Observing Log for Mike Durkin
10/19/2025 about 3:30PM-8:30PM
Heritage Center, Mt, Sinai, NY
Transparency: 6/10, Seeing 3/5
Temperature: 50-70 degrees
Equipment: Coronado PST, Stellarue 70mm, Hutech modified Canon T3i
The AOS 60th anniversary star party. It was a bit more like a picnic that a full blown
star party, but it was a convenient distance away although I do with they allowed for
activities to run much later.
Started by observing the sun with the PST. SOmething seemed a bit wrong with the PST at first.
The tuning ring wouldn't turn. However I did unscrew the main tube a little and then it seemed
to turn normally. I also tried observing with the 6.7mm eyepiece, but that seemed too dark,
so the 17mm eyepices seemed to be best. The disk showed a significant amount of detail,
although almost no prominences except one small one I could make out.
I mainly wanted to test out the ZWO AM5 mount with the ASIAir using the 70mm telescope.
I did have to use a different configuration of the Celestron off axis guider in order to
connect the Canon camera at the same time. I had some trouble with polar alignment
because I did not update the focal length to match the 70mm scope, it was still set up
for the SCT so plate solving was failing. I also had some help from Bill H. and after
that, polar alignment was much easier. Then I took an image of comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon.
My longest exposure was for 60 seconds without guiding and there was only a little bit of
minor elongation, which seems pretty good.
After that I wanted to see if the ZWO 174MM guidescope could get any stars, however I
could not see any. I probably needed to adjust the spacing to get stars in focus, but
at that point most people were starting to break down, so I didn't have time to try
to make those adjutsments.
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Heritage Center, Mt, Sinai, NY Transparency: 6/10, Seeing 3/5 Temperature: 50-70 degrees Equipment: Stellarue 70mm, Hutech modified Canon T3i Processed in GIMP. |
ADDENDUM: After looking at the DSLR pictures, I think I have some vignetting and maybe there was some flexture. Something else to look at when testing using the 70mm scope plus the ZWO mount.
10/18-19/2025 about 9:30PM-1:30AM
Locust Valley, NY
Transparency: 9/10, Seeing 3/5
Temperature: 50-65 degrees
Equipment: Hutech modified Canon T3i
DSLR photometry of P Cyg, CH Cyg, and b Per.
For b Per, this is part of an upcoming AAVSO alert that's centered around November 1st.
As part of the alert, the measurements are supposed to be part of a time series, so I
set up a series of 40 light frames of b Per. I will have to see if I can process the images
properly and then submit to AAVSO.
10/17/2025 about 10:30-11:30PM
Locust Valley, NY
Transparency: 7/10, Seeing 3/5
Temperature: 45-55 degrees
Equipment: Hutech modified Canon T3i
I intended to do some DSLR Photometry of P Cyg and maybe some other stars in Cassiopeia as well
as b Per which is part of an upcoming eclipse alert. HOwever there wes just a bit too much
scattered thin clouds in the sky.
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