a few burnhams

The rain last week pushed the bad air from the Bay Area.  With more on the way this week, there was a gap last night of relatively clear skies.  Transparency was poor (in fact the whole northeast was covered in low clouds), and dew was pretty heavy, but seeing was a decent 7/10.  Viewed what close doubles I could with Big Blue, 553x:

BU 1095: Very bright yellow- white A.  B is a very faint but consistent point resolved just beyond the first diffraction ring when seeing stills.  Nice to start off the night with this! [AB seen; AC and AD very wide and faint.]
00H 30M 07.34S +29° 45' 06.1" P.A. 16 SEP 2 MAG 5.22,13.10 SP A7III DIST. 62.77 PC (204.76 L.Y.)

STF 47: Easy; likely a triple.  Orange A star with 1.5 delta mag. B, 10".  Third star another 1 delta mag, further out in a similar PA.  [Correct about the triple; BU 1348 is the third star out, which is paired with both A and B -- pretty weird orbit, trying to picture it...]
00H 40M 19.78S +24° 03' 14.0" P.A. 205 SEP 16.6 MAG 7.25,8.82 SP A4III DIST. 131.58 PC (429.21 L.Y.)

BU 1310: Pretty orange stars but pairs are too faint; try with the 20-inch.  The equatorial platform is knocking (problem with the motor?) which interferes with the view; every couple of seconds a shudder through the scope.

00H 32M 39.47S +23° 11' 36.1" P.A. 213 SEP 3.8 MAG 6.86,11.80 SP G5IV DIST. 137.74 PC (449.31 L.Y.)

Ho 204: Nope.  Too faint.  Near zenith so tough to center.  Try in the 20.
23H 52M 14.16S +28° 34' 35.8" P.A. 357 SEP 5.7 MAG 8.52,10.70 SP K2

Ho 215 = 45 And: Disk seems not round but far for me to claim it.  try in the 20.
01H 11M 10.29S +37° 43' 26.9" P.A. 225 SEP 0.1 MAG 6.60,6.60 SP B7III-IV DIST. 242.13 PC (789.83 L.Y.)

BU 1147 = 2 And: Shard of light in the first diffraction ring.  But that's too far out (~1") to be it?  Try the 20.
3H 02M 36.34S +42° 45' 28.1" P.A. 137.7 SEP 0.05 MAG 5.19,7.70 SP A3VN DIST. 129.2 PC (421.45 L.Y.)

STF 2973: Yellow-white and surprisingly faint B -- appears as a haze and then a point appears with seeing; almost need averted vision.
23H 02M 45.15S +44° 03' 31.5" P.A. 39 SEP 7.5 MAG 6.41,10.14 SP B2V

Bvd 142: Orange stars, 1 delta mag, well separated (finder split).  B looks suspiciously like a pair -- but the transparency may be causing it to smear.  [!! This is quite an amazing catch considering the conditions!  AB is as described 7.80/10.28 79.6".  B is indeed a pair: TDT 3916 = BaBb, 10.69/11.41 0.6".  Discovered in 1991 and only one observation!  Holy cow!  Definitely try the 20!]
23H 10M 29.28S +41° 19' 18.7" P.A. 165 SEP 79.6 MAG 7.80,10.28 SP F5V+K0V

STF 2992: Well separated 2 delta mag. [AB seen; AC too faint]
23H 13M 06.32S +40° 00' 10.1" P.A. 285 SEP 14.3 MAG 7.66,9.59 SP A7III

NGC 7662: Blue Snowball, planetary nebula.  Even with poor transparency, near full moon, and red zone light pollution, this high surface brightness object shows.  Round shell, cut off slightly on one side; soft edges.  Two arcs of brighter filaments within the shell and hints of more detail.  No color; OIII no help (dims the object, actually)

STT 500: Disk seems not round, but unsure.  Try the 20.
23H 37M 32.03S +44° 25' 44.5" P.A. 20.3 SEP 0.4 MAG 6.08,7.38 SP B8V DIST. 247.52 PC (807.41 L.Y.)

