At Binbrook’s Alternate Site, 31 Aug – by Jackie Fulton
I met Brett and Cheryl after dinner to solar observe. Brett had his Coronado solar scope already set up. Brett explained how to use the solar filter on my GT80 and the proper way to align on the sun. Moving back and forth between the two, I couldn’t get enough. Today was the first time I had ever looked at the sun………fabulous!!!
Doug Black joined our little gathering of sun worshipers. He arrived in plenty of time to observe before the sun set too deeply in the horizon. Waiting for dark sky, we got out the charts and set our sights on mapping out the new Supernova in NGC 214. While it was agreed at 17magnitude the seeing would be difficult, the consensus was “you don’t know if you don’t look”. Not a great strategy…..but do-able. Doug Black, meanwhile, had gone to his car and re-appeared, smiling, carrying a small box. A Spectroscope !! The Sun, A Supernova, and A Spectroscope !!! On the same night !! Life just doesn’t get any better !! You can’t imagine my excitement !
Brett and Cheryl had family drop by with their niece and nephew to observe with us….to see Jupiter. Although the Clear Sky Clock had predicted clear sky from 9 pm to 1 am, the seeing was deteriorating rapidly. We immediately turned to the most important task at hand…..the kids had come to observe, they would not be disappointed. We each set our scopes and binos to capture different objects, so not one would be missed.
My little Nexstar and step stool made for the easiest viewing. The Go-To was perfect for quick slewing to each object as it popped in and out of the cloud cover. The kids got a short look at Jupiter and a hazy Moon before clouds covered them for good. Mizar was the clearest double star. The Big Dipper and major stars were identified. In the end however, despite our valiant efforts, the kids thought “the way the red dot finderscope worked “was “THE BEST”.
With that, another enjoyable evening had come to an end. The cloud cover showed no signs of breaking up, so we packed up and headed for home about 11:00 pm. The Sun, the Supernova and the Spectroscope would have to wait for another day.
