Well Jay,
I went to the Mountain on Friday as I said I would. Most of our club was not going until Saturday, but I didn't like the forcast for Saturday.
I arrived on the mountain at about 7pm and took about 5 minutes to set up the 15" DOB. Another 10 minutes was spent perfecting the collimation, then I left the scope to cool down with the fan running.
I went around looking at all the nice scopes already setup in the parking lot. There were 3 24" DOBs and everything from 6" Astrophysics APO to a 16" Casserain present.
The temperature was extremely plesant for 8,300' and there was still plenty of room on the parking lot for walking around.
I checked out some awesome astrophotography systems with remote computer controls and displays. Many neat toys to look at and dream about!
Finally it began to get dark and I trained my finder on M13, Hercules Cluster, for my first look of the night. Though it was still twilight it was a good view. I knew that this was going to be a good night. As it got darker I checked out M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, and M101 , the Pinwheel Galaxy and M102. The sky was very clear and steady and the view of the galaxies was very good with the spiral arms readily visable. Then I turned to The Ring for a challenge and it was quite clear and detailed.I decided to go for the Dumbbell Nebula next and even without a filter it was very clear and you could see the shape with ease. I decided that the Veil Nebual would be next and it took a couple of minutes to find it, but I was rewarded fot he effort with a great view. I cruised through Sagittarius for a view of The Lagoon, Triffid, Omega and Eagle Nebulas! The Lagoon was so bright it was 3 dimentional. I browsed the skies for about another two hours looking at various Messier and NGC objects.
Then I went and took a look through other scopes. I looked at The Ring through one of the 24" DOBs and was able to see the central star with ease! Checked out a globular through a Meade 7" APO and The Ring through a C-14. Looked through a few more SCTs and Cassegrains and went back to the DOB for a few more views before retiring for the night.
It was 2am when we tore down and headed home. Wife and I were both pretty beat at 3am when we arrived home and went to bed.
I was very pleased with the performance of the 15" DOB after doing all the realignment work on the optics. Got a few compliments on the brightness and clearity of the optics. So I guess the work was worth it! :^)
Saturday the clouds moved in and I was real happy that I had decided to go on Friday! ;^) The Clear Skies Clock had been right again!
Dark Skies to all,
Floyd
I went to the Mountain on Friday as I said I would. Most of our club was not going until Saturday, but I didn't like the forcast for Saturday.
I arrived on the mountain at about 7pm and took about 5 minutes to set up the 15" DOB. Another 10 minutes was spent perfecting the collimation, then I left the scope to cool down with the fan running.
I went around looking at all the nice scopes already setup in the parking lot. There were 3 24" DOBs and everything from 6" Astrophysics APO to a 16" Casserain present.
The temperature was extremely plesant for 8,300' and there was still plenty of room on the parking lot for walking around.
I checked out some awesome astrophotography systems with remote computer controls and displays. Many neat toys to look at and dream about!
Finally it began to get dark and I trained my finder on M13, Hercules Cluster, for my first look of the night. Though it was still twilight it was a good view. I knew that this was going to be a good night. As it got darker I checked out M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, and M101 , the Pinwheel Galaxy and M102. The sky was very clear and steady and the view of the galaxies was very good with the spiral arms readily visable. Then I turned to The Ring for a challenge and it was quite clear and detailed.I decided to go for the Dumbbell Nebula next and even without a filter it was very clear and you could see the shape with ease. I decided that the Veil Nebual would be next and it took a couple of minutes to find it, but I was rewarded fot he effort with a great view. I cruised through Sagittarius for a view of The Lagoon, Triffid, Omega and Eagle Nebulas! The Lagoon was so bright it was 3 dimentional. I browsed the skies for about another two hours looking at various Messier and NGC objects.
Then I went and took a look through other scopes. I looked at The Ring through one of the 24" DOBs and was able to see the central star with ease! Checked out a globular through a Meade 7" APO and The Ring through a C-14. Looked through a few more SCTs and Cassegrains and went back to the DOB for a few more views before retiring for the night.
It was 2am when we tore down and headed home. Wife and I were both pretty beat at 3am when we arrived home and went to bed.
I was very pleased with the performance of the 15" DOB after doing all the realignment work on the optics. Got a few compliments on the brightness and clearity of the optics. So I guess the work was worth it! :^)
Saturday the clouds moved in and I was real happy that I had decided to go on Friday! ;^) The Clear Skies Clock had been right again!
Dark Skies to all,
Floyd
[SIZE="Large"][/SIZE][COLOR="Blue"][/COLOR] Floyd Blue
Amateur Imager
