anyone observing?

[craig]

hey everyone my new scope finally arrived and it is very nice to look threw if anyone is goin out observing and wants some company let me know and i will join you

[Deleted]

Glad to hear you got your scope, Craig! I hope you have many years of clear skies ahead.
 I am out every night it is clear. Last night was really the coldest  i have felt since my last
 Manning  Park trip a few years back.
I noticed all the gun shots have disappeared up Davis lake way,must be the cold!
Right now, Perseus is directly overhead in "Dobson's Hole". I have been hunting all
the Per A group and am amazed at how many galaxies there are crammed into this small area.
MMc

[craig]

same here i was out Friday night and Saturday night and each time the scope came in with frost all over you will have to send me a message with your phone number mark and we will have to set up something if u don't feel like driving far u can always come out to my place we have lots of field room to set up in

[Deleted]

I would love to check your location there since you have a clear sky clock already.
If it's better then 20 on the sky meter you beat the Dark Sky Park on #3 Road.
Frosty it is, my dew heaters have kept me going all the way down to -10C. 
Come to next Dinner Meeting!
MarkMc

[craig]

i will see you their for sure. it looks like the weather is going to be bad for a bit anyways.

[Deleted]

Did Harout not tell you? Because you bought a telescope,your fellow astronomers will blame you for the bad weather! 

[craig]

im just glad i had a couple days of nice weather when to try it out when it got here and i didn't have to wait for weeks to try it out. he gave me a moon filter for the 2" eye piece i bought, he knew i would look at the full the day before moon.the 16 defiantly collects more light then my little 3 inch refactor even with the filter in i could still see the moon when i blinked for little bit then it i knew it was perfect time to stumble inside for a warm up. while my night vision found its way back.also their seems to be more starts in the things i look at now,o can definatly tell when i find what i am looking for its not just a blob of light anymore. i am very happy with it and cant wait to get it outside of the city and see what it can do

[Deleted]

Going from a 3 to a 16" is like going from a VW to a ZL1 Camaro!

[Deleted]

Craig, good for you for getting a CLC. It fills in the map nicely. 

I thought about one for Shylock but can use the Hope Slide one for cloud cover just as well. Plus Shylock might get a bit too busy if the whole world knows about it. What we could really use is a Highway Cam there -- tell us when the snow is not there.

All the best on your new scope. Hope to see it sooner rather than later.

DSD.

[Deleted]

Thanks for inviting me out tonight, Craig. Since the town house complex below me,
has gone dark due to construction,I have decided to set up in my backyard. I will be
taking a SQMeter reading to see what the difference is. But visually it looks much better.
Looks like Perseus will be overhead,a great time for the Per A group,NGC 1275.
Have fun with you new Scope! Oh, and dress warm!
MMc

[craig]

dress warm for sure i had a good from on everything before the clouds moved in. i was having issues at first with my finder scope i flipped the mounting bracket around and it lined up almost right away. my mirrors managed to stay dw free all night but my eye pieces were fogging up fast though. I will have to figure something out for that . hopefully the next nice day will be all the way threw the night to see the comet in the morning.

[Deleted]

hey Craig, for dewy eyepieces:

When I had only two eyepieces, I'd always keep one in my hand to warm it up and the other in the focuser. Then rotate them occasionally.  For my finder eyepiece I've made a little foam hat / cap to sit over it, then take the cap off to look and pop it back on when finished.  Now with more than a few eyepieces I keep then either in special pockets in my fleece to keep them warm or keep them under cover in the back of the pickup when not in use.  I've never used dew heaters.

[Deleted]

At MSQ a few years back, i was the only scope up and running after 2 AM.
Virtually everyone had major icing. LeeJ. and I held our bare hands up to his secondary
to try to keep it defrosted, but gave up. My Dewminator keeps the big 3N and the 21E,
which are massive eyepieces, clear. Also i use it to keep my coffee mug warm!

