Circumventing an Obstacle

Roughly 18 months ago I pulled the trigger on a PoleMaster for my Atlas mount. If you're unfamiliar with the instrument, it's a digital camera that attaches to the front of your mount so that it is aligned with the RA axis. Then with accompanying software you can perfect your alignment to achieve the best possible tracking from your system. While there are other gadgets and techniques that are useful to get a good polar alignment I found this system to be a solid, workable approach for me.

My Orion Atlas mount has been a good work horse for well over two decades in my observing. It was my first "real" mount that could adequately track the sky, opening up not only a more pleasant observing experience but also planetary "lucky imaging" with my 6" reflector and then deep space targets when I acquired my Vixen 80mm scope. It was portable enough to fit in the back of my Rogue, traveling with me to nearby Alpha Ridge or out to Wyoming as part of my Great American Eclipse road trip. The power source was never a worry - a simple battery pack of 4 D cell batteries that seemed to last forever (and easily acquired at the corner drug store if they were to give out.)

The "Leo Triplet" taken with Vixen 80mm & Atlas mount

But even with the PoleMaster, the tracking was not accurate enough to allow for exposures beyond 20 seconds, causing me to resort to a very large number of short subs in order to arrive at a respectable image. Another shortcoming is the weight bearing capacity of the Atlas - there is no way it would be able to support my 10" reflector that I am hoping to complete refurbishing this year. After taking several months to research various mounts on the market that would work within my budget I finally took the plunge and invested in a Celestron CGX-L mount which arrived in September.

In the almost six months since acquiring the CGX-L I have had it out perhaps a dozen times. The first couple were to simply get acquainted with the unit (I am glad no one witnessed my first night when it took me over 40 minutes to realize that there was an "on" switch that had to be toggled - I had just assumed that when I plugged in the battery that it was ready to go like my Atlas!) With it powered up I followed the instructions on how to perform a two-star alignment with an optional 4 additional stars. Once that was done the computer assisted tracking worked surprisingly well. And, truth be told, that "goto" functionality really makes me feel like I'm cheating after a lifetime of star hoping. 

Polar alignment, however, is back to roughly eyeballing the RA axis in the direction of Polaris. According to the manual one also can precisely align to NCP following the star alignment process by entering the "align mount" routine. In theory, you center a star in your eyepiece and then the computer moves the scope to where the star should be if you were properly centered on the pole. Your task is then to use the mount's azimuth and altitude controls to center the star and thereby refine your polar alignment.

I will confess that I have yet to try this routine. I could not help but want to use the PoleMaster which worked so well. But, alas, the design of the CGX-L has a handle bar directly in front of the RA axis of the mount. It seemed that I would not be able to have my cake and eat it too - those handles are indispensable for positioning the heavy mount head onto its tripod. 

Thinking I was likely not the first CGX-L owner to feel frustrated by this obstacle I spent time searching online for solutions that others may have come up with to use their PoleMaster. And, as so often happens, the Internet did not disappoint. On Cloudy Nights there was a reference to a guy who designed a literal workaround; a 3-D printed component that attaches to the face plate with a detachable U shaped bracket to hold the PoleMaster camera. Genius! Brilliant! And the best part was that he was selling them on eBay with about a week's turn around time. The credit card came out within sixty seconds of watching the video demo of it. 

Last month I finally got the chance to install the adapter and try it out. The Celestron mounting plate was readily removed and replaced by the custom printed plate. The U bracket's holes aligned beautifully with the PoleMaster camera so that I could transfer it from the Atlas adapter to the 3-D one. And to make attaching the U bracket to the face plate foolproof the creator provided two guide pins that snap into place thanks to a couple of strong molybdenum magnets. (It brought back memories of my dentistry days, fabricating dentures that seated and held fast with the use of such magnets - but that's a story for a different blog 😉). The video below shows the component and how easy it is to use. Problem solved!

I have a feeling that this recent experience reflects yet another paradigm shift for amateur astronomy. While 3-D technology has been around for a while it is clearly becoming more mainstream and allowing imaginative engineers to bring their designs to rapid prototype and market. We recently had a discussion on HAL's email group regarding this very topic, and several folks chimed in about how they were using parts/accessories created in this fashion. In the "good old days" this was the realm of the machinist who had access to a shop where equipment could turn out custom parts. What we may lose in the durability of a machined part is going to be offset by the accessibility to many more people with innovative approaches to solving problems and creating new tools for our astronomical community. I can hardly wait to see what comes next!

