Wayne B., who lives only five miles from DRA as the crow flies, reports that the coast is socked in with dense clouds, confirming the worst of . . . → Read More: CANCELLED: DRA Star Party of April 21, 2012]]> Regrettably, the gods of clouds and rain have bested us again. We will *not* be meeting tonight, Saturday, April 21, at Damariscotta River Association or anywhere else.

Wayne B., who lives only five miles from DRA as the crow flies, reports that the coast is socked in with dense clouds, confirming the worst of the many consistent weather reports for the region. Tonight is predicted to add rain, maybe as early as a shower at 9:00pm, with steadier rainfall after midnight. The Clear Sky Chart predicts impossible nights for astronomers extending through the weekend. We’re beat for this week.

I do not anticipate being available to host a rescheduled party the following weekend, Friday the 27th through Sunday the 29th, but I hope CMAS will meet without me. Volunteers for organizing the party are welcome to telephone or email me. I’ll get you started and be available to help form afar. Ya never know. It may be CMAS’s best party ever! Who will make it happen?

Clear skies!

Jon Silverman, President
MaineAstro@gmail.com
207/619-CMAS
207/619-2627

Jacob's first solar image

A turning point in a long career in astrophotography, this is our Treasurer’s first attempt at solar imaging. It was shot through a Grasshopper Grey Point camera aimed through a Lunt 80 Solar Scope, single stacked, and is comprised of 90 stacked TIFF images processed in Registax and . . . → Read More: Jacob’s First Solar Image]]>  

Jacob's first solar image

A turning point in a long career in astrophotography, this is our Treasurer’s first attempt at solar imaging. It was shot through a Grasshopper Grey Point camera aimed through a Lunt 80 Solar Scope, single stacked, and is comprised of 90 stacked TIFF images processed in Registax and Photoshop.

I always marvel that the same Sun that brings us life could be such a writhing, hot ball of lethal, radioactive majesty up close. I say, “Keep it where it is, and, with Jacob’s help, look at it from afar!” Wonderful, isn’t it, both for real and in this image?

Please visit this Doodle poll . . . → Read More: POSTPONED: March 24 Star Party at Galaxy Quest]]> The star party originally scheduled for March 24 at Galaxy Quest Observatory in Lincolnville is postponed due to clouds. Weather reports show a deceptively clear late afternoon, but significant cloud cover by the time the party would start, followed by thick clouds horizon to horizon as the evening progresses.

Please visit this Doodle poll to vote on rescheduling the date:

http://www.doodle.com/h5cinn6nfqb3zh4g

Everyone has been wonderful in planning for this party. The enthusiasm for showing the stars to so many 6th and 9th graders has been heartening. We look forward to pouring all that energy into the new date, to make this the best field trip those students ever have!

Weather reports predicted a partly cloudy to clear evening, followed by clouds later at night. Upon arrival during a spectacular . . . → Read More: Galaxy Quest Star Party of February 26, 2012]]> CMAS enjoyed its return to Galaxy Quest, after a year of repeated cancellations there due to bad weather. The party was small, but otherwise excellent. There were five of us, including one new member.

Weather reports predicted a partly cloudy to clear evening, followed by clouds later at night. Upon arrival during a spectacular sunset, the clouds on the horizon were a bit thicker than we’d hoped, but there were clear views of the skies above. We were collimating the big Dob and learning how to align the 5-inch refractor’s GoTo mount when our new member arrived with his father’s classic Celestron C8 from the 1970s, so we had quite an eclectic evening ahead! We quickly agreed to an optics cleaning party, as now two of us have antique C8s needing cleaning.

As the sky darkened, a view of Venus to test the Dob’s collimation proved three things: the collimation was not yet perfect, Venus was at about three-quarter phase, and blocking just over half of the big scope’s aperture by trying to view Venus through the roof of the observatory had little affect on the quality of the image! Turning the big Dob toward the Eskimo Nebula, we decided its mount needed lubricating, a project for another time. It was simply insufficiently smooth as to be pointed successfully at anything under high magnification, so it jerked past its target at every nudge.

