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Sky conditions last night (prior to Moonrise) were near perfect with above average seeing and transparency. Our small group from Culpeper gathered at Morning Calm Observatory (MCO) for an evening of observing and socializing. We also had a group of visitors stop by to check out the sights. They were first time viewers of the planets so their enthusiasm was boundless!
Our equipment was the usual MCO fare: the 30 inch Obsession, a 12 inch Meade LX200, and my SV110ED (110mm, f/7 refractor).
The evening kicked off with a view of Venus, then Saturn, then Jupiter using all three scopes. The LX200 was tracking Jupiter or Saturn throughout the evening...primarily checking out the GRS transit early in the evening. The Obsession was used mostly to check out some of the more interesting DSO's which included: M51, M13, M22, M15, NGC 457 (I lost track of the complete list of objects). I was using my scope to point out various double stars (Izar, Almach, Epsilon Lyrae, Albireo, Eta Cass, Gamma Arietis) and to provide a short tour of the constellations.
As always, we dined on coffee and cookies during the breaks. We wrapped up the evening about 2330 as the Moon rose above the trees and the dew set in.
Nice report Dave with some worthwhile outreach. It sounds like a good time was had by all. Congrats on winning the VROD for the day!
-Michael Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50 Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl Camera: ZWO ASI 120 Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs Latitude: 48.7229° N
Hi Dave. I always look forward to your observing reports. This was a great opportunity using the 30" Obsession and the other scopes including yours as well as the astronomy outreach efforts. Thanks for your well written report Dave and congratulations on receiving the TSSVROD Award today.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
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
Nice. The visitors must have had quite an experience. Congrats on the VROD.
- Juha
Senior Embedded SW Designer
Telescope: OrionOptics XV12, Mount: CEM120, Tri-pier 360 and alternative dobson mount.
Grab 'n go: Omegon AC 102/660 on AZ-3 mount
Eyepieces: 26 mm Omegon SWAN 70°, 15 mm TV Plössl, 12.5 mm Baader Morpheus, 10 mm TV Delos, 6 mm Baader Classic Ortho, 5 mm TV DeLite, 4 mm and 3 mm TV Radians
Cameras: ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, Omegon veLOX 178C
OAG: TS-Optics TSOAG09, ZWO EFW 7 x 36 mm, ZWO filter sets: LRGB and Ha/OIII/SII
Explore Scientific HR 2" coma corrector, Meade x3 1.25" Barlow, TV PowerMate 4x 2"
Some filters (#80A, ND-96, ND-09, Astronomik UHC)
Laptop: Acer Enduro Urban N3 semi-rugged, Windows 11
LAT 61° 28' 10.9" N, Bortle 5
I don't suffer from insanity. I'm enjoying every minute of it.
That really does sound like a great evening with the stars! With those scopes viewing what they were viewing, there must have been a massive WOW factor. Thanks for sharing!
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
Bigzmey wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 5:19 pm
Nice outreach Dave! I appreciate you dedicating SV110 to doubles for the evening. What your guests thought about them?
Congrats on VROD!
Thanks, Andrey! I find that the visitors are as impressed with the doubles as they are with other objects they view (maybe Jupiter and Saturn are exceptions). I focus on those with some color contrast, and provide a tutorial on the stars in the binary.
Some objects they view with the 30 inch (the Owl Cluster for example) appear better in the refractor at lower magnification, wider FOV.
John Baars wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 12:59 pm
Sounds like a great evening under the stars. Lots of palatable objects for your audience.
Congratulations on the VROD!
Thanks, John! I thoroughly enjoy introducing the splendor of the night skies to newbies!
Makuser wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 4:48 pm
Hi Dave. I always look forward to your observing reports. This was a great opportunity using the 30" Obsession and the other scopes including yours as well as the astronomy outreach efforts. Thanks for your well written report Dave and congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD Award today.
Thanks, Marshall! Doesn't look like I will be getting down your way anytime soon. My daughter and her family are moving North!
MistrBadgr wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 7:37 pm
That really does sound like a great evening with the stars! With those scopes viewing what they were viewing, there must have been a massive WOW factor. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Bill! Hearing the "Wow" when someone views Saturn for the first time never gets old!
Certainly sounds like a great evening under the stars!
Man, I sure wish that I had a group like yours nearby. The closest that I have heard of is Mobile, AL (about 75 miles away).
I am sure that you did get a lot of Wow's when folks looked at Saturn. I still say that to myself when I see it. Saturn is really a stunning sight even in a small view.
Thanks for reporting on your fine evening out with the group!
Jim
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
Juno16 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 27, 2021 12:13 am
Certainly sounds like a great evening under the stars!
Man, I sure wish that I had a group like yours nearby. The closest that I have heard of is Mobile, AL (about 75 miles away).
I am sure that you did get a lot of Wow's when folks looked at Saturn. I still say that to myself when I see it. Saturn is really a stunning sight even in a small view.
Thanks for reporting on your fine evening out with the group!
Thanks, Jim! I feel fortunate to have such a great group...and the resources available at Morning Calm Observatory.