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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Jan 02, 2016 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

Unknown Unknown Clear At 2130 hours I took out a pair of binoculars and looked at M41. This was the last DSO on the Astronomical League Urban Skies list. I have a few double stars to observe and the entire list will be complete.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Dec 05, 2015 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

5 Days Before New Fair Fair Took the 12" into the backyard to cruise some of the bright objects in Cassiopeia and Andromeda. This session includes the observation of comet C/2014 S2 Panstarrs and some double stars. These objects will not show up in this data base.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Sep 10, 2015 Hidden Hollow - RAS Members and guests

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days before new Pretty good Pretty good This was the 1st night (Thursday) of HH 2015. About a dozen scopes set up - members and guests. This was the first time my new 12AD Apertura had been set up at WRO. Since I was on vacation, I thought I would spend the next 6-7 hours observing quietly. Didn't happen. I got about two hours in when I had to shut mine down and provide a tour on the 36" for some guests. Mark helped my fire up the 36" and left for the night. I provided a tour until about 3:00am or so. I then shut down and parked the 36". Then I went out, tore my setup down that I had planned on using and put it away. I finally got home around 4:00am. Just so happened that Thursday night was the onlly clear observing night for H.H. 2015. It rained almost all of Friday, cloudy most of Saturday, then rain from sundown on.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Aug 21, 2015 Home Dustin and Emily

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

Seven days after new Good Good My friend Dustin had expressed an interest in astronomy several times in the last couple of months. I invited he and Emily to swing by tonight after determining that it might be clear, earlier in the week. As Ohio luck would have it, we had a clear sky. Off to the Messier's we went. Looked at some Caldwell's, NGC galaxies and double stars as well. All in all, Dustin and Emily enjoyed the show.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Aug 15, 2015 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

One day after new. Good Good Been screwing around with the new DSC's sightseeing. Started out with some eye candy to warm up then off to Draco for some galaxies. My observing sight is on the park fringe - actually about 15 yards into the part from my property line. The line is on a slight rise and blocks out street traffic and lights. Have some lights off to to south on Park Ave and around the high school. Richland Mall to the east also provides a nice glow up to about 20 degrees. Most generally the overhead sky doesn't suffer too much. It takes three trips and about 15 minutes to cart everything out and setup. Not too bad since I don't have to drive 30 minutes and 20 miles to WRO. There is some loss of sky though.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Jul 15, 2015 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

New moon Good Good First opportunity to observe on a new moon, in the middle of the week in quite a while. Vacation started today. On to N.C. in a couple of days. Set up in the back yard to look at Messier's and relax. Double star list is caught up until late fall. This is also the first night out with the Moonlite filter slide installed. I have two filters in it now. Both are Thousand Oaks LP2 and LP3. This setup makes using them a piece of cake. I simply grab the slide and pull until I hit the filter I want. With this addition, the telescope is finally complete after almost 11 months of use. I sat down the other day and took stock of equipment and realized that my list is complete. Televue Nagler and Delos eyepieces, Glatter collimation tools, DSC's, Excellent 2" filters. I'm finally good to go.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

May 23, 2015 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

six days after new Good Good Two nights in a row at home. Super.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

May 22, 2015 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

Five days after new Decent Fair Not many opportunities to observe so far this year. Any clear nights around new moon are in the middle of the week if they exist at all. Mostly cloudy skies and rain. This is the first night out with DSC's on the 12" Apertura. I had been using the manual setting circles that originally came with the telescope. The electronic setup uses the Astrosystems hardware with 10,000 tic encoders, BETI from AstroDevice and Sky Safari Pro on the tablet. Quick, easy and accurate. Observations do not include double stars. Those are included in my Excel logging system.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Apr 17, 2015 Hidden Hollow - RAS Bruce, Mike Bryan and I

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

One day before new Good Good Last observations with the 18" Astrosystems. New owner is Tom. Issues with climbing up and down the ladder are starting to be bothersome with my back. Tom has the enthusiasm to use this thing. Had guests again tonight. Was only able to make three outside observations before calling it a night.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Oct 26, 2014 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

