tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30807286912853196662024-03-21T21:14:28.558-07:00Diaries From TelescopesPrestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-34185882064933896302017-07-22T11:59:00.000-07:002017-07-22T11:59:39.759-07:00It is summer... hazy and hot... Yes it is still summer!Hey Everyone,<br />
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So it is quick update since the scope and binoculars have been sitting in the garage most of the last month or so. We are in the hazy and hot part of the summer here in Alabama, meaning not much observing. I am hopeful for a cold front to come through for a couple of days of observing but one will have to wait and see if a front will make it to us. The big solar eclipse is coming next month (YAY), very excited about that. I have been getting out with the PST some, but the Sun has been pretty quiet as of the last few weeks. So I am going to pass on some cool stuff I have been looking at online to hold you over!<br />
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A very cool TV show coming in August 2017:<br />
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/home/">link</a><br />
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A well written free astronomy textbook:<br />
<a href="https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=390">link</a><br />
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A neat YouTube series from Anna Frebel<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvHxS-pxK34">link</a><br />
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Thanks for stopping by!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-75571799066362712922017-04-18T14:54:00.002-07:002017-04-18T14:56:47.628-07:00Searching for the Oldest Stars: Ancient Relics from the Early Universe by Anna Frebel ( a review)I just finished reading this book recently and well I am ready to put to words my thoughts. <br />
<br />
First I enjoyed it, but be warned there are three chapters that are pretty hard to get through. The reader really needs a good understanding of how atoms and chemistry works for those chapters. The remaining chapters are very good "popular level" book reading and I loved reading them. Her talking about the fires in Australia that nearly burned down a power pole that controlled her telescope, the computer reboot problems of a telescope (hmm sounds like what amateurs deal with too!) and how her PhD thesis made a huge discovery for her, are worth the price of the book. I also liked that she included personal pictures of her using telescopes instead of sticking to stock images. I would also like to convey that the author's love from astronomy and science really does come through in the book.<br />
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The problem(s) for the book though are those three chapters about how stars become metal poor (and the chemistry in stars) are really hard reading for a normal person or someone maybe with a passing interest in space. I really struggled in those chapters. I however do not consider myself well versed in the science of how stars work however. I would guess those chapters though are at a reading level above some of the 101 level astronomy text books out there such as Astronomy Today or the text Universe. For the record the author does warn those chapters might be hard for casual readers in her introduction.<br />
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Overall though I enjoyed this book as a whole but I did wonder after finishing it if the author took a couple of her lectures and a couple of public speaking engagements and tried to merge them into a book. The book really to me feels that way looking back on it after reading. I was really hopeful that this book would be more memoir/popular science reading then it was, those were the parts I enjoyed the most when they were present. I would completely read a memoir type book on the author's travels as an astronomer.<br />
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I would lastly like to say that while this review may come off as critical, it shouldn't. Anna Frebel and her book are really good reading, and I think any amateur astronomer who is interested in the lives of stars would really enjoy this book.<br />
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One last thing, the author is on twitter, and I did tweet to her and she responded. I didn't ask her any questions from her book, but I do get the impression that if a reader were to ask a question she would be very responsive to those questions. <br />
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Closing I would really like to hear Anna Frebel speak, I imagine this subject of old stars would make for an interesting lecture at a star party or astronomy club meeting. Maybe she will pop up on one of there SVA lectures or SETI lectures on YouTube!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-64410747938033005662017-03-26T07:38:00.001-07:002017-03-26T07:38:11.407-07:00Not a bad month of observing!Since my last post I have mailed off two sets of observations for observing pins with the <a href="http://www.astroleague.org">Astronomical League</a>. I have mailed off for the Comet (silver) and Binocular Variable Star, now the waiting and the watching of the mailbox starts! Since my last blog post I did receive my Binocular Double Star pin. In the back and forth to the observing coordinator I mentioned if there was any interest in a Binocular Master Observer pin. The coordinator passed that inquiry up the chain so maybe there will be a Binocular Master Observer pin in the future. That would be cool.<br />
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In other news I have been still working on knocking out the Double Star pin, I am about at 30 stars completed with the telescope. I am enjoying the program as a whole, but overall I think I enjoyed the Binocular Double Star program more. The regular Double Star does require a telescope and while fun is a little bit harder to do. I also started the Binocular Deep Sky pin, which will be the last binocular pin I will be able to earn easily. There is a Advanced Double Star Binocular and a Southern Skies Binocular either of which would be tough for me to do, being the former requires big binoculars and a tripod and the other a trip to the Southern Hemisphere!<br />
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I am also currently reading a book that maybe next month I can post a review of. I also discovered a neat new podcast called <a href="http://www.wemartians.com">WeMartians</a>. It is available on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts from!<br />
<br />
So that is all I got for this month, next month or two will have some reviews of books and other things in the works, so stay tuned!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-10935230185831735052017-02-18T12:36:00.000-08:002017-02-18T12:36:51.612-08:00So it is 2017Hi Everyone!<br />
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So it is 2017, and it has been a while since I have updated the blog. A few things have happened, I finally finished the Messier pin and got my award in the mail. I have also finished the Binocular Double Star pin and will be mailing it off soon (like next week). I finally got to observe comet 2P/Encke, which is a comet I have wanted to see for a while (like years!). I am one comet away from mailing my observations in to get the Comet Observer pin and certificate (silver level).<br />
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So while the blog has been really quiet, I have been getting some sky time. I started the Binocular Variable Star pin late last year and am about 70% done with it. We had good weather in the fall here in Alabama.<br />
<br />
So that is all I really have. I am really going to try and update the blog more since I also got a new iMac! My old 2009 MacBook Pro was getting old and slow but I am still planning on using it for observing though.Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-26189683860541901882016-06-30T20:37:00.001-07:002016-06-30T20:37:47.724-07:00Virgo Part II: ObservationsHere is Part 2, the observations.... enjoy!<br />
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M49 A round glow with a bright core. A nice one similar to M87 50X.<br />
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M53 A globular cluster NOT a galaxy. It is somewhat resolved and takes power up to 109X pretty well. A nice break from those dim galaxies! <br />
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M58 A bright core, mostly evenly bright oval. 50X<br />
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M59 A bright oval that brightens more to the core. 50X<br />
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M60 It is a brighter galaxy with NGC 4647 nearby. It Averted Vision the galaxies look to touch? 50X<br />