Special Occasions

The science writers are at it again, hawking the "Grand Conjunction" of Saturn and Jupiter that will take place on December 21, 2020 as a bright Christmas Star for all to see. On that evening the two planets will be a scant 0.1° apart, close enough that they should both comfortably fit into most amateur telescopes at low to medium power. It is clearly a special occasion since the last time these two giants were visible this close together in the night sky was 1226 when St. Francis of Assisi was around. Of course there's also the fringe media that is having a ball with it, claiming this alignment at Winter solstice is a bad omen (just search for "grand conjunction 2020 predictions").

Hype aside, amateur astronomers are indeed excited to witness this alignment. Roughly every twenty years Jupiter catches up with Saturn, pairing up with it in the heavens. In 1980 and 2000 they got to within about 1¼° of each other, and will do so again in 2040. But the 2000 and 2040 alignments suffer from Sun glare, making the spectacle hard or impossible to appreciate. The spring of 2060 should deliver a mega hit to any conjunction junkie with Jupiter and Saturn getting within about 1 degree of each other amid Taurus while Venus threads her way through the Pleiades and a crescent Moon thrown in for good measure on the night of April 4th!

Grand Conjunction of 2060

So, looking at that Stellarium Online image of the conjunction on the night of April 4th in 2060, did you get excited? Did you think, "Wow, don't want to miss that!" (assuming you're under 40)? What is it about these gatherings of celestial orbs that makes the amateur astronomer circle the date on their calendar in expectation?

I think some of it relates to the yin-yang aspect of our hobby. On the one side we have the "passive" sense of the heavens. They are consistent, steady, predictable. There is something almost reassuring seeing Orion raise up from his side on a late October evening. We know that almost nothing of shallow or deep space has altered much since Galileo's first scope or Messier's compilation of faux comets. When I say "Albireo" your mind's eye brings forth a beautiful double star. Like travelers who've embarked on a country wide road trip to see the sights, we revel in comparing notes and swapping photos of the cool things we've visited. 

And then there's the "active" side of the night sky. Here we seek to catch ephemeral sights that may be constrained by location or good fortune. You venture out under cold, clear December skies on the 12th in hopes of catching a Geminid that is spectacular. We trek across country or even across continents in hopes of catching a few minutes of the solar corona. These two examples categorize the action; some of it is somewhat random (meteor showers, super novae, sunspots, aurora) while others are anticipated. 

Most of that predictable action centers around alignments. Conjunctions, eclipses, occultations, transits - all provide opportunities to experience something that ranges from uncommon to very rare. And while we have the sublime beauty of Saturn's rings or wispy tendril's of Orion's sword available to us on any clear night when they lie above the horizon, the beauty of a celestial alignment is often brief and may not be repeated in your lifetime. I doubt I shall ever see another Mercury transit but hope to work in another total eclipse.

Thankfully the universe is like a top chef at a 5 star restaurant, continually serving up one delightful alignment dish after another. In spring we had the octennial passage of Venus through the Pleiades, in fall we had a generational opposition of Mars. And now we get something even more uncommon, a "grand conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn to close out a rather tedious year. So go out there and try to see it, photograph it, soak it in as yet another special occasion brought to you courtesy of the universe!

Jupiter & Saturn Drawing Together on Dec 8, 2020

Celestial Oenology

It's the holiday season and, like every year, thousands of people will be convinced that they want to take up astronomy as a hobby. Even before Thanksgiving this year I've had two people reach out to me for advice on what telescope they should buy for a loved one (or perhaps in truth the scope is for themselves as well as the loved one). Facebook teems with posts asking the same question. Unfortunately there is no easy answer to the question of "what's the best starter telescope?" because it is a nuanced question with a variety considerations. 

Suppose that instead of exploring the universe you were taken by the idea of exploring the world of wines. Perhaps you had a friend who introduced you to a couple of nice wines at a dinner party. They skillfully chose the wine and paired it with some good food to create a delightful experience.