Three Days After New 9+ 9+ This is a compilation of two different nights at home. The first was on 9/26/14 (2 days after new) and 10/26/14 (3 days after new). It will not include 26 double star observations. It will include 21 dso's with a few of those being strictly eye candy. Still trying to determine what I can and cannot see in the backyard versus the 20+ miles to WRO. While I don't have those dark skies, I am able to detect objects that are surprisingly faint. I decided to test myself against the galaxy trios listed ina recent S & T. I've been able to observe NGC-7463 and NGC-7770 for example in Pegasus. In Pisces, I've seen NGC-7778, NGC-7779 and NCG-7782. I don't think this is too bad from a semi-urban area and using manual setting circles. I have my setup routine down pretty good. All in all, it takes three trips form the garage to setup. First trip includes rolling the dob out on the cart. Second trip includes my stool, observing table and extension cords. Finally I have a cart for the books, bags and eyepieces. At this point, I set up and arrange everything and this includes plugging in 200' of extension cord for the hair dryer (eyepieces) and I'm ready to go. Start to finish is about 20 minutes. Tear down is about five minutes longer and that's because I take my time moving stuff back to the garage very cautiously under flashlight power. What I don't need at 12:01am is to run into Brother Skunk while he's out prowling around. No problems so far.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Sep 19, 2014 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mike, Mark, Scott and Bryan

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

5 days before new Good Good Good night at WRO with friends. Five telescopes set up. Highlight was C/2014 E2/Jacques. It was aligned with the "Coathanger" in Vulpecula. Quite nice in 35mm. Purchased a 12" Apertura for home. Observations will include DSO's made from home. Will not include Double stars. Comments will include actual dates and locations. Using the 12" to observe A.L. Double Stars. Observing 50+ yards behind the house, in the park. Sky isn't too bad for semi-urban environment. The doubles are fun and the dso's are somewhat surprising. Not all of my observations are in this database. I've kept an Excel file since day one of this hobby. To date, I've recorded 5,203 objects.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

May 30, 2014 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mike, Bruce, Bryan and Dan

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

Two days after new. 9 9+ This is my third night for this observing period. This is remarkable considering the Ohio weather for the last couple of years. Mike had purchased a new camera and was working to understand it on his SCT. Bryan had requested opportunities to learn how to operate the 36". Dan was inside on the 36" and outside at our telescopes. I checked off a few more galaxies form the A.L. League Flat Galaxy list. Given the sky conditions and position of M51, Bruce and Bryan pulled it up on the 36". Easily visible were the spiral arms on M51 and the bridge between it and the companion. However, when I pulled in M51 using the 8mm Delos, I was in for quite a surprise - more detail. The 18" provided a better view than the 36". Bruce confirmed it also. More detail in the spiral arms including some mottling. Wow. Managed to locate and observe comet C/2012 K1 Panstarrs in Ursa Major. Magnitude is listed at 12 but I suggest it's more like 10. Pretty bright and complete in a 17mm AT. Very nice comet.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

May 25, 2014 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mike and two granddaughters, Brian and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days before new Very Good Very Good Two opportunities to observe in one month and both before new moon. Conditions are really good also. Just for kicks and giggles, I pointed the 18" at Saturn with the 8mm Delos installed. Saw Cassini's division pretty clearly. Saw it on 5/23/14 through Mark's new telescope. Super view. Brian was there looking at anything he could point to. Mike turned his granddaughters loose with his 12" dob and they were pretty happy. All in all, a pretty good night.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

May 18, 2014 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

5 days after full Pretty good. Great Thought I would give it a shot tonight before the moon came up. Glad I did. Seeing was fairly steady while transparency was really good. Not a 10 but very close. Wanted to try out a new Televue Delos, 8mm. These things have incredible optics. The only downside is a 72 degree fov which only means moving the telescope a little more. The plus side is that I think it allows me to go a little deeper. After tonight, I'm not really sure if the transparency was that good or the eyepiece was that good. Like to think that both were that good. Anyhow, I stuck around to around 12:30am - just before moon rise. It was fairly chilly when I left at 40 degrees. Ended with 33 objects not including some eye candy. Overall, a good couple of hours.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Mar 30, 2014 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mike, Mark and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

