Posts Made By: Anthony Allsobrook

Maurice

I have great difficulty in comprehending the view that you are - quote - "getting a little obsessed" ... in the photo you have supplied I can count FOUR piers which don't even have a telescope on them ... I can only conclude that you are showing remarkable restraint.

Anthony 41*S 175*E

PS what's in the dome?

I have done heaps of hiking under really cold (and wet) conditions and there is one rule never to be broken ... NEVER wear cotton of any sort. This natural fibre nas a strong AFFINITY for water and that's bad news. So I would rate cotton jeans, cotton shirts as a no-no. Wear wool (if you don't mind the prickles) or the modern synthetic fibres. Polypropylene is excellent as is chlorofibre. Now obviously we don't observe under wet conditions but your body "breathes" and releases heaps of water through every pore. These synthetic fibres REPEL water and wick it away from your body. Keeps you dry and warm WITH FEWER LAYERS AND MORE MOBILITY. I prefer synthetics for a hat too ... wool makes my forehead itch!
My 2 c worth.

Anthony @ 41*S 175*E

Hi Kevin

Last night I failed to see ANY craterlets in Plato. I was using a Widestar 4" (older model) 600 mm focal length, TV 2.5 powermate and 10 mm Clave'. The moon was only about 25* above the horizon when I abandoned observations due to cloud. How many craterlets can be seen do you think with the above setup? Seeing was average at best. How difficult are the craterlets to see with your 100 mm?

I found this using googlePlato craterlets view)
Quote" A few years back they were under such odd, cooperative light that I'm fairly sure the five majors would have shown easily in an 80mm scope. "End of quote.

I also found this David Kingsley account on same search:
Quote " For the Plato test, I began with a Vixen 24 to 8 mm zoom eyepiece ccombined with a Celestron Ultima 2x barlow. That gives a maximum magnification of about 240 in the 7 inch Starmaster. Views were very steady, so I put the same zoom eyepiece into a Televue 3x Barlow instead. At full zoom, that combination gives a maximum magnification of 360x in the 7 inch Dob (just over 50x per inch). Views were still nice and steady, so that's what I used for the rest of the night. When I first looked at the moon, I could make out 4 small craterlets in the otherwise smooth floor of Plato, (a tight double pair, and two single craterlets in a curving arc). I didn't have an atlas with me, so decided to sketch positions for later comparison to Rukl and photographs. As I have often found before, the act of sketching was a big help in teasing out additional detail. As I carefully studied Plato to make my sketch, additional craterlets begin to pop into view. One was near the western edge, as prominent as the first 4 that I had seen. This one had been missed before only because of its proximity to the rim. Then smaller ones began appearing near the original single craters near the center. These were harder to hold, like faint companions of a difficult double star. But I was patient, the sky was steady, and as I remained seated and still at the eyepiece, several small craters became obvious. I had sketched positions of 12 craterlets when the skies finally clouded over for good at about 1:15 am."End of quote.

Anthony @ 41*S 175*E

Ron

You have raised an interesting question as to the colour of the nova. The web site you provided (thank you) has a spectrum which shows, amongst other things, a very strong Halpha line at 656 nm ... so perhaps the nova ought to appear pink? The question of star colours is given a fine treatment in David Malin's book "A View of the Universe". (Perhaps also in his "Colours of the Stars"). With RA drive on take a photo in focus. Then move a small distance in declination, defocus slightly and double expose. Repeat several times. This gives a series of NON-concentric circles of increasing size, of which at least one will give the "colour" of the star, at least as recorded by the characteristics of the film. I don't have a suitable setup to do this but it would be interesting if someone could take such a photo and report the colour of the nova on Astromart.

Anthony Allsobrook @ 41*S 175*E

Maurice

Stunning article. Thank you!!

Anthony @ 41*S 175*E

Paul

"Venus was an amorphous blob with rainbows streaming all around it."

Well that's much more interesting to look at than the boring view through my 10" SCT
The kids would just love it ;-)

Anthony @ 41*S 175*E

Jason, here's a quick fix. Make a wooden split ring (3/4" plywood scrap) that can be clamped around the top of the telescope tube (use some felt to prevent scratching the tube). Tap a 1/4" threaded hole in a small metal plate and screw this to the split ring. This can now be attached to the 1/4" screw on top of a ball and socket head on a photographic tripod. The bottom of the tube can rest on something which allows easy movement, for example a small bean bag. It's stable and can reach the zenith. For low down objects just rest the tube on the beanbag.

Hi Carlos

Thank you for sharing your absolutely stunning sketch and notes. I was observing at 12.30 am local time but only with a modest 4 inch refractor. Seeing was good but I didn't see nearly as much detail. Your documentation doesn't mention which eyepieces you used. From the magnifications I presume 12 and 8 mm - but what type?

Anthony @ 41*S 175*E

Hi Ron
I really enjoy reading your reports, and so many thanks for your really great Mars report and sketch! I have been observing with my ETX and 8 mm Radian at 150X but not nearly so much detail is visible. I will have a go with the 10" SCT next time if the seeing allows. Here in the southern hemisphere Mars is getting nice and high in the wee hours.

BTW ... I use 6 digits for the date, but the order is year, month, day. So August 10, 2003 is 030810. In my filing system everything is then in chronological order for the rest of the century, if you see what I mean! So your sketch is now filed as Mars_030810_RonBee_TV102 on my computer!

Best wishes from Down under
Anthony @ 41*S 175*E

Hi Scott
I have been using my ETX 90 most evenings and it has been very easy to monitor the shrinkage in the south polar cap. Other surface marking are visible every clear night and Syrtis Major easy to see when it's there. Best results with 8 mm eyepiece => 156X. Sharp focus is essential. Your TV102 ought to be much better than my ETX. Have you tried using filters (A23 light red works best for me) and also observing at about 1 to 2 am when Mars is high and the seeing best?

Anthony