The Party Introduction

Or maybe it is those posts on social media or articles in a magazine you thumbed through in the doctor's waiting room. They tease at this world of tasting & enjoying wine that convinces you that you want to explore this hobby. 

Whatever the trigger, you are sure this is worth pursuing and you want to purchase a corkscrew to enable you to enter this realm. But which one is best? An inexpensive and rudimentary one may only be good if your are skillful enough to wield it. An expensive one with bells and whistles may work for any bottle but likely requires you to read the manual thoroughly to use it properly, spending as much time opening the bottle as consuming it. A simple but efficient opener should allow you to master its use quickly and serve to open many bottles of wine.

With your new tool to open the oenophilic world your next step is to target some wines, so off to the liquor store. The array of choices can lead to analysis paralysis. Red or white? Fruity or dry? Each category of wine seems to have its own characteristics and proponents. You might ask your friends who already enjoy wine what their favorites are and try sampling some for yourself. Or perhaps you follow the recommendations in a magazine or good book to start you on your exploration. As you sample the varieties you find you're drawn to some more than others and become passionate about locating ever more examples of your favorite. You also might find that keeping a log with notes about the wines you've tried helps improve your appreciation of them.

After some time you become aware of accessories that can possibly deepen your enjoyment of your favorite varieties. You open up your wallet and start to add to your armamentarium of wine tools. Some prove to be useful for any bottle you select, while others have more specialized application. 

So let's distill what our theoretical journey into Oenology can offer the budding amateur astronomer:

1.  When picking a telescope you should probably avoid inexpensive models that will frustrate you and likewise expensive models that will likely baffle you. Somewhere between $300 to $1000 should net you a quality starter telescope that can give years of pleasure, even after you upgrade.
   
   
2. Figuring out what to view is challenging so consider asking other amateurs what they enjoy, or pick up a copy of a book that is geared towards initial exploring of the universe. Just like wine is an "acquired taste" with many glasses needed before you can discern those subtle flavors of a vintage, examining faint fuzzies or planetary features is an acquired skill. The more you observe them and read about them the more subtle details you'll uncover and savor.
   
   
3. Just as your wallet will dictate whether you can afford to taste the more subtle and exotic wines, your budget will also influence your ability to experience the heavens. If you are smitten by seeing features of Jupiter and Mars then sharp optics, tracking mount, and a video camera are in order. If you yearn to see the spiral arms in M51 then a large Dobsonian will fill the bill. But they will mean a financial commitment.
   
   
4. Just as oenophiles gather at wine tastings to share sips and opinions, amateur astronomers benefit greatly from joining a club and getting out under the stars together where they can share views.
   
   
5. Accessories can make your hobby more enjoyable and enhance what you taste/see. Do your research before making a purchase by reading reviews online or checking with club members who already use the item, but gadgets are part of the fun.

Go ahead and take the plunge into the world of amateur astronomy - it can provide you years of enjoyment and new friends that share your enthusiasm.

Mars Pays a Visit

Every two years & two months we are treated to a celestial show as Mars comes calling for a visit. For most of that 26 month interval the size of our brother planet is diminutive - under 5 arcseconds for nearly a year of that time, hovering around Uranus' size (3.8") for nearly 6 months.And as many amateur observers know, not all alignments are equal. Because of Mars' fairly elliptical orbit, the meetup can happen when Mars is at its farthest point from the Sun (aphelion) or when it's near its perihelion (or somewhere in between, obviously!). The difference is significant in terms of how large the disk will appear in the eyepiece (chart below). So perihelic oppositions are almost generational events, taking place every 15-17 years and boasting nearly twice the size of an unfavorable aphelic approach. It's little wonder that the excitement and anticipation for Mars fans has been growing all summer. Heck, I've even seen a lot more interest from the neighbors out for an evening stroll who know that Mars is "up there somewhere". It's a shame that Covid keeps me from sharing more than the image on my computer screen, and my hopes for a fun Halloween activity for the kids is gone as well.

