Good morning, Genties & Ladlemen.
First Light report, on my brand new (to me, anyway) Hardin DSH 8" Dob.
Picked up this new toy on Thursday - found it on Astromart. {Thanks Rick!} *Waves* 8) This is the first "real" scope I've owned. Fiddled with it a bit on Thursday night - but it was super windy & more than just a bit hazy - could barely raise more than a smudge out of M-31. Not to mention not having the patience to let the silly thing cool down. *grin*
Anyway - I took it outside this morning, about 5am - being located in the far N.E. corner of Indianapolis, there's PLENTY of light pollution - I'd estimate I can only see down to about mag 3.5 - 4. The temp outside was in the low 40's..the thermometer in the garage said 60 (F) - so first thing I'm wondering is about how long is an open tube newt/dob going to take to cool down approx 20 degrees? *shrug*
I went out specifically to observe Jupiter & Venus close together....did some more fiddling with the guide-scope...I think I have it pretty close, but this thing sure needs an angle-finder spotting scope. And a "gunsight". I took a look at Jupiter - starting off with my 25mm..down to 17..then 10...I have a 6, but it's fairly lame. The 10 & 6 are basic Orion Explorer II's - the 17 is an Orion Sirius Plössl - and the 25 is a standard Hardin Astrola. I got 3 moons - one JUST past the limb..and a vague hint of some banding. The wind was starting to pick up, so steadiness was an issue - and for a while I could see some heat-ripples, as it cooled. I turned across the sky & tried to pick out M42 - Bingo! Very nice. *grin* The Pleiades were quickly sinking into city-glow to my east....so I aimed next for Saturn. Nicely ringy, but couldn't positively ID any moons.
Next, the 1/4 moon - yikes, there goes THAT eye - screw in the moon-filter, silly! The 17mm worked great on the moon - perfectly frame-filling.
I was only out there about an hour - beginning to get a bit chilly, basically sitting & doing nothing....and some lights were beginning to come on around me, seeing as it was pushing 6 o'clock - as if there weren't enough lights on already. All in all, I'm fairly pleased - have to try some a bit earlier - and dress a bit warmer - and fiddle with a few things. My first impression - the eyepiece rack is on the wrong side of the base - an easy fix. The base also needs another handle - on the side (either side) to compliment the one in front.
That, and I REALLY need to go eyepiece shopping. *evil grin*
Pardon my giddiness, but I got a new toy! *lol* Plus - it seems I've broken the curse - been cloudy & dreary for over a week - I buy new optics and it clears off. Yay!
-Kevin
First Light report, on my brand new (to me, anyway) Hardin DSH 8" Dob.
Picked up this new toy on Thursday - found it on Astromart. {Thanks Rick!} *Waves* 8) This is the first "real" scope I've owned. Fiddled with it a bit on Thursday night - but it was super windy & more than just a bit hazy - could barely raise more than a smudge out of M-31. Not to mention not having the patience to let the silly thing cool down. *grin*
Anyway - I took it outside this morning, about 5am - being located in the far N.E. corner of Indianapolis, there's PLENTY of light pollution - I'd estimate I can only see down to about mag 3.5 - 4. The temp outside was in the low 40's..the thermometer in the garage said 60 (F) - so first thing I'm wondering is about how long is an open tube newt/dob going to take to cool down approx 20 degrees? *shrug*
I went out specifically to observe Jupiter & Venus close together....did some more fiddling with the guide-scope...I think I have it pretty close, but this thing sure needs an angle-finder spotting scope. And a "gunsight". I took a look at Jupiter - starting off with my 25mm..down to 17..then 10...I have a 6, but it's fairly lame. The 10 & 6 are basic Orion Explorer II's - the 17 is an Orion Sirius Plössl - and the 25 is a standard Hardin Astrola. I got 3 moons - one JUST past the limb..and a vague hint of some banding. The wind was starting to pick up, so steadiness was an issue - and for a while I could see some heat-ripples, as it cooled. I turned across the sky & tried to pick out M42 - Bingo! Very nice. *grin* The Pleiades were quickly sinking into city-glow to my east....so I aimed next for Saturn. Nicely ringy, but couldn't positively ID any moons.
Next, the 1/4 moon - yikes, there goes THAT eye - screw in the moon-filter, silly! The 17mm worked great on the moon - perfectly frame-filling.
I was only out there about an hour - beginning to get a bit chilly, basically sitting & doing nothing....and some lights were beginning to come on around me, seeing as it was pushing 6 o'clock - as if there weren't enough lights on already. All in all, I'm fairly pleased - have to try some a bit earlier - and dress a bit warmer - and fiddle with a few things. My first impression - the eyepiece rack is on the wrong side of the base - an easy fix. The base also needs another handle - on the side (either side) to compliment the one in front.
That, and I REALLY need to go eyepiece shopping. *evil grin*
Pardon my giddiness, but I got a new toy! *lol* Plus - it seems I've broken the curse - been cloudy & dreary for over a week - I buy new optics and it clears off. Yay!
-Kevin
Kevin in Indy 8)