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M61 A round glow, with a core, the round halo part of the galaxy is not really even in brightness. 50X<br />
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M64 A bright round glow. Even with averted vision not really seeing the black eye, maybe a hint of it. Kinda in a no mans land for star hopping. 50X<br />
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M84 A little brighter then M86. A bright oval with a core. 50X<br />
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M85 A bright core with a fainter halo. NGC 4394 pairs up with this galaxy.50X<br />
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M86 A little fainter then M84. It appears maybe a little bit bigger and/or extended then M84. 50X<br />
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M87 A round glow that is bright core. It has a jet, that can be seen with larger scopes 50X.<br />
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M88 A bright core, the rest is a oval glow that is somewhat pointed to the south east. Maybe a field star(s) is imposed on the galaxy in the south eastern side.<br />
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M89 A bright and round glow. 50X<br />
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M90 A unevenly bright and round glow. It has a nice core. 50X<br />
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M91 A small but bright core, the rest is just a circular glow. 50X<br />
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M98 Pretty bright, elongated but not even in brightness. The core is not every even in brightness either. 50X<br />
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M99 Elongated, with a core. Not really seeing the spiral structure with Direct or Averted vision. 50X<br />
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M100 Very bright and has a nice core that is round and small. The edges are kind of diffuse. 50X<br />
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M104 The Sombrero!, I can see two lanes pretty easily, but it really doesn’t look like a hat though. Very nice. Bright. 50X<br />
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I have included all the objects one would hunt down while doing the Virgo/Coma galaxy hunt. I also included M53 which if you are hunting these galaxies down is a nice distraction from the “dim oval” or “dim smudge” of the galaxies. I have always found galaxies interesting but with the rural skies of where I live and the size of scopes that I owned, galaxies have never really been a favorite. They really do take patience and good skies to be able to tease the details out of.<br />
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My notes I kept short for the blog and also pretty general. Hopefully they reflect pretty well the impressions that others would have under similar conditions with similar equipment.<br />
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I think star hopping these galaxies is really something everyone should do at least once. It really teaches you how to use your scope and navigate the sky in area that is pretty tough to star hop. Once you get started though one mostly just galaxy hops in this area.<br />
Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-30069854520272193562016-05-31T19:34:00.000-07:002016-05-31T19:34:13.810-07:00Virgo Part 1: My equipment & resources for observing Virgo Messier List GalaxiesThis past month I was able to get in a epic observing run to catch all the Virgo galaxies and I was victorious. I did it by star hopping which was a little tough being there isn't a lot of stars to hop from in Virgo. I found a few things essential in getting successful results:<br />
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1. A 8X50 Right Angle Correct Image finder scope.<br />
2. Knowing how big the FOV of my finding eyepiece with my scope is (50X with a 1.3 degree field of view)<br />
3. A book with the images of the galaxies. I used The Messier Object by O'Meara.<br />
4. Sky Safari 3 on my Macbook.<br />
(I also used the recent binocular observing article in Sky Telescope from April 2016)<br />
<br />
Now do you need all 5 of these things, well no. I do think the first three are pretty valuable. An observer could get by without the Sky Safari and the magazine article if they had a good star chart. Actually there are probably some better printed materials out there for the Virgo cluster then what I used.<br />
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I found the galaxies in Virgo to be pretty tough, mostly because of the lack of stars to hop from AND well with an 8in scope galaxies are not going to be bright unfortunately. The skies at Chandler Mountain are darker then where I live, but they are not super dark either. The Milky Way is pretty easy to see in the summer but it is a bit harder in the winter. I also found hopping the Virgo area to be mentally taxing somewhat too. One is pointing their scope in a somewhat small area of the sky, but there is numerous galaxies in the area, so one has to galaxy hop a lot. Also knowing how big your FOV is helps, because for me I can count FOVs to move around in a tougher area of the sky. I personally set my Sky Safari to show the rings for a Telrad and the FOV of my 8X50 finder. I found myself taking my time, studying the image on the laptop and comparing it to the book a lot. I would highly recommend reviewing or looking at sketches of these objects before going out and observing. Try and find sketches made by folks using a size scope similar to your own. I like using <a href="http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/sg-messier.html"> The Belt of Venus blog<br />
</a>, but there are others out there too.<br />
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I used mostly my 24mm eyepiece which gives 50X with my scope. I find that eyepiece and my 11mm eyepiece are my two favorites for deep sky objects. I also use a 16mm some too if the 11mm is too much power or I just do not like the view. All my eyepieces except one are from Explore Scientific or Meade and are either 68 degree or 82 degree. The three eyepieces give 50X, 75X and 109X in my scope. I also have a oldie but a goodie Orion 32mm Optiluxe, which is for really low power and comets! For higher power observing I have 8.8, 6.7, 5.5 and 4.7 eyepieces from the Meade 5000 series line. I use them for the Moon and planets.<br />
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My telescope is a 8in f/6 Orion Skyquest XT dob. I have the 8X50 Orion RACI finder and a Telrad. I use the ScopeStuff magnet weights to balance the scope with the two finders up front putting so much weigh on the scope.<br />
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Thanks for reading! Next month will be Part 2, which will be my observations and thoughts on the galaxies. Till then Clear Skies!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-6271329847836270192016-04-30T11:41:00.000-07:002016-04-30T11:41:58.343-07:00Another AL observing pin downWell earlier this month I got my Sunspotter pin, which is exciting. I also got started on the Hydrogen Alpha Observing pin with my recently acquired PST. I am still learning to use the PST, but it is fun and I do enjoy seeing the Sun outside of the white light bandwidth that I was able to do with my dob.<br />
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I also got another five double stars knocked out on the Bino Double Star and knocked a few more features on the Moon for the Lunar II pin.<br />
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However I haven't been able to get any real dark sky time due to work and weather. At one point this year I thought I might be able to knock out 5 pins, but that is looking in doubt unless I can get some more of the Messier objects done. Summer and the haze is rapidly approaching and it is tough to get any really good observing done once the haze, heat and clouds settle in.<br />
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I decided to not continue the Mike Brown class mainly because I have too many irons in the fire. It is very good, but I just don't have the time to commit to it right now.<br />
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I really wish I had more to report this time around, but sadly I just haven't really been getting a ton of eyepiece time the last few weeks.<br />
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So till next month, keep looking up!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-67216110336435526172016-03-31T18:55:00.000-07:002016-03-31T18:55:58.802-07:00On turning 70... 70 objects that is...Hi All! So this past month I went observing and worked in some more Messier objects. I keep a list on a spreadsheet so I can track progress. Well I hit 70 this month, which is enough to get the Astro League certificate (no pin though). I haven't emailed anything in yet to get the certificate, but hitting that 70 objects really makes me feel I have made some real progress towards the pin.<br />
