On 22nd April 2009, Earth will pass through a debris stream left by the Comet Thatcher. Thus, we are presented the Lyrid Meteor Shower. The peak of Lyrid Meteor Shower is predicted to be 10-20 meteors per hour. Howerver, the number could increase by five- to ten-fold as the Comet Thatcher’s tail has never been mapped in detail. Therefore, there lies a possibility that an outburst will happen. This has happened in 1982 when observers counted 90 lyrids per hour.
When to watch? As usual, the best time to watch is before the dawn or sunrise at around 4am to 5am. Good luck!
The diffraction pattern of the 8″ LX90AT with the broken corrector plate
The image of the Hadar (Beta Centauri) through the broken 8″ LX90AT. Look, the star image is no longer pinpoint.
Saturn delivered by the 8″ LX90AT with the broken corrector plate. It looks like the Saturn is being engulfed by a black hole.
Now, the main character~
Did you ever try to break your scope before? I doubt you dare. I maybe the first LX90AT user with the cracked corrector plate.
Here the story begins.
If anyone remembered my previous post about disassembling the LX90AT, you should know why I removed the corrector plate. Yes, I dropped a toothpick into the OTA from the visual back. All of the nightmare started from here. I bought a Purosol Optical (PO below) and their microfiber cloth as I planned to clean the corrector plate. In the end, I cleaned the primary mirror as well because the PO claimed that the solution was enzyme based and would not hurt the coating. That’s true, just that the microfiber cloth left quite a lot of fiber behind.
Continue reading ‘Cracked Corrector Plate: LX90AT’
In celebration of International Year of Astronomy 2009, we, the Kluang amateur astronomers have gathered to organise one of the greatest star party in the name of 100 Hours of Astronomy during the first weekend of April.
Below is the venue and the date. All the starparties start from 8.00pm and end on 10.30pm.
- 3 April – Giant Superstore, Taman Sri Kluang
- 4 April – Kluang Mall Entrance
- 5 April – Kluang Mall Rooftop Carpark
What are we going to observe? The famous ring planet – Saturn, Great Orion Nebula where the new stars are born, the seven sisters – Pleaides, the brightest star – Sirius, our Earth very best friend – the Moon and more!
The telescopes serving your eyeballs during this weekend are 8″ Meade LX90, Orion SkyQuest XT8i, Celestron Celestar 8 and a few little refractors. Join us tonight and make it a memorable night!
Recent Comments