Observations made by 80mm refractors are shown below. There are many excellent reports detailing what can be seen with this telescope.
Observer: | Ian Knight |
E-mail address: | iknight@eggconnect.net |
Web site: | www.lunarviews.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 29th January 2003 22:00 hrs |
Observing Location: | Downend, Bristol UK |
Object Observed: | M44 & M45 |
Viewing conditions: | Very clear and cold, no Moon |
Telescope | Orion ST 80 Refractor on Camera Tripod |
Eyepiece | 40mm, 25mm & 9mm Kellner |
Observing notes: |
Tonight, a combination of dreadful TV
inside and crisp clear skies outside pursuaded me to grab the Orion ST80 &
Camera Tripod and search out M44 (the Beehive cluster) which is
favourably placed in the eastern skies from my viewing location. With the
scope up in seconds, I inserted the 40mm Kellner (giving 10x
magnification) and pointed it towards Jupiter. Moving right towards the centre of
the constellation of Cancer, I easily came across the Beehive Cluster.
My immediate impression of M44 was its impressive size, neatly framed
within the 40mm Kellners field of view. Swapping out the 40mm for 9mm
eyepiece, I zoomed into the trapezium of stars at the heart of the
cluster, however the overall view at lower magnification was far more
fascinating to observe, so in went the 40mm eyepiece again.
With a whetted appetite, I looked across to Orion and M42 which was
unfortunately hidden behind the house roof .I slewed the scope to the
right of Orion to catch Taurus and the famous M45 Plaides Cluster. This is
the most impressive view of this cluster I have seen to date with 20
plus stars in view. Moving up to the 25mm Kellner, the view was even more impressive. After a good few minutes studying this cluster it was time
to get inside and warm-up.
Comment: Tonight's session although hardly ambitious, clearly
demonstrated the value of the Orion ST80 which can set up very quickly if time is
short. Its wide field of view and correct-image main tube and
viewfinder on an alt-az tripod makes locating the better known celestial objects
simple and intuitive (ideal for a beginner). Although my
Equatorially-mounted 150mm f5 Newtonian reflector is great for both detailed
deep-sky observation and lunar photographic work, the ST80 cannot be beaten
for sheer convenience and ease of use. The only down-side to this set-up
is the lack of slow-motion alt-az controls on the tripod when using the
ST80 at magnifications over 50x. A sturdy AZ3 tripod would complete the
set-up nicely - time to start saving !
|
Observer: | Ray Hunter |
E-mail address: | hunters2@quiknet.com |
Date and time of Observation: | September 23, 9:30 PDT |
Observing Location: | Roseville, Ca. N 39. deg. Lat. 150 ft elevation |
Object Observed: | M-57 |
Viewing conditions: | Fair, with almost a full moon |
Telescope | 80mm X720mm f/9 Stellarvue refractor |
Eyepiece | Vixen 8-25 mm Zoom |
Observing notes: |
I usually don't do much observing from my
backyard due to the limited view. I can only view W, or S/W and E or
S/E. Most of the northern Sky and most of the southern sky are obscured by
my home looking north and high trees looking south. However on Monday
night I was out with binoculars looking at the Moon when I noticed Vega
shining very brightly almost directly overhead. I recalled that
someone had told me that the best time to view an object was when it was
directly overhead. I have tried on several occasions to view the Ring
without success. So I decided to give it a go. I set up the scope and
aligned on Vega. I have seen this bright beauty before but this was the
brightest I have ever seen her shine. I used the telrad to find Lyra Beta
and swept down about half way to Lyra Upsilon where I could see a faint
round shaped hazy spot. I would have, and may have in the past,
mistaken it for a faint star but my instincts are getting a little better
now and I knew this had to be The Ring.
Instead of sweeping around I
focused down on the zoom to 8mm and relaxed my eyes. I waited and kept
viewing it took quite a while maybe 20 mins to half an hour but finally
I saw it - a hazy ring with a dark center. Although books I have read
say this object is bright and easily visible in small telescopes. I
cannot say that was my experience. I was able to view it, but only barely,
and with a lot of patience and persistence. However I feel very good
about having done so from my own backyard. |
Observer: | Ray Hunter |
E-mail address: | hunters2@quiknet.com |
Date and time of Observation: | September 7, 2002 9:00-12:00 PM PDT |
Observing Location: | Blue Canyon, California, N 39 deg. Lat. Elev 5000 ft |
Object Observed: | Antares, M-4, Oph, M-22, M-17, M-51 |
Viewing conditions: | Clear dark sky |
Telescope | 80mm X720mm f/9 Stellarvue refractor |
Eyepiece | Eyepiece Used: |
Observing notes: |
At our monthly SVAS Star Party, we set up
our scope at about 7:45 PM and wandered around a bit to see some of the
many different telescopes being set up.
We were particularly interested in a minimalist design 18" f/4 DOB.
It's a first scope attempt made of aluminium and composites, the secondary
mirror is suspended using monofilament fishing line and tension rods,
the truss supports are made of very light weight carbon composite and
the eyepiece is mounted to an aluminium bicycle wheel rim. This scope was
attracting a great deal of interest all night long and judging from the
oohs and awes coming from the people gathered around it the views must
have been great.
We started our viewing session by looking for the Jewel Box in
Scorpius; however, it turned out to be too low on the horizon to view so we
moved up the line of stars in Scorpius to Antares. Antares: the red super
giant is the 15th brightest star in the sky and is 700 times larger in
diameter than our own Sun. We easily centered Antares in the
Stellarvue and began viewing the bright areas around this star which includes
the star Rho Ophiuchi which is surrounded by the emission nebula IC4604.
The star is viewable in our 80mm telescope but the nebula was not.
Next
we moved just below Antares to what was really our intended target all
along - the globular cluster M-4. M-4 is a 6th mag. cluster
approximately 14,000ly distant. It appeared faint but easily resolved in our
telescope using low power. The globular center was faint but discernable.
We
next moved up above Antares and toward the tail of Scorpius looking for
a Triple Star called Oph. I do not have much info on this little
triple except to say that yes it is there and we were able to
easily view all three stars in our 80mm telescope at low power.
We next
visited M-22 in Sagittarius, This bright 5th mag. globular is becoming one
of our favorites. It shines brightly and is just beautiful to look at
even in a small telescope.
Our next target was M-17 the Swan Nebula
which we found faint but viewable at low power.
Our last target of the
night was M-51 the Whirlpool Galaxy in Ursa Major. We started on Alkaid
the first Star in the handle of the Big Dipper and then moved straight
down using the low power 32mm eyepiece, without the Barlow, until we
found the faint double smudge in our view. M-51 is an 8th mag. Spiral
Galaxy however none of the spiral seemed resolvable to us. We ended our
session around 12:00AM as the night air began to chill.
|
Observer: | Ray Hunter |
E-mail address: | hunters2@quiknet.com |
Date and time of Observation: | August 31, 2002 |
Observing Location: | Big Bend State Park, California, Elevation 5800 Ft |
Object Observed: | M-69, M-28, Mizar/Alcor, Arcturus, Altair, Cygni-61 |
Viewing conditions: | Good To Poor |
Telescope | 80mm X720mm f/9 Stellarvue refractor |
Eyepiece | Vixen 12-25 mm Zoom |
Observing notes: |
Joyce and I volunteered our time and
telescope for a 7 night public event entitled Starry-Starry Nights - 7 nights
of public viewing at 7 different locations in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. This night's site was a roadside parking lot in a State Park. The
conditions were very good as to clear skies but a constant stream of
passing cars on the roadway made viewing very difficult. About ten of
us, mostly SVAS members began set-up at about 7:30 p.m.
We were each
assigned a list of different objects to view so that the public would be
able to go from scope to scope without duplications. Our list started
with Altair for an easy early bright Star. We had no trouble finding it
as it was one of the first Stars to appear after Sunset. By 8:15 we had
a line of people waiting to view at each scope. We stayed on Altair
for about 30 min. giving everyone in our line a view using our new
12-25mm Vixen zoom lens.
This lens turned out to be the perfect eyepiece
for this type of viewing as it eliminated the need for constantly
changing the eyepiece to increase the power. The clarity in this lens is
not quite as good as in my 32mm and 9mm Stellarvue plossels, but what it
lacked in clarity it more than made up for in convenience.
Our next
target was Arcturus another bright star - even I was surprised at how
bright.
Our next target was M-69 a globular cluster in Sagittarius. We were
able to find it without too much trouble; however, the view was less
than impressive with the constant passing of cars.
At such low power it looked more like an open cluster as the globular
center was not discernable.
Next on our list was Mizar/Alcor the easy
Double Star in the Dipper. This object never seems to fail to impress
people so we stayed on it for quite some time.
Next we decided to try for
M-28. If you read our first post you know this was our first globular
cluster so it has a memorable place in our hearts. I thought we would
have trouble finding it however Joyce put the finder on it like she
owned it and within a matter of seconds we had switched from Mizar to M-28
like we really knew what we were doing. The crowd around our scope was
impressed at the smooth transition. I was dumbstruck as it had taken an
eternity for us to find M-28 our first time. I high fived the wife and
several members of the crowd did the same. The view of M-28 this time
was not as good as it had been at Blue Canyon. I did not change the
eyepiece but stayed with the vixen zoom set down to 12mm and the
globular center was only barely visible. We stayed on M-28 for a good
while as the crowd seemed to enjoy it.
Our last assignment was Cygni-61
a Double Star in Cygnus; I must confess that the Vixen even at 12mm
could not split this star. However by this time the crowd had dwindled
and no one seemed too disappointed.
We finished the evening by viewing
M-13 in an 11 inch Celestron set-up next to us; quite a difference from
the views of globulars in our little scope. All in all, it was a very
fun evening.
|
Observer: | Ray Hunter |
E-mail address: | hunters2@quiknet.com |
Date and time of Observation: | August 10, 2002 12:00 am PDT |
Observing Location: | Blue Canyon, California, 5000 ft elevation |
Object Observed: | M-28 |
Viewing conditions: | Excellent |
Telescope | 80mm X720mm f/9 Stellarvue refractor |
Eyepiece | 32mm and 9mm with 2x barlow |
Observing notes: |
Saturday night turned out to be a perfect
viewing night and with a little help from our star charts and some
assistance from a fellow member aligning our finder scope. We were finally
able to find some objects that had long eluded our view.
We started by finding the Teapot of Sagittarius and the star at the top
of the dome using binoculars. I was very surprised that by using my
old 7x35 binos I was able to see much more than I had ever seen sweeping
with my telescope at low power.
Moving a short distance above and just a little to the left of the Dome
star I was able to make out a faint smudge in my binoculars "this has
to be M-28 I thought to myself". Now the hunt was on, could I get my
scope on that spot? And would I see any thing when I did? I lined up my
red dot finder as near the spot as I could and using the 32mm began to
sweep the area looking for that faint smudge, Nothing! Dark sky, a star
point here and there, but not a hint of the faint smudge that I saw in
the binos. Damn! I pulled out the binos and swept the area again Bingo!
There it was again! I'm not crazy - it's there.
At this point a fellow member who was set up right next to us must have
sensed my frustration and asked a very simple question "how well
aligned is your finder scope"? Huh! I don't know? Do finder scopes have to
be aligned? I asked. He laughed at my naiveté and came over to have a
look. After aligning my scope on the dome star and placing it in the
center of my 32mm we looked through the red dot finder. The dot was a
good full moon and half above and to the right of the star that was
currently in the center of the scope.
My finder scope is really not a scope at all; it's what's known as a
red dot finder. It is not permanently affixed to my scope, it attaches
using double sided sticky tape. I have always aligned by simply aligning
the base of the tape with base of the finder and looking straight down
the tube of the scope. As the tape stays on the scope and the finder is
removed I assumed this method would be reasonably accurate. Boy was I
wrong!
We removed my finder, replaced the tape, and re-attached the finder.
Then using the alignment adjusters on the finder got the dot and the star
together in the finder and in the scope. We're back in business.
Ok let's try this again. Quick check in the binos, yep! Smudge is still
there. Ok point the finder just above the dome just a hair left. Is
it? Could it be? Yes maybe? Hey wait a minute, what is this? Is this
M-28? My new found friend checks the scope. Well yes, I think it is, it
could be M-22 but I think it's M-28. Increase the power and let's see. I
put in the 9mm and now the object is not as easy to find and requires
constant tending of the slow motion controls to keep it in view. I relax
my eyes for a moment and return to the eyepiece averting my vision just
slightly, BAM! There it is.
No doubt about it, my first globular cluster. M-28 in all its splendor!
I can make out the granular center and the multiple stars erupting as
out of a bowl of sugar. I returned to that eyepiece at least twenty
times in the next hour as did my wife. Constantly tending the controls not
wanting to loose what we had struggled so hard to find. We are looking
at M-28 I say to anyone who happens by. Several people stop and have
look, yes they all agree, it's a good view of M-28.
Later I Put the Barlow on the 9mm for a maximum power view. I was very
surprised at how far out I had to extend the focuser in order to focus.
The view was a little more detailed, but surprisingly the whole object
no longer fit in the field of view. I now had to literally tend the
motion controls constantly or loose the image. We decided to give M-28
back to the gods and visit a bit.
Later that night after enjoying a spectacular view of M-22, in a 32
inch Dobsonian, we were able view M-6 and M-7 open clusters lying between Sagittarius
and Scorpius in our own scope. We packed up at about 2:30
AM and headed for home. This was without doubt our most successful
viewing night since we took up the hobby. |
Observer: | Ray Hunter |
E-mail address: | TEXT HERE |
Web site: | TEXT HERE |
Date and time of Observation: | August 10, 2002 12:00 am PDT |
Observing Location: | Blue Canyon, California, 5000 ft elevation |
Object Observed: | M-28 |
Viewing conditions: | Excellent |
Telescope | 80mm X720mm f/9 Stellarvue refractor |
Eyepiece | 32mm and 9mm with 2x barlow |
Observing notes: |
Saturday night turned out to be a perfect
viewing night and with a little help from our star charts and some
assistance from a fellow member aligning our finder scope. We were finally
able to find some objects that had long eluded our view.
We started by finding the Teapot of Sagittarius and the star at the top
of the dome using binoculars. I was very surprised that by using my
old 7x35 binos I was able to see much more than I had ever seen sweeping
with my telescope at low power.
Moving a short distance above and just a little to the left of the Dome
star I was able to make out a faint smudge in my binoculars "this has
to be M-28 I thought to myself". Now the hunt was on, could I get my
scope on that spot? And would I see any thing when I did? I lined up my
red dot finder as near the spot as I could and using the 32mm began to
sweep the area looking for that faint smudge, Nothing! Dark sky, a star
point here and there, but not a hint of the faint smudge that I saw in
the binos. Damn! I pulled out the binos and swept the area again Bingo!
There it was again! I'm not crazy - it's there.