Mars Size Over 2 Year Period

Range of Opposition Sizes

This apparition culminated in a closest approach on the night of October 6th, and opposition almost a week later on October 13th. That may seem odd at first - after all, all the other outer planets have their closest approach synced up with their opposition date. But for Mars we need to factor in its faster orbital rate compared to the gas & ice giants along with its orbit eccentricity. By October Mars was already past its perihelion point of its orbit, so that means with each passing day it draws farther from Earth. So it stands to reason we hit closest approach as a sweet spot a little before opposition since the two planets are pulling away from one another. So here's a pop quiz. The 2018 opposition took place before Mars' perihelion. Would the closest approach happen a few days before or after that opposition?

As if the orbital machinations aren't enough to make a good view of Mars elusive we need to add a wild card into the equation - dust storms. Planet-wide, rover-killing dust storms are not uncommon as the Martian atmosphere warms. And of course, warming is going to be at its most pronounced during the planet's perihelion. The much anticipated perihelic opposition of 2018 fell victim to an impressive global storm that hid features from our prying eyes and instruments for weeks.

But here's the good news - so far this opposition has been relatively free of dust storms, and at over 22" in size the views have been great! I had hoped to have my 10" reflector back in commission in time for the event but that did not pan out. My old reliable 6" RV-6 classic Newtonian has come through, however. On closest approach night using a light red filter (Wr23A) and an 8mm TMB planetary eyepiece (150x) I could see the wedge shaped Syrtis Major/Mare Tyrrhenum feature on the central meridian. A little pearl sat atop the south pole, the receding ice cap as summer has just occurred a few weeks ago for Mars' southern hemisphere. On the setting limb a distinct peninsula albedo feature, Mare Cimmerium, was easy to pick out. One thing I found quite interesting was the rather subdued appearance of Hellas which lies between Syrtis Major and the polar cap. Normally Hellas is quite a bright feature, but this time around it is muted for some reason. You could almost envision the combination of albedo markings looking like a steer head silhouette.

A few nights later near opposition evening I was able to get out and observe a slightly different portion of the Red Planet's globe with the same equipment. Here Syrtis Major was not visible, getting ready to rise on the limb. But Mare Cimmerium was in full view as well as dusky regions south of it where Mare Chronium also appears to be a little darker than I would have expected. And even though it's only been a week, I struggled this night to pick out the polar cap.

I also achieved a life-long desire to image Mars successfully. Two years ago my attempts were undermined by the dust storms and still learning the ropes a bit, acquiring better software and tools over the interval. My most recent addition has been a Baader UV-IR cut filter which serves to enhance images obtained with a color video camera. Playing with PIPP and Autostakkert!3 have also allowed me to tease out as much detail as I can. While I'm no where near the level of the incredible images I see in my role as ALPO AAC (posting images to the gallery), I feel pretty pleased with what I can produce with a smaller instrument and a setup far less costly than the leaders in amateur planetary photography. And after all, it's more about learning and improving, arriving at something that brings you joy and a sense of accomplishment. 

So, if you are an amateur astronomer I urge you to give this a go - Mars won't be this good again for 15 years. You don't need a big scope - I have caught albedo features and the polar cap using my 80mm Vixen earlier this summer (Of course by the time you read this the polar cap will likely be dissipated). If you are new to planetary observing then be sure to take your time at the eyepiece. At first you may not make out anything, but keep looking, waiting for those moments of atmospheric stability where you'll grab a quarter of a second of good seeing and pick out a dark marking. As your eye and brain work together you'll end up "integrating" those moments of clarity to fashion an image in your mind of what the planet looks like. Be sure to use a relatively high magnification, perhaps 30-50x your aperture in inches. Hopefully you have tracking ability so that you can relax while viewing the ocher orb, but even if you have to play bump & observe with your Dob, it's still worth it! I'd also suggest a rough sketch of what you are seeing as you observe, it not only gives you a memento for later but will improve your observing skill.

Mars with Pastel & Charcoal

Finally, even with just your naked eye, go out and admire that brilliant orangish beacon rising in the east. Drink in the setting, the place from which you are seeing it, the terrestrial scenery and sounds that accompany Ares as he rises amid the stars of Pisces. Let your mind ponder that at this moment we have rovers on its surface and orbiters whizzing above it, beaming back amazing images of this world. Take comfort in the rhythm and predictability of the heavens, especially now. And perhaps dream that, just maybe, the next time Mars gleams this bright you'll be able to say that humans have set foot on the Red Planet!

