by James Turley
| Date | Thursday , 11/2/2000, 1610 - 0211 PST (UT -8) |
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| Location | Montebello Ridge, CA +37º 19' 40.8" -122º 11' 47.76" (+- 17 feet) |
| Elevation | 2284 feet (+- 6.3 feet)
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.328&lon=-122.1966&s=50&size=s
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| Equipment | VX114ED (4.5") 600mm f/5.26 Refractor, GP-DX Mount, SkySensor 2000-PC, Orion MiniGiants 9x63. Old Bushmill's Observation Enhancing Elixir, Like New In Box. Not Used this session, promise. |
| New Toys | a bunch of Radians, purchased after selling my Vixen SW Lantanums on Astomart in 4 minutes for an absurdly high price. |
| Goals | First light on Radians (3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm). |
| Seeing Conditions | 1/4 waxing moon. High clouds at 4PM, thinning and disappearing completely by 9PM. Low high-altitude moisture. Stars steady, no twinkling. No beams from Aircraft landing lights. Rock steady planets until Midnight. |
| Weather (Start/End) | 66F - 52F, 72 - 77% Humidity. Dead Calm until 2210. Then, Steady 5mph NNEly, occasional 10-15mph gusts at 10 minute intervals. By 0100, wind was annoying. |
I love arriving here before the Sun sets. The drive up from Saratoga, through the golden sycamores, up Skyline with ridge views to the ocean, the fresh air, and the setting sun help me prepare for the evening, and get a feeling for the seeing.
Arrived 1630 to a completely empty parking lot. No bikers. My favorite mated pair of Red Tailed Hawks greeted me from their nest on an old snarled Valley Oak. Walked over to Los Trancos side for a view to the North . The view to Mt. Tam and beyond, across the SF Peninsula is nice. Marine layer, low, and sparse in the North Bay regions. Looks good.
Parking lot surface is damp, hinting at potential dew issues. Moon high with no halo moving toward the West. A lone Coyote yowls, close. Hope someone shows up. Sun Setting.
OTA Mounted. Ranger W. rolls in. See "Wire Brush and Mad Coyote" interview with Ranger W. posted earlier at: http://astronomy-mall.com/TAC/tac.mailing.list/0115.html.
Thankfully, Jim Feldhouse shows up. New TACo, checking out MB. Fill him on latest permit and use issues, and invite him to share views with me. Since we're already pointing aligned at Vega:
| 4.5" | M57 | Lyr | "Ring". |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75x | 8mm Radian fuzzy. | ||
| 200x 3mm Radian. | Large central region, but no star. | ||
| 4.5" | NGC 6992+6995 | Cyg | "Veil". |
| Heard this Eastern part it called the "Waterfall" before. | |||
| 50x | No flame without O3. | ||
| With O3, boom! Wispy filaments, downward. Confirmed by Jim F. | |||
| 4.5" | NGC 6960 | Cyg | "Veil". |
| 33x | No flame without O3. | ||
| Almost no flame with O3. | |||
| 4.5" | M27 | Vul | "Dumbbell" |
| 50x | Twin lobes and halo visible. | ||
| 100x (6mm Radian) | edge definition, and nice lobe separation | ||
About here Jim F, gets a call to go back to work. Just as he is about to leave, David Kingsley pulls up.
Told him about my new mess of Radians, so he suggests some doubles. Do I know doubles? No...I ask him to show me some of his favorites...I love to share others' enthusiasm about the heavens. That's how I learn. Dave says Doubles are a good activity when the moon's up or when stuck in polluted backyards. Well...moon's still up.
4.5" iota Cas. Triple. 75x 8mm Radian. Blue companions and a white primary.
Fun to get there. Getting RA/Dec from NSOG, punch in 29h, 63, 40. NoGo. 5 min later, Dave and I notice that there are 29 hours in this day. Eh??? Shifted columns to the left. Goto guy and dob guy at play under the stars.
4.5" eta Cas. 75X. Jane Houston's "Pink Bunny". Sure, the little one is pink. What's the EverReady connection?
4.5" beta Ori. Rigel. 50x - 200x Split at 150x. Wow! Tried this at Hurricane Coe at any power to no avail.
4.5" eta Ori. Not there at any power. Saw it in Dave's 7" dob. Very close AB, white, almost touching.
Dave had an Orion Vixen(?) zoom . Very convenient for drilling down doubles. Not bad edges either. Everyone says zooms are full of coma, distortions, pincushions, etc. But, the stars seemed like pinpoints and not bad at the edges in Dave's.
From doubles to a high Jupiter and Saturn. Very steady now at midnight. Barlowed 3mm giving 400x (88x aperture). Almost holding. GRS comes around. Dave's 7" does better, of course. Saturn very nice in 4.5 at 200x. Cycle through Radians. No crepe ring. 4 moons. Steady seeing. No moisture. Jupiter and Saturn no color from ED glass.
Gusts of wind. Sometimes strong. Dave packs up around 0130. I lift my DX case up to the trunk and pull my back. As Dave leaves, the Mad Coyote moves in closer. Look for a leg to chew. Remembering Ranger W.'s baton. I'm outa' here. 0211.
Saw a huge Grey Fox gnawing on road kill south on Skyline.
All in all, a great evening at MB, full of wild heavenly adventure.