At this point a fellow member who was set up right next to us must have
sensed my frustration and asked a very simple question "how well
aligned is your finder scope"? Huh! I don't know? Do finder scopes have to
be aligned? I asked. He laughed at my naiveté and came over to have a
look. After aligning my scope on the dome star and placing it in the
center of my 32mm we looked through the red dot finder. The dot was a
good full moon and half above and to the right of the star that was
currently in the center of the scope.
My finder scope is really not a scope at all; it's what's known as a
red dot finder. It is not permanently affixed to my scope, it attaches
using double sided sticky tape. I have always aligned by simply aligning
the base of the tape with base of the finder and looking straight down
the tube of the scope. As the tape stays on the scope and the finder is
removed I assumed this method would be reasonably accurate. Boy was I
wrong!
We removed my finder, replaced the tape, and re-attached the finder.
Then using the alignment adjusters on the finder got the dot and the star
together in the finder and in the scope. We're back in business.
Ok let's try this again. Quick check in the binos, yep! Smudge is still
there. Ok point the finder just above the dome just a hair left. Is
it? Could it be? Yes maybe? Hey wait a minute, what is this? Is this
M-28? My new found friend checks the scope. Well yes, I think it is, it
could be M-22 but I think it's M-28. Increase the power and let's see. I
put in the 9mm and now the object is not as easy to find and requires
constant tending of the slow motion controls to keep it in view. I relax
my eyes for a moment and return to the eyepiece averting my vision just
slightly, BAM! There it is.
No doubt about it, my first globular cluster. M-28 in all its splendor!
I can make out the granular center and the multiple stars erupting as
out of a bowl of sugar. I returned to that eyepiece at least twenty
times in the next hour as did my wife. Constantly tending the controls not
wanting to loose what we had struggled so hard to find. We are looking
at M-28 I say to anyone who happens by. Several people stop and have
look, yes they all agree, it's a good view of M-28.
Later I Put the Barlow on the 9mm for a maximum power view. I was very
surprised at how far out I had to extend the focuser in order to focus.
The view was a little more detailed, but surprisingly the whole object
no longer fit in the field of view. I now had to literally tend the
motion controls constantly or loose the image. We decided to give M-28
back to the gods and visit a bit.
Later that night after enjoying a spectacular view of M-22, in a 32
inch Dobsonian, we were able view M-6 and M-7 open clusters lying between Sagittarius
and Scorpius in our own scope. We packed up at about 2:30
AM and headed for home. This was without doubt our most successful
viewing night since we took up the hobby.
Thanks again Alistair.
|
Observer: | Kevin McCarthy |
E-mail address: | refractor@blueyonder.co.uk |
Date and time of Observation: | 18 May 02 23:30 |
Observing Location: | Darkish Site SE London |
Object Observed: | M57 Ring Nebula, Lyra Alpha (Vega), Beta, Gamma |
Viewing conditions: | Mag 5 1/5 clouds high alt clouds low wind |
Telescope | Sky-Watcher 80mm Short Tube |
Eyepiece | 10mm 20mm 32mm 2.5x Barlow |
Observing notes: |
I was going to observe from my back garden
but my neighbour has a security light that is forever coming on and off.
Not prepared to put with this and it being such a clear night I jumped
into my car and drove off to a semi dark site I have found in SE London
near biggin hill. Once I arrived it was clear that the seeing was good
all the starts in Ursa minor going down to mag 5 were visible. I didn't check further
as this is great compared to my regular Mag 2 sky in my
back garden a result of light pollution.
With so much on offer in the sky I didn't know where to start. The moon
however was a quarter full in the eastern sky and was really quite bright
casting shadows from everything so I decided to look eastward away from
the moon and set up in the shadow of a stable where some horse's are
kept. The smell aside I did a quick polar align and decided to take a
quick look at vega which was fantastically bright in a 32mm 12.5x its only
26 light years away and so its one of our local neighbours so to seek
but the bright light from it was enjoyable unlike my neighbour at home.
It gave off some blue colour I think but it also looked red so I cant
make up my mind if it was because of the scope. Epsilon Lyra the double
double was in the same field of view and kept calling for my attention
but I was keen on trying to look for M57 the ring nebula.
After consulting "The Night Sky" a pocket guide I have I star hopped
down to Beta Lyra another double not knowing how far apart the double is
I tried to split this with a 2.5x barlow and a 10mm for 100x and
stopped down to 46mm at F8.5. I couldn't split them. I noted a diffraction
ring around Beta.
Putting the 32mm back in I could see both Beta and Gamma and on the
chart M57 should be right in the middle. I couldn't see it! whilst scanning
the middle area I though about how the image was handed and for a
moment look in the area show on the charts as I did this something flashed
and I looked back it was gone. So carefully scanning the middle ground
so to speak with averted vision I saw a smudge pop into view. I barlowed
the 32mm and could identify a circular area that was quite small at 32x
and faint. I barlowed the 20mm for 50x and a brighter circular area was
obvious but not clear. However with averted vision a distinct ring with
a whole in the middle about two thirds the diameter of the outer ring.
I tried to see this with direct vision but I just couldn't do it.
Regardless I am very happy with these observations. I did try the 10mm
barlowed to 100x but the image became pretty messy and not as clear. I spent
some time with M57 it is actually the first object I have found
other than splitting a couple of doubles that is beyond visual range
and can only be see with a telescope of some sort. All my other
observations have been easily identified in the sky and then the telescope
turned on them.
At about midnight I could see clouds coming from the South East and the temperature
was dropping. So I packed up and went home rather happy.
Comment: I have tweaked the scope by blackening the lens edges and
shimmed the lens this has improved the images through the scope noticeably.
Stopping down the scope at high magnifications and the use of averted
vision and star hopping are are all things that have improved the views
and improved my observation skills. I'm still struggling with polar
alignment and setting circles not to mention my poor mag 2 suburban skies.
To sum up I have learnt a lot in the last three months. I have been
frustrated and rewarded by my efforts. I feel that I am at a point of
either giving up or getting stuck into this hobby. Observations like M57 are
a great encouragement and now that I know were it is and how best to
see it I can take pleasure from observing it whenever the conditions are
right. If your just getting into astronomy again be patient and learn
the basics the rewards are never that far off.
|
Observer: | Kevin McCarthy |
E-mail address: | klm_67@yahoo.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 12 April 2002 23:00 |
Observing Location: | Local Park South London |
Object Observed: | M81 Bode's galaxy |
Viewing conditions: | seeing 8/10 |
Telescope | Sky-Watcher 80 Short Tube |
Eyepiece | 10mm 20mm Kellner |
Observing notes: |
M81 is a bright galaxy high in the sky
close to Ursa Major. Using the setting circles and confirming the view with
reference stars I was unable to make a confirmed contact, though again
hints of something popping in and out of view. It's difficult to
confirm these faint objects without having some prior knowledge of what
should be seen through the eye piece.
Comment: I recently went along to a local Astronomy observing session
which was great to take in some views with other scopes. I would like to
do this again and bring my scope along so as to get an idea of what I
can reasonably expect to see in the scope. We also got to watch the
International space stations rise up from the horizon increase in magnitude
flare up high above our heads and then fade away quickly into the earths
shadow. What a sight !! |
Observer: | Kevin McCarthy |
E-mail address: | klm_67@yahoo.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 5 April 2002 |
Observing Location: | Dark Site Near Biggin Hill South East London |
Object Observed: | M43 Orion Nebula |
Viewing conditions: | seeing 6/10 |
Telescope | Sky-Watcher 80 Short Tube |
Eyepiece | 10mm 20mm Kellner |
Observing notes: |
M43 has got to be the most enjoyable object
in the sky. You can play around with this object for hours its truly an
astronomical playground in its own right. The list of things that can
be seen and said about them is pretty long. I will say that in its a
great object in this 80mm scope. It easy to see and with averted vision in
the 20mm its shockingly bright I was jumping around on the ground with
delight with my eye planted in the eye peace. After my previous
attempts with some faint fuzzy galaxy's and nebula, M43 brightness is a
marvel. It's green when I look directly at it but turn's white with averted
vision and seem to quadruple in brightness. The extents of the nebula
that can be seen with my eye are obvious but I could not see any detail
with this low magnification but I can see what seem to all of it.
Comment: I've been looking for a dark site and have found a good one
within a half hours drive from my home in south London. However twice
after driving down the clouds have come in so in future I will only go
down if I really need to and I can confirm the either. The weather I have
recently bee getting Astronomical Weather reports from the www.bbc.co.uk
(British Broadcasting Corporation) weather centre. The BBC have
traditionally been supportive of Astronomy and science and technology in
general. |
Observer: | Kevin McCarthy |
E-mail address: | klm_67@yahoo.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 1 April 2002 |
Observing Location: | London Suburbs |
Object Observed: | M35, NGC2392 (Eskimo Nebula), M101 |
Viewing conditions: | seeing 8/10 |
Telescope | Sky-Watcher 80 Short Tube |
Eyepiece | 10mm 20mm Kellner |
Observing notes: |
NGC2392 the Eskimo nebula should be on the
limits of the 80mm scope I think. I'm pretty sure I can confirm the
right location and FOV but no visual contact with either the 10mm or 20mm
eye piece. However a few very faint background stars were seen. I think
I will need really dark sky's to try and pick this one out.
M35 Took two attempts using RA and DEC to find this cluster. I cant see
it with the the un aided eye with my sky conditions so have had to
locate it using the setting circles. The first attempt it was simply out of
the FOV with the 20mm. The second attempt I ended up in the same part
of the sky and scanning about I found it to the SE of my position using
the setting circles. I could easily see sixteen bright stars making a
formation not unlike the Gemini constellation its self just mirrored all
seemed to be white or blue in colour. There were some 60 fainter stars
of a magnitude of about 10 which filed the central part of the FOV
using the 20mm. There was also an obvious brightening around the cluster that was either
background stars not individually resolvable using this
scope or something else but it was clearly noticeable and made for a great
view. I'm curious as to what it was? I took this view in for quite
sometime truly worth the effort and finally some satisfaction for the recent efforts in getting to grips with polar alignment and RA and
DEC angles.
M101 a Galaxy which is high in the sky at the moment. I was unable to
see this galaxy so I cant confirm that I had the right part of the sky
but am pretty certain I had it right use other reference stars. There
was some very faint glowing blobs but I couldn't honestly say I saw it.
At the moment I am really just getting to grips with using the setting
circles and practising polar alignment. I have learnt a lot mostly by
trial and error. I can admit that I didn't realise that you had to reset
the hour circle to the right time after observing an object say for ten minutes. It took me sometime to figure why I was not seeing the second
object on my viewing list. The object had moved on by ten minutes in
the sky whilst I had not moved the R.A. circle to take this into account.
They always seemed to be out as the night progressed. This is a basic
principle and one I had note seem explained anywhere in all the reading I
had done, it was only trial and error that allowed me to figure this
out. Ignorance is not stupidity but ignorance can be very frustrating.
|
Observer: | Kevin McCarthy |
E-mail address: | klm_67@yahoo.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 1 April 2002 |
Observing Location: | London Suburbs |
Object Observed: | Castor Alpha Gemini |
Viewing conditions: | seeing 5/10 |
Telescope | Sky-Watcher 80 Short Tube |
Eyepiece | 10mm |
Observing notes: |
Castor is high in the sky and bright right now and as such very
tempting to point the scope and take a look. Having read a little from a
pocket guide to the stars that I have had for some years Castor is a triple
system with two close bright starts of mag 1.9 and 2.9 with a separation of 2.5 seconds. I was unable to
separate these stars with the 10mm
40X kellner though the view appeared bright white and quite large The
third star is father away and a red dwarf. I think I located the dwarf
though I'm not really sure but a star to the south which was very dim and
pink looked like the most likely suspect. The sky's had good contrast
with a dark background though with the brightness of castor its easy to
see contrast.
Comment: Bearing in mind that I have only recently taken ownership of
my scope and as such have a limited experience in observation, consider
my session details as an new astronomer's first impressions. There are
plenty of other observations that show what an experienced observer can achieve with the 80mm short tube scope.
|
Observer: | Kevin McCarthy |
E-mail address: | klm_67@yahoo.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 4.MAR.2002 9:00pm |
Observing Location: | London, suburbs |
Object Observed: | M45 Pleiades, Saturn, Jupiter, Betelgeuse |
Viewing conditions: | Misty. |
Telescope | Sky-Watcher 80mm app. 400mm f5 |
Eyepiece | 10mm 20mm kelner |
Observing notes: |
I recently decided to revive an old hobby
of mine that I gave up as a teenager. I now in my mid thirties. Having
read a lot about telescope on the market I decided I would buy myself a
SKY-Watcher 80mm refractor F5. This scopes is widely available under
different names and as such has a large user base with plenty of reviews
(I don't think I actually read a bad one) in addition to being the
cheapest scope I could get my hands on it seemed the best choice
considering I live in a flat and would need to pick up the scope down some stairs
and out the back for viewing. I got the scope a couple of days before I
got a chance to get out side and actually use it. Time well spent
familiarising myself with the screws, locks and bit and bobs. Practised
putting it up and taking it down etc.
Anyway bearing in mind the excitement of a new scope plus my experience
of what can be expected good and bad, though there are a number of
years involved. I have access to a small back yard that has a three story
building on the East side, a tall tree to the south and a high hedge to
the West. Although this sounds bad it does shelter me from the
surrounding lights. So this is a plus, I live in the city.
Outside I aligned on Polaris to get accurate setting for the elevation
setting reads 56 on the EQ1 mount while I'm actually at 51. pretty easy
didn't actually use setting circles to find anything just spun the
telescope from place to place. I did intend to try and find m457 in
Cassiopeia as it's high in the sky but I didn't bring out the chart I printed
of as reference so after a minute of scanning for it I couldn't wait
any longer.
The 80mm 400mm F5 really being a good wide field views I spun the
telescope around to the Pleiades (wow) what an eye full at 20X. Counted 35
star, I counted them twice quite satisfying given the surrounding street
lights in the back garden I didn't expect to see this many. Actually
more stars than are shown on the demo copy of Sky Map Pro I'm using as a
guide in doors. Spent some time taking the view in I don't ever
remember the view being this good. nice and sharp images with depth if you can
actually see such a thing in a telescope.
Moved on to a nearby bright star wonder why this star had a funny
shape then realise that I found Saturn. The strange shape being the rings
which are not clear at 20x so I dropped in the 10mm Kelner giving me 40x
and the rings jumped out with a clear division between them and planet.
No other visible detail at 40X but I not surprising anyone with that
comment. Noted a moon to the south east. Realising the Grand Daddy was
near by I moved onto Jupiter which was very bright and again another
surprise I saw one band around the centre of the planet in addition to four
moons.
I had a quick look at Betelgeuse, bright sizzling red star fantastic. I
really gona have some fun with this telescope.
