Observing reports from amateur astronomers who own 150mm (6") Reflector telescopes, click on the telescope type below to jump directly to the observing report.

TAL 2, 150mm Newtonian, f8 on eq. mount Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3 Rpt 4 Rpt 5 Rpt 6 Rpt 7 Rpt 8
6" INTES MK-66
6" Orion Skyview Deluxe
6" RFT Omcon Dobsonian Reflector
150mm (6-inch) f/10 ATM Dobsonian mounted Newtonian reflector
6" Orion Skyview Deluxe Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3 Rpt 4 Rpt 5
150mm Orion Europa Reflector Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3 Rpt 4 Rpt 5 Rpt 6 Rpt 7 Rpt 8 Rpt 9 Rpt 10 Rpt 11 Rpt 12 Rpt 13 Rpt 14 Rpt 15 Rpt 16 Rpt 17 Rpt 18 Rpt 19 Rpt 20 Rpt 21 Rpt 22 Rpt 23 Rpt 24 Rpt 25 Rpt 26
6" (150mm) f/8 Orion, dob mount, Newtonian reflector, 1996 Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3
Edmund 6" F6 Newtonian Rpt 1 Rpt 2
Celestron SP-C6, Equatorially mounted newtonian (150mm, f/5) Rpt 1 Rpt 2
6" f/5 Discovery Equatorial Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3 Rpt 4 Rpt 5 Rpt 6
Home-made 6" f/8 dob, Orion plate mirror Rpt 1
Home made 6" F9.6 Newtonian. Rpt 1
6" Orion XT6 Rpt 1 Rpt 2
Home made 6" F8 Dobsonian. Rpt 1
6" Discovery Dobsonian. Rpt 1
6" Synta Catadioptric Newtonian (1400mm f/l) Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3 Rpt 4
6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian Rpt 1 Rpt 2 Rpt 3 Rpt 4 Rpt 5 Rpt 6 Rpt 7 Rpt 8 Rpt 8 Rpt 9 Rpt 10 Rpt 11 Rpt 12 Rpt 13 Rpt 14
6" f/8 Newtonian Reflector Rpt 1
6" Newtonian f/6.83 Indian make Rpt 1 Rpt 2

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	lukeinvernon@supanet.com
Date and time of Observation:	30 August 2003 22:30 - 00:30 UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	Mars, M57, M13, Double Cluster and M32
Viewing conditions:	Good, no moon
Telescope	6" Orion Europa f6 reflector
Eyepiece	6.4mm Plossl
Observing notes:	This was my first chance to view Mars. After all the hype I was quite looking forward to this session. My last view of Mars over a year ago was very disappointing. Not this time. I immediately observed Mars with the 6.4mm plossl. At first Mars seemed very bright and featureless but as my eyes became dark adapted detail started to emerge. The first thing I saw was the polar cap, a bright white patch arcing over the top of the planet. I then picked out the grey shading on the planet stretching from east to west and from the center of the band it went south forming a large, flat 'Y' shape. I spent quite some time viewing this detail looking for anything extra but nothing else was seen. This is a photograph I took of Mars through the 6.4mm eyepiece. I took an 'avi' (movie) and stacked the best images to produce this result. It's pretty close to what I observed except that the polar cap was better defined when looking through the eyepiece.  Ricoh RDC 6000 digital camera hand held to a 6.4mm eyepiece. I then tried to find Uranus but failed miserably. I kept star hopping to the same point and even on highest power all I had was a point of light. I thought if I had viewed Uranus I would have seen a small disk at least! Oh well another time.... Whilst I was out I took the opportunity to check out some old favourites. M13 was looking good in the 6.4mm resolving many stars and chains of stars outside the main halo. M57 was easily visible and showed up well. The double cluster looked good in the 32mm as did M32. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Luke Invernon
E-mail address:	lukeinvernon@supanet.com
Date and time of Observation:	29/30 08 03
Observing Location:	Kingston upon hull England
Object Observed:	M27, mars
Viewing conditions:	Mag 5 ,clear skys, hazy
Telescope	Tal 2 M 6"f8 eq reflector
Eyepiece	25mm ,10mm,7.5mm plossls
Observing notes:	My new 10mm eyepiece is giving good details of mars. The low level means that any higher magnification is almost useless. The southern polar cap is prominent as is the dark triangle of syrtis major. M27 showed a hazy smudge, although it did seem to have a bit of an hourglass shape. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Vivek Mishra
E-mail address:
Date and time of Observation:	8/15/2003, 05:10 PM UT
Observing Location:	Backyard, light polluted
Object Observed:	M13 Hercules Cluster
Viewing conditions:	7, Good
Telescope	6" Newtonian f/6.83 Indian make
Eyepiece	32mm
Observing notes:	Hercules Cluster looks like a small patch of concentrated light. Core resolved only upto a bright central patch, surrounded by stars, which are not resolved individually. Colour: white shining, no other colour visible since individual stars could not be resolved. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Vivek Mishra
E-mail address:
Date and time of Observation:	8/15/2003, 05:10 PM UT
Observing Location:	Backyard, light polluted
Object Observed:	Mars
Viewing conditions:	5, Mediocre
Telescope	6" Newtonian f/6.83 Indian make
Eyepiece	25mm , 12mm Astro, 6mm Super Astro and 1.5x, 2x Barlows
Observing notes:	First observation of Mars at these times of the spectacular opposition. After a slight manoeuvring of the scope, Mars slowly drifted into the field of view. The detection was done using a 25mm Plossl eyepiece. Immediately after capturing, power was raised to 85x using a 12mm ASTRO eyepiece and some light and dark features of Mars became evident. At first, the Southern Polar Ice-cap was not visible, but a slightly more careful observation and perhaps a little dark adaptation by that time made the ice cap visible. The ice-cap was spectacular, bright white covering a small area in the form a perfect arc shifted to the left (East) from perfect south in the scope. That is probably because of the tilt in the axis of Mars. Apart from the ice cap, a pattern of dark areas was also visible. Running from the eastern side of the planet to about half the distance across was a broad "gully", first bifurcating at the eastern end (where it starts) and then bifurcating into two arms, one going to the south pole and almost touching the ice cap and the other one forming an arc towards the west. I could be wrong to some extent in discerning the exact shape of these areas, because of several factors, including poor transparency, poor seeing and eyepieces not being perfectly clean. To my surprise, Mars resisted 170x and stood magnificently in the field of view. In fact at 170x, colours of Mars were very clear. The areas other than the dark ones, were light rust (slightly reddish). This colour contrast was not discernable at lower powers. In fact, at lower powers, the whole planet other than the dark areas was yellow in colour. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Luke Invernon
E-mail address:	lukeinvernon@supanet.com
Date and time of Observation:	15/08/03 11-12pm
Observing Location:	Kingston upon hull England
Object Observed:	mars and moon
Viewing conditions:	hazy and patchy cloud mag 3 at most
Telescope	Tal 2 M 6"f8 eq reflector
Eyepiece	various
Observing notes:	Took the chance to use my colour filters on mars and found that the yellow helped bring out detail very well although I am still confounded by the atmosphere as it is so low in the sky. When mars disappeared behind trees I looked at the moon and found that it was taking x320 magnification quite well so for a laugh I put in my old Tasco 4mm ramsden eyepiece and my barlow( x600!!!). Unbelievable! Te view was perfect and so close I thought I could rake trough the regolith with my fingers! The detail in the crater walls was breathtaking. I cant wait to see how it performs in better conditions! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Luke Invernon
E-mail address:	lukeinvernon@supanet.com
Date and time of Observation:	25/6 july 2003
Observing Location:	Kingston upon hull England
Object Observed:	deep sky objects
Viewing conditions:	clear mag 5 moonless
Telescope	Tal 2 M 6"f8 eq reflector
Eyepiece	various Tal eyepieces
Observing notes:	This was my best observing session ever. The sky was bizarrely dark for my location and early cloud and atmospheric turbulence disappeared after midnight. I saw M13 and M92 resolve into stars for the first time. M27 was clear and apple core shaped, I saw the m29 and 39 clusters in Cygnus and the double cluster in perseus which literally took my breath away. M71 was just visible and M31 and 32 were showing more detail than I have ever seen before. Comment: wonderful night! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Luke Invernon
E-mail address:	lukeinvernon@supanet.com
Date and time of Observation:	midnight till 2AM 19/07/03
Observing Location:	Kingston upon hull England
Object Observed:	Mars, Ngc 7000,M13,M57,m92,m29,moon
Viewing conditions:	Mag 3/4 patchy cloud average seeing
Telescope	Tal 2 M 6"f8 eq reflector
Eyepiece	various Tal eyepieces
Observing notes:	At the moment Mars is visible between my neighbours two trees for about 30mins or so after midnight. I have had a couple of successful sessions and have seen the southern polar cap and some vague dark markings although it looks like it is dust storm season to me! After mars was out of view I tied to find the north American nebular and once again failed miserably! moving on I found M57(cearest and brightest ever) and M13 (also brighter). I did find M92 in my 10 times 50 binoculars but cloud covered it before I could aim my telescope. Moving back to lyra I could not find M56 so I moved on to m29 the open cluster which was not terribly impressive. By then the clouds were rolling in and the moon was rising so I finished with some always wonderful highpower lunar observing. Comment: All in all a mixed evening with regards to success but I am improving my observing skills! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Luke Invernon
E-mail address:	lukeinvernon@supanet.com
Date and time of Observation:	april 2003
Observing Location:	Kingston upon Hull United Kingdom
Object Observed:	M27, M13 and others
Viewing conditions:	average
Telescope	TAL 2 M 6" f8 reflector
Eyepiece	40mm plossl, 25mm plossl, 7.5mm plossl
Observing notes:	I have been using this telescope for a month or so and have been amazed at the images of Jupiter and Saturn. I could view these perfectly at 320 times magnification. However from my back garden deep sky objects fainter than M42 are almost impossible. Finally though after a hell of a lot of trying I star hopped my way to M57, the ring nebular. It is incredibly faint and it took me along time to make sure it was actually there and not just my eyes! It looked like a faint circular smudge with the insides just fainter than the rest. Encouraged by this I looked for M13 which all the books describe as a very bright and obvious globular cluster. Not from Hull it's not! It is perhaps a smidgen brighter than M57 but shows no detail and certainly no individual stars as promised! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Ralph Odell
E-mail address:	sircaveron@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	6-22-03 3:35 am
Observing Location:	back yard-light polluted
Object Observed:	Mars
Viewing conditions:	OK
Telescope	6 inch Orion Dob
Eyepiece	2x barlow, 25 mm, 12.5 mm, 10 mm, 7.5 mm
Observing notes:	This was the first time i used this scope or any scope to look at mars. I tried 3 different eye pieces to get the best view. With the 25mm and 12.5mm used with the 2x barlow I could make out the polar cap and very faint dark marks on the planet. I could not get the 10mm or 7.5mm to focus clearly. I plan to send more time on Mars as the months go by. You are right it is difficult find good information when choosing a scope. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Galileo460@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	October 5, 2002 5:45-8:00 a.m.
Observing Location:	St. Louis Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Saturn, Jupiter, and M35
Viewing conditions:	Clear and cool (50 degrees)
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26mm Super Plossl and 6mm Plossl
Observing notes:	SATURN--disappointing, I know I should have left the scope out to cool down. It was 50 degrees and Cassini's Division was near impossible to see. Rhea and Titan were visible and many stars were near, one of Titan's exact brightness. M35 was very near and bright, seen in finderscope even! It's hard to detect moons as easy with Saturn being in such a rich star field. Rather annoying actually! Jupiter--Io and Europa formed another tight pair. Ganymede and Callisto were visible in the finderscope. From the time when I first went out, through when I went in, I could easily see the change in position of Io and Europa. They switched places. I tracked Jupiter until 8:00 a.m. when I bumped the scope off-course. The sun was clearly up over the horizon, and I could still see Jupiter in the finderscope even! Naked eye visibility remained for a surprisingly long while (when knowing right where to look). The best part of all is when I looked at Jupiter for one of the final times around 7:30 and I could still see Io and Europa! I didn't look for Ganymede or Callisto for I was too excited at the fact I could see these two moons AFTER the sun was above the horizon! For 5th Magnitude objects, this is amazing! Jupiter never looked any less appealing or fuzzy due to the sunlight. Actually, it looked nicer with more defined markings as did Saturn a few weeks ago. They both take on a greyish look but are still quite nicer (in some aspects) nonetheless. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Galileo460@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	September 28, 2002 5:20-600 a.m.
Observing Location:	St. Louis Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Jupiter and Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Normal/clear
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26 and 12.4mm Super Plossls, 6mm Plossl, 2x barlow
Observing notes:	Jupiter's moons--at 5:02 a.m. EDT: Europa and Io were to be apart by only 2". This would not work for me because at that time (4:02 a.m here), Jupiter (Mag. -1.9, 33.9") would still be too low. I still got up at 5:20 though. The moons had separated but were still close, nonetheless. From when I first went out, til the end, I could notice the difference in distance between the two moons. The largest separation between Jupiter and Callisto I have ever seen took place, too. I went inside to get on the computer because Io was so close to Jupiter, I suspected a transit to be occurring, if not soon. As it turns out, it was in transit (shadow). I did not know if I could see it in the 6mm (200x) but I tried anyway and did see it. If I knew exactly where it was, and looked there, my eyes might tell me I'm seeing it when I'm really not, so I looked for it through the scope and THEN confirmed it to be where I noticed it by checking the computer. It was fairly easy to see, but I knew which side of the planet to look on. The speck of a shadow was SO black! It looked foreign and almost as if it was invading on the surface of red and white. The GRS did not look like a cavity in the bands as it did the first time I saw it, but I knew there was a red bulge there--whether it was the GRS, I do not know. One hemisphere looked redder than the other end. There was a hint of festoons between the NEB and the SEB. The Io shadow transit was somewhat above (below in reality) the equator. Saturn (Mag. 0.1, 18.8") was quite impressive tonight because of the moons. I was thinking of how there's four or five present and this must be a record for me! Titan was the brightest by far. Cassini was simple as always. I looked for the Crepe Ring and I had no luck. Saturn is just too bright to see it, I believe. Try again next time. Iapetus (Mag. 11.1) was the hardest to see. Titan (Mag. 8.3) and Rhea (Mag. 9.7) were easy as they usually are. Dione (Mag. 10.4) was not so hard to find. If I would have looked harder, I could have seen Tethys and Enceladus probably. Comment: Shadow transit seen through the 6mm (200x). I do not remember if the 12.4mm or the 6mm with the barlow showed it or not. Back to telescope index

>Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Galileo460@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	August 10, 2002 4:30-5:30 A.M.
Observing Location:	Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas (10 feet above water level)
Object Observed:	M45 (Pleiades), Saturn, Double Cluster (NGC 884 and 869), Orion Nebula (M42 and 43)
Viewing conditions:	Fog rolling off of lake
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26mm Meade Super Plossl, 6mm Plossl, 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	Observing Session Details : Saturn was as bright and sharp as I've ever seen. There must have been a star very near Saturn because I saw two "moons" of the same brightness as Titan and only one was Titan. Rhea was near too. The disk, or ball, looked just like a crystal-clear, yellow-white-grey marble with a brownish band. Cassini's Division was superb. This was as close as I have come yet to a textbook picture! Using the 2x barlow and the 6mm, magnification is pushed up to 400X, that's 67x per inch of aperture. Far beyond the traditional 50 or even 60x rule, and it was still definitely worth viewing. M45 (Pleiades) were unimpressive. The clouds made for may varying stars! I could see the Double Cluster with my naked eye. M42 and M43 (Orion Nebula) were not good because of the rising sun. No Jupiter yet. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Galileo460@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	September 14, 2002 5:30-7:00 a.m
Observing Location:	St. Louis Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Saturn and Jupiter
Viewing conditions:	Very clear!
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26mm Meade Super Plossl, 12mm Meade Super Plossl, 9 and 6mm Plossls, Meade 2x barlow
Observing notes:	I don't know why the Pleiades really aren't exciting in the eyepiece...??? Only naked-eye do they seem enjoyable. Anyway, Saturn was wonderful! There were four moons this time! Twice as many as ever before. Rhea, Titan, Tethys, and Dione. SATURN: Mag. 0.0, 18.3" Excellent Cassini Division with planet shadow on rings and stars all around. After checking with computer programs, I need to make in-field drawings and look for Iapetus next time. Titan blended in well with everything else, not overwhelmingly bright...I don't know why. I viewed Dione well into the blue sky! It was amazing how long it lasted despite sunrise. I could have kept tracking it into the daylight longer but having to do it manually was just taking too long and I ended up getting distracted and stopping at 7 a.m. At that point, it still held a spooky grey look at 200x. I lost it in the finderscope by then though. Saturn's detail on the globe itself was even easier to tell in the daylight. Even before daylight, it would hop around a bit and then become crystal clear, which is rather surprising because of how many moons I could see. However, I did not let my scope cool off which would make a difference I am sure. Also, these moons were not illusions, they were present. At the powers of 133x and 200x, a couple of these moons needed averted vision and came and went from view. However, with the barlow at 400x, the moons were for sure "real" and not just illusions. This combination of 6mm Plossl and 2x barlow made for difficult focussing but a rather large view of the planet. It's worth at try for sure. JUPITER: Mag. -1.9, 33.0" Behind the trees still (I live on a hill)...only two bands seen. Three of four moons seen too. Better observing when it gets higher. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Galileo460@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	August 10, 2002 4:30-5:30 A.M.
Observing Location:	Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas (10 feet above water level)
Object Observed:	M45 (Pleiades), Saturn, Double Cluster (NGC 884 and 869), Orion Nebula (M42 and 43)
Viewing conditions:	Fog rolling off of lake
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26mm Meade Super Plossl, 6mm Plossl, 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	Observing Session Details : Saturn was as bright and sharp as I've ever seen. There must have been a star very near Saturn because I saw two "moons" of the same brightness as Titan and only one was Titan. Rhea was near too. The disk, or ball, looked just like a crystal-clear, yellow-white-grey marble with a brownish band. Cassini's Division was superb. This was as close as I have come yet to a textbook picture! Using the 2x barlow and the 6mm, magnification is pushed up to 400X, that's 67x per inch of aperture. Far beyond the traditional 50 or even 60x rule, and it was still definitely worth viewing. M45 (Pleiades) were unimpressive. The clouds made for may varying stars! I could see the Double Cluster with my naked eye. M42 and M43 (Orion Nebula) were not good because of the rising sun. No Jupiter yet. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Don
E-mail address:	tiphiid@yahoo.com
Date and time of Observation:	several years ago
Observing Location:	Just south of Louisville, KY
Object Observed:	Jupiter, Saturn, moon
Viewing conditions:	Average for a suburban location, light pollution
Telescope	90mm Celestron C-90
Eyepiece	9mm
Observing notes:	This is just a reply to Jeff's comments and my own observations with the Celestron C-90. His observations were almost 3 years ago and he was very unsatisfied with the views he got of Jupiter and Saturn. I got my C-90 back around 1980 and have gotten great use out of it. Jupiter as viewed by Jeff at 80X and 159X - no detail on Jupiter- no clouds, no red spot, no nothing. My comments - I routinely used a 9mm ortho on Jupiter and even under poor seeing condition I could always see at least 2 belts, under very good conditions 4 and sometimes 6 cloud belts were visible. Never seem the great red spot though. Saturn as viewed by Jeff at 80X and 159X - At 80X Saturn was so tiny you can just make out the rings, but just barely, one moon visible, no detail at all, not very bright. My comments, using the same 9mm ortho Saturn is impressive in this small scope. Under good conditions Cassini's division is easy and on occasion the polar hood and rarely a cloud belt. A side remark. I have seen 2 cloud belts on Jupiter with a 40MM refractor working at 60X as well the Cassini division with the same scope. Both Jupiter and Saturn are bright and clear. I will say that until you get used to focusing the C-90 it can be hard to get a sharp focus. Comment: I still have this scope and have it mounted on a photographic tripod for impromptu observing. I had in mounted on a equatorial for several years when I used it as the main scope when I taught beginning and intermediate astronomy in Adult Education for 7 years. I say all this to show that the little C-90 is a nice scope and had served me well. I suspect that Jeff had very bad conditions or was a very inexperienced observer when he got his C-90. It does take time to get used to any scope and to become an experienced observer. I am not in any way connected with Celestron or own any of their stock. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Adam Prince
Date and time of Observation:	10-10-02
Observing Location:	Driveway (near a streetlight)
Object Observed:	Moon, Saturn, M13, M31, M32, M33, M42, M43, Pleides, M78, M80, M81, M82, M1, Double Cluster
Viewing conditions:	Very cold and moderately clear
Telescope	6" f/8 Newtonian Reflector
Eyepiece	25 mm Kellner, 9 mm Astrola Plössl
Observing notes:	Before this night, I hadn't really experienced too many deep sky objects, and now I know the capability of my scope without any filters, and I will continue with many more of the Messier objects when I have the chance to view them. I especially enjoyed viewing the faint cloud of the Crab Nebula(M1) and gained great satisfaction in seeing it for the very first time with my 25 mm eyepiece. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	the_150mm_reflector@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	6th October 2002 21:00 - 22:30 BST
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	Cats Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) Polaris
Viewing conditions:	Clear, no Moon
Telescope	Orion Europa 6" reflector
Eyepiece	32mm Sirius Plossl, 25mm + 9mm Kelner, 6.4mm Plossl, 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	I've been wanting to find NGC6543 (Mag 9.0) for quite some time now and had my star charts ready. I started off by trying to star hop from between Chi Draconis and Aldhibah but I kept losing my way! Scanning the area with binoculars I came across a 'fuzzy' patch and through the scope this asterism looked just like a mini cassiopea! It's between and slightly above Chi Draconis and Phi Draconis. Nice.... From here I star hopped to what I thought was the right area using the 32mm eyepiece but I could see nothing. I increased the power by using the 2x barlow and there it was! A small (and I mean small) round smudge that was quite bright! Using the 25mm kelner and the barlow the object remained very bright and was incredibly round. I tried all sorts of magnifications on this object and the 12.5mm and 9mm powers gave the best views with the hint of a fainter edge surrounding the nebula using the 9mm. Beyond that the object was 'lost in the contrast'. Viewing at low power with the 25mm the nebula looked like a faint star with a hint of nebulosity that gave the impression of being blue or at least a blueish tinge. I lost this impression of colour at higher powers. Next I decided to try and split Polaris (I'd read that it was a double but didn't recall any other information). Easy to locate, I bumped up the power to 230x magnification. I could see a faint star just of Polaris and I thought that this was the double. On checking my charts when I was back inside I was dissapointed to find that this wasn't the double star! I don't think I split polaris with the maximum power I have available to me... oh well, maybe another day! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	August 7, 2002: 10:00PM-12:30AM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	M4, M8, M11, M13, M15, M16, M17, M20, M22, M24, M31, M32, M51, NGC 6611, NGC 884 and 869 (Double Cluster) and Uranus.
Viewing conditions:	Very Clear (Uranus with naked eye)
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26mm (46X) Meade Super Plossl, 9mm (133X) Plossl, and 6mm
Observing notes:	Wonderful night! The only reason I went down to the field was because of how bright the sky was. I have never noticed the Milky Way here at home before. This was truly spectacular! I went first for M4 in Scorpius because it was low. Interesting globular with a line of bright stars cutting through the center. M22 and M15 (globulars) were also seen. All of them were easy to resolve (the stars in them) perhaps M4 was best. I compared these to M13, and the difference is the compact brightness of M13. None were disappointing. The Lagoon (M8) and Trifid (M20) nebulae were disappointing though. The Lagoon could be seen well but not the Trifid. Both were seen together as a naked eye fuzz. (No color of course through eyepiece or naked eye.) I scanned the Milky Way and through the finder found M11. This instantly became my favorite Messier with tight stars which all could be resolved as stars easily. There was one bright one in the cluster that stood out most though. Other open clusters were M103 and one labelled "Tr1" in my Peterson's Field Guides of Stars and Planets. The Double Cluster (NGC 884 and 869) was nice. M24 is a large and quite "naked eye" cluster in the Milky Way. It was quite nice and surprisingly large. M16 was a small cluster with NGC 6611 (Nebula) very faintly detectable. M17 was a neat nebula that looked like a small comet with an additional tail like Hale-Bopp had. I tried for M51 but once again for some reason, it was hard to find and all I saw was small, double fuzz hardly detectable. Uranus looked disc-like. M76 and M33 were misses...I failed, unfortunately, on these. It was also too late for M6 and M7 by now which I tried for anyway--only to find them below the trees. M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) was somewhat interesting with a long and narrow surface with a bright core. I was looking at it through the 6mm (200X) when I didn't realize I wasn't using the 26mm (46X) and found a small galaxy near it. There was a great debate with myself as to which satellite galaxy it was and as it turns out, it was M32. I could not even see M110. Also, I saw three meteors--must be early Perseids. Comment: All observing of deep sky objects on this list can be done quite well with a low-power eyepiece such as my 25 or 26mm eyepieces. However, globulars are best found in the low-power and then upgraded to a higher power (9 or 6mm). When the higher power is in, almost always, stars will be seen then within the globular cluster. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	August 5, 2002: 1200AM - 1AM
Observing Location:	Bull Shoals Lake -- Oakland, Arkansas
Object Observed:	Uranus and Neptune
Viewing conditions:	Normal/Clear
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	26mm Meade Super Plossl (46X), 9mm Plossl (133X)
Observing notes:	Uranus-- I tried for Uranus first because it was brighter (thinking it would help in finding Neptune). This one was found in the binoculars and then the scope. It was tiny and I could surprisingly see the disk but only because I knew what to look for. It is fun seeing "stars" that aren't on the map knowing they don't belong there and are actually planets. I feel like Galileo did when he found Neptune but ignored it even though it was not on star charts. It showed a bluish-green hue. Neptune-- harder to find and NOT seen in binoculars. I was fortunate that I was guided to it without really trying. Not really disk-like though. Comment: 26mm (46X) is good for finding, and then switch to 9mm (133X) for larger views. 26mm is the best though...it's all which is really needed. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	July 26, 2002: 500 - 530AM
Observing Location:	Bull Shoals Lake -- Oakland, Arkansas
Object Observed:	Saturn and Pleiades
Viewing conditions:	Coming dawn
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	25mm (48X) Kellner, 9mm (133X) Plossl, 6mm (200X) Plossl, and 2X Meade Barlow
Observing notes:	Titan was clearly visible. Rhea was seen easier than it used to be (April 28). Sometimes it took averted vision to see Rhea...at times I thought there were other (moons possibly) to the right. To the unaided eye, Saturn was quite orange as was it through the eyepieces. The background was a beautiful blue due to the rising Sun. The Pleiades weren't too impressive in the dawn. With the barlow at 400x, I couldn't focus on Saturn very well but Rhea was undoubtedly there. Cassini Division not seen but a dark band near the equator was. Quite exciting to see Saturn again. Comment: Jupiter not visible yet. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	July 7, 2002: 10:30-12AM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	M27, M39, M56, and Albireo
Viewing conditions:	Normal/Clear
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	25mm (48X) Kellner
Observing notes:	I started out with my normal hop to M57 and it was normal. When deciding what to find next, I looked in my Peterson's guide and saw that M56 was near, so I went for it. It took careful star hopping but I soon found it. Everytime I am in the right area, I am looking and expect to find something smaller than it really is. This time it was small and fuzzy, but neat none-the-less. I could not find it in the 9 or 6mms well. Only the 25mm was productive. It is small compared to M13. The scope's up and down movement sticking caused other eyepieces to be too hard to use. On smaller objects such as this, the barlow is going to be too hard to use (plus its small field of view). Next, I went over to M27 (Dumbell). It was now high enough--which I've been waiting for. I knew the general area where it was going to be (from star charts) and I thought to myself how funny it would be to find it on accident and sure enough, I went to check out this nearby star grouping and just randomly scanned to the right and there it was. So to make sure I could get back to it again, I tried it and it worked. M27 was very big compared to M57. Noticeable notches near corners. Quite impressive and big! Earlier, when I first received my scope, I could not find M39, but tonight I did. It had about 30 brilliant blue stars--the most amazing stars I've ever seen! They were all the same color. This was so amazing! It is my new favorite Messier. I never thought of open clusters as being so amazing, but this was my first and it was wonderful. Thank you, God for Your artwork! Also, I gave Albireo a try . I keep reading about the blue and orange star contrast and it was nothing spectacular, but it was a very interesting double star because of such a color difference. Comment: VERY PRODUCTIVE OBSERVING SESSION TONIGHT!!! Back to telescope index

>>Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	June 7, 2002: 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	M57, M13, and M29
Viewing conditions:	Clear
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian
Eyepiece	25mm Kellner (48X), 9mm Plossl (133X)
Observing notes:	I observed my "usuals" (M57 and M13) and showed my father M57, he liked it a lot. When I went to show him M13, I couldn't find it because it was at our zenith and too hard to try for because of the movement of the Dobsonian mount. I danced around Cygnus (a new constellation for me) for a while and found M29--a small open cluster. It was very unimpressive but now I can say that I have one more Messier added to my list. M29 appeared to shape a "V" or a misshapen "X" and took up just a small section of the field of view in the 25mm (48X)...wish I would have tried the 9 or 6mm. After that, I tried for M39, also in Cygnus, but with no such success at finding it. (NOTE: Two weeks earlier, I observed Jupiter for the last time on May 25 and 26, but the full moon dims everything out so significantly. M57 and M13 were barely visible. Jupiter showed three bands and darkening near the top.) Comment: When confirming what I have seen, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky is a very useful tool. I use Peterson Field Guides: Stars and Planets' charts with stars down to the 7th magnitude to find the object and then confirm it with Audubon's gallery of Messier object pictures. The picture of M29 in it is a very accurate idea of what it looks like. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	May 19, 2002: 9:00 PM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Moon and Mizar double star
Viewing conditions:	Fine
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian
Eyepiece	25mm Kellner (48X), 9mm Plossl (133X), and 6mm Plossl (200X)
Observing notes:	Moon was at quarter phase. Tried many different eyepiece and moon filter comos. The best one (but not best magnification) was with the 9mm (133X). The 6mm (200X) did provide some amazing views! On the moon, my father and I focused on Montes Apenninus near Mare Imbrium. At quarter phase, this range was right on the edge and showed some peaks slightly inside the shaded region that were in the sunlight, so they appeared as two bright stars on the surface of the moon--perfect timing there! Near it, there was a steak on the surface that I assumed was an angled meteor strike, but after seeing the lunar maps, it is a valley: Vallis Alpes. Also, I looked at Mizar A and B. This is an easy double to see both stars. The gap between them is noticeable in all eyepieces but obviously so much more in the 6mm. Recommended easy double for anyone. Comment: When I read about collimation of the Newtonian, all articles always talk about concentric cirlces...I have never seen them! When I put the star during a star test out of focus, I do not see these circles, but instead the 4 spokes holding the secondary mirror. Is this bad? Why don't I see these circles? Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	May 15, 2002: 3:30 PM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Sun and Venus (with binoculars)
Viewing conditions:	Thin whispy clouds
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian
Eyepiece	25mm (48X) and 9mm (133X)
Observing notes:	I had some time to kill, so I tried to detect sunspots by projecting the sun through a low power eyepiece onto a 2'x 2' piece of posterboard--and it worked! There were three distinct areas of spots and one near the right edge. Also, near the edges, I could see the granularity that is present. (The following day I observed one spot that was near the edge and it rotated with the sun to the left slightly, so now it was no longer almost wrapping around the edge. Venus was near the moon, so I gave it a shot...and sure enough, there it was! VERY bright! Quite surprising considering the thin clouds floating through. Couldn't ever get it in the telescope though. It is easiest when it is near the moon as a reference. Interesting observing session... Comment: It is now July, and since then, I have tried 5 or 6 times since then to find Venus in the daytime...and no luck. It is only easily done if it is near the moon, I believe...I could be wrong though??? Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	May 14, 2002: 12:45-1:39 AM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	M13, M57, and M51 Whirlpool Galaxy (with NGC 5195)
Viewing conditions:	Clear
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian
Eyepiece	25mm (48X) and 9mm (133X)
Observing notes:	Ikeya-Zhang was brighter, fuzzier and larger through the binoculars than before, but it seems dimmer and smaller in the eyepieces this time. However, through both eyepieces, M13 was better. Definite stars were seen! (Almost seems to form an "X"...) I then took a swing over to M57 (Ring Nebula), like always. It was no different, with the center not being really seen through the 25mm (48X), but in the 9mm (133X), it was seen. Overall, M57 seems the same size as Jupiter. Ahh, now for the tricky one! M51 always escapes me and I never get to find it...this time, I did though. It was hard to see well...big but a lot of dimness. Only in the 25mm (48X) could I see it and it was distinct what I was looking at. (9mm was a useless view) No spiralness was detectable but they were both very large, therefore I was impressed. M51 cannot be seen without noticing its companion NGC 5195. They were connected by a bridge of fuzz. Overall, with this new one, I am pleased. They will bring nice views at a darker sky site. Comment: Low power is the only way I can imagine finding M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy). I have seen it one other time since then (and I am writing this in July) and it was barely visible (not sure why). It is a tough one for me--maybe because there are no stars to hop with that I have found. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	May 4, 2002: 9:15-10:15 PM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Saturn, Comet Ikeya-Zhang, Jupiter, and M13 (Hercules Cluster)
Viewing conditions:	Quite clear (as my notes say)
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian
Eyepiece	25mm (48X) and 9mm (133X)
Observing notes:	I find myself disappointed because Saturn ducked behind the trees within a moment after I began looking. Titan was far away from Saturn on the left. There was noticeable darkening on upper left and right of the disk and with an overall slightly yellow tint to the planet. Jupiter was the best seeing ever--I thought I was seeing more belts than ever too but my eye may have been playing tricks on me! This was the second time I saw three belts (NEB, SEB, and the little one below the NEB). Also, I could see the hollo cavity where the GRS until recently was. Jovian moons blended in with stars somewhat, which is odd, but I could tell which ones they were for sure. Truly wonderful seeing tonight! With Comet Ikeya-Zhang, I didn't see it for the first time until well after its peak-brightness. It was below one of the "squares" in Draco. It took me forever to find it but finally did in the finderscope of all places! and when I saw it in the eyepiece it was a small cotton ball the same size as M13 with it's brightest part near the low-center area of it. Glad to finally get to say I saw it and not have missed out on this popular comet. M13 was again found in the finderscope just like Comet I-Z. It was the same size as the comet and almost identical in all ways. At 133X with the 9mm eyepiece, with averted vision, some stars could barely and briefly be seen, it is mostly a big fuzzed-out area. A successful and high quantity and quality night. THANKS, GOD FOR SUCH WONDERFUL ARTWORK! Comment: By all means, anyone reading this who finds it useful, let me know. Encouragement helps us all :) Back to telescope index

Observer:	Daniel Salters
E-mail address:	Constantine312XP@aol.com
Date and time of Observation:	Sunday April 28, 2002: 8:40-9:08 PM
Observing Location:	St. Louis, Missouri suburbs
Object Observed:	Double star Mizar, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Orion Nebula (M42 and 43)
Viewing conditions:	Glow of sun still present (Mag. +10 was dimmest I saw)
Telescope	6" Bushnell Voyager Reflector Dobsonian
Eyepiece	25mm (48X) and 9mm (133X)
Observing notes:	Wow! What can I say?! The entire time, all I could think was: "This is nothing short of spectacular." Compared to last night's attempt through the trees with the 9mm, this was far better of an idea of what I truly should see. The 9mm (133X) showed the SEB and NEB and Jupiter was about the size of a pencil eraser. In the 25mm (48X) Jupiter was small and crisp with both bands very prominent on the disc. (Both views, of course, showed the moons with two on each side of the planet.) When it came to Saturn, the spectacularness was ever more amazing! The view of this planet was rather wavy--as if looking across a barbeque pit. Occasionally a moon could be made out around 1-2 o'clock from Saturn. I first began to suspect it and later confirmed it by seeing it better. This must be because the eye is becoming used to the light. Titan was clearly visible much farther away and about 5 o'clock from the planet. After checking positions of the moons on the Solar System Simulator website, the moon turned out to be Rhea. On the left portion of the rings, I MAY have slightly seen the Cassini's Division. Atmospheric conditions prevented further seeing. On the top portion of Saturn (South), there were darkened areas noticeable around both left and right edges giving it a more rounded look. Mars and Venus did not yield much excitement. Venus was mostly full, but the right of it was clearly not full. Overall, at low (48X) magnification, Venus is way too bright to look at. Mars was bigger than a dot, smaller then pencil lead, and considerably red. Not much to look at here. I tried for the last view of the Orion Nebula of the year and it was impressive but short lived because as soon as I aimed to it, it was ducking below a hill. However, both M42 and M43 were seen. M42 was brilliantly whispy with stars in it and M43. Wonderful night for the new scope! Back to telescope index

>Observer:	Darren Wong
E-mail address:	dhumpie@whale-mail.com
Date and time of Observation:	10/11th of May 2002
Observing Location:	Leyburn, Queensland, Australia
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Excellent transparency magnitude 7++ skies
Telescope	6" Synta Catadioptric Newtonian (1400mm f/l), 10x50mm binocs and on occasion a 10" DOB and 6" Synta refractor
Eyepiece	25mm Kellner, 20mm Plossl, 12.5mm Plossl and 9mm Kellner (with UHC filter)
Observing notes:	This is my forth visit to Leyburn and also probably my last before the winter. This was also supposed to be a test trip to see if I could take the cool-cold temperatures of winter, which will hit next month (needless to say that I won't be going the next month due to my aversion to cold temperatures…unable to focus…brain and finger freeze). Weather for the past few days prior to the trip was excellent with clear skies. As we drove out, there were some clouds gathering though. Well hopefully we will get clear skies from the word go when we get there. As we had set out early, we got there just before 4pm. During the southern autumn, the skies start getting dark at 5pm and will be fully dark when it hits 6pm. When we got there the skies were spectacular. There were some clouds hovering around but they were never really a threat. We began the night with a special treat with the planetary conjunction. Caught Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn all close to one another. Kev tried to find Mercury in the muck before the sun had even set with his 80mm binocs mounted on a mop stick (ingenious way to mount your super binoc) but to no success. I had a brief glimpse of Jupiter, Saturn and Venus in Dave's 10" but as the scope was still cooling I did not get the best views of the planets. I was still lingering on Jupiter when I noticed how dark the sky was already. I then decided to start my mad dash to bag all the galaxies I had on my list (much smaller this time as I wanted quality over quantity this time). Started out with Leo as this will be the first constellation to set (well for the objects on my list anyway). Set out to bag two rather bright galaxies NGC 2903 and 3607 in Leo. Turns out that I did not need to work very hard. NGC 3607 was a rather bright elliptical close to the M65/66 trio while 2903, at the extreme end of the lion's tail was another easy spiral. Its amazing how easy galaxies are when you are viewing from a dark sky site. Not a problem at all (and I event caught the M65/66 cluster in my 10x50mm binocs). Got M95 this time round (could not dodge me anymore). Not much detail there. Next on my list were…well more galaxies! Charged right on to Canes Venatici and bagged all the galaxies I missed the last time round (the sky transparency was super excellent tonight!). I had not even expected to bag some of the galaxies mentioned later on as they are located fairly low in the sky. Bagged NGC's 4631, 4449, 4490 and M106 (woohoo!). Of the four, the most outstanding was 4631 with the irregular mottling seen all across the face of the galaxy. In fact the mottling was so prominent that I did not even need averted vision. What a treat as I did not expect such detail from these galaxies. Had a brief glimpse of M51 as well and it too looked much better tonight (even in my 6"…last time all I saw were two fuzzy blobs devoid of any detail). Though I saw a hint of the spiral arms and that bridge connecting the two! Virgo was up next. I had failed to see some of the galaxies there the last time I was here. Did not intend to fail this time! As such I managed to get them all (well those on my list anyway): 4535 (near M49 which was visible in my 10x50mm) and M89 and M90. While I was at it, I swung my scope around to…naturally Coma Berenices and caught M98 and M99. I have tried these two from home but failed so it was pretty refreshing to see them so easily in my 6" under Leyburn skies. M98 was particularly interesting appearing as a nice sliver of light. Also managed to squeeze in M91 and M88 while I was at it. Not much detail seen in those two. It was at this time when one of the member's (Peter) came on over with his newly purchased Howie Glatter laser pointer and started to show off his new toy. He pointed out this galaxy at the head of Centaurus (one that I had not seen)…NGC 5102 I think. Pretty bright but small galaxy that one. Did also try to bag two rather bright galaxies in Ursa Major (the only ones in which I deemed were high enough to find….a major portion of Ursa Major, save its legs are all but invisible from my altitude). The two on my list was NGC 3184 and 2841. Did not manage to see any of them. Well I have to give them a miss…probably to low in the murk! With all those in the bag it was now time for some fun and for more of my faves. I will not elaborate further here as it would only seem all too repetitive, but I will note some rather exceptional observations. Of the objects I revisited (ditched my 6" in favour of Dave's 10" DOB…well not for all objects but for most of them anyway): globs with very good resolution ; Omega Centauri, M13, M5, M4, M22 and a very low 47 Tucana; nebulae M42, Eta Carina, M8 the Lagoon and the Trifid and planetaries M57 (nice ghostly ring in the 6". Nice nebulosity within the "smoke hole" in the 10"), M27 (looks more like a football with the UHC in place..even in the 6") and NGC 5189, the spiral/leafy sea dragon nebula in Musca (nice even in my 6" with heaps of detail seen. It appeared more like spiral galaxy with the spiral's easily visible….I later noted that I could catch most of the details even from my mag 5-5.5 skies back in the suburbs through the UHC in my 6"…ahhhh don't you just love technology!) . The things to note was the rusty reds seen in the outstretched arms of the Orion Nebula (never noticed that before) and some reds in the Trifid in the 10" (Notice how I don't have any reports on how objects looked liked through Kev's 16" this time round. I purposefully stayed away so as not to spoil the view in my 6"). Oh and did I mention that we could spy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A galaxy) with the naked eye…yup the skies were that good!!!!! Well my next dark sky report may possible be several months from now as its time for hibernation (well I will still be out under the stars…but from the comfort of my apartment's balcony :) Back to telescope index

