Monday, January 31, 2005

10-May-99

It has been long that I haven't updated this file. Tonight, the transparency of the sky is not so good but the seeing is exceptional. I stay at home for this short observing, because I'm extremely tired. I scan around the small sky patch inside my sleeping room, the light pollution is very serious, I can see no stars without any optical aid.

I have tried to clean the inside of the OTA of the Ranger and some dust was introduced unluckily and after trying several methods, I have successfully removed those dust and it is the first time I used it for observing after cleaning. My cleaning is finally rather successful.

There are many stars when observed with the Ranger, with a 32mm eyepiece. The sky is not dark at all. I would be amazed by the great number of stars before I got the Ranger, but now it is no longer a surprise. Nothing special can be detected, however, when I tried to pump up the magnification on a bright star, I can see the beautiful diffraction pattern, it is steady and nice, perfectly circular. The central solid disc, the first and the second rings are readily observable. What a beautiful sight.

I try to use the Ultrablock also, and it darkens the sky significantly but nothing more can be detected further. There's no magic.

No comments: