Learning the Ropes

Amateur astronomy can be a solitary pursuit. With the entire Vault of the Heaven's arched overhead, one can achieve a certain sacred privacy. Benath the heaven's, you can easily imagine the entire cosmos being called into existence for you in just this moment. Despite one's solitude, all sense of alienation lies in suspense. There is nothing so humbling than standing beneath the Night Sky. For Coelum Nocta knows no distinctions...

But this particular experience is not how 8 June 2002 began, nor in fact did it even end in this way. No, my only moments of solitude were spent in transit. For you see, this was a day - and a night - of mostly shared experiences. Except as mentioned, during those interludes of travel between venues.

This particular day started at 6:20 PDST. No, not 6:20 "PM" - as one might suspect. Rather 6:20 "AM". I was scheduled for a special training session. A session scheduled but once a year on the grounds of Fremont Peak State Park. There I would join a half-dozen other Fremont Peak Observatory Association (FPOA) members to learn how to use and safeguard the 30 inch Split English Yoke Mounted 30 inch newtonian. Training that I felt was encumbent on me due to several recent visits to scope and site.

Despite an unexpectedly long stop for breakfast, managed to make the gate to the observatory road by 9:00. There I met Jack (one of the presenters) and about a half-dozen trainees. By 9:30 we entered the observatory proper and were joined by Ron (the main presenter). Ron got us oriented to the facilities and procedures thereof. I was impressed by the thought that went into the building and its accoutrements. A multimedia center was in full view, several small scopes were displayed throughout the room. Seating for maybe twenty folks was available.

With the orientation complete, Jack led us all outside into the morning sunshine. Here he demonstrated his proficiency in assemblng and using the two FPOA solar scopes.

The main instrument was set up first. This (TV-Solaris model) is a specialized refractor of about 70mm's aperture. It incorporates a red bandpass filter preliminary to the objective lens. This filter minimizes the amount of light entering the OTA proper. That light is refracted and passed to a tunable hydrogen-alpha filter. This filter rejects most of the remaining frequencies. By this point only light emitted by singly-ionized hydrogen molecules is permitted to pass to the eyepiece. A barlow lens extends the focal ratio of the scope to F30. The last element of the optical train is, of course, the eyepiece - a two-inch 40mm Plossl. This yielded a 50x view of the Sun. And that view was unparralleled to any I'd ever seen of our Central Luminary. For you see, hydrogen-alpha light allows the eye to catch the most delicately shaped faculae on the solar disk - along with the most incredibly dynamic features seen on any world outside our own.

We spent a good deal of time leveling and aligning the scope's equatorial mount. This was, after all, a scope intended for use viewing Sol by the general public. A drive-motor is only as useful as a mount's polar alignment. And elimination of variables is critical when achieving good results. For instance, the mount itself includes a small target bubble level. By properly extending the tripod legs this first variable was eliminated.

Leveling the mount makes it possible to simply dial in a particular sites latitude to achieve proper declination. With the scale set at 37 degrees north, the right ascension drive now had at least a "fighting chance" of tracing an arc across the sky parallel to the Sun's own apparent motion. But there is one very real complication to daytime viewing - no pole star. So we "guestimated" Polaris position based on the orientation of the nearby observatory building.

The first views through the Solaris were unforgettable. A huge "sawtooth-shaped" solar prominince "jetted" straight up at about the 7 o'clock eyepiece position. This jet abruptly reached its terminus and, swept by hidden magnetic forces, sprayed fanlike back toward Sol's photosphere. By watching this "shark-finned" shape prominence over time one could detect slow changes in structure and morphology. A totally unexpected and exciting view.

Other, more delicately-shaped prominences were also visible. All at locations around the Solar limb. Some were merely featherlike or spidery-threaded wisps. None were as robust as that "great grandaddy" seen at first inspection. Each prominence is probably associated with a sunspot approaching earth-based observation, or receding from it. Truly the forces at work on our Central Star are grand and powerful...