New Moon 8+ 9 Seeing wasn't so hot but the transparency was average to slightly better than average. Depended on where you looked. I spent time in Leo, Virgo and Sextans for a bit looking at flat galaxies. Also ticked off some galaxies in Leo. Some stuff seemed to be brighter than the rated magnitude while others appeared to be dimmer. It was hard to put a finger on it. I've guessing it's just the lack of observing time on my part. This was the first time I had the 18" fired up for some dim galaxies in almost 5 months. Besides, most of the stuff I want to look at is 13.5 magnitude or dimmer. Some I can see and others I can't. Mark rolled out his 28" for the night. He couldn't get a connection with his netbook so he hunted Hershel galaxies with Argo Navis. In addition, he parked it on that super nova in M82 (fantastic object in itself by the way). The nova was neat but M82 was still quite incredible with star formation regions and dust lanes readily apparent last night. Mike got their first and did some solar observing for a bit. He made some purchases for his SC's over the winter and was ironing out the bugs. If you're around when sparks start flying from his telescope, run for your life. He's got more cables and wires hanging off those things than any man ought to have!! Mike baled out around 10:30p or so. Mark left around midnight and I followed around 12:45a. I picked up 30 objects with a few flat galaxies in the mix. I think the best galaxy last night may have been NGC-3044. Pretty bright and pretty large. Even surface brightness from one end to the other. Mark fired up his image intensifier on his 28" and it really was amazing. If you looked at it long enough you could see core definition fading in and out depending on the seeing. This was on a flat galaxy!

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Nov 03, 2013 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

New Moon Good Good New moon and a clear sky. How odd for Ohio. It's been a putrid year for astronomy for me. Poor skies with little or no observing opportunities. So tonight was clear and I took the next day off. Decided to use the new 36". It's been quite some time since I've used it by myself and it was great. Only stayed for 4 hours or so. Observed 60 objects. However, I passed 5,000 objects tonight. My personal total is 5,016 objects in 10 years at this hobby.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Sep 27, 2013 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

Unknown Fair Fair Got clouded out.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Sep 06, 2013 Hidden Hollow - RAS Tim, Mike, Bryan and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

1 day after new Fair Fair Had guests early which disrupted me. Only logged two galaxies

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Jul 13, 2013 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mark, Tim and Myself. Mike and Kane arrived around midnight

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

5 days after new Good Good Tonight marked the first time this year that I was able to actively observe new DSO's without interference from the weather. The observing conditions were good and stayed that way.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Mar 08, 2013 Hidden Hollow - RAS A number of club members

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

4 days before new. 9 9 This was the club's Messier Marathon night and a large number of members arrived to setup and observe. We had clear skies, food to snack on, coffee to drink and around 7 or 8 telescopes to look through. However, I got hit with a sinus infection two days before and by Friday, I wasn't feeling real great. I went ahead anyhow thinking I could tough it out. By 9:30, I had enough and packed everything in. Next year!

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Dec 13, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mike, John K, Blase and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

New Moon Good Good Two nights in a row in December. Really odd for December. Tonight wasn't as transparent as last night. I worked on some objects in Perseus and Taurus with the 18". I went pretty good for a couple of hours until my back started to ache. No Tylenol handy so I stuck it out for about another hour then called it quits. I couldn't consentrate. I was back home by 10:00pm

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Dec 12, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mark, Bruce and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

1 day before new 9+ 9++ One day before new moon in December with clear skies and very good transparency. How odd? Want to observer through the new glass so Bruce and I both worked on the A.L. Flat Galaxy list. Most of these are very thin with magnitudes ranging from 15 - 16. They'll all very difficult to find and even harder to see. Two showpieces ended the night for me. The first was B33 - The Horsehead Nebula. Bruce brought out his 31mm Nagler along withg the hydrogen-beta filter. This object and this eyepiece and filter will stop you dead in your tracks. You can actually trace the dark nebula on either side of the horsehead. Outstanding. The second was Thor's Helmut - NGC-2359. Looked first with Bruce's 31mm and OIII filter. Next up was the same filter with the 17mm Nagler. This is the showstopper. You move the telecope to catch all the wisps and tendrils of the nebula. All three of us were absolutely blown away by the views these two objects presented. I can't think of a better way to end the night. On the road by 1:30am.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Nov 16, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself and others