Observer:	Darren Wong
E-mail address:	dhumpie@whale-mail.com
Date and time of Observation:	12/13th of April 2002
Observing Location:	Leyburn, Queensland, Australia
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Medium transparency magnitude 7++ skies with heavy dew
Telescope	6" Synta Catadioptric Newtonian (1400mm f/l), 10x50mm binocs and on occasion a 10" DOB and 16" Truss
Eyepiece	Eyepiece Used: 25mm Kellner, 20mm Plossl, 12.5mm Plossl and 9mm Kellner (and Lumicon UHC filter)
Observing notes:	This was my third trip to the dark sky site over at Leyburn and I had a huge list of objects to hunt down (namely galaxies in the Coma-Virgo). But I promised myself not to rush through the list so I could scrutinise each and every object to tease out the finer details. The weather was not the greatest. In fact when we got there the skies looked pretty angry to the north. There was even a slight drizzle which sent everyone scurrying for tarps to put over their scopes. But as always, Leyburn never fails to surprise. The skies did clear later at close to 8pm (starting from the south as usual. This time of the year the skies start getting dark at 6pm). Some of the objects I had planned for the early part of the night were now too low. Even the sky seemed not to be of exceptional brilliance tonight. There seemed to be some sort of haze about. At this time of the year both the SMC and LMC together with the centre of our galaxy (i.e the milky way) is visible. Talk about the best of both worlds!!!! I can't remember which object I started out with but I was quite sure it was 47 Tucana in the SMC. Not too brilliant as it was rather low in the sky to start with. Still some resolution was visible. Just had to have a go at it! Next up was the Tarantula in the LMC. Its funny how the UHC filter (first time in Leyburn too!) did not visibly improve the view (same for M42 later). Tried it also in the 10" and got the same result. The Tarantula's extended arms were seen better minus the UHC. I then proceeded to my fave object the Eta Carina Nebula. This one looked brilliant and I was surprised at how much more detail was visible when the UHC was in place in the 6"EQ. All the dark knots and mottling were visible (and did I mention that the keyhole was outstanding???). I later had a look through my buddy Dave's 6" Synta Refractor! with the UHC and I was blown away. The contrast in the refractor with the UHC had to be seen to be believe (with much more detail and contrast then even the 10" Dob could muster). Talk about legendary refractor -like contrast. The dark regions were pitch black and the nebular regions looked..well distinctly nebular! Next up was the Orion nebula M42 which was by now pretty low in the sky. Like I mentioned before more outer nebulosity was seen without the UHC in then with the UHC in place (strange). Also had a go at the Christmas Tree/Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) near the horsehead. Did not look as good then when I last saw it. Probably also due to its low altitude. I did manage to catch it with some difficulty in the 6" though. Had to place the bright star just out of the field in order to see the nebula and its dark lanes. It was easier in the 10" so I made my sketch using Dave's 10". Also note that the UHC did not improve the view of this object! Tried to locate the horsehead with the UHC in place but to no avail. I will have to try it again when Orion is high in the sky! Also spent some time with some old fave's like Omega Centauri (the resolution was just amazing even in a 6"), NGC 5128-Centaurus A galaxy dust lane clearly visible and NGC 4945 edge on all in Centaurus. With the perennial fave's out of the way, the next target's were mostly faint and dim smudges.the galaxies. Remember how I for some strange reason could not find M83 in Hydra in the 6" on my last outing? Realised that I was star hopping in the opposite direction. The star patterns on either side were pretty similar. Caught it this time. Nice face on spiral with two spiral arms visible in the 6" with difficulty (saw three in the 16" but more on that later ƒº). Then it was on to Leo which was getting a little bit too low for my liking. Caught the usual M65/66 and their NGC companion. Much brighter than from home. Then moved on to the M95/96/105 cluster. Caught all of them excluding M95 (again could not find this one.for some strange reason that cannot yet be explained!). Will have to try again for that one. One thing to note was that I though I could make out some detail in M96 spiral arms in the 6". Then again maybe it was just my imagination running wild yet again. Moved on to Coma after that and had a look at NGC 4565 yet again (it appeared like a photograph in the 16"¡Kbut again for later) and by chance stumbled upon a much fainter NGC 4494. Thought I had 4565 but then again it could not have been so dim so I checked the map and whalla another new galaxy in the books!!!! Also looked at some galaxies in the Ursa Major-Canes Venatici region. This region has several good galaxies of optimum brightness that will show detail in a 6" under good conditions. Unfortunately they are also located at a very low altitude from Brisbane. This did not deter me nevertheless. I did managed to bag the M94-Croc's eye from my mag 6 skies back home but just could not get M63-the sunflower galaxy, only a few degrees away from this galaxy. This time I managed to bag it. Could not see any of the mottling that O'Meara saw. Also caught the extremely faint glow of M51 in the 6". It was a extremely difficult catch for me as it was just a subtle brightening of the background. Did see what I though was a central starlike nucleus though and its smaller companion. This was really pushing the envelope as it was in a ridiculously low altitude from where we were. Did get a much better view of it through the 16" though. Had planned to observe several other objects in the Sagittarius-Scorpius region but alas dew set in. It was just 1am but everything other than those powered ep's and scopes were drenched. That was when I called it a night. P/s: The highlight of the night would have to be looking at stuff through a fellow member's (Kev's) 16" Truss Scope. We had a look at many and I mean many, many objects. Had a look at Omega Centauri. Again the snaking chain of stars, the two dark eyes in the glob and the 3D effect were seen. 47 Tuc was brilliant (resolved right to the core) despite its low altitude as was NGC 3132 the Eight Burst Planetary Nebula in Vela (again the 8 shell's of nebulosity was seen). The dust lanes in M104 and NGC 5128 were so wide you could drive a dump truck through them (a sliver of nebulosity was noted in the dust lane of NGC 5128). Also there were some strange objects that we looked at that I could have sworn should have shown more structure in a 16" like the Ghost of Jupiter in Hydra, M64, the black eye galaxy in Coma and M83, the face on spiral in Hydra. I could not make out the CBS eye structure in the Ghost of Jupiter nor the dark lane in M64 which was visible the last time round in! my 6". M83 too was not much better than in the 6" with the spiral arms looking only a little bit more pronounced (with three arms now visible). Was it the transparency of the skies which made the difference???? Its also amazing to note how globular's take on an identity of their own when viewed though larger apertures. There was this glob we looked at that resembled a starfish with its outstretched arms of stars. Can't put an NGC number to it but it was nicknamed the starfish glob by Kev. He also showed us a very strange looking planetary called the spiral planetary in Musca (his nickname was the "leafy sea dragon nebula" as its shape really resembled the leafy sea dragon seahorses found in South Australian waters I think it was NGC 5189). Some objects really resembled photographs (excluding the glob's which looked better than in the overexposed photographs). The Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius was one of them looking like a photograph minus the bright pastel color's (some ! rusty red's were visible though with the usual green's). The ! edge on spiral in Coma 4565 was also brilliant with the central bulge, its radiating arms and the dark, dark dust lane. Wow! Also managed to see the spiral arms in M51 connecting it to its smaller companion but the word here is visible rather than spectacular well till next time. Comment: Will have to pace myself better with a smaller list and to not be distracted by 16" DOBS :) Back to telescope index

Observer:	Jody Moffett
E-mail address:	Jodyq43@adelphia.net
Web site:	beam.to/jody
Date and time of Observation:	March 22-23, 2002
Observing Location:	Mooresville, NC.....my backyard, naked eye limit about magnitude 4
Object Observed:	M13, M42, Ikeya-Zhang
Viewing conditions:	average some twinkle, but clear skies and moon went down around 1AM
Telescope	150 mm Orion Skyview Deluxe f/5
Eyepiece	9mm, 25mm Sirius Plossl's
Observing notes:	This will be my first posted observation. I got my telescope a month or two ago, and recently I have decided to keep somewhat of a observing journal. For about a solid week the skies were very clouded here in NC, and I got very observing in. I had been looking forward to catching the comet Ikeya-Zhang. It was supposed to be at its brightest after mid-March. Finally the skies cleared on the 22nd and I setup early to get a glimpse of the comet. The sun sank in the west, followed by Venus appearing low in the west chasing the sun. I could not see that it showed phases. After it was sufficiently dark I started scanning the N-NW, and soon found Ikeya-Zhang, it was roughly 3.5mag, which was not so naked eye because it was so near the horizon where light pollution is a problem. I viewed the comet first through my 9mm eyepiece(83x) I could not produce any detail out of the head or tail. It was very uniform, quite a pretty sight, but I would have ! liked the comet to have been located closer to the zenith. The tail of the comet was substantial spanning the entire field of even my 25mm(30x) eyepiece. On the following night(3-23-2002) I decided that I would take a look at M42(Orion Nebula). Winter will be gone before we know it, and so I decided to take a long look at M42 while I had the chance. Even through my finder scope M42 is stunning. Through my 9mm eyepiece I clearly split the Trapizium inside the hearth of the nebula. The nebula is tinted green. Through the 25mm eyepiece I had enough field to produce a nice frame of stars around the nebula. Compared to pictures of the nebula, I only see the brightest parts, while the wispy outer cloud structure evades me. I really long for dark sky. Later on the night of the 23rd I waited for Hercules to rise up from the west. One high enough in the sky to get a good view of the constellation I began my search for M13. I use the Cambridge star atlas as my guide while I am outside. When I am at my computer I use Starry Night software as my "virtual planetarium". M13 was one of the easiest messiers that I have found. Once locked in on it I spent about half an hour trying to catch some stars resolve around the fringes of the cluster. It seemed to help to put the cluster halfway out of the FOV and use averted vision, but still, I was unable to positively resolve any of the blur into stars. Still the cluster was quite bright, especially toward the core. Overall I am very happy with my scope, and cant wait to get to a dark site. I am looking to possibly join a local astronomy club, and my university holds star parties on the campus observatory which are nice. Happy Observing Jody Moffett Back to telescope index

Observer:	Terry Muller
E-mail address:	JCJ785@AOL.COM
Date and time of Observation:	5:30 EDT March 23, 2002
Observing Location:	Backyard. Hillsdale, NJ
Object Observed:	3 Classical planets and open cluster M45, Moon 1/2 full
Viewing conditions:	Clear skies, Very bright Moon, some star "twinkle"
Telescope	6" Orion Skyview Deluxe
Eyepiece	Orion Plossl 9MM, 25MM and Orion 3X Barlow
Observing notes:	The moon was very bright and best viewed using the 25MM and a moon filter. This was done before sundown before the moon became to bright against the night sky. Beautiful view. Venus was in the Western sky, low to the horizon and also very bright, again best viewed when using a moon or medium blue filter. It set very quickly but will be around for the next month or so. Very pretty against the early evening sky. Saturn and Jupiter have been "up" for quite a while now and I never get tired of looking at them. The 25MM and 3X Barlow combination work very well together on these two. The 9MM and 3X Barlow was a little to strong for the seeing conditions last night, but the 9MM alone worked out very nicely. What can I say about m45? It's always there just off the sholder of Orion and always provides a spectacular view. 25MM seems about right with my 6" Reflector. The "sisters stand out bright and clear in the eyepiece with very little clarity loss at the edges. This is my first Medium size telescope, (previously I used a 90MM Refractor of questionable quality) and every time I use it I'm amazed at the difference a good quality 6" reflector makes. Good viewing and Clear Skies to all. Comment: Thanks for an excellent web site. I only just found it the other day, but I will be a constant visitor and contributor. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair Thomson
Web Address:	the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	7th March 2001 20:30 - 21:30 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	M97 (Owl Nebula), M108
Viewing conditions:	Clear with no moon
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 25+9mm kelners, 6.4mm meade 4000 plossl 2xbarlow
Observing notes:	Started off the evening looking for M79 a globular cluster in Lepus. The constellation was low in the sky sitting in the sky glow from Nottingham. No chance of finding this object. Turned the scope on Saturn which is also heading down towards the horizon. The view was not brilliant and high power resulted in a blurred image. I could make out two moons and the Cassini division using moderate power. Jupiter. Now this is much higher in the sky and gave up more detail than Saturn. The moons were all to the left of the planet as you looked through the eyepiece with two moons very close to each other and the planet. The two main belts were strikingly clear and the southern polar region also gave up some detail. I then tried to find some galaxies in Leo but failed. I didn't expect to find them as Leo was in a poor position from my observing site. Ursa Major was sitting high in the sky and I went in search of two objects I hadn't found before, M97 The Owl nebula (mag 11) and the galaxy M108 (mag 10). Both objects are quite close to Beta Ursa Major. Using my star chart I was able to follow a trail of three stars between mag 8 and 9. This leads you right to the galaxy. At first I could see nothing but as my eyes became accustomed to the dark the faint shape of the elongated galaxy could be made out. It was extremely faint but you definitely got the impression of a long thin galaxy. Averted vision gave a better view giving the galaxy a mottled appearance. A little further south from the galaxy (and were in the same field of view in a 25mm eyepiece) there is another group of three stars forming three sides of a box. The nebula M97 forms the fourth corner of this box shape. The nebula was visible in the 32mm eyepiece and stood out much better using the 32mm and the 2x barlow. This was a faint smudge and was quite large in size, definitely larger than the ring nebula. It seemed to have quite an irregular shape, using the skyglow filter the nebula was a little better defined and had a more circular appearance. That was it for tonight. Thin cloud was rolling in. I'd viewed a few old favourites and had first light on two more objects that were the faintest I've viewed to date, mags 10 and 11. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Darren Wong
E-mail address:	dhumpie@whale-mail.com
Date and time of Observation:	12/13th of January 2002
Observing Location:	Leyburn, Queensland, Australia
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Good transparency magnitude 6.5 or 7 skies
Telescope	6" Synta Catadioptric Newtonian (1400mm f/l), 10x50mm binocs and on occasion a 10" DOB and 16" Truss
Eyepiece	25mm Kellner, 20mm Plossl, 12.5mm Plossl and 9mm Kellner
Observing notes:	My second visit to Leyburn and boy was I in a rush. Have not been to a dark sky site since November due to the southern summer weather (i.e. more cloud cover and rains). I had been planning this trip for about two months now. Anyway, the weather did not look great from Brisbane. The forecast was for fine hot weather but fine does not necessarily mean clear skies. As we got nearer, it still did not look promising but we went anyway. Friday night reports filtering through sounded positive though. We got there at about 6pm, just enough time to set the scopes up and let it cool (or warm up..it was warmer outdoors than in the car with the air con running). Astronomical twilight only descended on us at about 8.30pm (when it got really dark). There was still some clouds in the sky but the southern sky was clear...first up...the LMC and SMC's. The LMC and SMC was higher up in the sky early in the night than the last time we were here. Wanted to see M32 and M33 but the skies over there were clouded over. Would not have gotten a very good look anyway as they were pretty low in the sky. Warmed up with 47 Tuc with the new 12.5mm Plossl. Looking great with stars resolved across its face. Spent several minutes on this object...brilliant from a dark sky with chains of stars radiating outwards (this effect is invisible from my mag 5 suburban skies)! Will get a chance to compare it with Omega Centauri later tonight :). The Tarantula also looked brilliant with the 12.5mm. Heaps of faint tendrils seen. And now the highlight of the night! I was invited over to look through a 16" truss owned by a member of the society. WOW was all I could say...47 Tuc was resolved all the way to the core (you could change the focus and resolve stars at different level's giving it a much more 3D view than in the 10"). All the stars looked golden! Also looked at the Tarantula...more nebulosity and knots than you could possibly imagine...much better looking than those burned out photo's. Also caught a glimpse of the Eight Burst Nebula in Vela (NGC 3132). It looked plain in my 6" but I could see why it was called the Eight Burst in this monster scope. The greenish planetary was huge with about 8 outer shells in the 16". He put in an O III but that seemed to hurt the image (but more core details were seen). Next was Eta Carine...superb in the 16" with the homunculus clearly visible at high power with two shells visible...will have to look and see if I can see that in my 6" later. Also caught Linear...nice bright nucleus and short dust tail in the 16" and M42 the great nebula in Orion (did look great for a while before the high altitude clouds hit)....Time to get back down to earth! At about 12am, the clouds started to roll in and we decided to have a break. The break lasted till about 1.30am when we were getting ready for bed...the skies cleared up and the transparency became excellent!. Whew the milky way stretched all the way from the south to the north. Seeing how Orion was getting lower, decided to catch a quick glimpse of its wonders. M42 was looking superb now with its wings fully stretched...heaps of nebulosity around M42 as well. Looked at M78...much brighter than from home and resembling a comet with a short tail more than anything. Tried for the Flame Nebula but did not see it. Now onto Eta Carina which was very high in the sky! Hmmmm..in the 6", even the clumps and knots are visible. This is a brilliant nebula stretching over a very large portion of the sky. Only the central portion was visible in my scope operating at 56x (will have to get a lower mag ep...say 32mm or 40mm). I could make out the keyhole...and wait a minute....the homunculus does look non stellar. Bumped up the mag and though I could make out the shells. Now I am not crazy or anything but the 6" view actually looked quite good even after looking at it through a 16"! And hey Centaurus was quite high too..time for Omega Centauri. This was the first time I would look upon Omega with my 6". It is a brilliant and huge glob..much bigger and brighter than 47 Tuc...a distant second now. At 56x Omega was pretty much resolved to the core with its chains of stars resembling skeletal arms stretch as far as the eye could see (the 10" view was something else altogether). The glob looked very flat (probably due to its fast spinning speed) without ! a condensed core. It looked distinctly yellowish. Very different looking from 47 Tuc and most of the other "common" globs. Bumping the scope north, I caught a glimpse of NGC 5128 a rather peculiar looking galaxy also known as Centaurus A, a radio source. I have seen this through binocs from a dark sky site but nothing could prepare me for the view. The dark dust lane was barely visible with direct vision but stood out like a sore thumb with averted vision. I also had the impression that I was looking at a smaller and unresolved Omega...cool. Also caught the edge on galaxy (NGC 4945?) in Centaurus...another brilliant first for me appearing like a very delicate fat streak at 56x. No mottling was seen (will have to confirm this with a second view). As dawn was fast approaching, I had to start my hunt for all those galaxies I had planned to see. Leo, Virgo and Coma was up as was Corvus. First stop was M83 in Hydra...never found it in my scope for some peculiar reason but saw three spiral arms in the 10". Looked like a miniature version of M33 in Triangulum. Next stop Leo and M65/M66 and M95/M96. As a kid, I grew up dreaming of seeing these rather bright galaxies in my Cometron scope...no luck. But my luck was about to change! M65/M66 was easy in the 6" at 56x with a smaller and fainter streak north of them. Thought I had seen M95/M96 in the ep but I was wrong after checking "The Messier Object's" by O'Meara when home. Saw three rather faint galaxies in the field forming a small triangle (I had a nagging suspicion that these were not M95/M96 as they were quite faint!). Turned out that they were some NGC's north of M95/M96. Oh well will have to hunt these ones down on my next trip I guess. Next stop...Virgo, Coma and Corvus. M104, the Sombrero looked brilliant in the 6". I have seen this from home (mag 5 skies) in my 3" but the 6" at 56x under dark skies showed something else. It was really bright and the dark lanes was hinted at that mag. At 112x the dust lane was easy (in the 10" it was thick enough to drive a dump truck through). Then onto the Black Eye in Coma. Also a very easy galaxy, I did not see the dark dust "eye" on first glance. A buddy commented that he saw it by scanning the outer fringes of the galaxy. I tried that trick and saw it in the 6" though it was easier in the 10". The rest of the night (or day as the sun would rise soon) was spent looking at some ellipticals in Virgo (M49 was brilliant in the 6") and Coma. Did not get a chance to draw that many galaxies in Virgo as there were to many...well will have to dedicate more time to them on my next trip... Overall it was a very fruitful trip. Its hard to get exceptionally clear skies in summer but we were rewarded for our patience. The next trip, I plan to hunt down all the galaxies in Virgo and Coma and maybe try for M95/M96 again as well as spend some quality time with Omega Centauri! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Tom Flores, Sr.
E-mail address:	chico54t@netscape.net
Date and time of Observation:	12-28-01
Observing Location:	Lake Anna, Virginia (Mineral,Va)
Object Observed:	Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Clear/Rural/Moonlit COLD: 28 deg F.
Telescope	Orion SVD 6 Deluxe EQ
Eyepiece	25mm/9mm/3.8mm 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	Could clearly see Cassini Division with 25mm even with moonlight. With 9mm the moonlight affected clarity a little more than usual. Did not use Barlow to maintain crisp view. Took digital images with a Sony Mavica held up to lens. Pics came out clear but need work on improving image size. Limited observation time due to cold. Out from 20:30 to 23:30 hrs.  Back to telescope index

