Above The Clouds II

Messier 92

It has been a while since my last post.I have been having some technical problems along side some mechanical issues with my scope that I have been trying desperately to fix.I performed a hypertune on my LXD 75 and for some unknown reason the axis alignment was thrown out of whack.I attempted to fix the problem using the LXD 75 adjust feature on the mount and while it did help to some degree,it is still some what off the mark.While Meade carrys a fine scope,they do lack in a real good mount design.Many of the hardware parts for this mount are made from diecast aluminum,that are easily damaged if one is inclined to perform mantainance.One of the issues with the mount is the fact that Meade has incorperated a large aluminum lock knob to tighten the cradle down on the tripod saddle.The size of the knob is of good size but,is just a wee bit too long for axis alignments such as the one that I made.It tends to rub against the DEC motor housing which all but,stops the motor from finishing a much needed 180 degree movment.I am going to be replacing this knob with a slightly shorter (in length) bolt that will accomodate the slew.By doing this I should be able to get a accurate axis alignment.If doing this doesn’t work,I WILL be sending the mount to a company that specializes in hypertunes and let them fix the goto problems.Don’t get me wrong,after the axis alignment that I made,the scope does go to the objects with in reason but,I want objects to be centered everytime.Sadly,the weather has taken a turn for the worst since then and I haven’t had a chance to see how well the tracking will be.I will keep everyone updated on the final results!.

One of the objects that I imaged the other night was of Globular cluster M92.

M92 is a splendid object, visible to the naked eye under very good conditions and a showpiece for every optics. It is only slightly less bright but about 1/3 less extended than M13: its 14.0′ angular extension corresponds to a true diameter of 109 light years, and may have a mass of up to 330,000 suns.

Only about 16 variables have been discovered in this globular, 14 of which are of RR Lyrae type, while one of them is one of the very few eclipsing binaries in globular clusters, of W Ursae Majoris type. Although Burnham claims it is not well understood why eclipsing binaries are so rare in globulars, it appears to the present author that there may be a simple answer: In these dense stellar agglomerates, close encounters occur frequently, so that binary systems will be disturbed, and on the long term, will be destroyed.

M92 is approaching us at 112 km/sec.

Welcome to Above the clouds II

That’s right….Welcome to the new and improved version of Above the clouds!.Many thanks go to MIKE over at Mount Washington Valley Astronomy for setting me up with a honest to goodness website!.A website that will allow my readers to navigate to different (dare I say…COOL?) areas of the site and not just a ”click a link” style blog.Having a actual website makes gathering imformation much more user friendly,rather than having the 20/20 hindsight that often occurs where one must try to remember what particular post the needed imformation was on.Obviously,this site is still in it’s infancy but,as time goes on I am planning or rather hoping that whatever imformation you may be looking for will be just a ”click away”.Ok,ok,ok….I know I said this site was not going to be a click the link site but,I think you know what I meant?!!.

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