I had attended the Black Forest star party over the weekend of Sept 27th 2019. Many speakers were there, including Trevor Jones from AstroBackyard. Skies were fair and seeing got better into early Saturday morning. Here are some pics from the event.
Black Forest Star Party 2019 Speakers line-up
Image source: https://bfsp.org/
I am attending the annual Black Forest star party at Cherry Springs state park in September 27-29 2019. I am very excited to attend this national dark site and do some astrophotography and simple visual observing with the public.
About the event: “The Black Forest Star Party (BFSP) is an annual dark-sky amateur astronomy observing event hosted by the Central Pennsylvania Observers (CPO). Held every year since 1999, the BFSP generally spans a weekend in the late summer or early fall in Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, Pennsylvania.
Cherry Springs State Park is one of the darkest sites in the state of Pennsylvania and has been designated as Pennsylvania’s first Dark Sky Park by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)…” (Black Forest 2019).
Reference: https://bfsp.org/about-the-bfsp/
Here is a list of this years speakers:
Sharing a video of a remote observatory: by Vitaliy Gura
By Vitaliy Gura. Published on Apr 3, 2016
Sharing an impressive vid of an amateur observatory in Ukraine.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxrFZ_xaHbo&t=549s
PERSEID FIREBALLS
Source:
Space Weather News for July 31, 2019
http://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com
BE ALERT FOR PERSEID FIREBALLS: Earth is entering a stream of debris from giant Comet Swift-Tuttle, source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Forecasters say the shower won’t peak until Aug. 12-13, but already NASA cameras are catching Perseid fireballs streaking over the USA. The Perseids produce more fireballs than any other annual shower–largely due to the size of the parent comet–so your chances of seeing one are good. Visit today’s edition of Spaceweather.com for observing tips.
Aurora alerts: Sign up for Spaceweather Alerts and get a text message when auroras appear in your area.
M3: single exposure
M3 10 second exposure, Zhumell urban sky filter. This filter increases the contrast of deep-sky objects like emission nebulae and darkens the background sky by blocking mercury vapor light transmissions and enhancing transmission in the hydrogen beta, doubly ionized oxygen and hydrogen alpha regions of the spectrum. This filter, I have found, is no longer in production. Next filter to purchase is the Optolong L-eNhance filter. Or, the Optolong CLS filter at a lower price does basically the same thing. Image cleaned up with Gimp.
A quick solar image on a rare sunny day in April
Next major targets
NGC2158 – open cluster in the constellation of Gemini.
NGC2438 – planetary nebula about 3,000 light years away in the constellation Puppis
NGC2392 – Eskimo Nebula C39
Moon imaged with ZWO ASI 178 Color CMOS Camera
So far, I do like the DSLR images more, but this is first light with this small ZWO ASI 178 CMOS camera: the first CMOS camera I have owned. It will take getting used to. I believe this image is a .1000/sec capture in APT with the Meade LXD75 sn-10″ Schmidt Newtonian. Some atmospheric distortion exists.
Up for Auction: Sky & Telescope
The New York Times article from March 2019 states that our favorite magazine, Sky & Telescope is up for auction. This is due to the bankruptcy of its parent company F+W Media.
Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/science/astronomy-magazine-telescope.html
A guide to imaging filters
From Agenaastro, here is a quick guide to the various imaging filters used for quality astrophotography:
https://agenaastro.com/guide-to-imaging-filters.html
Image credit: Terry Hancock at www.GrandMesaObservatory.com as posted on the Agenaastro site.
Breathtaking Sphinx Observatory at Swiss Alps
Breathtaking Sphinx Observatory at Swiss Alps
by Kaushik
Source: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/08/breathtaking-sphinx-observatory-at.html
The Sphinx observatory is located at Jungfraujoch in Switzerland at an altitude of 3,571 meters. Due to its unique location in an unspoiled high alpine environment and the year-round accessibility via the Jungfrau Railway, combined with the excellent infrastructure, the Sphinx observatory provides unique conditions for successful research in various disciplines such as meteorology, astronomy, glaciology, physiology, radiation, and cosmic rays.
When the Jungfraujoch station opened in 1912 (which is also the highest railway station in all of Europe), Jungfraujoch became the number one place for scientists to conduct research under conditions of high altitude. At first the scientists worked in harsh conditions and lived in temporary shelters. Eventually, the Sphinx observatory was built in 1937 to accommodate eager scientists.
The Sphinx observatory is built on a steep cliff. The mountain top has been tunneled to fit an elevator which ascends to the observatory from the Jungfraujoch train station. The main-part of the Sphinx is used by scientists but for the tourists there is a metal-grate terrace surrounding the building on all sides that provides a stunning 360 degree view of the Great Aletsah Glacier, of the snowcapped Alps, and of the green valley down below. From the metal gratting one can see 11,333 feet of abyss down below.