I realise that I going to need a Barlow and replace this 45 degree
diagonal for a 90 degree If I going to save my back and neck to get a
decent view of some of the planets . I have to find a small chair of sorts.
My first impressions are build quality good to very good. Instructions
(I didn't get any) but you can download a complete set from the
sky-watcher web site. The EQ1 mount is solid though I did have my doubts about
the indicated angles for elevation but you can ignore them and align
with Polaris which resolves any errors there. As for the DEC and RA there
good enough for anything you will see with this scope. I did have a
couple of nuts and bolts missing for the accessory tray but 60 pence in my
local hardware shop solved that.
The 45 degree diagonal I got with the scope is not ideal and that will
be the first thing I'll change I did ask for a 90 degree when I ordered
the scope so I be on the phone about that.
All other aspects of the scope I'm happy with the optics are something
that I think I can only guess at but I shall try my hand at a star
test. Though my impression is that my 60mm tasco from my early teens never
presented me with the vivid colour and brightness I'm seeing with this
little scope. Its a case of I saw these objects a long time ago and
whilst the image has never left my mind they were never this bright or
colourful. Whilst I appreciate the interest in binary pairs etc, wide
field views are great and far more impressive and interesting than trying
to split one dot into two for someone like myself. However a 2x Barlow
or similar is a must if not just to get a better view of the planets
every now and then. The scope is great value I would recommend it. Just
bear in mind that the planets my be out or your reach unless you invest a
little more.
Kevin.
|
Observer: | jeff barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | astro.geekjoy.com |
Date and time of Observation: | Tuesday. January 15, 2002 6:30 - 9:00pm PST |
Observing Location: | Backyard, Boulder Creek, CA USA |
Object Observed: | NGC891!, 1023!, M34, NGC1245!, NGC1413!, NGC1528, NGC1545, NGC1514 |
Viewing conditions: | 6/10, ZULM: 5.3 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 Achromat (ST80) |
Eyepiece | 25, 15 and 10mm Ultrascopics with Ultrablock Filter |
Observing notes: |
Though chilly, the evening's sky was
decently dry and clear but unstable. 150mm MCT Argo could barely reveal
Cassini. Only the two equatorials on Jupiter were possible (No STTB ovals
this evening!). Couldn't resolve the Iota Cass triple. Early on (with
Iota not quite direct unaided), required moderate aversion at 120x to
show the 12.2 mag field star (near Iota) that I use this time of year
for transparency checks.
As a result, dismounted Argo and switched to the 80mm Pup for a low
power (16, 27, 40x) tour of (mostly) Perseus.
By 7:00pm (or so) was able to hold 5.4 mag SAO55347 in Triangulum.
Despite the decent depth, and low magnification involved, was unable to
turn up galaxies NGC891 (in Andromeda) and 1027 (in Perseus).
NOTE: Under darker conditions (5.8) edge on NGC891 was visible during
this last weekend's SCAC star party at the Bonny Dune observing site
through a TV-85 so the possibility exists! No effort was made at that time
to turn up NGC1027.
However, in searching for 1023 came across a fine 27x double star -
colors blue and red - very close to 5th magnitude SAO 55793 (3 degrees
south of M34).
Through the 6x25mm finder was just able to locate M34 in Perseus (no
resolution however). Of course, all three main tube magnifications
resolved some stars. At 16x, a dozen. 27x added a half dozen more. By 40x,
the number jumped to more than 30 (many faint components peeked back at
me.) Also, by this point, I finally noticed the widish M34 double just
west of the core.
Had no luck turning up faint open cluster NGC1245 between Iota and
Kappa Persei. Nor could I locate cluster NGC1413 south of Lambda.
However, due east of Lambda is a close visual pair of stars (the
brighter is 5th mag SAO 24531). Was able to easily detect cluster NGC1528
one degree northwest of SAO 24531, and with greater difficulty NGC1545 30
mins due east of same. Of the two, 1528 was obviously a cluster. At
16x, it looked very humanoidal. At 27x - and especially 40x - it took
on a shape I remembered seeing with Argo last year - "The Scope and
Tripod cluster". Star count kept increasing as I stepped up the
magnification until almost 3 dozen members could be seen at 40x.
Unlike 1528, NGC1545 didn't look a cluster. That quality never really
became evident - even at 40x. However, 1545 did show a rather
intriguing shape. Quite "three dimensional". In fact, it looked like a
"coordinate grid in three dimensions" truncated along the z-axis and rotated
away about 45 degrees. At best 7 or 8 stars were visible - but boy were
those stars used to advantage!
Continuing due east from SAO 24531, came across a curious "3-lobed
void" of stars. At center of the void, a sprinkling of faint 11th
magnitude stars. Surrounding these were the three 30 arcmin globes where few -
if any - stars were perceptible. This particular region was first
recognized by Herschel who liked to document such things...
Even armed with the Ultrablock filter, I was unable to identify Bright
Nebula NGC1624 - which is supposed to lie on the far side of Herschel's
void. However, I was able to locate Planetary Nebula NGC1514 "way down
south" in Taurus one degree south, and three east of Zeta Persi - but
only because the filter made it possible for me to confirm my
suspicions. (That rather unusually colored star really did have a large faint aura
around it - at 40x).
One thing to point out is the fact that last year I was able to locate
all of the above studies (save NGC1023 which was not on my yearplan)
under conditions similar to this through Argo - so there are definite
limits to what is possible with small apertures - despite high focal
ratios.
|
Observer: | jeff barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | astro.geekjoy.com/ |
Date and time of Observation: | Friday, October, 26 5:45 - 6:30am PDST |
Observing Location: | Backyard Boulder Creek, CA, USA |
Object Observed: | Saturn, Jupiter, Capella, Aldebaran, M37 |
Viewing conditions: | Stability 8/10, ZULM ~5.0 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 - Achromatic Refractor |
Eyepiece | 15mm Ultrascopic w/ 5.6x barlow combo - 175x |
Observing notes: |
Greetings Fellow Stargazers!
Last night before turning in, made the mental commitment to get out and
observe early in the morning IF i just happened to "wake up" while it
was dark.
So here it was, 5:30 in the AM, and I'm just about to wrap up one dream
in Lallaland and begin another when the alarm clock falls off the
dresser onto my forehead.
No harm done, it's dark out. So OK, up!
Ten minutes later I'm dialing for focus on "The Ringed Wonder" and get
the sharpest, most truly excellent view of Saturn yet seen through the
80mm. Cassini Division drawn with a mechanical pencil almost all the
way around the ring system. Pronounced Ring B shading to Ring C. Hints
of the Encke Minima (on eye movement). All at 175x (3x ultrascopic
plus series 2.6x Shorty barlow followed by diagonal and 15mm Ultrascopic
ep).
Other features in evidence: South Equatorial Belt well delineated.
Blue Gray mottling at the South Polar Region. Ring shadow on the
fore-planet disk. Planet shadow on posterior ring. Four satellites (Titan
leading, 2 trailing, and one orthagonal to the south.)
So OK, not half bad - not even!
So how good was the seeing?
Turned to Capella: Five complete and circular diffraction rings with
only hints of "wavering surface brightness" and occasional flashing. -
Solid 8/10 stability sky.
(OK, I admit it, did tweak the collimation a little last night. But
only because I had upgraded the Pup's "Collimation Collar")
Tracked down that missing (from the previous morning) third Aurigaen
Cluster - M37 (at same magnification). Awesome! The group looked like
though the Hand of God had dipped into the Small Sagittarian Star Cloud
(M24) and sprinkled the contents within the northerly Charioteer's
sky. The view was complete with "dark lanes" wending amongst pinprick
points of light. Certainly my favorite Aurigaen - and the one I most
wanted to turn up the previous morning. (I know, all God's children are
beautiful BUT...)
Took a look at Aldebaran. The hope was to make out the close (34?
arcsec 11.5? mag) companion. What's that? Something trailing to the north
- hmmm - not definitive though.)
Then on to the Belted Monarch - Jupiter.
What? Why that's the North Temperate Belt! Clear, dark, contrasty,
definitive. And the rift in the South Equatorial Belt! South South
Temperate Belt too. AND barges intruding into the Equatorial Zone from the
North Equatorial Belt. A first!
Then I noticed something else. A very faint first diffraction ring
around each of the Galileans. Why, that must mean that they are point
sources. No more claims of seeing "visible disks" from this quarter. In
fact, doing the math, I realized that a Galilean would have to show a
disk larger than 260 / 80 or 3.25 arc-seconds to be a "true disk" (in
the 80mm of course).
Went on to observe the planet at 67 then 57 and 43mm (using aperture
stops). With each decrease in diameter lost more and more of the NTB -
until it disappeared completely at 43mm.
Shaking myself, broke the trance of Jupiter viewing. The sky was
definitely a-brightening.
Turned the Pup on Castor. At 180x, clear that the 2.8 mag companion
had a smaller visual airy disk than the 2.0 primary. Kept dropping down
the aperture. Split distance narrowed - but never became a "thin
line"
of resolution - even at 43mm.
Put the Pup away. (Good Pup, nice Pup, you done good Pup.)
Climbed on the roof to try and catch Mercury. Venus hung just above
the mountains to the east. No other luminaries. Watched until the
morning fog rolled over the hillside - no "Winged Messenger" this day.
Who can complain?
Clear and Steady,
jeff
|
Observer: | jeff Barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | astro.geekjoy.com |
Date and time of Observation: | 6:00 - 6:45am PDST |
Observing Location: | Backyard, Boulder Creek, CA, USA |
Object Observed: | The Gas Giants |
Viewing conditions: | 8/10 stability brightening sky |
Telescope | 80mm Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 10mm Kellner with 3x Ultrascopic Barlow - 120x |
Observing notes: |
Over the last few weeks been "blueprinting" the 80mm ST-80 I call "the
Pup". Efforts to collimate the optical train and re-planarize the
air-spaced achromatic doublet object glass were driven after it came to my
attention that disparate double star Delta Cygni (magnitudes 2.8 / 6.8
separation 2.4 arc seconds) should be resolvable by any high quality
scope 65mm or greater in aperture. And the Pup wasn't cutting it...
--------------------------------
After a very successful night of double star quests, woke to Selene
shining through the west-facing window. Rubbed the sleepy dust from my
eyes and noticed the sky merging from dark to light. Knew it was still
dark enough to catch the Gas Giants. Jumped out of bed. Through on some
jeans and flannel shirt. Headed for the study. Within five minutes had
the 43mm aperture stopped version of the 80mm Pup turned on Saturn at
120X.
No trouble getting a nice edge on the ring and the planets limb. In
fact, at F9.3, depth of field was so good that a not inconsiderable
amount of focus travel gave the same precise and equally gratifying image
quality.
Cassini Division at 43mm was more present than I'd ever seen it before
- even at 80mm's. Think about this, a scoope with an aperture less than
many a finder, was showing the Cassini Division between Saturn's Ring A
and B!
With the 67mm aperture stop in place (F6) depth of focus was lost - but
it was possible to precisely snap to. Cassini now looked like someone
had taken a black pencil and traced a line between Ring A and B.
Contrast improved with the additional aperture. So did resolution. No,
Cassini's didn't look like someone had scribed it into the ring system with
an exacto blade (as it appears in 150mm MCT Argo) - more like a
slightly used pencil line. Still very impressive.
But the question now was, would the image quality hold at the full 80mm
(F5)?
And the answer was yes - but with slight qualifications. "Snap to"
focus was not quite achievable. However Cassini remained undiminished and
the planet's SEB might have been a hair darker than at 67mm. So I took
several moments to mentally outline some of what I was seeing at 120x:
- Almost, but not quite, sharp limb focus..
Things not seen:
But Saturn is, in general, more forgiving of optical rectitude than the
other Gas Giant - Jupiter!
Previous to tuning the Pup the best I ever saw of the planet was the
two main equatorial belts and the North Temperate Belt. Now at both 67
and 80mm's I was seeing:
- The two main belts (with hints of the riift in the South Equatorial
Belt).
Interesting fact was that I did not get this level of definitive detail
while first viewing the planet. Along the way, took a look at a
setting Selene and found the focus was a hair off (at 80mms). It was after
precisely re-adjusting that the more subtle belts began to emerge on
Jupiter.
There are a host of micro-level features associated with Jupiter that
were not visible through the 80mm Pup. For instance the SEB rift was
suggested - not obvious. Could not make out any barges, ovals or
textures on the planet as occasionally seen through 150mm Argo. But the key
here is that the planet achieved focus and presented enough detail to be
interesting.
All the blueprinting done with the scope over the last several weeks
has really payed off. The 80mm achromat is now giving the kind of views
I would expect of any "optically correct" unobstructed scope costing 5
to 10 times as much. The keys to this performance improvement
basically come down to:
1. Perfecting the collimation - within the limits imposed on the scope
due to a lack of the kind of micrometer adjustements available on "high
end" refractors.
2. Planarizing the two elements of the achromatic doublet in such a way
as to get the star point to center both inside and outside of focus
within reasonably "round" outfocus "globes of light".
Neither of these two adjustements has been accomplished to my ultimate
satisfaction - and I'm not sure that the limited available mechanisms
to accomplish these tasks will ever make "perfection" possible. But the
proof that such adjustments can lead to superior results lay right
there before my eyes...
Carpe Noctem,
jeff
PS: And oh yes, Selene - 2 brightenings visible in Plato at 120x. But
no, still have yet to resolve Delta Cygni but suspect that this will be
achievable once we lose the Moon and contrast with the night sky
improves...
Comment: Originally posted on http://astro.geekjoy.com/forum/
a "smogas-board" of amateur astronomy posts for diligent observers of
the night sky and all that is seen therein...
|
Observer: | Jeff Barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | astro.geekjoy.com |
Date and time of Observation: | Sunday-Monday, June 10 & 11, 2001 10:00 - 12:30 PDST |
Observing Location: | Backyard Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | M97, 108, 81, 82, Cor Coroli, M94, 63, 51, NGC5195, 4559, 4565, M65, 66, 3. 13, 92, NGC6210, Double Double, Ring Nebula, Mars |
Viewing conditions: | Transparency: 5.2 ZULTM, Stability: 5/10 |
Telescope | 80mm Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 25/9mm Plossls, 2X Shorty Barlow |
Observing notes: |
Here's the scenario: It's 10:00 PM. You and your friends just played three sets of mellow Jazz at a nearby restaurant of some elegance. You're feeling all warm and fuzzy about the music, the food, and the wine. Unloading the gear, you look up. A heavenly chorus resonates within your mind's ear. The sky is pitch black. A day already overfull, poised to end, now yields to a night alive with infinite possibility. Do you break out the scope?
Of course! But what to do with it? There's so much out there! Where to begin? (Knew where to end, Mars was already well into near-oppositional ascent. 'Round Midnight, it would stand revealed in all its -2.3 magnitude 20.4 arc-second glory.)
