Re: SAA: Predawn Messier session (15X70 binoculars)

Marty <movac5@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Margo,
Always fun to hear of your explorations of your window universe!
(And to see an observing report on SAA... Hopefully, Spring will bring a
little more "amateur astronomical" activity to the group...) You're
dealing with what most would consider an abysmal astronomical situation
very well! I wonder if to some extent your room acts as an inhabitable
dewcap...? :)

Hi, Marty. That "inhabitable dewcap" is a gem, and I may quote you on
that, with your permission (you deserve full credit).

Last night I had a strange experience with viewing the Moon, and I'm
curious as to what might have happened, although some information I've
seen assures me that no real harm was done. Using my 15X70 binoculars
and trying to find a DSO where the full moon was, not unpredictably,
interfering with even this rather bright object, I decided to have a
look at the Moon itself. When viewing the February 20 eclipse from
an outdoor location, and then enjoying the usual full Moon after
this event, I had no problems.

Anyway, for some reason, when I looked at the Moon with my naked eyes
to get them a bit light-adapted and then tried the binoculars, the
Moon looked _very_ bright, indeed uncomfortably so. I seem to recall
that the aperture at which a neutral density or variable polarizing
filter is recommended is about 4" or 100mm or so.

After a few very uncomfortable attempts to view our natural satellite
for a few seconds or so each, I wisely abandoned the attempt, and tried
my Dob with a variable polarizing filter, which was fine. I noticed
that my right eye seemed a bit teary -- not from the viewing in the
Dob with the filter, which was at a comfortable light level, but
evidently still from the earlier binocular viewing. Even now, about
12 hours later, my eye sometimes feels a bit strained -- as it once
was from an early telescope session last summer which taught me
definitely to use a shroud for protection from local glare (at
first a towel, and then an Orion Lights Out Observing Canopy).

I've seen threads and discussions about how viewing the Moon through
even a large telescope (without filter) shouldn't do any permanent
eye damage -- _quite unlike the situation with the Sun_ -- so I guess
that it's a question of bearing with this and letting my eyes get
fully back to normal. I wonder if somehow the window glass might have
increased the lunar glare effect, since I didn't have any problem like
this in my post-eclipse viewing in February.

You mention your mixup with the Greek alphabet... I have to
confess when I post something in here, once I get past the "named"
stars, I have to pull out Norton's Star Atlas just to read the names of
the Greek characters so that I can spell 'em out in my post. Heck, it
took ME a while to memorize THIS alphabet.

Yes, sometimes I need to check which character is which, also.

You're also observing at a time of day when I'm generally
unconscious... I can stay UP til then with no problems, but getting up
then requires electrodes to start my heart. When I was a kid, I
associated the rising of Sirius with the coming beginning of the school
year, which sort of shows what time I was out walking around in the
Summer. (Well, actually, it was the lower end of a long curving tail,
hanging down from a kite formed by the belt and sword of Orion...)

Often I've leaned in your direction, also: at around the beginning of
last summer, I was looking at Fomalhaut. Of course, from my apartment,
I can only see things within a couple of hours of right ascension of
the meridian, which makes the calendar seem a bit different. However,
I may be getting more active in some local star parties, which would
give me another perspective. Astronomy seems fun as either an outdoor
or indoor sport.


Marty


With many thanks,

Margo

.

Relevant Pages

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