Home › Forums › RAC Main Forum › General Discussion › Observing tonight? › Reply To: Observing tonight?
Anybody observing this weekend? I’m happy to go to Eagle Bluff if available or Root River. 🙂
Last weekend I hit Root River, packed up hastily, got there after dark but it is so great to be able to turn the light on/off. But, I packed up rather quick and forgot my light shroud. 😮 I found a vikings blanket that we won at a Honker’s game in the back of my car. It was the perfect width but a little long. I pinched it into the truss bolts and then found a roll of electrical tape in my astronomy stuff. I wrapped that around tight on the top and bottom and made it work! Without it I would have had contrast problems but the real issue would have been dew. I had no dew all night.
I bagged five Herschel 400 objects (completed Pegasus and Cassiopeia), got pics of T Cor Bor, which better blow up soon or wait until next go-round, and took 95 images at 25 seconds of Andromeda Galaxy with darks and biases… and that didn’t turn out. Apparently I need way longer exposures. I was taking them with the Sky Adventurer and Canon R50… I forget what focal length. Somewhere between 200-300. Disappointing that I haven’t figured out what my Canon needs to bag that galaxy.
I’m up for observing on Friday or Saturday (maybe both if the family won’t complain) and I plan on getting there before dark this time (for real), and remembering to bring everything.
In about 10 days it will be perfect to see comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. I pray we have good weather for it. I really want to get some shots of it. I heard our temporary moon will be sticking around until November but it’s mag 27 or something like that so maybe Randy can pull it in with his light cask for us. 🙂
Orionids are tending with a Full Moon this year… not too excited about that.
And remember… there are no politics in the cosmos! So, keep looking up! 🙂