Sounds very nice!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

We had one clear night last week in which we took that solar system tour. I just couldn't get Mars to come in clear. It was a sort of muddy reddish disc. I got the Cassini division with Saturn, so I'm pretty sure it's not collimation (I collimated 2 weeks ago, a piece of cake), but I'll recollimated the next time we go out, which looks like two weeks hence. Weather prediction includes lots of partly cloudy nights and occasional rain.

Sometimes I think I may have a mania, perhaps a touch of OCD. If I get interested in something the blinders come out and I see nothing else. It happened with my W124's. It got me through grad school. And now I'm f**king absorbed by astronomy. I wish I had enough money to feed my mania!

Hah! You and me both...

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I sat and watched mars cross the sky last night. Bright red. Humidity made seeing it with the scope wavy so ended up just staring at the sky for awhile.

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Satan creates nothing: he only ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

An astronomy plan is unfolding as I read everything.

In December I'm going to purchase a heavy goto mount, perhaps an Atlas. I'll mount my 6" reflector on it and in February, start buying astrophotography gear and use it on my 6".

After I get competent with the gear (if ...), I'll buy an 8" or a carbon fiber 10". Put the 6" back on the dob. Hook the astro gear onto the new scope.

I figure I'll drop about $3-$4 grand to get full into astrophotography. However, if I suck at it or lack the patience I have several stopping points along the way. Hopefully I'll recognize the Peter Principle before it gets me.

Thats a lot of money to drop on a mount. Be sure there is a way to attach that 6 inch to it. I don't see how it can be done with the existing mounting points it has on the tube for the Dobsonian mount. They would interfere with the Atlas mount attachment would they not?

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Good point about the mounting. Thanks, I’ll look into it.

I’ve been looking at piers. I have some 14” dia x 8’ length x 3/8” wall pipe I found on the farm. Has a huge globe valve welded to it. I’m guessing a steam line?? How it got here is a mystery. I could set that sucker 3’ in the ground on concrete and then make a concrete pad with gussets welded to the pipe and set into the concrete with a bit of angle iron to give it grip. Then cut it off to a working height. Probably need a short stub of smaller dia to actually attach the mount. I could mount an Abrams tank on that. Been looking at dyi piers on the interwebs. With that, stability is no longer a factor.

Yes, the OTA mounts on an EQ per Cloudynights.com.

I just carried the dob out in the field. Minor collimating adjustment. Checked pointer alignment. Then aimed at moon just as the sun dropped below the horizon. Used a 40mm wideview. The image is beautiful! Crisp edges. Sharp shadows. Mountain peaks like little islands in the still blue sky. Lovely.

Tonight I’m going to see if I can split doubles. Going back out in about two hours in order to give the atmosphere some time to calm down. It’s unusually dry humidity for us and just a whisp of nimbus clouds hear and there.

My dogs find stargazing tedious and boring. My cat accompanied me as the field has good hunting for mice. Mrs B is sleeping in. School tomorrow.

Speaking of Mrs B, for twenty years we’ve planned every fall to visit the Grand Canyon. But never have. This year looks very promising. We are bringing the dob.

A pier would be great. I have on again off again plans to put on in in my back yard and mount one of my scopes on it. Just have to finally get around to it some day. As for the GC. That's always a great place. I love it. There is a Grand Canyon Star party annually put on by the Tucson Asctronomy club who handles the South Rim and the Saguaro Astronomy club who handle the south rim. Either in June or July I think. I've always wanted to go but have never manage it. Taking the scope up there would be a rewarding experience I think.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

As per usual, no Grand Canyon again this year. Instead we are going to Big Bend NP. We will mostly be birding while we camp. If we camp. That remains to be seen. Mrs B and I used to tent camp but moving to the country has removed some of the luster. They also have a lodge and some CCC cabins.

And there’s the MacDonald Observatory Star Party ....

Got M-22 tonight before the moon came up.

I need more aperture.

Junkie!

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

You got that right, Peter! I might be past my eyepiece feeding frenzy on eBay. Also bought a small cat (4”). It’s light enough to go on a heavy duty camera tripod, I think. The sky should clear for two days in midweek so I’ll see how the cheaply purchased cat works. If it works I might eventually use it as a dual mounted finder.

I’m leaning toward a Losmandy GM 8. Pricey. But the head is light in case I want to put in on the tripod for travel. The Atlas is a heavy beast. But cheaper. Either way I’ll be happy.

I was out last night for a bit. Temp's have finally dropped enough that it's comfortable. We had a solid 2 inches of rain on Saturday which washed the skies clean. Gorgeous views of Mars, Saturn and the moon. The latter two being right next to each other. Really need to get cracking on completing the restoration of the 6 incher.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Gee whiz, I thought I’d posted a comment here yesterday. Damn. Getting old truly sucks.

Last week Mrs B and I took a trip to MacDonald Observatory (near Fort Davis, TX). MacDonald has regularly scheduled tours and other events. The website requires sign-up and pay up front. We signed up for a day tour, twilight lecture and Star Party.

The tour was a total astronomy geek-out. The guide was erudite, knowledgeable and responsive. Mrs and I enjoyed it a lot more than we anticipated. Our tour group was maybe 30 people which to me was to large. OTOH, it probably help him to have a large group because several in our group (including me!) wanted to ask follow up questions.

The twilight talk was held in the amphitheater and given buy a different man who also had a gift for group speaking on technical topics. Temps dropped 20 degrees quickly so we were glad we brought sweaters and windbreakers.

Oh yeah, I was expecting maybe 30-40 people, Max. I mean, we were in a desert on a mountain hundreds of miles from any significant population. How crowded could get?

There were probably 500 souls.

To me, that was a group too large for the number of telescopes and time allotted. It resulted in long lines and quick looks. Totally off-putting. Again, we were there to learn about the technology of the various kinds of scopes and the science of what we were seeing. Of well.

The next few days w stayed at the Chisos Mountains Lodge in Big Bend NP. You enter a dimensional time warp to get to the lodge. It’s a “modern” 1960’s motel complex stuffed haphazardly into a stunningly beautiful landscape. It is a terrible shame to jam such ill-conceived and poorly executed architecture into such a lovely setting.

We did have on night that was so cloud and haze free that it seemed as though we had no atmosphere. In Louisianawe have an atmosphere like looking through motor oil. We took the 6” dob out in the desert and got excellent views of Jupiter early in the evening twilight and then Saturn, transiting through Sagittarius. Could clearly see the Cassini division, which is very hit or miss back home. And Titan and a barely visible tiny moon farther out. Maybe Enceladus? Then we stepped through several Messiers before calling it a night.

In summary, MacDonald was worth a tour but not the Star Party. Chisos Miuntains were wonderful. I’d like to take a 2-3 day geology tour of Big Bend NP.