I decided to head straight home since I had anticipated the arrival of my polar focusing scope via UPS today. Instead, I found out from my brother that UPS usually delivers after 4-5pm, today they got my package to me at 6:30pm. By six I was almost ready to head out for a beer and get to see Jaime again but instead I watched some TV and waited.

I then calibrated the scope, and then collimated it as well, twice. I had to remove the counter weights and the camera in order to do this and then after getting it all done, including aligning with Polaris (I think) I bumped the tripod and had to align all over again. By this time it is almost 8:30pm and I’m cold so I remount the weights and the camera and warm up while the camera acclimates to the cold.

I then fiddle around with the mount’s controller trying to get the thing to just do a quick alignment (I’m not at all worried about the GoTo on the mount just it’s tracking abilities. Finally, I figure out how to change the alignment after you have entered the time, date and GPS coordinates. The thing is tracking, I think. I then move the camera to point to Messier 42 in the constellation of Orion, it’s also called the Great Nebula in Orion or the Orion Nebula. The pictures all turned out blurry, I think I didn’t focus very well. Kind of hard to see through the camera while it is pointing up at the stars.