Observing Session Tuesday, June 7th, 2011; 10 inch Dob

Since participating in the Zambuto mirror project and then cleaning, and reinstalling my mirror, I have wanted to get the 10 inch out to collimate it, and make some adjustments to it. So on Tuesday, June 7th, 2011, I took the ten inch out locally and had some fun with it. There's a spot I go locally, where I have permission, that is mostly free from stray light and allows me a decent view of the sky above 20 degrees.

The scope collimated easily, it usually does, and I had it up and cooling in a matter of minutes. I did not take my sketching materials and I only had my premium eyepiece case (my Pentax XW eyepieces, the 5mm, 7mm, 10mm and 14mm and the 27 Panoptic). I mainly for this night used the 14mm as my finder and the 10mm and 7mm as my main eyepieces in the eyepiece holder that night.

After getting settled, and setting up my observing chair, I spent some time on the moon. I used my 5mm Pentax and the images were sharp, crisp and clean. My first object was what I believed to be Maurolycus which instantly made me regret I did not bring my sketching materials (please provide some latitude in crater identification as I am still learning the moon). Inside this large crater was a perfect pacman shape shadow. My son was with me, since I am still not completely healed (I am starting to cough hard again, sigh) and he was amazed by the shape, agreeing that it looked just like a pacman. I also looked at what I believe are Aliacensis, Werner and Blanchinus. These were lovely and had a rich contrast in black, gray and white on their rims. Any would have made a find sketching object. Next time I will get them (would have done it tonight but guess what is back . . . clouds!). On Tuesday, after doing a star count in Bootes and Ursa Major again, I estimated the NELM to be at 5.7 to 5.8 and the SQM rather agreed with this coming in at a 20.39 (conversion would put that at a magnitude 5.75 NELM or so.

My next object was Saturn and I spent a good deal of time on Saturn. Saturn was beautiful, showing its storm and its four moons. The rings looked far better than last year and I actually got some contrast out of it. Saturn is one of my son's favorite objects so he took some time taking in the views, while talking about his thoughts on the new Nintendo Wi console that is coming out in the future.

After spending a good forty-five minutes on the moon, and another thirty on Saturn, I went off the moon and duplicated my galaxy observations from Sunday night in terms of the Herschel ones. Very faint and I can certainly tell the difference between the 14 and the 10 inch on these two (more moon light also).


Next, I jumped up to M51 to see if the 10 inch could get SN2011dh into view. This was a harder observation than in the 14 inch truss dob. I was able to see 3UC 275-121854 which is a magnitude 13.58 star to the SE of the core with N being straight up (bottom right of the core, the first bright star in the trail of four. Here is a link to local Salt Lake Astronomical Society member Kurt Fisher's gallery where he has posted a finder chart with these stars labeled on them). I could hold this star with direct image as seeing allowed, which was pretty often. 3UC 275-121870 is a magnitude 13.74 star and this one was slightly hard to view, taking averted vision to obtain it, and then direct vision would maintain the observation until after that. SN2011dh is reported at magnitude 13.3 right now, and should be seen. Using averted vision I was able to pick up the supernova and then to hold it. It appeared not as crisp tonight versus Sunday and often appeared fuzzy. There were a few times that I felt it was visible, and then others when I lost it all together. Based on this experience, and the fact that when I looked a waxing crescent moon was in the sky I would say that my ten inch will not be able to detect SN2011dh for the rest of this waxing cycle of this moon. It also shows that as reported at Sky&Telescope medium (for me 12" to 16" telescopes) and large scopes (17 inches plus) should be able to bring in this supernova visually. A ten inch is really pushing it though it is possible, just don't expect to hold it in your view.

After M51 and the forty-five minutes I spent there, I next took the scope over the M13 and observed a lack luster globular cluster. It was missing its brillance, and it did not just pop out for me. Part of this was location. Hercules was heading up toward zenith but still in the eastern sky and there is a lot of light pollution in that direction. The heavy light pollution of the Salt Lake Valley really impacted the view. It did remind me of how spoiled I have been to be at several dark sites and to gaze at this wonderful globular and see it in such splendor. Five years ago, M13 was a wonderful sight from the backyard and this shows why viewing at a dark site is so wonderful and an experience I highly recommend on a regular basis.

After M13 I went to Antares which had risen and I hoped over there and took a look at M4. Not much in light pollution. I then hoped over to the star Vega, and then took a look at the Double Double and ended this night with the M57, the Ring Nebula. Position in the sky, M57 is in the north-eastern sky and that lovely light pollution is heavy there, drowned out most of the stars, but without a filter I was able to detect a faint greenish color to the ring and saw its shape and its fuzzy interior. It was good to see an old friend for the first time in 2011. The summer constellations are arriving, and I fear I need 3 good nights with the spring constellations to complete the H400 (and some open clusters in Puppis next winter). Oh well, another year may go by.

So no sketches this time. It was wonderful to be out under the stars and spending some time with my son and pushing the scope to see what it could do. It reminded me of why I am glad I kept my ten inch and sold my 8 inch scope. My son and I talked about that and he wished I had kept the 8 inch scope. I have an 8 inch mirror blank so I will be making a new 8 inch reflector because that scope is such a pleasure to use on planets, double stars and on deep sky objects. However, the ten really did allow me to push into some challenging magnitudes that night, and it was fun to do that. It isn't that much heavier than the 8 inch and it sets up easily and quickly. It is my scope of choice for using in the backyard and locally because of its convenience unless I need the 14 to do something. I am hoping to get the 20" up here in July for some fun comparisons and to report on that. Overall a quick night, but a good night. Lets hope summer arrives and clear skies to all.

