December 28-30, 2013 ALP Caliraya Stargazing Session

December 28-30, 2013 ALP Caliraya Stargazing Session
by James Kevin Ty
Images by James Kevin Ty, Mike Enage, Armando Lee & Andrew Ian Chan

Last December 28, 2013 , some members of the Astronomical League of the Philippines proceeded to Caliraya, Laguna to start off their 2 nights Caliraya stargazing session . Members who were present were ALP President James Kevin Ty and son Kendrick Cole KC Ty; Treasurer Andrew Ian Chan , directors Mike Enage, Armando Lee, wife Mia and son Jason Lee.

As they arrive at the site, the sky was clear but wind on the first night was surprisingly strong! James brought along his Canon 500D DSLR and ATIK 16HR CCD camera with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS L lens & TV-101 refractor mounted on Vixen GP-DX mount; Mike Enage brought along his Nikon D7100 DSLR on TMB 92 refractor on Vixen GP-DX mount ; Andrew Ian Chan with his Canon EOS 500D DSLR on Skywatcher 80ED refractor on Vixen GP mount; Armando Lee with his Canon EOS 1100D DSLR with William Optics Zenithstar 80ED refractor on EQ-1 mount.

Despite the strong wind, James Kevin Ty was able to image only NGC2244 Rosette Nebula that evening while Mike image IC2118 Witchhead Nebula, Andrew Ian Chan captured M31 Andromeda Galaxy, M42 Orion Nebula, M45 Pleiades star cluster and NGC2024 Horsehead Nebula ; Armando Lee imaged wide angle shots on constellation in Puppis Region as well as Orion Nebula setting in the west. James also got to image the Crescent Moon as well as Earthshine before calling it a night :)

In the morning, they used that opportunity to get some needed rest for day 2 as well as recharged their laptops and batteries through Mike's generator. Armand , on the other hand, brought the 2 astro kids to go fishing. At around lunchtime, Armand and family as well as Andrew concluded their Caliraya session as they have other plans for the day. That leaves only James , Kendrick and Mike to do the 2nd night.

The second night was a bit kinder to them as the wind slowed down considerably but the early evening till around 10:30pm was met with fast moving clouds and some light drizzles. But after 10:30pm, the sky improves and James used this opportunity to start off imaging with his wide angle lenses mounted on the portable Vixen Polarie mount to image Winter Milky Way and Ursa Major and Polaris region. He then proceeded to use the opportunity to image IC2118 Witchhead Nebula through the ATIK 16HR CCD camera on Canon EF100-400mm IS L lens. Mike, on the other hand , imaged Rosette Nebula as well as M35 galactic star cluster.

It was overall a success and they are eager again to do another imaging session in January to image more deep sky wonders.

M42 Orion Nebula in Orion by Andrew Ian Chan	M45 Pleiades star cluster in Taurus by Andrew Ian Chan
\ NGC2024 Horsehead Nebula in Orion by Andrew Ian Chan	M31 Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda by Andrew Ian Chan
NGC2244 Rosette Nebula in Monoceros by James Kevin Ty	Ursa Major and Polaris by James Kevin Ty
Winter Hexagon Asterism by James Kevin Ty	Winter Hexagon Asterism by James Kevin Ty
IC2118 Witch Head Nebula in Eridanus by Mike Enage	Puppis Constellation Region by Armando Lee
M35 Galactic Star Cluster in Gemini by Mike Enage	Winter Milky Way by James Kevin Ty
\ Crescent Moon by James Kevin Ty	Earthshine by James Kevin Ty
NGC2244 Rosette Nebula in Monoceros by Mike Enage	IC2118 Witch Head Nebula in Eridanus by James Kevin Ty
ALPer Mike Enage beside his TMB92 refractor on Vixen GP-DX mount.	ALPer James Kevin Ty beside his Canon EF100400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS L lens on Vixen GP-DX mount.