Doorstep Mars

Answer to pop quiz: Opposition was July 27 and closest approach happened 4 days later on July 31

NEOWISE Breaks the Drought

“Comets are like cats: they have tails, and they do precisely what they want.” ― David H. Levy

While they are not as infrequent as Venus transits, a showy comet is pretty rare based on my experience. And hands down they are the biggest tease that the solar system has to offer. From Kohoutek (1974) to this year's PANSTARRS (C/2020 K1) comets often show promise of putting on a show only to either massively under perform or occasionally just crumble into pieces. Even the most famous of comets, Halley, was a bit of a dud for northern hemisphere observers on its last visit in 1986.

In my half century of sky gazing I've seen 3 comets that fit the archetype of a comet: Bennett (1970), Hyakutake (1996), and the grand Hale-Bopp (1997). There are likely some I missed when I was less active but most comets that I've viewed are small fuzzies that need a scope or binoculars to see well and resemble a Manx rather than a Persian feline. They make you appreciate why Messier, fooled by the faux comets of nebulae and galaxies, started his catalog.

I had adopted a "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude towards NEOWISE C/2020 F3 when the initial assessments were that it could be a winner. No Lucy, this Charlie Brown wants to know that football isn't going to be pulled away at the last moment! And by the way - I know we need these robotic scopes to efficiently catch incoming asteroids and comets for our safety, but their comet names are so sterile. And it takes away one of the best lotteries in amateur astronomy - the glory of finding a great comet and having your name slapped on it. If I were in charge I'd say that the robots have to keep quiet - report their finding to a secret database but then wait for some lucky amateur to stumble upon it and get the naming honor. Bring back awesome comet names like Ikeya-Seki! Sigh - but I digress...

Once NEOWISE had completed its rendezvous with the Sun the reports - and images - started coming in with good news. There appeared to be a naked-eye visible tail, even from suburban venues. Excited with the prospect of ending the long drought of a fine comet I waited for a break in the normal Baltimore July weather pattern - hazy, warm, humid. Finally the weather sites agreed that Sunday morning was likely to be a good opportunity. While many HAL members were planning to assemble at Carrs Mills I opted for a closer spot with good horizons at Dulaney Springs park. 

I pulled into the parking lot with camera, binoculars, and face mask (just in case) at about 4:15. A last quarter Moon hung high above, and Venus gleamed adjacent to Aldebaran. To the left was Capella, and farther to the left should be roughly where NEOWISE ought to be hanging out. I thought with averted vision I could catch a shaft of light extending above the tree line, and the binoculars confirmed it. Moving out onto the field to shift the comet's apparent position into a break in the trees revealed a glowing nucleus and nearly 2° tail.

NEOWISE's Tail Above Treeline

Setting up the camera I worked on getting some shots of NEOWISE as it ascended above the treeline. As I'm taking one of the shots I notice a bright object moving nearby. First impression was that it was the ISS starting a pass but then it winked out, pretty suddenly. Odd - did it just enter the Earth's shadow that quickly? Something didn't seem quite right so I noted the time in order to check later as to what was in the area. As it turned out Jim Johnson captured it and properly identified it as a meteor. It was likely quite distant given the appearance in both our shots is pretty similar while separated by some 25 miles.

NEOWISE Crests Treeline and Greets Meteor

As NEOWISE gained altitude it became a fine sight! To the naked eye it had perhaps a 1^st magnitude coma gradually fading into a delicate gossamer tail. In the 7x50 binoculars the head was a compact, bright white with the tail streaming upward like a jet contrail. The tail had more yellowish-gold tones compared to the whiter coma, making a beautiful impression. The tail also seemed to be a bit stronger on its edges, as though the coma had active jets on each side. I drank in the experience of this celestial visitor to our neighborhood, knowing that the creeping dawn would soon overwhelm its presence. By 5 a.m. I headed back home, eager to see my digital images on a laptop screen.

A Sight to Behold

So now NEOWISE heads back out to the icy depths of the solar system and we'll get to see it in a more convenient evening sky. Hopefully it will continue to delight as it gradually recedes from view over the summer months.