BU 995: ! Very fine 4 delta mag, <0.8"
23H 47M 33.04S +46° 49' 57.2" P.A. 250 SEP 0.8 MAG 6.11,8.73 SP B3IV

BU 9001: Faint companion, wide separation. [AC seen.  AB, weirdly, is ES 9001, B star is fainter at 13.70 than C star.  AC Burnham was first in 1893, Espin AB second in 1914?  Why the reversed letter designation?]
00H 05M 09.75S +45° 13' 44.5" P.A. 235 SEP 21 MAG 6.69,10.58 SP A1VN DIST. 138.5 PC (451.79 L.Y.)

BU 997: Orange and blue, pretty, well separated.
00H 04M 57.53S +45° 40' 25.6" P.A. 337 SEP 3.8 MAG 7.64,9.39 SP F8IV-V DIST. 71.12 PC (231.99 L.Y.)

impromptu moon

With rain in the forecast I discounted doing any observing this week.  But while stepping outside last night to take out the garbage I noticed the moon was up with only a thin fog around it -- certainly worth the effort, which is none at all, to set-up and observe.  So I quickly opened up the shed and brought Big Blue out from its two week hibernation.  I viewed the moon at 310x with binoviewers at first, and the seeing was just barely able to support it.  No particular plan, and I didn't even open my atlas; just soaking in the views along the terminator, around Plato (four craters seen with some effort), along the limb with its hills on the horizon.  Then I switched to 97x, and followed a similar circular meandering path.  This time I was struck by the rays, their variety and greyscale, some in scattered fans, some in bright streaks, some blocked by mountains, and some, especially around Tycho, laying in a thick snow across the landscape. 

I thought about how the 20-inch would certainly best Big Blue on such a night, and give me some versatility.  If there are a clear few days next week I might set them up side by side and see exactly what the differences are.  I feel sad I am contemplating retiring Big Blue, it is such a fine scope and really is a "lifetime" back yard instrument.  But better is better.  If I could justify this by buying a portable large aperture scope for dark site deep sky work, then it would make the decision easier...

progress

I received the AutoCAL cable in the mail today and was able, after a couple of tries, to successfully do the program.  I failed the azimuth but after straightening the encoder arm with some washers it passed.  There has been some very bad wildfires so I haven't used the scope for a number of days.  Tonight I could just barely make our Daneb and Fomalhaut for a 2-star alignment.  It was good enough as I could go-to Mars pretty well.  I then slewed over to the moon; seeing was pretty good and I spent most time at 333x.  Plato revealed four craters, and the craters seemed more detailed than I recall.  The 20-inch really resolves well.

I plan to redo my wheelbarrow handles tomorrow and may have to move the scope back inside as there is some rain coming.  I think I need a fine-focus knob--I can snap to focus but with seeing I feel I could use some critical focus.  It started to dew up pretty good which is a good sign -- the wind is more on shore, and the air wetter, which means the smoke should start to be pushing to the east.  Hope there is another night or two for me to confirm the tracking is as improved as I think it is.

servo working

With the current spell of relatively clear weather I've kept my 20-inch set-up in the back yard and have been working on the servoCAT set-up.  Happily with a new setting program from the vendor, it finally works!  Tracking is smooth but has a very slow drift, but I can work it out with the tracking improvement protocols in the manual.  

Last night I spent some time going goto to various Messier objects, then Mars, Uranus, and Neptune.  It was a real pleasure to move object to object and have a look.  I need to work on better star alignment and the improving the tracking, but it will get better and I hope to really enjoy the new capability -- like spending time really studying objects, changing magnification, and all the rest.

early morning binos

I woke at 5:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, worrying about things at work.  I could tell it was clear from the glow of moonlight in the window so I snuck outside without waking anyone with my binocular mount and the 15x70s.  First some scanning around, more or less at random, to take in the views.  Once again I'm impressed at how many colored (red, orange, blue/white) stars there are, and the new associations to see (which might have to do with the inverted view).

I found Sirius then did a little hop down to find M41, which even in the moonlight and hazy horizon was lovely with scattered stars, with two prominent orange stars in the center.  The depth of field was nice.  Orion next, viewed through a gap in the trees: the entire sword, with the great nebula very clear and hinting at its full 2 degree extant -- just imagine it under a darker sky!  The the belt, with the S-shaped trail of stars.  I tried to find M35 but did not, and M46 & 47, but did not -- star hopping is a little awkward as yet, and I didn't have an atlas so I relied on memory.  I noticed Leo just edging his front above my roof, and thought I could sweep up M44, the Beehive -- I aimed the mount in azimuth to where I though it would be in front of Leo's forepaw, then swept up with the mirror, and voila, there it was.  It nearly filled the view and spangled with its double stars; looked more like a large Christmas tree.