Observer:	Jerry Gaiser
E-mail address:	jerryg@gaiser.org
Date and time of Observation:	12/23/01 19:00PST
Observing Location:	RidgeTop Farm - about 26 miles west of Portland, OR
Object Observed:	Double Star - Alberio
Viewing conditions:	Clear - Seeing about average
Telescope	Orion XT6 (Taiwanese version)
Eyepiece	12.5mm GTO Plossl
Observing notes:	My first telescope double. Very pretty little double with the yellow-orange and blue stars combination. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair Thomson
Web Address:	the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	11 December 2001 20:30 - 21:30 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Vesta, M77, NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula), M1
Viewing conditions:	Clear with no moon
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 25+9mm kelners, 6.4mm meade 4000 plossl 2xbarlow
Observing notes:	Taurus I went in search of asteroid Vesta as it was travelling between Gamma and Lambda Taurus. The asteroid formed a trio with two mag 7 stars that are a little above gamma and lambda Taurus. It was easy to find, the two stars were quite a white colour in comparison to the asteroid. Vesta at mag 6.7 had a very pale yellow colour and was easy to see. Cetus Moving across to Cetus I went in search of M77 (mag 8.9). I found delta Cephus and moved a little to the south and there I picked up the faint smudge of the galaxy. The central core was easily seen and a star (mag 10) a little to the right of the galaxy gave it the appearance of having two cores. There was definitely an impression of elongation in the galaxy and bumping up the magnification using the 9mm eyepiece gave a good view with good contrast though no real detail in the structure could be seen. Gemini As I was on a roll here I went in search of the Eskimo nebula, NGC 2392 (mag 8.6). I located delta Gemini and star hopped from there. When I was in the right area the nebula was visible in the 32mm eyepiece as a small out of focus star. Increasing the magnification revealed that this was a nebula. It was quite bright and circular in shape. The 9mm eyepiece gave the impression of an irregular edge to the nebula but again no real detail could be seen. At this point I was looking up at the sky and I saw a Geminid meteor streak past heading for Orion, it was very white and slow moving with quite a short tail. I kept looking for more but that was it! Taurus I finished off the night by seeing if I could find M1. The last time I went in search of this nebula I couldn't see it without the aid of a skyglow filter. Tonight without the moon the sky was dark and I tracked it down using the 32mm eyepiece. I located the area and found the nebula easily. Its elongated shape was visible but the nebula wasn't as bright as the Eskimo nebula I found earlier. Anyway, it was good to see this again without the need for a filter to see it. I called it a night and was happy to have found an asteroid, nebula and galaxy that I hadn't seen before. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Darren Wong
E-mail address:	dhumpie@whale-mail.com
Date and time of Observation:	17th of November 2001
Observing Location:	Leyburn, Queensland, Australia
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Good transparency magnitude 6.5 or 7 skies
Telescope	6" Synta Catadioptric Newtonian (1400mm f/l), 10x50mm binocs and on occasion a 10" DOB
Eyepiece	25mm Kellner, 20mm Plossl, 9mm Kellner
Observing notes:	My first trip to the Southern Astronomical Society's dark sky site with my newly acquired 6" scope. I had an agenda for this trip, to see all the objects with low surface brightness that are invisible from my suburban observing site, plus to revisit some old favourites. As the sky darkened, the first thing that caught my eye was the "clouds" towards the south. Those were not clouds, they were the LMC and the SMC! Boy were they bright! I have glimpsed with difficulty the LMC from my suburban site but the SMC has continued to elude me until now. Not much details with the naked eye but excellent objects to scan with binocs! Waited till the sky was much darker and started to hunt down the faint fuzzies. First up were my two faves, NGC 55 and NGC 253, the Sculptor galaxies (both visible from my mag 5 skies back in Brisbane). Under dark skies, these two bright galaxies were excellent. Mottling was seen in 253 with a hint of the dark lane. 55 looked distinctly clumpy, showing its distinct asymmetry with one end clearly brighter than the other! Next on my list was the extremely large but low surface brightness Helix nebula in Aquarius. I have never been able to spot this from my balcony. The planetary was an easy catch showing up as a featureless blob in my binocs. No hint of the central hole so visible in photographs. On to my scope. The scope showed little extra detail with the central hole revealing itself at the edge of perception and only with tapping and averted vision. Rather disappointing object but at least I can say that I have seen it! Next up..another large but low surface brightness object, M33 in Triangulum. Many have said that this galaxy is a good indicator of the quality of the observing site. If it is visible to the naked eye, you have got yourself a great site. Well, the galaxy was definitely visible with the naked eye this night! Through the binocs, it was an oval haze covering a much larger area than the Helix nebula. The views through the 6" were breathtaking (before I looked at it through my observing buddy's 10" DOB that is...5 spiral arms were visible in the 10"). Traced two distinct spiral arms. One radiating to the north and another to the south. Cool! Next up M31, the great galaxy in Andromeda. Also visible to the naked eye, this galaxy was awesome in the scope. Covering a ridiculously large extent of the FOV, I spotted for the first time its dark lane. But it was not totally obvious...rather at the edge of detectibility. The nucleus looked distinctly greenish and both M32 and M110 were visible (M32 visible in the same FOV). Another great object to look at! Finally...my perennial faves 47 Tucana (boy...good resolution all across the glob...but overshadowed by the 10".....looking spectacular like photographs with stars resolved all the way to the core!!!!); the Tarantula (again spectacular in the 10" with all its knots and clumps); eta carina nebula; M42, the great Orion Nebula (large greenish wings visible in all its glory!) with the sword of Orion (patches of nebulosity everywhere!), M78 (a first for me too..have to try from home! Looks like the head of a comet!!!!); M1, the Crab Nebula (much larger than it appeared from home...spectacular in the 10" with the crab structures observed with averted vision!). Last on the list was NGC 3132, the eight burst nebula. Expected more out of it but was disappointed....looked a little more like a bright out of focus star than anything else....oh well..till next time.. Back to telescope index

E-mail address:	doccpu@yahoo.com
Web site:	www.oocities.org/doccpu
Date and time of Observation:	Sundy, Nov 11, 2001 - 10:30 PM to 1:30 AM MST
Observing Location:	New Mexico
Object Observed:	Jupiter, Saturn, A Few Old Favorites
Viewing conditions:	Clarity, 8 of 10, Transparency, 7 of 10 (light pollution)
Telescope	6" f/5 Discovery Newtonian
Eyepiece	25 & 10 mm Plossl, 25 & 9 mm MA, 2-3x Barlow
Observing notes:	M31 I set up the scope primarily to observe events on Jupiter, but started early let the instrument cool down. My first target was M31. In the short focus Newtonian, this is a fine object. The core was quite bright, and averted vision showed an extended faint object reaching nearly across the 30x field of view. Double Cluster in Perseus This is one of my favorite objects. The entire double cluster will fit in the field of view of the f/5, with a 25mm eyepiece. Stars are far enough apart to be well defined, yet to many to count. The brightness and extent of this object makes it one of the best for wide field instruments. Pleiades Another fine object for a wide field instrument is the Pleiades. I took a quick look at this object, which revealed sparsely set blue gems, sparkling in the field of view. I could not see the nebulosity, but just the field of blue sparklers is impressive. Orion Nebula I took a moment to view the Great Nebula in Orion. At 30x, the object extends over about half the field of view, in a pose that reminds me of the famous archeopterix (proto-bird). The outer fringes of the nebula took on a slight reddish tint, as it blended into the surrounding space. At 75x, the nebula filled the field of view, and the trapezium was easily resolved. Another fine object for a wide field instrument, though a little more magnification was useful to see the inner structure. Jupiter Jupiter was an interesting object. I'd only noted from my computer atlas that in the rough midnight time frame, the red spot would be available, and Ganyemede was approaching the limb of the planet. I expected to see the Red Spot and Ganymede's shadow. In our current relationship to Jupiter, the moon's shadows appear well before the moons actually encounter the planetary limb. I started observing a bit after 10:30 MST, just getting set up. I noticed a bump on the planetary limb, which I recognized as a moon. At first I thought I was seeing either Io or Europa just passing behind Jupiter. It turned out, rather than disappearing, the moon separated from the limb. Turned out it was Io, having just traversed the face of Jupiter. Due to the previously mentioned geometry, Io's shadow had long passed, and I hadn't seen the moon superimposed on the planet's surface. About 11:30 I could see the stark black shadow of Ganymede encountering at high Southern latitude, with the moon itself still a considerable distance from the limb. I watched the shadow creep across (Ganyemede's moon moves more slowly of course than Io or Europa, do to Ganyemede's orbit) for the next hour. About 12:30 the Red Spot moved around enough for me to discern it. Every couple of minutes the atmosphere would give me a nice glimpse, allowing me to easily see how the Northern belts flow around the Red Spot. I could easily split the Southern Equatorial belt, but the darker Northern belt appeared as a single, though lumpy band. There was a darkening in the Northern belt just ahead of the Red Spot's longitude. At around 1:30 AM, I finished up by catching Europa's re-emergence from behind Jupiter, yet another surprise. Saturn I finished up the evening with a few minutes of Saturn viewing. As others have mentioned, Saturn will tolerate a little more magnification than Jupiter, given that the objects of interest exhibit more contrast. I could easily see a wide, lighter band around the equator of the planet, and darkening toward the poles. The edge of the ring behind the planet just about at the limb of the planet. At about 180x, the Cassini division was clearly visible, as well as the A, B, and less defined C rings. At bit of the planet's shadow could be seen on the rings as they were passing behind the planet. At times, the A ring appear to have a bit of shading or structure, but it was just at the limit of visibility, coming and going. Was this a glimpse of the Encke division? Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair Thomson
Web Address:	the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	23 October 2001 21:00 - 22:15 BST
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	M31 M32 M110 double star
Viewing conditions:	Clear with strong winds
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 25+9mm kelners, 6.4mm meade 4000 plossl 2xbarlow
Observing notes:	Just managed to catch Mars and the Moon before they slipped below the roof tops, made a nice naked eye sight (good in binoculars too) with Mars a little above the Moon. Whilst I was using the binoculars I tried to find M33. I swept the area a few times and thought that I'd caught hints of something but I couldn't be sure. I'm still not convinced that I've seen this yet! Next on my list was the two satellite galaxies to M31. I found M31 straight away and it was showing up well with quite a large area of the spiral showing. I moved north and found M32 (mag8.1), it looked like a small nebulous star. Averted vision made this stand out more and I was convinced it wasn't a star but indeed the galaxy. Moving south down past M31 I found M110 (mag 8.1). This galaxy was much larger and had a brighter central core than M32, the galaxy was elongated in shape with its axis pointing towards M31. Again this galaxy was seen much better with averted vision. I was happy to have finally found this trio. As Aquarius was in a reasonable position I tried to find the globular cluster M72. I couldn't see it but then Aquarius was in a region of sky that suffers badly from light pollution. To check I was in the right area I star hopped to M2 and found it. It was quite well defined but I couldn't resolve any stars. I moved back down to find Zeta Aquarius. This is a double star and is quite a tight one to split. I could only split the two mag 4.4 and mag 4.5 components at 234X magnification, there was a clear dark line separating the two bright white stars. Then as usual the clouds came rolling in, but at least I'd made a few new sightings.... Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	15 October 2001 22:00 - 23:00 BST
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	Objects in Auriga
Viewing conditions:	Excellent
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 25mm + 9mm kelner, 6.4mm Meade plossl & 2x barlow
Observing notes:	Last year I was challenged to find a planetary nebula (NGC 1931 mag 10.1) in Auriga which due to its position and the time of year I had very little opportunity to find. Tonight Auriga was well placed in the evening sky and I went in search of this object. I found a group of stars near to IC 410 which led me towards the location of the nebula. I went too far and came across M36 - it was looking good tonight with many stars visible in the cluster. Star hopping from here I soon found the two stars that the nebula sits between. I couldn't see the nebula with the 32mm eyepiece. Adding the barlow I was able to make out a small smudge but nothing else. I tried various powers and found the 9mm gave the best view. This nebula resembled the view of M57 under low power - a small out of focus star. Having said that NGC 1931 was just a little larger than this and not as well defined but I definitely had the impression of a bright core with a rounded haze rapidly becoming fainter as you left the center of the nebula. I was really pleased to have found this one as its one of the faintest object I've yet seen with my telescope... Whilst in the area I looked at M36 and M38 and decided to check out NGC 1907 Mag 8.2 again. The last time I saw this open cluster the moon was out but not tonight. I could make out several more stars this time and could see a triangle shape of stars quite easily and many more stars just beyond being resolved. Saturn was next on my list and wow was this a fantastic sight. It looks a lot better than I remember from last year, I'm sure I could see a shadow on the planets atmosphere cast by the rings. If this wasn't what caused the band around the planet then it must be something in the atmosphere. I will be revisiting Saturn as it climbs higher into the sky over the winter. Jupiter was disappointing as it was still low in the atmospheric murk but I'll get it later in the year. I then looked around the sky and could easily see the double cluster and M31 with the naked eye - not bad from my back garden with all it's street lights! Back to telescope index

Observer:	David Myers
E-mail address:	dwmyers@mindspring.com
Web site:	www.mindspring.com/~dwmyers
Date and time of Observation:	10/03/2001, midnight to 2:35am
Observing Location:	Norcross, GA, a suburb of Atlanta.
Object Observed:	Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Pleiades, Polaris, Vega, epsilon Lyra, M57
Viewing conditions:	clear suburban skies, limiting visual mag maybe 3.5 to 4
Telescope	6" Discovery tube style dob (old style)
Eyepiece	Sirius plossls: 40, 26mm. Meade 4000 plossls: 26, 9.7, 6.4mm. Vixen Lanthanum 5mm
Observing notes:	I picked up a used Discovery dob on eBay. The price was good, unfortunately it suffered some damage in shipping. I'm still learning to collimate this scope and I replaced the 6x30 finder with a 8x50. This had led to balance issues which I fixed with Velcro, a school kid's pencil pouch, and aquarium rocks. The original goal of this night was to stay out long enough to let the scope cool down, to test balance with the new mods, to align the finder, and to see if I could get better optical performance than my 90mm refractor with this instrument. In the few brief tests before, that was impossible. I was going to view in the parking lot of my apartment complex, so I took the dob out in parts. There are trees around so I found a spot with a fairly good east view and some westerly view. As the scope was cooling down I spent most of my time aligning the finder first with the moon, and then later with a star. Balance was fine and the motion was easy, and smooth. I was using a 26mm eyepiece at the time. I took a look at Saturn and then at the Pleiades. Under the 26mm Sirius, stars seemed sharp and tight. Saturn was at least as good as the last time I looked and a hint of the Cassini division was visible under the 9.7mm Meade 4000, even though the scope had not cooled down. I moved to be able to see Vega and Lyra, and tried to see if I could catch M57 in a low field eyepiece. I did find it after a few minutes of looking. After coming from a GOTO scope, I as impressed by a couple things in the dob, the first the ease with which you could keep objects in the field of view at higher power, and the simplicity of moving the dob. Sometime around now I realized a lawn chair would be nice and I fetched one. M57 was very faint, just a light patch about the apparent size of a pencil eraser. No detail as observed in the nebula. The moon was bright and washing detail out of the sky. Next I tried to split epsilon Lyra. The scope had been out about 45 minutes and I was told the cool down time for this scope would be about 1 hour. With my collimation skills, the stars were not tight, they sparkled and were a mess, but in moments of good viewing, you could see the split at 120x. I moved back to Saturn as the hour mark passed and the cool down time had made a substantial difference. By now the Cassini division was easy to see, at 120x, and the scope took magnification up to 240x (The Vixen Lanthanum) easily. One band was visible on Saturn, but no more. I spent some time trying to tease out others, but the viewing conditions were not up to it. The finder alignment was pleasing, as the 8x50 was aligned to the point where putting a target on the cross hairs put it easily within the view of a 9.7mm eyepiece. This was a definite improvement over the 90mm. You could go directly to a high power eyepiece and skip a low power scanning step. I went back to the moon for a while and looked at it with low and high power. There was a wealth of detail I'd never seen in smaller scopes. The one thing that impressed me most was the view of the edge of the moon. Rather than being a smooth circle, in the 6" you could see that the edges were rough; you could see the outline of mountain peaks, and see the depression of craters. The crater Tycho was just awesome, dominant in the sky. I swung the scope back to Polaris, to do a star test. Splitting Polaris was easy, no violet haze to obstruct the view of the secondary. The single most dominant feature of the star test was turbulence. I couldn't see much more than that. Around this time security showed up, wondering what I was doing. Gave the man a view of Saturn at 120x. He was very pleased. After he said, "I'm going to have to tell my wife that I saw Saturn. I could see the rings and *everything*." I was about to go, but I walked the lot, and found that in a corner of it, the tree line to the east was lower and Jupiter had risen. So, I carefully moved my scope, chair, and eyepiece case to a good spot and took a look. First thing I noticed was that Jupiter was more than a spot in the finder, and that you could see Jupiter's moons in it. The view of Jupiter was tantalizing. It was large under 120x, a big target and easy to see. Two broad bands showed, and there was fine structure vaguely visible in those bands. 3 moons easy to see, there may have been a fourth but it didn't stand out. Averted vision kept giving tantalizing hints of further bands on Jupiter itself. By this time, I noticed that dew was collecting on the tube of the scope. I decided to go in. This is a work day for me and I needed to get up. Orion had risen above the tree line, and this is a constellation I've never looked at under a scope. Later though. Maybe this weekend, after I get a laser collimator and a UHC filter. Other comments: I was disappointed in the views the 40mm Sirius gave me this night, as it seemed to suffer from double images a lot. Not sure what could be causing this. Optical performance this night was far superior to a 90mm on the moon and planets, and inferior to the 90mm refractor with doubles and high magnification of stars. I think the latter will clear up with better collimation. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Larry Smith
E-mail address:	doccpu@yahoo.com
Web site:	www.oocities.org/doccpu
Date and time of Observation:	3 Sept 2001, 9:00 MDT
Observing Location:	Southern NM
Object Observed:	M15, M2, M13, M92, M27
Viewing conditions:	Clear, but bright moon just on the East horizon
Telescope	Discovery 6" f/5 Equatorial
Eyepiece	25mm & 10mm Plossl
Observing notes:	Trying out a calculator program that helps point my equatorial mounted telescope, I spent a short time hunting a few Messier objects. I was racing the waning moon, which was just appearing on the horizon. M15 - Found after sweeping a bit. I guess I did a poor initial alignment, because the calculator placed this one just out of the FOV. It's an interesting object. With averted vision, I could see that this was a fairly large global, nearly the size of M13 in Hercules. However, it's intensity falls off very fast, as if it has a less dense shroud around a considerably more dense center. The central area is quite bright compared to the general appearance. M2 - Again, located just aside of the initial FOV. Appears more dense overall than M15. It doesn't appear to have the extended area of less density. Overall, more evenly illuminated, not showing the bright core visible in M15. M13 - After a re-alignment, the calculator nailed this one on the nose. It shows easily twice the illuminated diameter as M2. Like M2, it shows a gradual increase in brightness from the extremities to the core. Speckles of individual stars can be detected with averted vision. In all, has a granular appearance. M92 - Similar in appearance to M15, with a bright core (not as bright as M15), and an intensity that falls off fast as one moves from the core. Perhaps half the diameter of M13. M27 - Dumbbell nebula. The calculator nailed this one as well, appearing well in the FOV at first glance. It was easy to see, and with averted vision took on the familiar hourglass shape. No colors were detectable. I'll need to try again in a few days, as the waning moon had appeared by this time, washing out my chance at prime star observing. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	14 August 2001 22:00 - 23:15 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham Uk
Object Observed:	Double stars, M2, M57
Viewing conditions:	Poor, high light wispy cloud
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	23mm Sirius plossl, 6.4mm Meade 4000 plossl 2x barlow
Observing notes:	Although the sky looked clear there were bands of wispy cloud passing through at high altitude making the conditions difficult for deep sky objects. I decided to try a few double stars. Pegasus First I tried Enif (mag 2.3) it is very orange and quite large large compared to the companion star. It was a small white star  (mag 8.6) and was relatively hard to see for the glare of Enif. A nice double with good contrast in size and colour. Aquarius As I was in the area I decided to use Pegasus as a route to find M2 (mag 6.5). This globular cluster is small but quite bright, some stars were on the edge of resolution at high power - 6.4mm and the 2X barlow. The view with the 32mm and 2x barlow was better but no stars were resolved. M2 was quite low in the light polluted sky hence the poor view. Still it was the first time I'd found this object. Cygnus Tried for delta Cygnus (mag 2.8) and its companion (mag 6.2) - no luck though the star did have an extended appearance at high power I couldn't split the pair. Lyra M57 (mag 9.4) Ring Nebula. Despite the poor conditions I could easily make out the ring shape at medium power, moving up to the 6.4mm eyepiece it was easy to distinguish the central hole. I was unable to get a really sharp focus on M57 tonight. I split Epsilon Lyra whilst I was in the area using the 32mm eyepiece, the 6.4mm and 2x barlow split the double double but the seeing was very poor at such high power. Then along came thicker cloud and it was time to call it a night. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	29 July 2001 23:00 - 00:05 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	M15 M27 M103 NGC663 NGC869 NGC884
Viewing conditions:	Clear with some light cloud, moon above horizon
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm reflector f/5
Eyepiece	32mm Sirius plossl, 25mm + 9mm Kelner, Meade 6.4mm 4000 plossl 2x barlow
Observing notes:	My intention this evening was to have another look at comet Linear but I failed to find it. I didn't have a finder chart for the comet and I only knew that it was somewhere in Vulpecula.... Sweeping the area with binoculars failed to locate the comet. I can only assume that the moon glow hindered my attempt. Whilst searching for the comet I came across a few objects - some for the first time! Vulpecula - M27 (mag 7.3) I've seen this nebula a few times before. Tonight, even with the moon above the horizon M27 was quite bright. With the 32mm eyepiece I thought that I'd found comet Linear but then on bumping up the power with the 2x barlow I realised I was looking at the Dumbbell Nebula. It's distinctive hour glass shape was easily seen. Pegasus - M15 (mag 6.4) Surprisingly enough this was the first time that I'd seen this globular cluster. It was quite small but fairly bright. I couldn't resolve any stars at any magnification. Perhaps from a darker site with no moon some stars would be resolved. Cassiopeia - M103 (mag 7.4) I gave up looking for comet Linear by now and had a browse around Cassiopeia (the sky was darker in this area!). Whilst scanning the area using the 32mm plossl a faint meteor went right through my field of view. It was a long thin streak, dull brown in colour! On following the trail backwards it came from the region of Perseus - an early Persid? I found a faint glow near to Ruchbah (mag 2.68) and bumped up the magnification. Several stars popped into view. I used the 9mm eyepiece to give better contrast and saw the open cluster as as lazy 'S' shape with one or two fainter stars scattered around. Quite a nice little cluster. Moving down I found another open cluster NGC663 (mag 7.1). This was larger than M103 with many more stars on show. It wasn't a particularly dense cluster but it was a nice sight. I thought at one point I was seeing hints of nebulosity but no just some thin cloud moving through! Perseus - Double Cluster Whilst I was in the area I had a look at the double cluster. This showed up well with the stars gleaming against the dark sky. I have seen this cluster better during the winter but it was still worth viewing. I was getting ready to pack up (got work in the morning) and decided to have a look at the moon, it was quite low in the sky and was a warm orange in colour. I noticed a star near to the dark side and tried to watch to see if would be occulted by the moon. It wasn't to be my night, the moon dipped below my line of sight before anything happened (that I could see). Despite not being able to find Comet Linear and the moon dropping out of sight it was quite a good session. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Larry Smith
E-mail address:	doccpu@yahoo.com
Web site:	sites.netscape.net/ljsmiths/smallscope
Date and time of Observation:	19 July, 2001 - 21:00-23:00 MDT
Observing Location:	Southern New Mexico
Object Observed:	Messier
Viewing conditions:	good, 7 of 10
Telescope	6" f/5 Discovery Newtonian
Eyepiece	40mm MA, 25mm Plossl, and 10 mm Plossl
Observing notes:	I was checking out a recently developed HP calculator program to help point the telescope. The system requires me to polar align, then pick a guide star (that's in the calculator). Then set the declination to the star's declination (shown by the calculator), and set RA to zero. From then on I can select items from the calculator list, and the calculator tells me where to point, accounting for Earth rotation since the selection of the guide star. With this technique, I selected Vega for initializing, and was able to find M13 (Hercules Cluster), M92 (globular cluster), M57 (Ring Nebula), M56 (globular cluster), M27 (Dumb-bell nebula), and M101 (Pinwheel Nebula). Each item (except for M27) were either in the FOV of the 40mm eyepiece, or just outside, after positioning the scope as indicated by the calculator. M57 fooled me, in that with the 40mm (and even the 25mm), the object was so small it was mistaken for a star. With the 10mm, the ring was easily spotted, and right on target. M101 (Pinwheel nebula) was easily visible, but not spectacular. I may have better luck on an evening when I'm concentrating on observing rather than checking out the calculator (during which time my night vision got blasted by a flashlight). The calculator currently holds a dozen or so guide stars (for initialization at any time of the year) and the entire Messier catalog. I can likely double the table size before running out of memory. It's not quite a go-to telescope, but not so far off either. I was particularly pleased with finding M92 and M56, in that up to now about the only globular cluster I'd routinely observed was the Hercules cluster. I look forward to being able to view the entire catalog, now that locating objects is so much easier. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Larry Smith
E-mail address:	doccpu@yahoo.com
Web site:	sites.netscape.net/ljsmiths/smallscope
Date and time of Observation:	July 2, 2001, 9:30 MDT
Observing Location:	Southern New Mexico
Object Observed:	Mars
Viewing conditions:	Good, 8 of 10
Telescope	6" f/5 Discovery Newtonian
Eyepiece	9 mm Meade MA w/3x barlow
Observing notes:	Examined Mars, using an Apodizing screen attachment. Was able to see "soft" images of Erythraeum Mare and Acidalius Planum. I was disappointed at the softness of the details, given the sharpness of the planet in general. It was a few days later I learned that Mars is being occluded by a global dust storm. One interesting feature was a pronounced whitening at the poles, as if the poles were rather large. However, since then I've examined some Hubble photos of Mars, and notice that sometimes, whispy clouds extend to lower latitudes from the poles. Perhaps That is what I was seeing. More recent observations show virtually no detail at all, and the whitened area of the poles is much smaller. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	13 July 2001 23:30 - 02:00
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	Mars, Linear A2, various objects
Viewing conditions:	Clear, some patchy thin cloud near horizon
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	25mm & 9mm Kelner, 32mm Sirius plossl, 6.4mm 4000 plossl, 2X barlow
Observing notes:	Mars Mars was low to the horizon, in fact I had to view it between two houses! Despite being low and in the sky glow from Nottingham I was able to focus quite easily. I was surprised at how large the planet looked in the 6.4mm eyepiece and was a little disappointed that I couldn't make out any surface features. The planet was a pale orange in colour fading to white at the northern polar cap. I watched Mars until it disappeared behind the house. Sagittarius The upper reaches of Sagittarius were visible just above the roof tops and I concentrated on finding as many objects as possible. This was the first time that I'd been able to use my telescope in this area of sky! First I took a look at M8 the Lagoon nebula (mag 5). The right hand side of the nebula (as I looked at it) was quite a dense grouping of small bright stars surrounded by some nebulosity, moving left there was a dark patch and then two quite bright stars with quite a lot of nebulosity surrounding them. Moving north I cam across M20 the Triffid nebula (mag 6.3). There was a loose grouping of a few stars and a little nebulosity was detected. I thought that this nebula looked better through my binoculars. To the left of M8 I found a loose sparse open cluster, Cr 367 (mag 6.4). It looked a little better at higher power as this improved the contrast. An orange star gleamed at the edge of the cluster it was the only thing of note that I saw in the area - I'm not sure if it belongs in the cluster! I then found Cr 394 (mag 6.3). This is another open cluster. This was quite a dense group of stars, more so than Cr 367. Stars were easily resolved with hints of others with averted vision. Next I moved onto the globular cluster M22 (mag 5.1). This is quite a large globular cluster but it had a very diffuse appearance (similar to looking at the core of Andromeda). I tried various magnifications but I could not resolve stars in this globular. Even so it was still an impressive sight. By this time cloud was coming in from the west and Sagittarius was going down below the horizon. Looking up I saw the milky way. Many stars were visible, more so than I'd usually see. Scutum Moving north I found the open cluster M11 the Wild Duck (mag 5.8). WOW was this a beauty! There were many stars packed into this cluster, many of them easily resolved. Averted vision showed up countless more stars. This cluster seemed to be intersected with dark lanes, I got the impression of at least two lanes running through the cluster. Moving towards the edges of the cluster the star density thinned out a little. This is well worth another visit! Hercules I then had a quick look at M13 (mag 5.9) as it was quite high in the sky. The globular was quite bright and at moderate power I could resolve stars. Using higher magnification didn't reveal too many more stars. Averted vision brought a few more into view.  I then moved onto M92 (mag 6.5) I usually miss out this globular as M13 is much bigger. However on this occasion M92 out did it's neigbour. I saw many more stars in the halo of this small globular cluster. It was brighter than I thought it would appear and it stood up well to higher magnification. The 9mm eyepiece revealed quite a few more stars. It was now after 1:15 and I decided to have a look for the comet Linear A2. I scanned the sky with my binoculars and there in quite an empty patch of the sky was this comet and boy was it big! I trained my telescope on the area and was impressed at the size of the comet in the 32mm eyepiece. The halo was circular and looked similar to the core of Andromeda. I couldn't make out any hint of the tail. I bumped up the magnification and from time to time I thought that I could make out granularity at the core of the comet. On two occasions I glimpsed bright flashes (the first group were very bright), the best description I can give is that they resembled sparks. I would have thought I was seeing things but it did happen twice. With the moon gaining height and the cloud rolling in I decided to call it a night - but hey what a night! I saw Mars, Linear A2 and six new objects! Newsgroup discussion on the flashes / sparks that I saw in the coma of comet Linear has offered suggestions that I may have witnessed the occultation of a star or it was perhaps an atmospheric event. I read a report on the web that the comet did break up some more on the morning of the 14th July so I may have seen the vapourisation of gases or ice! I'd like to think so... Back to telescope index