The Venus Show

One thing is for certain - the disruption of our routines thanks to the COVID-19 virus outbreak has created a vacuum. Binge-watching has taken center stage for a lot of America, but if you step outside you'll find another show streaming through the evening twilight. Venus has been dazzling, high above the horizon like a super intense LED. Even the average person out for their stroll around the neighborhood notices this gem in the western sky.

Our sister planet returned to the evening twilight last fall. I recall catching sight of her in early November heading south on I-81 in Virginia on our way to NC, anchoring a wonderful Zodiacal alignment of Venus-Jupiter-Saturn. Slowly but steadily since then, like a diver ascending the ladder to the high dive platform, Venus has been gaining altitude from the Sun's glare.

Venus and crescent Moon Thanksgiving evening 2019

This evening apparition has been particularly auspicious, hitting a trifecta + one of favorable celestial mechanics. First, for us spring brings the angle of the ecliptic - that imaginary highway that the visible planets traverse - to its steepest angle with the horizon, reaching 73° on March 24th. This means that every degree that a planet lies from the Sun translates to maximum distance above our northern hemisphere horizon.

Next, that date of steepest ecliptic coincided with Venus reaching the point in its orbit where it forms a right angle alignment between itself, the Sun, and us - i.e., the greatest distance it can appear separated from our home star. The result of all this? Our brilliant neighbor began the evenings in late March a full 44° above the horizon, an inner-planet party animal that stayed up until close to midnight.

Another favorable aspect is that on March 20th the planet was at perihelion - the point in its orbit where it lies closest to the Sun. This contributes slightly to the planet's brightness so that when it hits that sweet spot between disk size and phase on April 28th it achieves an eye-catching maximum brilliance of -4.4 magnitude. While it may not be visually apparent that Venus is reaching an incremental notch above its normal brilliance it is as good as it gets (but don't tell the press less we start a "Super Venus!" meme). 

Perhaps the pièce de résistance of this apparition was Venus making a call upon the Pleiades, passing through their midst on April 3rd. While not rare (it happens every 8 years due to celestial mechanics returning Venus to roughly the same spot) it is one of the most lovely and photogenic conjunctions around. I have (somewhere) a shot of a similar alignment some 24 years ago taken on film. This time around I used the digital magic of taking 200+ shots with my 200mm lens and stacking them to produce a nice souvenir of the occasion (star spikes courtesy of Photoshop).

M45 and Venus on Apr 2, 2020

 

But wait - there's more! Like that diver perched high above on the platform our sister planet is preparing to swan dive into the glare of the Sun. Once we reach dichotomy (half phase) Venus becomes a more interesting target for amateur astronomers with even a modest scope. We enter a period where the size and apparent phase alter week by week and then day by day as we approach the June 3rd inferior conjunction date. If you have never tried to spot Venus in the daytime you'll have a great opportunity on April 26th using the Moon as your guide as it slides roughly 5° south of the planet. It also is a great time to see how soon you can pick out the phase using only binoculars or capture it using only your telephoto lens.

Remember, you don't have to practice social distancing with your old friends in the night sky - let them infect you with their beauty and mystery!

Improv at the Impromptu

Last Saturday was blessed with a dome of high pressure over the mid-Atlantic, bringing transparent but frigid skies. Despite the chill Chris Miskiewicz announced he'd open Alpha Ridge for a HAL Impromptu star party. As soon as he called it I fired up Telescopius and elected galaxy NGC 2841in UMa as my primary target for a photography session. If I could hold out against the cold I'd also attempt a wide field of Messier duo of M97\M108. Little did I know that despite my best efforts of being prepared for my evening under the stars I'd need to circumvent a variety of unexpected challenges!

I started packing up the equipment into the Rogue about 5pm. First in was the Orion Atlas EQ mount - but wait! What the heck!? One of the tripod leg tips was missing! I spent 10 minutes scouring the area where I usually observe from home and in the garage where the tripod is stored but no luck. I decided that I could still make it work for the evening by extending the affected leg a bit. Improvisation #1.

Made it to Alpha Ridge as twilight was fading fast and the temps dropping. I transferred the equipment to my observing spot and roughly aligned the mount on the North Star. Turning on laptop and the PoleMaster camera I thought I had Polaris in the field, but soon realized it was an imposter. Nudging and bumping the mount this way and that brought no other suitable candidate star onto the screen, so finally I resorted to taking the camera off and sighting it through the shaft as was my custom prior to PoleMaster. This improvisation allowed me to get Polaris onto the screen when I reattached the camera - all at a cost of time. Finally, about an hour after my arrival I was ready to target NCG 2841 and begin taking my series of 30 second exposures.

I popped on the Telrad and reached for its On lever, only to find it was already on. Nooo! I cranked up the rheostat in hopes that maybe it had happened when loading the Telrad into the car but the poor batteries had no juice left to give me. Sigh - and no spare batteries with me. Alright then - we'll do it using the Vixen scope's finder. Improvisation #3.

I get the Tiger Eye galaxy in the eyepiece and begin to attach the Canon and establish its WiFi to my tablet. Boom - my Orion red headlamp I'm wearing shuts off. Did I bump it? No, apparently I'm having the worst dead battery night I've ever had. Fortunately for this bump in the road I did at least have a hand held red-light flashlight that I dig out from my observing toolbox. With improvisation #4 I'm finally connected and snapping photos.

Sketch NGC 2814

The allure of these clear February skies keep me from being bored while firing off round after round of 30 second exposure. I drink in the showy winter constellations: Orion and his dogs, the Twins, the Bull - all old friends who have crested and are riding the night tide to the western horizon. Over the dome of HALO the Big Dipper stands on its handle as if to vault itself high overhead. Leo climbs his way up the eastern sky as the subtle Hydra crawls beneath his feet. No matter how high-tech the gadgets become and what they can do, there is still something in the amateur astronomer's very being that finds joy in taking in a starry sky with nothing more than one's eyes.

By 9:15 p.m. the cold is beginning to win - I clearly do not have the perseverance to start a new session targeting the Owl Nebula and nearby galactic neighbor M108 - that will need to wait for another spring evening. I take my final 30 second light shot and go to get my home-made "light box" that I use to take my flats. Arrghh - are you kidding me!? I guess with the distraction of finding my peg-legged tripod I neglected to pack it. Think, think, think - how can I get a diffuse light source for these flats? I wonder if - maybe I can find a way to make my Samsung 10" tablet display an almost completely white screen? Can I find some web site or document to meet my need? A quick Bing search and - by Jove - there it is! The "White Screen Page" is exactly what I need for Improvisation #5. I load the page on my tablet and hold the tablet over the Vixen 80sf dew cap and rattle off my flat shots. Wow, that improvisation worked great!

Before I pack it in I take a few minutes to do a visual observation. At 60x in the 80mm refractor the galaxy is readily seen as a soft, elliptical glow running more or less in a N-S orientation. There's no core visible but the star field is pleasant with a tight, white double at the southern edge of the field competing for one's attention - the sort of pair whose symmetry of magnitude and coloration make it stand out. There'd be no hope of seeing the subtle light of this distant island universe from my driveway, so I linger a few moments to enjoy the benefit of Alpha Ridge's skies.

The next day I do some preliminary work with the image files in DSS and PixInsight. It's always a bit like Christmas morning when you open up that stacked photo to see what you have. The result is decent for a first pass but I think that there's more in there that can be teased out - if only I knew the intricacies of PixInsight better. The good news is that with the data in hand and safely dropped onto the cloud storage, NGC 2841 can await a cloudy night in the future to have its details extracted from the hour's worth of exposures. 

NGC 2841, the "Tiger's Eye" galaxy

Oh - and that eye-catching double? Turns out that's STF (Struve) 1341, a near equal 9th magnitude pair with a separation of 20" and sun-like spectral class G5. And to top it off, the preceding one of this E-W aligned pair [HD 80606] actually has an exoplanet associated with it weighing in at about 4 Jovian masses and whipping about the star once every 111 days. 80606b also sports an amazing orbital eccentricity of e=0.927 - check out the diagram below from NASA website "Earth Observatory" to get a sense of how elongated the orbit is (Pluto is e=0.25 for comparison). As Spock would say, "Fascinating..."

Orbital Eccentricity