Sunspots!!!

April 26, 2012 – 3:43 pm

Today I got solar filters for my binoculars. The Sun is pretty cool to look at. You have to be very careful though. Without proper filters you could wreck your equipment, or even worse your eyes. I was extra careful and taped my filters on to make sure they wouldn’t fall off. Once again I wish I had the ability to take pictures of what I am seeing. I was able to see sunspots with my 15×70 binoculars with the solar filters on of course.

The last time I saw sunspots in real life was in 6th grade science class. Back then we projected the sun onto a white surface to see the sun sunspots. They look much cooler seeing them actually on the Sun. The next thing I need is a tripod for my binoculars. 15×70 binoculars are hard to hold steady. Up until now I’ve just been resting my arms on the deck railing to hold them steady. The Sun was too high in the sky to do that, and was hard to hold the binoculars steady.

I can’t wait for the next solar eclipse now. Sadly where I’m located the next visible solar eclipse isn’t until October of 2014.

By Mason | Posted in Quick Sighting | Comments (0)

Bad view of Saturn, nice view of Sun with eclipse glasses

April 23, 2012 – 1:39 pm

Last night I was able to catch Fraser Cain’s Star Party on Google+. He does them every Sunday night, and I think they are a must watch. If you can’t stay up late, you can watch them after the fact. Last night’s party was cut a little short because of technical problems, but still fun times. The telescope setups people have make me drool.

After the party I took my telescope out to try and get a shot of Saturn. I was pretty disappointed with my view of Saturn. I wasn’t even able to make out the rings. I don’t know if it’s because of bad optics, or just the small size of the telescope, but the Moon and maybe Jupiter are about the only objects that I can get good views of. I’ve been looking at a number of telescopes, and plan on upgrading mine sometime this summer.

Today I received the eclipse glasses I ordered thanks to the tip from Phil Plait. It was pretty amazing to look at the Sun with them. I don’t think I will be able to make out sunspots with them, but I am now ready for any solar eclipses and might get a view of the Venus transit. I ordered some solar filters for my binoculars, and am looking at making one for my telescope.

I just wish I had pictures to share here. Maybe when I get my new telescope I will dabble in astrophotography a little more.

By Mason | Posted in Quick Sighting | Comments (0)

2012-03-25 Sight Report- First Good Look at the Moon

March 25, 2012 – 9:57 pm

It was cloudy all weekend, but tonight there was a little opening in the clouds towards the west. I had a great view of the Moon between Venus and Jupiter.

Viewing Conditions

Loc:46º49′N, 96º50′W
Temp: 40ºF, Partly Cloudy
Transparency: 2/5, Seeing: 2/5

Equipment

  • Meade 60mm refractor 25mm EPs
  • Celestron Skymaster 15×70 binoculars

What I saw

  • Moon
  • Jupiter w/four moons
  • Venus

Moon
It’s been a while since the Moon has been visible in the early evening. I spent most of my viewing time on the Moon. It’s probably the best object to view with my cheap telescope. Tonight was the first time I could spend some serious time on the Moon. The feature of the Moon that stood out the most was Mare Crisium. I used Moon HD on my iPad to figure out a few of the craters I was able to see.

Jupiter
I still haven’t been able to get a real good view of Jupiter with my telescope, but I was able to make out the four moons. I don’t think I can ever get bored looking for Jupiter’s moons.

I’m feeling like I have outgrown my telescope already. There are many things I would like to try to view, but just aren’t possible with my current scope. I’ve been pricing new telescopes and a new Dobsonian might be in my future.

By Mason | Posted in Sight Report | Comments (0)

Spotted three Galilean moons

March 17, 2012 – 2:08 am

It was another beautiful and clear night last night, but I didn’t really have the time to dig out my telescope. That is why binoculars can be great. It takes no time to whip them out for some quick viewing. Since Jupiter and Venus look so amazing, I thought I would spend a little more time on them.

A few days ago I spotted Ganymede, Jupiter’s (and the solar system’s), largest moon. Well last night I spotted three of the four Galilean moons. The four Galilean moons are Jupiter’s four largest moons, and they were discover by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with a telescope that was probably no better than my binoculars. The three moons I saw were Calisto, Europa, and Ganymede. I looked them up on Stellarium. Io, the moon I couldn’t see, was too close to Ganymede to be visible through my binoculars. I will have to catch Io on another night.

