The Astronomical Reunion

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OzEclipse Australia
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The Astronomical Reunion

#1

Post by OzEclipse »


by @OzEclipse and @scribbly

After months of cloud and flooding rains, followed by 2 months of extreme pollen levels that affected me much more than the average season, finally some clear sky was predicted for last night. Not a whole night mind you, just a couple of hours of partly clear sky.

My mate Phil, @scribbly here on TSS came up after work Friday afternoon, along with David, an old friend I’ve known since high school where we were both foundation members of the school’s astronomy club in 1978. After months of clag overhead in Canberra, both were desperate for some dark sky time and were willing to accept an hour or so of partly clear sky.

We got off to a bad start. The tyres on my 18” dob were flat and needed a pump. As the first was pumping up….BANG! It blew, big time. The rim failed and folded as the tyre blew. My ears were ringing for hours afterwards.
blow out.jpg
After this, there was no safe way to move the 18” dob rocker box without wheels so that ruled out the dob for the night.
Just before writing this report, I ordered two replacement high density flat free polyurethane wheels. No more flat tyres. Expected delivery (1 week)

Phil brought up his Mewlon 180C and G11. Last week, I bought a second-hand bargain-a Stellavue 102ED refractor complete with Feather Touch focuser, Televue 0.8X reducer corrector, Lakeside focus motor and controller interface, plus various custom adaptors, came up for sale, locally, so no freight, all for about USD800. The Televue reducer and Feather Touch Focuser alone cost more than the vendor was asking.

We mounted both instruments side-by-side on Phil’s Losmandy G11.
The views through the two instruments were in no way comparable, rather they were complementary. The Stellavue with a 31mm Nagler gives a nearly 4 degree field, The Mewlon 180C has little over three times that focal length. Nonetheless, the two instruments provided wonderful complementary views, wide fields with the refractor, close ups with the Mewlon.
Screen Shot 2023-01-21 at 11.39.30 pm.png
We meandered about the sky comparing and contrasting views through the two instruments of a wide variety of objects. In our haul was, the Orion & Crab Nebulae, Mars, Pleiades, Eskimo nebula, Leo Triplet, Omega Centauri, 47 Tucana, NGC 362(the forgotten globular), NGC 1365 barred spiral, NGC 1316 elliptical galaxy, NGC 3242 (Ghost of Jupiter), NGC 4755 Jewel Box, NGC3293(Little Jewel box), NGC4945, Eta Carina, and the Tarantula Nebula.

From the initial potential of only an hour or so of partly cloudy sky, we finished up with about 5 hrs of mostly clear sky with just the occasional wisp of cloud drifting almost imperceptibly across the star-studded sky. Clouds out here are black and you can only spot them by the absence of stars in part of the sky. Seeing varies from poor to short periods of steady. Transparency was probably 8/10.

Joe and Phil
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Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
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Makuser United States of America
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

#2

Post by Makuser »


Hi Joe, Phil, and David. A very nice and great read observing report. And yes, it always has to be something that goes wrong. Astronomers propose and fate disposes a plan. However you guys caught a lot of nice haul of beautiful DSO objects in your session. Thanks for this report and the best of wishes with your new polyurethane wheels for the 18" Dob 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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helicon United States of America
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

#3

Post by helicon »


Very nice report @OzEclipse and @scribbly - great to hear that you were able to get together and spend some time observing with those two scopes. Also, an excellent haul of objects fell to your glass. Congratulations to both of you on winning today's VROD award for your unique and fun report - and the first co-authored report to gain the award in almost two years of its history...
-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: The Astronomical Reunion

#4

Post by Unitron48 »


Sounds like a great session with some very nice targets. I really enjoy the sessions that include some like-minded friends, and shared equipment. Congrats to both of you on your VROD recognition!!

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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John Baars Netherlands
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

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Post by John Baars »


Murphy even knows how to find pneumatic wheels.
What a great haul and nice session though!
Congratulations on your well deserved 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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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

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Post by Bigzmey »


Sounds like a great night Joe! Enjoyable read, and congrats on the VROD! I always deploy smaller fracs alongside CATs, they complement each other well.
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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Ylem United States of America
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

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Post by Ylem »


Very nice report guys, it's great when we can get together and observe.

Congratulations to you both on the VROD!
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



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OzEclipse Australia
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

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Post by OzEclipse »


Bigzmey wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:18 pm Sounds like a great night Joe! Enjoyable read, and congrats on the VROD! I always deploy smaller fracs alongside CATs, they complement each other well.
Thanks Andrey!

When you say, "I always deploy smaller fracs alongside CATs, they complement each other well," are you referring to something like this?
schmidt-catsegrain.jpg
.


I bought the refractor as a photographic tool but it is a nice visual instrument. The OTA is shorting me on backfocus by 5-10mm. I can't bring a DSLR camera to focus with the reducer in the optical path. I can use a non-reducing field flattener without problems so now I have to decide if I want to shorten the tube or not use a reducer. Meanwhile, it is a very nice wide field visual instrument.
Image
Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

#9

Post by OzEclipse »


Thank you
Michael@helicon
Jeff@Ylem
Andrey@Bigzmey
John@John Baars
Dave@Unitron48
Marshall@Makuser
all for your kind comments.

Between clouds and rain, and returning to work 160km from my scopes, last year was a quiet year for me.

Joe
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Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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scribbly Australia
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Re: The Astronomical Reunion

#10

Post by scribbly »


Yes thank you all for the responses.

I do enjoy the different FOVs of a refractor and reflector. Much nicer with Joe's 100ED than my usual combo (ST80, tho it is nice too with a good EP). No winners and losers this way in that never ending preference discussion :-)

Many thanks again to Joe for hosting; it is such a wonderful place to visit. I think that this was my first decent night out in nearly a year. 3x La Nina in a row appears to be breaking, so hopefully we are in for some climatic balance for a while.

Phil
Telescopes: Takahashi TSA120; Genstar 10" (Barry Arnold optics), Skywatcher ST80 (guide)
Eyepieces: Televue Nagler 7/11/22mm, Takahashi LE50mm, Denkmieir 14mm, Andrews (Moonfish) 30mm
Cameras: Canon EOS RP, Player One Neptune-C II Planetary (IMX464), QHY Polemaster
Lenses: Canon 300mm F4 L, Tamron 24-70mm G2 F2.8, Samyang 14mm F2.8, Rokinon 8mm
Mounts: Losmandy G11G, Skywatcher Star Adventurer I PRO
Binoculars: Bushnell Forge ED 10x42
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