Observing Session June 5th, 2011

Well, this weekend was suppose to be a great weekend to observe. Clear on Friday, clear on Saturday. Well, yet another low pressure was off the California coast and it didn't bring rain or snow, or any form of precipitation this weekend, just wonderful 90% or better clouds. I tried going out to a dark site on Friday with my friend Mat, but the sky didn't cooperate. I didn't take the 14 as I felt this would happen, and I needed to adjust the XT10 after doing some work on it and the mirror test etc. I actually cleaned the XT10's stock mirror since it was 3 plus years with lots of observing. From that experience I learned to let my mirrors go even longer before cleaning. It really wasn't that dirty.

So Sunday night came and I had to work today but the sky was just great, compared to the last 8 months. So I hooked up the 14 and went observing. I didn't go for, just stayed local, but the site was dark enough to let me observe. I began the night by looking at the crescent moon and making a determination that IF the weather cooperates (it isn't) to really get into lunar sketching using the new sketching method I'm learning from Alex. Next, I went to Saturn and the Cassinis division was easily seen with four of the moons. Next I just plopped down, and decided to wait another half hour for the main target, SN2011dh in Messier 51. As I waited I tested the NELM using several constellations but since Bootes was near zenith at the time, I used Bootes and got a 5.8 NELM for the night. Not bad for being under a light dome. Finally, I felt it was dark enough so I went to Messier 51 by star hopping (I never set up the Intelliscope tonight) and boom, there it was. M51 stood right out as did NGC 5195. Hints of arms were strongly there as was the supernova, both using averted vision at first. With some effort I was able to keep the supernova in focus with direct vision, after my eye had first captured it with averted vision. Pretty site it was and here is my rude sketch of it.




















After playing with Messier 51 I decided to see if I could get a few Herschel objects in. My son had strict instructions to bring me home by 12:30a.m. so I could get plenty of sleep. I am still having a rough time with my health, my Celiac disease impacts my autoimmune and I am finding I am still tiring easily, though it is improving. Pneumonia is a nasty illness I've decided.

My next object was NGC 4958, and using the Panoptic 27mm I easily went from my Telrad to Spica to its location and it stood out rather easily. I then brought magnification to this galaxy using my 10mm Pentax XW with the XX14i. It has a long shape that is masked in light pollution unless you use averted vision on it; the shape then popped into view for me. The core is stellar bright, and the galaxy is widest at the core region. A 14th magnitude star (estimating) is to the west of the galaxy and rather close. Overall, an easy target to hunt down. West is toward the upper left corner I believe on this one.



















I got NGC 4995 in also and it was also an easy hop from NGC 4958. The 27mm Panoptic again showed it easily and the 10mm Pentax XW brought it right into view. With the 10mm Pentax XW it took me a minute to ensure I was actually seeing the galaxy, but with patience I was able to take in the entire galaxy. It has a very, very faint core but what I saw from this location was mainly a very light fuzzy of a galaxy that was oval in shape. Probably much better from a dark site.




















My son now told me it was time, so I quickly went to M84 and M86 and a few NGC galaxies in Virgo, and also the Sombrero Galaxy as I am afraid by the end of the month, they may be fading quickly into the western horizon. Sad, I hate when spring is robbed by clouds but that seems to be the way it works often in northern Utah. I ended with M13 which was looking really nice, beckoning me to sketch it using the new method so I will next time I have a dark session. It was good to get out, even if only for a few hours and I was in bed asleep by 1:00a.m. so that is good for my ongoing recovery. I hope you have clear dark skies wherever you go. I know when the sky is dark next, most of my observing friends will be at AlCON while I am still stuck here. See that is the last week of school and I am not allowed to take personal time off during the first or last week of school. I'm fine with that, as I truly care about my students and enjoy being with them. I will miss though the public outreach and guess I need to make plans to really get out to Great Basin.

A side note on that. Mat is from California as I am and in California is a great park called Big Basin State Park. A park near where I grew up and I spent many weekends hiking and camping there. Close to the ocean for surfing also. So often I catch myself writing or calling Great Basin, Big Basin. So if I or another observer from California do that, please excuse our slip up.

Sketches of Previous Sketches

While I've been sick, I spent some time re-sketching a few items from the last year using the new method I learned from Alex based on Scott Mellish. So I thought I would include these here.

ARP 319 or Stephen's Quintent from last September, 2010.
























NGC 7479 in Pegasus

Review of The Cambridge Double StarAtlas and The Cambridge Atlas of Herschel Objects

Well, I am beginning to feel much better (finished my double dose of antibiotics; yep, two at once) but the weather here in northern Utah continues to be very poor. Clouds and rain, well over an inch this weekend from the current storm. There is more water in the snowpack in the higher elevations of the mountains then the reservoirs hold empty, so, we are looking at flooding I fear in June. The good news is the weather looks excellent next weekend and the moon will only be a thin waxing crescent so there will be some observing done!

Today I want to review The Cambridge Double Star Atlas and my latest pick up, The Cambridge Atlas of Herschel Objects that I got back in April. I also picked up about 2 or 3 weeks ago a copy of the Deluxe Office Edition of the Sky Atlas 2000.0 version 2 that is laminated and I'll do another write up on that. Now that I am starting to feel healthy again, I need to swing by and pay Steve for that this week.

