New Pitch Lap!

Back at it again. This will be a good winter project to complete, finally. I am almost complete with the 6" mirror grinding, in the final stages of polishing, and then a dose of figuring and off to get the coating (no, I have no interest in constructing a vacuum chamber to coat this thing) and we'll be ready to complete the rest of the scope.







So last night I made the new pitch lap, with Gugolz 55 instead of the old Burgundy Pitch Lap that was not working quite as well as I wanted, due to the extreme cold temperatures in my basement during the winter. The new lap looks a little rough, in addition to the vast visual change in color from a light brown to jet black, which will be strange at first, but looks don't matter, only performance, so time will tell.




The process is pretty sketchy. There's a lot of "hurry up" time involved, after an hour of slow cooking the brick of pitch to melt it. Then after poured you have to rapidly peel the tape wall off the tool and smash the mirror into it to set the shape, then cut a few channels for drainage, and repress for perfect shape. All that while the pitch is rapidly cooling. As soft as it is (very taffy-like) it shatters extremely easy. I unintentionally chipped a few areas off that I wish wouldn't have happened, but hopefully the rest of the lap will perform well.

- Bill Mitchell 11/3/09

6" Mirror Grinding

Hey guys, I'm back again. This time I'm picking up a project that I started over six years ago (the last one I picked up and finished recently was only three years old :^), and am bound and determined this time (mostly) to finish it!

Yes, my first mirror. I started off with a simple 6" f/8, which is the "easiest" to do, since there is no parabolizing, I figured this would be a great choice to cut my teeth with, if I found it enjoyable I'd move on to bigger mirrors, but this way I wouldn't be out an arm and a leg for an 18" blank and accompanying consumables if I failed. They say that even if you want to make your very own large mirror, say 18"+, that you will be able to do it much quicker by actually grinding first a 6", then a 12", then the 18" as opposed to starting out of the gate with an 18". Although I am not complete yet with the 6", I most whole heartedly agree with that sentiment :-)



Well, I'm through polishing and am at the point of testing for spherical, which is all that is needed for an f/8. Well, by gum, when I turned my back (must have been when I let Billy push a few "wets") I went and overshot the f/8 part, by more than just a little. I realized it at about 600 grit or so, so from then on I mainly stroked tool on top (TOT) to try to flatten the focal length out. Well, being very pleased with the new luster the surface was taking on I found it too irresistible to back up a few grades of grit to correct the curvature, so I kept going. I mean what's really the big deal? So it will be less optimized for planetary and lunar and more toward wide-field, a nice balance I think at f/6.91. So, I'm ok with that, I couldn't decide whether I wanted an f/8 or an f/4 anyway! Besides, it's much more sexy to tell someone that you have an f/6.91 focal length mirror rather than the bland "f/8", or "f/6". They would most certainly think "by God that guy knows his #$%, he even has it down to the hundredths!" It's truly amazing how quickly you can knock 6 1/2" off the focal length in a matter of a few mind-numbing hours of pushing glass. I'd just like to have it done so I can finish the rest of the scope for my son while he's still living at home. I still have a few years, but they are flying by let me tell you!

Right now I've been told that the surface is that of an oblate spheroid. Ouch. That sounds downright painful! "Hey Bob how are you doing?"... "Well Frank, last Friday the Doctor told me I've got an Oblate Spheroid in my rectum, how do you think I feel?! This thing HURTS!" (ouch, sorry I asked).



So, it could be worse, but not by much. The good news is that it's only a 6" mirror and fairly slow one at that, so the parabolizing that will need done is relatively minor. That and corrections will by very quick, only a few minutes to notice a real difference on such a small mirror (remember the talk about starting with a small mirror? You were paying attention weren't you?)

Anyway, I will post updates here regularly (hopefully), and am eagerly awaiting the day I can ship it off to be coated.
-Bill Mitchell
October 1, 2009

Dew Buster project is DONE!

