Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

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Bigzmey United States of America
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Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#1

Post by Bigzmey »


We are having clouds and rain for the second week, so no observing for a while. I thought it would be fun to revisit some of older sessions I had. The reports were posted on the Astronomy Forum, which was home in the past to many of TSS members but unfortunately went dead.

New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

1/12/2016

Finally weather cooperated and I was able to take my new Celestron C8 on the maiden voyage, which is also 1st session of 2016. Yay! :D

Seeing was not too great with patchy clouds forming and disappearing. Also, C8 - Twilight I combo appears to have a wobbling issue which I need to address. So, high power double-stars splitting was out of question and I went for DSOs instead.

Old friends first. Orion nebula (M42, M43) - well-defined, wings nicely fit in 20 mm FOV (with 0.63 reducer), no wow factor since my 120ST refractor offered nice view as well. Andromeda galaxy (M31) - its huge! grew few sizes compared to 120ST, would not even fit in 20 mm FOV.

So the scope passed the test now on new targets.

M50 - OC in Monoceros - large bright rich in stars (some showing nice colors) fits nicely in 20 mm FOV.
M48 - OC in Hydra - bright large and rich, neat triangular shape, again 20 mm gives the best view.
M93 - OC in Puppis - large and rich, spend a few minutes thinking about the shape, decided that it looks like a porcupine.

Ursa Major was rising so

M40 - dim double star with separation about 1'.
M108 - galaxy, now we talking! - elongated smudge well defined no need for averted vision, DGM galaxy contrast filter helped to define the shape. Failed so many times to see it with smaller refractor last summer.
M97 - owl planetary, large for planetary, somewhat dim but clearly visible. Best view with 15 mm, DGM NPB filter improves contrast, but no eyes visible, OIII - not good here.

By that time Jupiter had cleared skyline - nice sharp view with 20 mm (no reducer, 100x), 3 bands are visible but too bright. 10 mm (200x) - Jupiter starts to boil. Not a night for planets.

Finally, could not pass the opportunity to see Leo's triplet. It was Leo's duo to me this time. M65 and M66 were well defined in the same 20mm FOV, but could not see for some reason NGC3628. For M65 and M66 15 mm EP helped to defined the shapes better.

At the end I am quite pleased with C8's light gathering power. Now galaxies becoming a fair game for me.

Clear skies!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#2

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Well, that was a nice blast from the past! Memories of the new toy... :D

Yeah, sometimes I wonder what became of Gus and then I try not think about it :lol:

Thanks for the shared memories, made for a nice read, and all the best,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#3

Post by helicon »


Thanks for posting this 'classic' Andrey. Historical reports can jog the memory of sessions past, it's amazing that still, even after the passage of so much time, we can recall the images that were formative to us as amateurs. I'll never forget the view of the Orion Nebula through a ten inch scope in San Diego. My mom had mentioned that I was a budding stargazer to a work colleague who said that her husband was an avid scope enthusiast. One weekend night in winter of 1976 we drove over to Mt. Helix and I observed the double cluster, Orion, and Jupiter through his 10" equatorial Newt - I can still recall the pictures in my minds eye, stored somewhere in the brain. I never had seen a telescope so big as all I had at the time was a 60mm refractor.
-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
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#4

Post by Bigzmey »


Thefatkitty wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 8:23 pm Well, that was a nice blast from the past! Memories of the new toy... :D

Yeah, sometimes I wonder what became of Gus and then I try not think about it :lol:

Thanks for the shared memories, made for a nice read, and all the best,
Thanks Mark! When AF started to have blackouts, I thought I better save copies of my observing reports. That was a right move. :lol:
helicon wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 9:05 pm Thanks for posting this 'classic' Andrey. Historical reports can jog the memory of sessions past, it's amazing that still, even after the passage of so much time, we can recall the images that were formative to us as amateurs. I'll never forget the view of the Orion Nebula through a ten inch scope in San Diego. My mom had mentioned that I was a budding stargazer to a work colleague who said that her husband was an avid scope enthusiast. One weekend night in winter of 1976 we drove over to Mt. Helix and I observed the double cluster, Orion, and Jupiter through his 10" equatorial Newt - I can still recall the pictures in my minds eye, stored somewhere in the brain. I never had seen a telescope so big as all I had at the time was a 60mm refractor.
Agree! My first real scope was a modest 4.5" newt, but I still remember the first view of Saturn, it was surreal. Unfortunately, I started keeping logs late in my observing career (my daughter insisted on it when she went with me through astronomy phase). So my logs only go back to 2015.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#5

Post by Ylem »


Thanks for sharing Andrey, it's a shame we lost a lot from AF's demise.
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



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A big box of Plossls
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#6

Post by Bigzmey »


Ylem wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 7:45 pm Thanks for sharing Andrey, it's a shame we lost a lot from AF's demise.
Yes, that was a great loss. Thankfully, many folks from AF moved here. :)
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#7

Post by Makuser »


Hi Andrey. An excellent report from your archives with this vintage report (on the AF.net forum). It was much fun to read and well written and to this day you still haven't lost your great touch. :clap: Thanks for sharing this with us Andrey and a belated congratulations on the new (back then) Celestron C8 telescope.
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.
>)))))*>
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#8

Post by Bigzmey »


Makuser wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 5:36 pm Hi Andrey. An excellent report from your archives with this vintage report (on the AF.net forum). It was much fun to read and well written and to this day you still haven't lost your great touch. :clap: Thanks for sharing this with us Andrey and a belated congratulations on the new (back then) Celestron C8 telescope.
Thanks Marshall! C8 is certainly is a nice scope. I am enjoying it now as much as back then.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#9

Post by helicon »


As I already said, very nice report Andrey. Here we are in a position 1/16/23 here folks can replicate some of your observations. So let's give them a heads up so they can start exploring as we ring in the New Year still. Congrats on nabbing 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
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

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Post by Bigzmey »


Thanks Michael! I am eager to log the first observing session of 2023, but we have this atmospheric river brining storm after storm, so it might be awhile.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#11

Post by kt4hx »


Very nice indeed Andrey. It is really nice to revisit some of our older reports to see where we were then as compared to now. Good luck for the new year and congrats on the VROD my friend.
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#12

Post by Unitron48 »


Nice report, Andrey! Always nice to be able to look back. I unfortunately never did save anything from the Astronomy Forum; it was a shame how AF went down.

Congrats on your VROD!!

Dave
Unitron (60mm, 102mm), Brandon 94
Stellarvue SVX127D
http://www.unitronhistory.com

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#13

Post by Bigzmey »


Thanks Alan and Dave!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Looking back - New Year, new scope, new Messiers :)

#14

Post by John Baars »


Congratulations on your VROD!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
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