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Also this month I am enrolled in Mike Brown's class again for the second time. I really enjoyed taking it the first time and learned a ton.<br />
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So I really don't have a ton to really report though, I am just excited about hitting those 70 objects. However Virgo and the galaxies located there still await and it will be a challenge. Hopefully next month I can write my thoughts on it, assuming the weather is good one night and I can get out there and see the Virgo galaxies.Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-75176302688791112332016-02-29T19:38:00.002-08:002016-02-29T19:38:31.671-08:00NGC 2362On Saturday evening I had a chance to get out with the telescope and get some observing in. I only had till 10:15pm local time till the Moon came up and what I really wanted to look at was not favorable in the sky. I am have the Virgo, Leo, and Canes Venatici as the biggest area of the sky left on my journey of star hopping the Messier list to earn a pin. <br />
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At the end of the year 2015, the Astronomical League introduced some new certificates to aid folks in earning the Master Observing Pin and to go beyond the initial pin requirements. Of course being a pin addict I had to join the fun of this. One of the certificates is the Observer certificate. To earn this certificate one must complete the Lunar, Solar System, Binocular Messier or Telescope Messier, Constellation Hunter and then a pin of their choice from a list. One of the pins on that list is the Universe Sampler, which I have the workbook for. <br />
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I will go into more detail about the Universe Sampler at a later time, but one of the objects in the list is NGC 2362 in Canis Major.<br />
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I had never heard of this object before and had to look up a picture of it so I knew what I was looking for. Oh boy am I glad I did. This is a most beautiful open cluster. It has a very bright star in it and that is surrounded by a semi circle of stars that wrap around it... it is absolute beauty. It is magnitude 4.1(v) and is approximately 5000 light years distant. The bright star is Tau Canis Majoris a 4.39 magnitude O8 type star. <br />
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Also as a bonus about 2 degrees away to the north is h3945 a double star also known as the Winter Albireo. I stumbled on the double star while panning around for the cluster. It is really beautiful too and worth study.<br />
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While I didn’t get a lot of time out under stars this weekend because of the Moon, I did come across this gem of a star cluster and a pretty snazzy double star too. I would really encourage you to get out and look at these before we lose the winter constellations till next fall.<br />
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Sources:<br />
<a href="http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n2362.html">SEDS</a><br />
<a href="http://oneminuteastronomer.com/840/ngc2362/">One Minute Astronomer</a><br />
Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-40112088165221508502016-01-31T19:07:00.000-08:002016-01-31T19:07:13.922-08:00Happy Near Year 2016!Well I am sorry I didn't get to updating the blog since July, I was shooting for once a month last year, and well... yeah didn't happen.<br />
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However lots of good observing news is coming your way.<br />
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I am about half way through the Messier list, doing it by star hopping. Once I finish later this year, I am going to post my observing notes on that.<br />
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Also last year I took trip to Missouri and stopped by the hometown of Edwin Hubble and got pictures of the city square with the model HST and painting. So that is coming! Also I have resumed the Bino Double Star program, so I am going to get some thoughts on paper for y'all on that.<br />
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So lots of news and stuff coming. So stay tuned, and sorry for the big hiatus!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-3521402105947589162015-07-31T20:35:00.000-07:002015-07-31T20:35:03.292-07:00Mike Brown's Planetary Science Class on Coursea (review) OR How I got to glimpse another lifeEarlier this year, a post on cloudy nights spoke of an opportunity to take an online planetary science class with Mike Brown at CalTech. The course was based on a graduate level course, and consisted of online lectures, quizzes and homework. The course started with thousands, however only around 800 actually passed with a 70%. I made an 89%.<br />
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When growing up, what got me into astronomy and space was a NOVA special about the Voyager space probes that flew to the outer solar system. It was narrated by Patrick Stewart from Star Trek The Next Generation. This would have been around the time I was in 5th grade or so. I didn't think much about planetary science as a career till I was much older. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes and things that teenagers can't control can derail things. I remember in high school there being a senior level geology class that I wanted to take. I, however, was not able to take it because of school rules. In the end it would not matter because I dropped out of high school my senior year anyway. I worked for a couple of years and then one day decided I was going to go to college. I was 19, I was in Missouri with my Dad visiting my grandmother, and by golly I was going to do it. And I did. Community college, I took English 101, Math 093D (Pre-Alegbra) and Library Skills. I passed all the courses, with each being a B. The following semester I took Math 95D (Algebra),English 102, Psychology 101, and Geology 101 with lab! So it took a few years but I got the Geology class. I passed it with a B+, and decided I was going to major in Geology and eventually study the planets. I really wanted to study Neptune! I have always loved the planet since that old NOVA special.<br />
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In the end I would not study planetary science or geology. I today have an accounting degree, and work in banking (and I do also have a high school diploma). I help develop programs that stop fraud on debit cards. I am not the person who calls you wanting to know if you did a transaction... I promise! I help write "rules" for cards that stop bad transactions from happening in the first place. But enough about that!<br />
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Now fast forward to 2015. This class I thought would be just some lectures and simple homework. Ya know, list the order of the planets. What is a crater. How does the Sun work. Stuff that one can learn on Wikipedia. I signed up because well it is space and I love anything about space. The first lecture was pretty much where the planets are in the sky. How to download the program Stellarium. That kind of thing. By about the third or fourth lecture the class was learning about the atmosphere of Mars. Needless to say this is not going to be a rehash of some "How The Universe Works" tv show or Astro 101 class.<br />
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Over the nine weeks the class got very deep. We learned about the Nice model, the Grand Tack model. We studied the chemistry of comets. We learned why Europa has oceans. We learned about why Enceladus has plumes and a ocean, and what it means. We learned that the solar system has an asteroid belt that has actual belts inside it. Yes belts inside a belt!<br />
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In the end I was challenged. And in the end I learned I was probably never capable of being a planetary scientist. Now this isn't some down with me, I am sad post. Not at all. People who study space have to be very smart and very good at math and science. I have a passion for space, but that doesn't mean I can do high level math and physics and chemistry. Academics in the space sciences also have to be willing to put up with a tough life style. They are broke a good part of their 20s and maybe 30s being grad students and post docs and researchers living on a grant, shoestring budget and maybe a prayer. And in the end, they have to be the best of the best when it comes to academics and grades. I am a solid B student. I am not a "professor smart" person.<br />