Yes it is true,
last night I officially finished the three year dew buster upgrade (cowers in fear). A fun project, learned a lot, thanks to John Flamini for the use of his awesomely constructed resistor ladder-block which enabled quick soldering, sweatshop fashion! Installed a cigarette socket for the dew buster near my control panel, I just couldn't bring myself to cut that (albeit fat and ugly) cigarette plug off the new dew buster. Plus it is fused, so I wanted to keep that feature. Which reminds me to add 'fuse all electronic lines this winter' to my todo list.

I built three heat wraps, one for each end of the optical finder, and one for the eyepiece, large enough to handle the 31mm hand grenade. All tested out perfectly last night, which makes me very happy, now I actually have time to think about what I need to pack before BFSP for a change.

Here's a shot of the complete system last night, the cigarette socket isn't quite visible, but the dew buster and rats nest of wires are. I'd like to clean that up somehow, another winter project!

Quick viewing from my light-polluted location, daughter Kelly and I whipped around to the following:

ET Cluster

carbon star in Cass

albireo

M27

coathanger

and Jupiter through the trees. 4 moons and 2 bands is all, but not bad for shooting through the trees.

September 14, 2009 2100-2200 UT
Millcreek, PA

Great evening was had by all, successful project, all prepared now for BFSP '09 baby!

See y'all there!
Bill

Observing Report April 1, 2009

It was just me, Tom and my friend Missy, but the skies were fantastic even with the moon. I even got my first real good split on Gamma Leonis! Anyways the items we observed were:

Saturn and 4 of it's moons

our own moon

Eta Persei, Gamma Andromedae, Tau Canis Major cluster, the "winter Albireo" just above former, Gamma Leonis and previously stated, Cor Caroli, and I think it was Castor that we looked at in Gemini - for stars

globular clusters were - M53, M3, M13, M68 and M5

open clusters were - M103, M34, M37, M44, M48, M93, M41, M50, M46, M47, NGC 2423, the double open in Perseus, NGC 2169 in Orion and Stargate and the Arrow in Virgo (if they're considered opens).

galaxies - M81/82, M108, M109, M106, M101, M51, M64, M65/66, M84/86, M49 and M104.

and also the following nebulae - M97, M42/43, NGC 2392 Eskimo, NGC 3242 the Ghost of Jupiter, and NGC 4361 in Corvus.

Those are the ones I can remember but there were probably more. Did I forget anything, Tom?

Is was a beautiful night and we stayed out until about midnight before coming in to hang out around the table for an hour of friendly chit chat. Thanks to both Tom and Missy for coming out!

Tom and Tracey's Messier Observing Report March 22, 2009

At Tracey's place, we had a super-clear night, but very cold so I only lasted
until around midnight. The comet has really faded down to just a fuzzball with
a very faint tail, in Gemini.
So we started kind of a mini-Messier marathon, hitting the western sky early
after Venus (picture enclosed that Tracey took with her cell phone thru the
18 inch)....it's slightly fuzzy due to all the atmosphere.

Hit Messiers 77, the Andromeda group, 45, 34, 76 52 and 103, 35 early.....
Then Tracey using her 13 inch hit all those in the south, 93, 50, 46, 47. 41, 79.....
we both hit 42, 43 combination. (forgot 78).....and Saturn of course.
Then after a warming break, we walked thru the 16 Virgo Supercluster galaxies
plus M 3 and 53. At which time I had to quit because of the cold temperatures,
well below freezing.
So Tracey will have to finish the report.................

