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| Murphy working on his tan |
I realized after writing the previous entry that our busy monsoon did not completely cancel anything scope-related. The routine went mostly with partly cloudy days and stormy nights. But a new piece of gear helped assuage my limited nighttime activity. During the height of monsoon my friends at Amazon delivered a glass solar filter which fit the aperture of my scope. So now I would be able to point at and view our nearest star.
The big trick was, how to aim? The finder scope was out of the question as any viewing of the sun without proper protection would not only blind me, but also shoot a laser-focused beam of solar energy right through my retina and into my cerebral cortex bringing on ACUTE DEATH! 💀 Seriously, I did have to be careful because I could see someone like me just forgetting and then doing something stupid. It was soon surmised that after getting the scope in its traditional starting position, we could use the scope shadow to correctly aim at the sun. When the shadow lost its capsule shape and attained a circular shape, I figured the scope was facing dead ahead towards Sol. I was soon rewarded with some pretty cool views that included some sunspot activity:
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| Our sun sporting a few spots |
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| Spots close up |
I have subsequently found that here in SE Arizona, late fall to early spring are optimum solar viewing times. Not because of atmospheric conditions or logistics. Simply because the rest of the year standing in the sun is HOT!
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My scope shipped with two stock Plossl eyepieces, a 25mm and a 9mm. The 2x Barlow that soon arrived availed me more options. These were adequate, although the FOV was on the tight side. A visit back to Stellar Vision brought on a discussion of these, and the owner suggested one of his 32mm pieces. I was still figuring out the way optics worked and when he said this 32 Meade would "Open up the sky", I had trouble understanding what he was talking about. But I took him at his word and made the purchase.
I understood him when I used it during my next overnight. It's true that a 32 has less magnification than the 25, but the field of view in this particular model was very wide and let in so much more light. I was looking up at Cassiopeia and could see a couple of patches nearby. So I pointed up and found the dual cluster:
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| The new eyepiece also brought out star colors |
I've been so happy with the 32 that it's become my go-to for most anything and I almost have to make myself remember the other items within my reach. Like the zoom eyepiece purchased during my initial Amazon run. And the new 9mm Celestron I picked up for its FOV and better magnification.
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| A better view of Saturn with the 9mm showing cloud belts. Two more items arrived to help with navigation and photography. The Guide to the Stars planisphere has been a helpful reference tool for planning my time out and finding my way around. Rotating the inner wheel to correspond with local time shows a fundamental map of the stars and other objects. The second item came after my mobile phone hit the concrete one-too-many times when trying to get pictures. Celestron makes an adapter with a heavy duty construction, a reliable grip on the mobile, plus adjustments going up/down, side to side, and in/out. Damn thing looks like a hand grenade:  |
A better galaxy and a better way to capture planets lay ahead.
When I was 40, our family went on a cruise off the Florida coast. It was my first time really seeing the ocean when there was no land to be seen. I was awestruck. The ocean seemed to be telling me, "I was covering the earth before you were even dust. And I will still be covering the Earth long after your return to dust". Looking into space is like that, only heavier. Because the stars were around long before we had an ocean.
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