Ha-Ha that is why DSD likes plossl eyepieces, they are easy to keep warm.
I have a small assortment of black foam that i can let you have for dew shields...
MMc

[craig]

awesome thanks mark some foam would be great i its nice at the house here i can keep on on the counter inside and rotate them i had a kitchen towel i would put over when not in use and it kept it pretty clear as well good thinking on finder scope i would have to take the flash light and use the heat to clear the finder a coupe times lol

[Deleted]

I made a thin foam cylinder 4 inches long for my finder's primary's tube extension. That really helps keep the finder's primary dry. Plus on long wet nights I push my scope horizontal when logging or looking up the next object, then swing it back up for the next object.

Eyepiece dew heaters are fine if you don't mind the wires and the need for more juice. But I strongly object to secondary mirror dew heaters -- they leave a big heat plume across your field all the time and probably deform the figure of the secondary.

[Deleted]

The heat plume is minor. You don't leave it on all the time, only to clear the dew/frost off.
Putting your warm ungloved hand in front will make a bigger heat plume then will the heater.
I learned early not to stand in front of the scope while some one else is at the eyepiece.
You leave a big heat wave,try it sometime,it's amazing the distortion a human makes. 
It's also insulated with a foam blanket. Yes, it probably does deform the figure,but you could
argue so does a layer of dew or frost! 
As for the wires, go look at G.S. setup...gasp! That's why i left the SC i had,too many wires!
MMc

[Deleted]

Good to hear a secondary heater isn't so bad for a plume.

 I still like my long foam tube extension on my tube, and my shroud. So many truss tube scopes without shrouds are dewed before midnight.  I haven't lost my secondary to dew in a long time.

As for deformation: we used to put a warm thumb on a mirror's surface for a couple of seconds on the foucault testing stand and then look at the mirror thru the knife edge tester. The warm thumb spot stood out as big bump on the mirror.  I wonder what a ring of warm resistors on the back of a secondary would do?

[Deleted]

I use the Kendrick dew remover that attaches to the actual holder, not behind the mirror
like some models. It uses the wolanski holder as a bit  of thermal mass, not the glass.
Really, on the nights you need it, mirror deformations are minor compared to those 
not observing. And they don't last long once the heat is off.
Of course the shroud is the real big helper along with the primary fan being on low.
Mine is made of spandex, so you can "snap" the beaded water off easily.

You can't deny dew heaters work, i have proved it over time and time again.
Been the last scope running on many occasions,just ask my fellow observers!
And just for your info, MSQ is much dewier then MKSP, i guess due to location and altitude.
Where i live you would miss half the night if you didn't  set up for dew!


MMc

[craig]

wow hey that looks cold.im sure u will have the chance to show it off soon i hope. the shroud i have is that spandex stuff aswell

[Deleted]

Well this has been nice, all this nice clear sky at night,and the moon up late. The cold i can deal with.
It has been really good for viewing in my backyard since the town house complex has the big bad
yard light down for new siding. Wish/hope it's not to much of a struggle to get them to put up a new shield.

OK, now the list...everything in Auriga, Perseus and Camelopardalis, i have found and looked at.
The one object i have yet to see, anywhere, is the California nebula/NGC1499. How hard can it be?
I have found the Horsehead and traveled every bay in the Flame nebula, done Hubble's variable neb.
All faint objects from my yard. I have tried every filter in the box, Hbeta, O3, UHC, Deepsky... no luck.
Even from different locations like Kobau, and even the fabled Pit, where it is an easy 21.5 SQMMeter,
I have failed. I wimper...
Oh, sure I have heard with my own ears from others who have seen it from so and so location.
Or what really hurts, a smaller scope or, gulp, naked eye! So i have moved this object up to the top
of my lightbucket list for this year. I will not be defeated!
If you are out and see this,please taunt me with a brief description of  your glory.
Clear Skies, and HNY!

[Deleted]

California -- been there. 

The Nebula too.

Without a filter the brightest oval patch is about 20' long, runs almost east to west and sits 45' NNE of Menkib.

With my 1.25 in. H beta filter in my 32 mm plossl at 70 X with a 41' field of view, I follow the entire perimeter of the nebula all the way around.  it's the perimeter edge that gives it away.  A lot like the 'bright' bank that the Horsehead dints into.

I don't bother with a super low power, large field of view since I only have the 1.25 filter so I'm not looking for the big picture but rather the edge of the perimeter.

