Bill's Sky

  17 July 2023  Observation Log Tried to go out last night, but the battery for the red dot finder was dead. FOV (field of view) for the scope was narrow enough that I had difficulty getting aligned. Bought batteries today! Need to pay attention and be sure to turn the finder off when I am done with it. I took the scope out at dusk and aligned the finder with it using a light pole about a mile away. Tests later showed it was accurate enough to easily bring target stars in the FOV of the 27mm reticle eyepiece.  There is no moon tonight. I did a 2 star alignment using Arcturus and Altair. Tried to use GoTo to locate M103 but the scope was off below and left. I searched manually and was able to find the target. I had changed from the 27mm reticle to the 32 mm eyepiece, for its wider FOV. Once I located the target, I changed to the 25mm, and eventually the 13mm. With the 13mm, quite a few of the stars popped out. I spent quite a bit of time observing with each eyepiece....

1 July 2023 Decided to look at the almost full moon just using binoculars. Nikon 12x 50.5. Used TLAO to try to start picking out landmarks. I am starting to use the Lunar 100 checklist form the Astronomical League website. Mares Tranquilitatis, Fecunditatis, and Imbrium are easy naked eye targets. Can also make out Oceanus Procellarum. Humorum and and Nubium just look like extensions, or bays, off of Procellarum. With the binoculars I can also make out Vaporum. Craters Tycho, Copernicus, Kepler and Aristarchus. Though smaller, the sun is apparently hitting Aristarchus just right to make it stand out as a brilliant white spot.Located Grimaldi, just left of the lower part of Procellarum. There is another crater below and just left of Kepler that I have tentatively ID ed as Reiner. Can just make out Sinus Iridium.  

29 June 2023, The Moon This was the first clear night in some time. I was originally planning on setting up in the pasture, but the ground and grass were soaking wet, so I set up on the driveway. I had difficulty getting the alignment right Tried Arcturus and Vega, but couldn't get Vega in the field of view (was near zenith and I had trouble seeing in the red dot finder to get it close). Redid using Auto 2 Star for the first time, then went to Mizar. Alignment was still off, manually located Mizar and tried for M101, but couldn't see it. Moon was at 87%, and alignment may have still been off some. Tried M13 again, but couldn't locate it. Since the Moon was washing out so much, I decided to focus my effort on it. I got out my copy of "Turn Left At Orion", and used the pages for Days 9-10, and Full Moon, to identify landmarks. I started out with the 24mm reticle eyepiece in place still, then went to the 32mm. The entire Moon fit into the field of view for the 32MM. ...

22 May 2023 As long as I'm using this as a general astronomy journal, not just an observing log, I want to mention some things I bought to hopefully help me out. The first item is one that I mentioned before, "The NexStar Users Guide II". by Michael Swanson. This book has much more detailed information than the Celestron users guide that comes with the telescope. I credit this book for being able to have a successful night on May 6. It is part of the "Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series". More purchases were made that should help. First is an Astro-Tech 24mm illuminated reticle eyepiece, from Astronomics (https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech-24mm-illuminated-reticle-eyepiece.html). This should help me center the alignment target stars more accurately. I also considered the Celestron 13mm eyepiece with dual crosshairs, creating a small box in the center (https://www.celestron.com/products/crossaim-reticle-eyepiece). I decided on the Astro-Tech because of...

22 May 2023 (again) I wasn't originally going to bother setting up tonight because there were a lot of high clouds out before dark. But later as we were sitting there Anne noticed that the sky had cleared, and asked if I was going to out with the 'scope. Yup! The Moon and Venus were visible in the west above our hill, with Vega and Arcturus just becoming visible. There was still an ice halo around the moon. By the time I got set up the moon had moved into the tops of the trees, but Venus was still visible. To save time, I didn't bother with alignment, just used the hand controller to slew over to Venus so I could catch it before it went int the treetops. Using the 25mm eyepiece the image was sharp enough easily to make out that Venus appeared at about half phase. I tried the 2x Barlow for the first time. Paired with the 25mm eyepiece the view was much closer and defined. The edges were starting to waver some from the seeing conditions as it neared the top of the hill. The...

