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| My Pixel clamped to the Orion EQ for the Annular Eclipse |
I checked my progress and noted it had been a while since the last post. It's nice to get back on the horse again and very rewarding to see the wonder out there.
I mentioned the Asterism Challenge in my last post. There's items to be viewed in a scope or naked-eye viewings are logged as well. I was out last week in our driveway getting a couple of those naked-eye items. It was around 9pm and I was out with my clipboard, reading glasses and the red light strapped to my heard. Someone next door got into their car and drove off somewhere, but I wonder what they thought about that weird guy next door writing things down with a red light on his head.
Two other challenges are the Outer Limits Challenge (mentioned in an earlier post) and a new lunar challenge - this one from the RASC. I'm going to toss aside my Lunar 100 and have begun work on that new one. Details to follow.
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I took the planet cam out again a few weeks back. Saturn is in a good spot and a fairly easy target. I adjusted focus on the moon so the picture would be as sharp as I could work it. The results turned out decent I think.
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| Saturn the night of 26 September 2023 |
That same evening, I put the Astrohopper to work and was able to zero in on M27, the Dumbbell Nebula. I'd been struggling to find it for months, sure that I was in the neighborhood. Astrohopper isn't perfect but it gets you real close to the target.
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| M23, Dumbbell Nebula |
The Astrohopper is a good resource, but it is not infallible. Anything short of a go-to mount is not going to get you spot-on. But it's real close, close enough so that if you have a wide-view eyepiece clamped in your target might be on the edge.
Finally on the night of 3 October, AHOP inadvertently got me to M8, the Lagoon Nebula. I was looking for M20 - which is right next to 8. But this one was very pretty and the processing brought out some good detail.
Something I also mentioned in an earlier post was my aversion to sketching. Many of the certs awarded by the RASC mention sketching as a requirement. So I've been watching YouTube videos on the how-to's and the what-do-I-use. I guess if I don't overthink things, it might be a little fun. Maybe something to work on once I part ways with wage slavery.
Not PBS quality, but good for government work
I'll keep at it. Who knows, it might get to be a lot of fun.
Coming up next, Part 2: the Annular Eclipse and another trip to Oracle.
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