Observation reports - Northwich ...

Reading about other people's experiences at the eyepiece of a telescope often inspires us to view the glory of the night sky. Go forth and explore ...!

Remember, don't forget to send your observing reports to observations@maccastro.com.

05/02/07 - Venus and Mercury

As you know, Venus and Mercury are well placed in the sky this week so that they are very easy to observe by eye alone given a clear sky and horizon towards the west. However, this opportunity, I decided to experiment with various settings on my Olympus 5060 camera to try and capture a photo. At first, I was unsuccessful and getting very frustrated as most turned out to be poor. Mercury was setting fast in the gloaming when I decided (as a last attempt) to set the camera on auto on the night sky setting. Luckily this worked fine producing this photo which auto focussed on the foreground trees giving a slightly de-focussed Venus and Mercury. All the credit goes to this little camera.

Here are the technical details: Olympus 5060 zoom, ISO200, F4.0, 1.2sec exposure.

To view the image click here.

Tim J Leese

28/10/06 - Hydrogen Alpha Sun through a Coronado PST telescope

This is a great little telescope and I have been getting some very interesting views using it. Even though the Sun is quiet at this time, the PST shows something of interest. There have been prominences on show on each occasion.

I have found that the best and clearest views are obtained using 15mm or 18mm high contrast eyepieces. Yesterday's view changed quite quickly over the day but I managed to snap a decent view using my Olympus 5060 camera held onto the eyepiece. West is to the left but I am not sure what the object is on the limb. The prominences near to the bottom of the photo were very tenuous with the former object looking more solid. About 40 minutes later it had almost disappeared blending back into the limb of the sun.

Many thanks for making this great little telescope available for loan to the members.
To view the image click here.

Tim J Leese

29/04/05 - Solar observation and image

There is a large sunspot on view at the moment so I made a filter out of some Baader AstroSolar film and placed it over the end of my 8 inch Newtonian. The aperture is only 60mm but I was pleasantly surprised at the resulting image taken at 1400 UT.

Technical detail:
Telescope - 60mm solar filter on an 8 inch reflector 
Eyepieces -30mm Ultima
Magnification: x40
Camera - Olympus C5060 zoom digital camera.( zoom approx 76mm ) 1/60 second exposure, f/3, ISO 80.
Projection method - A-focal. To view the image click here.

Tim J Leese

23/03/05 - Cor Caroli observation

Star: Cor Caroli, 'Charles's heart'; Alpha CVn - double star; magnitudes 2.9 and 5.6.

(30mm Ultima) This star is one of my all time favourites for a Spring sky and well worth the search using any telescope. I  always relish the view through this refractor at this magnification. The primary star appeared as a white colour, but at times a delicate shade of pale yellow. The companion located at position angle 228 degrees and 19 arc seconds away appeared to be a pale blue colour at all times. An interesting viewing position at the telescope eyepiece though!

(9mm Or) A very nice wide split at this magnification. The stars seemed to show an improved contrast with the primary a pale yellow with a light lilac coloured companion. 9mm Or + x2 barlow - an exquisite image of a pale yellow star with a definite lilac coloured companion. There was no need for such a high magnification but I found it very interesting to see the delicate diffraction rings around the Airy discs. Any moments of steady and very still air were well worth waiting for. Superb.

Technical detail:
Seeing: 7 (1-10 seeing scale (10 best))
Location of site: Northwich, Cheshire. UK
Site classification: suburban
Conditions - Clear sky. Moon bright. Slight breeze at times
Telescope - 4inch f/15 Vixen achromat
Mount - EQ5
Eyepieces -30mm Ultima, 9mm Orthoscopic, 9mm + x2 barlow
Magnification: x50, x167, x333

Tim J Leese

19/12/04 - Double star observations

I started the night observing the Moon and Saturn which both revealed a great deal of detail. The Moon, at higher magnifications, revealed some fantastic views of mountain ranges, with shadows in sharp relief. I find that the Moon is a fascinating object to study with a new and exciting view each time I observe.

More patience was required with Saturn but when the high magnification imag.e eventually snapped into sharp focus, a fantastic view of Saturn was observed. The pale buttery yellow globe floating in the centre of its ring system always conveys the immensity of space and I was transfixed at the view in the eyepiece tonight.

The rest of the time was taken up observing some of the delights of a winter sky. Here are a few noted double stars:

Star: STF 470: 32 Eri: Double star: Eridanus: mag. 4.7: 6.1
Observations - (18mm Or) Using this eyepiece,  I obtained an absolutely  splendid view of this colour contrasting pair. I can see a few fainter stars in the same fov as the yellow primary and pale blue companion located about 7 arcseconds away.

(9mm Or) The contrast improves using this magnification with a golden yellow coloured primary and a cool blue companion. I have observed this double previously using an 80mm wide view refractor. However, the view from this long refractor is just superb. Outstanding.   I think this double is well worth searching out using high power.

