November 14, 2023 Observing Notes

     This was my first chance to get out and observe since October 19. Before going out, I used TLAO and Stellarium to make a tentative observing list. Proposed targets were M30, which is a globular cluster; M52, an open cluster; M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.

There were a few clouds widely scattered, but mostly clear sky. Transparency wasn't great, but most of the sky was workable.  Jupiter was clearly visible when I started setting up, just after sunset. By the time I was all set up Capella and a few other stars were visible. I did an All Sky Align using Capella, Saturn, and Jupiter. This is the first time I have tried mixing planets with a star for alignment and it seemed to work well.

I slewed to M30 using the goto function. It was easily in my FOV, but was very faint. I slewed back to Capella, set a cover over most of the scope and a plastic cover over the table with my eyepiece case to protect from dew, and went in for dinner. I left the scope tracking Capella, hoping it would maintain alignment and I wouldn't have to redo it. Unfortunately, that didn't work out.

When I set up, I didn't unreel the extension cord off the reel completely. The plug was exposed enough That I could plug the ac adapter into it. I just sat the reel with the remaining cord under the tripod with the adapter plugged in. The male plug on cord to the mount isn't very tight. With the cord extending all the way to the ground, there was enough weight or tension to cause the plug to loosen in the socket. This interrupted the power  so I had to realign. After realignment, I tried to goto M30 again but it had moved just behind the trees to the SW. 

This happened about a total of three times before I unspooled the extension cord and moved the adapter up to the spreader tray on the tripod. This is where I have always put it before, and didn't have any problems. I also seemed to be more clumsy than usual and bumped the tripod legs a couple of time, which didn't help alignment at all. Between the power issues, my clumsiness, and transparency issues, I was unable to locate the other targets. About 21:30MST I started shutting down. Clouds had obscured the entire southern half of the sky. Dew was also starting to form on the collector plate, even though the dew shield was installed. 

It was 33 degrees F when I went back out after dinner and frost was forming. By the time I shut down, there was heavy frost on everything. There was no frost on the collector plate, and I had protected the eyepieces, but the dew on the collector plate was covering about a third of the aperture. 

Lessons learned from a frustrating night (not necessarily in order of priority):

1. I had dressed plenty warm enough (Insulated Carhartt bib overalls, fleece jacket liner, Carhartt jacket with quilted lining and hood, knit cap). I also had a pair of insulated work gloves. Those gloves were bulky enough that I had to take them off to do anything with the controller or eyepieces. My fingers at a couple of points actually started to get numb. So I need to get a set of thinner gloves I can use, or possibly mittens where the fingers fold back. I need to think about this.

2. Be sure the power plug is well secured and that there is plenty of slack in the cord. Next time I want to try to leave it unattended, use "Hibernate" setting.

3. I was hoping the dew shield would be enough by itself but it wasn't. This is the first time I have actually had it not work 100%. I need to look into getting a dew heater. At least with one heater for the collector, possibly the camera lens if I try any photography, and the diagonal.

Instant Christmas list!