THE CAMBRIDGE DOUBLE STAR ATLAS

Introduction:

A couple of years ago I started getting bored with only observing for 2 weeks a month IF the weather holds up during new moon. I admit, I am an observable alcoholic, and during new moon I will observing at my site that is about 45 minutes away even on a work night. I can function relatively well on about 5 hours of sleep and then rest the next evening. However, I began to allow the moon to interfere with my observing and I wanted to expand my horizons. At that time, I decided to do the Astronomical League's Double Star Club list. This provided me with the avenue of giving me something to do during non DSO observing time. I found the list fun and during my time with it, The Cambridge Double Star Atlas came out and I picked one up.

First Impressions

When I first looked at the Double Star Atlas I thought it might server as a replacement for the Sky Pocket Atlas by Sky&Telescope. The Double Star Atlas is larger, spiral bound and is much easier to use in some cases. The problem with it when compared to the Sky Pocket Atlas, is that it is missing some key Deep Sky Objects that many observers want and that are in the Sky Pocket Atlas. For example. In the Double Star Atlas in O'Meara's August list, NGC 6445 a PN in Satitarrius is not included, nor is NGC 6528, NGC 6522, NGC 6540 which are globular clusters and two open clusters, NGC 6583 and NGC 6756. These are all included in the Pocket Sky Atlas.

Evaluation after Field Use

As I stated above, there are DSO's that are missing from the Double Star Atlas that are in the Sky Pocket Atlas. But one MUST remember the purpose of the Double Star Atlas; to guide you to Double Stars. The paper is not laminated, but my atlas copy has never had a problem with dew. The paper is thick and sturdy, and holds up well to being folded on the spine. This is an easy to view Atlas that makes those in their middle forties or above, who are starting to have issues with reading glasses easier to use than the Sky Pocket Atlas.

Review of the Atlas

The Double Star Atlas takes the user to 7.5 magnitude with the stars, while plotting companion stars down to around 10.5 magnitude. So there are fainter stars in the atlas from 7.5. There are a total of 25000 stars visible with the Atlas. Some pairs of stars fainter than 7.5 are also plotted because of their "striking color contrast or other striking backgrounds or difficult component configurations."

In both cases, the Introduction is an outstanding contributor to the Atlas itself. It is one that most observers will want to review, even if your very or highly experienced. Never hurts to have a good reminder of some wonderful tips. One of my favorite quotes from the Introduction is this one:

"It has often been stated that the person behind the eyepiece of a telescope is far more important than the size or type or quality of the instrument itself."

"It was Sir William Herschel, the greatest visual astronomer that ever lived, who said that "seeing" is an art and that as observers we must properly educate our eyes to really see what it is that we are looking at in the eyepiece."

This quotes to me, are the very basis of why this Atlas, and the other in the series are being made. They are to provide an avenue for the observer to get to the object so this type of art, this type of seeing can be made. This section makes three main points on gaining experience. First, the more one observers, the more one sees. Everyone says what great eyes Stephen O'Meara has, and having never met the man (would love to observe with him here in Utah though) I am sure he has fantastic eyes. I would bet though if we truly logged the number of hours he has spent observing, we would know one secret on why he sees so much detail in his observations. I know that based on my own experience.

Next is the area of training the eye/brain combination and using averted vision to do this. I think averted vision is one of the least used and least trained tools of observers and that often we don't ask the public at outreach to do this, because we don't take the time time to teach. I believe that both our own personal observing should be a training session, we need something to be working on to improve ourselves while also in outreach, teaching the public how to see. It is a critical skill when we work with new people in the hobby as well. This section in the atlas is rich with suggestions.

Finally, the third key in training the eye/brain is that of color perception. Take time next time your observing and see if you can see the tint difference between stars. Can you make out the color differences in various stars at different times of the year and variances even within that star? For me these three areas of the introduction, and touching on dark adaptation are the critical parts of the Introduction. They remind all of us as visual observers, what we should be doing when we go out to observe.

The Introduction now moves on to Sky Conditions and how they impact viewing, and what we can do about it. Next is Resolution and Magnification, a key part for the splitting of Double Stars. This section mentions using the resolving magnification of a telescope, or 25x per inch of aperture. For my 14 inch that is 350x or just around a 5mm eyepiece which puts me at 330x. For the "casual observation of double stars, the rule of thumb is to use the lowest power that just nicely separates the pair."

The next section is that of optical quality and collimation. The focus here is how to test your optics and collimation to ensure that you can get the separation needed to split these double stars. Record Keeping is the next section mentioned, and here I encourage the reader to spend some time here and think about how you want to record your observations of the double stars.

The last section is that of personal considerations. Here posture and having a very good observing seat is mentioned. Proper clothing to maintain warmth is important. It sucks trying to observer when one is cold and it is something I see many new observers make. Often, in the summer, I get weird looks for being layered, but by 11:00p.m. locally, I am no longer being given funny looks but being asked how I layer. This is true in the mountains, but equally true in the deserts of Utah as well. Proper rest and diet are important to observing. Getting a nap can help as can eating light meals, or just eating to keep the energy up and then eating after observing. Ever notice how hungry one is AFTER observing? I tend to get absorbed in my observing, will eat an apple or a piece of fruit, wash my hands off and then observe during the night. When its over and I've loaded up, YES, I am famished!