150mm Argo remained disassembled after the previous evening's China Ridge adventure. 80mm Pup, however, was all set up with someplace to go. Why, I could even imagine the little fellow rearing up on his hind legs, prancing around trying to get my attention. Sold! Tonight it would be the Pup.
With music gear stowed, sprung the Pup from the study. No mind at all as to what to observe. No charts. No note pad. Just me, the Pup and the sky.
A quick check showed I could just hold a 5.0 magnitude test star behind the bowl of the big dipper. Not bad! Why not track down the Owl Nebula? Sure, I don't give a hoot what I look at! The Owl it is. Now for the head scratching. No charts. Hmmm - which of the four stars in the dipper is it near anyway. Not the two northerly ones. So must be one of the two attached to the Bear's legs. Which one - east or west? Fifty-fifty chance - but the Owl's pretty tough for an 80mm on a 5.0 night. Hmmm. Should I get the charts? NYET! "Succeed or fail using what's inside you!" OK, (equivocating) I'll scan them both...
Dropped the 25mm Plossl into the diagonal. With 3X barlow: 48X - 1 degree field. Started at the eastern star - Gamma. Slewed the finder around to get the lay of things - no way this Owl is going to be seen in a finder. Shifted to the main tube. Swept the region south and west of Gamma. After maybe 10 minutes switched to Beta. Few minutes later - everything but the feathers. The Owl showed a vaguely diffuse half-disk just barely held with direct vision. As usual, both Owl-eyes firmly shut. (But I knew he was watching...)
So the Owl graced me with an apparition. But what about that huge, dim galaxy toward Beta? What's it called? M10... something. (108 - you memory deficient dolt). Swung the Pup back toward Beta. Sure enough, dim but incontrovertable. Oh yah, weren't there a couple of 12th mag stars bordering it? (Yup, caught one of the two with averted vision.)
So OK, you caught a couple toughies, now for something easy. Center on Upsilon UMA. Swing the scope due north. Catch the Galactic Wonders. (I remember - M81&82. M81 is the more southerly and larger of the two.) No problemo. Even in the Boulder Creek lightdome a fine view. Pair of luminous eyes glowing in the night - one open, the other winking at me in encouragement.)
Onward and upward! See if you can find that galaxy near Cor Coroli - and while there, check out the beautiful wide pair of radiant jewels themselves. (Priceless.) Caught the galaxy: Nice edge on. What's it called M?? (94). Now how about that one to the east above the arrowhead of 5th and 6th mag stars? Is that the one that's really a two? Face on presentation - no second core nearby. Maybe that's why
Monsieur Messier missed it? (He used a small scope too.)
OK, now find that galaxy near 24 Canes Venatici. Sure. Oh! That's the galaxy with the bright companion. Cool! So the last one (M94) was supposed to be solitary. Then why couldn't
Monsieur also make out the companion like I could? Strange...
Looked up, caught the faint, bespeckled glow of Coma Bernices slightly to the west. Swing the Pup around. Lot's of nice wide doubles and triples. One little group shaped like a "Y" - brightest 5th magnitude member at the crux. Sweeping east catch a broken football-shaped glow - not what I'm looking for. The quest was for edge-on NGC4565. This is the other galaxy (NGC4559). Spent some time contemplating its irregular dimorphic shape. Nice, but not the sharply delineated shaft of diaphanous light of last month. But that the edge-on lies almost due south a couple degrees. Bingo! Not quite the view rendered by 150mm Argo - but still splendid. And oh yes, isn't that a dim 12th magnitude star flanking the core?
Much further west, Leo sinks well into the lower third. Sky's a bit ratty down there - at best, 4.5ULTM. Go for it. Leo Trio here I come! Nice as the Messiers (65&66) are, there is no definitive view of that ghostly, slender edge-on beauty NGC3628. Leo Duo will have to do for tonight - but had Leo been overhead the Pup would have revealed it.
Ok, so back overhead. Globular Cluster M3. Nice! Hints of resolution under extreme aversion. Smaller than M13. Quite compact. Why not M13? Swing east. Easy (well practiced) find. Moderate aversion shows dozens of stars. Pup, you done good. Argo'd be proud!
And what about M92? Like M3 and M13 - easy finderscope catch. No resolution, surface appears rough though. Maybe on a 6.0 night...
And oh yes, let's take a look at that planetary - NGC6210??? (Correcto mundo, senior.) Find Beta Herculi. Sweep northeast. Pick out the dim wide optical pair. To the main tube! Yes! But not very well presented - even at 133X. No color. No central brightening. Still it is a planetary, and on a good night through Argo it really shines!
On to the Lyre - (I wonder if anyone plays jazz harp?). Double double, only single. Caught occasional glimpses of the 12th magnitude come on eye movement though. Now to the King of Rings (Or Regent of Annuli - if preferred). Core definite. Wow, did you see that? Caught a brief hint of the 13 division star just to the east. And the 12.8 magnitude in the Chalice can be held with extreme aversion. Wow, that Pup has some reach for 80mms!!! Never saw the Chalice of the Ring look so good through the Pup. (Thanks for bowing out Luna.)
Mars' low sky position allows me to remove the mirrored diagonal and view the planet direct - just like refractors of old... Not sure if this improves image quality much, but after a while, I start to make out a second darkening south-southwest. By 12:30 the viewing session is over. A sketch is ready for scanning and the Pup is stowed in the study. Run MarsPreviewerII software. Woh, so THAT was Syrtis Major: THE SYRTIS MAJOR. Meanwhile, exiting southeast was Mare Erythraeum and company. Things be happening with Mars. Now for one good night of steady seeing!
|
Observer: | jeff barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | www.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/astro/index.html |
Date and time of Observation: | May 3, 2001 3:15 - 5:00 am PDST |
Observing Location: | Backyard Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | M's 80, 4, 8, 20, 21, 22 |
Viewing conditions: | Transparency: 5.5 ZULTM, Stability: ?/10 |
Telescope | 80mm Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 25/9mm Plossels |
Observing notes: |
Awoke this morning to ringing in my ears.
Stumbled out of bed, splashed a little cold water on my face. Dragged
myself outside. Setup the 80mm Pup on the workout deck facing south.
Something was very wrong with the sky. The glorious star clouds north and
east of Sagittarius were missing. A grey "gruel" bespotted with a few
brighter stars were visible - otherwise, yuch. Decided that since I was
up and things were in place, I was going to at least try and turn up a
few globulars in Scorpio and Sagittarius. The northernmost part of
Scorpio was rapidly merging into the treeline south-southwest. I would have
to hurry.
Centered the finderscope on Delta Scorpii. Placed my eye over the three
and one-half degree 16X 25mm Plossel. Star count was low (due to
conditions). Slewed due east and picked out a diffuse light looking like a
"dim fuzzy star". This just as Delta shifted outside the field of view.
Bumped the magnification to 44X, and got a disappointing view of a
brightish central core blending quickly into the murk. More interesting than
the cluster was a nearby asterism. A group of 7th and 8th magnitude
stars north of the cluster. The asterism took the general form of the head
and forelegs of a "racing greyhound straining for the finish line".
Antares was still well clear of the trees. To its west (and slightly
north) is 3rd magnitude Sigma Scorpi. Forming a flat triangle in the
field (to the south of this pair), was a more obvious globular cluster -
M4. The view of M4 was encouraging. At 16X, it showed a bright central
core, surrounded by a luminous core region. Around that I could make out
a roundish halo bleeding off into the murk. At 44X (9mm Plossl), this
bright (magnitude 6.0) large (26 arc-minutes) cluster displayed only
about half its full girth. With extreme aversion I could make out a dozen
10 plus magnitude stars buzzing around it's halo like a bonnet of bees
about a hive. Another interesting feature was an elongated central core
- like a cat's eye. This apparition was orriented north to south.
(Thinking about it now, I had also seen this elongated type central core
while viewing M92 in Hercules. Curious.)
As the bulk of Scorpio bowed behind the treeline I was eager to sweep
Sagittarius. Looking up, I noticed that the murk to the south had
dissipated. Before me was the fabric of the universe. A fine texture of
countless, distant suns arched gracefully north and east. Great bands of
darkness split the light into luminous tributaries and bays. Despite this,
the Great River remained unstaunched. Could it be that the earlier murk
was the residue of radiance thrown into the sky by a not-quite set
moon? Of course! Though I rose later this morning than last, the
progressing moon would still be high in the sky behind the Santa Cruz Mountains
to the east (on the far side of the house). The sacrifice of a warm bed
was now amply rewarded - but Sagittarius, like Scorpio before it
drifted perilously close to the treeline.
A casual sweep southwest of Mu Sagittarii showed a remarkable mix of
individual stars, asterisms, clusters and reflective nebula - all in the
same 16X field. Many of the stars and star groups were embroiled in a
vague nebulosity. Some ensconced in obvious clouds of luminous matter.
Small patches of light could be seen everywhere. Magnificent!
The most obvious nebulosity involved a pair of 7/8th magnitude stars
separated by about 10 arc-minutes (oriented north-south). These stars
were completely surrounded by a globe of light perhaps twice as wide as
the separation between the two stars. To the north was a group of four or
five dimmer stars forming a low profile, misshapen rectangle encased in
a smaller, more subtle region of nebulosity. It was obvious to my eye
that this glow was really part of the brighter glow to the south and
that a dark absorption nebula lay between them. To the east of the
brighter glow was a third, dimmer cloud engulfing a pair of very dim 10th
magnitude stars. A dark lane separated these two luminous regions as well.
By now you've guessed that I had chanced on the famous "Lagoon Nebula"
- M20.
Now the Lagoon Nebula would have been satisfying enough. But within the
same field of view and to the east was an equally large (1 plus) degree
field of about a dozen stars. The brightest members of this celestial
troop of perhaps magnitude the 8th. Dimmer members could also be seen
down to magnitude 10. A hazy nebulosity hung about this group. The
cluster gave the appearance of a squat, bulging, ripe strawberry ready for
cosmic delectation. M21, truly you are a delicate feast for the eye.
While scanning about (before alighting on M20 and 21), I had previously
caught another bright area of obvious nebulosity to the south.
Unfortunately, Sagittarius was sinking lower and the Pup's mount was having
difficulty properly aligning. What I remember of it was a north-south
oriented clutch of stars with a bright nebulous patch in their midst. I
believe this to have been the famed "Trifid Nebula" (M8). Frankly, I can
think of no other nebula of equal luminosity and size in the region.
Sweeping due east of the Lagoon, I came across what I consider to be
the premier globular cluster visible from the temperate Northern
Hemisphere - M22. Even at 16X it dominates the field of view. No resolution was
possible at this low magnification. I was struck by how perfect the
cluster displays however. Round. Bright. Brilliant. Extensive core region.
Luminosity blending evenly to a well-defined frontier. With averted
vision a "roughness" was seen suggestive of incipient resolution. The
globular's core mounted up to meet the eye. Superb.
Earlier I had caught a dozen M5 stars under moderate aversion. Now with
a sky free of moonwash, a brighter (5.4 magnitude), equally large (24
arc-minute) cluster, I knew the view would be wonderful at 44X.
Switching over to the 9mm Plossel, dozens of individual stars shone round about
the core region. This, without any special tricks of the eye. Perhaps
only one other cluster could show as much of itself in a 3 inch scope -
the incomparable Omega Centauri.
Slewing west (and somewhat south) I caught a final globular cluster.
M28 looked much like how M80 would have appeared under similar
conditions. Small (11 arc-minute), moderately bright (magnitude 6.9), this
cluster is a lot like M22 in miniature. Bright stellar core, brightish core
region, dimming to - this time - the darkness of space. Like M3, M28 is
a study needing 150mm Argo's greater aperture. I suspect that through
Argo the globular would give a view comparable to that of M22 using the
80mm Pup.
Following the view of M28, I swung the Pup north and east along that
"Great River of Light" leading north and east from Sagittarius. Along the
"Great White Way", many magnificent regions of nebulosity were seen -
this time - not composed of gas and dust but of dim, unresolved clouds
of distant suns.
Then like on any such morning, the sky to the west brightened and the
natural limit imposed by a much nearer, rising Sun put a term to the
morning's glories.
Comment: Alistair, thanks again for the site.
|
Observer: | Jeff Barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | www.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/astro/index.html |
Date and time of Observation: | 8:45 - 10:15 PDST April 25, 2001 |
Observing Location: | Backyard Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | Moon, Jupiter, Epsilon Hydrae Double, Praesepe, Comet Schaumasse? |
Viewing conditions: | Transparency: Variable to 5.0, Stability: 7/10 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 25mm/9mm Plossel/10mm Ultrascopics with 3x Ultrascopic and 2x Shorty Barlows |
Observing notes: |
Ah, Summer approaches. I can feel it between my toes, and on my sole(s). Not quite short sleeve shirt time - but barefoot in the backyard. This is the essence of amateur astronomy. Hey! publish if you like, or not. Observe with diligence, or not. You do it because you want to. You will never make a genuine contribution to the advancement of science - but to the Art - anything is possible! Why
tonight I may have even discovered a comet! (Of course, this is something that could happen every night but totally without cognition.)
First the Moon. Its back - just like I said it would be. Right on schedule: "New Moon in the Old Moon's arms." Thin hornlike crescent, backlit by the Sun, courtesy of the Earth - of course. Tweak the Pup's focuser a little here and a little there and chromaticism almost undetectable. If only there was a fine adjust mechanism - I could call it a $200 semi-apochromat!
Like the moon, Jupiter was low. Nice contrast on the EBs. Occasional views of the NTB - averted and in syncopation with the few seconds of stability. No doubt about it. Due to the peculiarities of the seasons and the ecliptic, it will never happen of course, but now that the atmosphere is drying up, the planets definitely getting more contrasty. Since around here, dry means Summer, and Summer means low ecliptic, and low ecliptic means more atmosphere there will never be a perfect time to observe Jupiter. Just the optimal time. And that time would be Spring - if only the planet were in spring opposition. (Autumn is quite damp in these parts as well - so no recourse here.)
In reviewing my observing plan I noticed that I had yet to view double-star Epsilon Hydrae. So tonight, rather than assembling Argo, I decided to give the Pup a chance first. But let's start with the published data: Primary magnitude 3.8. Secondary 7.8. Separation 3.2 arc-seconds. Double Star Resolution Calculator says "80mm Short Focal length refractor splits on an excellent night under regional 5.2 ULTM conditions".
Well tonight was good - not perfect. Transparency was not quite 4.5 in the region of Epsilon. So, conditions not met forget it.
Really? Yes. Stacked up everything I had (roughly 250X). Got a decent airy disk. Reasonably concentric, though incomplete diffraction rings. Nothing. Dropped back down to 120X. Nice sweet airy disk around primary. Single, diffraction ring, still somewhat unstable. Observed. Observed. Observed. Late evening calm arrived. Epsilon started moving gracefully across the field of view. Only the diffraction ring danced now. Not the star itself. With 10mm Ultrascopic and 3x barlow in place, was that a bit of persistent brightening at the first diffraction ring due east? Just couldn't nail it. Lovely opalescent primary. Possibly a gray-blue 8th magnitude primary leading across the sky. But not confirmed.