We also setup a C90. This scope bore the far less expensive and therefore more commonplace mirrored reflection filter. Views through the 90mm Mak were comparable to those seen through the 80mm Pup achromat. Relatively static sunspot views lack the engagment of prominences - but they are a fine introduction to solar viewing for eye and perception.

As you might suspect, the Solaris scope dominated the use of group members. But we had done a better job of nailing the pole through the C90. I took this chance to demonstrate how to finalize polar alignment using the "drift" method. Reaching up under the GEM, I loosed the azimuth locking palmwheel and shifted the two lateral adjustment thumbwheels. The goal was to return the sun's disk back to the center of the eyepiece FOV. After several repititions the mount maintained a reasonably accurate lock on the Sun as the world turned.

Thanking Jack, we returned to the observatory hall and received more orientation from Ron. Specific instructions related to all the many factors associated with safe use of the 30 inch newtonian then followed within the observatory itself. Many items, such as uncovering the primary, and removing lens caps from finders, are common to most scopes. A few, such as removing the secondary cover and rotating the secondary to divert the optical train to one of three possible focusers, are peculiar to large truss tube types. Finally procedures related to opening and closing the observatory roof were demonstrated. Why I even got a chance to turn the crank myself!

Other hands on opportunities followed. My experience with GEMs made slewing the scope over large areas of sky straightforward. The excellent bearings, clutches, and counterweights on scope and mount simplified everything. The instrument is surprisingly nimble and amenable to both gross and fine motor control by a single user.

But I never plan to observe with it alone. For several reasons:

One reason? It's far too easy to overlook something when preparing and retiring the scope and observatory. I don't mind (yes I do!) damaging my own equipment, but such an instrument is held in trust for a much, much, larger community.

A second reason? Why it would almost be selfish to put such a large scope to private use. Besides, half the time with the scope is spent finding stuff. When you go to that much trouble to turn something up, why not share the view with others!

And finally, the FPOA has a charter - one that only recently became clear to me. (This while while attending the FPOA board meeting that convened after the training session.) The scope is not meant for personal research or exclusively private use. Yes, this is offered - but only as a reward for public service and often in the company of visitors. But the goal for the scope is public service and outreach. Thus the need for sheer aperture...

For, as we all know, views through common telescopes - except for a few exceptional studies - fail to live up to ideas held by the general public. Photographs and CCD images of deep sky studies seen by the general public display obvious and unique characteristics and virtues. Garden variety scopes generally show only a limited set of class-related attributes. Happily the resulting mismatch of visual expectations is not a failing of the 30 incher. The Sombrero looks like a sombrero. The Whirlpool looks like a whirlpool. The eye can easily see what photographs reveal of basic structure - if not of fine detail. And, as with many globular cluster images, without overexposure.

As a result, the FPOA is a specialized organization. It exists to serve the general public primarily and astronomical community, secondarily. TAC, for instance, exists for the pleasure and leisure of the avid amateur astronomer. By participating in TAC, individual needs and wants for astronomical culture, adventure, and exchange can be met. Membership in the FPOA means that you accept the responsibility to share what you know, do, and are with the general public.

This website (astro.geekjoy.com) also seeks to serve in this way. It is meant as a living repository for astronomical experiences. It is hoped that those visiting here, reading the words of Dave Qua, theAstronomer, Cor, Otto, El Marko, and myself will get a sense of what is possible in terms of personal enrichment and self-expression through avid engagement in our "High Art and Science".

But this is not a place for the general public. Astro.Geekjoy is here to help inspire other amateurs to rekindle their own Quest of the Night Sky. It also enables its few readers an opportunity to see how a few other avid observers have fared in their individual quest. And now my own quest comes to a new turning. For as a member of the FPOA, I've bought into its mission. For you see, each of us is a tiny incendiary spark. And by exposing others to such sparks whether, astronomical or otherwise, an allied spark - perhaps long buried in others - may be invigorated...