Observer:	Ian Knight
E-mail address:	ian@ianknight.com
Web site:	www.ianknight.com
Date and time of Observation:	19th June 2001 - 22:30 to 23:15
Observing Location:	Bristol, England UK
Object Observed:	Mars
Viewing conditions:	Fair, cloud-free, light breeze
Telescope	Orion Optics Europa 150mm Reflector
Eyepiece	6.3mm Plossl
Observing notes:	Mars was firstly located using the 6x30 viewfinder and the 25mm Kellner, though which Mars appeared as a tiny but very bright red disk. Moving up through the eyepieces, the maximum that could be obtained without loosing the sharp definition of the planet's edges was the 6.3mm plossl giving approx. 118x. The brightness of Mars through this eyepiece prompted me to reach for the colour filters (which appear to be a necessity when doing any planetary work). The light blue appeared to give the best results on this occasion, turning Mars into a glareless white and what appeared to be slightly gibbous disk. As I continued to track it, Mars gradually started to reveal some very subtle light grey patching. As I became more confident of the permanence of these features (i.e. I was not imagining them !) I reached for a pad and pencil to record their sizes and positions. The grey area appeared to be C shaped, starting near the upper (South pole) and foll! owing the planets left edge around to the lower (North) pole. The upper area near the top of the disk was darkest and best defined, with the rest of the grey area below being much more subtle. Following the session, I called on my Mars Previewer II (freeware) program, to attempt to identify what I had seen. The upper distinctive area was Mare Erythraeum and the lower region was Mare Acidalium. This was my first successful attempt at Mars so I would be keen to hear of any observations made of Mars at the same date & time. Comment: I think this object will really demand regular practice (and good seeing) to get the best results, however I am not sure how much more I can expect to find with a fast (f5) 150mm Reflector. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Don Heffernan
E-mail address:	donheff@cais.net
Web site:	heffernan.cais.net/astrophotos.html
Date and time of Observation:	All but Mars in April, Mars in late May
Observing Location:	Rural Virginia for everything except Mars and moon photos. DC for them
Object Observed:	Moon, jupiter, saturn, mars, M42 M65, M66
Viewing conditions:	Good dark skies, lousy light polluted skies for Mars photos
Telescope	Homemade 6" f8 Dob
Eyepiece	26, 17, 10
Observing notes:	After my daughter and I built the scope in April we caught, Jupiter, Saturn, Orion Nebula, the Beehive cluster, and M65 and 66 under dark skies at our weekend home in VA. We haven't made it down there since then. In May we got a Quickcam VC for $10 and photographed Mars and the moon from DC. I recommend Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts) a free star finding application that rivals expensive commercial packages. That is how I found everything. Also, try Astrostack software (also free) for using Quickcam images - Mars was my first attempt.  This is very doable by rank amatuers. Don Comment: Helpful site. I may be able to avoid some fruitless pursuits and try some promising ones I would have missed. Thanks. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair Thomson
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	12 May 2001 13:00 - 14:00 UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	The Sun
Viewing conditions:	Clear blue sky
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	Baader film solar filter (home made) 32mm sirius plossl, 9mm kelner, 6.4mm Meade 4000 plossl, 2X barlow
Observing notes:	For once I didn't have to wait for the scope to cool down! This was my first observation of the Sun using my telescope and I was a little apprehensive to begin with as I was using a home made solar filter utilising the Baader Solar film. The filter is almost a full aperture filter (5.5" aperture) and it performed well. The light from the Sun wasn't as bright as that from a full Moon and didn't hurt the eyes at all. When I looked away from the eyepiece there was no 'spots before the eyes' or anything like that so I felt more confident in viewing the Sun. On using the 32mm eyepiece the Sun filled about 25% of the field of view and five groups of spots were clearly visible. I went up to the 25mm eyepiece with the 2X barlow and the Sun filled the entire field of view. What an impressive sight this was. There was plenty of detail to be seen in the sun spots. Some were large others were made up of several spots and surrounded by countless smaller spots. The larger sun spots had a very dark central region and this was surrounded by a lighter border that was quite wide. As far as I could tell the boundary between the lighter area and the dark area was very sudden, there was no impression of one gradually merging into the other. I used the 9mm and 6.4mm eyepieces to study individual groups of spots. It was then that I noticed that the spot near to the limb of the sun looked like a shallow crater or depression, I've yet to confirm if this is how sun spots look or if it was a trick of the light. One of the larger sun spots revealed that it was made up of over fifteen individual spots (there may have been more smaller spots that I couldn't resolve) with the second part of the group comprising a single large spot. The whole cluster had quite a long, stretched appearance. I'm now hooked on solar observing - can't wait for the next clear day... Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair Thomson
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	26 April 2001 22:00 - 23:59 UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	M3, M13, M53, M57, M65, M66, Moon
Viewing conditions:	Crescent moon below horizon, LM mag 5
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm f/5 reflector
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 9mm kelner, 6.4mm Meade 4000 plossl, 2X barlow
Observing notes:	When I put the scope out to cool at about 8:30 pm I noticed a crescent moon edging towards the rooftops. I decided to have a look at the moon and spent almost 30 minutes viewing the moon until it had disappeared from sight. An quite a sight it was too, the sky was still light blue so there was no noticeable glare from the moon. With such a small edge to look at I didn't expect to see too much but I was surprised at the amount of detail on show. One of the large maria filled craters (I need to improve my lunar geography) showed a mountainous crater rim with an inner ridge just inside the crater featuring prominently. There were a couple of smaller craters in here too that were worth a look. I continued to work my way up and down the limb of the moon and was particularly struck by a couple of craters that overlap each other. I'm not sure if it was a trick of the light or if these craters actually look lie this but they had the appearance of a stubby footprint! Once the moon had gone I went inside until it started to get dark at about 10pm. When I came outside I swept the sky with binoculars and realised that Hercules was above the horizon and that bright star in the murk must be Vega - I was quite surprised to see these constellations! Hercules: M13 (mag 5.9)  First stop was to check out the globular cluster M13. I found it straight away and it appeared as quite a bright fuzzy ball with no stars resolved at any power of magnification. Quite disappointing. Coma Berenices: M53 (mag 7.7)  Next I tracked down M53, another globular cluster. This was smaller than M13 but was quite bright and was showing a mottled core with a hint of outer stars being resolved with averted vision. Whilst in the area I tried to find the galaxy NGC 4559. I thought at one stage I'd found it with just the barest hint of wispiness showing but I couldn't really be sure I was seeing anything so I don't think I can claim this one! Canes Venatici: M3 (mag 6.4) Next it was to another globular cluster, M3. This was the first time I'd seen this object and I was pleased to have found something I hadn't seen before. It has a bright, grainy core and several outer stars were easily resolved. This globular seemed quite compact but at higher powers it seemed to loose a little of its rounded appearance. Quite a nice sight, one I'll revisit. Leo: M65 (mag 9.3) M66 (mag 8.9) Next I wanted to find NGC 3628 (mag 9.5) that forms a trio with M65 and M66. I had a difficult time trying to locate M65 and M66. I eventually found them and they were oh so faint! Much fainter than the last time I'd viewed the pair. M65 showed up as the slightly brighter of the two but M66 definitely gave the impression that it was larger in appearance. Try as I might I could not see NGC 3628. Next I tried for a few galaxies in the Virgo cluster but I failed to spot any of these either! Lyra: M57 (mag 9.4) To cheer myself up I went in search of the Ring Nebula and found it straight away. As Lyra was still fairly low in the sky I had trouble getting sharp focus but I could clearly see the ring shape and from time to time I could see the hole in the middle. Hercules: M13 (mag 5.9) By now it was close to midnight. It was then that I noticed Hercules was much higher in the sky and I decided to have another look at M13 and boy was I glad that I took the trouble. M13 looked like it was resolving in the 10X50 binoculars! So I turned my scope back on it and WOW! This has to be the best I've ever seen M13. With the 6.4mm eyepiece I could see countless stars surrounding the cluster, almost like a cocoon of loose stars. Many stars towards the core were resolved  giving the hole object a 3D effect. I spent quite a while just taking in the view - I wish I could have taken a picture... Not a bad nights observing... Back to telescope index