By this time it was as dark as it was going to get. Carted the Pup over to the north lawn (only a couple dozen feet away really.) Split the distance between Pollux and Regulus. There it was faint glow in the sky. Turned the finder on it. Centered on the the ellipse of bright stars. Switched to the main tube. Scanned until I located the "y" shaped asterism that includes the 12.7 magnitude test star. Woh! There it is - but only when I moved my eye about the field. Stop and its gone. Move and there it is. Beyond extreme aversion. The last tease. + 1.3 magntude. The flit. So this evening, under nominal 5.0 conditions, the Pup could add 7.7 - 1.3 or 6.5 magnitudes at 120X. Refractors rule!
Why do I say that? Because at 80mm and 120X, the Pup should only be able to reveal stars down to magnitude 10.8. Instead the numbers strongly support 11.5. I've seen this before and still can not quite explain it. Tests using the 12.2 field star associated with Iota Cassiopeia showed that the Pup could reveal it with moderate aversion at a similar magnification. Again pointing to a
telescopic limiting threshold magnitude of 11.5. Nice!
Now I was ready to go after that Comet. Fellow astronomer (that mysterious Backyard in Ohio dude the Astronomer) gave me a little email guidance as to how to go about tracking down Comet Schaumasse. (Together now, Comet What?) Schaumasse, Schaumasse that's it. I started at Beta Tauri. Scanned up to 10 degrees east at 16X. Lot's of possibilities = all on the margin could be anything (dim asterisms, lions, tigers, bears - like I said, anything). Switched to 40X. Started again. Due east. Nada. Shift 1 degree north of Beta. Due east. Nothing. Shift 1 degree south. Same. Nothing conclusive. Now 2 degrees north. Nope.
Now, 2.5 degrees north of Beta is a dim finderscope double star (maybe magnitude 8). OK, this is the last sweep. Anything that looks remotely like Charles Messier would think it was a comet, I was going to write up as "my best shot". One degree east. Two degrees east. Three degrees - four. Five degrees, six degrees, seven degrees. Waz zat? Faint 11th magnitude double. Look's fuzzy. But not the double. Something northeast. Definite roundish light mound, maybe 15 arc-minutes east of solitary 6.5 magnitude star. Some 5 arc-minutes in diameter. So OK Mr. Astro, did I find it?
Shifted the scope over to the east. Sighted on Denebola. Transparency went to hell. Couldn't even find the Leo Trio. Time to call it quits. Barefoot into the house. Write up my notes. Leave the scope setup. Excuse me I'll be right back...
It's now 11:30PDST on a work night. The sky looks very inviting, but so does bed. |
Observer: | Jeff Barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | www.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/astro/index.html |
Date and time of Observation: | Friday, April 13, 2001, 7:30 - 10:30 PSDT |
Observing Location: | Backyard Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | Snow Fence, Cell Phone Tower, Jupiter, Xi Ursa Majoris, Castor, Intergalactic Wanderer, Praesepe, M81, M82 |
Viewing conditions: | Transparency: Variable to 4.5, Stability: 7/10 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 35/10mm Ultrascopics with Ultrascopic 3x and Achromatic 2X Barlows |
Observing notes: |
My 80mm Orion ShortTube refractor (The Pup)
has been packed a way since family members and I returned from a trip
to Fremont Peak (at the end of March). This afternoon I started hearing
those little whines and whimpers that said "Can I come out and play?"
So, being the sensitive sort, I just had to let the Pup out of his
travel bag. While pulling all the pieces together, I explained how broken
clouds were likely to blow in for the evening. How such clouds can make
seeing astronomical objects difficult (if not impossible). And how
sometimes its better if the sky is completely overcast so you just get on
with the rest of your life... Of course, all this expectation management
was probably as good for me as the Pup. So, when these things came to
pass, the Pup and I maintained our spirits and did what we could with
what we had.
Just before dark, I pushed the Pups limits a little, and give him a
chance to stretch his optical legs. The target was the 2 mile distant snow
fence and cell phone tower I use for optics testing. The stretch was
the stack of lenses added to the lightpath: 9mm Plossl (4 elements) and
two barlows lenses. All this added up to about 220 magnification. (Or
roughly 65X per inch of aperture.) Of course, the Pup took the load
quite nicely. Per inch aperture, I'd say almost as well as Argo does -
perhaps even better. Of course by the time you stack two barlows, an
eyepiece plus the two lenses in the objective you've got about 11 pieces of
glass between your eye and what you're seeing. But surprise, when I
later turned the same configuration on Jupiter I was very pleased with
image brightness.
Image detail, however, is a different story - two equatorial bands,
sans features and edge irregularities. But the edge looked reasonably
sharp, and the polar regions decently present. I suspect the view might
have been better if the sky had a chance to darken before Jupiter sank to
the west. It might also have been nice if I could have viewed the
planet clearly for more than 5 or 10 seconds at a time.
Eventually the sky did darken. (Strange how this seems to happen
daily.) With Xi Ursa Majoris high overhead, I quickly placed it in the
sights. (Previously, I had removed the 2x shorty barlow and configured with
the 10mm Ultrascopic and 3x Ultrascopic barlow.) After a few seconds of
study, I saw Xi fully separate into a nice cleanly spaced pair of stars
embraced by mutual diffraction rings. The split was not sustainable
however. Most of the time the two stars were entrained in their outsized
spurious disks. (What I have conventionally described as a "dirty split"
- something more obvious than elongation, but less spectacular than
compete separation.)
Being in a double-star mood, I switched over to Castor. At 120X, the
gap between the 2nd and 3rd magnitude components remained more or less
constant. In fact that gap was greater than the larger of the two
spurious disks. The Pup is a very respectable binary star scope - even as, for
whatever reason, I have yet to get a decent view of Jupiter.
The sky was as dark as it got the whole evening by this time. Clouds
continued to roll in from the northwest. Overhead I could just make out
4.5 magnitude Lambda Leonis. I ventured north, well past 70 Geminorium
to locate the faint group of 8th magnitude stars that share the field
with the Intergalactic Wanderer (NGC2419).
Having precise knowledge of the Wanderer's relationship with three 8
mag field stars made it possible to find it. However, even with the sky
darkening provided by 120X, the Pup was not able to supply enough
contrast for this 10.4 magnitude globular cluster to be held directly. So,
with moderate aversion, the Wanderer revealed itself as a splash of dim
light - but reveal itself it did. The Pup done good!
I spent the next half-hour or so absorbing photons and quietly singing
the few words I can remember - and the many I could make up - of an old
folk song: "I am a weary and a lonesome traveler... I just keep
traveling on." Now everybody sing!
About this time, Praesepe began its descent from the central meridian.
I removed the barlow and dropped down to 40X. Even at 40X, the cluster
spilled outside the 1 1/4 degree field of view. I replaced the 10mm
with the 35mm. At 12X, M44 took up little more than one quarter the field.
In fact, I could also take in the 4th magnitude Gamma and Delta along
with 5th magnitude Nu Cancri.
Praesepe showed perhaps 3 dozen 5th through 10th magnitude stars. (10th
magnitude is a bit of a stretch at 13X for the Pup - especially on a 4.5
night.) In viewing the cluster, I noticed two distinct asterisms. One,
the brighter, gave the appearance of an ellipse oriented east-west. The
other dimmer asterism, looked like a "T" with the top toward the north.
In combination, the two gave the illusion or a "helicopter" of stars.
The helicopter perpetually hovering while pointing to the east between
Gamma and Delta.
Before departing, I setup the 120X combination again. The background
sky darkened up nicely. Far more stars were seen - perhaps doubling the
count. Hundreds of dimmer but imperceptible stars gave the field a rich
and attractive texture.
Clouds continued rolling in in groups. The sky to the north above
Boulder Creek alternately waxed and waned in luminosity. I mapped out a plan
to revisit M81 and M82. I hoped to also catch two NGC galaxies in the
same area - NGCs 2976 and 3077.
I caught the sky just as it was going down for the count. On acquiring
M82, I could instantly see that this near edge on galaxy displayed
luminosity variations along its length. It actually appeared somewhat
battered, kind of scruffy. Just the sort of detail that is interesting to
the eye. Between clouds I noticed the galaxy's northern flank tended to
"bulge" slightly - compared to its more sharply delineated southern
flank. I could also see at least three stars lying right along - or very
near - its lenticular edge. The brightest of these - of magnitude 10, lay
to the west. The galaxy itself seemed to take up a region maybe 2 by 8
arc-minutes. Orientation along the east-west axis. Even with the high
thin clouds (and the Boulder Creek lightdome) I would describe the
galaxy as showing a fair amount of contrast with the sky - however at times
it (and its brighter neighbor - M81) would completely disappear from
view.
Before detailing M82, I had a chance to view the entire region around
M81 and M82 at 12X. The two galaxies - oriented north south - took up
less than 25% of the field. To M82's west (the more northerly of the
pair) I could see 5th magnitude 23 Ursa Majoris. A slightly dimmer 6th
magnitude star lay closer to and west of M81. Several dim "light mounds"
could occasionally be imagined flashing in the same field. It will take a
darker night for me to confirm that any of these were 10.2 - 5x3
arc-minute sized NGC2976 (forming the southern apex of a triangle with M81
and it's westerly 5th magnitude field star) or 9.9 magnitude - 5x4
arc-minute sized NGC3077 (located half a degree southeast of M81). Unless the
night is very dark, I'll probably half to turn this pair up with Argo
first.
M82 did not get a full inspection this evening through the Pup. The sky
collapsed before this was possible. What I did see was perhaps slightly
less intriguing than M81. 82 is larger (10x5 arc-minutes directly
visible), has a bright star-like central core. Displays a continuous
brightness gradient from the center outward. The galaxy orients more or less
north and south and presents itself as elliptical in shape.
I did notice one peculiarity about M82. It seemed to me that the large,
bright core region has a halo. The halo extends primarily to the east
and easily doubles the size of the galaxy. Unlike Argo however, M82 did
not give a sense of "spiraliscity" through the Pup - regardless of how
much I flitted about the field of view.
The Pup's OTA and mount are now joined. He stands tall and ready for
his next night out. I find myself enjoying backyard outings with him.
The refractor's optics display excellent wide-field views. This enables
me to expand my "contextual sense" of the sky. Without the Pup to the
kit, clusters like Praesepe, the Pleiades, and the Double Cluster in
Perseus could not fit within a single telescopic field. A second scope of
smaller aperture also help's you appreciate the extra reach and detail
of a larger scope. Finally, the Pup allows me to test out my eyepieces
and other accessories on a second OTA. Tonight, for instance, I took the
opportunity to confirm that issues associated with Argo have more to do
with astigmatic 35mm Ultrascopic eyepiece elements than with Argo
itself.
Here's looking through you, Pup.
|
Observer: | jeff barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | www.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/astro/ |
Date and time of Observation: | Wednesday, March 14, 2001, 8:00 - 9:30 PST |
Observing Location: | Backyard, Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | M41&50, NGC2237, 2244, 2316? |
Viewing conditions: | Transparency: 5.0 ULTM, Stability: 5/10 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 25/9mm Plossls with 25mm Ultrascopic plus OIII Filter and 3x Ultrascopic Barlow |
Observing notes: |
Some evenings it's not always possible to
pack up Argo and venture to exotic locales (like Boulder Creek
Elementary School). On such evenings, when I time-share with other duties (like
putting on my superperson costume and saving the world), I still like
to take out a scope and "poke around". Since adding the Pup to the
toolkit, I find it even easier to squeeze in a few moments of observation
between other activities. Such was the case this evening...
Though tonight was "unscheduled uptime", I still felt the need to catch
up on my observation plan. Despite the fact that good progress has been
made since the weather broke last week, I'm still behind by two weeks.
"Two weeks" you say, "Ah that's nothing. I've got DSO's on my list from
two years ago I still haven't turned up!" Well such may be the case,
but I'm kind of sensitive about this sort of thing. You see, I'm a big
believer in the idea of tackling no more than you can and doing whatever
is possible to see it through - in a more or less timely fashion. This
quaint idea is my own failing, and I have no intent of foisting it on
my fellow astronomers.
So tonight I reviewed the "100mm and under" lists from Deepsky Objects
by Optimal Aperture and found a few gems to uncover I had yet to find
with Argo. During a previous session, I had also penciled in the Pup for
a look at the Rosette Nebula around NGC2244. At that time, it was
obvious that the Rosette was visible in Argo. However, it spilled so far out
of the 50X field of view that I could make no contextual sense of it.
(You see there are five senses plus the contextual sense, and I really
depend on my contextual sense!) Finally I thought it might be fun to try
and hunt down something really difficult, so I added nebula NGC2316 to
the shortlist just for giggles. (2316 lies very close to open cluster
M50 in Monoceros.)
The evening started with a quick check of the planets. Again, like a
previous outing with the Pup: Two belts on Jupiter. Cassini on the
margin, Titan, but no equatorial belt on Saturn.
NGC2244 is an easy find just south of 5th magnitude 13 Monoceri. At
16X, the easily recognized "irregular rectangle" of bright 7th magnitude
members leaped to eye. A star count showed slightly more than a dozen
7th to 10th magnitude stars. Most of these near the 6 star rectangle that
is 2244's most distinctive feature. (A few outliers were also visible
to the northeast and southwest.)
Rosette was coy and remained out of sight. The background sky, though
reasonably dark to the eye (regional limiting magnitude 4.5+), appeared
characteristically deep-blue in the 3 degree field. I installed the
25mm Ultrascopic with OIII filter in tactical response. The sky responded
by taking on a rich indigo-black matt finish. Rosette slowly made her
entrance - and what an "entrancing" beauty she is! Subtle too! I had to
play the old swami trick with a towel, whilst comfortably settling in
on an observing stool before her diaphanous details would emerge.
Rosette shows three main "lobes" of luminosity. The brightest and
largest lies north of 2244. In fact, the narrow end of 2244's rectangle
points directly toward the brightest point of the northern lobe. Two other
lobes were also visible. These were inferior to the northern lobe in
luminosity and size. Rosette extends well over one degree of the sky.
North lobe makes up about a third of this expanse. The others extend out
about as far, but begin more than half-way out from the center of the
cluster. Initially, I thought the lobe to the west-southwest was brighter
and larger than that of the east. Later, I wasn't as sure. In switching
to 44X, I found that I could discern nebulosity with and without the
OIII filter. The number of stars visible in 2244 doubled from that seen
using the 25mm 16X Plossl (no OII filter). I also noticed a large
triangular shaped region of more than a dozen stars pointing at the rectangle
from the west. (The rectangle appears to balance on this triangle!
