Since my
CGE mount is down for the count, I decided to go learn how to use the memorial scope, a permanently-mounted pier inside of a personal dome that was purchased by the club from a club member using a memorial donation upon the passing of another club member, which is a Vixen 5-inch refractor on a Losmandy Gemini mount,
with a Celestron guide scope.
I started entering stars, but it seemed
to be slewing all over the place and having really bad guesses. I figured out later that I wasn’t quite doing
it correctly, but then the clouds started rolling in, and it was getting cold. I also tried focusing my QHY5 on the guide
scope, without success. I might try with
FireCapture rather than PHD though, since PHD has longer refresh times and
stretches the histogram like crazy, so it’s hard to tell when you’re
close. I did get my DSLR attached to it
though with the M48 adapter I bought for it, which is good. I was worried it wouldn’t be the right
size. And I got it focused, no
problem. It was nearly already there, as
a matter of fact.
It was a short night, but I’ll try
again once it clears up around here and is not extremely cold when it is clear.