Observer:	Bill Friebus
E-mail address:	billfrie@ix.netcom.com
Date and time of Observation:	4/21./01 9:45PM CDS
Observing Location:	Lombard, Illinois a far western suburb of Chicago
Object Observed:	M109
Viewing conditions:	Sky clear, Front moving in from south
Telescope	Orion 6" Skyview Deluxe
Eyepiece	20mm Plossl and 12.5mm w 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	Sighted in on the double star in the handle of the big dipper. (After showing the neighbors Jupiter and three of its moons. Able to see two bands without filters on the planet itself.) Worked my way along to Phad and then started looking around. Closed in on a dim slightly reddish spot. Best view was with a 2X barlow and my 12.5mm EP. But it was still just a spot. Wasn't sure which object it was but after referring to Charts de Ciel and using the left to right and up to down aspects to place things as I saw them in the scope I feel pretty sure that it was M109. Which is surprising. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Ian Knight
E-mail address:	ian@ianknight.com
Web site:	www.ianknight.com
Date and time of Observation:	18th April 2001 22:00 BST
Observing Location:	Bristol, England UK
Object Observed:	M13 Globular Cluster - Hercules
Viewing conditions:	Clear & still, occasional isolated cloud, increasing later.
Telescope	Orion Optics Europa 150mm f5 reflector
Eyepiece	25mm Kellner & 6.3mm Super Plossl
Observing notes:	Despite the clear conditions, the central trapezium of Hercules was not an obvious formation. It was located by starting at Alpha Bootis (Arcturus), moving left to Epsilon Bootis, and left again to Alpha Coronae Borealis (Alphecca). Looking left and down slightly from the backward ‘C’ of Corona Borealis, the Diamond of the 4 central stars of Hercules was found. Using low power (25mm Kellner) the scope was pointed at Eta Herculis, and a line toward Zeta Herculis was followed until M13 came into view. Gotcha ! The bright circular ‘smudge’ of M13 alongside white pin-pricks of neighbouring stars, made it instantly recognisable. Inserting the 6.3mm Plossl eyepiece (118x magn.) gave the optimum viewing. Use of the 2 x Barlow with this resulted in too much loss of light and definition. I found that occasionally focusing on the nearest star, and moving back to M13 ensured the best viewing. I found that M13 benefited from prolonged study, with so! me individual stars starting to resolve after the first minute or so. Very brief glimpses of granulation were also seen around the centre of the cluster. Comment: All in all, my first study of M13 was well worth dedicating an observing session to. M13 will certainly be worth re-visiting in the coming months under better conditions and when it is higher in the sky. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	4 April 2001 21:00 - 22:15 UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	M53, M81, M82
Viewing conditions:	Clear but moon 86% illuminated!
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm reflector f/5
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 9mm kelner, 6.4mm Meade plossl, 2X Barlow
Observing notes:	Coma Berenices As the Moon was so bright I didn't hold out much hope of finding anything but I gave it a go.... My first stop was in the Coma Berenices cluster. This looked good in binoculars showing as a group of bright stars in a large open ended wedge shape. I used a star chart to try and view some galaxies in the area but the moon was too close and too bright. I gave that up as a bad idea and went in search of M53 (mag 7.7). I tracked it down by moving from Gamma Coma Berenices to Beta Coma Berenices and finally across to Alpha Coma Berenices. From here M53 was visible in the 32mm eyepiece as a faint ball with the edges gradually diffusing into the surrounding sky. I couldn't make out any stars but then I didn't expect to see the cluster at all! I viewed this cluster at various magnifications and suspect that I may be able to resolve outer stars if the moon hadn't been present. There is another globular cluster close to M53, it's NGC 5053 (mag 9.8) and is about half the size of M53. Try as I might I couldn't see this object. Ursa Major I then decided to have another go at trying to find M81 (mag 6.9)and M82 (mag 8.2). I've read so many reports at how bright these galaxies appear and astronomers using equipment with less aperture than my scope have successfully viewed the pair. I read a report on Neale Monks web site on how he tracked the pair down. I followed his advice and WOW there they were! At last.... Here's how I found them. I followed a line up from Dubhe until I reached the star 23 UMa mag 3.67, I then moved to the left until I came across a small group of stars forming a triangle (8 rho UMa mag 4.76, 11 Sig1 UMa mag 5.14 and 13 Sig2 UMa mag 4.8). Following a line down from 11 Sig1 through 13 Sig2 I came across M81 and M82 in my 32mm eyepiece. They are bright and I'm not sure which I saw first - they were 'just there!'. M82 impressed me the most. It has a very distinctive elongated shape and I was surprised at how bright this mag 8.4 object actually was even with the Moon washing out the sky! Moving down from M82 I found M81. It appears much larger in size and has a more oval / rounded shape with a distinctive central core. After viewing this object for some time I could make out faint hazy outer layers of the galaxy. I'll be back to visit this pair the next time the moon is out of the way. Both galaxies stood up well to high magnification but didn't show up any extra detail. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Adam Rawlinson
E-mail address:	100127.1320@compuserve.com
Web site:	www.pcsconsult.co.uk
Date and time of Observation:	30th March 2001, 23.00 - 23.45
Observing Location:	Maidstone Kent UK
Object Observed:	M66 Galaxy in Leo, Algeiba (Binary star in Leo)
Viewing conditions:	fair, slight haze and patch high cloud
Telescope	Orion (UK) Europa 150 F5
Eyepiece	25mm Plossl, 4mm Vixen Lanthium
Observing notes:	Took ages to find. Finally resolved a faint smudge, but with a pollution filter and averted vision some very faint structure was visible after a few minutes study. Faded in and out (assume due to high cloud) Comment: I real treat and encouraging as this is a 10th mag object. Shows what you can do with a 150 and a bit of patience. Viewed this star initially whilst trying to find nearby galaxies. Returned after reading notes in star atlas, that this is a particularly nice binary. The pair were easily resolved at high power, the primary being markedly brighter than its companion, as well as more golden in colour. I have read that this pair can be challenging, but the 'scope had no problem. Comment: A nice "tourist spot" and one I will definitely return to if anyone comes round wanting impressive views through my 'scope. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	13 March 2001 20:00 - 21:00 UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	IC 410, NGC 1931, M51, M101, NGC 5195, M87
Viewing conditions:	Clear sky with some light cloud - moon below horizon
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm reflector f/5
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 9mm kelner, 6.4mm Meade plossl, 2X Barlow
Observing notes:	Auriga Jeff Barbour asked if I'd seen NGC 1931 - I haven't so I went in search. I located a grouping of stars which resembled a small plough shape and star hopped to IC 410 (mag 7.5). In my 32mm eyepiece this showed a couple of small bright stars and what looked like a small bright area of nebulosity surrounding them. I spent quite a while looking at this object with various magnifications (32mm gave the best results). When I'd finished I'd somehow convinced myself that I'd found NGC 1931 - oops! Whilst in the area I also picked up M36, a dense grouping of stars which showed up well and M38 was also a nice sight. Ursa Major I then moved onto Ursa Major in search of some galaxies. I star hopped from Alkaid (last star in the handle) and was sure I was in the area where M51 (mag 8.4) and NGC 5195 (mag 9.6) should be. I couldn't make them out. I was scanning the area in the 32mm eyepiece when I caught sight of M51 with averted vision. After a few minutes I could see the cores of M51 and NGC 5195 clearly and plenty of light grey fuzz surrounding them but no real detail in their structure. Higher magnification did nothing to enhance the view but I was thrilled to have found these two at last - I've been looking all winter! I then went in search of M101 (mag 7.9). I used Alkaid as my starting point for the star hopping and thought that as it was brighter than M51 it would be easier to see. Wrong! I again landed in the area where I thought M101 should be, all the stars on my chart matched up. I could see M101 with averted vision using the 32mm eyepiece and it gave up a small dim central core, much smaller than M51 and NGC 5195 who now seemed to be very bright by comparison. As I couldn't see much I moved on... might catch it another night and see if its improved. Cancer I then had a look at M67 (mag 6.9). What a great open cluster this is. I've often looked at the beehive cluster and never bothered with M67. I was surprised at how rich in stars it was. The cluster seemed to be split into two with a dark band separating two areas of the cluster. It resembled a main grouping of stars with what I'd describe as an arc of stars to the side of the cluster as I looked at it. Auriga On checking the charts I'd prepared I realised my mistake in not picking up NGC 1931 so I went in search of it. Try as I might I could not see it. I'm sure I was in the right area but my efforts were thwarted by clouds that came rolling in - maybe next time! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Lee Dawson
Date and time of Observation:	March 2001
Observing Location:	North Bend WA (Backyard)
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Fair 4.2
Telescope	6-inch Orion XT6
Eyepiece	Panoptics, Naglers, Radians
Observing notes:	With the moon increasingly becoming a factor, I knew that I had better take advantage of the clear and dark early morning hours while I still could. You know what I mean - get that last photon fix before the next new moon period frees us all. There were high and mid-level clouds both to the east and the west, so I decided to use my quick look setup, rather than haul the big 10- inch scope out. The clouds from the west in particular were reflecting the big city light across the entire sky. This I knew would make galaxy observing difficult. Nonetheless, the brighter galaxies would be visible in the 6-inch. The highlight of the morning was the view of M64, the Blackeye galaxy in Coma Berenices. This galaxy is relatively easy to find because it is far brighter than anything else in its vicinity, so it can't be easily mistaken for another galaxy. I must admit that despite my penchant for galaxies, dust lanes have always been difficult for me to detect (except for M31 and M104 of course!). Even though M64 has one of the brightest dust lanes visible to small scopes, I still had a really tough time seeing it, even with averted vision. Still, the view overall was grand. The galaxy has a bright-extended oval shape to it, and was easily visible in the 6-inch scope despite the poor conditions. The view was nice at 55x (Panoptic 22) as well as at 102x (Nagler 12) I next went to NGC 4565, the beautiful edge-on also in Coma Berenices. Unfortunately, the view today was disappointing. Yes, it was visible, but it was too faint to capture the galaxy in its true grandeur. A 10-inch scope really shows this one off, by the way! I took a brief detour from galaxy observing to get my first glimpse of the globular M3 of the season. Hmmmmm....nice but not as nice as usual. Just another reflection of the bad sky conditions (pun intended). Canes Venatici was directly overhead, and still sufficiently free of the encroaching clouds, so I turned my scope in that direction. Near the border with Ursa Major, is M106, a really nice bright galaxy that doesn't get the attention it deserves. It is very bright, and fairly good size, with an oval, slightly elongated shape. The spiral arms are not visible with a 6-inch scope (at least not to my eyes), but the view is quite satisfying. M94, also in Canes Venatici, is fairly bright and round in shape, although a great deal smaller in apparent size relative to M106. In fact, it looks more like a distant but very condensed globular cluster in my 6-inch scope at 55x. M63, the Sunflower galaxy (Canes Venatici) appeared a bit fainter than I previously recall it in my 6-inch scope. Darn...I was looking forward to seeing some detail in this galaxy, but there was none. Only diffuse patch of light. M51 Whirlpool galaxy (and NGC 5195) didn't look all that bad, but with the conditions I was facing, combined with only 6-inches of aperture, I had little or no hope of seeing the spiral arms. Under VERY good conditions, I have detected the arms with averted vision in the 6-inch. However, I'm sure that my mind makes up some of the image, as I have seen the arms with larger scopes. OK, now it was time to move on to....whoa!! What's that? Nuts. The clouds had taken nearly the entire sky. Oh well, time to hang it up. I'm still glad I got that last look before the next new moon cycle. Lee Dawson Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	1 March 2001 20:15 - 21:30 UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Cr 97, Cr 104, Cr 106, Cr 107, NGC 2239, NGC 2251, NGC 2264, NGC 2169
Viewing conditions:	Quarter moon, Clear sky with some light cloud
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm reflector f/5
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 9mm kelners, 6.4mm Meade plossl, 2X Barlow
Observing notes:	Orion NGC 2169 (mag 5.9) - I found this small open cluster slightly below and between the stars xi and nu. The cluster at low power was a nice sight with three or four stars showing. Moving to higher power the cluster became two distinct groupings of stars, one an 'L' shape and the other grouping making a straight line. Several other stars were showing hints of resolving but never quite made it! I then tried to find NGC 2194 (mag 8.5) and NGC2141 (mag 9.4) but failed to see anything. I suspect the moon wash washing the sky out to much for me to see these two. I then checked out Sigma Orionis, a nice easy triple with the 32mm eyepiece and moving up to higher power I could make out a fourth star in the grouping - a nice sight. Monoceros I then toured the open clusters in Monoceros with a detailed star chart to help me. I started with NGC 2239 (Mag 4.8), this grouping of stars in the Rosette nebula are a nice sight with three pairs of stars in alignment with one or two fainter ones thrown in for good measure. I next found Cr 106 (mag 4.6), if I hadn't have known that this was an open cluster I wouldn't have given it a second glance! It was quite sparsely populated forming a wedge shape of stars similar to a capital 'A', I saw about 8 or 9 stars in this cluster. Next was Cr 107, this had even less stars than Cr 106! I could make out 5 stars in a rhomboid pattern! Cr 104 (mag 9.6) next to Cr 107 showed a grouping of four stars, on checking my charts I'm not sure that these stars make up part of the open cluster. Moving down I came across Cr 97 (mag 5.4), this again had few stars, I counted five but at least they were grouped a little closer together! Moving down further I came to NGC 2251 (mag 7.3), now this is what I call an open cluster! It was elongated in shape and at least a dozen or so stars were easily resolved. Several other stars were moving in and out of resolution and more were giving the cluster a nebulous look. A nice sight and one I will return too. Finally I came too NGC 2264 (mag 3.9), another nice open cluster with several pairs of stars grouped around star 15 monoceros. There were at least fifteen to twenty stars in this cluster that were quite closely packed together. I could see no sign of nebulosity around this star. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	Alistair
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	22 Feb 2001 22:15UT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Rosette Nebula, M46, M47
Viewing conditions:	No Moon, Clear sky with clouds rolling in
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm reflector f/5
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 25mm + 9mm kelners, 6.4mm Meade plossl
Observing notes:	Pupis To find M46 and M47 in Pupis I first found Murzim. This star is to the west of Sirius. I then followed a line from Murzim through Sirius and M46 (mag 6.1) and M47 (mag 4.4) appeared in the field of view of the 32mm eyepiece. M47 was a larger, denser cluster of stars than M46 with more stars easily resolved. M46 had fewer stars and a less spectacular sight than M47. Monoceros I used a similar technique to find the Rosette Nebula. I found a triangular grouping of stars (around mag 7) below Betelgeux in Orion and followed a line through to Procyon in Canis Minor. About half way along this line I came across the star cluster that is connected with the Rosette Nebula. I could easily see six stars in a rectangular pattern (I matched these with my star chart) but I couldn't make out any nebulosity in the area. I tried to view the nebula with the sky glow filter but it didn't help me detect anything either. Through binoculars this cluster definately seems to have some nebulosity that escapes my telescope! Whilst in the area I took in some of the other open clusters. These were very lose clusters and at times I had trouble determining where the clusters started and finished! I plan to revisit these (weather permitting) clusters with a detailed star chart to try and identify them. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	13 January 2001 18:30 - 20:00 & 23:00
Observing Location:	Nottingham UK
Object Observed:	M36, M35, M38, M41, M44, NGC 1907, Venus
Viewing conditions:	Clear with Moon rising
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm Reflector
Eyepiece	32mm sirius plossl, 9mm kelner, 6.4mm Plossl, 2X barlow
Observing notes:	Venus Venus was extremely bright in the 32mm eyepiece. I used the Moon filter to cut down the glare. I bumped up the magnification by using the 6.4mm eyepiece and Venus although a reasonable size in the field of view revealed no discernable detail but the phase of the planet could be clearly seen. I'd estimate it was about 60% illuminated. Auriga Next I tried to find a few open clusters in Auriga. I found them using binoculars and homed in on them via a grouping of three double stars all in line - they're very distinctive. From here I quickly found M38. This is a large open cluster with many stars to be seen and these are surrounded by a gray misty region which I took to be stars that I couldn't resolve. I then moved south and found NGC 1907. This is very close to M38 and was easy to find as a pair of stars sit directly above the cluster (as viewed through the eyepiece). First impression was that this cluster looked like a nebulous patch. On using the 9mm eyepiece several stars sprung into view with a few others just staying beyond resolution. This cluster although small looked like it contained many stars. I then star hoped to M36. This open cluster appeared to be about 25 - 30% the size of M38. There were 8 - 12 bright stars forming a wedge shape with many other stars to faint to resolve, they gave the cluster a nebulous appearance. Cancer I then found the beehive cluster (M44). There were many bright stars visible in the field of view of the 32mm eyepiece, I counted around 50 stars in the cluster. They were very bright against a reasonably dark background (the Moon was up by now and lightening everything up). Gemini Next on my list was M35 a large open cluster in Gemini. Many stars were resolved varying in magnitude down to those that were beyond the capabilities of my scope. Again I think the moon was restricting the number of stars I could resolve. It was still a nice sight. Canis Major Finally I turned my scope on M41. This open cluster was low down in the sky and in the sky glow from Nottingham. As a result I could only make out the brighter stars in this cluster. There were quite a few stars on view fairly well spread apart. There was no chance of seeing any fainter stars as the sky was very light in this area. Also during the session I viewed favourites like Jupiter, Saturn, the Orion Nebula and the Moon. Whilst viewing Saturn I managed to see two moons Titan and Rhea. The Moon made it impossible to see any other moons. In moments of steadiness in the atmosphere I'm sure I saw the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Mike Hanlon
E-mail address:	mike.hanlon@btinternet.com
Web site:	www.btinternet.com/~mike.hanlon/
Date and time of Observation:	22/11/00, 22:47UT
Observing Location:	South Essex
Object Observed:	Jupiter
Viewing conditions:	poor to moderate (II-III)
Telescope	Home made 6" F9.6 Newtonian.
Eyepiece	Televue 8mm Plossl (giving x184)
Observing notes:	Seeing conditions moderate at best but still best detail I've seen on Jupiter (c.f. 10" F4.5, 6" F5.5, 8" F6). Spot feature easily discernible and major belts, inc: SPR, NPR, NTB, NNTB, NEB and SEB, though SSTB and STB not reliably visible. (Images taken (12/11/00) with a common PC video conferencing camera can be seen on my web pages under 'imaging' link). Comment: Thought this might be a useful addition as long focus Newtonians are not common. I built mine myself and optimised it for planetary observing. It certainly proved itself and easily produces superior planetary images to my 10" F4.5 Newtonian. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Ian Knight
E-mail address:	ian@ianknight.com
Web site:	www.ianknight.com
Date and time of Observation:	27th December 2000 21:30 GMT
Observing Location:	Bristol, England UK
Object Observed:	M42/M43, Jupiter, Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Very cold, clear & still. No Moon
Telescope	Orion Optics Europa 150mm F5 Reflector
Eyepiece	25mm & 9mm Kellner, 6.3mm Super Plossl and 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	M42 / M43 Clear conditions gave excellent view of this showpiece Nebula (and neighbouring M43) without filtration. 6.3mm plossl sharply revealed the tiny Theta Orionis trapezium at the centre of the blue-white gas clouds. Addition of the 2x Barlow gave closer but much less sharp view. The 9mm kellner gave the best overall views of M42/M43. I always find the incredible detail within M42 to be a big time-sink and tonight was no exception. Later swung scope onto Zeta Orionis (Alnitak) in attempt to locate B33 Horsehead Nebula. Did detect a hint of nebulosity around Alnitak but B33 remains ever elusive! Jupiter Have made several recent observations of Jupiter & Galilean moons under less favourable conditions. Main aim was to compare surface detail under Green and Blue filters, using the 6.3mm Plossl. Whereas Jupiter looks distinctly odd with the green filter, the darkening of the SEB and NEB and detail of irregularity at their boundaries is immediately obvious. Momentary hints of the more elusive NTB were sited as was some darkening of the NPR and SPR Polar Regions. Switching to the Blue filter, Jupiter looked far more natural with the distinctive earthy-red colouring of the NEB and SEB. However, lesser details appear to be overcome by the increase in the brightness of the Planets disk. More lengthy sessions (preferably whilst seated !) observing Jupiter with these filters are intended. Saturn A similar green/blue filter comparison to the above was made using the 6.3mm Plossl with the 2 x Barlow. The main observation made was the slight increase in contrast between the shades of the lighter A-Ring and darker B-Ring. The Cassini Division itself was not clearly visible under either light filter. An attempt was made to locate the M51 & M101 face-on galaxies in the vicinity of Alkaid and Mizar within Ursa Major. Even with the 25mm Kellner to hand, this became a fruitless and frustrating exercise (especially as I was by now starting to loose all feeling in my fingers due to the extreme cold!). Stopped observing at this point. I think it is time to become more familiar with the setting circles ! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Larry Smith
E-mail address:	doccpu@yahoo.com
Web site:	sites.netscape.net/ljsmiths/smallscope
Date and time of Observation:	December 31, 2000, 6:20 to 7:20 MST
Observing Location:	Southern NM
Object Observed:	Jupiter
Viewing conditions:	Transparency: 8 of 10, Seeing: 8 of 10
Telescope	Discovery 6" f/5 Newtonian
Eyepiece	9mm with 3x Barlow
Observing notes:	I went out to see Jupiter, because my star atlas (XEPHEM on Linux) indicated that it would be an interesting evening. Io was in transit, and the Red Spot would be visible. According to the atlas, the two should be physically close together. When I got the scope set up and cooled down, I was greeted with surely a rare event. The stark black shadow of Io was just at the trailing edge of the Red Spot, slightly North of its center. This entire display was just rounding into view, being perhaps 30 degrees from the planet's edge. I could also see some division in the Northern Equatorial belt, and some irregularities in its width. Further North was clearly visible a much thinner band. Further North yet was occasionally visible another thin band, which at times seemed to merge with the darkening of the Northern cap. I expected the Red Spot to pull away from Io's shadow, but was surprised to find that Io overtook the Red Spot. I could never actually see Io itself. Further consideration convinced me that while the orbital period of the Red Spot is shorter, the tangential velocity of Io is faster, and head on like that, Io wins the race. A very unusual and entertaining evening at any rate. Back to telescope index

Observer:	David Mathers
E-mail address:	mathers@unixg.ubc.ca
Date and time of Observation:	2 December 2000, 8 pm PST.
Observing Location:	North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Object Observed:	Moon, Jupiter, Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Transparency good, seeing good, limiting mag 4.5
Telescope	Home-made 6" f/8 dob, Orion plate mirror
Eyepiece	Vixen Lanthanum 9.5 mm, University Optics 6 mm ortho
Observing notes:	Began with lunar observations near terminator at x126 (Vixen 9.5mm) with #11 filter. Plato and Montes Alpes very well resolved. Under suitable illumination, three white patches can been seen in this scope at the sites of Plato's craterlets. Nice resolution of Copernicus' terraced walls and the Alpine Valley. Wrinkles on maria very clear. This scope performs very well on the moon at x126-x200. Jupiter at x200 (UO 6 mm) showed clear, brown north and south equatorial belts. The southern belt was clearly seen as double. North and south temperate belts and polar regions were also resolved. Festoons not evident in the equatorial zone. Great Red Spot has not been seen yet but a transit of Io's shadow was seen at x200.Irregularies of the northern equatorial belt were seen.#11, 58 or 80A filters reduce glare but increase contrast only slightly. Saturn at x200 showed bright equatorial belts, dark polar region and Cassini division completely around planet. C ring not seen. Conclusion from planetary observations is that I expected a bit more contrast and detail to be visible in this scope with its 18% central obstruction and fully baffled tube. However, its total cost was only about $450 Canadian, and upgrading significantly would be expensive. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Mikael de Rzewuski
E-mail address:	mikaelr@hotmail.com
Date and time of Observation:	2000-12-10; 18:00 - 20:00
Observing Location:	Stockholm, Sweden
Object Observed:	Moon, Jupiter, Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Bad; Cloudy
Telescope	Celestron SP-C6, Equatorially mounted newtonian (150mm, f/5)
Eyepiece	2x Barlow, 8-24 zoom
Observing notes:	The only reason I went out with my scope was that I wanted to try out my home made extension tubes. The clouds were thick and only for a minute or two, at a time, I could observe the planets before the clouds covered them again. But the tubes worked great. I estimate I got a magnification of 450x using my 290mm (works like a ~4,5x barlow) tube and around 320 with my 195mm (~3,5x barlow). The images were blurry but very bright and BIG. I could see great detail on the moon but not on the planets. Next time I will try them when the sky is clear and hope I will get nice images on Jupiter and Saturn, and try out my new 360mm tube (5x barlow!). Interested im making an extension tube look here: www.atmsite.org/ProjectsArticles/Carlin/barlow/index.html Strongly recommended! Take care! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Larry Smith
E-mail address:	doccpu@yahoo.com
Web site:	sites.netscape.net/ljsmiths/smallscope
Date and time of Observation:	December 7, 2000 8:00PM MST
Object Observed:	Jupiter & Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Fair -- 7 of 10
Telescope	6" f/5 Discovery Equatorial
Eyepiece	10mm Plossl with 3x Barlow
Observing notes:	I've found that surprisingly, with meticulous alignment, the f/5 telescope does a fine job on planets. In observing Jupiter, I was able to easily make out the two largest equatorial belts, plus a much thinner band just north of the Northern equatorial belt. The Southern band appeared to separate into two belts in places. Irregularities in both equatorial belts were visible. The Red Spot was clearly visible (though small) during atmospheric clearings, showing as a pale tan oval disrupting the Southern equatorial belt. The poles were visibly darkened. All in all, a level of detail I didn't expect to see with such a short focus telescope. Overall magnification was about 225 times. Saturn was striking also. The rings are highly tilted right now, and in atmospheric clearings, the Cassini division is easily visible. The Crepe ring is noticible as the rings cross over the planet. An obvious broad, bright band envelopes the planet's equator, with a darker yellow-brown extending to the pole. I've been able to spot 6 of Saturn's moons with the 6" -- Iapetus, Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, and occasionally Enceladus. I think I should be able to just see Miranda at just at 13th magnitude, but can't confirm a sighting yet. Comment: I've found the 6" f/5 telescope to be a very frugal competitor with the popular 8" SCT. It is even more portable, sees within about 0.7 the magnitude of the 8", gives 75% of the resolution (the atmosphere usually denys that anyway), and gives much more striking wide field star views. All at less that 1/3 the price. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Mikael de Rzewuski
E-mail address:	mikaelr@hotmail.com
Date and time of Observation:	2000-12-04; 18:00 - 20:30
Observing Location:	Stockholm, Sweden
Object Observed:	Jupiter, Saturnus, Plaides (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Viewing conditions:	Clear skies, little haze. Many outdoor lights.
Telescope	Celestron SP-C6, Equatorially mounted newtonian (150mm, f/5)
Eyepiece	SOLIGOR HP LER ZOOM 8-24mm, Vixen Barlow 2x, SOLIGOR 40mm Plossl
Observing notes:	I recently received 2 new eyepieces so I have constantly checked the sky in hopes that it should be just a little clearer.. and today it got! But it just became a brief look. I started out with Jupiter using only the zoom at 24mm (31x) and was very pleased by the image quality and had to put on the dustcap to see the details. Then I increased the magnification to the max magnification (8mm), and can say that the sharpness still were great. Could see the 2 major "stripes" but didn't notice anything else (have only observed Jupiter once in 83x as highest before). I added the 2x barlow and now could go up to 188x (this time without the dustcap :)). Damn I must say.. I have never seen anything that beautiful. The amount of details I could see was to much. I didn't see the Great Red Spot but I think it was on the other side.. but can't confirm it. After looking at Jupiter for a while I turned the scope against Saturn. What can I say.. It looked even better (160x-188x). I wish I could magnify more :) Could see the gap between the rings (don't know the name). Great! After using the Zoom I must say that im very pleased with it! Works surprisingly good with my f/5 scope. After the great planetary views I wanted to try out the 40 mm plossl. What couldn't be better than Plaides?! Very nice.. I can se around 50-70 stars (estimated) and I can cover the whole "nebula". Clear and sharp.. The last observation im doing is on M31. I must admit that I have had trouble to find it before, but after using SkyMap (www.skymap.com) a while I could find it instantly. The view didn't surprise me, because I was expecting a diminish looking blob.. and that was all I got too, but the viewing location wasn't the best ether (1 streetlight behind me, 2 ahead and my neighbours Christmas lights in the trees). But I was glad that I found it. Actually I caught M110 (or was it M32??) at the same time, and I could se IT clearly. Next time I will transport my scope to a darker location for some serious observation. Take Care! Back to telescope index

