Trying my new telescope (night time)
The conditions looked like yesterday (poor transparency because of high level cloud).
I decided to try out the Mak nonetheless especially to see how ergonomic the photo tripod is when standing since I won't have the astronomy chair when travelling.
Notes
- Locating target: laser + 2x42 binoculars are great for lining up with a star but targets not close to a visible star were hard to get too. Finderscope is great for hopping but initial line up is very tricky with Mak ==> I need to get a dual mounting bracket.
- Changing aim of telescope when observing: tightening / loosening the mount is annoying (it rotates slightly), best is to tighten it just right so it can still rotate but does not start dropping because of weight. It's harder to get it just right with more stuff on the telescope (e.g. finderscope and/or binoviewers).
- Binoviewing vs zoom: stars were maybe not as sharp with the binoviewer otherwise both work well.
- Observing while standing: it's okay but height of tripod has to be changed when aiming higher or lower
- Misc: I should get some kind of platter that goes between the feet of the tripod to put stuff down
Observations
Double Stars (mag 1st star, mag 2nd star, separation)
- Cor Caroli C. Venatici 2.9 5.5 19.0" => separated
- Mizar Ursa Major 2.3 4.0 14.0" => separated
- Xi Bootes 4.7 7.0 7.0" => separated (hard)
- Algieba Leo 2.2 3.5 4.0" => separated
- Izar Bootes 2.5 4.9 3.0". => not separated
Globular Clusters
- M13 Great Hercules Cluster => yes (located with laser + 2x42)
- M92 Hercules => yes (located with laser + 2x42)
- M5 Rose Cluster - Serpens => yes (located with laser + 2x42)
- M3 Canes Venatici => failed to locate with laser + 2x42
Planetary Nebula
- M57 Ring Nebula - Lyra => very faint (located with laser + 2x42)
Galaxies
- M104 Sombrero Galaxy - Virgo => failed to locate with laser + 2x42
- M81 / M82 => very faint - failed to locate with laser + 2x42 / star hopped with finderscope after quick line-up with handheld laser