One of the nicest features in this Atlas is Appendix C: Double star target list that is in the back. It lists the Object/Constellation that the object is in. Next is the RA and Dec. according to the 2000.0. Then comes magnitude and the Separation in arc minutes and any remarks. Here is an image so you can see that. Each object alternates between white and green and is easily usable in the field.



















Here is the Virgo, Leo area of the Double Sky Atlas and you can actually see, it does contain a significant amount of DSO material in it. However, remember, this is a Double Star Atlas and as such, it works tremendously well for that.


















Here is a second image from the Atlas itself to show what it looks like. In this image you can see the Veil Nebula region and the Double Stars in that area and some of the major DSO's.
































Appendix

Appendix A is a listing of constellations by map

Appendix B lists the Greek letters

Appendix C is a listing of the Double Stars by constellation, RA, Dec., separation etc.




Final Recommendation:

I thoroughly enjoy the Double Star Atlas by Cambridge and find it a wonderful tool put together by James Mullaney and Wil Tiron. It is highly useful for finding Double Stars and for providing some of the better Doubles to go after, both at a dark site or in your own backyard/front yard during those waxing moon phases. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their visual observing. Some think double stars are boring. For me, I find them very interesting since the vast majority of stars in the galaxy are just that, in binary or more groupings.


THE CAMBRIDGE ATLAS OF HERSCHEL OBJECTS


Introduction:

This one I found out about over at CloudyNights on their Stellar forum and since I am enthralled with most things Herschel, and with Star Atlases in general, I knew I had to pick this up. My local Barnes and Noble had this in stock so it was easy to pick up and my 10% discount helped in reducing the cost. I will review this in a similar way to the Double Star Atlas, but will point out the differences mainly, since some of the same points in the introduction of the Herschel Atlas is the same or same/similar point to what was made in the Double Star Atlas.

First Impressions

Much like the Double Star Atlas, this is of the same material and layout. I really like the layout here, and the size is terrific. I really would love to see a Sky Pocket Atlas in this size. Unlike the Double Star Atlas, which is designed to hunt those objects down, this atlas is not missing any of the Herschel 400 that I am currently finishing. Like the Double Star Atlas most stars go down to magnitude 7.5, they do lower since many of the Herschel items go down to 12.5 magnitude. Also, as pointed out in the introduction, in the area of the main object, are often fainter objects that if your telescope will go down to, will be visible in the eyepiece so look for those other objects as well.

Review after Field Use

The only difference between the Double Star Atlas and this atlas is that the DSO's are the focus here. The Herschel items do not have their NGC number next to them in the atlas. Instead they have Sir William Herschel's designation (which is given in the introduction) or a small h if the discovery was made by Sir John Herschel, Sir William's son. If you want/need the NGC number, it is easily located in Appendix B in the back, where all objects are plotted there. It worked well in the field and I had no problem with it, though it took some planning on my list so I knew what object I was going after from Sir William's list. If your working by constellation, I don't think this will be an issue. If your working by Stephen O'Meara's book, you'll want to plot them Herschel number in your observing list. I'll be updating my lists to reflect that number which is in O'Meara's book. That would be a good upgrade in a new edition of O'Meara's book, to include the Herschel ID in his nightly lists so its easier to use this atlas with his list.

Review of the Atlas

























The Introduction is again, very, VERY rich in information. It begins with a wonderful introduction of Sir William, his sister Caroline, and Sir William's son, Sir John and their experiences and the telescopes they used, especially the 20 and then the 40 foot telescope. The Introduction the moves into the Herschel designations, so one can learn those, since they are used in the atlas itself. At first I didn't like this, but it has forced me to learn Herschel's designation and it makes sense to me, that since I am chasing his objects, I should know his designations. I can use and write down the NGC number, that is easy. This seems to connect me to Sir William, Caroline and Sir John and I like that. The Introduction then moves into nonexistent objects and the miscalculated objects. These are two important sections and I invite the owner to read them carefully since I think it is important to know these. Finally, the Introduction moves into the overlooked objects that the Herschel three missed. These include the Helix Nebula, the Flaming Star Nebula, Stephan's/Webb's Protoplanetary Nebula in Cygnus, Barnard's Dwarf Galaxy, Hind's Variable Nebula. The author also mentions they missed his one of his favorite objects, NGC 6791 in Lyra, an open cluster that resembles a globular because of its 300 members.

The next section reviews the map parameters and what was selected and why. A good read to understanding the rationale behind the choices made. The Herschel 400 as used by the Astronomical League are all included in the Atlas.

After this, the book gets into Instrumental and Personal factors, just like the Double Star Atlas does. In this section I like the portion where the recommend what power to use based on the Herschel Object being used. Like the Double Star Atlas, they mention "resolving magnification" as 25 x the aperture of the telescope, but then modify that by explaining what low, medium and high power is. "Big scattered open clusters or extensive nebulosities (and eve a few of the largest galaxies), the lowest possible power and widest field of view give . . . the most pleasing results. The same applies in the initial sweeping for objects to find them. In the case of rich, compact open clusters and tight globulars, medium magnifications typically give the best view. The same goes for the smaller diffuse nebulae and most planetaries, and also for galaxies in general. Unless the atmosphere is steady, high powers can give a 'washed-out' appearances to the image and typically restrict the field of view. But they are still worth trying on all but the very largest of objects to see if any additional details are revealed."

Great advice that most observers know. Low magnification, wide field for scanning or well spread out objects. Medium power next for details and then high power if conditions allow.
They also talk about the star test to test optics to see how well the optics and collimation is.

