nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

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notFritzArgelander
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nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#1

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Visiting the grandkids in SLC the weather forecast was for clear skies, average transparency, and above average seeing.

Equipment was:
Orion StarSeeker IV mount controlled by the newly arrived hand controller
Orion ST 80 OTA
Lunt Herschel Wedge 1.25” format
Eyepieces were BCO 32 Plossl and 6 mm Ortho
Baader Variable Polarizing and Solar Continuum filters.

Although the hand controller had arrived some weeks back weather was not permitting use. So, this was the first time out for it. The UI was similar enough to previous versions that I had no troubles.

We set up on a wooden deck and pointed the scope using the shadow method which was a smoother operation than last time. It helped to remember to remove the lens cap and I also had the ocular assembly removed so I could see the projection of the solar image on the deck. Since the deck did not spontaneously burst into flames, this was good.

https://www.spaceweather.com/images2022 ... mi1898.gif

Sunspot groups AR2995, AR2999, and AR3001 were clearly visible, and my observing grandson could detect a little penumbral neck in AR 3001 dividing 2 umbras. I could almost reproduce his observation but had a hard time of it.

After acquiring the Sun with the 32mm we panned about a bit with the 6mm. I do not think that the seeing was above average possibly due to turbulence in the direction of Mount Olympus and the Sun. No penumbral filaments were observable.

Views were shared with my daughter and son in law. One grandson chose not to observe. Video games were calling him. :shrug:
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#2

Post by Bigzmey »


Nice family outreach nFA!
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: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#3

Post by Michael131313 »


Thanks for the report nFA. Reminded me to take a look at the Sun as the weather has been pretty good lately.
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#4

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Good that you could get out again with the grand children :)
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#5

Post by helicon »


Very nice report notFritz -and some good family outreach- it's not everyday you can see sunspots. Congratulations on winning the VROD for the day for your solar report. Also, I am reminded of Archimedes mirror:
Archimedes' mirror

This myth claims that by focusing the sun's rays, Archimedes' mirrors raised the temperature of the ships enough that they caught fire. While a concave mirror held in one hand can light a paper in the other hand by focusing sunlight, burning a distant wooden ship would require an impractically large mirror




https://theskysearchers.com/viewtopic.p ... 08#p200308
-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
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#6

Post by AntennaGuy »


helicon wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 1:26 pm Very nice report notFritz -and some good family outreach- it's not everyday you can see sunspots. Congratulations on winning the VROD for the day for your solar report. Also, I am reminded of Archimedes mirror:
Archimedes' mirror

This myth claims that by focusing the sun's rays, Archimedes' mirrors raised the temperature of the ships enough that they caught fire. While a concave mirror held in one hand can light a paper in the other hand by focusing sunlight, burning a distant wooden ship would require an impractically large mirror
https://theskysearchers.com/viewtopic.p ... 08#p200308
Well sure, but Archimedes was also hard at work on the following technology, but was killed by a Roman soldier before he could finish:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ceD_TI-AHA/U ... LaWS-3.jpg

* Meade 323 refractor on a manual equatorial mount.
* Celestron C6 SCT on a Twilight 1 Alt-Az mount
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#7

Post by John Baars »


Great report. Thanks for sharing!
Very recognizable. Youngsters that have better observing-eyes than we do and youngsters that prefer video-games, haha.
Congratulations on the VROD!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
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Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#8

Post by Butterfly Maiden »


A great report nFA.

Sounds like you had a good time with the youngsters too (bar the video-gamer of course :lol: )

Congratulations on the TSS VROD award for your effort.
Vanessa

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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#9

Post by Makuser »


Hi nFA. It looks like you enjoyed a lot of fun with the family and also had a great observing session too. You viewed several of the active regions on "ole Sol". Thanks for this fun read observing report nFA and congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD Award today.
Marshall
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#10

Post by Richard »


Yes its difficult to motivate young people to have a look even the spectacular planets like Saturn and Jupiter I get comments like seen it much better on my phone!
Reflectors GSO 200 Dobs
Refractors None
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#11

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Return thanks to @Bigzmey, @Michael131313, @Lady Fraktor, @AntennaGuy, @John Baars, and @Makuser.

Very kind thanks for the VROD to @helicon and all. I only used the projection method to find the Sun and we did the observations with the Herschel wedge setup. BTW with regard to Archimedes, he might have succeeded in making sailors uncomfortable by using a forerunner of the JWST segmented mirror design. ;) I think that the Greek Fire idea is a better one given that there are no primary sources that mention the mirror trick.

@Butterfly Maiden and @Richard the retirement of the video gamer grandson from the field was unfortunate and unusual. He is usually interested. I think there was some competitive contretemps with his brother since he sort of stomped off across the deck while I was at the eyepiece. This had the net effect of a serendipitous test of the stability of the SSIV mount which held the view nicely even with the vibration.
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#12

Post by Unitron48 »


Great report and family outreach! Kids today have so very many distractions. Our mission is to continue to provide opportunities.

Congrats on your VROD!

Dave
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#13

Post by milanpicard »


Hey, I saw the big ones, those three big dots. But the smaller ones that were there on the site image, I saw no sign of, like 2997, 3000, 3003... where were those?
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#14

Post by notFritzArgelander »


milanpicard wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 3:42 pm Hey, I saw the big ones, those three big dots. But the smaller ones that were there on the site image, I saw no sign of, like 2997, 3000, 3003... where were those?
They were obscured by seeing that was poorer than average. With my setup it’s possible to resolve striations in penumbras if the seeing is at least average. Since I couldn’t, the smaller spots weren’t possible.
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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Re: nFA observing report daytime April 30, 2022

#15

Post by Kanadalainen »


A great outing, and good on you to get some of the grandkids into your outreach. I have a similar plan, but need to wait for the grandkids. :)
Ian

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