3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

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pakarinen United States of America
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3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

#1

Post by pakarinen »


Took out the 72ED about 0330 this morning, hoping to bag a few open clusters in Cygnus and Aquila. Wasn't sure how much I'd get in since there was scattered cloud moving through.

I usually use a bright star to align my az circle and check my Wixey calibration, and since I was aimed in the general direction of Sadr, I figured I'd use it. Centered Sadr in the FOV, read the coords on SkySafari and checked the Wixey. It was off by 5°. Now my Wixey is never exactly dead on, but it's never been off by anything like 5°. QLC?

Ok, technical glitch. Was the Wixey seated properly on the OTA? Yes. Was SS time set to "Now" or had I locked it at a different time? Yes and no. Wixey battery is pretty new so I didn't think it was insane from lack of breakfast. Did SS think I was in Kentucky instead of Illinois? No. Finally took a closer look at where the OTA was pointed and saw I was aimed at ε Cyg, not γ Cyg. :doh: Moral of the story - wake up fully before hosing with scope.

So... Slewed over to M39. Counted about 15 stars at 27X. Was able to resolve the cluster double HD205117 with slightly averted vision. Didn't feel like trying a higher mag.

Since I was in the area, I decided to look for another OC - NGC7082. Slewed a bit south and thought I had it. Nope. I was looking at g Cyg and the field stars around it. Backtracked a bit and there it was. But it wasn't much - 4 or 5 stars visible and pretty faint. If I hadn't been looking for it, I would have thought it was just a random star field.

Headed toward Deneb to have a look at the star fields near the NA Neb, but high cirrus was coming in and twilight was about to start, so I called it at 0458. Not a very productive session, but at least I was out under the stars for awhile so I'll take it.
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I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
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AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Makuser United States of America
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Re: 3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

#2

Post by Makuser »


Hello Olen. A nice, although cut short by the clouds session. When it comes to astronomy observing it always has to be something that goes awry that you didn't count on happening. Thanks for your observing report Olen and I am glad that you were able to get out and catch open cluster M39 (NGC 7092) and HD205117.
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.
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John Baars Netherlands
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Re: 3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

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Post by John Baars »


Early morning sessions are special.
The silence and blanket of night slowly giving way to the light of morning.
Nice report! Thanks!
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).
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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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Re: 3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

#4

Post by pakarinen »


John Baars wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:20 pm Early morning sessions are special.
The silence and blanket of night slowly giving way to the light of morning.
And the Barque of Ra slowly ascends to start its journey across the heavens. :D
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: 3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

#5

Post by Bigzmey »


Nice morning session with ultralight setup Olen! Wixey is digital angle, right?
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
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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: 3.30.2023 Short morning in Cygnus

#6

Post by pakarinen »


Bigzmey wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 8:56 pm Nice morning session with ultralight setup Olen! Wixey is digital angle, right?
Yes. I attach a small steel mending plate to the OTA for the magnets on the bottom of the Wixey to grab onto. The Wixey reads to a tenth of a degree, but there's usually a small mismatch (less than a degree) between SkySafi altitude and the Wixey. I don't recalibrate the Wixey to zero degrees every time though, so that could be my fault.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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