Octember Session!

[Nightspore]

Last October was not very conducive to astronomy, but the year before that I actually got Ed out sixteen times in October. Twice in fact exactly two years ago to the day, once early in the morning, and a later session in the evening. ‘Ed’ aka my 72mm ED SkyWatcher Evostar usually gets more use annually than any of my other scopes.

 

 

A possible reason for this is that I usually deploy an Altair RDF on Ed.The red LED isn’t as bright as most generic RDF finders and there is no provision to switch to a green LED. The upside to this is that the Altair RDF is much better, with far less glare, for nocturnal astronomy. Not unlike a Rigel QuickFinder sight’s comparative range. The downside is, like the Rigel, it’s not easy to use or calibrate in white or crepuscular light. 

 

 

According to the occasionally mendacious, sorry, I mean occasionally inaccurate, Met Office’s crystal ball, the perpetual cloud that usually plagues the ‘Octember’ time of the year would most likely disappear around 22:00 to 00:00 BST. Ed probably gets out so much because the set-up is lightweight and convenient for me. I took four eyepieces and a Barlow element giving me 17.5x to a potential 210x (4.1mm to a tight 0.34mm exit pupil). Although 168x is the usual ‘very high’ magnification (0.43mm exit pupil). Ed is perfectly capable of a decent 168x, which is only really 24x above the assumed maximum magnification for a 72mm aperture. I usually achieve this with a 4mm TMB clone or an orthoscopic combined with a Barlow element.

 

 

On Tuesday the third of October I did a preliminary naked eye reconnaissance around 21:00 and amazingly I could see stars! Notwithstanding a bright rising Jupiter and a Saturn nearing Transit. A rising low Moon (Taurus) could also be seen at 31.2 arc minutes diameter and around 76% illuminated. I was set-up by about 21:45 only to discover that there was now a large ominous blanket of cloud covering most of the sky. A fuzzy but relatively bright Jupiter could occasionally make an appearance in the east and I could see the light of the Moon. I decided to wait it out.

 

 

Overall conditions were slightly above average and it was surprisingly warm for the time of the year. The inopportune cloud blanket did indeed eventually dissipate somewhat. Allowing me to view Saturn along with its attendant moon; Titan. Plus Jupiter accompanied by its Galilean moons at 105x. The Ring Nebula could be observed at 70x, although a broadband OIII filter helped and I also witnessed a lot of starfields at 17.5x. The Double Cluster was nice although not particularly spectacular. I couldn't find the Andromeda Galaxy, probably due to the Moon’s proximity. I was quite happy at splitting a well defined i Cass at 105x and even 168x. The serpentine Melotte 20 was pretty impressive at 17.5x (24mm Panoptic). As the Moon got higher it became the more logical target.

 

 

The floor of the Catherina lunar crater, situated between the Rupes Altai and Mare Nectaris, displayed a fair amount of detail at both 105x and 168x. The nearby Theophilus crater also revealed its terraced rim and central mountain detail remarkably well.

 

 

By this time I had swapped the steadfast Tele Vue ‘Enhanced Aluminum’ mirror (which is actually constructed from very shiny aluminium) for a slightly modified William Optics Amici prism. I have a TV dielectric, but apparently ‘aluminum’ mirrors show less scatter than dielectrics; reputedly anyway.  

 

 

The WO diffraction spike isn’t actually visible to me while lunar viewing, although it definitely showed on Jupiter when I searched for the now visible GRS. I have a Baader-Zeiss Amici but it is a tad heavy for Ed mounted on the AZ5. So the WO is just so much more convenient. At around midnight the clouds were starting to reappear, so I switched back to the TV ‘aluminum’ mirror and had a last look at the Summer Triangle, now becoming lower in the west. I decided on some scanning at 17.5x with the 24mm Panoptic.

 

 

To my great delight I found the ‘Coathanger’ asterism for the first time this year. Which was a great note to end on. Predictably, by 00:20 the cloud blanket was back, and besides, there was a mug of Cadbury’s drinking chocolate with my name on it waiting for me in the house.

 

 

Octember?

 

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Nightspore

[TerryMcK]

Great article Dave. Do you use purely mechanical mounts, goto ones or a mixture of both?

[Nightspore]

2 hours ago, TerryMcK said:

Great article Dave. Do you use purely mechanical mounts, goto ones or a mixture of both?

 

Thanks Terry. I predominantly use mechanical mounts, mainly for their simplicity and practicality. However, I do have a Celestron GOTO.

 

 

This was included with my 235mm Evolution SCT. Unfortunately it doesn't get out much.

[Nightspore]

4mm TS Optics 'Planetary HR' converted to 2.5mm with Barlow element. I have a 2.5mm TMB clone but this is lighter in weight than carrying an extra eyepiece.

 

 

The SvB element is surprisingly good, with no obvious degradation.  It even has a filter thread. I've not yet discovered a filter it will not thread, including Lumicons.

[Nightspore]

On Saturday I got about 90 mins with the 72ED. A slightly clouded Saturn was the first target. At 105x and 70x I could see some surface detail and even the yellow moon, Titan. My overall tenth session this year. Unfortunately early on in the session (20:00-21:30 BST overall) some plonker was letting off fireworks in the south west. OK, November the 5th is approaching, but fireworks, seriously?

 

 

A bit later I even saw a Chinese lantern heading north, or it was a Zeta Reticulan scout ship? It was probably manufactured in China anyway. Those lanterns (or scout ships) can crash and burn setting fire to fields and/or property, rooftops etc. Zeta Reticulans are renown bad pilots.

 

 

I switched to Cassiopeia from the Summer Triangle as there were no pyrotechnic displays in the north, conditions were not particularly good with haze and light cloud. 

 

 

Using the 24mm Pan (17.5x) I discovered this asterism centred around 17 Cass (Fulu).

 

 

M13 and M92 were not so easy in the conditions.

 

 

It was around this time I wondered whether or not to call it a night, or not.

 

 

I did catch a naked eye rising Jupiter but the conditions basically defeated me and I decided to pack up. Still, ten sessions so far isn't bad. It's times like these ...

 

I, I'm a new day rising
I'm a brand new sky
To hang the stars upon tonight
I am a little divided
Do I stay or run away
And leave it all behind?
Ah-ah-ahh

 

lyrics: David Grohl, Christopher Shiflett, Oliver Hawkins, Nathan Mendel.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Nightspore