.) The most interesting thing about the 44X view was the fact that very
little of the Rosette is susceptible to the eye near the rectangle.
This makes it quite easy to detect the Rosette whenever visible since all
you do is view the rectangular region, get a sense of how dark it is,
then sweep to the north and look for any grayscaling of the sky in that
direction. The contrast is immediate and unmistakable. Why even the Pup
could show it! And in thinking back, Argo showed it too.
M41, just south of Sirius was next on the evening's list. I had
observed M41 late last autumn through Argo. (At that time I could make out
several hundred stars within the 50X 1 degree field.) The cluster easily
caught my attention in the 16X Plossl. The central region is
significantly larger than the rectangular region of 2244. This appears as an
oblate sphere oriented northwest to southeast. It takes up about 1/10th of
the 16X field. Perhaps 3 dozen stars were detectable ranging from the
7th to 9th magnitude. Another two dozen stars could be seen outside the
core. These arrayed themselves to the northwest, southeast and
southwest. The northwest and southwest groups extended out like scarab legs from
the body of the cluster and trailed back to the rear (northeast). The
southwestern group extended straight ahead and more or less guided the
group across the sky to the west. In fact the cluster looks like some
ancient glyph written across the sky, (perhaps signifying some deeply!
esoteric experience of the mysteries of life and death). Needless to
say I missed all this when observing the cluster through Argo. At that
time all I could think of was "My God, its full of stars!". At 44X, the
central part of the cluster becomes almost "globular". Several great
arcs of stars could be seen swinging around in a counterclockwise
direction. (CCW in the Pup anyway.) The number of stars doubled at 44x, as
once again increaed magnification bled luminosity out of the sky and
dimmer 10 - 1).5 magnitude stars showed themselves. At 16X, a pair of stars
at the center of the cluster seemed to claim the view. At 44X, these
stars lost focus and the sense of depth implied by the great arcs became
far more salient to the eye and imagination.
M50 in Monoceros, north and east of Sirius is the perfect object for an
80mm scope. It can just be detected as a swatch of light in the 6x26
finderscope. Turning to the main tube at 16X, a small, elongated
scintillation in the field captures the eye immediately. At 44X, a half-dozen
stars in a similar field can be caught with averted vision. It is only
at 132X that M50's clusterlike nature can be confirmed. And this only at
the price of great concentration by the observer. M50 is probably
better suited to 100mm scopes, but in my estimation, on a reasonably dark
night (ZULTM=5.0) it can be observed to satisfaction in a three inch
refractor with fine optics.
Members of M50 begin at about magnitude 9.5 and go on down from there.
The Pup probably showed about 2 dozen stars, few of which could be
directly acquired without bowing out. The main group of stars is quite
globular in appearance. At 132X that globularity appears encased in a
triangle. The triangle fills about one-half the field of view. The core, at
half that size, is displaced to the north. One tip of the triangle
leads the cluster across the sky. Trailing this assemblage, just outside
the 132 X field, is a blue 7.5 magnitude field star.
About one degree north and slightly west of M50 is reputed to be a very
small reflecting nebula. Having finished my planned observations, I
made several forays to this locale from M50. Each foray revealed objects
that might be classified under the technical rubric "imaginosity".
However, I did keep returning to a single spot where I could just detect a
flash of dim, blue fuzzy light - much like a planetary nebula. I
inspected this spot using magnifications of 44 and 132X, with and without an
OIII filter. Nothing definitive, but I suspect that Argo could probably
prove this out, one way or another. If in fact 2316 was found, then
basically, an 11th magnitude nebula was revealed by a scope that can show
10.3 magnitude stars under 4.5 local ULTM transparency.
Starts you thinking that aperture fever is an affliction of the
challenge-impaired doesn't it?
Comment: Don't let them Big Dobs intimidate you!
Comment: Clear and Steady!
|
Observer: | jeff barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | www.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/astro/ |
Date and time of Observation: | March 12, 2001 / 7:00 - 9:30 PST |
Observing Location: | Backyard, Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | Planets, M1, M35, M78, NGC1499, NGC2071 |
Viewing conditions: | Transparency: 5.5 ZULTM, Stability: 6/10 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 25/9mm Plossls with 25mm Ultrascopic plus OIII Filter and 3x Ultrascopic Barlow |
Observing notes: |
There are limits. Yesterday I hit one. The
sky was impossibly transparent, dry and even reasonably still
concurrently. The moon had vacated the evening sky. A subtle, extended nebula
I'd been seeking for several months suddenly materialized before my
amazed perception. Extremely dim planetary nebulae in foreign regions of the
sky were detectable even at low magnifications. The rush was
necessarily going to catch up with me. So despite continued excellent skies, I
took the evening off from serious observing and "loafed" with the Pup.
Even so, I did cover two new finds from my observing plan - M35 in Gemini
and NGC1499 in Perseus.
I keep hoping that the key to the planets will reveal itself to the
Pup. With such fine optics it should be able to reveal at least the macro
features on Jupiter along with Saturn's Cassini's Division and
equatorial belt. Well, this evening a start was made. Cassini was detectable -
if only after diligent, patient waiting. And the equatorial band was
more or less steadily acquired. But to be honest, it really surprises me
that such a modestly apertured scope can be so adversely impacted by
the seeing. But nevertheless this appears to be so. The Pup likes things
to settle down before he will show you much of the planets. And tonight
things were better...
Jupiter was another matter. Again, the Pup revealed nothing more than
the two equatorial belts - and this without elaboration. No NTB.
Certainly no STB. Sure Jupiter appears obviously oblate, and the polar regions
darken perceptibly to their respective poles. But that's it. Maybe one
day the Pup will grow up and act like a true refractor. Until then, I
expect that Argo will continue to offer up its extremely tantalizingly
blend of almost but not quite amazing planetary detail.
A few days ago the Moon was trying to play Sun with the night sky, At
that time I attempted to turn up both M1 and M78 with the Pup. At best,
I caught a pair of diffuse, and unconfirmable "light mounds". Tonight,
under the dark skies of the evening, both these fine nebulae were easy
to find at 16x and quite susceptible to detailed examination at 44X. Of
the two, M1 gave the better view. M1's core was definitely brighter
than its frontier. There was also an indefinable sense of "dssolution" at
the limits. Frankly I don't remember it looking quite this well-defined
in Argo - but it's likely that my skills as an observer have improved
since I last viewed it. Certainly I've had to track down objects far
closer to the limit of susecptibility. This can't help but improve the
eye.
In Orion, the larger M78 and the more subtle NGC2071 were both obvious
nebulosities. M78 had the typical "flaring" tendency under averted
vision that I'd seen in Argo last night. However, it's northern edge was
not quite so well defined. Argo did a fine job of distinguishing NGC2071
to the eye. Both Argo and the Pup suffer from atmospheric "star haze",
but I get a sense that the Pup does a slightly better job of informing
the eye when it comes across any nebulosity within its reach.
Tonight was dark enough to make a serious run on NGC1499 - the
California Nebula. I'd like to say the view was so obvious that I could
actually make out the Monterey Bay Area - now said, it just isn't true. 1499
is very large and probably has a cumulative magnitude comparable to M1
and M78 - objects less than 1/100 it's surface area. It is an extremely
tough catch for any telescope which lacks the chemistry or CCD memory
needed to accumulate photons. (If only the eye had such a capacity!)
Despite this, the Pup did rather well. All I had to do was: 1. Install the
OIII filter in the 25mm Ultrascopic eyepiece. 2. Place an eyepatch over
my left eye so I could leave it open comfortably. 3. Drape a towel over
my head to block stray light from the street and neighborhood lighting.
4. Insert the 25mm with OIII filter into the star diagonal. 5. Orient
the 16X, 3 degree field of the scope on Xi Persei. 6. Settle in on an
observing chair and allow myself to completely relax. After a whil!
e, this was followed by 7. A subtle sheen of light centered about 1
degree north and less than half a degree east of Xi. The sheen was perhaps
15 arc minutes in diameter and trailed off into a rather large
rectangular region of "grayscale" against a more or less velvety black sky. The
grayscale itself was occasionally bisected by dark sky given a divided
appearance. The whole thing oriented north-northwest by
south-southeast. It was impossible to see anything like this without the OIII filter,
so along with the eye patch, the rich-field scope, the towel, and a
dark night, you also have to spring the $100 for the filter to get the
view. Better yet, go on the web and enjoy the astrophotos posted by
various amateurs.
Before viewing the California Nebula, I looked up one other first-find
object - M35 in Gemini. M35 is very large - in fact it appeared much
larger than the half-degree assigned to it by those in the know. It's
likely that many of the stars surrounding it are line of sight. It looked
rather like a "three in one" kind of object. First there was a number
of distant outlying stars - most within 45 arc-minutes of what should
have been the clusters core. Then there was a "smaller" 45 arc-minute
sized region that gave the vague impression of a spinning top or a tudor
rose. Finally within this region and offset to the east, was a small
group of very dim stars arrayed over perhaps fifteen arc-minutes of space.
In all I could see perhaps fifty 7 to 10 magnitude stars at 44X. The
"cluster within cluster" region contained about a dozen 10th and 11th
magnitude stars.
The clear dark skies over the last few nights have reinforced the
notion that seeing conditions are perhaps the most important determinant of
the quality of the observing experience. Several nights ago, the Pup's
three inches of aperture were pitifully inadequate to the task of
definitively locating two celestial objects discovered by a Frenchman with a
twenty-five foot long, similarly-apertured, poorly figured, refractor
telescope two centuries ago. Tonight, under very good conditions, these
same objects could be plucked out of the night sky at the lowest
possible magnification and yielded up distinct hints of shape and surface
morphology at a mere 44X. Such nights as this (and the last) may not be
counted on. If they could, it is likely that we mortal's would simply
take them for granted. Since they are rare, and despite my weariness, I
just had to get out and make an honest effort at enjoying them.
Comment: Clear and Steady!
|
Observer: | jeff barbour |
E-mail address: | barbour@ihwy.com |
Web site: | www.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/astro/ |
Date and time of Observation: | Friday, March 9, 2001 7:00 - 10:30PST |
Observing Location: | Backyard, Boulder Creek |
Object Observed: | Sirius, M42, M43, NGC1981, Zeta Orionis, Pleiades, Hyades, M1, M36, M37, M38, Castor |
Viewing conditions: | Moon Limited Transparency: < 4.0 ULTM, Stability: 5/10 |
Telescope | 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor with Equatorial Mount |
Eyepiece | 25/9mm Plossls with 25mm Ultrascopic plus OIII Filter and 3x Ultrascopic Barlow |
Observing notes: |
The sky in Scotts Valley appeared very
promising when I headed home from work around 5:00 this evening. Even
before arriving in Boulder Creek however, I could see the usual pattern of
"good weather / bad weather" playing out. Boulder Creek is located in
the mountains north of Santa Cruz, California and somewhat north and west
of Scotts Valley (where I work). During winter, the town is a magnet
for precipitation. And where there's rain, there's clouds.
This evening's broken sky gave little sign of clearing. I waited till
6:00 PM before making the decision not to drive Argo (a 150mm
Maksutov-Cassegrain) to China Ridge. Last night I made that same trip on
speculation - it didn't pan out. So on getting home, I left everything packed
in anticipation of the next good night. At that time, I mentally
committed myself to spend more time with the Pup (an 80mm Synta manufactured
Orion B&T ShortTube Achromatic Refractor). This basically meant that I
would do most of my backyard observing using the Pup while taking Argo
to exotic locales (like China Ridge).
The fact that I'm just beginning to put the Pup through its paces means
I get to be a little more intelligent about my observing plan. Argo's
observing plan shows very little sign of real intelligence. It came
together before I developed the mathematical algorithms needed to calculate
whether or not a particular object can actually be "found" and
"gainfully observed". Based on experiences with Argo, I developed programs used
to bin DSO's by aperture. Although Argo can find objects optimized for
scopes twice it's aperture, unless I already know how to find these
objects, the attempt can be sheer torture. We'll come back to this
later...
I started the evening by "star testing" the Pup. To do this requires a
bright star (Sirius in this case), high magnification, and a relatively
stable sky. At 400mm focal length, the best combination available to me
is a 9mm Plossl conjoined with an Ultrascopic barlow in 3x
configuration. This delivers about 130X. Pretty low for a star test. But enough to
show that the Pup displays a multiplicity of perfectly concentric
a-focal rings bearing an identical (but chromatically tinged) signature inside and outside focus. Except for the chromatic aberration, the Pup
effectively exceeds the optical quality of big brother Argo (1/6th wave
rated 150mm MCT). Not bad for an OTA that costs less than 250 dollars American.
After completing the star test, I threaded an OIII filter into the 9mm
Plossl and inspected Sirius. No doubt about it, the size of Sirius'
spurious disk is significantly reduced by the filter. This suggests that
star Sirius B could conceivably be revealed to the lucky user of an
optically correct 8 inch scope with OIII filter on a clear and stable
night. (I only saw Sirius B in my imagination using the Pup this evening.
I'm sure if the Pup were in geo-stationary orbit it could make out Sirius
B - but only without the OIII filter.)
Sadly, Orion is now rapidly leaving for points west. So to catch it
before it's disappearance, I quickly turned the Pup on the Hunter's sword
and centered The Great Nebula in the 132X OIII field of view. Superb!
Even with the sky visibly moon washed, I was able to see tenuous folds
and rifts. Surprisingly, the darkness cliff west of the Trapezium was
directly detected. The Trapezium displayed all four main stars. To the
north and east, nebula M43 was easily made out. Further north, the four
star arch embedded in bright nebulae NGC 1973-5-7 was also visibly
entangled. Above that, "Pi"-shaped cluster NGC1981 showed about a dozen 6
through 10th magnitude stars, a subtle hint of nebula enshrouded all its
members.
Removing the OIII filter and migrating further north, Zeta Orionis was
quite obviously elongated. At times I could just make out a
"dirty-split" between it's 2.5 arc-second, 2nd and 6th magnitude components. (It's
more distant 9.3 magnitude come near the limit of susceptibility).
Installing the OIII filter in the 25mm (with 3x barlow ep - 44X), three
faint regions of nebulosity, south, southeast, and west of Zeta were
hinted at. The regions southeast and west were more or less circular, but
still undefined "light mounds" while that to the south was long and
linear. Not enough contrast to make out anything like a dark horsehead.
I continued my journey north (but east too) to M78. Here's where I
first started to notice the big difference between Argo and the Pup. The
Pup just doesn't have the reach. It was very hard to even find the stars
making up "the Kingfisher" asterism I use to locate M78. Unlike
nebulosity in Orion's Sword, that of M78 was not obvious. Unlike nebulosity
near Zeta, M78 was at least verifiable.
Throughout this series, clouds rolled in from south and west. I would
then have to break off observing for awhile. By the time I turned up
M78, the clouds really spilled over and I carried the scope (one handedly
at that) to a more advantageous backyard location. Even still, there
was a wait until Saturn and Jupiter emerged from behind a bank of clouds.
