RIP Comet ISON....but is it really dead 11/28/13????

Well folks the moment of truth came and went. Comet ISON managed to hold together to make it to perihelion at 10.40am PST. The last few images we have of ISON show it dimming, indicating that the comet has indeed disrupted and as of now, 12.30pm PST, SOHO is not detecting any oxygen coming from the comet (which it should by now if it slingshot around the sun) which means the comet is probably dead and dissipated. This is kinda sad seeing I never got to see it due to crummy weather....oh well......

Sky and Telescope reports at 4.10pm EST: 
The LASCO C2 coronagraph saw only a sparse, headless debris trail come out from behind its Sun-occulting disk after perihelion. http://media.skyandtelescope.com/images/11106507235_ec20b425d7_o.gif

BUT BUT It seems like Comet ISON loves to keep us guessing...is it really dead? That is the current story. As the comet, or pieces of it moves away from the sun, a coma seems to have formed, along with a new tail. Does this mean there is still a sizeable chunk on nucleus left? We may yet get ourselves a nice Christmas Comet , ala Comet Lovejoy 2011. Here is the report from CIOC entitled Schrodinger's Comet.

Latest breaking news here: Something did survive, however ISON is not expected to put on a fantastic naked eye show. As I type this, the comet has faded to +5 magnitude.

30th of November: ISON continues to fade as reported by Sky and Telescope. 
Jacob Czerny quotes on Sky and Telescope that the comet remnant is fading at the rate expected of a simple, inactive debris cloud moving farther from the Sun's illumination.

1st of December: Updates from Sky and Telescope: Goodbye from SOHO, and a CBET summary. The Ghost of ISON continues to dim and has departed from SOHO's LASCO C3 field of view early today. There will be a 2 to 4 day blind period now that ISON has left the spacecraft views. The dim diffused remnants of Comet ISON is expected to be diffcult to detect in the morning twilight, and who knows if it would have dissipated by then...goodbye ISON and thanks for putting on a show for us, even though it was not what we expected.....

 

"Comet ISON's last few images. Note the dimming of the head prior to perihelion. Courtesy of ESA/NASA"

"All that remains of Comet ISON...a dim dusty trail of debries coming out of its fiery perihelion encounter with our sun Courtesy of NASA/ESA/SOHO"

 "Or is it the end? The Comet seems to be brightening again in this latest image from , forming a new coma and tail as it pulls away from the sun.....ISON keeps us guessing and it is going to go down as the weirdest comet of them all. Courtesy NASA/ESA/SOHO"

"Goodbye ISON. Last spacecraft views of the cometary remnants before it exits the FOV. Images courtesy of NASA/ESA/SOHO"

Waiting for ISON...and getting over the flu, and bad weather.....

Comet ISON, dubbed comet of the century, has been playing coy with us till about a week ago when it suddenly burst to life. it is now following a brightness trend that was predicted in February.  No the comet is not going to hit a brightness magnitude equaling the moon, but bright enough to be a rather nice naked eye object, similar or probably brighter to Comet Panstarrs in March. The weekend I observed Comet Lovejoy, it was still languishing at close to magnitude 8. What a difference a few days make. Two outburst and ISON is now clearly a naked eye object low in the predawn skies from dark sky sites. In fact as of today, ISON might be a big challenge to see since this is the first time it does not rise before twilight happens. I have been unlucky in that I have been down with the flu for a week now (and it sucks...the whole fam is sick!)...so here's hoping that the comet keeps it together when it whips around the sun on the 28th of November and become a spectacular silver dagger gracing out morning skies in December as it begins its trek back into deep space. Experts are predicting it probably will seeing how it is not breaking apart at the moment. But comets do whatever they want so we will just have to wait and see. Stay tuned......

Comet Lovejoy 2013 R1 Shooting from the suburbs 14th of November 2013

Here are a couple of shots of the near naked eye (from my light drenched suburb anyways) Comet Lovejoy 2013/R1 which has been putting on a rather pleasing show for northern hemisphere folks as it passed the beehive cluster in Cancer and is slowly trekking its way across Leo. It showed Comet ISON up till yesterday when ISON had an upsurge in brightness. Both are about the same magnitude at the moment but Lovejoy is heaps easier to see as it is higher in the sky. Looks like we will be getting a decent show from ISON after all as ISON races towards perihelion on November 28. Lovejoy's rendezvous with the sun occurs on the 22nd of December. I had two comet viewing session, once visually on Sunday night (10th of Nov) with my Celestron/ Vixen C6 (will have to scan my sketch), and this imaging session. I waited for the comet to be high enough in the night sky (which mean staying up till 3am). Could not detect any hint of a tail but its nucleus was starlike with a nice big hazy coma. All shots taken with my Celestron NexStar 102GT and Meade DSI C equipped with a Orion 0.5x focal reducer and Orion SkyGlow broadband filter.

"Comet Lovejoy 2013/R1: Best balance of sharpness and brightness at 6x20 sec. All dark subtracted"

Bringing back the FUN in observing...as in visual observing.....and other random comet hunting news 11th Nov 2013

Stargazing should be a fun and relaxing activity and should not be a chore that one had to labour through. I have seen my fair share of ups and downs in my hobby. I have gone through bouts of frenzied activity where I burned myself out, whilst trying to challenge myself to see fainter and fainter fare. This happened really early when I returned to the hobby in the early 2000's. Every trip to the dark sky site meant making long list of objects to hunt down and sketch, arranging and re-arranging star maps that I had printed out from Tirion's Sky Atlas 2000, and kept in waterproof binders for field use. I also spent many hours in solitude, all on my own, sketching away as I tried to "bag" as many DSO's as I could, alienating all my observing buddies. Lately my obsession with astro-imaging with my NexStar GOTO and Meade DSI C has kept me busy everytime I head to dark skies. So it was refreshing to just get out and gaze at the heavens with no defined plans, other than to drink in the views...and maybe see a comet or two, seeing how it is now predawn comet season.