The building includes four laboratories, a pavilion for cosmic ray research, a mechanical workshop, a library, a kitchen, a living room, ten bedrooms, a bathroom, and the living quarters of the custodians. The scientific part of the Sphinx observatory includes two large laboratories, a weather observation station, a workshop, two terraces for scientific experiments, an astronomical as well as a meteorological cupola. The astronomical cupola is equipped with a 76cm telescope with Cassegrain and Coudé focus.
Sphinx Observatory observation deck open to public. Photo credit
Walking ten minutes through this tunnel gets you to an elevator, at the top of which is the highest point, where the observatory is located. Photo credit
New field telescope!
The Celestron C6-A SCT: 1500mm F10. I had decided on this over the iOptron photron 6 for the longer focal length for planetary and lunar imaging, and close-ups of those remote fuzzies. $399 at Highpoint Scientific.
Just kidding
My entry for freakingNews contest ‘Moon Landing Hoax’ July22/2014
Better than Hubble
Universe Today: Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles.
https://www.universetoday.com/141528/meeet-wfirst-the-space-telescope-with-the-power-of-100-hubbles/
New main telescope setup and testing.
The new setup is coming along well. This is being set up downstairs in the basement for evaluation and testing. I have transferred the Meade LXD75 SN-10 OTA to the new Skywatcher mount. Software includes C2A for driving the mount, and testing with PHD autoguide continues; and I have yet to get PHD to play nice with all of the COMM ports and ASCOM configuration involved.
A short history of my adventures in the skies
I have been observing the skies though a telescope off and on since I was a boy in the 1970’s. During all of this time observing in various fields around Lorain County Ohio, I have battled wild pigs, arrogant horses, annoying mosquitoes and ignorant neighbors that are afraid of the dark and worship barn lights. There have also been numerous skunks that have passed right under my seat while I sat quietly observing, as well as the ornery O’possum that growled and chased me up on to the front lid of my car. It is an uncomfortable feeling when you know you are being watched by wild critters: knowing that while you can not see them, they can see you.
I have seen meteorite fireballs that have lit up half of the night sky. I have seen one of the two gigantic central cloud belts of Jupiter disappear. Mars is an interesting spectacle when it is nearest to us; as one can then see the polar caps clearly as well as planet-wide dust storms. The planet Neptune, while a challenge to see through that barlow lens on a small low power telescope, is a beautiful turquoise jewel to behold.
There are many tales of late-night equipment issues that all amateur astronomers have time to time; in which that telescope GoTo mount just will not behave and keep its tracking accuracy. Things have shorted out due to the late-night fog rolling in and soaking all of my equipment – causing an early retirement of the observing session.
One the the weirdest things that has been experienced is from the late 1970’s when I was sitting on my best friends front porch looking at the night sky, and a silent but bright object of a round shape floated across the sky. It was silent, but was glowing and dimming in a sequence as it transverses my field of vision and slowly disappeared over the woods.
A new Telescope Dolly design.
I had recently asked my brother Doug Johns for some advice on fixing up an old telescope dolly that I had obtained from a senior member of my local astronomy club. Doug is an experienced fabricator, musician, and all around cool guy. Instead of repairing it, he had designed a new dolly that is solid and secure. Here are a couple of pictures of it when he built it.
The design is so very simple and it secures the tripod legs with round metal cups at the base. I will be using this to roll the rig out from the garage. I will move the rig simply by pushing on the tripod legs. The wheels are all solid rubber – not inflated, which will also act as a vibration damper for the tripod. This is made from dense metal which will hold 200lbs and is very sturdy. Great work Doug! See the before-after pics.
Doug is also a professional musician – check him out at DougJohns.com
Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipse info: https://astrobackyard.com/supermoon-lunar-eclipse/
New mount has arrived
Check back frequently for updates! I have some big changes coming: a new rig, telescope dolly, observatory, variable star observing, and generally more participation and updates for 2019.
I received the new SkyWatcher EQ6r today. I am very impressed so far: it looks like this is the heavy mount I need that will provide the stability for the heavy 10″ OTA. The mount was purchased from High Point Scientific for $1,595.
I was surprised by the power adapter- it is a cigarette lighter type: no AC adapter. I will have to search for a DC-AC converter.
I continue to read the manual and do some initial testing in the basement. Also, my Meade LXD75-sn10 dovetail bar will not fit the mount securely. I have had to order a different dovetail that will fit from ScopeStuff.
New mount and autoguider on the way
I have just purchased a new Goto mount and autoguider from High Point Scientific.
The Orion Starshoot autoguider and a new Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount. I will pair this up with my Meade LXD75-sn10 Schmidt-Newtonian OTA. The origional Mead LXD75 mount is just not robust enough to effectively drive the large 10″ scope. I will give the LXC75 mount to the old 6″ Newtonian.
