First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
- jrkirkham
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First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
I got to the POD and unloaded my gear about 7:00 (half hour before sunset). I didn't need to go early this time because the mount was already set up. I just opened the dome.
While unloading I noticed that I left the camera's mounting bracket at home, so I had to run back and get it. The dome is only 3.5 miles away, so that didn't take but about 15 minutes.
I didn't use a telescope last night. I just put my camera on the mount. I was shooting with a 144 mm focal length. My target was Venus nearing the Pleiades. I didn't bother to align the scope, I just took it out of park and had it swing over to Venus. I took a few snapshots and joined a teleconference with my family. I let the scope run for about an hour. It stayed right on the target.
By 9:00 Venus was getting low enough that it was entering into the evening haze. About 9:15 I parked the scope, loaded up my snacks and camera, and closed the dome. I made it home by 9:30.
That doesn't seem like a remarkable session, but it was for me. In the past I have not been able to go out on a week night. It takes so long to set everything up that I seldom have enough daylight, except in the summer. Then if the night turns hazy or cloudy I just have to sleep in the car because I don't want to take everything down in dark. All in all it was a successful trial run.
Telescopes: 50mm refractor, ED80 triplet, 90mm makcass, 10" dob, 8"SCT, 11"SCT
Mounts: Celestron CGX, Orion Sirius + several camera tripods
Cameras: Canon 6D, Canon 80D, ZWO-ASI120MC
Binoculars: 10x50, 12x60, 15x70, 25-125x80
Observatory: SkyShed POD XL3 + 8x12 warm room
AL Projects Completed: Lunar #645, Outreach #0280, Universe Sampler #93-T, Binocular Messier #871, Messier #2521, Messier Honorary #2521, Constellation Hunter Northern Skies #112, Planetary Transit Venus #1, Galileo #26, Outreach Stellar 0280, Meteor Regular #157, Solar System Telescopic #209-I, Observer Award #1
AL Projects Currently in Process: Double Stars, Comet, Lunar Evolution
- Gulf Coast Guy
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Re: First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
Mount/tripod's: Meade LXD-75 EQ; Orion Starseeker IV ALT/AZ; Celestron Heavy Duty ALT/AZ Farpoint UBM (Universal Binocular Mount)
Eyepieces:Meade - 26mm plossl, 12mm Astrometric; GSO (OPT badge) 2" Superview 50mm & 30mm 1.25" 15mm; TMB Planetary Series 9mm, 6mm, & 4mm: 10mm & 23mm 60° that came with the 80mm f11.2
Barlows: Orion 2x Shorty; Meade 4000 Series 3x
Binoculars:Brunton 10x50 Celestron Skymaster 15x70 Oberwerk 25x100 IF delux
- Lady Fraktor
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Re: First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
See Far Sticks: Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser 127/1200 BV, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS 100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, SXP2, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II, Stellarvue M2C, Argo Navis encoders on both
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Tak prism, TAL, Vixen
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss (1000101)
The only culture I have is from yogurt
- dagadget
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Re: First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
Celestron C11 Carbon Fiber CGEM II Mount AKA Cloudzilla
Sky Watcher Mak Cas 180 Ioptron IEQ 30 AKA MoonZilla
AT 92 on IEQ 30 Pro AKA ClusterZilla
Home Made 8 inch Newtonian Reflector on Rocker Box AKA Scopezilla
Celestron 4 1/2 114 mm Newtonian Telescope 910 F/L GT Mount AKA Frankenscope.
David
- dagadget
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Re: First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
Thanks
CS
Celestron C11 Carbon Fiber CGEM II Mount AKA Cloudzilla
Sky Watcher Mak Cas 180 Ioptron IEQ 30 AKA MoonZilla
AT 92 on IEQ 30 Pro AKA ClusterZilla
Home Made 8 inch Newtonian Reflector on Rocker Box AKA Scopezilla
Celestron 4 1/2 114 mm Newtonian Telescope 910 F/L GT Mount AKA Frankenscope.
David
- dagadget
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Re: First Light for Skyshed POD XL3
Celestron C11 Carbon Fiber CGEM II Mount AKA Cloudzilla
Sky Watcher Mak Cas 180 Ioptron IEQ 30 AKA MoonZilla
AT 92 on IEQ 30 Pro AKA ClusterZilla
Home Made 8 inch Newtonian Reflector on Rocker Box AKA Scopezilla
Celestron 4 1/2 114 mm Newtonian Telescope 910 F/L GT Mount AKA Frankenscope.
David
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