At the end of the night Zachary and I viewed all but 10 of the Messier's. Five of them just because I did not feel like dragging the scope around the other side of the house at the end, (could kick myself now). We had already moved it three times thru the night and the sun just came up too quickly. So in addition to Tom's list I can add:
M33 - almost positvie I saw it, twice
78
1
37, 36, 38
48
44, 67
95, 96, 105, 65, 66
81, 82
97, 108
109
40 - and a very nice fuzzball in the same field, NGC 4195
106, 94, 63
51
101
53, 64
3
68
83
104
5
13 - along with the galaxy NGC 6207 in same field
92
57, 56
29, 39
27
71
107, 12, 10, 14, 9, 19, 62
4, 80
6, 7
11, 26
16
17, 18, 24, 25, 23
21, 20
8
28, 22
15


So the only missed ones were 74 in Pisces, 54, 55, 69, 70, 75 in Sagittarius, 2, 72, 73 in Aquarius and M30. Jupiter and the crescent moon put on a spectacular showing just before sunrise as well. Next time I will get more!! The skies turned out beaitful as the night wore on.

Randy Cox Observing Report - 03/21/09

All,

I also enjoyed our trip to The Starshine Observatory (Hap’s Farm). Hap has a very nice gentleman’s farms, with lots of land and very dark skies. Larry, Jim and I arrived at Hap’s shortly after 6:00 PM. We scouted the locale for a good spot and we were set-up by sundown.

The sky cleared shortly after our arrival and we were blessed to have average to above average seeing and transparency (as predicted by the Clear Sky Clock). I had a very difficult time predicting the weather for Saturday evening. In the end, the combination of visible satellite observations, several different weather prediction models and the clear sky clock, all came together.

We have decided to monetarily reward Mr. Danko, the creator of the Clear Sky Clock. His model, which uses data from the Canadian Meteorological Center, is almost always correct (more accurate than our local boys). Each time that we use the Clear Sky Clock to predict a clear evening, and the model predicts and s an accurate astronomical forecast, we (Larry, Jim and I) will each donate a dollar to the Clear Sky Clock fund. At the end of the year, we will forward our collected funds to Mr. Danko.

Larry had a great list of objects that was published in Starry Night. In addition to Larry’s list, I generated the following list of targets:

M53, M64 Black Eye Galaxy, Sleeping Beauty Galaxy, M106, M3, M51 Whirlpool Galaxy, Question Mark Galaxy, M63 Sunflower Galaxy, M94 Croc's Eye Galaxy, M102 Spindle Galaxy, M13 Hercules Globular Cluster, Great Hercules Cluster, M92, M65, M66, M95, M96, M50 Heart-shaped Cluster, M42 Orion Nebula, NGC884, M93, M101 Pinwheel Galaxy, M81 Bode's Galaxy, M82 Cigar Galaxy, Ursa Major A, M93, M104 Sombrero Galaxy, M49, M60, M61 Swelling Spiral and Saturn.

Around midnight, the good Doctor began working at a feverish pace. In the remaining three hours, Larry observed many of the viewable Messier items.

We had a wonderful evening! Special thanks goes to our host, Hap, thank you for your hospitality. I look forward to visiting Starshine Observatory in the near future.

Randy Cox

Larry Kuklinski Observing Report - 03/21/09

Yesterday was a crowning jewel of a night for myself, Randy Cox, Jim Kalvota and Hap.
The former three of us met at Hap's farm near Cochranton.
The night sky as predicted by Randy was near perfect until about 02:00 when weather moved in from the north. Hap is a club member with a burning interest in the night sky. In conversation, he is interested in expanding his passion with educational programs for the schools as well as establishing a permanent observation post on his beautiful, unobstructed land situated east of Meadville.

Randy had his 12" RCX up and running before twilight while I had issues with my Obsession. Before long the sky tuned dark and we were up in running.

The British magazine Sky at Night featured an Observing Challenge in their March issue. They presented a list of some 40 stunning sights to see in 8 hours. Because of the clouds we were able to view for nearly six hours. We missed several of the late sites because they had not risen: Summer Triangle, Epsilon Lyrae, Albereo, M27 and M29. Had the sky cooperated we would have completed the entire list.