By Mason | Posted in Quick Sighting | Comments (0)

My new 15×70 binoculars

March 14, 2012 – 1:44 pm

Yesterday I got a new pair of Binoculars. Amazon has a great deal on a pair of Celestron SkyMaster 15x70s for $62! They are normally over $100. I couldn’t resist.

Celestron SkyMaster 15×70


These things are huge, and give you a great view. The 70mm objective lenses brings in so much light, it make them hard to use during the day, but great for night viewing. I didn’t spend a ton of time viewing last night, but I had to check out Venus and Jupiter. The pair are a beautiful site in the west, and will be closest together on Thursday.

With my new Binoculars I was able to make out one moon of Jupiter. I checked out the current location of Jupiter’s moons on Stellarium, and all four Galilean moon were on the same side. My guess is the moon I saw was Ganymede since Stellarium said it was the brightest. It also happens to be the largest moon in the Solar System.

15×70 binoculars are great, but they are kind of heavy, and hard to hold steady. You really do need a tripod for them. I had to rest my arms on the deck railing to get a steady look. After I knew what I was looking at I took out my 10×50 Celestron Binoculars, probably the perfect size for hand use, and I was able to see Ganymede with them too. I’m pretty sure that was the moon I was seeing through my scope on Saturday night. It just proves that with more experience I will be able to see more things, even with my 10×50 binoculars.

By Mason | Posted in Gear | Comments (0)

2012-03-10 Sight Report–First night out

March 11, 2012 – 7:02 pm

Last night was our first warm (38ºF) night with clear skies that I have been able to get my telescope out. Our yard is still full of snow, so I was limited to what I could see from the deck.

Equipment

  • Meade 60mm refractor 25mm and 9mm EPs (Not the best scope, will be upgrading soon)
  • 10×50 Celestron binoculars

What I saw

  • Jupiter
  • Venus
  • Mars
  • M42 (Orion Nebula)
  • M45 (Pleiades)
  • Mizar and Alcor (double star in the Big Dipper)

Venus
The first think I observed was Venus. Venus is small, and has a thick atmosphere, so you can’t see much detail. Because Venus is an interior planet, it goes through phases like the Moon does. I was hoping to make out what phase it’s in, but I couldn’t.

Jupiter
I spent most of my night viewing Jupiter. I was able to make out one band and I think one of the Moons. I could only find one Moon, so I couldn’t tell you which one it was. With more experience, and a better telescope, I’m sure I’ll be getting better views of Jupiter in the future.

Mars
I was hoping to see it’s icecap, but I was unable to see much detail in Mars. Again, with more experience, and another night, maybe I will be able to see Mars’ icecap.

M42 (Orion Nebula)
I’m really not sure what kind of view of the Orion Nebula my telescope will give me. I wasn’t able to reach it with my telescope from my deck. I viewed it through my 10×50 binoculars. It’s just a fussy little blip through binoculars, but still fun to look at.

M45 (Pleiades)
Pleiades is probably my favorite binocular object so far. To the naked eye it’s just a faint fussy blip, but through binoculars, you can see the seven or so bright blue stars. I have tried to view it in the past with my telescope, but I couldn’t find it through my crappy finder scope. I didn’t even try last night.

Mizar and Alcor (double star in the Big Dipper)
My northern sky is pretty light polluted. About all I could see in that direction was the Big Dipper. Double stars are always fun to look at through binoculars because what looks like one star, becomes two. In actuality, Mizar is a quadruple star system and Alcor is a binary system, but all you see through binoculars is Mizar and Alcor.

Conclusion
I spent about an hour outside viewing, and had a great time. I can’t wait until I can get out it my yard to get better views. I was hoping to stay up later and see the Moon and Saturn, but I was just too tired and have a cold. My telescope gets really good views on the Moon. The Moon is pretty close to full now though, which isn’t the best time to view it anyway. I can’t wait until Saturn starts rising earlier. Everybody says that’s the one that gets them hooked on this hobby. I think I’m already hooked.

By Mason | Posted in Sight Report | Comments (0)