↓
 
Header image for PolyWogg.ca mobile view

PolyWogg.ca

The writing life of a tadpole

PolyWogg Astronomy - my adventures hopping from star to star
 
 
  • Welcome
  • My HR Guide
  • My Astronomy Guide
  • PS Transitions FP (EN)
  • About Me
    • About PolyWogg.ca
    • Privacy Policy
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Me
    • PolySites
      • PolyWogg.ca (Home)
      • ThePolyBlog
      • AstroPontiac.ca

Tag Archives: viewing

Picture of a telescope, stars, moon, and a log book to represent astronomy

Stargazing 2019.003.3 Observing Saturn with filters

PolyWogg.ca
June 8 2019

It was getting late in the evening, almost 1:00 a.m., in my backyard on June 6th and I was ready to call it a night. But Saturn was peeking out from behind some houses, and I thought, “I already have all my filters set out, why not try them?”.

As I mentioned in the previous log about Jupiter, the seeing conditions sucked, with lots of haze in the sky.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged astrolog, astronomy, imaging, mare, moon, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a telescope, stars, moon, and a log book to represent astronomy

Stargazing 2019.003.2 Observing Jupiter with filters

PolyWogg.ca
June 8 2019

I was set up in my backyard on June 6th, trying out various things, and started observing Jupiter around 11:00 p.m. I think. I’m still getting going with my new eyepieces and layouts, so observed with my 36mm Hyperion 2″ lens, a 25mm super plossl, a 17.3 mm Delos, and a 15mm plossl.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged astrolog, astronomy, imaging, mare, moon, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a telescope, stars, moon, and a log book to represent astronomy

Stargazing 2019.002.1 Best. Viewing. Night. Ever.

PolyWogg.ca
May 7 2019

I don’t want to beat a dead horse about past problems, but the context is really important for this post. Let’s just say that I have had some challenges with getting proper alignment with my scope. And my posts have reflected that…Finally learning with the Celestron NexStar 8SE led to some success, but then eventual frustration such as Attempt #0 of 5 to save my hobby, and then some more success with Solving alignment problems with the Celestron NexStar 8SE.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged astrolog, astronomy, clusters, Jupiter, moon, RASC, star party, star tour, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a telescope, stars, moon, and a log book to represent astronomy

Stargazing 2019.001.1 Taking stock of last year

PolyWogg.ca
May 2 2019

Usually, I am out of the astronomy business from sometime in October to sometime in May. Last year, I did both April at the start of the year (Kicking off my 2018 astronomy season with two outings) and November for local RASC events, partly as I’m the Star Party Coordinator and I try to show up for all the events.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged astrolog, astronomy, clusters, Jupiter, moon, RASC, star party, star tour, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Kicking off my 2018 astronomy season with two outings

PolyWogg.ca
April 28 2018

Saturday, April 21 was International Astronomy Day, and while I held out a bit of hope I would make it to one of the daytime / solar star parties in Gloucester, I didn’t actually get going until after supper, just in time to head to the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum where RASC Ottawa was hosting a night-time star party.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged astronomy, clusters, Jupiter, moon, RASC, star party, star tour, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Best accessories for the Celestron Nexstar 8SE

PolyWogg.ca
October 23 2017

A new owner of an older 8SE asked me what I thought were the priority accessories to get to go with the stock package (mount, OTA, and 25 mm Plossl). I thought it would be an easy answer, and then realized it is almost as difficult to answer as what scope would be best for someone.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged 8SE, accessories, astronomy, Celestron, NexStar, options, viewing | 3 Replies
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Best alignment process for the Celestron NexStar 8SE

PolyWogg.ca
October 22 2017

I’ve blogged about my challenges and successes (Finally learning with the Celestron NexStar 8SE and Solving alignment problems with the Celestron NexStar 8SE), so I thought I would do a quick summary of the proper way to align my scope in case it helps others.

Here are my “four” options, although the first two are obviously tongue-in-cheek:

A.

… Read the rest
Posted in Astronomy | Tagged 8SE, alignment, astronomy, Celestron, errors, NexStar, options, viewing | 8 Replies
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Continuing to diagnose alignment issues

PolyWogg.ca
September 30 2017

I haven’t started my official evaluation test yet for my using my scope (Attempt #0 of 5 to save my hobby), mostly as I am still struggling to figure out what exactly is causing the alignment problems. After lots of back and forth with a few people online and by email, the list of potential problems is known but not insignificant.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged alignment, Arcturus, astronomy, Saturn, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Attempt #0 of 5 to save my hobby

PolyWogg.ca
September 17 2017

My frustration levels are off the chart with my astronomy hobby. I just can’t seem to raise my capacity high enough to have a consistently positive outing. This is what I was afraid of when I bought the scope and was the main reason I went with the scope I did — a Celestron NexStar 8SE.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged Antares, Arcturus, astronomy, Saturn, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Good location, lousy setup by me…

PolyWogg.ca
September 16 2017

Last weekend, I was beset with lousy viewing due to low lying haze. Despite a fantastic forecast, I had haze going up to around 20-30 degrees above the horizon, so much so that Jupiter was nothing more than a round orange-y blob in the scope. We saw Arcturus and Antares, and a low-quality sight of Saturn, but I couldn’t get the scope to align.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged Antares, Arcturus, astronomy, Saturn, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Hazy astronomy viewing last weekend

PolyWogg.ca
September 13 2017

I posted awhile ago about restarting my hobby (#50by50 #05 – Re-start my astronomy hobby), and some other posts over the last couple of years about trying to figure out proper alignments and use of my Celestron 8SE scope. This past weekend, we were heading to my wife’s family’s cottage near Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon, and I was debating whether or not to take the scope.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged Antares, Arcturus, astronomy, Jupiter, M3, Saturn, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

A sky tour with my new setup

PolyWogg.ca
June 24 2015

As I mentioned earlier, I have my Celestron NexStar 8SE setup finally working (Finally learning with the Celestron NexStar 8SE). So last Friday, when the night was promising good seeing, I headed over to the local park that I frequently use for viewing. I’ll confess it isn’t a “great” location in terms of light pollution.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged alignment, Altair, Antares, Arcturus, astronomy, Bode's, double cluster, Dumbbell, Jupiter, Lagoon, M17, M18, M23, M27, M57, M81, moon, NGC869, NGC884, Omega, Ottawa, ring, Saturn, Tarazed, Trifid, Vega, Venus, viewing | Leave a reply
Picture of a boy looking through a telescope to represent astronomy

Finally learning with the Celestron NexStar 8SE

PolyWogg.ca
June 14 2015

I have a Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope…for those not in the know, that’s an 8″ optical tube on a simple tripod. They call them one-armed bandits (like the slot machines) because there is a single arm that goes from the tripod mount that it rests on up to the tube. Simple, easy to work, but it isn’t very stable, at least not in astronomical viewing terms.… Read the rest

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged alignment, astronomy, options, Ottawa, RASC, star party, viewing | Leave a reply
© 1996-2021 - PolyWogg Privacy Policy
↑