Well what did we see? Early on we kicked off with the Orion Nebula and The Running Man Nebula just above the former. Other easy targets included the Pleiades, Saturn and its moon Titan, Aldebaran and the Hyades Open Cluster. The variable star Algol was on the list and the magazine asks us to reobserve it on March 25th and compare notes. In Andromeda we caught NGC752 before setting. M76 or the Little Dumbell Nebua was our next challenge and unfortunately we were unable to visit its brighter namesake M27.Staying in Perseus we moved over to M34 an open cluster. Over in the northwest we glimpsed the stunning Double Cluster. Rounding out the early sky was M38 in Auriga.

The March Observing Challenge was divided into four sessions of ten objects spaced apart in time. The sessions were: 20:10; 22:10; 00:00 and 03:30.

The second session included: M36, M37, M35 the Rosette Nebula (with an O3 filter), NGC2264 (The Christmas Tree Cluster), M48, M44, the twin star Castor and finally The Eskimo Nebula. We spent a lot of time on NGC2392. It was the battle of the scopes. My image of the Eskimo was brighter, but Randy's showed better resolution. Another planetary nebula, not on the list was The Ghosts of Jupiter. A most beautiful site in both scopes.

Next session included beautiful M13 and of course M92 and M5. Following the list we continued on to M95, M96, M66, M65 and M64, the Black Eye Galaxy. Last for this session was Alcor and Mizar.

The final session was scheduled for 03:30, but was cut short around 02:00 because of cloud cover rolling in from the north. The last object was spotted by Randy and it was the beautiful Ring Nebula.

The night was my best observing session. Besides the Observing Challenge numerous other objects were spotted and for completeness sake I will list some of them: M106, M104, "M40 the double star", M51, M97, numerous galaxies in the "Virgo Coma Cluster"-WOW.

In all it was a great night sky, no dew, no frost just some great fellow observers.
It is these attempted near all night sessions that kindle the flames of interest in Astronomy.

Hap, thank you for your hospitality.

Sincerely,

Larry Kuklinski

Observing report - March 15, 2009

So I decided to step out back last night and observe to get away from that light and to "practice" for the Messier Marathon. I figure if I freshen up last night and tonight, then Tuesday night I'm going to give it a try. It looks like I will have great weather so far. Except the moon, but it won't clear my trees until 3:30 or so and then it's just the last quarter. I'm going to do it just in case we don't have any clear skies when the moon's new. So anyway this is what I looked at last night, mostly off the top of my head. Tonight I will "plan" a little to pick up the ones that I missed or aren't real familiar with (Virgo), and the ones missed due to the moon.

M1
M13
M31/32
M33
M34
M35
M36
M37
M38
M41
M42
M43
M44
M45
M46
M47
M48
M50
M51
M52
M63
M67
M76
M78
M79
M80
M81
M94
M97
M101
M103
M106
M108
M109
M110

I also looked at NGC's

7789 - open cluster
457 - ET cluster
2392 - Eskimo
3877 - galaxy in UMaj
4565 - galaxy in Coma
3190 - Leo
2903 - Leo
3242 - Ghost of Jupiter

Dew Buster to the Rescue!

Hey guys,
Just thought I'd share a little construction retrofitting project I've been (lazily) working on. It's the Dew Buster from Ron Keating http://www.dewbuster.com/ Twas recommended to me by none other than our very own John Flamini as he's tried just about everything on the market. He's the "goto" guy to validate if you have a brand new invention or if someone has already made that product, lol.



Anyway, so I'm retrofitting this Dew Buster to my 24", so far so good. Last night I finished up the cage, mounted a 4-port RCA jack thing, you can see on the lower right there, very close to where the rear set of trusses join at the cage. That way there will only be a short cable hanging out of my trusses. I plan to thread the wires up through somehow, kinda difficult once you install the threaded inserts. Please click these small pics, larger ones will load allowing you to see the detail.

So, here it is, and here is my little work area showing the tools I'm using. The Weller soldering iron is a GODSEND! I highly recommend throwing away that cheap hunk of $2 iron you typically get at Walmart (no offense Walmart) and investing in one of these babies. From pluggin in to ready to solder in about 2 seconds. Plus the extreme fine tip allows you to get in really tight areas, normally inaccessable wth the other junk.