I had one such refreshing session last night, right from my light drenched observing playground in Culver City. Just me, the skies and two good old fashion manual scopes. I had not used my Celestron/Vixen C6 newtonian in a while now. This was my most used scope whilst back in Brisbane, and also when I came over here to Los Angeles. Its still my favourite scope in my scope armoury, despite owning larger scopes, such as my now sold 10" GS dob, which hardly got used due to its size, and the effort it took to just get it out to take a look, or the C8, which is a great scope, but still a little on the heavy side for nights when you don't want to have to deal with hauling scopes out. The C6 has just the right combination in terms of light gathering and portability. And now that I am a proud owner of an Astroscan, I can just carry the C6 on Vixen Porta and sling the Astroscan over my other shoulder. So nice to just have scopes, and to not have to carry my camping chair, laptop, imaging gear, etc etc. No set up time. Just plop the scopes down and away you go. And if you need to move the scope to a better location, as I did tonight to get a better view of the comet, all you had to do was pick the scope up and move.

And boy did I have a fun session, just casually perusing what the heaven's have to offer. This time of the year is great as the skies are more transparent, due to falling temperatures. Also the constellations of winter are up, later in the night. Good old friend abound like Orion the hunter, and his trusty dogs, Canis Major and Minor. Andromeda is off to the west, with Perseus not far behind. Even later in the night mighty Leo, the lion rises from the east. The coming of winter also brings nice bright DSO's that punch through the veil of light pollution, M42, the great nebula in Orion; M45, the seven sisters; and a myriad of open clusters stretching from Perseus and its double cluster, to the many Messier clusters in Auriga, the charioteer and Gemini, the twins. Throw in a planetary nebula (The Eskimo Nebula) and some bright galaxies (M31 and M32 in Andromeda) and you got yourself a rollicking good time. Jupiter, the king of planets is also currently on display, residing close to the Eskimo Nebula in Gemini. Plus an added incentive is the presence of four comets in the early morning sky (Comet ISON, Comet Lovejoy, Comet Encke and LINEAR)! The first two are brighter and will reach naked eye limit by the end of November.

Anyways, since it was a free and easy session, I hit every single one of those DSO's and gazed at them at different magnifications to find the optimal magnification for the best and most detailed look. There was no rush so I took my time with each single one of them. The highlight of the night for me was Jupiter and Comet Lovejoy C2013 R1. Seeing was superb and Jupiter was razor sharp in the C6, showing all sorts of detail in its belts. I also observed one of the moons cross Jupiter's disk and re emerge on the other side as its tiny disc slowly moved off Jupiter's creamy surface.

And I bagged my second comet of the year, Comet Lovejoy! The comet is currently moving through the starfield's of Cancer and Leo, and it is pretty bright (last night it was at magnitude 6.5...so much brighter than the "Comet of the century" ISON, currently languishing at about magnitude 8). Did not see any tail, but the nucleus was star-like and it had a nice big coma. Will have to try and image this comet before the moon enters the morning sky after the 15th of November. If I can get up, I will also try for ISON, which is sinking lower and lower each day as it speeds towards its destiny with our sun....stay tuned for more...

Malibu Strikes Back....yet again part deux (November the 1st 2013)

 "Getting set up. Photo courtesy of Terry Nakazono"

Its my b day month...its my b day month. And what better way to kick off the month of November with a bang. Dark sky weekend is upon us yet again. Weather patterns have been all over the place. Last weekend we were down at Escondido,CA at the Welk Resort. Had my StarSeeker II 130mm f/5 OTA on Porta Mount as the skies there are pretty amazing. My plans for some casual stargazing did not come to fruition however. As soon as the skies got dark, a thick marine layer rolled in...bummer. This past week has been pretty iffy too. We had heavy dark clouds and rains even on Monday and Tuesday........but it has been nice, transparent and clear the last two nights. Accu-weather and the Weather Channel predict clear skies for Malibu on Friday. Friday rolled around and YES gorgeous blue skies in the daytime and dark transparent skies at night. So yes time to pack the car up and head out to Malibu.

This time my aims were to image in wide field using the Celestron Travelscope 70 on the NexStar alt az GOTO mount, seeing how I recently acquired a dinky lil 5x24 finder for my littlest baby scope. Targets for the night include some objects that I have imaged in the past, but with the longer focal length 102GT OTA. Objects include; the Veil Nebula in Cygnus (FOV too narrow in the longer focal length scope); the Helix Nebula in Aquarius; M33, the Great Triangulum Spiral; M77, the Cetus Galaxy; NGC 246, the Cetus planetary bubble; M74, dim face on in Pisces, and if time permits and my laptop battery does not die M31, the great galaxy in Andromeda and its companions; M42, the great nebula in Orion, the double cluster in Perseus and M1, the Crab Nebula in Taurus. Also have plans to use my C8 for a bit to test out my new/old 2" SCT diagonal to see if it is as good as my Orion 1.25" dielectric diagonal.

Solstice Canyon here we come!

Left the house pretty early and got there at about 9.30pm. When we got out of the car, we were surprised at how warm it was over at our observing spot. The Santa Ana winds sometimes cause this  and we get warm gust of wind. It was pretty windy when we got there too (almost Pinos like but warmer). Seeing how the bulk of my night was allotted to imaging, I was kinda bummed. Terry reassured me that the winds usually die down at about midnight so that kept my hopes up.

"The perks of seated big scope visual stargazing. Photo courtesy of Terry Nakazono"

First order of the night.....visual observing through my C8. That was the first scope I set up. Easy enough to just slip on the 8x50 dovetail finder into its shoe, extend the aluminum legs on the Vixen Porta and slide the Vixen dovetail on the C8's OTA into the dovetail slot on the Porta. Since I only brought my super uber portable Travelscope 70, my Orion bag had room for both the tripods. I carried the C8 OTA with my other free hand. Its funny how I use the Losmandy dovetail plate as a handle when hauling out the C8 OTA. Guess I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon since it is just so convenient to carry using this. One thing I do need to do though is to move the finder dovetail bracket. Its annoying as the slow mo knobs clash with my finder and therefore I have to attach it at a very inconvenient angle. Something to get sorted before my next observing run.

Anyways started off the night with some easy and bright objects. Summertime objects were fast sinking into the western horizon. Took quick peeks at M57 and M27. Views were awesome in C8, but I could not push the magnification very far. Views were very wavy, even for DSO's. I decided that the OTA was not sufficiently cooled so I left it on the Porta Mount and setup my imaging rig. That did not take very long as well since the NexStar is pretty easy to alight. Just extend the tripod legs, level the tripod using the built in level bubble, slide on the OTA (super lightweight light cup, my Celestron Travelscope 70!), plug in the battery pack and the NexStar hand controller, plug in the time, date, daylight/ non daylight saving's time, set the time zone you are in, then chose you method of alignment (two star align is the best one and it works everytime). Alignment worked with Deneb in Cygnus and Mirfak in Perseus. Tested the GOTO on a couple of objects to make sure everything was working fine. As it turns out, the GOTO worked brilliantly the whole night, placing most of the objects either dead center or off to the bottom left of the center.

"NGC 253,  Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor 6 x 1 min. Lower image dark frame subtracted"

I went back and forth between both scopes, prior to imaging to see if the C8 had sufficiently cooled off. Turns out the night's seeing was not the best. Jupiter looked dreadful as it rose over the hills. The views got better later in the night, but even then views were not super. So as usual I started my night imaging, even though I had planned to do more visual observing this time round. Went through my list of objects to image and started off with NGC253 in Sculptor. I had the galaxy in both scopes, and naturally the C8 showed it heaps better, with mottling indicating its spiral arms. The wide field image turned out really nice. It showed more breath, but I felt the image I had previously taken showed more in the way of details.

 "M77, Seyfert Galaxy in Cetus 6 x 1min"

Next up was M77 in Cetus. The galaxy itself appeared small in the 70mm visually. This galaxy however has very high surface brightness, and this showed up in the CCD image I took. The central nucleus was blazingly bright. The C8 showed its core very well. After imaging the brighter galaxies, I decided to try for M74 in Pisces. This one eluded me for some strange reason. I could see it visually in the 70mm. Not sure what the problem was so I moved on to M33, the Pinwheel Galaxy in Triangulum. The galaxy was easy in the 70mm, with its wide field. What showed up on screen was just the nucleus after a 45 second to 1 minute sub (yes the longer wider FOV of the Travelscope allowed me to push the subs for way longer before trailing occurs). I was doing the same 6x subs, but this time with exposures between 30 seconds to 1 minute. Processing using PS with curves allowed me to pull up the spiral arms. Don't you just love post image processing?

 "M33, Pinwheel Galaxy in Triangulum, 6 x 1 min. Top image dark frame subtracted"

I also shot for the Veil Nebula. Visually, the nebula was visible faintly with the NPB filter and the 24.5mm Meade SWA eyepiece. However the CCD image did not reveal the smoke like wisps. After processing the image, I though I could make out hints of the bridal veil, but maybe this one requires the use of UHC filters. Will try for that the next time if Cygnus is high enough.

 "M31, the Great Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda 6 x 1 min"

I also re-imaged some of the other sprawling objects, as planned. I hit M31, which did not appear very different in the processed imaged other than the fact that it was framed a little better with the galaxy not taking up the entire frame. I though the dust lanes could be made out easier. I still could not fit M31 and its close companion M32 in one field!

 "M42, the Great Orion Nebula in Orion, 6 x 1 min"

M42, the great nebula in Orion was just a revelation. Images appearing on the screen as I was imaging only showed its central nebulosity. Post image processing brought out its outer wings. This is one object I never get tired of looking at (The C8 threw up fantastic views of its outer wings visually.....appearing as it does in my 10". Again I found the views sans the NPB filter more aestatically pleasing. The E and F component were not doeable tonight due to the extremely bad seeing!)

 "M1, Crab Nebula supernova remnant in Taurus, 6 x 1 min"

Since I did not convincingly image M1 the last time I was here in Malibu a year ago, I decided to re-image this supernova remnant. Again M1 was easy visually, appearing as a featureless S shaped blob in the 70mm. Images appearing in real time also showed this featureless blob. Again post processing was required to bring out definition in the object. The background was however too bright and I will probably need to re-image this again at some stage. I think the 102 would give a better view as the crab appeared too small in the image taken with the 70mm Travelscope.

 "M45, Pleiades Seven Sisters in Taurus, 3 x 15 sec"

Last two objects I imaged were open clusters. They are a pain to sketch, but are superb objects for imaging, especially the richer clusters. I could only fit the dipper portion of M45, the Pleiades in the FOV of the DSI chip, and just barely! Next time I will try to center Merope and see if I can snag the reflection nebula around it! I was happy with what I got with M45!

 "Double Cluster in Perseus, 3 x 15 sec"

The double cluster in Perseus, however was a revelation. This rich cluster is just one object that screams to be imaged. It is just so choke full of stars. The dimmer members are easily brought out with post processing using curves in PS, as with faint nebulosity and spiral arms in galaxies. The last image I took of this was from my light polluted site in Culver City, so this time I got the whole diamond dust on black velvet effect in my shots....niceeee.

So all in all, I had a very productive night. I hit every object I planned to hit, missing out on only M74 in Pisces, the Cetus Planetary Bubble NGC 246 and the Helix Nebula in Aquarius. The GOTO performed flawlessly this time round. The laptop battery lasted longer than usual as well, which was strange. Well I did allow it to power down midway between imaging sessions. The C8 threw up visually pleasing views of the popular objects and the 2" Orion SCT diagonal performed flawlessly. One thing I really miss was seeing everything in wide field, as all my scopes have been short focal length scopes till now. Maybe I will use the focal reducer the next time we are out here in a months time...or maybe I might just use my old C6. Have not had my old faithful out for a while now. So till we meet again........here are some nice CCD images to tide you over.

 "Imager hard at work. Celestron Travelscope 70OTA on NexStar alt az GOTO mount with Meade DSI I color imager. Photo courtesy of Terry Nakazono"

Most up to date list of objects imaged with my Celestron/Costco NexStar 102GT and Meade DSI I deep sky imager 13th October 2015

Since obtaining the ultimate bargain scope for imaging (for me anyway) the Celestron/Costco NexStar 102GT, and a used CCD cam for astro-imaging, my Meade Deep Sky Imager Color one shot (DSI C), I have been steadily imaging from my light drenched observing playground in Culver City, and from my darker sky observing sites at Mount Pinos (Frazier Park National Reserve) and Solstice Canyon in Malibu, adding to my ever growing list of imaged objects.

In late 2014, I moved from light polluted LA to the much darker NorCal South Bay skies. Now that I have a nice dark yard in deep red zone, I find I can do much of my imaging from home (even though I started doing some from orange zone-higher elevation skies at Saratoga Gap), so I started a new project, re-imaging some of the smaller DSO's at full frame without the 0.5x reducer, as well as systematically imaging objects in the realm of galaxies (Leo-Leo Minor-Sextans-Coma Berenices-Canes Venatici and Virgo). I am currently working my way through all the globular clusters in Astronomy's "Atlas of the Stars" in the Sagittarius-Scorpius-Ophiuchus region.

Equipment wise I now have two cheap achromatic imaging OTA's, still sticking to my low budget snapshot imaging roots. I use a Celestron Travelscope 70ST for wide field imaging, and of course the Celestron NexStar 102 for zoomed in views. I upgraded my CCD camera to a slightly larger format camera, the Meade DSI II OSC and I am pleased to report that it does a much better job that its older brother. I also use an Orion 0.5x screw on focal reducer, Orion SkyGlow Imaging filter, Orion supplied MaxIM DL software to compile and stack my subs and of course Adobe's powerful "Photoshop" software for all my image manipulations.

Archive:
The next project over the next few months are to image some of the objects I missed, M33, the great Pinwheel spiral in Triangulum (done 110113); M74, the dim face on galaxy in Pisces (done 102514); M77, the bright Seyfert Galaxy in Cetus (done 110113) and NGC 246, the dim Cetus Planetary Bubble. I also plan to image some wide field shots using the Celestron Travelscope 70 OTA . Target objects include sprawling objects such as M31 and its companions (done 110113); M33 (done 110113); M45, the Pleiades (done 110113); M42, the Great Nebula in Orion (done 110113) and the Perseus Double cluster (done 110113). Since I wasn't very successful in getting the Veil Nebula (done 091914 NGC 6960 6979, 6992, 6995)  and in Cygnus. Others include possible the dimmer fare around Orion like the Horsehead Nebula (done 111414), the Running Man Nebula (done NGC 1973/5/7), the Helix Planetary (done NGC 7293) in Aquarius, Thor's Helmet (done NGC 2359), Rosette Nebula (done 122314 Monoceros) and some faint southern galaxies (might be more difficult due to its lower elevation), NGC 1300 (Eridanus), NGC 1097, NGC 1365 (done 112114), NGC 1360 (Fornax).

Objects Imaged so far:
M1 Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant (Taurus). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
M2 Globular Cluster (Aquarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M3 Globular Cluster (Bootes).  Imaged in the 102GT
M4 Globular Cluster (Scorpius). Imaged in the 102GT
M5 Globular Cluster (Serpens). Imaged in the 102GT
M6 Butterfly cluster, Open Cluster (Scorpius). Imaged in the 102GT
M7 Ptolemy's cluster, Open Cluster (Scorpius). Imaged in the 102GT
M8 Lagoon Nebula, Emission Nebula (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT. Re-image in wide field
M9 Globular Cluster  (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT
M10 Globular Cluster  (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT
M11 Wild Duck Cluster, Open Cluster (Scutum). Imaged in the 102GT
M12 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT
M13 Hercules cluster, Globular Cluster (Hercules). Imaged in the 102GT
M14 Globular Cluster  (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT
M15 Globular Cluster (Perseus). Imaged in the 102GT
M16 Eagle nebula Emission Nebula (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M17 Swan/Omega nebula Emission Nebula (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT . Re-image in wide field
M18 Open Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in TS70.
M19 Globular Cluster  (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT
M20 Trifid Nebula Emission and Reflection Nebula  (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M22 Crackerjack Cluster, Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M23 Open Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the TS70.
M25 Open Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the TS70.
M27 Dumbbell nebula Planetary Nebula (Vulpecula). Imaged in the 102GT
M28 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M30 Globular Cluster (Capricornus). Imaged in the 102GT
M31 Andromeda Galaxy (Andromeda). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
M32 Galaxy (Andromeda). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
M33 Pinwheel Galaxy (Triangulum). Imaged in The TS 70
M35 Open Cluster (Gemini). Imaged in the 102GT
M36 Open Cluster (Auriga). Imaged in the 102GT
M37 Open Cluster (Auriga). Imaged in the 102GT
M38 Open Cluster (Auriga). Imaged in the 102GT
M41 Open Cluster (Canis Major). Imaged in the 102GT
M42 Orion Nebula Emission Nebula (Orion). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
M43 Nebula Emission Nebula (Orion). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
M44 Praesepe cluster Open Cluster (Cancer). Imaged in the 102GT. Re-image in wide field
M45 Pleiades Open Cluster and Reflection Nebula (Taurus). Imaged in The TS 70
M46 Open Cluster (Puppis). Imaged in the 102GT
M47 Open Cluster (Puppis). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC 2438 Planetary Nebula in M46 (Puppis). Imaged in the 102GT
M49 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy (Canes Venatici). Imaged in the 102GT. Re-image in wide field
M53 Globular Cluster (Coma Berenices). Imaged in 102GT
M54 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M55 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M56 Globular Cluster (Lyra). Imaged in the 102GT
M57 Ring nebula Planetary nebula (Lyra). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
M58 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70
M59 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT
M60 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT
M61 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT and TS70
M62 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M63 Sunflower Galaxy (Canes Venatici). Imaged in the 102GT
M64 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the 102GT
M65 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
M66 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
M67 Open Cluster (Cancer). Imaged in the 102GT
M69 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M70 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
M71 Globular Cluster(Sagitta). Imaged in the 102GT
M74 Galaxy (Pisces). Imaged in the TS70

M75 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT

M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula Planetary Nebula (Perseus). Imaged in the 102GT
M77 Seyfert Galaxy (Cetus). Imaged in the TS 70
M78 Reflection Nebula (Orion). Imaged in the 102GT
M79 Globular Cluster (Lepus). Imaged in the 102GT
M80 Globular Cluster (Scorpius). Imaged in the 102GT
M81 Bode's Galaxy (Ursa Major). Imaged in the 102GT
M82 Galaxy (Ursa Major). Imaged in the 102GT
M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (Hydra). Imaged in the 102GT. Re-image in wide field
M84 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT
M86 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT
M87 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT
M88 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70
M90 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70
M91 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70
M92 Globular Cluster (Hercules). Imaged in the 102GT

M93 Open Cluster (Puppis). Imaged in the TS70

M95 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT

M94 Crocs Eye Galaxy (Canes Venatici). Imaged in the 102GT

M96 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
M97 Owl nebula Planetary Nebula (Ursa Major). Imaged in the 102GT
M98 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70
M99 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70
M100 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70
M101 Galaxy (Ursa Major). Imaged in the 102GT
M104 Sombrero Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the 102GT

M105 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
M106 Galaxy (Canes Venatici). Imaged in the 102GT
M107 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

M108 Galaxy (Ursa Major). Imaged in the 102GT
M109 Galaxy (Ursa Major). Imaged in the TS 70
NGC253 Silver Coin Galaxy (Sculptor). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
NGC2392 Eskimo Nebula, Planetary Nebula (Gemini). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC3521 Galaxy (Leo) Imaged in the 102GT
NGC3384 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC3389 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC6543 Cat's Eye Nebula Planetary Nebula (Draco). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC6826 Blinking planetary Planetary Nebula (Cygnus). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC7009 Saturn Nebula Planetary Nebula (Aquarius). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC6210 Planetary Nebula (Hercules). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC6818 Planetary Nebula (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC869 Double Cluster, Open Cluster (Perseus). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
NGC884 Double Cluster, Open Cluster(Perseus). Imaged both in the 102GT and in The TS 70
NGC 2023 Tanktrack/Flame Nebula (Orion). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC 436 ET/Strongman Culster, Open Cluster (Cassiopea). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC 663 Open Cluster (Cassiopea). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC3628 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged with 102GT
NGC4565 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC3242 Ghost of Jupiter Planetary (Hydra). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC2903 Galaxy (Leo). Imaged in the 102GT
NGC7293 Helix Nebula Planetary Nebula (Aquarius). Imaged in the TS70
NGC6960 Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant (Cygnus). Imaged in the TS70
NGC6992 Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant (Cygnus). Imaged in the TS70
NGC7331 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70
NGC6888 Crescent Nebula (Cygnus). Imaged in the TS70
NGC1023 Galaxy (Perseus). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 288 Globular Cluster (Sculptor). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 891 Outer Limits Galaxy (Andromeda). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 205 Galaxy (Andromeda). Imaged in the TS70

Banard 33 and IC 434 Horsehead Dark Nebula in Emission Nebula (Orion). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 2359 Thor's Helmet Emission Nebula (Canis Major). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 1365 Galaxy (Fornax). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 2371 Bipolar Planetary (Gemini). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 2237 and NGC 2244 Rosette Emission Nebula and Open Cluster (Monoceros). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 1973/1975/1977 Running Man Nebula (Orion). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 2261 Hubble Variable Nebula (Monoceros). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 2264 Christmas Tree Open Cluster (Monoceros). Imaged in the TS70
NGC 4567/4568 Siamese Twins Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70
NGC 4214 Galaxy (CVn). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4244 Galaxy (CVn). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4274 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4414 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4449 Galaxy (CVn). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4490/4485 Galaxy (CVn). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4535/4519 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4559 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4631/4627 Galaxy (CVn). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4656 Galaxy (CVn). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4699 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4725 Galaxy (Coma Berenices). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4762 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4388 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 2967 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 2974 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3166 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3169 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3423 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 2967 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70
NGC 3607/3608/3605/3599 Galaxy Group (Leo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4216 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4438 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4517 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4526 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70
NGC 5746 Galaxy (Virgo). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3155 Galaxy (Sextans). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3003 Galaxy (Leo Minor). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3021 Galaxy (Leo Minor). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3344 Galaxy (Leo Minor). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 3432 Galaxy (Leo Minor). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 4038-4039 Galaxy (Corvus). Imaged in the TS 70

NGC 6284 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6287 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6293 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6304 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6316 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6342 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6356 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6401 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6544 Globular Cluster (Ophiuchus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6553 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6638 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6642 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6522 Globular Cluster (Sagittarius). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 6015 Galaxy (Draco). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 6503 Galaxy (Draco). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 247 Galaxy (Cetus). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 772 Galaxy(Aries). Imaged in the TS70

NGC 7008 Planetary Nebula (Cygnus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 210 Galaxy (Cetus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 1514 Planetary Nebula (Taurus). Imaged in the 102GT

NGC 7640 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the 102GT

Deer Lick Group:
NGC 7340 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7337 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7336 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7335 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

Stephan's Quintet Group:

NGC 7317 Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7318A Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7318B Galaxy (Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7319 Galaxy(Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7320 Galaxy(Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

NGC 7320C Galaxy(Pegasus). Imaged in the TS70, 102GT

Current tally: 201 objects (updated 13th October 2015)

My my if it aint another 4 inch scope......one of the classics Edmund's Astroscan (2001)

Seems like I have become a sucker for smallish scopes. How many 4" class scopes do I have now? Geeze. But when it came to this scope, I just could not resist, since it was one of the scopes I lusted after as a teenager, glossing over Orion's black and white catalogs back in the 80's. This is the ultimate "bomb" proof scope, the one scope that any kid can kick around and still look at the moon or stars afterwards. It has also been around for a long long time. Heck it is almost as old as I am. Edmund Scientific introduced this radical new design (which by the way won an "Industrial Design Award" when it was unveiled for the first time) in 1976, 4 years after I was born. Norman Sperling and Mike Simmons designed this scope to be ultra durable and superbly simple to use, the perfect introductory scope. We all know that in order for a scope to qualify as a perfect beginners scope, it has to meet several criteria:

• Sufficient clear aperture
• Ease of use
• Uncomplicated 
• Easy to maintain
• Most importantly portable so it can be carried anywhere (especially in this day and age of light pollution when we have to travel great distances to seek out darker pristine skies for stargazing!)

Enter the Astroscan. Looking more like a red bowling ball, one would not instantly recognize this as a telescope. However it is and its design is time tested and has remained unchanged since the mid 70's. The design has in fact been adapted for other higher end scopes, the MagOne Portaball.

Details details.....

"Astroscan with its metal stand, carry strap and my new prototype long focal length Orion 18mm eyepiece"

So what is the Astroscan? Well although it sure does not look like your typical newtonian reflector, it does in fact utilize the simple newtonian configuration.  It has a 4⅛" clear-inch (105mm) diameter f/4.2 aluminized, overcoated borosilicate parabolic primary with a focal length of 17½ inches (445mm) that is factory aligned, and there are no provisions for adjustment. Good or bad, it all depends. Most people would argue that in order for a scope this fast to perform optimally, one would have to collimate its mirrors ever so often for optimal performance at higher magnification. Since this was primarily designed for wide field panning (back in the 80's such scopes were called Richest Field Telescopes or RFT's), spot on collimation is not that much of an issue.

The scope I got only came with the metal stand and carry strap. It did not come with a finder. Many have judged this as an inconvenience, and the newer Astroscan's ship with a red dot unit finderscope (not the metal peephole finders from the days of yore). I did not find this as much of a hindrance as I could just ballpark the object and then scan around with my lowest powered ep (i.e. 24.5mm Meade SWA). That said this is not a scope for serious astronomy (i.e star hopping to faint galaxies). Even with a red dot finder I think it would be difficult as the movement of the ball is smooth in wide sweeps, but is not as smooth when it came to small precise movements. Maybe I need to wax the ball! Also with regards to actually using a finder on the Astroscan, I think a more suitable finder would be a Telrad (would try mounting the Telrad I got with my C8 OTA once I pry the finder base off the OTA!), or one of them tall Rigel finders as the profile would be higher and easier to use.

The focuser is crude but works surprisingly well. I have read horror stories of users turning the knob and the focuser tube (which is basically a metal tubing that is moved up and down via friction from the knobs) not moving. No such problems there. My model has what looks like teflon on the sides so movement is pretty smooth. The focuser tube also does not have setscrews so take extra care when using your heavier eyepieces. Speaking of heavier eyepieces, if you are viewing anything below 45 degrees, the scope has the tendency to nose dive, so you might have to cradle the bottom of the tube while you switch eyepieces.

Next comes the question when using the Astroscan......where do I set it up? Like all the other tabletop mini scopes, due to its low profile, you need some sort of table, car bonnet, etc. to raise the scope to a manageable height for viewing. I put it on the picnic table for some parts of the sky, and on the playhouse floor where the slides are located. Mounting the Astroscan was a problem on my Orion HD F2 as the quick release mounting shoe had a "too short" screw that would not tighten the metal base sufficiently to the shoe. It was easier to just rest the metal base on a flat surface. Now this is convinient if you have park benches nearby. If you out in the wilderness, you might have a problem. I find the scope cumbersome to use in seated mode on the floor as you have to really scrunch and contort your body in all sorts of weird positions to view through the eyepiece.

In the field

 "Down the barrel of the gun. Notice the metal ring around the primary that add's weight to the scope"

So how does this non collimatible scope work under the stars. I was actually anxious to see if my second hand Astroscan would be a great wide field scope, or a lemon. Since I got it for a lower price than what is currently available, I was half expecting the scope to be a lemon. Fortunately that was not the case. The scope performed brilliantly with the 24.5mm Meade SWA, operating at 18x magnification. Contrast was surprisingly really good too, throwing up much contrastier images than in my Orion SkyScanner 100, which is basically identical to the Astroscan in that its primary mirror is also a parabolic mirror in the 4" range, permanently set and has a very short focal length. Baffling must be better in the Astroscan!

The first object I looked at was the moon. My jaw dropped when luna came into view. Contrasty and sharp where the first two things that came to mind. The terminator region was just gorgeous. Even when I put in the 6mm Radian for 74x magnification (while cradling the tube as the scope nosedived the first time I inserted the ep) no issues with mushiness or smearing (a common problem in newtonian's with short focal length spherical mirrors).

Deep sky objects were nicely framed as well. As mentioned contrast was excellent despite the only fully coated optical window. This scope really excels for the larger sprawling objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Perseus Double Cluster (NGC869/884), the Pleiades (M45), the sword of Orion and M42, the great nebula in Orion as it shows these objects in context (even from light polluted skies!). It in effect acts like a giant monocular binoculars, but with the option of using filters and changing magnifications! I had the Astroscan side by side with the Orion StarSeeker II 130mm f/5, and while the StarSeeker went deeper, contrast was superior on the Astroscan. Will have to do a shootout between my Orion SkyScanner and Astroscan when I get the chance as they are virtually similar scopes!

Caveats? I had a look at old jove as it rose higher above the rooftops (initial views were terrible and the planet's disc would not focus down to a sharp image). As expected views were marginal at 74x magnification. I could make out the two cloud bands on the planets disk, but the planet never did come to complete focus. There was flaring's off the planets disk (worse than SkyScanner as Jupiter did focus down to a disk with no flaring's in the SkyScanner). Note that the flaring's was nowhere near as bad as what I had seen in the Celestron Firstscope mini dob or the Orion Funscope, both which have short focal length spherical mirror's. I need to confirm this by testing the scope on Jupiter when it is higher in the sky and not subjected to heat waves coming off the rooftops. That might have been the root of the problem here.

Conclusions

"Dewy scopes looking at old jove and the great nebula in Orion"

 

After 30 odd years of lusting after a telescope that looks more like a red bowling ball and finally getting one, I must say that the Astroscan did live up to my expectations, granted that I did not expect it to excel for high powered planetary views. I was surprised that the contrast was so good on my sample. The moon was super contrasty and sharp, even at 74x magnification. The views of Jupiter was underwhelming, but as mentioned, this scope was not built for high powered planetary views. It does give fantastic wide field views of deep sky objects and that's all that matters to me.

OTA Review: Orion StarSeeker II 130mm f/5

I figure I owe you guys this review so I had better pen something now, and then update my notes as I go along. I intend for my blog to be fluid, not static, like a biological entity, always evolving and getting better as time progresses. I have had this OTA for over a month now and have only had it out three times under light polluted skies, once mounted on a Vixen Porta Mount and the other two times on a Celestron/Costco NexStar GOTO mount, which by the way is essentially the same mount provided by Orion on their StarSeeker GOTO models. The only difference I can see are the legs of the mount. Orion uses the standard stamped aluminium legs, as on all their other smaller mounts. The Celestron version  (this mount is virtually the same mount as their SLT mounts as well) comes with tubular steel legs that are about 1 inch in diameter. This mount is great for lightweight OTA's and is a perfect match for the lightweight 130mm f/5 newtonian OTA (Celestron lists the payload limits of this mount at 8lb's). By contrast, I could not mount my Celestron/Vixen C6 on this mount as it would totally overwhelm the mount. Mount's GOTO works well with this OTA with perfect tracking. Since this is a review of the OTA, I am not going to further review the mount.

First Impressions

"Orion StarSeeker II OTA on a Celestron NexStar Alt Az GOTO mount"

The OTA is surprisingly light (Orion list the OTA as 7.5lb's) for a scope of this size. It is about 3 inches shorter than my Vixen/ Celestron C6 f/5 (750mm) and heaps lighter (The C6 OTA weight's in at a hefty 12lb's, the same as my C8 SCT OTA). Since there is a short V class dovetail bolted to the OTA, you do not need tube rings for this OTA, further reducing the weight of the OTA. Balance does not seem to be an issue with the placement of the dovetail. The dovetail is mounted to the side, and since it is designed to be used on a alt-az GOTO mount, the finderscope (mine did not come with the Orion EzFinder II or the dovetail shoe as I got this OTA for cheap (I paid a grand total of $50 not inclusive of tax)) and the rack and pinon focuser are at just the right height for viewing. If you were to mount this OTA on say an equatorial mount, you would probably need tube rings so you can rotate the focuser to the right position. The focuser is a nice 2" rack and pinion focuser with plastic focuser knobs and focuses very smoothly. It comes with a too tall 1.25" adapter so you can use both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. the tube is a nice metallic burgundy color (same color as my Orion SkyScanner's tube, so now baby Scanner has a big brother!). I bought this scope to possibly use it for wide field CCD camming with my Meade DSI C, but the CCD cam does not come to focus unless I use a barlow, defeating the purpose. Oh well I can use this scope on the GOTO mount for brighter wide field views than if I were to use the 102mm f/10 OTA. This scope will also work very well on my Vixen PortaMount, since my Porta has a load capacity of 20lb's and holds my C6 N and C8 SCT OTA's with ease (see below)! It will be more grab and go than my C6 for sure since it weighs so little. Mirror comes center spotted and the primary mirror cells have big knurled knobs for easy collimation adjustment. You will need a phillip's screwdriver for the secondary mirror.

Under the stars

"Orion StarSeeker II OTA on Vixen Porta Mount"

Collimation was spot on. I slipped in the cheshire to be sure. Since I have experience with scopes of this size (I also have a Powerseeker 127mm Bird Jones OTA by Celestron), I knew what to expect from this scope. Views are only slighly dimmer than in my C6, and for globulars, this is the aperture where things start to get interesting. Most of the brighter globulars are resolved pretty well, if not to the core in a 6" scope. How does 5" fare you say? Pretty well. Most of the same globulars show some form of resolution, with the brighter ones taking on characters of their own. This OTA definately shows more resolution than my 102mm f/10 refractor, even with its central obstruction. I have yet to observe any planets with this scope, but from experience looking through Terry's  Bushnell Ares, and my Powerseeker 127mm, planets such as Saturn show abundant detail like the subtle band on the planets disk and Cassini's division at high power.

Over the course of two different nights I observed M31 and its companions, M2, M15, M27, M57, NGC 7662, NGC6826, as well as luna from my light polluted playground observatory. Here are my notes.

• M31 and companions (24.5mm Meade SWA-26x; 13T6 Nagler-50x): Awesome widefield views of M31's core and M32, all in the same FOV. I actually prefer the galaxies at 50x even though the views were more restrictive. As with all my newt's from light polluted skies, and with those damn insecurity lights at the edges of the playground, contrast suffered. Views are more contrasty in my refractors and SCT.
• M15: Appeared grainy at both magnification's. Best views at 108x with the 6mm Radian.
• M2: Same as above but with more resolution. Best views of the globs came in my 6mm Radian (108x) where the periphery stars were resolved. Some sprinkling of stars across the globs face at this magnification. As always M2 shows more resolution as M15 in Pegasus.
• M27: Nice applecore shape visible. Best views at medium magnification in the 13T6 Nagler at 50x, and with the DGM NPB filter.
• M57: My fave planetary. Looks good in any scope, even one as small as a Celestron Cometron CO40!!!!! Ring shape easily visible. Best views as above with the DGM NPB filter. I find that the views are not as nice in the OIII, probably due to too dark a background.
• NGC 7662: Clearly discernible as a disc rather than as a starlike object. No additional details visible, even at higher magnifications. I preferred the views without the narrowband filters.
• NGC 6826: Same as above. What I like about planetaries is that their colors are readily apparent even in small scopes.
• Moon: Wow is all I can say. Using the better ep's, views were sharp all the way out to the edges. Contrast was very nice. Black was black and whites were white. No smearing at the terminator regions which is a good thing.

I might be bringing this scope to an orange zone observing site when we head out to our time share at The Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month, so I will be able to test it out more. Hope to catch some of the better winter fare and some galaxies (i.e. NGC253, M74, M77, as well as M33. Will update my notes when I do.

Conclusions

Overall this is a fantastic wide field performer, and no slouch when it comes to higher powered planetary and lunar views. This is the direct result of its fast parabolic optics.  As with all newtonian's, this one requires the occasional collimation to align its mirrors, which is critical for scopes with this fast a focal length.
This is made easy as there are big hand knobs for primary mirror collimation. The secondary, however, requires the use of screwdrivers. Also with fast scopes, coma is a problem so the trade off I guess is to get better high end "edge corrected" eyepieces. This is a worthwhile investment as I find I usually hold on to my ep's longer than my scopes (especially the premium ones like my Meade SWA's and TV Nagler's and Radian's). To increase contrast, I usually flock the upper tube with black felt. It does help with stray light and increase contrast when viewing from bright locales. The best part of it all is that the OTA, coupled with either a GOTO or alt-az mount is incredibly light and easy to manage. The scope just screams at you to bring it outdoors, either for a leisurely stroll through the cosmos, or a more planned observing nightout of town. Highly recommended.

My personal happy place........Malibu 27th of September 2013

"M71 in Sagitta"

Where do I go to to chillax, to unwind and to just have a good time? This is a very easy question to answer. My version of a good time is spending quality time under dark skies, or semi dark skies with great company and of course my scopes :) The weather has been very cooperative of late, and we have been blessed with a string of good dark sky weekends (touch wood). I guess it is that time of the year when skies get darker faster, and remain clear. Since replacing my 10" f/5 GS dob with a C8 OTA, I have been itching to get back to visual stargazing. Imaging is fun, but visual observation has its own rewards. For one there is less gear to carry around, and overall less fumbling in the dark and trying to put things together. All one needs to do is to attach the OTA to the mount and away you go. No messing around with leveling the scope, two star alignments, etc etc. For that very reason I decided to pack my Orion SkyScanner 100 and my Paragon HD F2 photo tripod for this trip.

"Setting up my visual scope for the night: Orion SkyScanner 100 mini dob on my Orion Paragon HD F2 mount. Photo: Terry Nakazono"

The other reasons for wanting to get back to visual stargazing is that I have imaged most of the brighter objects I have on my list and don't feel compelled to image as much (kinda like hunting faint fuzzies to add to my list when I got back to stargazing in 2001). I am at a point when I can take my own sweet time and observe and image as and when I see fit. This is part of the fun of stargazing, going at your own pace. On a side note though I have been considering getting a lightweight IOptron Smart EQ portable GOTO mount for extended imaging sessions. The NexStar is great, but due to it being an alt-az GOTO mount, it has its limitations. I can only expose my subs for so long (max I can go is about 30 seconds with the 102GT OTA, and up to 45 seconds with the Travelscope 70 OTA...but most times I stick between 15 and 21 seconds as this gives the best balance between obtaining round stars and detail). Also since the NexStar mount was not really built for long exposure astrophotography, I find myself not taking as many subs as I would like since the tracking goes all wonky after a while (Which usually averages 5 or 6. Have to do some experimenting, maybe under suburban skies to see how far I can push this without trailing!) . So will I be sliding down the money sucking EQ GOTO mount slope for astroimaging? Only time will tell.....

"M56 in Lyra"

Anyways, back to the topic of this blog. I tend to drift off when writing so bear with me ;) This trip came out of an e mail discussion I had with Terry, my observing buddy about going to Malibu for stargazing. I love Mount Pinos for visual deep sky observing, but Malibu is heaps better for imaging as the site we use is partially surrounded by canyon walls, and therefore we are pretty much sheltered from blustery winds that are all so prevalent at Pinos. Also the drive is a whole heap shorter. I find myself getting lazy everytime I think of the drive up to Pinos as I don't do over-nighters anymore, as I used to back in oz. Round trip with traffic takes easily takes about 2 hours. So Malibu it was! My plan for the night was to do some easy going visual stargazing with my Orion SkyScanner 100 on Paragon HD F2 photo-tripod, and to image some of the objects I missed out on my last trip to Malibu. The plan was also to try out the Travelscope 70 OTA on the NexStar mount for wider field imaging. I got some good shots from my light polluted skies with such a setup so I was keen to see what it could do under darker skies.

"M30 in Capricornus"

I started off with the SkyScanner 100. Have not used my mini dob in a while and was really anxious to use it again. This has to be one of the best grab and go scopes out there. Small in stature,  cheap in price and big on bright wide field views. And did I mention that this scope can go deep too? Due to its short focal length, I found myself using the 13T6 Nagler in it exclusively, hitting popular bright targets such as M57, M27, M2, M15, M31 and companions, M33, M74, M71, and later on in the evening, big open clusters M45,the Perseus Double Cluster, the smaller Auriga clusters, M36, M37 and M38 and finally M42, the great nebula in Orion. It was so relaxing just drinking in the faint starlight in such a wide field scope. Sure the detail was not as good as if I had been using my C6 or C8. But the views were pretty nonetheless...and bright too.

"M15 in Pegasus"

With imaging, my plan for the night was, as mentioned to re-image some of the objects that did not turn out too well on my last field outing to Malibu, as well as some of those I had missed when the laptop battery died. Also was going to try wide field imaging with the Travelscope 70 OTA on the NexStar mount. As it turns out  Envisage misbehaved once again and I had to reboot the system twice. Also I stupidly chose an object too close to zenith, and the OTA came to a grinding halt on one of the tripod legs whilst I was using the Travelscope 70, which does not have a finder on it. Tried to realign the GOTO with Nexalign (have never been able to get the blasted thing to work in this mode...and guess what...still no joy. I can always only get it to work in two star alignment mode).  But I did get globulars M15 in Pegasus, M71 in Sagitta, M30 in Capricornus and M56 in Lyra. Also imaged my fave southern galaxy, NGC 253, the silver coin galaxy in Sculptor. Again the DSI impressed me. 15 second subs revealed the clumpy nature of the galaxy, as well as dark lanes. What I got was reminiscent of the views I get of this galaxy in my 10" dob at medium magnification, with color though. NICEEEEE.

"NGC 253, The Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor"

Finished off the night with some wide field panning with my Skyscanner. Got to love them dobs, even if I don't have my big gun anymore. Got some really outstanding views of the double cluster in Perseus, M45, the Pleiades in Taurus as well as M42. I never get tired of looking at the Orion Nebula. Just wish I was still downunder. I am sure the Eta Carina Nebula and its associated clusters would be spectacular in this lil scope that could! Till the next time we meet!

"Getting the NexStar 102GT aligned for a night of imaging. Photo: Terry Nakazono"