Please forgive the unintentional insult but be sure you're really hopping off Menkib (Bayer: Xi, Flamsteed: 46)

I haven't been out in the cold.  With Shylock under so much snow, Chilliwack lake exposed to the side of the highway, my back bothering me and spending all day yesterday tramping around on the Christmas Bird Count, I too yearn for California.  The place.

Let us know how it goes.

DSD.

 

[Deleted]

Thanks DSD, now I know what to look for. I'll try my trusty 13 Ethos/H beta combo.
Now all i need is a clear spell this week.
MMc

[craig]

no prob i don't offend easy lol. so what are each filter best for i know their is UHC, h beta, and i think h alpha and i know u said one of them i borrow and never buy. anyone give me a quick filter lesson?

[Deleted]

I would suggest going to the Lumicon website,sparse as it is. There are different filters for various
object. My latest challenge is the California Neb, which only can be seen with the aid of the
H beta filter. I maybe wrong here,DSD may correct me.
A bit of experimentation is needed, some objects work well with the Oxygen 3
filter but not so well with the Ultra High Contrast. You have to try various to see the differences.
I think the Veil Neb. is a good example, it can be seen in a 16" without filters, but goes to
awesome when viewed with a UHC or O3. My least used filter is the Deep Sky filter, which
is basically a light pollution reduction filter. I use it at the MHPark to kill the sodium lights.
MMc

[Deleted]

FILTERS

My first filter was a Thousand Oaks OIII.  Very dark but it did the trick.  The Veil was fantastic. So good for revealing Planetaries.  That filter also got me the last three that I couldn't get of the Finest NGC List (RASC) with my 8 inch.

But to do it all over again I'd start with a Lumicon UHC. It's a bit more multi purpose. The Helix still looks better in the UHC.  And the UHC is great for the Orion complex around the Running Man. In comparisons while looking at the Swan, we found the UHC to bring out more brightness in obscure objects and the OIII more dark patches within that brightness.

Eventually I got the H-beta for the Horsehead and California nebulas and a couple of others.

Lastly I got the Televue Bandmate OIII which had gotten some bad reviews from some observers.  But I really like it.  I can see so many more stars in the field when looking for planetaries.  So the final hop isn't so dark and difficult.

I was going to give my old OIII to a good home  (it's slowly getting darker) but I've kept it for 'blinking' those hard to distinguish planetaries that look stellar.  I handhold the old OIII over the front of the eyepiece and move it in and out of the view to see which 'star' gets brighter or doesn't dim like the rest.  That's the planetary.  Once I've located it I can then crank up the power to check for other possible details.

What to borrow: (and not buy) the H-beta for the Horsehead and a two inch OIII for a wide field view of the Veil.

DSD.

[craig]

thanks Mark and Darrell that gives me a starting point for some further research. hopefully the clouds hold off and i can get out again tonight.

[Deleted]

I am out in the back forty right now, it is cold and clear! Objects so far.. The Veil neb.,
an interesting double star called Miram in Perseus, Trumpler 2 ,and the Famous Parachute Man,
in the Double cluster. Wow, is it nice out here, back later with more...
MM

[craig]

nice, I had training all day today at the fire hall so I didn't make it out last night. The clouds where here this morning when i left. I might go out after dinner if it is clear, Their is a few scattered clouds right now to the west of me, and to the south but they don't look like they will last long. I might just take it easy too.

[Deleted]

Well that was a nice run of observing during this new moon cycle. The cold tested my equipment
and my self pretty much too the max. I got a total of seven hours over 2 nights. Best ever, for
a cold January, with only a slight breeze.
I played around with all my filters to see what works best in my backyard, and was surprised 
at the Deep Sky filter. It actually does work. Much better then either the UHC or O3 under
the sodium lights. The dark sky at Merritt is really worth the drive to really go deep sky.
On a side note, we have a dinner and meeting coming up, hope to see you there.
MMc

[craig]

i will be their it is tomorrow night right? that is a nice picture. did you take that that in your back yard as well. next clear day we will have to get together for sure i wouldn't mind trying some of your filters.talk with you soon