AN OBSERVATORY FOR THE GARDEN

You're more than welcome, Jiffy.

Hi Fern, I didn't stay up to the early hours as the clear skies meant a bright Moon which always makes it harder to see the further Nebulas and Galaxies. Having said that I had a really good "trek" around the Moon and used the night to make sure everything was working well. I found out that using the big 12" aperture scope that the tripod was not set high enough for the scope to clear the base wall and give a full view when looking at a star low on the horizon
So today I had to raise the tripod by about 6" to get it to the right height, which meant taking off the 33lbs of counterweights and the 75lbs scope. Then once I'd raised the tripod I found trying to hold the 75lbs scope at more than head height with one arm while trying to fit it into the "saddle" of the tripod and tighten the two bolts that clamp the scope to the tripod was not only awkward for one person but almost dangerous. But luck was with me and I managed it on the 2nd attempt without losing any fingers
That meant moving the tripod from it's original position as with the Dew Heater/Shield attached, [which increase the length of the scope by over 18"], it was almost touching the Dome roof. That done, I downloaded the Moon Atlas onto the Laptop which I use in the Observatory along with the Astronomy Program "Stellarium", [which shows you your actual night sky for the night and can identify any stars], so if I get stuck on identifying a feature on the Moon it will give me the information...........we're getting there.

 

I took advantage of the clear skies last night to spend a few hours staring at the stars in the Observatory. The Moon is quite high in the sky but is moving into it's full stage and so is very bright. If you look at the Moon through the scope without putting a filter on you get a "black spot" in your vision as it's like staring into a searchlight!! So I used a blue filter that absorbs a lot of the brightness but allows you to see the features of the Moon quite clearly. Jupiter was over to the Northeast early in the evening so wasn't worth looking at until around 1am. Raising the tripod has solved the problem of the Scope getting a clear view without being obscured by the Observatory wall so that is one wrinkle out of the way. I did find out though, later on, when observing Jupiter that although I could use the eyepiece in a comfortable position the two aids that I use to find stars easier [a] the Telrad


which is attached to the scope

and the Finder Scope [the smaller scope] which you can see in above pic at the rear of the scope. Due to the high angle of the rear of the main scope and the fact I had had to raise the tripod around 6" earlier meant that the Telrad and the Finder Scope were too high up for me to look through. So I've ordered another Telrad base plate which I can stick onto the main scope into the needed position. That means when I find that the Telrad is too high I can detach it from it's present base plate and move to the second one and use it to zone it on the star I want. Trying to find the star you want to look at using just the main scope is surprisingly hard, even though you can see it in front of you!! So being able to use at least one of the aids is a boon, keeps the blood pressure down and gives you less stress. Astronomy is a peaceful, quiet, stress relieving hobby???......................don't believe it!!

 

It's quite understandable, I guess, D&Y, that your friend should feel that way due to the continuous cloud cover, rain etc that has plagued the UK for such a long time. The Webmaster of the Forum AstroShed lost his "mojo" with Astronomy last May and started to sell off all his gear. I bought his super modded Mak 180 off him and it's a beautiful scope, however, as I say quite often, you can have all the most wonderful, expensive, hi-tech stuff and when clouds arrive you're in the same situation as the kid with a toy telescope!!
I thought long and hard about ordering the Observatory, the cost of all the stuff to put it in working order, and the cost of the concrete base for it, and the seemingly increase for cloud cover over the last couple of years here in the UK was not encouraging. But I finally took the view that with having the Scope set up permanently in the Observatory, and not having to lug the tripod out, then the Scope, set it up, align it to the Polar Star, power it up, etc, at least gave me the ease of just walking out of the Kitchen door, stepping into the Observatory and being able to observe almost immediately, and even getting only the occasional night, would keep the pleasure of observing alive. Having to, as I said, lug a 75lbs tripod out onto the patio, then the 75lbs Scope, and then spend 10 to 20 minutes setting it up is one of the things that will stop an amateur astronomer from getting up out of his comfortable chair, getting dressed for some hours in the cold. Then finding conditions aren't as good as he/she had hoped is really disappointing is another factor.
Even on what appears to be clear skies the viewing both for visual and astro-imaging can be less than good due to the ever turbulent atmosphere, so you have to be a bit resigned, while being an Optimist at the same time!!

 

Well, last night was an eye opener. Yesterday was cloudy and windy and although they were forecasting clear skies at some time during the night there was not sign of it every time I looked, every hour, outside the Kitchen door . But then I gave one last resigned look at 11pm and found the skies clearing. So I donned my warm jacket and boots and stepped into the Observatory and opened the Shutter and was ready to stare at the Stars. Light pollution is nearly always a problem for most suburban or urban amateur astronomers and I'm no exception. There is a scale for light pollution called the Bortle Scale which goes from 1 to 10, with the higher the number meaning a higher, [worse], amount of light pollution. I rate my area as a 4 on the Bortle scale but last night the atmosphere was so clear and stable that it looked more like a 3. I could see far more stars than normal and feeling happy and relaxed I decided to use my binoculars to pick out points of interest as it seemed such a long time where I've been observing frequently enough to be organised. Anyway, I spotted a small "smudge" in the Constellation "Canis Major" which was due South of me and used the visual aids on the scope to zone in on the "smudge"
The smudge turned out to be the Nebula Ced 96a and whatever words I use will not describe the view I got of it. I started off with a low power eyepiece and then gradually upped the power until I suddenly realised I felt that I could reach out and touch it In the centre of the Nebula were 3 bright stars that I could see and they seemed to be lighting the clouds of dust so that they seemed to glow.............just amazing. I spent hours just looking at the different parts of the Nebula and the stars close to it until when I found the Constellation was getting low in the West and, when I looked at my watch, it was 4am. Time for bed said Zebedee..............but what a night!!!

 

I actually have two CCD astronomy cameras, Apple Blossom, but having only just got the Observatory operational, and still ironing out the wrinkles that always come with working getting things just right and feeling comfortable. So at the moment I'm just getting used to the big scope, which I've only had a few months and modified it to fit on my GOTO computerised tripod. So for the next few weeks I will be doing visual observing rather than astro imaging. But give me some time and then I will start using the cameras.!!

 

Congratulations on getting it all up and running. You've done a surprising amount of work whilst I've been away

I didn't see any mention amongst the signs you put up of 'Cat's not allowed'!

 

Only if you let it and want to "impress" people, Apple Blossom I'm a great advocate of the KISS principle [Keep it simpe, Stupid]. When it gets too technical there is a tendency for the enjoyment to slip away!!