Under Training the Eye, they again emphasize the need to train the eye and the brain to use averted vision. They do a good job as they did in the Double Star Atlas in explaining this. Next they focus on Dark Adaptation focusing on the dilation of the eye and the chemical changes that occur in the eye in the dark. They add here visual acuity, "the ability to see or resolve fine detail in an image or in splitting close double stars." This is gained by spending time at the eyepiece, with experience. They do share an excellent way though to improve visual acuity, and I'll leave that as a tease for getting the atlases. They also touch on color perception again.

The rest of the Introduction is almost verbatim to the Double Star Atlas, where they discuss sky conditions, record keeping, personal considerations. They close the Introduction, and I left this out in my review of the Double Star Atlas above, with a recommendation list of Herschel Showpieces (in the Double Star Atlas they have 133 Double Star Showpieces). There are 215 Herschel show pieces based on James Mullaney's thousands of observations of Herschel items.


















The Appendix

Appendix A in the back is a listing of Constellations and which maps correspond to them. You'll use this if you hunt by constellations or are looking for objects in various constellations.

Appendix B is the Cambridge Atlas of Herschel Objects target list. This is the 2500 + clusters, nebulae and galaxies arranged by right ascension. This list the item by its Herschel designation and by its NGC number. Provides RA and Dec information, Constellation, Size, Type etc.

Atlas

Here is the northern hemisphere by map and constellation:

























Here is what the Atlas looks like in the Veil Nebula region.

























Here is M31 and M33 areas.
























Final Thoughts.

If you are doing the Herschel 400, or a want to do what I am going to expand to, to do all 2500 objects in this atlas, then I recommend the atlas. It may not go as deep as you need it to in some areas, but for the most part it will work nicely. When added to a computer chart, it is a very helpful item. These are fine products to own. Disclaimer: I receive no financial compensation from anyone associated with either atlas.

Update on Current Status; Posts coming

I just wanted to take a moment and let you know that I haven't had time lately to publish any of the material that I have because I have been really sick. About two weeks ago, right after the mirror test, I started coughing and that cough became very hard and deep quickly. By that Friday I was coughing up blood and had pneumonia. I have been on two antibiotics for it, and finally, the cough has left, I am able to sleep and things are returning to "normal." I am still very tired so no observing of late. The weather isn't normal for late May here in northern Utah. Cloudy, cool and lots of rain. Flooding is something that could become common place when the weather warms up. I am hoping to get out next week for a couple of nights of great observing.

I have a review of the Herschel book that Cambridge put out, and a review of a couple of other Atlases that I have received. I have some more apps to review and to update some of the ones I've done. So hopefully, as I feel rested this weekend, and am thinking a little more clear, I'll make some posts. Keep looking up and equally important, share the views.

Observing Session May 12th and 13th XT10 with Carl Zambuto Mirror

This link to CloudyNights will provide you with the information of this loaner program for the 10 inch mirror that Carl Zambuto has offered.

I was at home, and everyone was gone to activities or such and so I plugged down to CloudyNights and began reading in the reflecting forum. I had been reading about how Carl Zambuto was offering replacement mirrors for Chinese made dobs, mainly the Orion series of scopes. That got my interest because I have an Orion XT10 along with an Orion XX14i and a 20" Obsession that was purchased used.

I followed this thread for several days and then watched as Carl himself signed on and offered to send otu a test mirror for people to try. He stated in his post that it would be a 250mm mirror. Well, that would work in my XT10 so I followed the thread until life got in the way between work, family and other obligations. I thought about putting my name on the list for viewing with the 250mm mirror and putting it in the XT10 to see how well the mirror was. Then I noticed that there were four or five people ahead of me and I thought I had better rethink this as it could be fall before I see the mirror.

Carl then posted and mentioned that Steve Dodds of Nova Optical was doing the coating and Steve only lives and has his shop ten minutes from where I live. So a thought occurred to me. Why not offer to test the mirror over that weekend since the forecast was decent and then ship it to the first person on the list, CityKid or Phil on Monday? I posted that, and Carl thought it was a good idea to get the mirror out and a review done as long as everyone on the list in front of me agreed. Graciously they did agree so I picked p the mirror on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 from Steve at his shop next to his home. I took it home knowing that Thursday looked very promising and it was the second day after a storm had gone through. Typically the second day after a storm in the fall, winter and spring brings really great conditions to northern Utah.

NOTE: I sketch and I do not claim to be a terrific sketcher or to capture everything perfectly. Errors are mine and mine alone in terms of star placement or any other error. I use my sketches as visual reminders of my experience. All sketches here are not corrected except for the background. I used GIMP and the curves feature to try and capture what I was seeing in terms of the background and contrast. Everything else on the sketch remains as it was sketched.

Also, when referring to the XT10 in this rest of this article, I will mean the XT10 with a Zambuto ten-inch mirror in it.

INSTALLATION

On Thursday, May 12th, 2011, I have to admit that I anxiously waited for the last bell of school in order to get done with my work obligations and to have a quick exit. I completed my teaching duties and was out the door and on the way home by 4:00p.m. At 5:00p.m. I had the XT10 tube out, and had undone the base screws holding the primary cell in the tube. I have to say, that I had to replace the Orion stock screws about two years ago because I found they stripped far too easily when one had to remove the mirror cell for some maintenance in the tube. I put steel screws in and they work much better and don't strip though they are silver. Anyway the mirror cell cell came out quick enough, and it was on to the clip screws. There are two screws in the clips and you have to remove them to get the mirror out. Watch out for flaking of the black paint off the screw as you take them out. Not an major issue though, just thought I would point that out in case you see it.

