Minus 52

That was the temperature with the wind chill yesterday. Today we have improved to a balmy -42. If the temperature is not enough to deter me my observing site is now buried under 3 feet of snow. When does spring start?

The Moon and More

Last night my whole family fell asleep early so I took the opportunity to get out side and play with my telescope some more.  Before that happened I had peeked outside to see if I could find Mercury as the sun was setting. I was surprised at how bright it was and how easy it was to find. Unfortunately I did not have a lot of time to linger and enjoy the site.

After dark my first target was the large bright moon. It was the first time I actually had success with my telescope tracking an object. Tracking the moon may not be all that impressive but I am taking small steps right now. I also took the time to try out my #80A Blue filter. With the full moon it toned down the brightness and some of the features really popped out.  In particular I focused in on Crater Plato.

I was planning to take a look at Mars next but I was starting to get cold so I decided to set my sights to the Orion Nebula. Because of Orion’s location in the sky I had to set up in my driveway.  My backyard provides a lot of shelter from light pollution, my drive way does not. There is a street lamp only 30 feet away from me and of course the entire neighborhood had their lights on drawing a disapproving look from Al Gore. Even with all these obstacles there in the middle of my eyepiece was the faint form of the Orion Nebula. Found, I might add without the use of my telescope’s autostar system.  I was able to view it for a while even with changing eyepieces and putting on my LPR filter. I lost it after I put my 26 mm eyepiece in. At that point I was having difficulty using my hands to I decided to call it quits. Still I very successful night of viewing.

Where are the pictures you ask? I tried but with my recently arrived camera adapter but I was unable to get my camera to focus.  I quickly gave up and just decided to enjoy the view. What makes my camera great for taking pictures of my sons playing soccer makes it absolutely craptastic for astrophotography. I think I will start saving my pennies for a DSI.

Life in a Northern Town

I had plans to get out and do some viewing this weekend. It is a great time of year for sky watching because we have  probably close to 12 hours of of usable darkness. As is usually the case on the weekend it snowed all of Friday night and Saturday.  On Sunday the clouds went away and it was perfectly clear a few hours after sunset. An excellent night for viewing, except for on thing. The bitter freaking cold (about -25 Celsius with the wind chill). Not my idea of a good time. Tonight is going to be only -4. If I am going to get any viewing done I may have to sacrifice a little sleep and accept being tired at work this week.

First Bit of Viewing

I have finally made it out to use my new telescope a bit. The skies cleared and everyone is healthy again. I have had limited success with the “three star alignment” from Celestron. I am getting better at it each time I try but I have yet to have complete success with it yet.

My first target was the moon. I ran through all the eye pieces I have and the 2x barlow also. I was very impressed with the sharpness and the detail I was getting. The 2″ eyepiece upgrade would seem to be well worth it.

Next I tried Mars. I was happy to see the distinctive orange dot in my eyepiece. However I was expecting to see some detail. I am not sure if it is because of my location, eyepiece power or something I need to do better. Or perhaps I was expecting too much. I was using a 26mm eyepiece with a 2x barlow.

I also had a look at the Pleadies. I was absolutely amazed at what I saw. The sheer amount of stars the NexStar was able to see blew my socks off.

I have yet to see a Nebula or a Galaxy but I have been also going with out star charts or any type a plan as of yet. This weekend I think I am going to explore Orion and see what I can find.

No pictures yet. But my camera adapter shipped on Tuesday so I should be getting it soon.

Finally

My telescope has finally arrived. However I am being plagued by the new equipment curse. Since I brought my NexStar home I have had about 30 minutes of clear weather. Plus I caught strep throat. Then my kids got pink eye. Good times for everyone.