At this point, we ran inside the observatory to get warm in the heated control room. One thing lead to another, resulting in a detailed tour of the automated roll-off roof; the remarkable, fully-computerized, remotely-operable astrograph (truly impressive to watch it slew!); and even the 500 vicious Siamese cats awaiting release from their underground kennels into the observatory above, should anyone trip the elaborate burglar alarm. Most unexpected were subtleties designed to protect the observatory from rain during automated or remote operation, such as the clock on the WiFi that automatically closes the roof five minutes after the Internet connection is lost.

By the time we ran back outside with fresh, hot cocoa, the clouds were obscuring all but the brightest stars. Nevertheless, and to our surprise, we had an astonishingly clear view of rising Mars through the 5-inch refractor, complete with surface details, including the polar cap. The clouds were thick and the time now late, so we decided to pack up. Following the Rule of Cosmic Cause and Effect, by the time everything was stored, the clouds had passed, revealing clear, dark skies!

It can be hard to convey what a wonderful time one can have at a star party, even when the weather won’t cooperate. Everyone was glad to have attended. We saw amazing things in the sky and on the ground; and, with our usual technical wizards unavailable on this date, we improvised our way toward being more self-sufficient in the operation of our biggest scopes. Let’s hope to see more of us next month, when we meet at Galaxy Quest again!

Rising in the early morning darkness for no publishable reason, I happened to spy a glaring globe in . . . → Read More: Proper Clothing Assures Opportunistic Viewing]]> Saturn and Venus are visible again, if only one knows how to see them. As a service to my fellow CMASers, I am posting details of how proper clothing aids in seeing these old friends.

Rising in the early morning darkness for no publishable reason, I happened to spy a glaring globe in the sky through the window in the stairhall. “Venus,” I thought to myself. “Must be. It’s brighter than Jupiter, which set through the trees at bedtime.” GoSkyWatch, the fastest loading astronomy software on my iPod Touch, showed that not only Venus, but also Saturn would be visible a bit higher in the sky, hidden in the treetops. Glorious Saturn, hidden from our hemisphere for six long months! Being a balmy 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside with no wind chill, I resolved to step outside to the shore of the lake for a better view.

Time was of the essence, as the brightening twilight would soon obscure the prizes. After warming my overboots by the pellet stove, I pulled them over my slippers. Then, I zipped my ice fishing coat over my pajamas, grabbed the Meade TravelView 12×50 binoculars and Celestron FirstScope 3″ Dob, and headed outside.

I was perfectly warm, but if not taking the time to dress for public appearances let me see my quarry, optics still mattered. Both instruments exhibited enough coma to hide the objects, so I ran inside for my Jason / Towa 60mm refractor (available for $50 to $125 used, or, from what I can see, $2,000 new old stock from Parks Optical). Took just the one Owl Astronomy Black Knight 25mm Super Plossl that was already attached (highly recommended! don’t be put off by the low price), but… Saturn had already vanished into the increasing sunlight. Venus was nevertheless perfect, sharply revealing herself to be about three-quarters full. Gotta love grab-and-go antique scopes with modern oculars!

The lesson for me was to always dress warmly, if not stylishly, and never to skimp on optics. Cheap binoculars and rich field scopes are fine for discerning fields of dim stars, but are ill suited for planetary work. Had I grabbed the larger Jason the first time out, I’d have seen Saturn’s rings. No biggie. I’ve had months to study Jupiter, and look forward to soon being able to see Saturn for months and months at more convenient hours.

Here’s a very recent image composed of frames taken at the Galaxy Quest Observatory in Lincolnville. We’ve been working on getting the observatory back up and running after various equipment failures and software glitches. All the images that were used to make this final image were taken robotically, without the intervention of humans! . . . → Read More: Little Dumbbell Nebula]]>

Here’s a very recent image composed of frames taken at the Galaxy Quest Observatory in Lincolnville. We’ve been working on getting the observatory back up and running after various equipment failures and software glitches. All the images that were used to make this final image were taken robotically, without the intervention of humans! The final image is 500 minutes of exposure time in Luminance, and RGB color filters. That’s about 8.5 hours worth.