Sengkang Fernvale Obs Sessions

[harlequin2902]

Wednesday, 20 May 2015



After having my Nexstar 8 for about a month now, I finally felt like I got my $$$ worth early this morning!

The sky cleared up around midnight, and I started with some indoor observing of the lower half of the Scorpius region through my living room window including NGC 6231 the northern jewel box and Globular Clusters NGC 6388, 6397 and 6541 in the neighbourhood. I noted that the sky was clearer than previous nights and I could even see part of Saggitarius through the window. There are usually some thin high clouds in that area and I have not been able to observe that region from my viewing angle so far.

Seizing the opportunity, I decided to haul the Nexstar 8 setup downstairs to the field which I had identified as a potentially good observing location some days ago. Without wasting any time to dismantle and pack the parts into my usual carriers, I slung the powertank on one shoulder, stuffed my OIII filter (in case of course) into my left pocket, my 25mm eyepiece in a bolt case into the right pocket and heaved the Nexstar 8 over my other shoulder, with both arms supporting the tripod legs sticking out in front of me. When I finally got downstairs ... the field looked muuuch further than I thought

After a quick 2 star alignment on Vega and Antares, I was all set!

Though I only had one 25mm eyepiece with me, which gives me 50x magnification, it was sufficient and the effort of hauling the scope down was all well worth it as the clear sky all around me allowed me to do a mini Messier shoot out on the following:
M4, M6, M7, M8, M13, M17, M22, M25, M28, M54, M57, M69, M70, M80

This was the first time I observed M8 Lagoon Nebula and M17 Swan Nebula in Singapore with my own scope. The OIII filter worked its magic on M8 and M17. Without the filter, these celestial wonders are just barely visible in our light polluted skies. The filter improved the contrast of these objects by the significant darkening of the background, allowing the eye to better appreciate the nebulous glow against an almost black background. I also spent a bit more time observing old favourites which I have not seen in over 10 years, the larger Globular Clusters M13 in Hercules and M22 in Saggitarius, and the Ring Nebula M57 in Lyra.

As I have to work later today, I packed up after about an hour on the field. Hope to have more clear skies like this in the coming days and weeks ahead!

[Airconvent]

Well done Sam! glad to know after all these year you still have the energy and still "Do It In The Dark!"

[harlequin2902]

Monday, 25 May 2015

It seemed like a really long time ago that I did any observing!

The sky was really clear this evening since 8pm but it wasn't till around 10.30pm that I managed to find time to bring the scope out. This evening, it was the GOTO-enabled ST80's turn to bask under the starlight!



I'm more used to red dot 'finders', so after some initial frustration in locating my alignment stars through the 8 x 40mm finder, I managed to get the scope aligned and set up with Alpha Centauri and Antares.

I was quite disheartened at first as I began to note the huge difference on familiar objects between my 8" SCT and this little 80mm. However, I brushed it off and began to try and enjoy it for what it was - the little scope that could! And it proved to be so.

I only had my Vixen SLV 15mm (26x), Nagler 9mm (44x) and UHC filter with me this evening. The only time I ever remembered seeing Saturn this tiny was when I first observed it through my very first scope back in early 2000's - a 60mm Tasco refractor

On to the DSOs.. I managed to observe M13 and M92, two Globular Clusters in Hercules even though it was still pretty low and caught in a bit of sky glow. Unfortunately, M57 Ring Nebula was way too low for me to observe at that time. I also managed to observe M19, M62, M80, NGC 6541 and NGC 6388 - all Globular Clusters in and around Scorpius. Even at low magnification on a cheap 80mm achromat, the smaller ones were easily observable as little fuzz balls. The larger Globular Clusters however, M4 and even NGC 5139 were a challenge to observe and I couldn't really see them.

Next, I turned my attention to what I felt would be even more challenging objects for this little scope. M8 Lagoon Nebula and M17 Swan Nebula. They were still quite low in the sky at that time, and the UHC filter made all the difference between seeing and not seeing the nebulosity. Though small at just 26x, they were quite clear. As i didn't have all night this evening, I can only imagine how much better they would have looked when they were higher up in the sky. My favourite object for the evening that I found myself kept going back to was NGC 6231 a.k.a the northern jewel box in Scorpius.