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So where am I going with this. This is sounding like a Debbie Downer. I for nine weeks, got to be a planetary scientist, well a student planetary scientist.... and I loved it. I am proud of my 89%. I am proud of a "certificate" that I earned (it is just a PDF doc with no credits at any school). I actually got to learn science and not just look at pictures or listen to a podcast (while usually mowing grass or working) and learn why things are what they are in the sky. Why our solar system is the way it is. In essence I was that fifth grader again watching and learning about the solar system all over again like it was new.<br />
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In the end I got to glimpse another life of something I could never do, but for nine weeks I did do.<br />
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But I will warn you those who are reading, it is dang tough. When the guest lecture by Bethany Ehlmann starts, you are going to be really second guessing yourself... I know I did. But I am so glad I toughed it out and grew as a person.<br />
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Thank You Mike Brown. I can not recommend your course enough. Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-81240410529073490372015-06-07T07:05:00.000-07:002015-06-07T07:05:07.292-07:00Five Billion Years of Solitude by Lee Billings (book review)I finished this book recently, I started it back in January. Needless to say this one was really tough for me to get through. The topic of exoplanets is so interesting, but this author really doesn't tell that story. He tries to... until he tells the reader about the geology of the northeastern US or in another chapter tells me about climate change or the last space shuttle mission or... well you get the idea. I think a history of the discovery of exoplanets would be an interesting read, but this book isn't it. The section on Geoff Marcy was very short, however it is clear the author thought high of Sara Seager. I know the folks at Sky News said this was one of the best books of 2014, while I have tremendous respect for Terry Dickinson and Alan Dyer, this book just didn't do it for me. If you want to read it, wait till it hits your local library or is a dollar or two on the used book market. I may have had too high of hopes for this book being I really like astronomy books similar to this (ex. The Day We Found The Universe by Bartusiak), but Five Billion Years of Solitude is really just meh.<br />
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And to be fair. I think a book on the geology of the eastern USA would be interesting. I have read about climate change and it is a problem like the author implies.... oh and I do like Space Shuttles, have read about those too! I just don't need any of this in a book about exoplanets... In the end this should have been about 50 to 100 pages shorter or done in a magazine like National Geographic. Now to be fair this is Mr. Billings first book, but I wonder if this was the first book for the editor as well.<br />
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Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-7202771747633894202015-03-31T19:06:00.000-07:002015-03-31T19:06:58.435-07:00Astronomy education on the InternetToday we are very fortunate to live in a time where one can find so much astronomy on the Internet. When I was younger and before there was a really a Internet, say early 1990s one would have to wait till Sky & Telescope or Astronomy magazine showed up at the local bookstore or your mailbox.<br />
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Fast forward to today. The magazines still publish paper items, however if you want to read what researchers are doing you can go on Astro-ph and read research papers before they are published. Heck they even have a twitter feed, that alone makes having a twitter account worthwhile. If the planets are more you are thing, the planetary society has a wonderful blog to keep you update on solar system matters. Again many of the researchers have a twitter feed or homepage, so you can keep up to date on what they are up to. If there is specific space mission, they most likely have a website you can follow as well.<br />
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If learning in a more academic environment is more you thing, check out iTunes and iTunesU. Just today I listened to a lecture on asteroids that was done at the University of Arizona (my favorites are in the LPL and Steward Observatory sections). Another good choice is the Astronomy Cast podcast, download an episode and learn some astronomy while working out in the gym or going for a walk in your neighborhood. Even S&T has a weekly email blast of interesting astronomy news.<br />
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So when I hear the older generations complain about how things are not as good now as the good ole days, I have to take a moment and keep calm. I for one am glad that folks don't have to wait months and months to get astronomy news. Having so much knowledge available and only needing an Internet connection (or smart phone), who would want to go back?Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-17364253397434124582015-02-28T18:13:00.000-08:002015-02-28T18:13:35.384-08:00Messier 67 Open ClusterI have started sketching the Messier objects with the Orion dob, I figured it would be a fun way to earn the Messier Observing Pin from the Astronomical League. I caught this cluster earlier this month and boy did I enjoy it. This is a cluster that gets overlooked by so many other grand clusters out there such as M45, The Double Cluster, Messier 103 and The Wild Duck Cluster. Messier 67 just seems not to get much loving. Well as I write this there is a thread on CN that is asking about open clusters and what are favorites of the readers, ironically someone mentioned Messier 67.<br />
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So what is it that makes Messier 67 a nice one. Well it is pretty easy to find <a href="http://www.solarius.net/assets/finder_charts/messier_67.pdf">(see this chart)</a>. It is also pretty bright, even visible to the unaided eye in dark skies, easy with binoculars. And when you put a scope on it, using lower power the cluster has lots of bright member stars plus lots of neat faint ones. It also has some dark “lanes” where there are no stars. To me it seemed the stars seemed to go off in directions in clumps. I also thought there were a few stars that hinted some red color... take a peek and see.<br />
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Messier 67 is located in the constellation of Cancer. It has a apparent magnitude of 6.1. It is one of the oldest open clusters, and may contain some blue stragglers. For professional astronomers, M67 is interesting because of that.<br />
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So get out there and check this cluster out!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-3639005423322585242015-01-31T19:50:00.000-08:002015-01-31T19:54:07.651-08:00Well... Because App Lists Are So Cool Right Now!<br />
The March issue of Sky and Telescope has a list of apps that many of their editors like. Well I read over their list and some I agree with some I don’t. So for this bonus blog post for January I thought I would tell you what is on my iPhone 5c as of January 31, 2015.<br />
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Sky Safari 4 Basic.... This is my app that I use for when out observing with binoculars or wanting to know where a comet might be before I go out that next morning. I downloaded this to replace Stellarium mostly because this app is way more powerful and frankly I was really miffed that Stellarium started charging money for their app in the App store. Sorry just don’t think it is all that good for the price, though nice if free.<br />
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Gas Giants... Basically tells you where the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are. I like it can be done with telescope orientation. The eyepiece view is a little lacking though.<br />
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Jupiter Moons... I got this because Sky and Telescope puts it out, does what Gas Giants does, but I like the presentation a little better. Same goes for Saturn Moons too.<br />
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Mars Atlas.... A really cool atlas that will show you what Mars looks like in your scope when it is near opposition. I would say this is essential for figuring out what the dark features one is seeing. <br />
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Lunar Atlas.... Same as Mars Atlas but with the Moon. Obviously more useful since the Moon is more observable then Mars.<br />
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Satellite Safari... Basically like Sky Safari but focuses on satellites. Really cool, though it can be a little limited to due it’s database.<br />