The XT10 stock mirror came out easily enough and then I opened up the box that holds the 255mm Zambuto mirror. The mirror has a cover and it is held in place by blue painters tape to protect the top of the mirror. To remove the top simply undo the tape carefully and then the top will just lift right off. Installing the Zambuto 10 inch mirror was a breeze and within ten minutes the scope was back together and ready to go less a good collimation.

I used my backyard for this task since the moon was a nice 66% plus, waxing gibbous and I figured a dark site wasn't going to help in those conditions. Plus there is this thing called work the next day and by using using the backyard this night meant more time viewing with the scope and mirror since I wouldn't have the drive back and the unloading.

The box the mirror arrived in and was shipped to the next trial user in.

The mirror with its cover on.

The stock mirror is on the left, the Zambuto mirror is on the right.

The Scopes: Night 1

Orion XT10

Zambuto 10 inch mirror

Stock secondary mirror.

Stock focuser

9x50 RACI Finder; Telrad

Orion XX14i

Stock Primary; Enhanced Secondary

9x50 RACI Finder, Telrad, Shroud

That is my son in front of the XX14i.

Eyepieces and Equipment

27mm Panoptic, 22mm Panoptic; 14mm, 10mm, 7mm Pentax XW; 6mm TV Radian;

Filter: Orion Ultrablock on Ghost of Jupiter PN; 13% Neutral Density Filter (for the moon);

27mm TV Panoptic, 22mm Panoptic; 14mm, 10mm, 7mm Pentax XW; 6mm TV Radian;

Filter: Orion Ultrablock Filter , 13% Neutral Density Filter (for the moon);

Breakdown of Eyepiece magnification by Scope:

EP XT10 XX14i

Panoptic 27mm 61x

Panoptic 22mm 55x

Pentax XW 14mm 86x 118x

Pentax XW 10mm 120x 165x

Pentax XW 7mm 171x 236x

Radian 6mm 200x 275x

In using eyepieces we really tried to stick with these and to use magnifications that are similar. The field of view was the same with the Pentax, while 68 degrees in the Radian. For example in the Pentax XW 14mm was used in the XX14i at 118x so the Pentax XW 10mm in the XT10 gave us 120x, close enough for a comparison.

May 12th, 2011

Location: Herriman, Utah

Time: 03:00 UT on May 13th, 2011, or 09:00p.m. MDT. Session lasted until around 3:45a.m. MDT or 09:45 UT on May 13, 2011.

Seeing: Antoniadi II

NELM: est. at 5.5 at the beginning and moving to about 6.0 according to Polaris.

I used the XX14i first and used the 14mm Pentax XW. The images were sharp, clear and the seeing tonight was wonderful. It is the second day after a storm and as I previously mentioned, that usually means excellent conditions for observing in terms of seeing and transparency. Tonight, for the whole night, seeing conditions were excellent and transparency was very good. My friend and fellow observing companion, Mat Hutchings was observing this night with me. Mat has made both his own mirrors with exceptional results and has made his own ATM projects for sometime now, having learned the craft from Jeff Baldwin over in the Stockton (CA) Astronomical Society.

Before Mat arrived I had the opportunity to do some lunar observing in the XT10 using my favorite eyepiece, the 10mm Pentax XW. Copernicus was just wonderful and I enjoyed viewing Reinhold and Lansberg as well. The craters showed a terrific contrast between the light and shadows. My reaction was this is the best I have seen the moon and I thought my XX14i did a really outstanding job as did my Obsession 20 inch. In terms of contrast, this mirror was just making me goody for anticipation. I settled down as I didn't want to just buy in right away without testing and observing for the night. On my audio I did give the contrasts available on the Zambuto refurbished mirror a big wow at this moment. About this time, around 45 minutes into my lunar observing Mat showed up and it was game on. Mat asked me what I was doing. I told him to observe the moon in the XX14i giving him the craters and to pick a few items of his own, and then to compare it in the XT10. At this point I really wished I had spent more time practicing and doing lunar observing. I really need to be more consistent with this aspect of my observing. It would add another week to observing.

We both felt that the XT10 with the Zambuto mirror had jut a wonderful contrast between the shades of white, gray and black. The rays from the ejecta from the craters actually seemed to show a variation to their coloring, and it was just terrific to see the black shadows transit through a gray to a white color. The XX14i performed quite well here, actually, it was excellent if not outstanding but the edge in contrast is definitely to the XT10 with the Zambuto mirror in it. Some of this has to be given to the amount of light the 14 inch is gathering over the 10 inch.

STAR TEST REGULUS

Now that Mat was here we decided to do a star test using Regulus and a 6mm Radian. The star test shows, to quote Mat, "A phenomenal mirror with phenomenal smoothness." Mat told me while we were comparing notes on the test that the smoothness of the mirror is perhaps the best he has seen, and he crafted an eight-inch mirror that is just outstanding, and that Steve told him was one of the best he has seen. The eight would go head to head the next night.

Messier 51/ NGC 5194 & NGC 5195 (Sketched)

We next decided to let our eyes undo from the moon and waiting for about twenty minutes to begin to recover. I did a sky hop on both scopes to go and check out Messier 51 in a very moon dominated sky. Here the XX14i showed a brighter inner core area, with some fuzziness around the core with some brightening toward NGC 5195. The XX14i was also not near as dark in its background contrast, but some of that would have to be accounted for from the increased aperture and the increase amount of sky glow from being in an LP area and especially with the moon being so bright. In the XX14i NGC 5195 showed a bright inner core with a hint of fuzziness around it, and it was relatively small. My sketch here doesn't do a good job of showing that detail, and I brightened the fuzziness of M51 to try and convey what we were seeing.

