Viewing the Moon

March 31, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Waxing Gibbous Moon on March 31, 2015

With signs of Spring finally appearing in New England I find my thoughts turning toward observing galaxies. The Lion is well positioned for viewing and I’ve been wanting to write a post on the Leo Triplet but that will have to wait a few weeks thanks to the brightening Moon.

While the Moon’s light does make it difficult to see the faint fuzzies that require dark skies, views of the planets as well as double stars are largely unaffected by the brightened skies and are good subjects between the 1st and 3rd quarters of the lunar cycle. Not to mention the Moon itself – the Moon is the richest object in the sky and time spent examining its treasures is well rewarded.

Powering Up – Barlow vs Telecentric Lenses

March 27, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Explore Scientific Focal Extenders and TeleVue Powermates are examples of Telecentric lenses. Photos are not to scale.

Most of us have been there. You want more magnification then your lowest focal length eyepiece can give so you turn to a multiplier. But wait – Barlows, Powermates, Focal Extenders? Are these interchangeable in use? If not, how do they behave differently at the eyepiece?

Quote: Ken Fulton

March 24, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

“Not all individuals can become astronomers – but anyone who really desires to can become an astronomy enthusiast. Psalm 19:1 states: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.’ That declaration is not selective, and the show is for everyone who will see.”
— Ken Fulton, The Light-Hearted Astronomer

Ken Fulton’s book, The Light-Hearted Astronomer, was written to help observers get through the critical first year – the period during which so many would be enthusiasts see their passion for viewing the night sky fizzle out and their telescopes sit unused in the closet.* Despite being published nearly 31 years ago and currently out of print** much of what Ken has to say is still relevant today and the book is worth a read if you haven’t yet had the pleasure.

*Having a telescope sit unused can also happen if you have too many telescopes. Not that I’d know anything about that.

**The book can be found used from a variety of sellers.

-Dave

60mm Sessions: Hunting for Doubles in Orion

March 20, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Orion – The Hunter in early Spring. With the exception of Castor, all of the double stars visited during this session can be found in this photo.

When you think of night sky object classes within the grasp of the common 60mm refractor double stars often end up near the top of the list. Like the Moon and planets, many of these multiple star systems are bright enough to cut through light pollution making them easy to view from wherever you happen to be. There are some spectacular double stars in and around Orion and Late Winter / Early Spring is a good time to view them.

Using the AWB OneSky as a Travelscope

March 17, 2015 | By David Philips | 12 Replies

My OneSky travelscope in action. This photo was taken before adding the shroud described below.

The surest way to improve any telescope’s performance is to get it out under a darker sky. Living in suburban Massachusetts I’d have to drive significant distances to get to skies much darker than the one available from my red zone backyard. The darkest skies I regularly encounter are on family trips to rural areas.

Of course trying to fit a telescope into a car already packed with the whole family and all the associated cargo can be a challenge. Thus begins the search for a more portable telescope or travelscope. To my thinking a travelscope can be any telescope setup that prioritizes volume and/or weight over other concerns such as aperture or mount stability. Every one has their own circumstances and priorities and so travelscopes can look quite different from observer to observer.

As I mentioned in the general review of the AWB OneSky Telescope, my intent when buying the OneSky was to use it primarily as a travelscope. The OneSky appealed to me for its packed aperture to volume ratio and ease of setup.

Thoughts on Star Hopping

March 14, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Star Tools – How do you find your observing subjects?

Star Hopping. For some the term is quaint – an outmoded method of finding things in the night sky. In this day of affordable, accurate computerized mounts that can point your telescope at virtually any object in the sky with the click of an smartphone app why bother with paper charts and manual mounts?

If, in your view, astronomy is mainly about looking at objects in the night sky then it follows that time spent finding things to look at means less time spent looking at them. So why wouldn’t you make the most of your limited observing time by using a computerized mount?

A Look at Losmandy’s New Alt-Az Mount

March 11, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Losmandy AZ8 – The included saddles accept both Losmandy D series and Vixen-style dovetails.

Losmandy is primarily known for their precision manufactured German Equatorial Mounts so it’s not surprising that their announcement of a new alt-az mount based on the venerable GM8 has caused some excitement. The Losmandy AZ8 is a medium sized, heavy-duty alt-az mount featuring twin dovetail saddles for dual-scope capability.

Saying Goodbye to Comet Lovejoy

March 8, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Finder chart showing Comet Lovejoy’s position on March 8, 2015. Courtesy of Heavens-Above.com

Comet Lovejoy (official designation, C/2014 Q2) is hanging around longer than anticipated but even so my last views of the comet seem sure to come sometime this week. I was out tonight viewing the comet, which has faded to around magnitude 6, and while I could spot it in 8×40 binoculars it took much more effort than it did two weeks ago.

Not only is the brightness fading but its position is becoming less favorable. Cassiopeia is sinking ever lower in the Northern sky putting the comet down in the proverbial atmospheric muck. What’s more is that my backyard isn’t ideal for observing in this direction. I have trees back there. Still, this is one instance where the switch to EDT actually helps, giving me an extra hour to get home and have a shot at observing the comet before it drops below the tree line.

Quote: Roger Ebert

March 4, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

“How quickly do we grow accustomed to wonders. I am reminded of the Isaac Asimov story ‘Nightfall,’ about the planet where the stars were visible only once in a thousand years. So awesome was the sight that it drove men mad. We who can see the stars every night glance up casually at the cosmos and then quickly down again, searching for a Dairy Queen.”
— Roger Ebert

What a poignant reminder of our tendency to take spectacular gifts for granted. There are opportunities to observe the stars whenever you find yourself outside under a clear night sky. It only take a few minutes to note the positions of the constellations, the Moon, and any planets visible. How enriching it is to follow them as they mark the seasons, days, and years. How impoverished we become in our constant distraction.

Clear skies!

-Dave

60mm Sessions: Ganymede, its shadow, and the GRS

March 3, 2015 | By David Philips | Leave a reply

Last night after dinner I looked out the window to see Jupiter high in the sky with the nearly full Moon not far away. There were no signs of clouds so I decided to check if anything interesting might be visible on the planet. For this I use an app called Jupiter Simulator that shows me GRS and moon transits on my Android tablet. There are similar apps available for iOS and an online javascript utility at Shallow Sky.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Ganymede was currently in the middle of a transit. Even better, the Great Red Spot was just appearing on the Eastern limb. I grabbed my smallest aperture telescope that takes interchangeable eyepieces, a 60mm refractor, and headed outside.

The Opportune Astronomer

Observing the heavens from wherever you are

Viewing the Moon

Powering Up – Barlow vs Telecentric Lenses

Quote: Ken Fulton

60mm Sessions: Hunting for Doubles in Orion

Using the AWB OneSky as a Travelscope

Thoughts on Star Hopping

A Look at Losmandy’s New Alt-Az Mount

Saying Goodbye to Comet Lovejoy

Quote: Roger Ebert

60mm Sessions: Ganymede, its shadow, and the GRS