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Sky Week Plus... Another S&T app. Nice. Gives a good event or two each night to observe.<br />
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SkyGuide.... Beautiful. Was a free download from Pick of The Week. Really glad I went to Starbucks that week. I use it from time to time.<br />
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Star Atlas... Meh, it is okay. I am a little disappointed with it. I was expecting more, but when you need an atlas on your iPhone it is okay.<br />
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Orion... All it is good for is downloading their current catalog. It is nice time waster at work though!<br />
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NASA... Just get it, keep up with the space program.<br />
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ESA... Same as NASA, just applies to Europe. Both apps let you watch launches live though which is cool.<br />
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APOD... Astronomy Picture Of The Day. Enjoy the pictures. Sometimes videos won’t play though.<br />
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Exoplanet.... Really cool to keep up on discoveries, though the push notifications can get a bit annoying.<br />
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Moon Map Pro.... What I like with this is the LRO images. This coupled with Lunar Atlas to me should be a staple for every observer.<br />
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iCSC... This is the new version and it is really good. It can be a little slow to update and the set up took it a couple of times to remember my favorites. I so prefer this to Scope Nights which I know S&T has talked up so much. I actually liked Scope Nights when I first got it, however when the developer updated it and most of the features became only available if downloaded for a fee. Sorry but that isn’t the way to run an app and well the comments on the Apple site reflect that! The Clear Sky Clock deserves a good app and this is it.<br />
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So those are the apps I use. I am glad for all of them and they all serve a purpose. If you have any specific questions leave me a comment and I will be glad to answer you.Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-73811269861414016172015-01-11T12:53:00.000-08:002015-01-11T12:53:58.013-08:00In Praise of The White Light Solar FilterOne of the things I am very thankful for is white light solar filters. They are available for purchase for most types of telescopes. The filter can come in various forms, but all fit on the front of the telescope. Any filters that screw into the eyepiece of your scope you should not use for safety reasons.<br />
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I ordered my solar filter from Orion when I ordered the telescope. The one I use is made of Baader Solar Film. The film is cut to size and put into a cell and it just pops on to the front of the telescope. It makes for easy viewing of the sun in what is called white light. The white light image of the sun will show you sunspots which you can track across the disk of the sun. The white light image is the same as that as the solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, however that is a dedicated solar telescope that uses a projection method. In white light you will not see flares or mass ejections from the Sun. That requires a dedicated telescope that sees in "Hydrogen Alpha." These dedicated telescopes run over 500.00 for a small basic one and top out in the thousands of dollars for a top of the line rig. <br />
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I really think white light solar filters should be in every amateur astronomer’s arsenal. You don’t need a large or expensive scope to use one. The filter themselves are pretty cheap too. The one I purchased was about $50.00. A white light solar filter would be a good thing to get for a old small refractor that you may not being using any more OR to take with you for long multiple night star parties so you have something to do during the day. A smaller scope in my opinion would be best for a solar filter just because the seeing is usually not great in the day time... however you don’t have to deal with dew or really cold temperatures either. To me that is a win-win right there.<br />
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There is also a Sunspotter pin from the Astronomical League that you can complete.<br />
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In short a white light solar filter to me is one of those things everyone should have, it will get you out using your scope more. I know for me it gets me out there pretty much once a week using the scope!<br />
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<i>Oh one last thing, I promised a post a month last November. I am sorry I didn't get one out last month. I was under the weather with the flu for a bit last month... so you readers out there (all 3 of you ha ha) will get a second blog post this month!</i>Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-80493797746993893202014-11-09T06:16:00.000-08:002014-11-09T06:16:11.432-08:00A big update! A big update!So it is has been a while since I have updated the blog. A lot has happened. The LX200 I was using finally died. The RA motor system went out and I decided to part it out. Now today I have a new Orion 8in SkyQuest XT Dob. I am excited to use the dob and am excited that I have a scope that doesn’t have anything electronic to break. I am not going to make this blog a review since it is still early in the ownership, but overall I am satisfied... but there are some items that will be modified.<br />
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I have decided to start observing all the Messier objects with it as my first project. I have seen them all once or twice at least in my life but it has been years since I have used a scope without GOTO. I am going to enjoy star hopping and using charts again. I also got a solar filter and completed my first solar disk drawing.<br />
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I know I have said this many times, but I am really going to try and make this a monthly blog. I know it will be tough, but I am going to do it. I think making it a goal much like my observing projects will help.<br />
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So that is all I have for now but keep checking for there will be updates I promise. <br />
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(No really I do!)Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-20605594088520333422014-02-22T12:25:00.000-08:002014-02-22T12:44:31.056-08:00Time for an updateWell it has been since last April that I posted a blog. Well in that time I have finished the Carbon Star Observing pin and moved to the Local Group Galactic Neighborhood pin AND the Double Star pin. Both pins of course being from the Astronomical League.<br />
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This winter has been horrid for observing. I did get out in January, but it is looking like February is going to be a bust. I was out of work last week only going back to work on the Friday before President's Day. I had Walking Pneumonia. I would not wish that on anybody. Not only did I miss some observing I also missed the Mercedes Marathon here in Birmingham. I have run either the Marathon or Half or Marathon Relay every year since 2005. It was hard breaking the streak.<br />
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So hopefully I will get some observing in. I am only a few observations into each pin. Hopefully the weather will get better soon. We have had more snow in the last four weeks then in the last 13 or so years I have made Alabama my home.<br />
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So wish me so clear skies and check back soon for some telescope stories! Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-49123682752412355632013-04-07T15:04:00.000-07:002013-04-07T15:05:51.045-07:00S AurigaeI was out recently observing, working on the carbon star list from the Astronomical League and came across this star as part of the list. It is a carbon star, variable and is in a pretty crowded field (I was using a 22 Pan in my 10in SCT).<br />
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However all descriptions I have found for this star say it is really faint, has no color and there is a orange field star that can be mistaken for it.<br />
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While observing, I found the orange imposter star quite easily. However finding S Aurigae was very tough, I was about to give up when I saw a little, faint star that was blood red. I was excited and did a sketch and logged the star and moved on. I made a note to look up this star when I got home and see what other observers have seen. <br />