Observer:	David Simmons
E-mail address:	david.lisa@ntlworld.com
Date and time of Observation:	01/12/00 2300hrs
Observing Location:	Light polluted back garden
Object Observed:	Orion nebula
Viewing conditions:	Clear
Telescope	TAL 150 PM
Eyepiece	10mm Plossl
Observing notes:	I am new to astronomy, yet after 1 hour of searching (my finderscope is not set up right) i found the Orion nebula. It was not what was expected, then again i am not using Hubble. It appeared as a small cloudy area with what appeared to be two stars above and three below. It was not in the vivid colour that is seen in magazines. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	26th November 2000 20:30 - 22:00 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Various Nebulae & open clusters
Viewing conditions:	Strong winds and no moon!
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm Reflector
Eyepiece	32mm Sirius Plossl, 25mm + 9mm Kelner, 6.4mm Super Plossl and 2X Barlow
Observing notes:	M1 Crab Nebula I began the nights observing by looking for the Crab Nebula (M1 - mag 8.4) in Taurus using the 25mm eyepiece with the 2X barlow giving 64X magnification. I've never found this nebula before and by using quite a detailed star chart to navigate my way to where the object is located I found out why! It is very faint even with averted vision I couldn't be sure I saw the nebula. I tried with a sky glow filter (that I've got on loan) and it stood out more but I couldn't make out any detail. It is larger than M57 in size and was slightly oval in shape with diffuse edges, higher magnification didn't help bring out any detail. The object was very difficult without the filter. NGC 1545   I've been meaning to locate NGC 1545 (Mag 6.2) for a while and took the opportunity last night as Perseus was high overhead in a dark area of sky. The open cluster was easy to find. It's quite a large cluster with a good grouping of bright stars that were easily resolved. It made a better impression (in my opinion) than M36 or M37 in Auriga. Worth checking out. IC 434 Contains horeshead nebula(B33) As I had the sky glow filter I went after more nebula. Zeta Orion was the next target and the nebula that surrounds the star (at high power (250X) I think I could see 3 or 4 stars here - my scope needs collimating and there was a lot of flare from the stars at this power). I started off by using the 32mm plossl with the 2X barlow. My first impression was there was nothing to be seen and that my eyepiece had fogged up. Disappointed I moved onto another star in Orion's belt - no fog! I moved back to Zeta and there was the fog again! I'd found the nebula but I couldn't make out any structure or shape. High power did nothing for the view. Orion was quite low in the sky perhaps if it was higher the view might be better. One to check out later in the year.  M42 Orion Nebula Next target was M42 and wow was this impressive in the sky glow filter using the 32mm with the 2X barlow. I've never seen so much of this nebula as I could with the filter. From the main area around the trapezium the nebula seemed to arc up tapering off to a point. The main part of the nebula was bright, there's a grouping of stars in a line that sit on top of the nebula that follow the beginning of the arc. The whole view almost had a 3D effect and kept me engrossed for ages. Higher power showed more detail in the nebula around the trapezium where cloud structure could be seen. M43 Just below M42 I could see M43 (Mag 9.0) which is a detached part of the Orion nebula. The split between M42 and M43 was easily seen using the filter. Without it I was struggling to make out M43. M43 is quite small and didn't show up much detail but I could easily see it.  M35   I finished off the evening by finding some more open clusters in Gemini. M35 (mag 5.1) is a large open cluster with many stars easily resolved. It was a little larger than NGC 1545 I'd found earlier in Perseus and had a denser grouping of stars, there were many faint stars resolved and I imagine more would be seen in a larger aperture telescope. Cr 89   Just to the south of M35 is Cr 89 (mag 5.7). This is quite a loose cluster that doesn't contain as many stars as M35 and could easily be overlooked against the background stars. Having said that, once you've found it you know its a cluster and not just background stars. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	12th November 2000 21:00 - 22:30 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Jupiter, Saturn and M42
Viewing conditions:	Strong winds and bright moon!
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm Reflector
Eyepiece	32mm Sirius Plossl, 25mm + 9mm Kelner, 6.4mm Super Plossl and 2X Barlow
Observing notes:	As the Moon was so prominent in the sky - slap bang between Jupiter and Saturn - I decided to have a look just to see what was on view. I forgot to bring my moon filter out and ouch was the moon bright! I could make out plenty of detail in the crater rims at 50X (32mm with Barlow) and spent some time just taking in all the sights. I didn't spend too long on the Moon as Jupiter was 'calling'.... The last time I had the opportunity to observe Jupiter was well over a year ago - WOW has it increased in size! I was expecting to see a small disk and the moons when using the 32mm eyepiece. Not so, I saw quite a large disk with very faint bands and three moons (one must have been behind Jupiter). I instantly put in the 25mm with the Barlow giving 64X magnification. The cloud bands were very distinct as was the southern polar region - it appeared as a gray murky colour. I then tried the 9mm out with the Barlow giving 178X magnification. This was a truly incredible sight. Jupiter looked enormous in the eyepiece, bigger and brighter than I've ever seen before. The equatorial cloud band was stunning, I could even make out a ragged edge to the cloud band! I didn't see the Great Red Spot but I'm not sure if it was on show when I was observing. As I didn't expect to see such great views I didn't look up where the Red Spot would be. Next was the 6.4mm eyepiece and the Barlow giving 250X magnification. This was not so good. The wind was making my telescope bounce around and focusing was hard work - keeping Jupiter in the field of view was near impossible. I persevered and for a second or two I got an incredible view of the planet with other cloud bands tantilising close to being in focus then the wind would gust and I lost it again! I even tried to use a broad band filter with the 9mm eyepiece and Barlow and it gave some interesting results as the glare from Jupiter was reduced and contrast improved. I could make out quite a lot of detail in the cloud band. It had a mottled appearance and the ragged edge was even more distinct. The southern polar region also displayed more banding. I must have spent an hour looking at Jupiter! Time just flew by... Saturn was also spectacular. The last time I saw Saturn the rings weren't so prominent. Tonight they were there in full display. The planet appeared to have sunk down into the rings as the rings were visible right around the planet. The last time I looked the planet obscured part of the ring system. I couldn't make out much detail in the rings or the planet - the wind was getting stronger and making viewing difficult. However, I did see Titan above and to the right of Saturn and three faint stars / moons ? down at the 4 to 5 o'clock position. I'm not sure if these are some of Saturn's smaller moons or if they were stars? On checking my planetarium software I can confirm that I saw Dione (mag. 10.4), Rhea (mag. 9.6) and Tethys (mag. 10.2). Next I decided to have a look at M42. What a wash out! The moon had completely obscured the nebula! The day was saved by the broadband filter, it increased contrast enough to allow me to see the shape of the nebula. I bumped the power up until the nebula filled the whole field of view and I could see all four of the the trapezium stars. In fact I'm not sure but I may of got a hint of other stars in the trapezium too but the scope just wouldn't stay still long enough for me to confirm this.... Frozen solid I went in feeling happy at what I'd observed. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Peter Birren
E-mail address:	peterb@ameritech.net
Date and time of Observation:	Oct 20, 2000
Observing Location:	Harvard IL
Object Observed:	Many
Viewing conditions:	Excellent, though a little haze
Telescope	6" Edmund Scientific Newtonian Reflector (c. 1974)
Eyepiece	25mm with 2x Barlow
Observing notes:	My 1st letter to this spaced-out group: General viewing. A friend and I took our scopes to an open hilltop that's about 90 miles NW of Chicago. I have a 6" Edmund Scientific Newtonian Reflector (c. 1974) with an Equatorial base, and my buddy has a brand new Orion 8" reflector on a Dobsonian base. We had high cirrus early, streaks of dense clouds that obscured half of the sky. But I knew that it would clear out (hoped it would!) and told everyone to have patience. (I'm a hang glider pilot and pay close attention to the weather.) The 4-5 others there, friends all, stuck around and by 8pm the sky had cleared enough to genuinely start. For the new folks, I had them look through my 12x50 Bushnell binoculars -- mounted on a tripod with a swivel head -- at The Coathanger, The 7 Sisters, and a couple of other binoc sights. This whetted their interest and we went to the scopes, hitting M31 first (Andromeda). Using the Barlow and my low power eyepiece, I'm able to fill the view with this grand sight... good for me but a little over the "spectators" heads. So we hit Jupiter and Saturn and had them literally and physically jumping up and down in excitement. It's cool to see people get turned on by the glories of the heavens. I get turned on by these events by finding new things every time. For example, I saw the Ring Nebula M57 for the first time. Got to see the soft ring with a dark spot. It's easy to find at the bottom of Lyra but I could never find it with my binoculars. After several hours I began to critically view the differences between my old 6" scope and the 8" Orion. I can honestly say that I'm thrilled with this giant tube. The image is tremendous, so much so that my friend tried hogging my eyepiece. And it's definitely a superior view compared to a neighbor's 10" Meade, though his is more stable. This winter I'll be getting the mirror re-aluminized ($25.00) and modifying things to make the whole thing more portable. PeterB Comment: There's so much to see and catalog. With binoculars I was totally taken aback when I first saw M8 in Sagittarius. What a beautiful sight! During the 3 hours on July 2 in Rantoul IL, I went back to this object -- the Lagoon Nebula -- about every half-hour. Stunning! Large scopes are fine, I'm sure, and I'll continue to seek one out, but for now I'm pleased with my 6". Some recent objects: M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga; M57, the Ring Nebula in Lyra; M52 in Cassiopia; M81 and M82 in Ursa Major. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Frank Walsh
Date and time of Observation:	October 2000
Observing Location:	Eastern Pennsylvania
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Limiting mag is near 6 in the dark areas of the sky.
Telescope	Edmund 6" F6 Newtonian
Eyepiece
Observing notes:	As I reviewed my log a few nights ago, I realized that I have not recorded an observation since March, and I haven't done anything more than take a 5 minute look at the moon to show someone! Such is the nature of summer I guess. It didn't help that it rained nearly continuously this summer in Eastern Pennsylvania, but at least it was cloudy the rest of the time ;) Well, fall tends to bring clear skies to these parts, and the past weeks have not been a disappointment in that regard. i finally made an appointment with myself to spend a couple of hours at the eyepiece on Monday. Lyra was high in the sky when I started so I shot for the ring to "warm up". Well at least I was able to find it! It popped into view and was easily made out as a smokey doughnut. I then went searching for M56, also in Lyra. I had to hunt for this devil for quite a while. This is quite a dim cluster and not very impressive in my 6". Impossible to resolve into stars. From there I hopped over to Cygnus to look at a couple of clusters right in the area of Gamma. NGC 6910 is an easily found cluster in the same field as Gamma, just North. This loose cluster has numerous faint stars and a tiny asterism that looks like a coathanger. M29 is a completely unimpressive cluster about a field south of Gamma. Difficult to separate from the background stars of the milky way. Moving on to Aquarius, I re-aquainted myself with M15 and M2, wonderful, bright globular clusters. Easy to find and well resolved into individual stars in my scope. Then it took me the better part of 20 minutes of searching to find M72. This globular cluster is a nearly invisible smudge, very very dim and small. Nearby M73 is a stretch to consider a cluster at all. What was messier thinking with this one? On to the Saturn Nebula. This planetary is very bright and appears nearly stellar at 50x. be careful as it is easy to overlook because of this. At higher powers, it became somewhat elongated, although it never appeared to have "rings". I did not observe it at any more than 100x. Eventually realized that I was loosing feeling in my fingers...one of the drawbacks to autum :) Satisfied, I packed it in. Clear skies, Frank Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	05/10/2000 20:15 to 22:00 GMT
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	No Moon, limiting magnitude 5.
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm reflector
Eyepiece	32mm Sirius Plossl, 25mm + 9mm Kelner, 6.4mm Super Plossl
Observing notes:	I've just acquired a 32mm Sirius plossl and tonight was the first chance that I've had to use it. I started by sweeping along the Milky Way from Perseus to Cassiopea. Wow, what an incredible view this eyepiece gives. It has a huge field of view, stars were sharp and focused right to the edge of the eyepiece and the contrast was excellent. In Perseus I soon picked up M34, it looked much better than I've seen on previous occasions and stars were clearly resolved. I used the 9mm to take a closer look but I lost some of the detail in the cluster as I couldn't get a sharp focus on the cluster. Whilst I was in the neighbourhood I had a look at Almack in Andromeda. Using the 9mm eyepiece this star was easily split into its two components, an orange and blue pair. The orange star was the larger of the two and reminded me of Albiero in Cygnus. It was a nice sight. Moving back up through Perseus I came across NGC 869 and NGC 884, the double cluster. What a fantastic sight this made in the 32mm. It was miles better than any view I'd had before using the 25mm, so many more stars were visible and the improved contrast made them stand out so much better. Continuing along the Milky Way up into Cassiopea I  had a good roam around just taking in the view - I had no idea what clusters I was looking at -  I just enjoyed the sight. One prominent cluster came into view and I identified this to be M52. This is quite a compact dense grouping of stars and was a glorious sight in both the 25mm and 9mm kelners. I swung over to Cygnus and had a look at M29, this looks much better a lower power as there are so few stars in it. After looking at a few open clusters I moved onto Lyra to look for M57. I found it quite quickly with the 32mm eyepiece. I popped in the 25mm and lost sight of M57! On replacing the 32mm eyepiece I could clearly see M57 again! I used the 6.4mm to have a closer look at M57 but was again unable to get a sharp focus - must clean the eyepiece. I dropped down into Vulpecula and picked up M27 quite easily in the 32mm, higher powers gave better results. On swing across to the other side of the constellation I managed to fit the whole of the 'coathanger' asterism into my field of view - a great sight. Moving across to Hercules I picked up M13. Now I've never been able to resolve stars in this globular cluster but this was the first time that I've viewed this object so late in the year. Well there it was, using the 6.4mm eyepiece I could resolve stars, it had a very granular core with many stars resolving towards its edges and many more just away from the core. I looked at this cluster for quite some time. It really had lived up to it's billing of one of the best globular clusters. I'm glad I took the time to look at it again. My only regret is that I didn't buy a 32mm eyepiece years ago! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Mike Ratcliff
E-mail address:	ratcliff@golden.net
Date and time of Observation:	Sept 4, 2000, 10pm
Observing Location:	Paris, Ontario, Canada
Object Observed:	veil nebula (NGC 6960,6992), open cluster NGC 6940
Viewing conditions:	First quarter moon up, approx 4.2 limiting magnitude at zenith
Telescope	6" f/8 Newtonian reflector, Orion
Eyepiece	26 mm Plossl (48x) also Meade narrowband nebula filter
Observing notes:	I previously posted a report on the veil nebula under darker mag 5.3 skies. This time the moon was up creating some natural light pollution, so I tried to see the nebula again under less than ideal conditions. The east portion (NGC 6992) was easier to see compared to the west portion (NGC 6960) which goes right over a mag 4.2 guide star. I could just barely see this star with the naked eye. Without a nebula filter I could not see the west portion at all, despite knowing exactly what to look for and exactly where to look. With the filter it was difficult but visible. The east portion was visible without the filter. If you didn't know what to look for, it would be difficult but doable. It mainly appears as a large arc that goes from one side to the other in the eyepiece view. With the filter, the east portion showed nicely, and was easier to find. Either way, it's worth the hunt. Obviously, it did not show as well as with darker skies. If you have mag 4 skies, I recommend looking for the east portion. I also recommend using a narrowband filter to improve the view. The open cluster NGC 6940 is close to the mag 4.2 star also, and is fairly easy to find with star hopping. (Need a star chart). This is a nice open cluster that is as good or better than several Messier open clusters (M26 and M103 for example), definitely a Messier class object. I recommend this cluster for all small telescope users. I could see around 50 stars, most of them appearing as a uniform fairly dim brightness with only a few brighter stars. What the stars lack in brightness they make up for in numbers. The size of the cluster fills the view at 80x. The lower power shows the overall cluster better compared to the surroundings. The higher power shows the individual stars better. In 10x50 binoculars the cluster is also visible as a faint glow with a few stars. All of this at mag 4.2 or so. Back to telescope index

Observer:	A.J. Heydon
Date and time of Observation:	30/8/00 - 31/8/00 23:00UT-01:15UT
Observing Location:	Plymouth, England
Object Observed:	NGC 6826 and NGC 7662
Viewing conditions:	Fair, Limiting magnitude: 4.0, rather hazy
Telescope	150mm f/8 TAL 2m Equatorially Mounted Newtonian
Eyepiece	25mm Plossl and a 15mm Kellner with a Lumicon U.H.C. filter occasionally threaded to each.
Observing notes:	After making a failed attempt to view the East segment of the Veil Nebula (NGC 6992-5 or C33 in the Caldwell catalogue) - which is possible under better conditions, I decided to view the Blinking Nebula (NGC 6826 or C15). This planetary nebula was quite difficult to find being situated in a rich area of the Milky Way. To find this object I star hopped 6 degrees due North from delta Cygni to the star 16 Cygni. NGC 6826 was located just to the East of this star. At 48x, NGC 6826 had a rather stellar appearance; the nebula was obvious at 80x. This nebula has the nickname of the "Blinking Nebula" due to the disappearance of the nebula (and the appearance of the central 11th magnitude star) when observed directly, when observed using averted vision the nebula becomes more prominent and the central star less so. Thus in the process of moving your eye around, the nebula is seen to blink. However this may only be the case for some people, the nebula altered! in brightness but did not blink when I observed it (irrespective of whether the U.H.C. filter was threaded). Next I observed another planetary nebula, NGC 7662 (or C22) in Andromeda. The common name for this nebula is the “Blue Snowball” nebula. This is another small but bright nebula, which is famed for its relatively vivid colour. To find this nebula I first located omicron Andromedae by moving approximately 14 degrees due North from beta Pegasi (the star forming the top right hand corner of the square of Pegasus for Northern hemisphere observers). The nebula is found about 5 degrees to the East of omicron Andromedae. At 48x the nebula looks stellar due to its small size, thus higher powers are required to verify that the nebula has been located. At 80x the nebula is rather reminiscent of the planet Uranus viewed at high power. A small, blue circular patch was evident but no ring structure could be discerned. The colour observed was unusually vivid for a planetary nebula. Both of these objects were quite difficult to locate, as I had never observed either of them before. An atlas such as Sky Atlas 2000.0 is essential to locate both nebulae and a filter such as a Lumicon U.H.C. may prove useful in identifying these nebulae (the background stars fade quite dramatically whilst the planetary nebula does not). Back to telescope index

