A couple of weeks ago, I managed to get out and attempt more imaging. This time, I used a scope and mount set-up that I obtained 4 years ago. My original intention was to make it my main imaging rig. But, I had some mechanical details to get sorted out. By selling off old astronomy gear I don’t use any more, I financed improvements for the mount and got it in top shape.
This week we go on a quest to find the celestial dragon, Draco. Winding through a patch of the northern sky between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Draco is neighbor to the strongman, Hercules. Star lore from ancient Greece connects Draco to Hercules and his twelve labors. The dragon is also mentioned as taking part in the battle waged between the Gods and the Titans for supremacy and control of Mount Olympus.
Leaping across the sky as March gives way to April, we find the constellation Lepus, the hare. Like the animal it represents, Lepus lies still and inconspicuous below Orion’s feet poised to escape if detected by the hunter’s dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor. Lepus hosts a couple of interesting deep sky objects – the globular cluster M79 and Hind’s Crimson Star.
I was setting up my 20″ mirrored reflector last night for some Astronomy Adventures guests and I thought “hmmm, I wonder if I can catch the pup?” So I popped in a 6mm eyepiece and with the Paracorr in place, it yielded about 523x. Dang, Sirius was bright! It took a while to get the scope tracking just right. Even a little bit of wander translates in to big error at this magnification.
After checking all around and hoping the diffraction spikes weren’t laying on top Sirius B, I saw it!
