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Main
Date: 08 Nov 2006 08:32:14
From: Matthew Ota
Subject: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
contact at 11:14:41 PT.
I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
Matthew Ota
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 11:48:52
From: John Banister
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Ready in north Tx. Weather clear and a milion. C90 w/ Baader film filter.
Plan to try to photograph through the eyepiece w/ a digital camera.
I am my own boss and I refused to give myself a day off. <G >
-John
"Matthew Ota" <otakenji@bigvalley.net > wrote in message
news:1163003534.330721.144390@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
>
> Matthew Ota
>
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 09:21:59
From: Mij Adyaw
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Matthew,
I assume that the transit will be visible in a PST providing a full-disk
view of the Sun? Is this a correct assumption? Would I get a better view
using a 4 inch refractor with a white-light solar filter?
Thanks,
-mij
"Matthew Ota" <otakenji@bigvalley.net > wrote in message
news:1163003534.330721.144390@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
>
> Matthew Ota
>
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 10:17:02
From: Brian Tung
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Mij Adyaw wrote:
> I assume that the transit will be visible in a PST providing a full-disk
> view of the Sun? Is this a correct assumption? Would I get a better view
> using a 4 inch refractor with a white-light solar filter?
Your assumption is correct. Be aware that first contact will occur
sooner with a hydrogen-alpha scope, because the chromosphere extends
above the photosphere, and Mercury will therefore begin to cross it
before it crosses the photosphere. The difference might be as much as a
minute or so, depending on the geometry.
I don't think the view will be better with a white-light filter, just
different. I will be observing with a hydrogen-alpha filter--brought it
with me to work.
--
Brian Tung <brian@isi.edu >
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 10:53:03
From: Mij Adyaw
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Brian,
Thanks very much for the information. That was what I was hoping to hear
since I only have the PST with me today.
-mij
"Brian Tung" <brian@isi.edu > wrote in message
news:eit6uu$58t$1@praesepe.isi.edu...
> Mij Adyaw wrote:
>> I assume that the transit will be visible in a PST providing a full-disk
>> view of the Sun? Is this a correct assumption? Would I get a better view
>> using a 4 inch refractor with a white-light solar filter?
>
> Your assumption is correct. Be aware that first contact will occur
> sooner with a hydrogen-alpha scope, because the chromosphere extends
> above the photosphere, and Mercury will therefore begin to cross it
> before it crosses the photosphere. The difference might be as much as a
> minute or so, depending on the geometry.
>
> I don't think the view will be better with a white-light filter, just
> different. I will be observing with a hydrogen-alpha filter--brought it
> with me to work.
>
> --
> Brian Tung <brian@isi.edu>
> The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
> Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
> The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
> My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 20:52:01
From: Phil Wheeler
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Mij Adyaw wrote:
> Matthew,
>
> I assume that the transit will be visible in a PST providing a full-disk
> view of the Sun?
Yes .. I've used mine on it.
> Is this a correct assumption? Would I get a better view
> using a 4 inch refractor with a white-light solar filter?
>
I prefer my 80 mm refractor with filter to the PST
so far.
Phil
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 16:51:02
From: Curtis Croulet
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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I thought the view was better with a white-light filter on my TV85 than in
the SolarMax 40 scope. For one thing, the TV85 handles higher mags much
better. But I was glad I had both scopes.
--
Curtis Croulet
Temecula, California
33°27'59"N, 117°05'53"W
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 18:59:24
From: Mij Adyaw
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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My PST provided an interesting image because with an 8mm eyepiece, it
resolved Mercury as an orb and also revealed two sunspots and two
prominences. I an really glad that I decided to go with the PST rather than
a white-light telescope.
-mij
"Curtis Croulet" <calypte@_NO_SPAM_adelphia.net > wrote in message
news:SsqdncQhLd_n5s_YnZ2dnUVZ_qydnZ2d@adelphia.com...
>I thought the view was better with a white-light filter on my TV85 than in
>the SolarMax 40 scope. For one thing, the TV85 handles higher mags much
>better. But I was glad I had both scopes.
> --
> Curtis Croulet
> Temecula, California
> 33°27'59"N, 117°05'53"W
>
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 08:37:01
From: Starlord
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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I wonder if the Groveranator ordered all this sunshine because he won? ;}
--
The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html
"Matthew Ota" <otakenji@bigvalley.net > wrote in message
news:1163003534.330721.144390@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
>
> Matthew Ota
>
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Date: 09 Nov 2006 05:30:05
From: David Nakamoto
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Matthew Ota wrote:
> I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
>
> Matthew Ota
>
Quite a few people from the LAAS thought it might be worth a day off
also, and went up to Griffith to see and share the experience. Seeing
was not too good at first, as I saw for myself, but by the time the
event was over the seeing had improved a lot. Both the Observatory's
solar telescope and the Zeiss with a special filter also got in the act.
I didn't participate, since it was a working day.
--- Dave N.
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 22:02:03
From: Curtis Croulet
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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> Quite a few people from the LAAS thought it might be worth a day off also,
> and went up to Griffith to see and share the experience. Seeing was not
> too good at first, as I saw for myself, but by the time the event was over
> the seeing had improved a lot. Both the Observatory's solar telescope and
> the Zeiss with a special filter also got in the act. I didn't participate,
> since it was a working day.
Interesting. My seeing was best at the beginning and terrible at the end.
That's pretty typical when observing the Sun from my location.
--
Curtis Croulet
Temecula, California
33°27'59"N, 117°05'53"W
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Date: 09 Nov 2006 18:47:28
From: David Nakamoto
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Curtis Croulet wrote:
>> Quite a few people from the LAAS thought it might be worth a day off also,
>> and went up to Griffith to see and share the experience. Seeing was not
>> too good at first, as I saw for myself, but by the time the event was over
>> the seeing had improved a lot. Both the Observatory's solar telescope and
>> the Zeiss with a special filter also got in the act. I didn't participate,
>> since it was a working day.