Observer:	Mike Ratcliff
E-mail address:	ratcliff@golden.net
Date and time of Observation:	early Aug 2000
Observing Location:	backyard in Paris, Ontario, Canada
Object Observed:	Veil Nebula, North America Nebula
Viewing conditions:	transparency very good, seeing (steadiness) OK, moonless
Telescope	6" f/8 Newtonian, dob mount, Orion 1996
Eyepiece	26mm Plossl, plus Meade "narrowband" filter
Observing notes:	Yes, these two can be seen in a 6" telescope if the sky is dark enough. My backyard usually has a limiting magnitude of 5, meaning that the faintest star in the Little Dipper is just barely visible. On this night, a cold front had just passed and the dryness made for a great night for this site. I could see several 5.3-ish stars around the Little Dipper (I use a computer sky program that came with the telescope to tell me the magnitudes). To add to the rareness, none of my neighbours had their backyard house lights on! To me the Veil Nebula is easier to find and see than the N.A. nebula, and is more rewarding. The Veil is actually in several parts. I saw the two brightest semicircle arcs. Finding the Veil is relatively easy. It's hard to go into detail with this text mode, but you start hopping off of the eastern-most star in the Northern Cross (Cygnus the Swan). One of the Veil crescents is sitting on top of a 4th (?) magnitude star not far from the Cross. The other is halfway between the Northern Cross star and another 4th magnitude star, not quite on a direct line between the two. If you get a good star map, you'll see what I mean. I use Petersen's Guide, the same publisher who does the bird guides. For guiding the telescope, I use Orion's Easyfinder which puts up a single red dot. There is no magnification, but the orientation is right side up just like your regular eyes, because it is your regular eyes! Less confusing than a finder scope. As long as you can see the 4th magnitude guide stars you can use the Easyfinder. (If the light pollution doesn't let you see these guide stars naked eye, you probably won't see the Veil anyway.) Each arc of the Veil nebula looks like an irregular arc that goes completely across my field of view (which is 1 degree). The arc is bent here and there and has an irregular outline. I cannot see the filaments described by others. This probably takes a larger scope or darker skies. The narrowband filter makes a big difference. I can see the nebula without the filter, but the nebula really jumps out with it. The brightness of the nebula glow is not as much as M8, M42, or M17. But the shape and size make up for it. Definitely a nice view, but may not make as big of an impression with family members and non-astronomy friends. I had a harder time finding the North America nebula, despite it being close to Deneb, the bright star at the top of the Northern Cross. Again I star hopped to some dimmer nearby 4th magnitude stars, but there are a number of such stars and I was getting confused. Binoculars helped me to sort things out. Also the N.A. nebula is very large, much bigger than the eyepiece could show. The easiest part to see is the "Gulf of Mexico". Once I found this then the rest could be figured out. The nebula does not jump out like the other nebula, and was disappointing. The grayish glow is much dimmer than M42, etc. Oh well, I now know where to find it when I have darker skies and/or a bigger telescope. The filter is almost a necessity. Good luck to all. Comment: Nice site! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Mike Ratcliff
E-mail address:	ratcliff@golden.net
Date and time of Observation:	August 19, 2000 9-11pm
Observing Location:	outside of Ayr, Ontario, Canada
Object Observed:	M22, M11, M26
Viewing conditions:	Limiting magnitude around 5.5, seeing fair-some tube thermals
Telescope	6" (150mm) f/8 Orion, dob mount, Newtonian reflector, 1996
Eyepiece	mostly 26mm Plossl (48x), also 6.4mm SuperPlossl (190x)
Observing notes:	M22 is my favorite globular cluster in my 6" scope. I can see 20-30 stars along perimeter of the cluster, most of cluster is grayish blob. The resolved stars give the view a more 3-D look. Disappointingly, I could not see more detail with the higher magnitude eyepiece. This may have been hurt by there still being thermals in my telescope, To see the thermals, first look at a bright star and then unfocussing until you see concentric rings. Then the thermals show up as blobs and distortions slowly moving around. (by the way, a good check of collimation is if a dark circle is in the center of the unfocussed star circle, if not you need to adjust hex bolts at the mirror, the dark circle is caused by the secondary mirror). The thermals plus the low altitude of M22 must hurt. The night was cold for this time of year (10C = 50F) and was a little windy. A 1996 review of my scope and two others in Sky and Telescope, quoted a 2-3 hour cool down time for the scope and I agree. The Celestron with an open cell mirror mount design was apparently much better for cooldown. I might try a battery cooling fan someday. I have read that an 8" scope and higher is much better for globulars. That the 6 inch is just at the threshold. I saw M13 in a 14" SCT at a public observatory, which was spectacular with 100's of individual stars. The open cluster M11 shows very nicely as others have described. At 48x, the sideways "V" shape is noticeable but is not obvious at 190x. There is a single bright star in the cluster. The cluster appears resolved at both 48x and 190x, but the higher power more easily separates the individual stars. I did not count the stars, but 100 wouldn't surprise me. The low power better shows the brightness of the cluster relative to surroundings. In my opinion, M11 is the best overall open cluster, bright stars, lots of stars, and easily distinguished from surroundings. M26, another open cluster, is not far away from M11 but is harder to find and recognize once you found it. I could only see at first about 5 stars with a faint surrounding glow, the glow being much dimmer than the glow of a globular cluster. After looking at it for 5-10 minutes, I could detect maybe 15 stars total. As usual averted vision helps. The glow must be some dimmer unresolved stars. I have not read anything about nebulosity in this cluster. Used 48x only. This is not the cluster to show off to your friends, but the glow does add some mystery to me. I also saw M8, M20, M21, M24, M18, M17, and M16 which make a nice line-up north of Sagittarius, also M23 and M25 to the sides of this line. Briefly, the nebulas M8, M20, M17, and M16 are all great. I used a Meade narrowband nebula filter. The filter helps show more of the nebulas, M16 (Eagle) is hard to see the nebula without the filter. M8 has the great dark band. At 48x and the filter, the nebula pretty much fills the field of view, about 1 degree. I could just make out the narrow dark bands of M20 (Trifid), but if I didn't know what it looked like from pictures, I think I would have seen the dark bands as just dark splotches. M17 is a great swan shape. The body of the swan is the brightest part. M24 is a huge scattered open cluster with lots of stars (actually I've read it's not a cluster but just a Milky Way star cloud). M18 is a simple open cluster between M24 and M17. More stars than M26 described above, maybe 10-20, but no background glow of stars. (By the way, I've seen all of these before and know how to find them quickly. A beginner would not be expected to find this many at a time without GOTO.) Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	28/8/2000 23:15 to 01:15
Observing Location:	Nottingham, UK
Object Observed:	Various Messier objects, Jupiter & Saturn
Viewing conditions:	Limiting Mag 5.5
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm Reflector
Eyepiece	25mm, 9mm 6.4mm & 2X Barlow
Observing notes:	Hercules I started the night off by finding M13(mag 5.9), the well known globular cluster in Hercules. This was relatively easy to find between Eta and Zeta which are two of the stars in the square of the constellation known as the 'keystone'. The core of M13 was very bright when viewed through the 25mm eyepiece, on using the 9mm eyepiece I was almost on the verge of resolving stars but not quite. I think individual stars resolved when I used averted vision but it was hard to tell. Increasing the magnification further didn't make any difference. However, this was my best view yet of M13. Lyra After finding M57(mag 9.4), the Ring Nebula for the first time the other night I decided to try again but this time without the help of a star chart. It took a little searching but I eventually found it. As the moon wasn't around the nebula appeared even brighter than a couple of nights ago with the smoke ring shape standing out well. The dark area in the middle was also easily resolvable with the 9mm and 6.4mm eyepieces. Scutum My next target was M11(mag 5.8), an open cluster in Scutum. The constellation was low in the sky with M11 lurking in the skyglow cast up by the lights on Nottingham 9 miles away. I located the object by finding Beta Scutum, M11 was in the same field of view when using the 25mm eyepiece. The cluster appeared to be quite compact and my first impression was that it resembled a globular cluster. On using the 9mm eyepiece it became clear that this was an open cluster with many stars being resolved. I was astonished at how many stars were in this cluster, I don't remember seeing any other cluster with as many (not yet anyway). This cluster stood up well to higher magnification. On using the 9mm eyepiece I lost the edges of the cluster but the central core was resolved in a myriad of stars. I only wish that it was in a darker part of the sky. Sagitta This is a small but easy constellation to find with its distinctive arrow shape. I centered the eyepiece on a small grouping of stars slightly below and between Delta and Gamma Sagitta. With the 25mm eyepiece I could just pick out the globular cluster M71(mag 8.3), it was quite a small object. Using higher magnification didn't resolve any stars but the globular could clearly be seen. Vulpecula Heading North from Gamma Sagitta I went in search of M27(mag 7.3), The Dumbbell Nebula. This was a little trickier to find and I had to rely on my star chart for this. It didn't take long to find. In the 25mm eyepiece it stood out well and I could just make out the dumbbell shape. This object stood up well to high magnification and looked good in the 6.4mm eyepiece filling about half the field of view. I wasn't able to discern any detail in the structure but nevertheless it was an impressive sight. Cygnus As I was on a roll I decided to try and find M29(mag 6.6), an open cluster in Cygnus. I've seen this in binoculars as as small grey fuzzy patch but have never tracked it down with my telescope. Well, tonight with the aid of my detailed star chart I found it. I was a little disappointed and at first thought that I had missed it. M29 is a sparse open cluster with a few stars. I wasn't sure where its boundaries began and I could count about 6 stars that were grouped quite close together. I then found M39(mag 4.6), an open cluster in Cygnus. This was a little better than M29 as it had a few more stars on show but it was still quite a large loose open cluster best viewed at low power. My best view was through the 25mm eyepiece. Perseus I'd never seen M34(mag 5.2), an open cluster in Perseus before. I found it easily in binoculars and it appeared quite bright. I found Algol in my telescope and moved north until I could see the cluster in my viewfinder. The 25mm eyepiece showed the cluster up well, it was a fairly loose grouping of stars and I estimated somewhere between 40 and 60 stars were visible. Taurus At this point I noticed two very bright stars just rising above the roof tops and realised that Saturn and Jupiter had returned. I immediately centered on Saturn as this was slightly higher than Jupiter. I was astonished at the rich deep yellow colour Saturn looked. The rings were tilted at a greater angle than when I last saw them. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't focus properly with high magnification and I put this down to Saturn being so low in the sky. My view of Jupiter also suffered from atmospheric pollution with the south pole of the planet looking the same colour as Saturn! and the north pole looking blue!. I waited a little while (took a peak at the Pleiades M45) and things improved a bit to the point where I could see the main equatorial cloud bands on Jupiter. What a great sight. Unfortunately the clouds started to roll in so my night was over. I didn't really mind as I'd managed to find more objects in one night than I'd ever done before with six of them being found for the first time. That topped off with the arrival of Saturn and Jupiter made for a great night. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	23:00 20/08/2000
Observing Location:	Nottingham,UK
Object Observed:	Various
Viewing conditions:	Moon rising, limiting mag 4.5
Telescope	Orion Europa 150mm Reflector
Eyepiece	25mm Kelner, 9mm Kelner, 6.4mm Plossl
Observing notes:	I started the evening off with a quick look at Albeiro whilst my scope was cooling down. The pair was easily split with the 9mm eyepiece with the orange and blue colours standing out beautifully against the dark background. I then moved onto Lyra to track down M57  (it's eluded me for so long) using the new star charts I've obtained. I found it fairly quickly and was surprised at how small M57 was in size. Using the 25mm eyepiece I almost missed it. I bumped the power up using the 9mm eyepiece and I could clearly see the doughnut ring shape even though it has a magnitude of 9.4, as my eyes grew more accustomed to the dark the image became a little easier to resolve. I tried to use the 6.4mm eyepiece but I could barely make anything out (probably wasn't dark enough as the moon was rising). It was fantastic to have finally tracked this object down at last. M31 in Andromeda stood out well as a large elongated cloud with the edges gradually fading away. This has never appeared any different to me when I've viewed it, I'm not sure what difference I'd see from a dark site. The evening was finished off by viewing the Moon, I used all the eyepieces eventually using the 2X Barlow with the 6.4mm eyepiece. The detail along the terminator was incredible. There was one dark region which had a mountain top illuminated giving the appearance that the mountain peak was floating in space. I imagine that this might have been a peak in the middle of a crater though I'm not really sure. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Nick Cooper
E-mail address:	nicholascooper@clara.co.uk
Date and time of Observation:	8/6/00 23:15 - 00:15 BST
Object Observed:	M13 globular cluster
Viewing conditions:	fairly clear, some whispy cirrus, bright half-phase moon
Telescope	TAL 2, 150mm Newtonian, f8 on eq. mount
Eyepiece	42 & 15mm kellner, 9 & 5mm orthoscopic
Observing notes:	Was looking forward to seeing this globular for the first time. M13 was quite easy to find in my 7x50 finder, being in the same field of view as Eta. With 42 & 15mm (28x & 80x) the cluster was nothing more than a misty patch and very disappointing. With the 9mm (133x) the image was very faint and not helped by the bright moon but there was some resolution at the edges, with about a dozen stars visible. The image was so faint I could only make out the individual stars by using 'averted vision'. To me, the cluster looked very 'ragged' with no obvious globular shape. Using the 5mm (240x) eyepiece made little difference. Overall the cluster was less impressive than I expected but I'll try again on another night with a less intrusive moon, can't do much about the street lights though. Comment: Great idea for a site ! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Milton Esquinaldo
E-mail address:	milton10@ij.net
Date and time of Observation:	May 6, 2000
Objects Observed:	M81 & M82
Viewing conditions:	Fair to good
Telescope	6" INTES MK-66
Eyepiece	Televue 22mm Nagler
Observing notes:	Viewed at the Chiefland Astronomy Village in North Central Florida. Views of the two galaxies were very good with a dust lane evident in M82 and hints of spiral arms on M81. I must note that the viewing site is very dark. The given magnification is 82x and 1 degree of sky was seen. Both galaxies were nicely framed in the eyepiece at this power. I could see hints of the smaller third compainion galaxy (I forgot the NGC number) with this scope. Comment: M81 & M82 are among my favorite galaxies to view. Finding them may be difficult at first, but once you have the hang of it, finding them is easy. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Sandy Wagner
E-mail address:	swagner@lynnet.com
Date and time of Observation:	29 May 2000 9:30pm - 12:00am
Objects Observed:	M13, M101, M92, M96, M57
Viewing conditions:	Very good
Telescope	6" Orion Skyview Deluxe
Eyepiece	25mm 9mm 2x shorty barlow
Observing notes:	Seeing conditions were great. All stars in Ursa Minor were visible to the naked eye. I was able to get a fuzzy, generally undetailed view of m101 which is traditionally a tough object. M13 is easy and can be seen in the finder. It is incredible in a six inch scope. The Great Cluster is an excellent name for it. Individual stars can be resolved.. too many to count. M57, The Ring Nebula is also a spectacular object in a six inch scope. At around 165x I was still craving more magnification as subtle detail was visible. Gotta get another eyepiece! All of these except m101 are easy targets with a 6" scope and are great objects to see! As a relatively new observer, I was not disappointed here! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Blaine Kelts
E-mail address:	keltsb@cadvision.com
Date and time of Observation:	4:00 AM April 27th/98
Constellation:	Regular Observing Program Areas.
Viewing conditions:	Crystal Clear!
Telescope	6" RFT Omcon Dobsonian Reflector
Eyepiece	32 mm Plossal
Observing notes:	Visual Nova Patrol 4:00 AM April 27/98 Calgary, Alberta CANADA A rain shower has just passed through the area, the sky is crystal clear. (no moonlight, no haze or ice crystals) I sit transfixed to my eyepiece! Rotating my scope to the next familiar area of sky i observe a star which i don't recall seeing before! I make a mental note to check out my star charts when i go indoors. I proceed to my next area when suddenly the silence is inturupted by the chirping of a lone bird. Soon to be joined by a chorus of others. Although i enjoy listening to the birds i also realize that the sun will soon be rising, putting an end to my observing session. I have just described a typical session of patrolling the milky way for nova, which is my primary astronomical pursuit. A low tech, low cost, fun, definitly challenging and IMO rewarding endevour. Dark skies not mandatory, spend your time observing rather than travelling. ADDENDUM: For those whom are wondering why I am using a scope to do my observing rather than binoculars which is really all that is required, there are really two reasons. First of all i am forced to do most of my observing from the city. Do have a homebuild observatory in the backyard, keeps me shielded from the wind and streetlights. The other reason is that i am visually impaired. Have a inherited condition known as atrophy of the optic nerve. If you wish to learn more about nova patrolling the AAVSO (American Association of Variable Stars has a committee devoted to nova patrol. I would also recommnd the book New Horizons in Amateur Astronomy By Grant Fjermedal which has a chapter devoted to nova patrol. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Dave Mitsky
E-mail address:	djm28@psu.edu
Date and time of Observation:	February 27, 1999 UT
Constellation:	The moon, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and numerous deep sky objects
Viewing conditions:	Seeing - Good, Transparency - Good, 36 degrees Fahrenheit, 59% Relative Humidity, 30.10"
Telescope	150mm (6-inch) f/10 ATM Dobsonian mounted Newtonian reflector
Eyepiece	30mm Celestron Ultima, 26mm Tele Vue Ploessl, 19mm Tele Vue Panoptic, 17mm Tele Vue Ploessl
Observing notes:	The triple star zeta Cancri was occulted by a 90% illuminated moon early Saturday morning on 2/27/99 UT. I had planned to observe the event from the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg's Naylor Observatory but after doing some observing from my balcony with my new ATM 6" f/10 Dobsonian mounted Newtonian I decided to watch the event from my residence instead. That way I wouldn't have to tape David Letterman and I could stay relatively warm to boot. My astronomical activities were not limited to the hours after nightfall, however. At 15:28 UT Friday morning I checked for solar activity with my 114mm f/7.9 C4.5 and noticed three small sunspots and one very small one at 53x, under poor seeing. After sunset I used my Pentax K-1000 to take a few shots of Venus and Jupiter as they blazed brilliantly in the western sky less than 5 degrees apart from one another. I had set up my 6" Dob to begin cooling beforehand and after returning from the nearby park where I photographed the two planets I had a quick look at Venus before moving on to Saturn. This was really the first time I had used the 6" under good conditions (adequate thermal equilibration, relatively good seeing and transparency, 59% relative humidity, 36 degrees Fahrenheit, 30.10" barometric pressure) since I had purchased it from a fellow member of the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers and I was quite impressed with what I saw. I used magnifications of 80 (19mm Tele Vue Panoptic), 90 (17mm Tele Vue Ploessl), 127 (12mm Tele Vue Nagler), and 227x (6.7mm Meade UWA). With a focal length of 1524mm and a baffled tube this scope produced surprisingly good views of the ringed planet. Seeing the Cassini Division was not a problem. Because of the awkwardly long optical tube this is not the easiest telescope to use, however. Throughout the night I would observe for short periods while watching the movie "Seven" (for the second time) and other television programs (the idiot's way to observe, right?). Despite the strong moonlight and excessive local lighting I logged a number of deep-sky objects: M42, NGC 1981, iota Orionis, Rigel, M41, M50, M45, sigma Orionis, Struve 761, delta Orionis, h3945, NGC 2362, W Orionis, Struve 817, beta Monocerotis, Struve 939, NGC 2244, M47, and M36. (My vistas were limited by the balcony roof, trees, and the side of the building.) My 30mm Celestron Ultima (51x), 19mm Panoptic, and 6.7mm UWA saw action in this DSO campaign. As the moon neared zeta Cancri I spent some time on the area surrounding the terminator. The western crater wall of Aristarchus was nicely lit and I had a fine view of Gassendi. I also inspected Sinus Iridium, Bullialdus, Schiller, Tycho, Clavius, Copernicus, Reinhold, Kepler, and the rays emanating from Proclus and other craters. The magnifications used were 80, 90, 160 (2x Ultima Barlow lens), 227, and 455x (2x Ultima Barlow lens). I believe I was able to resolve zeta Cancri as a triple at 455x. After the occultation occurred I swung my scope to the south and viewed Mars at 90 and 227x using a Wratten 21 filter. For the first time during this Martian apparition I was able to discern a surface feature, which may have been Acidalia Planitia. I also looked at delta Corvi at 80x, M44 at 59x (26mm Tele Vue Ploessl), and Castor at 227x. Zeta reappeared sometime around 07:25 UT and after having a final look at Mars I called it a night, the Night of the Long Dob. Back to telescope index

Observer:	Sandy Wagner
E-mail address:	swagner@lynnet.com
Date and time of Observation:	6th May 2000
Constellation:	Ursa Major
Viewing conditions:	Good
Telescope	6" Orion Skyview Deluxe
Eyepiece	25mm 9mm
Observing notes:	The Whirlpool Galaxy is an easy target with a 6" scope. Just to the right of the end of the tail in Ursa Major are two stars that point almost directly to it. Follow these and you will see an "L" shape of three stars in your finder. Put in a 25mm eyepice and you can't miss this one. The two cores are clear and separate. On a very good night with the eyepice bumped to a 9mm some detail of the spiral shape comes out. This a great galaxy to get started on and is easy to know you are looking at the right thing because of the small companion whose core is so readily visible. Good Luck! Back to telescope index

Observer:	Alistair Thomson
E-mail address:	thomson_alistair@yahoo.co.uk
Web site:	http://www.oocities.org/the_150mm_reflector
Date and time of Observation:	6 April 2000 - 22:00 GMT
Constellation:	Leo
Viewing conditions:	Clear skies, naked eye visibility around Mag. 5.
Telescope	150mm Orion Europa Reflector
Eyepiece	25mm kelner
Observing notes:	Located two galaxies M65 (mag 9.3) and M66 (mag 8.9). Hopped from J to 73 (by moving south halfway between J and i ) and centred on a small star to the east of 73 (they're in the same field of view with a 25mm eyepiece). Both galaxies are very faint and would be easily overlooked if you didn't know they were there! They're slightly above the small star centered in the eyepiece. M65 was elongated in shape and quite thin. M66 was larger in size and not quite as elongated as M65. There appeared to be a band diagonally through the galaxy that wasn't visible giving the impression that the galaxy was split in two. There were also two small stars in the same line of sight that appeared to be sitting on top of the galaxy. Back to telescope index

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