Again, click the pic for a larger version.

So, one heating wrap done, for the 50mm finder objective, three more to go. I plan to have one for the eyepiece end of the finder, one for the largest EP I own (the 31mm Nagler hand grenade, which will also work on the smaller 1-1/4" EP's) and possibly one for the telrad.

But, the hard part is done, I believe, in building the mount for the 4-port RCA thing and installing it to the cage. Just need the other three wraps and mounting the controller to the mirror box. I am hoping that my currently installed 12Ah SLA battery will handle the extra load. It is currently only powering a Primary fan and the Secondary dew heater from Astrosystems http://www.astrosystems.biz/, which works like a charm btw.

Clear skies and See y'all later!
Bill Mitchell

Tracey's Observing Report for Monday 2/16/09

Well the skies were perfect! The only reason I am done so soon is because my eyepieces all have frost on them and the tel-rad is completely frozen over. It's pretty chilly, but other than that it's just perfect (except for that damn light down at the corner). I'm just going to give a list of what I saw unless there was something special to note about it.

S Cephei - found it in about 10 seconds, which surprised the heck out of me. Looked beautiful of course, not as red as I have seen it before, but still good.
M81/82 galaxies in Ursa Major
M97 the owl nebula - I really must invest in an OIII filter.
NGC 7789 Caroline Herschel's cluster
WZ Cass
Eta Cass - one of my favorite doubles
NGC 457 - he's doing a headstand
Iota Cass - only the first split
M31/32/110 Andromeda
M34 - pretty open appears to be full of doubles
Eta Persei - another favorite double
M35 open cluster in Gemini
NGC 2266 another open in Gemini
NGC 2392 the Eskimo/Clown Face - put high power on this and was actually impressed
NGC 2269 the Cone Nebula
NGC 2237 the Rosette Nebula
M37 - my favorite open in Auriga
M36 - open cluster in Auriga
M38 - open cluster in Auriga
M45 - all the stars had neblosity - it think it was frost on the eyepiece ;-)
M1 - the crab nebula
NGC 2169 the XY chromosome as Tom calls it - my 6" was too small to make it look like that, but this new scope sure does!
M78 - two headlights in the fog
M42/43 - Orion nebula
M41 - open cluster in Canis Major
M46/NGC 2438 - the new scope is big enough to see the planetary in this open cluster!!
M47 - open cluster next to M46
M44 the beehive cluster
M67 - open cluster in Cancer...I think Tom said one of the oldest??
NGC 2903 - one of the brightest galaxies in Leo Major
Gamma Leonis - almost split it tonight, at least I could tell it was two stars, it kinda came and went - maybe an aperature stop would help this one.
Saturn with 4 visible moons
Cor Caroli
NGC 4565 took about 2 minutes to find but worth it!
I saw 2 quick meteors and one that was bright enough to leave a green tail for 3-4 seconds over an area about 6-7 degrees. All meteors were heading from the zenith westward.

I put the scope away around 10:30 due to frost. I need to make a dew shield for the Tel-rad on this scope. I forgot just how necessary this is. I also am going to have to move the Tel-rad on the scope. I need to move it closer to the focuser and back a little bit. It sits too high and too far forward for me to use without leaning on the scope. Next time it's nice I think I am going to try to collimate it too and then I think I will be very happy. Very glad that I purchased this scope, I can tell I am going to have hours of fun this summer!

More rememberences

Back with a few more shots. First, this seems to be what we see most every year at CSSP, but the weather can fool you, even with the best of forcasting tools. The clear sky clock is the best, but even 24 hours in advance, it couldn't cope with the hurricaine leftovers. Each day, we saw this, and each night, it cleared magnificently, but you had to wait. The take home lesson is to be patient and have a friend with a Blackberry who is willing to upload the CSC for CSSP!!

No, this isn't Bill M's new scope, just a neat display of MoonLite focusers. Beautifully worked with great woodworking. Every year, they have something neat to look at.