>
> Interesting. My seeing was best at the beginning and terrible at the end.
> That's pretty typical when observing the Sun from my location.
Local differences in seeing. Typical. Someone who has handled scopes
for a long time at Griffith said that seeing is often better near the
horizon on days like yesterday, just after a Santa Ana wind (the cause
of the high temperatures) when a cooling trend starts in. It certainly
was a LOT cooler in the early evening than it had been during the day !
--- Dave
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Date: 09 Nov 2006 08:46:05
From: Starlord
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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My viewing was AOK from the start, only near the end the sundowner winds
kicked up which made it a bit harder to hold the projection paper still, but
it was still viewable right up to the end.
--
The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html
"Curtis Croulet" <calypte@_NO_SPAM_adelphia.net > wrote in message
news:YtqdnWl1x9TCWc_YnZ2dnUVZ_sKdnZ2d@adelphia.com...
>> Quite a few people from the LAAS thought it might be worth a day off
>> also, and went up to Griffith to see and share the experience. Seeing
>> was not too good at first, as I saw for myself, but by the time the event
>> was over the seeing had improved a lot. Both the Observatory's solar
>> telescope and the Zeiss with a special filter also got in the act. I
>> didn't participate, since it was a working day.
>
> Interesting. My seeing was best at the beginning and terrible at the end.
> That's pretty typical when observing the Sun from my location.
> --
> Curtis Croulet
> Temecula, California
> 33°27'59"N, 117°05'53"W
>
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 15:46:27
From: Matthew Ota
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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I noticed a large promenance at the limb of the Sun near where Mercury
ingressed this morning. But all of my H-alph shots are no good.
Matthew Ota
Craig M. Bobchin wrote:
> I set up a PST on a Meade DS mount in the parking lot of my work from
> 11:15 to about 12:45. I had about 30 people from the office come by and
> take a look during that time. I missed 1st and 2nd contact due being in
> a meeting.
>
> Everyone thought it was cool and most thought the flares and prominences
> more interesting than the actual transit.
>
> Craig
>
>
>
> In article <1163003534.330721.144390@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> otakenji@bigvalley.net says...
> > I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> > Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> > are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> > contact at 11:14:41 PT.
> >
> > I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
> >
> > Matthew Ota
> >
> >
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 23:23:53
From: Craig M. Bobchin
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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I set up a PST on a Meade DS mount in the parking lot of my work from
11:15 to about 12:45. I had about 30 people from the office come by and
take a look during that time. I missed 1st and 2nd contact due being in
a meeting.
Everyone thought it was cool and most thought the flares and prominences
more interesting than the actual transit.
Craig
In article <1163003534.330721.144390@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com >,
otakenji@bigvalley.net says...
> I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
>
> Matthew Ota
>
>
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Date: 08 Nov 2006 13:15:20
From: laura halliday
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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Matthew Ota wrote:
> I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
I observed the first 20 minutes or so with my PST (with a
12mm Radian eyepiece), then the clouds moved in.
First contact was particularly interesting. There was a
prominence near where I figured first contact would occur,
and at first I thought the prominence was doing something
weird. Then the "something weird" turned into a circular
dent, and I saw that it was Mercury...
The weather forecast wasn't worth taking the day off
(Vancouver? November? Shudder!), but it was more than
worth bringing the PST and a tripod in with me.
Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte
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Date: 09 Nov 2006 08:56:43
From: Robert Sheaffer
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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The San Diego Astronomy Association (http://www.sdaa.org) had about 8
scopes set up in Balboa Park, outside the science museum. I brought my
ETX-90 on a Meade DS-2090 Goto mount, using a Thousand Oaks 90mm solar
filter. There were at least 3 scopes using H-Alpha filters.
Several elementary and middle school groups were visiting the museum,
and lined up for a peek through the scopes. Hundreds of students, and
quite a few adult visitors, too. Some visitors commented that they could
see Mercury better through the white-light filters than the H-Alpha.
This may be so, since the H-Alpha filters only gave an aperture of 60mm
or so while the others were larger. One fellow even had a 10"
full-aperture solar filter, although even at about 100x the atmosphere
was quite turbulent. Of course, the H-Alpha showed a lot of solar
features that the others did not. I told everyone to make sure that they
saw the transit both ways.
We had brilliantly clear weather when the transit began around 11:15. It
stayed clear until the marine layer moved in around 3 PM, ending the
heat wave of the past few days. We only missed about the final hour of
the transit.
Robert
Matthew Ota wrote:
> I have my equipment set up, 10" LX250 SCT with Baader Solar FIlter
> Cell, with a Coronado Helios H-Alpha telescope piggybacked. The skies
> are perfectly cloudless....I have my timer counting down to first
> contact at 11:14:41 PT.
>
> I took a full day off of work for this.....worth the lost income....
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Date: 10 Nov 2006 07:11:37
From: Tom Polakis
Subject: Re: Perfect Day in SoCal for Mercury Transit
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laura halliday wrote:
> First contact was particularly interesting. There was a
> prominence near where I figured first contact would occur,
> and at first I thought the prominence was doing something
> weird. Then the "something weird" turned into a circular
> dent, and I saw that it was Mercury...
I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned by more observers. I saw the
prominence, and hoped that Mercury would cross it, but I missed it.
Part of the reason was that I was in "public" mode, and surrounded by
2nd grade kids. The NSO has posted a terrific time-lapse sequence of
Mercury crossing that prominence.
http://www.nso.edu/images/merc_in_prom.mpg
Tom
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