Bonny Doon Astrobud's Night Out

By 5:00, my training at the FPOA observatory was over. Early on, learned how to setup a pair of solar scopes for public presentation. Followed this with main scope and observatory training. Sat in on the FPOA Board of Directors meeting. There, I learned that a new relationship with the California State Parks Commission was in the offing. Afterwords, undertook the annual "interpreter" (docent) training led by a Ranger Kyle. With this behind me was now fully qualified to particpate in FPOA activities and share in the use of the large scope within bounds established within the mission and charter of the organization.

Could have stayed on at Fremont Peak and helped out with the public program in the evening. But it had been a while since I'd "star partied" with my astrobuds from the SCAC. It was obvious to me that this particular public evening at the observatory would be well-staffed. Many of the directors and various core personnel were present. Several fellow-trainees stayed on. I wasn't needed.

Meanwhile, earlier in the afternoon, I'd actually discharged some of my responsibilities to public outreach. Fellow trainee Al and I had given a full blown "presentation" using the solarscopes to a pair of bicyclists who had riden up to the observatory on speculation. Between Al and I, we covered everything from the constitution of the Sun and its eventual fate to the bounds imposed on radiation by the absence of an electromagnetic field at the borders of the known universe. Not bad eh?

But before leaving, received an offer to dine with a small, merry band of FPOA members. Jane and Mojo, Don, and fellow trainee Ed, settled down at the Dona Esthers - the other Mexican Food restaurant in San Juan Bautista. (My usual sit-down stop is "Jardines".) I arrived late (after searching Jardines). By this time many conversational threads were already in evidence, but I doggedly stuck with one in particular: "How does the experienced amateur keep the drive alive?"

Jane's answer was straightforward: "Public programs and outreach." Mojo echoed this: "By seeing through a newcomer's eyes you re-experience the magic."

And my own? You don't... You simply stay with something until, like a well-worn saddle, you sit easy and comfortable, and ride tall to wherever you are called next. And it is that calling that revitalizes and refreshes. Don't follow the money - follow the energy.

By 7:00, and with the flutter of busboys, we departed. The main group back up the long and winding road for the evening's public program, and I, north-by-northwest to the Bonny Doon airport...

I arrived in early dusk. The sun was down. Several of my compadres were already setup. There was "El Marko" and his 12.5 inch "Galaxian". Leon had the 10 inch Coulter. Dwight assembled his 200mm LX200. As the four of us chatted, Dean rolled up from Half-Moon Bay with a friend Daryll - an astronomy professor from San Mateo Community College. Daryll brought along an ancient orange tube C8. Dean's main tube - an LX50 mounted Meade 200.

I immediately liked Daryll. He had taken up amateur astronomy as a youth while living - in all places - New York City! And like most amateur astro's (almost said unlike most professional astronomers), Daryll knew his way around the Night Sky.

Later SCAC President Chris turned up and I passed on greetings from FPOA members Jane and Mojo to both he and Dwight.

Seeing at Bonny Doon was uncharacteristically unsteady. Winds buffeted from the northwest. I thought of the public evening at Fremont Peak. These were not local conditions. I felt similar winds while heading out to the hatchback in San Juan Bautista. It was also quite chilly.

Despite the wind, the sky promised to be quite transparent. By 10:15 skydark had descended and stars to magnitude 5.5 could be held direct (in Bootes). But had Jupiter even been overhead (instead of well-sunward) we wouldn't have had a rousing view. - 5/10 stability at best.

This was to be a "free-wheeling" evening of observation for me. I had left Boulder Creek in the am with 80mm Pup and EQ mount stowed in the car. The plan was to leave Fremont Peak arround 5pm, return to BC, dine, and add 150mm MCT Argo plus all accessories to the kit. Dinner in San Juan Bautista meant a straight shot to Bonny Doon with the Pup. There was no time to develop an observing plan. (Numerous globulars in southern Ophiuchus await my attention through both scopes.) But what the hey, I'm flexible. Really!