Star: STF 668: Rigel: Double star: Orion: mag. 0.1: 7
Observations - (18mm Or) At this power, Rigel appears a very stunning off white colour. One can only wonder at the power of this dazzling gem. At first glance, I could have easily overlooked the mag. 7 companion almost hidden in the glare of Rigel. In moments of steady seeing though, the blue coloured companion was easily seen.

(9mm Or) This high power view was outstanding with Rigel scintillating slightly in the seeing. The companion, at just under 10 arcseconds, was easily seen using the higher power. This is one of the best gems to see in the winter sky and well worth observing.
 
Star: STF 774: Alnitak: Multiple star: Orion: mag. 2: 4: 10
Observations - (18mm Or) The close companion ( 2.6 arcseconds ) became a challenge using this magnification. Eventually, during moments of very steady air, the close white coloured companion popped into view against the glare of the white primary star. A third companion at about 60 arcseconds was glimpsed on occasion too.

(9mm Or) This star begs for a higher magnification and didn’t disappoint me tonight. A clear split of the bright primary and close companion. A superb view with a subtle colouration of pale yellow for the primary and a faintest purple tint for the companion.   Another glittering gem for a winters night.

Star: STF 748: Trapezium: Multiple star: Orion: mag. 6.0: 7.5: 5.1: 6.4: 11.1: 11.5
Observations - (18mm Or) Embedded in the great nebula of Orion, which never fails to impress using any telescope, the trapezium is easily resolved into 4 whitish stars. The faint 11 mag.nitude stars couldn’t be seen using this magnification.

(9mm Or) The higher magnification gave a better contrasting view with the 4 silvery white stars set against the background of the M42 nebula. With averted vision, a glimpse of one of the 11 mag.nitude stars was seen.

Star: STF 919: Beta Mon: Multiple star: Monoceros: mag. : 5: 5.6. Observations - (9mm Or) A beautiful system to observe using this refractor giving a classic view of this wonderful triple star. Using X167, the three stars were well resolved into a pure white star with two paler white companions. I find that it is very difficult to move off this star once it is located in the eyepiece and have viewd it many times using a variety of telescopes. I think that this multiple star is another great showpiece of the heavens. Not to be missed.

Star: STF 950: 15 Mon: Multiple star: Monoceros: mag. : 5.8
Observations - (9mm Or) A very nice multiple system located at the base of the Christmas tree cluster which is one of my favourite clusters. Using this magnification, the close pale orange coloured companion could clearly be observed against the glare of the yellow primary star.   A fantastic double, which appears to be a great show off with plenty of action in the nearby vicinity.

Technical detail: Date: 19 December 2004  19:3023:30 UT
Seeing: 7 (1-10 seeing scale (10 best))
Transparency: 9
Location of site: Northwich, Cheshire. UK
Site classification: suburban
Conditions: nice view of the Moon in a clear sky
Sky darkness: 3.0 UMi Limiting magnitude
Telescope: 4inch f/15 Vixen achromat
Mount: EQ5
Eyepiece: 18mm Orthoscopic, 9mm Orthoscopic
Magnification: x83, x167

Tim J Leese

31/08/04 at 1000UT - Lunar observation

An unexpected clear sky prompted a hasty telescope set-up to do some observing of faint double stars in Sagitta before the Moon became too bright. The Moon had just risen over the tree line and appeared so clear and crisp on this occassion that I pointed my digital camera lens into the exit pupil of the eypiece. Only one shot was needed to capture the resulting observation. A nice chill in the air indicated that autumn might not be that far away.

Technical detail: Conditions - Nice and clear. Moon rising, just past full
Sky darkness - 3.0 UMi - Visual limiting mag.nitude
Telescope - 200mm f/6 Newtonian reflector
Mount - Vixen GP
Eyepieces -30mm Ultima (X40)
Camera - hand-held Olympus 5060, set on auto (1/125sec, f4.8, ISO 80, ~70mm lens zoom ). To view the imag.e click here.

Tim J Leese

15/08/04 at 1000UT - Solar observation

Having read that a large group of sunspots were visible, my refractor lay in wait for a clear break in the weather. On Sunday morning a suitable opportunity presented and I quickly set up my 4" refractor armed with Baader AstroSolar film covering the OG. The seeing was only good to fair but I could clearly see two large groups of sunspots. A very large black cloud ominously loomed over from the North West so I quickly pointed my camera into the exit pupil of the eyepiece and captured just one shot before heavy raindrops began to fall. Hmm, typical of the weather this summer.

Technical detail: Telescope - 4inch f/15 refractor. Mount -EQ5
Eyepiece - 30mm Ultima ( X50 )
Camera - Olympus 5060, set on auto (1/400sec, f4.5, ISO 80, ~ 50mm lens zoom). To view the image click here.

Tim J Leese

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