| Notes
from the Imagers: |
I'm happy to say that after
quite a struggle I did manage to see it in my 5.5" refractor
under reasonable but not pristine skys (about mag 5 outer suburban).
Step one was making up a crude astrophotography rig, nikon coolpix 5000
pointing down a 30mm 2" eyepiece. With this and my less than perfect
clock drive I was able to make a 1min exposure that recorded stars
down to about mag 14. When overlaid on the excellent Sky and Telescope
finder chart, this showed me where the fainter stars were, extending
the chart to maybe mag 14 or 14.5.
Then I took photos on a second night to ensure that I could record Pluto,
and sure enough, the little trail was right where S&T said it would
be. OK, it should be a spot not a trail - hotshot astrophotographers
please don't laugh at me
Then on night 3, I set out to look for it visually, knowing exactly where
to expect it. With averted vision it was possible to make out the
faintest of specks about 30% of the time. Not sure why not 100% perhaps
varying seeing or perhaps my retina has bits that work better than
others? Having sketched the observed position on the chart I then took
a photo to confirm. When overlaid on the computer afterwards, the match
was pretty much perfect!
You would never in a million years find Pluto in a 5.5" if you didn't know
exactly where and when to look, but I'm happy to say I was able to do
it! |