No, these aren't Bill M.s either, but miniatures by B. Crist miniatures, who will make an exact duplicate of your scope, for your desk (note quarter on the table). The Damn things even work!

These ARE Bill M's handiwork, with Tom W, proud owner of the 30" and the 18", and Bill's 24" in the background. Beautiful work, all in "Commie Red" stain. Do see these in person whenever you can.

Just had to show another shot of Bill and his Babies!!!

Last but not least, on the left is the fellow who makes the miniatures; on the right, some guy by the name of Al, who I think may make some eyepieces and telescopes.

Yep, Al Nagler, in the flesh. Like I said, really exciting to meet these guys and hear them speak. Next year, I'll try to get Howie Glatter to hold still long enough to get a shot of him or the guys who wrote the Night Sky Observers Guide and AstroCards.

Well, enough for now. If anyone is sick or bored enough to want the JPEGs of any shots, write to me, and I'll be glad to forward them..

TTFN,

JF

Remberences of things past...

With apologies to Marcel Proust, of course. Just a few photos I've taken over the years, and blogs are a great place to send them without "sending" them at all. Just upload and enjoy.

The first picture is Tom W. at CSSP after a heavy rain. His 30" was adequately covered, and suffered no damage from the rainstorms the night before, but the tarp (which fortunately did not leak) held several gallons of water.
This is the first time I ever heard of that listed bailing out as a maintenance item for the dobsonian telescope.

Next is just a shot of beautiful skies and the viewing field at Cherry Springs State Park, home to the Black Forest Star party, held just around Labor day each year. Pristine skies, and great folks to be around, for the most part. You get a few leather-lunged individuals loudly talking throughout the night, but I figure we're there to observe, not sleep. Yep, Tom and I were once HUSHED by a state park ranger around 4 AM after the clouds came in because we were deep in a conversation. My wife tells me my voice carries. So here was proof with a 9mm semiautomatic for proof!!

Speaking of dobsonian telescopes, the man in the green jacket, in front of whom the man in red is performing a salaam, is John Dobson, about 96 now, and still talking. A great privilege to hear his speak, and he was funny, but occasionally a bubble to the left of plumb regarding genesis of the universe. Fun anyway, and always great to see one of the folks who made our hobby that much more accessable. If he didn't do it, someone else would have, but he did.

Just another shot of the field at CSSP showing my "Millenium Falcon" scope, which started life as a Meade Starfinder, God knows what it will end up as, and our bino mount, and in the foreground, the collapsed binocular chair mount called the Couch Potato Telescope. Just had to buy it for the name alone. Works so well as a Bino mount, and is so comfortable, Mary fell asleep in it while viewing. I could tell in the dark because 1) she stopped talking; 2) a faint snoring from the general direction of the bino mount.

The last shot is from our early morning on Presque Isle, for the Transit of Venus a few years back. Tom W, and possibly Mike W. and possibly Bill M in this shot. Of course, Tom is the only one identifiable. A great thing to view, and the paired Venus transit (there are usually 2 a few years apart) would be a great thing to see again. You need a solar-filtered scope to view, but I made my own for about $30 and had enough material left over to make filters for the binoculars also. Baader solar film is a nice thing to work with. I also have pictures of my construction if anyone is interested.

Mike W. has a picture of the transit posted on our website. He got it through a TeleVue 85 with a solar filter. It was really cool to watch the last half of the transit, but no teardrop was seen by anyone there. Make your filters now so you are ready for the next one.

That's all I can post at this point. I'll send another one up soon with a few more pictures.

John F.

semi-observing report 2/14-15/09

Well I tried to observe but it didn't work out that well... I couldn't see the comet because I think it was too close to the moon. I was only using binos, but at a mag of about 6 I would have thought I could see it. Guess not. I did catch a glimpse of M3 and M51 I think. I'm not sure if it was really them or I just know they are there so wishful thinking. I did see Albireo, a really bright meteor, a sun pillar right before sunrise and then sun dogs shortly after sunrise. I was waiting for a -7 flare but the clouds rolled in just in time to prevent that. Oh well, at least I stepped out for a few minutes, and it felt great! Better luck next time I guess...not to mention it was 17 degrees and I didn't really want to pull the scope out anyhow ;-)

Observing session past

Since I haven't seen an actual star in a few weeks, I was thinking of observing sessions past, and these pictures from 2006 came to mind.