Throughout the evening, El Marko got the award for "most heads down" observer. Mark had a list of studies remaining from the preceding week. Among them was a faint globular - Palomar-9 probably discovered during the 48 inch Schmidt Sky Survey. By 1:30am, Mark had tracked this baby down through the 12.5. All in attendence had a look. And that look reminded me of large faint globular NGC 5466 in Bootes through Argo earlier in May from Monte Bello. Very definite but ghostly. Given the 12.5's additional 1.5 magnitudes of reach, that would put Palomar-9 at about magnitude 10.5. Surprisingly bright for an non-NGC globular.

El Marko also enlightened me to a relatively bright galaxy (and a nearby faint companion) found in the same field as Beta Canes Venatici (NGC4490 & 4485). That view through the Big Dob was pretty impressive - very Messieresque. And I was able to turn up 3x6 arc minute sized 9.8 magntitude 4490 through the Pup. Meanwhile 12.0 magnitude 1.6x.8 arc minute sized 4485, lay outside of reliable detection.

Of course a number of us also turned our scopes on the M84/86 "Galaxy Field of Dreams". Amazingly, the Pup was just able to reveal the core of 12.0, 2x1 arc-minute sized NGC4387 in the midst of the M84/86/NGC4388 equilateral triangle. (Although in looking over these numbers I begin to doubt that such a feat is possible in a three and change aperture achromat!)

Although seeing conditions softened resolution a bit, some fine views of numerous globular clusters were had through the Dean and Daryll's 200mm SCTs. M4, 5 & 13 to name but a few.

My favorite view through the Pup was framing the entire Veil Complex into Leon's 22mm 65 degree Panoptic eyepiece using his UHC filter. In fact it was also possible to make out the illusive northern component as a faint sheen as well. Certainly this speaks well of the depth of the sky. And just to make this clear, was able to hold the 12.3 magnitude star in the M57 "Challice of the Ring" at 140x. This suggests that telescopically stars to magnitide 6.5 plus should have been possible unaided!

It was also hear that we had our most recondite discussion of astronomical theory. Why isn't the Veil considered a "planetary nebula"? And why, for instance, is the Helix Nebula in Aquarius NOT considered a "Supernova Remnant"? Hmmmm....

And speaking of the Veil Complex, Jack's XT10 and Leon's 10 inch Coulter allowed for sumptuous views of both the northern and southern extensions of the Western Veil (morth and south of 52 Cygni). Meanwhile, Dwight dropped in a recently acquired 10.5mm Pentax eyepiece with Leon's UHC to reveal numerous filaments, tufts and folds in the "battlief-shaped" Eastern Veil in his LX200. Marvelous views all.

Speaking of fine eyepieces, both Leon's 22mm Panoptic and Dwight's 10.5mm Pentax did superb jobs of showing pointillistic stars well out to the superwide two plus degree fields displayed through the 80mm achromat. One of these days Pup, one of these days...

Several other memorable views need be mentioned here. Late in the evening, El Marko swung the big 12.5 around on the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. Earlier that day (while at the FPOA observatory) took a look at a 30 inch color photograph of the Trifid. Differences between the two main lobes were staggering! One lobe, dominated by the triple star system, appeared distinctly "blue" and the other, red. While looking through the 12.5, and although the actual colors were hard to pin down, the fact of a difference was obvious - even with an Ultrablock filter installed. Meanwhile, the view of the much brighter Lagoon Nebula was similarly unique and unexpected. The 12.5 showed an immense amount of variagation between the three main lobes and their dividing obscuration regions. Obvious and amazingly complex in both structure and detail. Another favorite, was the Swan Nebula. The depth of the sky was such that Dwight's 8 incher (with UHC filter) revealed the Swan's elegant neck and head to loop almost completely around to make contact with it's graceful spine. Indeed a vast amount of secondary reflecting nebulosity was seen throughout the field of view. Delightful!

But to be honest, star parties are never really about the views - they are about the comradeship. A group of avid observers come togther, swap stories, scopes and deepsky favorites. But mostly, they fan the flames of otherwise lonely pursuits held beneath the Night Sky.

And for a few unhurried hours, the entire cosmos is felt to be crafted by whatever hand guide's creation just for them and for them alone...

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