Observers Log, 6 May 2023 Set up the telescope for the first time this year! Set up just inside the pasture fence on the north side of the driveway, and just west of where the old concrete culvert comes out from under the driveway. Set up during daylight for a change, which was a nice change. Ran power from the wood shop. The Moon was effectively full (97.36%) and visible in the early evening daylight. After being sure the mount was level, I used the 25m eyepiece to look at the moon for a bit. I really need to get a good moon map and set up a regular observing program. Venus and Mars were already starting to go behind the trees on top of the hill behind us (west), so didn't even try or them. That hill blocks the west view up to about 45 Degrees. Having read the NexStar Users Guide II, I decided to use two star alignment for the first time. I went back out after it was starting to get dark, about 21:30 MDT and chose Arcturus and Procyon for alignment targets. I initially tried to us...

April 16. 2023 (Winter and Spring doldrums) Okay, it has been forever it seems like since I have had a chance to write anything on here, so this may end up being a long post. I haven't really done any observing since October. Cloudy days and nights, when there were clear nights it was very cold with snow on the ground (or falling). I didn't want to drag the scope out across the snow, ice, and uneven ground to where I could set up. it seemed like winter didn't want to let go this year. Spring has been almost as frustrating. Will have a few clear days, but clouds build and move in at night. That all said, I did get in a few naked eye observations and saw some pretty amazing cloud formations. One of the naked eye observations I did get to see was the lunar occultation of Venus on March 24. We live in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana, which runs north-south. The Bitterroot Mountains are the western side of the valley and the Sapphire Mountains are the eastern side. This can l...

21 August,2022 This post isn't about astronomy, just the sky. Neat cloud to the east over the Sapphires with sun low in west  

13 August 2022 Observing Log Set up at about 23:00 MDT. Didn't bother with exact level, just approximated. New Celestron red light flashlight works great. Saturn was up, Moon wasn't above the Sapphire Mountains yet. This is 2 days after the last "super moon" for 2022, called the "sturgeon moon". The sky was still bright enough to wash out most stars. This made getting the telescope aligned difficult. Trees block a significant part of the northern and northeastern sky. The hillside blocks below about 40 degrees of the sky from WSW to NNW. This adds to the difficulty, since some of the bright stars start to disappear behind the hill fairly early. I originally picked this spot because of the southern view and the access to power from my wood shop. I definitely need to try a different spot. I manually slewed to Saturn. With a 25mm eyepiece I could see Saturn ,its rings, and 2 of its moons. No detail or color,couldn't make out any bands on Saturn or divisi...

Observing Log 24 July 2022 I had tried to set up the scope and have it do a 2 star alignment a couple of weeks ago, but the battery charge got too low before I could finish. I ordered the AC adapter, and it arrived a few days later. This was the first time I had a chance to get out and try it. I picked a spot that gave decent views of the southern sky and set three flat paving blocks where the tripod legs would be. Power was run using an extension cord from the wood shop.I set up the telescope at about 23:00. The 2 star alignment function worked well. The only issue was that one of the stars I picked to try wasn't listed in the catalogue, so I had to pick another. Where I set up trees blocked the north and northeast skies. This limited my choices somewhat. Tried out the Sky Tour function. Still using the 25mm eyepiece. Some of the objects were hidden behind the trees or were still below the ridge line to the east. Did get a good view of Andromeda. No fine detail, but an elongated o...

Beginning                                        July 28, 2022 This is the start of a journal I am hoping to keep going. The goal is to document my education, learning, and experience as I get back into astronomy. I will also hopefully provide some useful links to help other beginning. This will also serve as an observing log, although not a very well organized one as I start my education in amateur astronomy.  

Thoughts on Starting This Journal This blog is going to be focused on astronomy. More specifically, my experience in learning and exploring the sky. That means that at times it is going to ramble. I am also going to use it as a log of my activities. Saying that I am drawn to the sky and fascinated by the stars is such a common sentiment it is almost a cliche. That doesn't make it any less a truth. For me, the sky and space are where I have always found peace. For some people it is a beach, beside a river, on a mountain, or some other special location. It can be music or some special activity. I find peace and contemplation in these places also. I have been lucky enough to have lived and traveled many different parts of this country, literally from coast to coast and in between. The one constant, no matter where I am, good times and situations or bad, has been the stars and their call to me. They give me peace. I am primarily interested in visual astronomy. There is a direct connect...