We were at the cemetery on July 15.

First is Tom Whiting, ECMOG President. He only brought his small 18-inch scope along that night. He might remember why he didn't set up the 30-incher.

Next is John Baker. He is normally on the other side of the camera. Notice how uneasy he looks.

Dave Brine is the last of our astronomers that night. He actually had a night off to look at the sky.

Naked Eye Observing Report

Feb 13, 2009
Doing laundry tonight, I noticed Venus casting a
faint shadow of the laundry basket on the outside wall
of the laundromat. So while the wash was ongoing,
I stepped outside. A passerby remarked about that
bright star in the south (around 9 pm) and I explained
that that is Sirius, the brightest real star
in our sky. Orion was out there too, so we covered
Rigel, Betelgeuse and the Belt. But it was too cold
to stay out there much longer. Hopefully my next
report will be with a telescope.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting

Tracey's Observing Report last Friday night

So I made the kids shovel a path out of the gargae (where the scope lives) and a square of the driveway big enough to walk around it and I did look at a few things. With the moon as bright as it was I had to go for the really bright objects obviously. I looked at the Orion Nebula and it was a beautiful sight! Not very nebulous but gorgeous none the less, Venus because I wanted to show Chris how the brighter it gets, the less of the planet we actually see, the moon because I had to line up my new TelRad and what brighter object is there?? - and to be honest, I enjoy looking at it, I know it messes up the darkness but it is an amazing thing none the less, Then I looked at Pleiades, my favorite open M37 which was a dissapointment because the moon was so close - I could see the red star in the middle of it tho which is why it's my favorite :-) , the ET cluster NGC 457 which Chris commented "why is it upside down?", because it's not July I said ;-), the double open, Eta Cass, then I tried Andromeda but it was so bright out that it was not very pretty....on the next trip outside I looked at Saturn and couldn't focus it - my husband said it was fine so either he had too much to drink or I did!, and then Gamma Leonis which I could not split either so maybe it was just the seeing i don't know. Anyway the clouds started to roll in so I just put the scope away and will try again in a few days when the moon rises a little later.
Tracey Held

News Information

Two satellites have collided over N. Siberia....this is a first in astronomy, see
www.spaceflightnow.com
Tom Whiting

Well, I made it. First blog ever that I joined.

Viewing conditions are horrible, as it is noon. However, it is overcast, but good transparency up to the cloud ceiling. No stars visible, including Sol (or Ron, if you must). No objects viewed, but hope to see a heavenly body tonight (sniker snicker).

Happy blogging, and clear skies

JF

Welcome to the Erie County Mobile Observers Group Blog!

Welcome!!

We are the Erie County Mobile Observers Group! This blog was set up so that we can build up a repository of members' Observing Reports. Please feel free to contribute your observations so future generations can benefit from our vast knowledge :-)

Although we would like the reports to be free flowing, there are a few bits that should be included in every post. Namely,

• Date and Time: (Tuesday 02/10/09 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM)
• Location: (State Game #162)
• Equipment: (6" f/8 Dob)
• Catalog # and Common Name: (M13/NGC6205 Great Globular Cluster in Hercules)
• Notes: (Spectacular Globular Cluster)
  

It would also be great if our members could estimate the transparency and seeing conditions (transparency was great and seeing was average).

We will take all observations, from all sites, from naked eye comet reports out your back window to a full night's report with the 30". Also please report any "failed sightings" so that we may understand the conditions/equipment necessary to bag that challenge object.

Other than that, toss your inhibitions to the (solar) wind and let your fingers run wild :-)

Clear Skies,
Bill