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That was when I found one entry on CN of an observer seeing a very faint colorless star. I am seeing a blood red color and it is probably one of darkest red stars I have seen doing this list.<br />
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This star varies from around 8 at brightest to around 13.5 at faintest. If I had to guess it is around 12th mag. Also my conditions are rural skies (not super dark) and a several day old Moon was up.<br />
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The CSOG guide helped immensely in locating this star, however the pic shows the star near it's brightest, as does wikisky.<br />
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Anyway I know most folks like the faint fuzzies, but if you have a largish scope this little carbon star is worth hunting down right now in my opinion, esp if the color is variable based on how bright it is. I found fainter carbon stars tend to be more red. <br />
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S Aurigae<br />
RA 05 27 07<br />
Dec + 34 08 59<br />
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After posting on several observing websites, I did find some folks who had observed this interesting star. If you get out with your scope, try and catch this one. I do plan on coming back to later in the year to see if it is any brighter or (hopefully) not fainter.Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-30200596176570832972013-02-16T16:28:00.000-08:002013-02-16T16:28:10.564-08:00Something Came In The MailOver most of 2012, I had one observing goal, to complete the Astronomical League's Globular Star Cluster program. On Friday February 15th 2013 my pin and certificate came in the mail. I am pin number 228, so yes 227 folks may be ahead of me but I am still very satisfied that I finished this pin.<br />
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Since the pin is done I thought I might write a little about my strategy and experience in completing this pin. My goal was to observe the Messier listed globulars and complete the the remaining targets with globular star clusters from the Herschel 400 list. I found that this was a very good strategy for the most part, however several of the challenge objects are in the H400 and H400II lists. When I made my observations I did not take the time to cross check the lists (oops!). So in the spring of 2012 I observed several of the challenge objects and did not log them as such. While this was a little upsetting once I caught the mistake in the end it really didn't matter since I enjoyed viewing those objects anyway. Had I logged them correctly I would have completed the program a little sooner. In the end my strategy worked very well being I observed all but one Messier globular (M79 for those who are wondering). When working the summer constellations that are full of globulars, my nights were divided by constellation. In May I observed in Ophiuchus and on one marathon night in June I observed in Sagittarius. I would also do one more observing run in August picking up a remaining 10 or so globular clusters. It wouldn't be till near the end of 2012 that I would take another stab at G1 after my two failed attempts earlier. I really think observing the globulars by constellation is the way to go. You get to see the bright ones and some of the smaller lesser known ones and get a good smattering of bright easy and smaller tougher ones. <br />
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For my challenge object I used the M31 orbiting globular G1. This object is listed as a challenge object in Small Scope Wonders by Tom Trusock. Thinking, I was using a 10in SCT with goto/tracking I figured this object would fall easily... it however did not. It would require three attempts to successfully log this object. Now I am going to hurt some peoples feeling when I say this, but many claim to see this object when they in truth do not. To successfully see this object you must split the globular from the two very close flanking stars. I would read on Cloudy Nights and other message boards people claiming to see the globular but never referencing if G1 was split from the flanking stars. Seeing a fuzzball in the place of G1 is not splitting the stars from the globular, one should see a clean split. Now it took three times mostly because the first time I tried I did not use enough power (around 150X). The second time I attempted the seeing was horrid. It would be the third time that I cleanly split the globular from the two flanking stars. Spotting this globular with the 10in SCT was a real treat and a lifetime goal completed. But there is more. The first night I tried observing this object I had the opportunity to look through a 18in Obsession Travel Dob. With the 18in splitting the globular was no task at all and G1 clearly does not look stellar in that scope. To me it looked like a fuzzy star with unrefined edges. <br />
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Now that winter is in full force, globulars are probably not on the minds of observers, however spring will come soon, and after my experience completing this pin I highly recommend it. Globular Star Clusters are beautiful in any scope, and this pin is pretty easy since over half of the objects of the required objects can be observed in the Messier list. I also want to say that this is not my first observing pin, however the letter that Bob Kerr sent me once he had certified my observations was one of the most personal and genuine letters I have received from any of the Astronomical League coordinators.<br />
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So wishing all you nice readers out there clear skies and eyepiece views of globulars... once we get through winter of course!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-48560627680148880612012-10-25T09:51:00.001-07:002012-10-25T09:51:42.832-07:00Seeing Red!With the close of summer behind us, and the completion of my globular star cluster pin from the Astronomical League, I have started two new projects for more observing pins from the Astronomical League. The first is <a href="http://www.astroleague.org/content/carbon-star-observing-program">Carbon Stars</a> and the second is <a href="http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/sunspot/sunsptcl.html">Sunspotters</a>.
I have always been fascinated by carbon stars which I had sort of started observing earlier this year. Now with globulars done I can really focus on them. As of today I have done 16 of the 100 stars. So far the stars have been interesting with a couple of them being really nice. The Astronomical League has a list of 100 stars to observe whereas many other lists of them may only have 15 or 20. So while there are some impressive stars on the list, there are some that don’t really give the impression of the carbon star many astronomers might have. But is neat to see the differences in the stars, which I can even appreciate being just 16 stars into the program.
Now the Sunspotter program is a program that is nice since it is in the daytime. I don’t have to deal with dew or cold weather! This program involves following the Sun for an entire 30 day cycle and also identifying sunspots and the features they exhibit.
So that is all for now!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-55423609963941046362012-07-01T08:20:00.000-07:002012-07-01T08:20:37.082-07:00Globular Star Clusters!I have been working on the <a href="http://astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/globular/globular1.html">Globular Cluster list from the the Astronomical League.</a>. One thing I have noticed with it the Messier globular clusters are some of the most beautiful objects in the sky, well except maybe M107, that one was maybe the least impressive and there are some NGCs from the Herschel 400 list that rival it.
That being said one nice thing with the Messier listed Globular Clusters is that they are bright enough for scopes of say 6in or 8in range to really show the details and characteristics of the globular cluster. With the 10in LX200 the objects really have some pop. I also have enjoyed studying the brighter NGC globular clusters where some really show some detail and others it takes a bit more work to coax detail out of. I have also attempted to observe some clusters that are a bit more tough such as the Palomar clusters and G1 in M31.
I don’t know if I have a favorite cluster, I really do enjoy M3 and M5. I also have enjoyed rediscovering many of the lesser known Messier clusters such as M12, M14 and M92. It has been fun trying to classify the clusters then looking in the established research to see what the cluster has been classified as by the professionals.
This project will hopefully lead to observing all of the Milky Way globular clusters of which there is at least 150 (I have seen 152, 154 and 157 so take your pick and understand it will probably change over the course of a year).
