Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102 Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Tak prism, TAL, Vixen Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss (1011110) The only culture I have is from yogurt
This comet is a really great opportunity that I hope I can take advantage of myself. It is mostly going to come down to weather, skies, etc. I am grateful for others seeing it, but I would like to have a shot at it too. Only time will tell.
Sounds like a fun trip Ian! Good to see you got a good view of the northern horizon, hope it was a revelation. I have yet to see the Iris Nebula (NGC 7023).
Great pic of the comet! Hope to get a look at it soon...
Scopes: Reflectors, refractors, and 1 catadioptric. Ranging in aperture from 50mm to 150mm.
Greenman wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:20 pm
Nice session and cool images. How do you rate the Celestron 15 x70’s been wondering about those or the 12 x 60’s.
They (the 15 x 70's) are an amazing deal for the money. Highly recommended.
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
terrynak wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:03 pm
Sounds like a fun trip Ian! Good to see you got a good view of the northern horizon, hope it was a revelation. I have yet to see the Iris Nebula (NGC 7023).
Great pic of the comet! Hope to get a look at it soon...
Two of my dark sites have the city to the north, which messes up the skies there. It was cool to see this region so clearly.
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
Greenman wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:20 pm
Nice session and cool images. How do you rate the Celestron 15 x70’s been wondering about those or the 12 x 60’s.
They (the 15 x 70's) are an amazing deal for the money. Highly recommended.
Greenman wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:20 pm
Nice session and cool images. How do you rate the Celestron 15 x70’s been wondering about those or the 12 x 60’s.
They (the 15 x 70's) are an amazing deal for the money. Highly recommended.
Cheers arriving from Amazon tomorrow
Nice!!!
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.