by James Turley
| Date | 9/20/00, 1800-0030 PDT |
|---|---|
| Observing Location | Montebello Ridge, CA 37.328ºN, 122.1966ºW - UTM Zone 10, N 4131357, E 571177 Elevation 2300' |
| Conditions | Polluted South and Eastern Skies. Marine layer threatening from S, SW, N all evening. Finally arriving in full force about 2330. Wind light becoming wet and gusty until fog rolled in. Temp 70 to about 59. Dew starting at about 2300. Seeing seemed ok to poor. |
| OTA | Vixen VX114ED (4.5") 600mm F5.26 on GP-DX with SkySensor 2000-PC GoTo ROM ver 2.05i (latest) |
| EPs | Vixen Super Wide Lanthanums: 3.5mm, 8mm, 22mm, 42mm |
| Goals | This evening, other than meeting some great people,
to check out:
|
After setting up in the dirt parking lot, was happy to see Steve Caron pull up with his 6" Achro Synta? (dubbed "Starfire" by the paste on sticker, graphics downloaded from the internet) on his hybrid SP mount. So, I put away all my star maps, knowing I would need them no more with him right beside, a breathing NGC catalog.
We decided to compare views of his 6" Achro and my 4.5 ED using the same eyepieces.
Just for fun, decided to do an accurate Polar Alignment with the built in DX illuminated Polar alignment scope. Polaris appears very nicely centered, adjusting for 2000 Epoch. Southern Cross is FOV. Hmmm..thinking about Survivor II and the ISS.
Cables, so many cables. Kendrick Dew, RA Dec motors, controller tether. Balanced OTA Dec (but forgot RA). GP Accessory Tray not adequate for the big Super Wides. Don't trust it.
As the sun was setting and Venus appeared, I was pleased to meet Archer and asked him for his impressions of my OTA. Star testing on Venus is severe. He noticed diffraction spikes and suspected some pinching of the objective, noting that the OTA to Objective clearance was very small. I asked him about the "thin green line" I had been seeing on the bright limb of the moon recently. Archer stated that this was to be expected from a ED Doublets and not to expect perfection with non-Fluorite "APO"s. OK. Makes me feel better.
SS2K fired up. OTA at home. Align on Arcturis. Archer confirms astig, still suspects pinched objective. Align on Antares, low in the South. Beep. 2-point. Mode to "Aligned Equatorial" for "precision" control. Without PEC, claims < .005" of Sidereal.
Steve and I visited our old familiar friends including M22, the Lagoon, M11, M2, NGC 7331, M16, the Ring, and others. Tracking wise, SS2k performed exceptionally. Using 8mm, object was usually a few seconds within center of FOV.
Visually, comparing views with Steve's scope and mine, the ED's view was flatter, with more detail edge to edge. Stars were a little "crisper". But Steve's scope ruled where Aperture ruled, with a very pleasing feeling.
42mm SW was wonderful. Rich wide views of Sag star fields, peering in the Galactic Center. The Lagoon and Trifid suspended and centered within a star cloud. Lots of tiny stars. My impression was that the ED and Achro showed almost similar views through this EP. Would like to compare with a Nagler 31mm Type 5. A tad more definition with the ED.
I like these SW's. Afocal, but not by much. 42mm required a serious rackin however. Hard to hold and manage, however. I usually view without glasses, but found that I could be comfortable with them for all except the 3.5mm.
Steve has a wonderful rare original Type nothing Nagler 2" 11mm. Great EP. Huge eye relief. In fact, you HAVE to view 1cm above the EP. Steve, if you want to sell, tell me first.
Other EP's using 3.5mm and comparing views, the ED's performance definitely broke down. This was not a good night for high power viewing for refractors or reflectors.
Viewing of the Veil even with the 2" UltraBlock that Matthew Marcus loaned us were disappointing in my ED. Much better "dark channel" definition and contract in Steve's Achro.
My favorite view was the Ring Nebula with my 3.5mm SW. Haha, but no central stars. My Wows prompted a Krispy Creme thread throughout the parking lot about how good a few dozen doughnuts would taste.
Saturn up. No rings. Lousy Saturn. M45 near and beautiful, but conditions are getting worse. Dew alert. My Kendrick is keeping up. Steve is starting to dew up.
Jay is packing up. Someone says M103! then Gone! That's the message.
Strip the cables, EP's dewed up. Lug the head to the Vixen Case. Roll up the chairs. No visibility. Strong wet gusts. Lexus is wet. 0014 Steve and I exit the gate.
Driving down, noticed a fine orange/yellow moon over Lick, with a huge blobby orange Saturn rising through the polluted valley air. Jupiter trailing. Nice view.
All in all, a nice evening. My SS2k worked flawlessly. GP-DX mount rock steady in the wind. Appreciated all the fine comments from the more experienced talent about my ED. And working next to Steve was great. Even with my GoTo on Max Slew, Steve was always pointed, ready and centered WAY before my ED showed up. Great star hopping skills.