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Date: 27 Jul 2006 12:37:35
From: Martin R. Howell
Subject: No way
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Last night I had planned on taking advantage of an opportune time to
observe Pluto. Yet, as the hour drew near so did the realization that
hauling the 12.5 inch dobsonian about three miles for a marginally dark
enough spot which would possibly produce the planet to my eyes was just too
much of a gamble. A dark sky spot on Mt. Pilchuck where I once nabbed the
planet years ago is an hour trek each way and I didn't feel like messing
with that either. This isn't so bad though. It made me aware again of one
of the great things about this hobby/obsession. . .there is generally
always another time. The night wasn't wasted, however, and an attempt --
although one I knew would fail -- was made to see Pluto. Enter "Sneaky,"
my 114mm reflector. Scopes of this size have captured the planet before,
but only under the best and darkest of skies. I didn't have anything near
these conditions. What I had was a desire to look exactly at the spot
where Pluto was laying in wait for me yet smugly knowing all along that he
was placed 4 magnitudes beyond my capabilities for the night. I looked and
looked, jiggled the scope, used an eyepatch, went to a 6mm and then a 3.8mm
EP in an attempt to darken the sky sufficiently (which I knew was not going
to snatch the missing 4 magnitudes). . .in short I tried all the tricks
knowing that none would work. I found myself waiting for a miracle that
was not going to happen. Not surprisingly, my doomed efforts were very
satisfying. After all, it was a good time at the telescope and that to me
is what matters most.
Question: Am I the only one who occasionally goes after objects that all
logic says are unobtainable?
--
Martin R. Howell
"The Astro Post"
www.theastropost.com
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
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Date: 27 Jul 2006 13:09:51
From: Jan Owen
Subject: Re: No way
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"Martin R. Howell" <martinhowell@ilikestarsisp.com > wrote in message
news:lbakee7gewrr$.19kemw3b99alk$.dlg@40tude.net...
>
> Last night I had planned on taking advantage of an opportune time to
> observe Pluto. Yet, as the hour drew near so did the realization that
> hauling the 12.5 inch dobsonian about three miles for a marginally dark
> enough spot which would possibly produce the planet to my eyes was just
> too
> much of a gamble. A dark sky spot on Mt. Pilchuck where I once nabbed the
> planet years ago is an hour trek each way and I didn't feel like messing
> with that either. This isn't so bad though. It made me aware again of
> one
> of the great things about this hobby/obsession. . .there is generally
> always another time. The night wasn't wasted, however, and an attempt --
> although one I knew would fail -- was made to see Pluto. Enter "Sneaky,"
> my 114mm reflector. Scopes of this size have captured the planet before,
> but only under the best and darkest of skies. I didn't have anything near
> these conditions. What I had was a desire to look exactly at the spot
> where Pluto was laying in wait for me yet smugly knowing all along that he
> was placed 4 magnitudes beyond my capabilities for the night. I looked
> and
> looked, jiggled the scope, used an eyepatch, went to a 6mm and then a
> 3.8mm
> EP in an attempt to darken the sky sufficiently (which I knew was not
> going
> to snatch the missing 4 magnitudes). . .in short I tried all the tricks
> knowing that none would work. I found myself waiting for a miracle that
> was not going to happen. Not surprisingly, my doomed efforts were very
> satisfying. After all, it was a good time at the telescope and that to me
> is what matters most.
>
> Question: Am I the only one who occasionally goes after objects that all
> logic says are unobtainable?
>
>
> --
> Martin R. Howell
>
> "The Astro Post"
> www.theastropost.com
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Sure. Trying the difficult or impossible is fun, and a challenge.
The first time I went after E & F Trapezium stars (in M42) with my 94mm
Brandon APO a few years ago was like that... I suspected it MIGHT be
possible, but had never read of an observation of E & F with anything that
small... I had observed them both routinely in my 8" f/6 Newtonian, but had
never tried them in anything smaller.
So I tried it, and had some difficulty, but once I realized what was going
on (a heat plume from a distant neighbor's home), and gave it a little time
to move into a slightly more favorable location in the sky, I still pulled
it out on that first evening's attempt...
I posted a LONG report on that here, as I recall, though again, it's been
several years ago... I think I still have a copy of that tucked away
somewhere...
--
Jan Owen
To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
Latitude: 33.6
Longitude: -112.3
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