1510d 2012/04/06 15:30–16:00 EDT Foxmead POD 9 28cmsc
I found that the electrical problem was that my power bar was full of rain water from a recent storm! I switched to battery power, took the scope out of hibernation and had it go to:
Venus: slightly less than 50% illuminated, 70x.
Jupiter: pale in the blue sky, but belts visible, 70x.
Since I was on a roll, I then went to:
Sirius and Procyon, both clearly visible in a blue sky. Rigel, however, was not. 70x. This is the first time in my life I have ever observed stars in full daylight! Finally, I put on my Kendrick Baader filter and went to:
Sun: 4 spots in one group, for a sunspot number of 14, 70x. There's something quite terrifying about gazing into the face of Sol with a full 28 cm of aperture!
Temperature: 9.1°C
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
1509e 2012/04/04–05
1509e 2012/04/04–05 20:15–21:05 EDT Foxmead POD 8 28cmsc
Louise and I lifted the CPC1100 up onto the tripod just before supper.
Moon: nearly full, 70x
Venus: obviously less than 50% illuminated, 70x
Jupiter: just a glimpse before cloud moved in, 70x
It's great to have the CPC1100 back in operation!
Mars: north polar cap and some albedo features in south visible, but seeing very poor.
Temperature = 3.2°C
Louise and I lifted the CPC1100 up onto the tripod just before supper.
Moon: nearly full, 70x
Venus: obviously less than 50% illuminated, 70x
Jupiter: just a glimpse before cloud moved in, 70x
It's great to have the CPC1100 back in operation!
Mars: north polar cap and some albedo features in south visible, but seeing very poor.
Temperature = 3.2°C
Monday, April 2, 2012
2012/04/02
Yesterday, I had a visit from Katrina Ince-Lum, Sharmin Chowdhury, Phil Chow, and Blake Nancarrow. Blake returned my CPC 1100 mount which he had fixed. Today I reassembled the telescope, which was a bit of a challenge because I didn't bother to reread the disassembly instructions, with the result that I had to tear it all apart again and start over. It's now completely reassembled; the next step is to dismantle and remove the Explore triplet apo and CGEM mount currently in the POD.
Stage 2 of the transplant is now complete. I've packed the 127mm triplet away in its case, moved the CGEM into the house, and moved the CPC 1100's tripod out into the POD. Now all that remains to be done is to get Louise's help to carry the CPC 1100 tube and mount out into the POD, and heave its weight onto the tripod. However, she has injured her shoulder, so it looks like that's not going to happen today. It's probably going to be too cold to observe tonight anyway.
Stage 2 of the transplant is now complete. I've packed the 127mm triplet away in its case, moved the CGEM into the house, and moved the CPC 1100's tripod out into the POD. Now all that remains to be done is to get Louise's help to carry the CPC 1100 tube and mount out into the POD, and heave its weight onto the tripod. However, she has injured her shoulder, so it looks like that's not going to happen today. It's probably going to be too cold to observe tonight anyway.
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