Some sketches done with an affordable 5" Tabletop Reflector

-

I Picked up a Zhumell Z130 for a review. It has flaws, but for the money it's absolutely terrific. A review on AstronomySource will happen eventually. For now, here's four sketches from tonight.

2021 April 2 - Roughly 9:00 PM EDT. Cool -- 45 degrees F or so. Clear transparent skies. No moon. BAD seeing conditions. No phone available for precise timing unfortunately. Need a watch to keep with my astronomy gear.

M42 - Orion Nebula
Zhumell Z130 (5" f/5 Newtonian)
15mm Goldline + 2.5x Barlow, UHC Filter

Z130 (15mm GL + 2.5x Barlow)
Messier 46 cluster & NGC 2438 nebula

Both the cluster's stars and the nebula are very faint, but the PN is certain w/ averted vision in the view w/ UJC filter. Stars drawn without UHC, Nebula drawn with it. Without the UHC, the neb is juuuussssttt barely visible, suspected, but the UHC view confirms it.

M35 + NGC2158 (Z130, 15mm Goldline)

The cluster takes on its familiar irregular torus shape. NGC 2158 is suspected in the proper place. Consistently barely visible.
Satellite pass thru M35. And another a couple min later, different direction.

I could just barely make out the Messiers (M66 & M65) in the Leo Trio. I only suspected them at first, but w/ heavy breathing, rocking the scope back and forth slightly, averted vision, and concentration, I become more confident that I had seen them. They are tough, subtle smudges in my skies with the Z130.

Z130. M81 & M82 in Ursa Major. 15mm Goldline

M81's bright core is easy to see, with only a small amount of extra disk (?) visible. M82 is dimmer but always seems vaguely mottled or grannular. It's surprising always how subtly yet visibly the mottled patchiness of M82 is (even in smaller scopes). Showing that it is a starburst galaxy.

Satellite pass thru fov.
AND ANOTHER SECONDS LATER!

Fingers are freezing! Time to pack up (Probably about 10:20 PM EDT)


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Beginner's Guide to (Budget) Eyepieces

-
This post is copied from a Reddit post I recently made on r/telescopes.  First, a message of scope, so to speak. I am a budget astronomer, as such I have little experience with expensive specialized eyepiece designs. The most I've paid for an eyepiece is about 50 dollars. However I think most people who want to know about beginner eyepieces would probably be looking for a guide to affordable eyepieces anyway, so I hope this remains useful.
Read more

Why You Should Build an Aperture Mask for your Celestron FirstScope.

-
Image
An aperture mask is a simple cap you place over the telescope to cut down the aperture. The reasons why you might want to do this are not obvious, but in short, they cut down on optical aberrations significantly. This is especially important in a telescope with flawed optics--specifically those with spherical mirrors. This article will be about masking down a FirstScope, but the same principle could apply to any telescope with a spherical mirror, including telescopes that for the price have no right to have one, such as the deplorable PowerSeeker 127EQ and the AstroMaster 114EQ. The Celestron FirstScope is one of my favorite small telescopes, and it's pretty good for scanning around for bright DSOs, glancing at the Moon, etc. Its stock eyepieces are utter garbage, and when combined with the fast spherical mirror (76mm f/4), the Huygens 20mm is almost unusable.
Read more

Comparing Commercial Dobsonians

-
I recently realized that I have close to enough money to get an 8" or 10" full-sized ground Dob, which would be a serious upgrade from my 6" dob. The only other two full-size Dobs I have had any experience with so far have been the SkyWatcher FlexTube 8", which we use outside at the Observatory, and my own Apertura DT6 which I received in March. In both cases I had little choice in which they were--the Eight Inchers were bought well before I started volunteering at the Observatory, and my Six Incher was bought during and open box sale at a significant discount--the only way I'd have been able to afford it at the time. It normally costs $300, but it only cost me about $230, which is quite a steal! Now that I'm looking into an upgrade with a heftier budget, I'm in a position to make a more informed decision.
Read more