Saturday, January 12, 2019

#174 -Thursday, January 3, 2019 - A Cloudy Start to the New Year

After work on Thursday, I had a few errands to run.  First I went to the post office to mail a package.  Then I went to Target to buy one of the storage cube shelving unit things because my astronomy gear is overflowing and I'm losing track of the smaller pieces, such as cameras and devices that have been given to me that I haven't installed and tested yet, my solar filters and finder, extra flashlights, my label maker, etc.  Then I went and got a haircut.  I finally arrived home at about 5:30, and realized that it was clear outside!  I checked the forecasts -- they showed clear!  So I grabbed a tupperware of leftovers, my camera bag, coat, and hat, put on my warm boots, and ran out the door to go to the observatory!

I wasn't the only one who got excited by the forecast -- my minion Miqaela and fellow club member Bob beat me out there, and Miqaela was already set up and waiting for darkness.

By the time I got out there, the sky was looking sort of scrummy, but I had faith that it would clear.  So I opened up the memorial dome, plug in the power, and set up the main imaging camera (ZWO ASI1600MM Pro) and guide camera (QHY5 -- I was having some driver issues on my replacement tablet (after the screen was accidentally shattered) with my QHY5L-II, and I didn't feel like trying to fix it in the cold).  Since it was still hazy, but stars were visible, I went ahead and fine-tuned the polar alignment on the new Celestron CGX-L we put in there recently, which keeps slipping every time I go  back.  I need to double-check that all the bolts are tight the next time I'm out there.

I went back inside to wait for it to clear...and waited...and waited...and finally by about 10:30 we decided to call it a night.  It was just getting worse.  Darn!  Another night lost...but at least I got some sleep mid-week!  Because, y'know, work is important and all.

Hopefully soon...



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