Having said all this, the XT10 had a very, very dark black background that allowed the galaxy to really stick out. There is definitely a hint of structure there that Mat observed first, since he was at the XT10 while I was still viewing the XX14i which he had finished viewing through. With my turn at the XT10 and when we conferred our observations, we both felt that we could distinguish a spiral arm. Also, NGC 5195 in the XT10 was much larger and the core brighter, and the shape was easily distinguished. The XT10 here had the advantage here and that was due to the contrast. The XX14i performed quite well, outstanding again, but could not match the contrast of the XT10. The contrast allowed more details to be observed in the XT10. Again, this has to be a factor of aperture in the given conditions because the 14 is bringing in so much more light. Eyepieces used in this trial were the 14mm Pentax XW in the XX14i, and the 10mm Pentax XW in the XT10. The 10mm Pentax XW was also used in the XX14i and the 7mm Pentax in the XT10. Conditions continues to allow for around 200x to 250x without an issue.

In my sketches here, I attempted to show a darker sky with the XT10 versus the XX14i and the details that reveals. You can decide if they enhance or detract from my observation.

XX14i Sketch

XT10 Sketch

Messier 13, Globular Cluster in Hercules (No Sketch, time)

By now the constellation Hercules was well up into the eastern sky and heading up toward Dobson's Hole. The night continued to be pretty steady so we did a quick Telrad to M13, used the finder to center and then used the 14mm Pentax XW in the XX14i and the 10mm Pentax XW (best views were with the 10mm Pentax XW) and the XT10 used the 10mm Pentax XW and the 7mm Pentax XW.

The XX14i showed a wonderful view of easily defined tendrils and stars showing up through the FOV. The contrast here was terrific and for being such a moon lite night, the globular looked reasonable (not as good at a dark site on a great night). In the XT10 the background again was darker than the XX14i, but it was harder for some reason to view as many stars as in the XX14i, and the detail seen in the tendrils was not as much as in the XX14i. For this object both Mat and I felt that the XX14i got the edge. Perhaps aperture was a deciding factor here?

Epsilion Lyra: The Double Double (No Sketch)

We decided to take a look up in Lyra which had arise and was decently up in the night sky by 12:30 a.m. MDT on May 13th, 2011 or 06:30 UT. The star hope was easy using the Telrad on each scope and we used the 10mm Pentax XW on the XX14i, the 7mm Pentax XW on the XT10 and then the 6mm Radian on each scope for fun. Both scopes split the Double Double easily enough, and did so nicely. However, the XT10 with the Zambuto mirror had a nice dark edge and the black in between the doubles was cleaner. Edge to the XT10 with the Zambuto on this one because the contrast was darker. The XX14i again did an outstanding job just all the LP and the Lunar light is hampering the views I believe.

Saturn (Sketched but I'm not a good planetary sketcher at all so no post)

We now went to Saturn and took a gander at a planet. Saturn showed a wonderful view in both scopes. We used the 7mm Pentax XW on the XX14i and the 6mm Radian on the XT10. Both scopes showed the first northern band and one southern band. The Cassini division was visible as was the A and B rings. The XT10 performed wonderfully here but so did the XX14i. Perhaps fatigue was beginning to set in as we observed Saturn for over an hour to capture as much detail as possible. In the end, the overall view of the XX14i was better, but the contrast of the XT10 showed through also.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Herriman, Utah

Antoniadi IV to III (what conditions moved to)

Spring in Utah! The weather is great one day, and begins to degrade the next. Conditions tonight were not as good as Thursday night. Antoniadi IV moved to a III later in the evening. Clouds were all around when we set up (no rain clouds, just clouds). I'm tired of clouds but that is another story. Let me state up ront that Mat and I and a couple of others got some observing but my 17 year old son (see the picture) came out and spent the evening with us (he is truly deadly with a Telrad) and so did my 18 year old daughter. She spent a lot of time in the early evening/night doing lunar observing. She also made the decision that she wants to get in and do astro-photography! NO!!!!!! I'll have to convert here to visual observing . . . actually no. I'll support her in whatever she does because though not perfect, who is, she is just an incredible young woman as my son is also. It's pleasing to see them growing up and coming to the journey that is their life. Very satisfied as a parent and I just enjoy being able to be in their lives and to share the journey of life together. Sorry, I don't talk much about my family, but they do mean the world to me as do my friends.

Tonight Mat brought over two eight inch scopes that he had built, both the mirror and the dob. The F3.6 (I believe) 8 inch he just finished with his 12 year old daughter and he just finished it a few months ago and it was coated by Steve Dodds. It has an excellent to outstanding mirror in it. So we decided to include that scope with the XX14i. My regret. My friend with a Z12 and another with a Z10 couldn't show. For the first two hours we all did a lot of lunar observing and observing of Saturn because the clouds just came flying in. Clear Sky Clock stated that the clouds would go away around 11:00p.m. and they did. I will state that during this time my 17 year old son who has been observing for about 3 years now, told us that quite frankly, after viewing the Moon and Saturn that "This mirror is much better than the one I have in there normally." I asked why he felt that way and he stated "You can see far more details. . ." Leave it to younger eyes I guess.