Though views of the same objects were not as bright and clear as through my 8" SCT, I was really grateful for yet another observing session with clear skies and feel refreshed, recharged and ready to face yet another day at work tomorrow

[sweetpea]

Hi there,
Total noob here staying at Anchorvale. I dug up my 10+ years old Meade telescope today, and it seems to be working. Would like to ask where exactly in Fernvale is a good spot to set up the telescope? Thanks in advance.

[harlequin2902]

Saturday, 26 December 2015

Following a very satisfying unboxing experience this morning, I brought the FC76 out for its first light under Singapore skies.
(viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13886)

The sky is incredibly clear this evening and even with a small 76mm aperture, the views were very pleasing.
Every star shone brightly like diamonds against a nice black background in the FOV.

Views of M45 Pleiades a.k.a the Seven Sisters in Taurus were incredible even with this small scope at 24x magnification in a Vixen SLV 25mm. I can only imagine what it would look like in a wide angle eyepiece or even in a larger scope on a night like this. A curious family approached me and I was quite happy to share the view with them.

Wrapped up the session with M42 in Orion unfiltered at 150x magnification, with a 4mm Vixen NLV (45 deg AFOV). The nebulosity was easily observable. A curious youth came by and I shared the view with him. Again, wished I had a wider angle eyepiece though.

It's still very clear now as I write this, and I may just go down again or try other objects observable from my windows.

Portable visual Tak FC76 setup:


At the same spot where the Nexstar 8 had its first light earlier this year:

[harlequin2902]

Sunday, 27 December 2015

Continued part 2 of the Tak FC76's first light from indoors at home.

Saw Canopus and the false cross on its side through the living room windows around 1.30am.

Referred to my star chart to see what's interesting to see there.

Decided to try NGC 2516 in Carina, which I later learnt that it is also known as the Southern Beehive. It's a really nice open cluster with lotsa stars, not very difficult to find given Carina's position at that time. It is just to the right of Epsilon Carinae. 'Nailing' it manually without goto made it more rewarding to behold.

While sweeping the scope around the brighter stars visible through the window, I chanced upon a nice multiple star system Gamma Velorum in Vela.

All the views through this scope have been very pleasing so far, and it's almost that I forgot it's just a 3 incher! Of course, aperture wins in this field, but I find that I spend more time observing each object more closely vs the Nexstar 8 goto, which is much larger and can point to desired objects with the mere push of some buttons on the handset. Perhaps in some way, I'm seeing 'more' than before with quality vs quantity viewing?

What a way to rekindle my old love for small premium refractors

[antares2063]

Will check out the Southern Beehive next time , sounds similar to Southern Pleiades (IC 2602)

Regards
Junwei

[harlequin2902]

Sunday, 27 December 2015

It's another very clear night tonight!

And what a night it was for the Tak FC76.

I walked a short distance from my home to the darkest site in the neighbourhood, the fringe of an empty plot of land next to Thanggam LRT station.

This is how dark it is. There are no street lamps here, but one has to put up with the lights from vehicles driving past occasionally behind you:



M45 is easily seen overhead with the naked eye here, so are the main stars of a few constellations in this part of the sky.

Seeing that the M in Cassiopeia was visible, I managed to locate the Double Cluster in Perseus quite easily with the help of a red dot finder which I installed in place of the standard finderscope. The view at 66x with the 9mm Nagler was just WOW.

The main stars of Andromeda were also clearly visible above Cassiopeia's M, so I went for M31 the Andromeda Galaxy and found it with ease, again thanks to the red dot finder! This is the first galaxy I've ever observed with my own scope - and it turns out to be through a small 76mm refractor. Viewed at 24x with a 25mm Vixen SLV, the bright core was very obvious. Tried my luck to find and see M33 Pinwheel Galaxy, but was not successful. Either I was aiming at an incorrect spot, or it was too dim for a 76mm refractor.

Went for a few open clusters in Auriga before calling it a night at about 10pm as the moon was rising and some clouds were starting to move in.

Let's hope this site remains undeveloped for a while!