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days after new Fair Fair

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Nov 10, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Bryan, Lee, Doreen, Mike and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days before new Good Good

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Oct 24, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

5 days before full Good Good Just killing some time with the 8" f/6

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Oct 21, 2012 Home Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

6 days after new Good Good I had brought home the ATM 8" dob that I had sold the club several years ago. I had cleaned it up about a year ago and to the best of my knowledge, no one had used it since. That being said, once I checked collimation, this telescope is still a very good instrument. Just isn't as classy I suppose as some of the other, larger telescopes the club owns. I'm going to keep it a secret since I'll keep it at home for the winter.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Oct 12, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS John, Tim, Dean and family, Bruce & Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days before new 9 9+ Blue skies all day gave way to very transparent skies at sunset. I was planning to stay late to put the 18" through its paces. Luckily, things held up very well and I was able to see a number of galaxies in the 15 magnitude range. Tonight, I just decided to run a couple of lists regardless of listed magnitude. I chose Andromeda and Camelopardalis. Andromeda kept me on the ladder while Camelopardalis was feet on the ground. I ended up with 60+ objects which for me is a great night. John arrived shortly after I had opened up the observatory. He set up his 20" and quietly worked away most of the night. We traded views of selected objects. One of those was of NGC-6888 - Crescent Nebula in Cygnus. It's a great shot with an OIII filter in his 20". However, we looked first in the 36" and that view was absolutely outstanding. Back to the 36", Bruce had given us an incredible view of the Crescent Nebula. I don't recall seeing it before but it is quite impressive. Our debate was which is better - Crescent Nebula or Thor's Helmut. All I can say is that the debate continues. John wanted to take a peek at Stephen's Quintet in Pegasus. When Bruce was able to go that direction, John got his look and I - mine. All I can say is that this was the first time in my limited observing experience that I had ever seen the nucleus of all five galaxies. That is to say that all five were easily identifiable and their cores were all bright! It was my highlight for the night. Tim arrivedafter dark and set up his 8" SCT. we traded views during the night of a couple of objects. Most notably in his telescope was the Double Cluster in Perseus. Dean was the last to arrive and quickly set up. He had brought

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

his Sky Atlas and was quickly pointed to M31, M32 and M110. In the end, Dean and Tim were the first to leave. John and I followed at 2:00am leaving Bruce to continue.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Oct 10, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mark and myse,f

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

5 days before new 8-9 Very Good Short but good night. Started clearing pretty good by 9:30 or so. By 10:00pm it was clear and Mark and I were ready to go. Seeing was slightly above average. Transparency? Well, I would say very good to excellent. I was working on Andromeda galaxies. Only a couple were seen with averted vison. Most were direct vision galaxies in the range of 14.3 - 15.3 mag. NGC-1000 was rated at 15.3 mag and was direct vision. I looked at 24 or so within that range and whenever I pointed the telescope, I could count on bagging the target. Dew never became a problem. Frost was noticeable when we left at 1:45AM but not a big issue. Temperature was around 29 degrees or so and the coffee was great. Mark put a huge dent in his Herschell list's for the night. In addition, he's got a tablet that runs Sky Safari and it's hooked up to his 28" dob. Imagine seeing him at the table and all at once, his telescope that's 10' away starts moving on its own. It's alive, it's alive. Eerie and almost appropriate for Halloween. What's great is that he can take that tablet up to the eyepiece and switch back and forth with the tablet. Super.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Sep 14, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Bruce & guests, Tim, Mike, Ron and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

1 day before new Good Fair Day began with rain - tapering off around 3:00pm with clear skies to follow around 8:00pm. Even before dark, those of us outside knew that dew was going to be an issue. The hair dryer came out early and Tim and I made frequent use of it. For myself, dew was everywhere, eyepieces, coma corrector and I think even on the secondary. Mike and Ron worked on Ron's 8" newtonian. Tonight marked the first night it had been used in about 20 years or so. Just about everyone was gone by midnight except for Bruce and I. I had put the 18" away and decided to see what the new 36" mirror was like - I wasn't disappointed. The best was saved for last - two galaxies, NGC-7332 and NGC-7339. Both of them are edge on. NGC-7332 had a bright nucleus and NGC-7339 was just bright. Another object that was a surprise was NGC-7315. Nothing at all unusual about it however, PGC-69245 is almost attached to it visually. What made it unusual was that the PGC galaxy couldn't been seen with direct vision. Using averted vision however, this thing would jump at you. One second it wasn't there and boom, it hits you and there it is! Pretty good introduction to 36" of aperature!!