Here are a couple of photos of what we called Dob Row that night.

Looking west south-west with several houses in the distance.

Looking south with two light shields which are not needed after 10:00p.m. when the neighborhood goes pretty well dark. You can see the clouds we fought for the first part of this session.

Mat's two ATM 8 inch scopes.

Gamma Virginis (Sketched)

After the clouds cleared out, Mat suggested that we try to split Porrima or Gamma Virginis. This is a tight split of around 1.7 seconds I believe right now and a good test of the scopes. We used the 6mm Radian in the XT10 and the 7mm Pentax in the XX14i. Both scopes split the pair, but the XT10 again had the finer split and showed more of both a black area between the stars and a gap in the split. This to me was due to contrast yet again and the light impacting the 14. We next compared the XT10 to the 8 inch portaball that Mat had made recently. Again the Zambuto mirror in the XT10 won, but not by much. The 8 inch gave the 10 inch a good run for its money.

NGC 3242 The Ghost of Jupiter

I wanted to observe a planetary nebula, one of my favorite objects to view and I knew that The Ghost of Jupiter was still up, and bright enough to view. So both the XX14i and the XT10 and the 8 inch star hopped over to The Ghost, which was relatively easy. Without a filter in all three scopes, the planetary stood out, even in the poor conditions. Conditions would hurt detail though I believe. The XT10 showed a better contrast but the color was better in the XX14i without the filter in. With the filter, both did fine and all it really did in this situation was increase the size of the object. Overall the 14 did a better job on this one. I did not pull out my OIII filter at this time. We observed a little more and did so for the enjoyment and I let others have a go with the scopes now that the weather cleared. I spent some time observing and interacting with my kids/teens, observing and going through the sky with them. The mirror in the XT10 was just outstanding, but man, I tell you, spending time with my kids, with the sky, is just magical. I truly hope it is something we enjoy together til the end of my days because it is what I call, a magical moment. Actually the last two days had been magical in may ways and a terrific learning experience.

Conclusion:

So what is my conclusion after spending two nights with my XT10 with a Zambuto mirror? That as I stated it was a wonderful experience, an outstanding learning experience, just wonderful. The biggest takeaway for me is the amount of contrast in the mirror. That contrast allows an experience observer to see more detail and thus gleam more from their experience. No one will go wrong buying that mirror or one like it, or any Zambuto mirror. Regrets? Yep, that I would have loved to have it for a dark sky trip to Notch Peak (one of the darkest areas in the continental U.S.A.) for a two night observing trip, with no moon and excellent conditions.

To be honest, if you buy the mirror its not that it is a huge WOW factor, but it is a major subtle factor. Also, don't expect to perhaps glean details unless your experience observer. It takes time to achieve this and one thing I've learned in this hobby is to be able to really gleam details it takes experience and that means time. When you purchase a mirror like this your buying into your future as an observer and committing to it. An experience eye will see a just a tad more detail with the Zambuto mirror than with their stock primary and the contrast is what helps you to do that. What else? It confirmed to me as Mat and a couple others have that I have an excellent mirror in the XX14i, and I could be very happy observing with it. I will state that as soon as I can get the money together, if Carl is willing, I want a Carl Zambuto in my 14. My brother in law wants to buy me out of the 20" Obsession and I now have a reason to let him buy me out, and I enjoy my 20" views in an observatory in southern Utah! My XT10 mirror is just average, there is no doubt about that. It is a good scope and I'll keep it but it also at some point will have a Zambuto mirror put in there. Not all at once Carl, the 14 is my preferred scope so that is the priority! I also know to give this some time as the wow reaction to the mirror is such that I have to make sure I am thinking through everything here.

Whether it is worth it to buy a mirror like this will be up to each observer and owner of a scope. For me, I will upgrade as soon as I can bring the money together and there is an urgency for me to do so because I have seen the difference. It is subtle but it exists. The 10 inch wasn't that much better than my current 14, but enough that for me, I believe that I want the upgrade. However, it is for everyone? Much like Jason D. at CloudyNights, I am not sure if it is for every user right away. I will not regret spending the money. Conditions will always play a role in viewing and it is up to each observer to determine if the upgrade is the correct thing for them. I could be happy staying with my stock 14 primary, yet on those nights when the seeing and transparency are excellent, a difference would be seen. I guess I'll pay for that opportunity as soon as I can. If fiances warranted that I had to keep the 14 as is, I could do that or I could look to reconfigure but as Mat told me, your mirror is "well configured, both tests and visually we've seen that." An outstanding done 14 will increase the performance but only you can decide if a mirror that is almost equal to the cost of the scope is worth it. Guess I'll strive to get that money together and to upgrade, not because the scope is terrible or I have a terrible mirror, but because I want that opportunity. So if you doubt, get on the list over at CloudyNights by PMing CityKid/Phil and take a test drive. Beware though, it may just wet your appetite for more. The link is at the top of the post.

Thanks to Carl Zambuto and to Phil and others who allowed me to sneak in front of them. It is an incredible opportunity, what in business we once called "The Opportunity of a Lifetime" for some and I encourage you to take advantage of it. Please feel to ask questions or to contact Carl at his website located here. Simply go to contacts or go to Carl's Yahoo group to ask more questions or to CloudyNights.I am in no way employed by Carl or receiving any incentive for the report that I have written. Tests were done willingly and to the best of our ability. I am sure Mat and others would alter some of what I have written based on their experience and views.