Saturday, July 18,1998

I loaded the car to the gills (or is it rafters?) with various astro related paraphernalia and headed up the windy roads to Tularcitos Observatory for an ASCC star party. My plan was to do some astrophotography with the Astro-Physics 130mm f/6.

I arrived at about 7:45 p.m., well before sunset. After donning a mosquito net and dishwashing gloves to foil the winged humanovors (my doctors say I shouldn't use DEET), I hauled all the gear to a clear area south of the observatory building and set up the GM-8 on a borrowed G-11 tripod. People around me complained about getting large red welts on their exposed arms from some unseen critter.

Anyway, I set up the ubiquitous blue roll-up table with camera gear, eyepieces, hex wrenches, and various parts and bric-a-brac.

Next the mount was decorated with the electronics, cables, DSC, battery, and dew heaters. I organized the spaghetti as well as possible and mounted the tube rings, balance shaft and 23 lb. counterweight.

The AP 130 was put in place and fastened in. Then the tube extension, field flattener, and N90 camera body were added. On top of the tube rings, the 80/900 guidescope was mounted with diagonal and reticle eyepiece. With most everything in place, the contraption was balanced.

It is about dusk now. Arthur arrives after paying his dues at a family dinner and looks over the apparatus. After the telling of the tale of the amateur astronomer and the frog -- to the sound of bull frogs croaking in the background -- polar alignment is undertaken. The polar scope is used first, then drift alignment is begun. Seems like we fiddled with this for an eternity, but finally got what we hoped was an acceptable alignment.

Now to focus the camera. The N90 is replaced by a junked Nikon body ($20 from a repair shop) with a Ronchi grid at the focal plane is mounted. A bright star is centered and focus adjusted until the lines are replaced by a solid dark (or bright) field that pops between dark and light when the dec motor runs at guide speed. The N90 is replaced and programmed for a one hour exposure.

The Lagoon Nebula is located and centered in the camera. A guide star is found in the guide scope.

It is now 11:55 p.m. and the wind has come up. The hat trick is performed and the shutter opened. For the next hour Arthur and I take turns watching the wind bounce the star around while we try to herd it back into the reticle box.

It is a relief to hear the shutter close. One shot finished. Now only 36 more to go on this roll. Seems a shame to waste PJM on people eating hot dogs at the beach.

Arthur could be heard muttering a quote from John Dobson, "If you want photos, cut them out of magazines." I was thinking back to the 1970's when, just out of college, I considered a career in commercial photography. For a short while, I worked as an assistant to a photographer in Hollywood. He did a lot of magazine ads. A shot for a full page ad brought about $1000 plus expenses in those days. About two such shots could be done in a day, if you were in that much demand. The way I figure it, to get such a photographer to do a shot of the Lagoon nebula would require selling a house to finance it. It's a strange world.

There is a lot to be said in favor of having a permanently mounted, and polar aligned, scope with an autoguider. Now, when to schedule the next shoot.:-)