So my advice is try and get out there and observe some of these balls of stars, summer is here and many of them are in full view!Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-50930344025494528122012-02-16T07:37:00.003-08:002012-02-16T07:43:49.725-08:00New blog post finally!Okay so what have I been up to!<br /><br />Well it is February now and I am finally getting around to updating the blog. I have not been out observing much this winter due to the weather not being very good. I did get out last month on 1/28 and did some observing from the Chandler Mountain site. However with a first quarter Moon in the sky the really faint stuff was not really an option.<br /><br />So I decided to start another list... Carbon Stars.<br /><br />There is a wonderful program on the Astronomical League website for Carbon Stars and I had been eyeing that list for a while. I was able to get 7 of them observed and sketched until the cold finally got to me.<br /><br />VX And<br />AQ And<br />W Cass<br />Z Pisc<br />TX Pisc<br />WZ Cass<br />Su And<br /><br />WZ Cass and TX Pisc seemed the most interesting to me when it came to color.<br /><br />Sketching them was not too hard at all, which was nice.<br /><br />I highly suggest on a good night when the Moon is in the sky or if you have some light pollution to deal with, to hunt down some of these red jewels in the sky. The observing list is designed for small scopes and or skies that are not pristine.<br /><br />I realize the blog has not been updated in a while, but I am going to try and start updating it once a month, with either observing notes or other astronomy related thoughts that go through my mind.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhG7HLIB8Kj2uST4LxW31pcUxJjqNETm1tDpTQqUBWcN8sBkA9bf64Z0kb4tK_erw7DfzkuqbwBstCpbcGBmIlJMRYnNeAZqqNVAwlSqGcdNcf5rEZ3_08FbeVK9G-sdh19bbwNUtrTBU/s1600/photo-12.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhG7HLIB8Kj2uST4LxW31pcUxJjqNETm1tDpTQqUBWcN8sBkA9bf64Z0kb4tK_erw7DfzkuqbwBstCpbcGBmIlJMRYnNeAZqqNVAwlSqGcdNcf5rEZ3_08FbeVK9G-sdh19bbwNUtrTBU/s200/photo-12.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709759249450247266" /></a>Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-36500093594688803152011-07-08T09:03:00.000-07:002011-07-08T09:33:48.053-07:00Chandler Mountain July 2, 2011Earlier last week we were afforded some good skies during the work week. We had a front push through that kept most of the gulf moisture to the south. Each summer we get this weather pattern for a few days, they are not long lasting. I encountered one of these patterns back in August 2007. However this time the pattern was starting to breakdown and so by the night I made it out to the observing site, the more typical pattern of weather for summer in the south was starting to return however.<br /><br />I had been watching the weather the whole day, so once it got within about 2 hours of sundown I headed out to get dinner and to the observing site. I figured even with the Birmingham Astronomical Society having their star party at Oak Mountain State Park to the south of Birmingham someone else would still be on the mountain with me...but alas there was nobody but me.<br /><br />Unfortunately, as the Sun went down I noticed the seeing was very good, mainly from the humidity. However after twilight finally ended the transparency was improving, but still it fell short of the normal winter time conditions here in Alabama.<br /><br />I spent most of my time looking for Herschel 400 objects and Messier objects. The H400 is a project I have been working on for quite some time. I did however finish the Binocular Messier list. This has been a project that I thought I had completed back in 2009, but when I got ready to send the object list in to get my pin from the Astronomical League, I came up one object short. I really did not enjoy the binocular observing since I did not feel you could really see the objects clearly, so I sort of put this project to the side. <br /><br />The Messier Objects are some of the brightest objects in the sky, a small telescope will reveal them easily and a moderate telescope will start to show quite a bit of detail in some. With binoculars the point to is just to locate the objects. There is not much detail to be seen. But to earn the Master Observer Pin from the Astronomical League this is one of the required projects, so therefore I completed it.... finally.<br /><br />So the night I ended up observing the following towards earning Astronomical League pins:<br />4 H400 objects--Bringing my total to around 90<br />2 Messier Bino Objects--Bringing my total to 51<br /><br />I also observed a beautiful pass of the International Space Station. With 10X50 binoculars, the ISS is clearly got some shape.<br /><br />But the highlight of the night was observing Supernova 2011dh in the galaxy M51. I found the object not to be super easy nor super hard. The supernova erupted in early June so by the time I got out to observe it was fading.<br /><br />Before packing up though I spent sometime with M13 the globular cluster. I have always liked globular clusters. What I was wanting to do was see if I could see the <a href="http://www.lvastronomy.com/observing-challenge/41-june-2009-m-13-and-the-propeller">propeller pattern</a> in the cluster. I find my eyes see it easily in many pictures, but at the telescope I was having a little bit more trouble. I could see one blade I thought for sure and a possible second, but I was not seeing a Y shape like so many pictures show.<br /><br />I was using a 10in SCT at between 113X and 208X under fair skies, so if anyone else has seen the propeller effect, I would love to hear about it!<br /><br />(The link to the Las Vegas Astronomical Society I included for the good information, and because when I was a teenager I was a member of it. Hope you enjoy it)Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080728691285319666.post-42732879895732633652011-06-11T17:43:00.000-07:002011-06-11T18:07:32.542-07:00Texas Star Party 2011This year's TSP was held the first week of June. The TSP is located just outside of Fort Davis TX and is in the shadow of McDonald Observatory.<br /><br />I left Birmingham on Friday May 27th and drove to Abliene TX. Getting up on Saturday I headed out of Abliene before 7am and first drove into Odessa stopping at the meteor crater. I did the walking trail around the craters and it was nice little walk explaining some of the geology of craters. Best of all the museum and walking trails are free. There is a small exhibit and gift shop. I bought a small meteorite fragment that was found at the site during the episode of Meteorite Men at the site. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcibcYzLJBK09AJtoz00x84IhIrW4B5L6qdV2muuSI3_rWzNbxHKWcBowj2revRn7dnrvDP120tO6LXvjBUW_f9ngvmw7rSX4Pxrh_o2xCsTayygvvT5q-50q23Te0MPZbTzbPVqK-fg/s1600/photo-1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcibcYzLJBK09AJtoz00x84IhIrW4B5L6qdV2muuSI3_rWzNbxHKWcBowj2revRn7dnrvDP120tO6LXvjBUW_f9ngvmw7rSX4Pxrh_o2xCsTayygvvT5q-50q23Te0MPZbTzbPVqK-fg/s200/photo-1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617129509591945106" /></a><br /><br />From Odessa I drove onward to Fort Davis, stopping by McDonald Observatory. I took the opportunity to approach observatory from the west as one would if approaching from western Texas or New Mexico. The drive gets progressively more hilly and narrow as you get closer to the Observatory. I took the opportunity to approach from this direction to take in the geology of the area. The area of West Texas has some awesome geology and I was lucky to have the book Roadside Geology of Texas with<br />me.<br /><br />After leaving the observatory I headed on down to Alpine TX and stayed the night there. There is a neat little bookstore in Alpine that I took the chance to take in. Sunday morning found me leaving Alpine and heading for Big Bend NP. I entered the park via TX118 and did the geology drive and took in the Santa Elana Canyon loop. I took a couple<br />of smile hikes to a couple locations, which I have included a picture of (Tuff Canyon).<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CzEqhBvS8PZB-WCW_FA7wJ-f_aTS1XPN1xXxCq7-ovOhZy_R1uBf30iWwY1suPvyquL7HSkRyshU5R0NAqTAI6dHYMMrxkKzWoJ8tiUZHx0mngxsoO7qE7Sdrb-ubzH5mpI1NJLuUGA/s1600/photo-3.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CzEqhBvS8PZB-WCW_FA7wJ-f_aTS1XPN1xXxCq7-ovOhZy_R1uBf30iWwY1suPvyquL7HSkRyshU5R0NAqTAI6dHYMMrxkKzWoJ8tiUZHx0mngxsoO7qE7Sdrb-ubzH5mpI1NJLuUGA/s200/photo-3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617129073409296434" /></a><br /><br />However the best part of the drive is the arrival to Santa Elana Canyon.<br />I think the picture speaks words of the beauty of the location.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxCzO_u_OwZEPH01Vw1c67jE-226fehQSP5CHxyyj6sl1quuSkqt9NpAGuV934ONRaMoy0WfQq2GwjGWg9j4adf0Ed-Ajzca9hUYWMQ6LuVA7Az6pVIpOavFzFuYAq9_nRyYQJ2-8Gbc/s1600/Santa+Eleana+Canyon.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxCzO_u_OwZEPH01Vw1c67jE-226fehQSP5CHxyyj6sl1quuSkqt9NpAGuV934ONRaMoy0WfQq2GwjGWg9j4adf0Ed-Ajzca9hUYWMQ6LuVA7Az6pVIpOavFzFuYAq9_nRyYQJ2-8Gbc/s200/Santa+Eleana+Canyon.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617129323066192370" /></a><br /><br />It was over 100 down by the river. Leaving the canyon I headed to the Chisos Basin and took in the beautiful Alpine mountain lodge. It is amazing to see the beautiful trees and be several thousand feet higher and quite a few degrees cooler. There is a lodge at the basin that serves food, the quality is okay, and the price was a little high I thought. After leaving the basin I went to Park Headquarters at Panther Junction. This is a nice station that I took the opportunity to speak to a nice ranger and there is also a small gift shop. After leaving the station I headed out of the park on TX385 and stopped at the fossil<br />exhibit. I was a little disappointed with this exhibit; there is a glass case of replica bones and a display that explains the layering of the soils and dirt layers. By this time it was well over 100 degrees again<br />because of the elevation change and so I didn't spend much time of the exhibit, but I didn't think it lived up to the hype.<br /><br />One last thing about Big Bend, the earlier in the year you can visit the better, in summer certain portions of the park are not open. Park entry is 20.00 per car and it is good for 7 days.<br /><br />Once leaving the park I zipped up to Marathon TX then turned west into Alpine TX, lastly making the northward jog into Fort Davis. I arrived at the Prude Ranch a little after four in the afternoon.<br /><br />I got my stuff stashed at Crows Nest Bunkhouse which is near the middle field, also found out I was bunking with a guy I had met in 2009 Len Philpot.<br /><br />So what about the observing for the week.... well.... The first night was great, I was able to complete one of John Wagoner's lists and earn the pin "Lions Tigers and Bears Oh My!"<br /><br />At the time I was trying to do the other program he had for the year "About Face" but I was finding the scope was slewing back and forth the sky too much, coupled with the objects for "About Face" were getting lower and lower I decided to tackle them on Monday night. Unfortunately for me Sunday was the only completely cloudless night we got, every<br />other night started off cloudy and cleared later in the evening if at all. Monday was good after midnight. Tuesday we had a storm. Wednesday cleared after the clouds left only to be smoked by a wildfire that the<br />storm had started the previous night. As for the rest of the week... well they were a write off too. Saturday evening looked promising at one point, but with an early evening storm it rained (first time since Sept<br />2010) and even had a little mixed hail in it. However I did get to see the dwarf galaxy Barnard's Galaxy with Mike and Dave in a 17in scope on Monday morning. It was a round glow that is quite large. We even found it in some very large binoculars that Mike had.<br /><br />I took in a few speakers for the week. I found the two most interesting to be Jimi's on the Sweet Pea object he discovered on a SLOAN survey. He then proceeded to observe the object with his 48in telescope and Larry Mitchell's talk about really faint objects that are near the Messier objects. The main speakers on Friday and Saturday were really not as<br />good as the ones from 2009. I actually walked out of Saturday's speaker because of the dryness of content and the speaker. The speaker was supposed to talk about the galaxy zoo application and citizen science, but instead talked about the science galaxies and frankly talked over the heads of most the audience.<br /><br />Overall though it was a good trip and I enjoyed myself and was able to<br />un-stress from life and work.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-GXBBX2uGiM5vDMX0vpx1cDU4WmZq3DqELtHJCPXVQt7vL6BvB-SWhFAbisQenD8-konvKwuhnvb0-31vDhqY_GjEU9pleBhawbN8dHEy_pbKig6fAKZmjVo6J1Gx05AHYNrdYrd9Wg/s1600/photo-5.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-GXBBX2uGiM5vDMX0vpx1cDU4WmZq3DqELtHJCPXVQt7vL6BvB-SWhFAbisQenD8-konvKwuhnvb0-31vDhqY_GjEU9pleBhawbN8dHEy_pbKig6fAKZmjVo6J1Gx05AHYNrdYrd9Wg/s200/photo-5.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617129877726478178" /></a><br />(this is an observatory that is located on the Prude Ranch, a short hike from the upper observing field, built by Alabama astronomer Ed Boutwell in 1983)Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17851973983327148096noreply@blogger.com0