Using 132X, I made a quick check of Saturn. Not good. The 150mm gives a
better view of the Encke Minima on a good night than the Pup gave of
Cassini on this fair night. At least there was visible space between the
planet and the rings - the south equatorial belt was missing and there
was no sense of clarity and sharpness to Saturn's bearing. Jupiter
fared little better, substituting the two equatorial belts for Saturn's single ring. OK, so enough of the planets - they belong to Argo anyway.
The Moon was now about a third of the way up the sky to the southeast.
I concentrated on a lowering Taurus and Auriga in the northwest. My
first look was M45. The Pleiades are an example of the kind of deepsky
object the Pup excels at. Lot's of bright stars spread over a 2 plus
degree field, embroiled in low surface brightness nebulosity. Tonight,
however, between the brilliant moon and Boulder Creek lightdome, there was
no suggestion of nebulosity. The stars were bright, but backdropped by a
deep blue - not indigo black - sky. One thing I did notice (something
that is beyond Argo due to its narrower field of view) is the central
position that 3rd magnitude Alcyone takes in the cluster.
With Argo, I'd never go near the Hyades. Even with the Pup it is not
possible (even at 16x) to fit all its member stars into a single field.
However, I was able to get a sense of how this brightly scattered
cluster is arrayed. The center is dominated by a pair of almost matched 4th
magnitude stars. East of this pair is an arrowhead comprised of six 5th
and 6th magnitude stars. The point of the arrowhead faces even further
east but slightly south of Aldebaran "the Hindmost". Under tonight's
sky the Pup caught perhaps three dozen stars arrayed round about the
arrowhead asterism.
Moving on, I made several passes at getting a decent look at M1 (the
Crab Nebula). Basically the results were about the same as M78.
Definitely present, but indefinable, and small mound of light. Increasing
magnification to 132X did nothing to improve the view whatsoever.
Moving on, I hoped to get some comparo views of the Aurigaean clusters
M36-38. These are all mid-sized cumulative 6th magnitude groups of
stars competing against an excess of moonlight. I was able to find two of
them relatively easily. M36 and M38 both revealed themselves as star
clusters to this aperture - even under less than ideal conditions. M37 was
another example of a "light mound" hovering on the border of
susceptibility. Both the visible clusters showed about a dozen stars. Strangely
(as compared to Wednesday when I turned Argo on this trio) there was no
advantage to going to higher magnifications. (Argo practically doubled
the star count going from 50X to 180X).
I finished up with a quick check of Castor. Easy, clean, beautiful
split of two closely matched less than 3.0 magnitude stars separated by
about 4 arc-seconds. No test whatsoever for this scope...
So now, the Pup has proved himself a worthy addition. It now joins Argo
in the rotation. The Pup gets to stick around the house while Argo goes
on the road. The Pup will also bear a lighter load of deepsky objects.
I will make no appointments with objects beyond his reach. I'll stick
pretty close to the 4 inch scope list. And if the Pup is real good,
he'll get to go to public star parties and wow everyone with his unique
ability to show great gulps of the starry expanse of the heavens all at
once. Onward and upward!
|
Observer: | James Turley, Jamie Turley (9) |
Date and time of Observation: | 5 Sep 2000, 2030 PDT - 2200 PDT |
Observing Location: | Saratoga, CA 37.270072, -122.025586 |
Object Observed: | The Moon |
Viewing conditions: |
Lunar Seeing: 8/10 transparency, 8/10 steadiness Limiting Mag: 5+ Temp/Humid: 58F 62% |
Telescope | Orion Short Tube 80mm |
Eyepiece | Meade 2000 9.5mm Plossl |
Observing notes: |
Atlas: Rukl, Atlas of the Moon, Sections 5, 12 and 13
EQUIPMENT NOTE:
Purchased a ST80 from the Orion parking lot sale in Watsonville last month.
Newly sealed factory boxed, with inverted finder 7x50, $158 OTA only.
Mainly as a Grab 'N Go for my son (9) who is showing a lot of interest, especially the "hardware" aspects of Astronomy.
I mounted the ST80 on a new super light super sturdy Bogen Carbon One 440
tripod with 3130 Micro Fluid Video Head with Quick Release. Quick Release plate attached well to the 1/4-20 bracket on the OTA. The PolyCarbonate material
is light and diamond hard. Can you make an OTA out of this stuff? It's amazing. Expensive though. I think about
USD $280 for the tripod only.
This mount/head setup provides exceptional stability with minimum weight. Rigidity is superb. The fluid head provides
butter smooth Alt/Az star hopping. OTA, head and tripod weigh less than 8 pounds, with EP's and Diagonal, and Finder.
A true GrabNGo for my kid. The Pan Head is great for tracking and hopping.
ST80 LUNAR OBSERVATION
Under clear and polluted steady night skies. I grabbed the assembled
rig from our living room. Knocked down the tripod legs and set up on my front sidewalk in a garden chair. Rukl at hand on a TV Dinner tray.
The First Quarter Moon shining clear 3 degrees NW of red Antares.
First Impression was typical Achromat Green Chroma on edges. Very thin, no other color. Earlier, the Achro
Venus test showed moderate flaring, with little or no green chroma.
Seeing was exceptionally clear and bright. Tonight I decided to introduce Jamie to Cassini and
the Lunar Alps. He loves Rukl, after I promoted him to Navigator on our last trip to Yosemite
together. He now want me to drive him to the moon, so he can navigate with Rukl.
The Terminator touched the Eastern side of Aristillus, its floor in complete shadow.
Above, Vallis Alpes was in high relief, its floor completely in shadow, but upper walls shining.
A gash through the mountains. Jamie asks how was it made. Hmm.....
Mons Blanc (3600m) casts a long shadow. Hey, that's as high as the top of Emmigrant Lift
at Squaw Valley. The Western Escarpment of the Lunar Alps in clear relief.
Cassini was stunning. Central A crater completely illuminated. B in shadow. Theaetetus, a black dot.
Calippus, rimmed by the high peaks of the Lunar Caucasus was in full shadow, edges shining. Jamie was
able to describe the tiny Rima Calippus. "Dad, what is the little curved line below the crater?"
I've been trying to teach him to slow down and spend more time in the EP. He usually looks
for about 3 sec, and says "cool". Lately, I've been asking him to describe what he sees, to
develop his observing vocabulary, and train him to absorb the image slowly. Next,
I'll encourage him to write down his seeing of each feature (coupled with some reward,
of course).
He loves his ST80. Shows all of his friends. Drags the scope out to see the moon in the
day time as they scooter past the house. (Scooters are big around here).
Jamie identifies Eudoxus, but can't pronounce it. Calls it Exodus. ST80 can
tease out the collapsed walls and even tiny Lamech.
The ST80 performance as a moon scope is impressive. Coupled with its short tube,
light weight making for easy slewing, this scope makes an ideal kid's scope, and a
great Adult Moon Scope. APO purists will be annoyed by Green Ring, of course.
But..my kid thinks it's cool!
Jim Turley |
Observer: | David Knisely |
Date and time of Observation: | August 30th, 2000, 0400 to 0630 hrs UTC. |
Observing Location: | Rockford Lake, Nebr. 40.227N, 96.581W, 1400 ft (427m) elevation. |
Object Observed: | Various deep sky objects |
Viewing conditions: | Mostly clear (patchy high cirrus), Temp. 78F, Wind S at 15 mph. UNAIDED EYE LIMITING MAGNITUDE: 6.4 |
Telescope | Celestron 80mm f/5 Wide Angle Spotting Scope |
Eyepiece |
Orion's (U.S.) 30mm Ultrascopic (13x, 3.7 degree field without the filter, 3.5 degrees with a filter), University Optics 24mm Koenig (17x, 3.5 degree true field), 18mm Orthoscopic (22x), Meade's 14mm Ultrawide (the "Glass Hand Grenade", 29x, 2.9 degree true field), 10mm Orion Ultrascopic (40x, 1.2 degree true field), Meade's 6.4mm Super-Plossl (63x, 0.8 degree true field), TeleVue 2.5x Powermate image amplifier to get the 156x with the 6.4mm eyepiece. |
Observing notes: |
After attending the recap of the 7th annual Nebraska Star Party
at our astronomy club meeting, a friend of mine and I got something to eat at
Village Inn and then noticed that the sky was actually fairly clear for once
(forest fire haze did not completely gunk things over). I didn't feel like
loading up the ten inch as the sky didn't look outstanding, so once we got
home, I just grabbed my 80mm f/5 Celestron Wide Field and my eyepiece case
for a quick trip to Rockford Lake and a little wide-field work. It was still
pretty humid (the 14mm Ultrawide fogged over a bit after I opened the case),
so the transparency wasn't all that hot. Still, after the last few weeks of
really gunky skies, I wasn't going to let that stop me. That little 80mm f/5
scope is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine, as its wide field and pin-point
star images make it a fine performer. I still haven't gotten a decent mount
built for it, so I had to suffer with the little rickety camera tripod I use
for shooting stuff off of my computer screen. I also had to do a little
neck straining near the zenith, as I am still using the Amici prism erect
diagonal instead of a regular star diagonal. Our first target was M24 (one
of the few objects in the southwest which was out of some local gunk). With
the 30mm Ultrascopic, it just glittered with stars, nicely framed in the 3.7
degree field of view. Indeed, going up and down the Milky Way at only 13x
was a wonderful experience, even with the slight haze. In particular, the
Scutum star cloud showed wonderful patchy dark detail, mainly in the form of
a dark curving lane in the eastern half (B.114-7 and B.118), and the dramatic
dark dropoff west of the cloud (B.102). I also noted M11 sitting like a
glittering diamond near the northeast end of the star cloud and M26 off the
southwest side. We stopped for a quick look at the Coathanger, and it
appeared much more striking that it had from my driveway a few weeks earlier
just after I had gotten the scope, showing many fainter stars in the field.
I decided to play "name that object" with my friend, so I put in the UHC
filter and centered M27 in the scope. He had no idea what he was looking at,
since at only 13x and with the filter, the outer "wings" off the sides of
the dumbbell make the object look like an oval ball rather than a dumbell. It
took a bit higher power before he finally recognized it. Without the filter
the dumbell form was fairly easy to notice, with the wings being quite faint.
We also looked at the Veil with the OIII, and both main arcs were fairly easy
to see, although they weren't all that bright. The western arc (NGC 6960)
seemed a bit brighter around the star 52 Cyg than the average brightness of
the eastern arc (NGC 6992-5), but the eastern one seemed a bit easier to
notice initially, with its strongly curved irregular form. Between the two
arcs was the much fainter large triangular patch of NGC 6979, which surprised
me a bit, as at NSP, I hadn't noticed it in the 80mm. I could just fit all
three areas of nebulosity in a 3.5 degree field. From there, I pushed the 80mm
up towards the zenith to have a look at the North America Nebula. It showed
its full form rather well, but was slightly brighter and better in the UHC than
in the OIII filter. Sweeping through central Cygnus was a joy, and in some ways,
this star field is better than many of the Sagittarius fields.
Aquarius was high in the south, so that meant it was time to look up the Helix NGC 7293. It
was just visible in the 80mm's 6x30 finder as a very faint diffuse patch, with
the scope itself showing a somewhat easier round diffuse fuzzy patch. The
OIII filter immediately brought out hints of its structure at 13x, but it took
17x and the OIII to get its ring form to show up very well. We used up to 40x
on it, but due to the shaky tripod, it was better at 29x with the Meade Ultrawide
and the OIII. The UHC helped it stand out somewhat as well, but the OIII was the
clear winner here.
Swinging around to the east, I took a nice long look at
M31. Even at only 13x, the galaxy was quite nice, showing the faint curving
arcs of the outer arm structure. However, the galaxy seemed to actually look
a bit better at 17x in the 24mm Koenig, with hints of one of the dark lanes
just west of the central core region. Both M32 and NGC 205 stood out much better
with just a bit more magnification, and employing the "Glass Hand Grenade"
(Meade 14mm Ultrawide) gave the best view, with M31 filling the field nicely
at 29x (2.9 degree field). Going over to M33, I did note it easily, but again,
to see much in the way of detail required somewhat more power. The 14mm Ultrawide
again gave a nice view, showing the slightly brighter core and patchy outer haze.
Indeed, part of the northern arm was visible at times, with the southern side showing
two or three dim patches in a very diffuse haze. From there, I went over to east
of Gamma Andromeda, and just for fun, tried to track down the galaxy NGC 891, an
edge-on spiral. Surprisingly, the object did just barely show up as a very faint
tiny streak running roughly north-south, framed between a couple of faint stars
in the 24mm Koenig. I might have to try this one sometime in a pair of 11x80 binoculars!
The double cluster was staring me in the face, so I swung the 80mm over to it. As usual
they were spectacular, but surprisingly, both clusters seem to have a faint rich outer
halo of very faint stars which extends well beyond their usual apparent limits seen at
higher power. It almost seemed that the halo stars got fainter as you looked farther
out towards the edges of the haloes. In fact, the outer halos seem to make the two
clusters appear to be almost touching each other, with their long diameters being
around 0.5 degree or perhaps a bit more. I had never noticed this before when using
larger apertures, but again, I had never been able to examine them at fields much
larger than a degree. This little 80mm scope is a real winner in my book!
Seeing how well things were working, I decided to go after a faint "challenge"
object; the large diffuse nebula and star cluster IC 1396 in Cepheus. It was faint
but fairly easy to find, as it extends south from the red star Mu Cephei. With the
UHC in the 30mm, the object was simply huge! The brightest portion is immediately
south of Mu, but there is an even more noticeable dark lane running in from the north
side, where it narrows and curves to the west. Several other dark patches could be
seen in the interior of the nebula, with hints of other broad lane-like structures.
The south edge is rather diffuse, and the entire object seemed to fill nearly the entire
3.5 degree field. The star fields here are very rich, making for a pleasing view.
With this success, I tried another challenge; the California Nebula
NGC 1499 in Perseus. It was visible at 13x with the UHC filter, but was
quite faint, appearing as a large elongated diffuse fuzzy area running roughly
east-west. The H-beta filter helped somewhat more, bringing out a few hints of
detail in the interior, but the object remained faint and not nearly as impressive
as IC 1396 had been.