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Aug 24, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mike, Bryan and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

1st quarter 8-9 9+ Finally. The old power supply may have been part of the coating issue. I had been leaving the battery on charge for 2-3 weeks in between observing sessions. Who knows. The battery finally died 8/18/12. It was 2.3 amh and was replaced with a 3.8 amh battery. I mounted it with velcro on the outside of the mirror box so I could remove it and take it home with me. No more worries about outgassing. In addition, it has sufficient power to run the fans and the dsc's. I wasn't motivated to look at Arps or Hicksons so I just pulled out my Herschel 2500 list and started there. Funny thing was that when I would find an NGC galaxy I might find one or two from another catalog. I observed a few PGC's and UGC's tonight. Andormeda was positioned pretty well and most of the objects came from there. Ended up with 42 for the night. The past issues with the 18" seem to be behind me know. The mirror has been recoated, the structure was refinished, some wiring redone, new battery and new encoder interface. The telescope performed very well tonight. I knew that I could point it towards 15 mag or dimmer objects and have a fair chance at seeing them. The scope looks great, performs great and those motions are oh so sweet! Thanks Mark

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Aug 17, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Hidden Hollow Star Party

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

New Good Good This was the second night of the star party. Thursday night was a bust as clouds rolled in early. Tonight was the best since Saturday night was also a bust. Stayed until about 1:00am then left. This was the opening of Bigger Blue 36". On Friday night, the crowds were long as everyone wanted a shot. Saturday was decent for some Messiers early but by around 11:00pm, those were pretty well gone.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Jun 22, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Mark, Mike and myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days after new Fair Fair A lot has happened since 5/23/12 - my last time out. At that time the mirror coating was very good. However just a few short days after 5/23/12, I opened up the mirror to find that the coating had failed around the perimeter of the mirror. After a number of emails and ignored phone calls by OWL, I have received my refund. The mirror was sent to Majestic for the new coating. But as of 6/22/12, that coating had pinholes in it along with a small void. I reviewed my installation with Mark and we can't draw any conclusions as to why this is occuring?? Anyhow, the transparency was only fair with large cloud masses rolling in and out for the first two hours. Up till midnight, we only had brief holes to peek through. After midnight the sky got better but only left us with an hour or two before we all tossed in the towell and headed for home. The catch of the night was Hoag's Object. It's a ring galaxy that's supposed to be 14 magnitude or so. Try as we might, none of us could see the ring and the central part of the galaxy was very faint indeed. It was an averted vision object with brief periods of good seeing.

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Observational Log Cover Sheet

Observation Date: Location: Observers:

May 23, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

2 days past new Average Average 1st light with the new coatings from OWL on the 18". Also added a new re-finish job. Three coats of hand rubbed polyurethane. New flat black paint in the mirror box and bottom of the rocker. New 7x50 finder. Added Markless Astronomics counterweight system to the front and back of the mirror box to compensate for the finder. Too bad I can't add photos, this thing looks sharp. A couple of years ago, Bruce handed me a book and said enjoy. It was the Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Great book but most of those objects are pretty tough for small aperatures. I also got hooked on the A.L. list of Flat Galaxies which turned out to be another toughie. Tonight, the tables were turned as I looked at and enjoyed some objects from both lists. Just to be able to do it. Nothing fancy but just to be able to point my telescope at a 15th mag galaxy and know that I'm going to get it means quite a bit. I ended around midnight. Last objects were Messier's - M97, M57, M12 and M10. I was pretty satisfied with the way the 18" turned out. For me, this is quite a step up from the 8" that I started with 9 years ago.

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Observation Date: Location: Observers:

Apr 18, 2012 Hidden Hollow - RAS Myself

Moon Phase: Seeing: Transparency: Notes:

3 days before new Fair Fair T