Where: My backyard in Arizona
Meade 127mn
Meade 25mm, 18mm, 12mm, 9mm, 6.5mm, 4.5mm ED-60's TeleVue 4mm & 10mm Radians
Meade UWA 14mm, 8.8mm, and 6.7mm Series 4000
Baader 18mm Classic Ortho,
8mm TMB Optical and Alstar
Celestron 5mm x-Cel LX
Time: 1730, Temperature is 97° F (36.6°C)
Getting the site ready:
First I placed the EQ6-R Pro tripod facing North using a compass, and corresponding to where my tripod legs would be, I cleared three areas measuring 11 x 9 inches of small rocks with a shovel. I then placed a 4 inch thick, 11 x 9 inch concrete block in each cleared area. I placed the tripod legs on the blocks and leveled the tripod. After attaching the mount, WiFi adapter, and counter weights, I decided tonight I would observe with my Meade 127mm
Time: 1915, Temperature is 92° F (33.3°C)
Fully extended, the mount is actually too tall for me to align the 60mm finder scope to the main scope using a far-off light post, so even though it wasn't quite dusk yet, I decided to aim the scope at the moon to align the finder. The holder has 6 adjustment screws, which makes the alignment so much easier than one with only 3, so the alignment was fast and smooth. Telescope and mount placed in Home position facing North. Attached power cord to mount and my Cen-Tech 3-in-1 power supply and turned the power switch on. Next I connected my phone to the WiFi, opened the SynScan Pro
I have to admit I have never understood how to position Polaris in a polar scope's reticle. I always just guess, and that explains why my Go To's are inaccurate. Not wanting to have a repeat of Saturday night's disastrous First Light attempt, I decided to do what I should have done in the first place:
Read the manual!
Skywatcher makes it so easy! When you install the SynScan Pro
Time: 1955, Temperature is 86°F (30°C)
With the polar alignment done, I proceeded with a 2-Star Alignment with Arcturus as 1st star and Kaus Australis as 2nd star. (I didn't know that star, looked it up in Stellarium, it's in Sagittarius!) Had to search a little before I found Arcturus, but Kaus Australis was right in the upper right corner of the 25mm (47x) eyepiece. Success!
M31 - the Andromeda Galaxy would be a good test of the alignment as it was located N-NE from my alignment stars. When the telescope stopped slewing, M31 and M110 was in the 25mm ED-60 eyepiece! Switching to an ED60 18mm (66x), I looked a little closer at M110. I was surprised to see M110 and M31 so distinctly with the Moon being so bright in the sky. I kept looking for M32 but could not say for sure that I found it. One of these days I will have no doubt.
2010: Took a break to eat a late dinner with my lovely wife.
2050: Invited my wife to observe M31 and then Saturn at 47x, 66x, and (12mm) 99x. (The mount slewed right to it with Saturn in the 25mm eyepiece.) She can sometimes be interested, but this time it was "Okay, I'll look at Saturn one more time ( at 99x), but then I have to go inside!"
2100: For the next hour and 15 minutes, I compared all the eyepieces listed above from 18mm to 4mm while observing Saturn only. But that might be another report.
2215: I took a quick look at Jupiter and then back to the Andromeda Galaxy for the next hour, but I was really tired and should have stopped earlier.
The SynScan Pro
Got to get up at 0500 to go to work the next day. So for now, "Hasta la Vista", which literally translates to "Until the view" but the popular meaning in Spanish is "See you later".
