What! No! It can't be! A *gasp* clear night ? Surely not. So first off I attempted to setup my camera in piggy back mode on the scope. Hmm. something wrong here. I screwed it in place, tightened the locking nut, yet it still moves. This is ominous. Anyway, I went out, and set up the mount. Powered up and carried out a SkyAlign. I used Betelguese, Almach and, I'm not really sure, but it was in a suitable place and it worked.
So I tried to take a dark or two on my piggy backed camera. This wasn't good because as soon as I touched the camera it moved. Hmm, this is not going to work. So I removed the camera,
So First up, I slewed around to Saturn. And had a play with the Clickstop. I set the 17mm Hyperion in the scope, attached the clickstop with my wifes camera attached and had a try at some afocal Saturn shots. However, you obviously need to setup the clickstop during the day when you can see what it is you are doing. I fiddled and faffed and fiddled some more, but I just couldn't seem to get the lens alligned. I managed one shot and there's just a blob. I unmounted the camera and tried hand held, which was a lot better, although still not great. I'm not sure the clickstop is going to work for me. It needs more careful planning for the next go. Neither image is good, so I haven't posted them.
I then slewed around to M44 as I was going to try the piggy back, but as the camera wasn't fixing properly, just had a quick look, very nice as always, and went back to Saturn. I changed to the 5mm Hyperion and Barlow (160x). I spent quite some time, just looking. I could definitely see the gap between the rings and the planet on the edges and the shadow of the rings across the planet. I'm pretty sure I saw a faint darkening about halfway between the rings and the poles. My eyes also told me that I could see a gap in the rings, I laughed at them and told them to stop being so stupid, with my little scope, I'm not going to get to see the Cassini Division.
Anyway, after about 20 minutes on Saturn, I started the slew to Mars (for some reason, I'd decided to have a Solar System night, almost sounds like some form of party). And my mobile phone rang. Hmm, had to go indoors and sort a few things out. I left the scope running.
Time Passes.... (for anyone familiar with old text based adventures)
After about 40 minutes and having set my camera up on a tripod, I got back out and there was Mars still in the FOV, although it had slipped a little, but that was easily fixed, with a short press of a button or two, ah the joys of a driven mount. So, I spent about 30 minutes or so starring at Mars, trying really hard to see something, anything other than this tiny little ball. In the meantime, this was interspersed with taking a sequence of frames on Gemini in RAW mode. Needless to say, that this was actually worse than the one I'd tried before in jpg mode, but I thing that was down to the moon. Anyway Mars, I don't know if this is possible, but it looked to me like the edge was slightly less round. And one edge looked slightly brighter. Of course I may have just imagined all that.
I gave up then, and I decided to try and spot a few new constellations I hadn't identified before. Oddly this seemed much easier than when I was first trying to learn the sky, maybe because of more reference point. Anyway, I added to my list of identified constellations:
Leo Minor, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, Bootes, Draco, Lynx, Canis Mino, and Corona Borealis, bringing my total up to 25.
Meanwhile, the mount was still tracking away merrily to itself, and Mars was still in the FOV. Anyway, as I wanted to look at the moon, I set to Lunar tracking rate, and slewed to the moon herself. Of course, as she was still below the roof at this point, but there we go. I took a couple of photos by taking the camera further up the garden, and here's what came out.
The Midnight Sun. One 30 second exposure, a little arty
The moon herself, full zoom (14x as I was testing something), 1/125 @ISO100, tweaked in PS
At this point, I was cold, so came in to have a go at the images and left everything running. Apart from the odd small wisp of cloud, there hadn't been any. This is important for alter.
I processed those images and stacked Gemini and then threw it away again. After about 45 minutes I headed back out. By this time, I decided I couldn't be bothered waiting for the moon to climb over the house, and if she would'nt get a move on, then I would just have to move everything to her. I moved the seating and gear, the mount and power supply, and realligned the mount using the RDF. Then I checked the ep. What was going on here. Lots of bright specks in the FOV. Hmm. I set the tracking back up using the moon. Checked the Objective lens, that was clear, checked the barlow, that was clear. Turned on the Lantern, to check the eye lens. Hmm, what's this? Everything was covered in little white specks. Damn, where had that light hail come from...
I got the Baader Optical wonder fluid and cleaned the ep. This sorted it out, and got to work on the Lunar surface. First up, Aristarchus which I'd intended to use as a reference, but it didn't quite work out that way. Then Sinus Roris and found Plato. I hunted around for the other craters listed around this area in my Atlas for a while, but there was not enough contrast. I moved onto the limb. Firstly, I picked off Atlas and Hercules, nice and easy and side by side, and right next door Endymion. From there Proclus on the Mare Crisium, although this was after hunting for Cleomedes, Geminum and Messala, which I gave up on for now. Then Langrenus, and studying for a few minutes, as the seeing slipped in and out, there were the rays. Then in the Mare itself, two bright and distinct little crateres, Messiers. From there Apollonius fell, and I think I found Tarantius. Then I found Cleomedes Geminus and Messala.
I'm not certain, but I may have seen Smythii (I saw something that may have been this, so I'm not going to tick this on the 100 yet). Onto Petavius and moved on along the limb to Snellius, Stevinus, Funerius (although I think this was just the wall in the terminator). I then went looking for Jansen. Again the seeing was fighting me, but after some time, I picked out the craters across the floor. I think I spotted Valis Rheita although again only just. I then starred back at Jansen again. After about 10 minutes, a faint line trace curving in a delicate arc, blossomed into view, I guess the seeing settled a bit, and I think this was the Jansen rille. Finally onto Fabricus.
My toes were growing icicles inside my boots, as, did I now notice, were my books, scope, mount and eyepiece. I figured that enough was enough before everything froze.
A very enjoyable night and everything has nearly defrosted. I'm now at 65 of the Lunar 100 and 5 of the 88 Constellations so I reckon that's also a successful night.
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