With the Pleiades high in the east, I thought it was time to take a look at
probably the most impressive object the 80mm Wide Field scope will show. As usual,
the cluster was wonderful, but I wanted to see what the 14mm "Glass Hand Grenade"
would do to it. I had looked at M45 from my driveway with the 14mm with the moon
in the sky, so I expected the usual pinpoint images in a black background. However,
one look made me quickly examine the 14mm to see if it had fogged over, as the
brightest stars all had faint diffuse haloes around them. The eyepiece was fine,
so I looked at all the other components to see where the fogging seemed to be, but
everything looked clear. To check on whether it was the sky doing the fogging, I
pushed the scope over to the Perseus OB Association, but didn't see any haloes
there, or on bright stars nearer to the Pleiades. I went back to the cluster,
and then noticed that Merope had a faint diffuse fan of light heading off in
exactly the RIGHT DIRECTION! The scope wasn't fogged at all! I was seeing
nebulosity around the 4 bright stars in the "bowl" of the Pleiades! Atlas and
Pleione showed only a slight glow around them, but the nebulosity around
Merope, Alcyone, and Maia was unmistakable with a very faint glowing background
through much of the group. Any "fogging" of the group was being caused by
something over 400 light years away, so I guess there wasn't too much I could
do about it! A few clouds began to drift in, so I finished things off with
Jupiter and Saturn. Even at 40x, it was obvious that seeing wasn't all that
good, as the limb of the planet was shimmering a bit. Only 3 moons were visible
at low power, with Ganymede to the east, and Europa and Callisto hugging the
planet's disk (IO was in transit). 63x showed the two equatorial belts, but
seeing was rapidly deteriorating. Saturn was a little higher, and showed the
rings well, but with the wind and at 156x, the scope was bouncing way to much
to get a decent view, so we packed it in. Still, I can't wait until later this
fall, when the winter Milky Way gets into prime viewing position for my little
80mm gem.
Clear skies to you.
David Knisely
|
Observer: | Jerome Lawrence |
E-mail address: | rehling@cogsci.indiana.edu |
Date and time of Observation: | |
Object observed: | The Planets |
Viewing conditions: | Good |
Telescope | 80mm refractor |
Observing notes: |
I have a 3 inch refractor and found Mars at opposition to be a
fascinating object. Two dark spots (Acidalia and Syrtis Major) are
fairly easy to see and by watching the planet over a period of days or
hours, you can acquire an awareness of which way Mars is oriented, in
terms of rotation, even when you're not looking at it. Other than the
GRS, this is unprecedented among the planets.
I find even a distant Mars a more interesting object than
almost anything else in the sky. It's quite colorful. Uranus (which
never shows detail, of course, without something like the Hubble or
Keck) is very similar in that regard.
I have never felt sure that I have seen the GRS (through my
scope) or the Cassini Division, but quite easily see that Saturn has a
pale equatorial band. That was an exciting observation because I
didn't expect it.
I've also seen Neptune (a blue point, again unusually
colorful). Rhea is right at the threshold of what I have been able to
make out. I think I see it, but it may be imagination, when I know
that I *should* be able to see it.
Cheers,
-JAR
|
Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com/ |
Date and time of Observation: | 21 May 1999 (UTC) |
Objects observed: | Mostly Open Clusters |
Viewing conditions: | Seeing: 5/10. Transparency: magnitude 5.5 at zenith. |
Telescope | Orion ShortTube 80mm Refractor |
Eyepiece | 30mm Celestron Ultima, 11mm Tele Vue Plossl, Ultima 2x Barlow |
Observing notes: |
I set up the ST80 right at the edge of the
woods on the north side of my property to provide the best possible
view to the south. Even so, anything south of approximately -5 declination
was blocked by trees. Got to do someything about that!
In the notes that follow, "OC" is the abbreviation for "open cluster."
Most of the objects I observe with the ST80 are open clusters.
As usual, I used the 30mm Ultima (13x) as my "finder." The first target
was globular cluster M5, just two eyepiece fields from alpha Serpentis.
It is a large fuzzball in the ST80, with tempting hints of resolution
around the edges. I had a long (for me) list of objects tonight, so I
didn't tarry here.
Moving into Ophiuchus, the first stop was IC 4665, an open cluster with
15-20 apparent members. Most were magnitude 7 and 8, with a few fainter
stars glimmering in and out of view. It was a nice field at low power.
About 4 degrees due south lay Cr 350, an OC whose appearance in the
ST80 can best be described as "sparse." Perhaps a half dozen member stars
were readily apparent, that's all.
I next scanned through Mel 186, an OC centered on 67 Ohiuchi. It's a
huge cluster, 4 degrees in extent, and it appears no different to me from
any other star field in the area. I can only assume that careful study
has shown that stars in this area lie at similar distances and share
similar proper motions. There's nothing in the eyepiece that suggests
they are related.
NGC 6633 was next. It's yet another OC, and a nice one. It consists of
a rich, compact grouping of about 20 stars, dominated by a few 8th and
9th magnitude stars, with a spray of 10 more stars spilling out to the
east.
Just 3 degrees away is IC 4756, another bright OC comprised of dozens
of mostly 8th and 9th magnitude stars. Dozens more members were on the
edge of visibility in the ST80, popping in and out of view as I scanned
the field of view.
Planetary nebula NGC 6572 was nearby, so I took a look at 73x. At the
location shown in SkyMap Pro, I saw what appeared to be a 10th magnitude
star, TYC 443-1482-1. With little experience in observing planetaries,
I can't be sure if that was the PN, or simply the star at the same
location. Can anyone enlighten me?
Globulars M10, M12, and M14 were easily seen. At 73x, both M12 and
especially M10 showed hints of resolution at the edges, which was fun. M10
appeared more condensed than M12. M14 was fainter than either of the
other two and showed no resolution, just a fuzzball.
Leaving Ophiuchus, I headed for Vulpecula, where Brocchi's Cluster (The
Coathanger) was an easy naked eye object. The ST80 and 30mm Ultima is
just great for objects like this.
The same can not be said for the small globular cluster M71 in Sagitta,
which was actually difficult to see at first. My sky is brighter in the
east than in other directions, so I'm sure that was a factor.
Back in Vulpecula, planetary nebula M27 (The Dumbbell Nebula) seemed
quite bright. I think I detected its orientation, with the bright lobes
in the northeast and southwest. I haven't been able to find a reference
to confirm this and would appreciate more information. Perhaps it was
all wishful thinking.
I was tiring and so concluded the night with brief visits to NGCs 6830
and 6885. The more rewarding of these two open clusters was 6885, which
displayed an attractive grouping of 25-30 stars at 37x.
I've now spent just over a year with the ShortTube 80 and have
thoroughly enjoyed it.
|
Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com/ |
Date and time of Observation: | 22 October 1998 (UTC) |
Objects observed: | Mostly Open Clusters |
Viewing conditions: | Seeing: 7/10. Transparency: magnitude 5.5 at zenith. |
Telescope | Orion ShortTube 80mm Refractor |
Eyepiece | 30mm Celestron Ultima, 10mm and 25mm Kellners |
Observing notes: |
Seeing was excellent tonight, probably the
best I have enjoyed since acquiring the ShortTube 80. Except where
noted, the objects observed are open clusters and the magnification used
was 40x.
NGC 1528 was a fuzzball at 13x, but at 40x resolved into about two
dozen mostly mag. 10 and 11 stars. A pretty, if not spectacular open
cluster.
NGC 1545 has four bright (mag. 8-9) members, but only a half-dozen
others could be seen. This cluster is listed as being brighter than 1528,
but it's far less interesting visually. 40x.
NGC 1513 showed 6-8 stars down to almost mag. 12 with averted vision.
They seemed arranged in a compact arc, but SkyMap does not show this
arrangement. This object was near the limit of my skills.
IC 348 is a bright nebula surrounding Omicron Persei. All I saw was
Omicron. It seemed embedded in a glow, but I am sure it was scattered
light in the scope - it was too bright.
NGC 1664 showed 12-15 stars down to mag. 11.5. As I moved my eye around
the field, the fainter members popped in and out of view.
At 13x, NGC 1582 showed 10-12 of its brighter stars. At 40x, the
background resolved into a faint members, and a total of 25-30 were seen.
Half of the stars seemed arranged in a gentle arc on the SW side. Nearby
is the attractive double 57 Persei. It's a wide pair, about 1.5 arc
minutes (90 arc seconds).
M1, the Crab Nebula, was clearly non-stellar and easily found, even at
13x. At 40x, it became a faint, extended smudge. I saw no elongation -
just a round glow. Seeing M1, first in binoculars and now in the
ShortTube, gives me a particular thrill. I feel connected to the observers of
almost a millenium ago who saw a -6 magnitude star appear from nowhere
at this very spot. It must have been an amazing sight! How many other
astronomical objects, besides variable stars, have changed visibly
during human existence?
The great seeing allowed me to see more detail on Jupiter than ever
before. For the first time, there was detail visible in the SEB, which was
clearly wider in some places than in others. I caught the beginning of
an Io transit at about 0545. Saturn showed Titan, Rhea, and the Cassini
division. Wonderful views!
|
Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com/ |
Date and time of Observation: | 19 July 1998 (UTC) |
Constellation: | Sagittarius Region |
Viewing conditions: | Seeing: 6/10. Transparency: magnitude 5.7 at zenith. |
Telescope | Orion ShortTube 80mm Refractor |
Eyepiece | 30mm and 7.5mm Celestron Ultimas |
Observing notes: |
This was a magnificent summer night in
southwest New Hampshire. My niece, visiting from a city where the sky is
never so dark, asked me what that "big, long cloud" was. It was the Milky
way, blazing across the entire sky.
This was the first time I have ever pointed a telescope at Sagittarius,
so everything that passed through the eyepiece was a new wonder. I
toured the region at 13x, using 53x for close-in observation of selected
objects.
M22 was the first stop. At 53x, it appeared coarse and grainy, which I
presume is partial resolution.
M28 was a dim fuzzball at 13x. I didn't try 53x.
M8 was a softly glowing cloud with open cluster NGC 6530 imbedded in
it. What a beautiful sight!
Nearby M20 was much fainter and more difficult to see. Along with M21,
this 1° patch of sky is extremely dense with stars and bears
revisiting. For some reason, I did not go above 13x on this region. Next time!
Speaking of dense, M24 offered a wonderful wide-field view. One has the
impression that you could increase aperture forever and never run out
of stars.
With so many brighter objects in the vicinity, I gave M18 only a few
moments. I shall return!
At 13x, M17 appeared as a small, bright, elongated glow, with a more
diffuse glow to the N. At 53x, the diffuse glow resolved into a dozen or
so faint stars, separated from the bright glow by an oddly empty patch
of sky.
M25 nicely filled the FOV (< 1°) at 53x. It reminded me a bit of Stock
2, with many stars shining in a narrow brightness range.
OC NGC 6645 was just visible as a small patch of haze, with no member
stars resolved.
Seven members of OC Tr 33 were visible at 53x, down to mag. 11.4.
M23 showed dozens of member stars, and 53x was just about ideal. I saw
the same scintillating effect I noticed with the Double Cluster, where
faint stars were constantly popping in and out of view as my eye swept
across the FOV.
NGC 6716 revealed eight of its 20 members.
|
Observer: | Dave Mitsky |
E-mail address: | djm28@psu.edu |
Date and time of Observation: | Late February and early March, 1998 |
Objects Observed: | Comet Hale-Bopp and numerous southern hemisphere deep sky objects |
Viewing conditions: | Seeing - very good, Transparency - very good, Limiting magnitude - approximately 6.5 |
Telescope | 80mm f/5 Orion ShortTube achromatic refractor and a number of other small telescopes and binoculars |
Eyepiece | 26mm Tele Vue Ploessl, 10.5mm Tele Vue Ploessl, 2x Celestron Ultima Barlow lens |
Observing notes: |
My cruise aboard the MS Veendam to see the
1998 total solar eclipse
afforded me the opportunity to observe many of the best celestial
objects
of the southern hemisphere from as far south as 12 degrees north. I
was
armed with Swift 10x50's and an Orion ShortTube 80 refractor mounted on
a
Bogen video tripod, 10.5 and 26mm Tele Vue Ploessls, a 2x Celestron
Ultima
Barlow lens, and an Orion Ultrablock nebula(r) filter.
The ShortTube acquitted itself quite nicely on board a ship. Several
of
the nights were very windy and the sea was choppy so I stayed at 15x.
But
on other occasions higher powers (30 and 36x) could be used to good
effect.
(I used 72x on the Moon briefly during the occultation of Aldebaran on
3/4/98 but the result was almost comical as the Moon swung in and out
of
the field of view.) The crew cooperated by keeping most of the lights
off
and it was really quite dark on the upper forward deck when one stayed
in
the shadows. M41 was an easy naked eye object. Unfortunately, it was
possible on just one remarkably calm and windless night to set up on
the
upper forward deck. When the ship entered the trade wind latitudes
observers had to be content with using the starboard or port decks or
the
aft decks. Of course, after the we headed north the aft navigation
deck
was the place to be in order to look southward.
In addition to the usual winter, spring, and summer northern hemisphere
DSO's I logged numerous southern objects, some of which I had not
observed
before. Before I mention those I should say that parts of the Rosette
Nebula were visible in my 80mm when the Ultrablock filter was in place.
And, of course, the sword of Orion was very striking when it was so
high in
the heavens.
Perhaps the most memorable moments were seeing Comet Hale-Bopp again
some
31 months after first observing it in S & T staff member Kent
Blackwell's
wonderful "Big Eyes" 20x120 naval binoculars, viewing Eta Carinae and
Omega Centauri through TAC member Rod Norden's 105mm AstroPhysics
Traveler
equipped with an A-P binoviewer and twin 19mm Tele Vue Panoptics
(definitely the best view of Eta Carinae that I have ever had),
observing
the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) and the Large Magellanic Cloud for the
first time, and scanning the summer Milky Way one morning through
Kent's
20x120's.
Some of the many southern DSO's that I observed included NGC 2477 and
NGC 2451 (a wonderful pair of open clusters in southern Puppis that are
remarkably similar to M46 and M47 in northern Puppis), Collinder 135,
NGC 2546, IC 2391, IC 2602, NGC 2516, NGC 2070 and the LMC, NGC 2808,
NGC 3114, the Eta Carinae Nebula, the rich open cluster NGC 3532, the
Jewel
Box Cluster (NGC 4755), the Coal Sack Nebula (which was most prominent
in
my 10x50's), Centaurus A or the Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 5128), and Omega
Centauri (NGC 3159). Alpha Centauri was split at 30x with the
ShortTube as
was Gamma Velorum.
On one night I saw Omega through a 6" Intes Maksutov and a number of
objects including Omega and Eta Carinae through a pair of Miyauchi
20x100's. On another I compared Eta Carinae with M42 and estimated
that
Eta extended at least 3 times as far as the Orion Nebula.
The summer Milky Way was extremely rich and well defined. Seeing
Scorpius
rise vertically from the sea was quite a sight! The Pipe Nebula
(B59, B65-67), an absorption nebula in Ophiuchus, was fantastic through
my
ShortTube and Kent's 20x120's! Cruising through southern Scopius (M6,
M7,
NGC 6231), Sagittarius (M8, M24, M17, M18) and into Scutum (M11) with
the
20x120's was an amateur astronomer's dream come true.
|
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