I ended by giving up what night vision I had and looked at the moon, sharp with details and black sky all around it to the edge terminator (no earthshine, facing away?) with some purple and yellow fringe.  Amazingly sharp rays and a chiaroscuro in the mare.  So much detail to find.

I often wish I could observe in the mornings; the seeing is much calmer, and it's a very nice way to start the day -- I feel refreshed rather than tired out from the night.  Wish I could make more time for it in my schedule.

one double and the moon

The the sky the night of the 19th was quite obscured with marine haze and it was dewy and cold, and I was tired...  I tried one double but was discouraged of seeing many of the B stars, so went on to a very rewarding session on the moon.

BU 677: Upped the magnification, to make sure no trick; checked the CDSA index to make sure what I was seeing -- 2 delta mag but very wide faint stars.  There's another one I notice with averted vision and then can hold with direct, which is another of the set.  [AB was the first, AC the second 11.2, 15.5"]
20H 47M 10.72S +34° 22' 26.8" P.A. 120 SEP 8.1 MAG 4.94,10.03 SP K3III

I used 310x and binoviewers, as the seeing was good 8/10.  I started out with crater John Herschel, then South -- the two observing buddies with adjacent craters, both with rough and rubbly floors, but Herschel being the larger.  I was able to just make out Sharp Rille and a quavering line below the Louville hills.  Gruithuisen Domes were interesting, being among the largest of the type and steep-sided.  Harbinger Mountains and Prinz Rilles next, and I could see a few more smaller of these besides the main five.  Crater Caroline Herschel was a night sight, a multi-terraced, sharp round crater.  I checked crater Kriger to see if it had its rabbit ear shadows, but they were stumpy -- I must be a day late to catch them.  The Marius Rille made a great impression (no pun intended), long and sinuous with a long rounded hook.  I checked carefully for Suess Rille but could not see it. 

plato craterlets and more

The night of the 18th had quite good seeing, which I hope I exploited well.  Using Big Blue and starting with binoviewers, at 310x (I likely could have gone higher), I saw five of the craterlets on the floor of Plato right off (A, B, C, and D) and with a little effort e, which is near a mass of slumped rock.  Crater W was also visible within the bowed in rubble fall.  Really exciting.  Of course I spent time going over other detail in the area, but this was a highlight.

Later I switched to 553x and went after some doubles, though the marine haze interfered:

BU 167: Four delta mag, <2" very faint point holds steady with seeing, just beyond first diffraction.  Yellow-orange A, blue B.
21H 36M 13.98S +30° 03' 19.5" P.A. 88 SEP 1.7 MAG 6.37,9.95 SP G8III

AD Cyg: Very faint, hints of colors in finder, deep orange in the scope.  Nice!

Ho 603: Orange and very wide separation B, bluish. [AB seen; BC is 11th mag 3.6" and should be doable in the 20-inch]
21H 32M 04.61S +34° 12' 06.1" P.A. 251 SEP 80.5 MAG 7.53,9.82 SP F0

BU 692: Tried pretty hard at 553x, 887x, but no sign of 11th mag. B.  Disk at 887x, seeing is so good!  Orange star.  [5 stars in system]
21H 50M 05.37S +31° 50' 52.4" P.A. 10 SEP 2.9 MAG 7.47,11.03 SP K0

STF 2822: Yellow and light orange pair, ~1", 1 delta mag.  Very pretty, subtle colors.  [7 stars in system, many faint and wide.]
21H 44M 08.57S +28° 44' 33.4" P.A. 324.2 SEP 1.5 MAG 4.75,6.18 SP F6V+G2V DIST. 22.24 PC (72.55 L.Y.)

TW Peg: Deep orange star--orange in finder too.

Ho 178: Another 11th mag -- can't see it for the haze & moon's scattering light. 
22H 11M 28.36S +32° 05' 09.9" P.A. 223 SEP 3.4 MAG 7.40,11.16 SP F0

STF 2881: Light orange stars, ~1 delta mag, 2-3".
22H 14M 34.67S +29° 34' 20.6" P.A. 76 SEP 1.3 MAG 7.65,8.24 SP F6III