Here are observing reports made with 5" Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes. The reports below give a flavour of what can be seen with a 5-inch SCT.
| Observer: | Robert Leyland |
| Date and time of Observation: | 21 Feb 2001 20:30-23:00 PST (12:30-15:00 UT) |
| Observing Location: | Novato CA. 38N 122.6W Elev 500' |
| Object Observed: | Various |
| Viewing conditions: | LM 5.0, moderate to poor steadiness |
| Telescope | NexStar 5 SCT, |
| Eyepiece | Pentax XL eyepieces |
| Observing notes: |
Firstly a few easy sights to check the conditions. Albiero is a nice
easy double, some elongation is visible at 65x, and it splits cleanly
at 125x. M42 is its usual amazing self, but the trapezium it not as
clear tonight. The "E" star can't be seen at low power, and only with
averted vision at higher powers. So it's not a great night, and not
even a good night, but beggars can't be choosers this winter.
One of the projects I'm working on is the Starry Nights Shared
Observing List, a short list of representative objects for each month
of the year (starrynights @ yahoogroups.com), so that people all over
the world can post observations comparing with differing equipment,
conditions and locations.
I'd done the January segment with my 8" Dob in a prior session, so
tonight I'd go through that list with the 5" SCT, for comparison.
Maybe I'd get to the February items too :-)
Sigma Orionis - Multiple star system.
The first 3 stars are easy, but the fourth needed averted vision most
of the time, with direct vision at 125x. Altogether they form a
crooked arc, with the closest stars more in line, than the outermost.
The neighbouring pair of stars show companions also.
NGC 1788 - Reflection Nebula in Orion
Four stars form a splayed quadrilateral around the nebula, with a
fifth star just off center. Next to this star is a very faint glow.
An O-III filter does not show any more detail, with averted vision
(unfiltered) giving the best view. Some nebulosity extends to
surround the star but is extremely faint.
NGC 2301 - Open cluster in Monoceros
The cross-bar of the T-shaped cluster has the appearance of an
integral sign, but the down stroke is not well defined. One bright
star shines at the junction. Monoceros is to the south, and is more
adversely affected by the weather tonight.
NGC 2419 - Globular cluster in Lynx
Visible as a vague fuzziness only. The NexStar GOTO was performing
well giving good RA/DEC readings, so I believe I was in the right
place, but my identification is not positive. The GC was very faint
with no discernable stars.
NGC 1569 - Galaxy in Camelopardelis
A very vague fuzziness near a 12th magnitude star which seems to be
the central core. Extended study with good dark adaption (both eyes
open, one covered by a patch, head hooded over eyepiece), I can see a
little fuzziness around the core.
NGC 2403 - Galaxy in Camelopardelis
Shows as an irregular fuzziness between two medium bright stars (two
outer pairs of stars provide pointers, to help me find it). It is
much larger and brighter than NGC 1569, with hints of darkness
intruding into the glowing area. A very nice sight.
A quick peek at the horizons, and that ugly cloud nebula is becoming
prominent. Orion is starting to get fuzzy, and the Pleiades have
disappeared. Jupiter is dancing around a little, and other than the
bands, not detailed at all.
As a last task I did some eyepiece FOV timing tests so that I could
determine the true FOV of my eyepieces in the N5. Even when Orion is
foggy, I can still see the bright belt stars, and that is enough to
do the timing tests. The Pentax eyepieces work very well with the
NexStar 5, giving me almost exactly 1° true FOV in the 21mm, 40' in
the 14mm, 30' in the 10.5mm, and 20' in the 7mm. Knowing this will
make estimating separation, and star-hopping easier for the future.
(i.e. when it stops raining :-)
|
| Observer: | Stephen Tonkin |
| Web site: | www.aegis1.demon.co.uk |
| Date and time of Observation: | 2000 Feb 21 |
| Observing Location: | N50.9108 W1.830 |
| Object Observed: | various |
| Viewing conditions: | Very good (ca. 2 arcsec, but moments of sub-arcsec) |
| Telescope | Celestron C5+ (125mm SCT) |
| Eyepiece | 50x - 150x zoom 32mm Plossl; 12.5mm Ortho; 9mm Plossl; 6.3mm Plossl; x2 Ultima Barlow |
| Observing notes: |
I set the telescope up as the Sun was close to setting. The latitude
scale was already set at my latitude, which is just as well since it
requires an imperial (3/16") hex-wrench to adjust it, and all mine are
metric. A bit of fiddling with tripod legs leveled the base of the
wedge (there is a bubble level to assist this), and azimuth adjustment
is trivial using a Silva compass with the bezel rotated so as to
compensate for magnetic declination. (The metric 6mm hex-wrench was OK
where a 1/4" was needed). I aligned the grotty, soon-to-be-replaced,
little 6x30 finder. I put a new 9v Duracell in the battery compartment
and found the cover to be a real pig to close properly. This setting up
took about 20 minutes, but will surely improve with practice and fixed
sockets in the lawn for the tripod feet.
Just after sunset I went back outside to a ready-cooled telescope, put a
32mm Plossl (x39) in the diagonal, and found Jupiter -- the telescope
snapped to focus and both equatorial belts were clearly visible. I tried
the 6.3mm Plossl (x198) and again achieved a well-defined focus. The
equatorial belts showed ragged edges, that of the southern edge of the
SEB being particularly clear. Temperate belts (I haven't a clue which --
I'm not a planetary observer) were also visible. Diffraction rings
showed around the Galilean Moons.
Saturn was similarly impressive at x198. The Cassini division was
immediately clearly visible, and I was surprised to see the planet's
shadow on the E side of the ring -- its width must be close to the limit
of resolution of the telescope. Markings were visible on the planet's
surface, with the polar regions being distinctly darker than the
equatorial region.
The diffraction rings around the Jovian moons suggested that a star-test
was in order. Aldebaran was conveniently placed and, at x198 showed a
bright Airy disc surrounded by four diffraction rings, the inner of
which was quite bright. Defocused images revealed some undercorrection.
At this point it may be pertinent to note that focusing is extremely
smooth and that I could not detect any image-shift -- I'll try it at
another time with a reticle in a high power e/p.
At this point I was called inside and, when I returned some 20 minutes
later, was pleasantly surprised to find that Aldebaran had hardly
shifted in the FOV, suggesting that the tracking was good and that my
daylight polar aligning was (fortuitously?) accurate.
After an evening meal, I returned to the telescope under darker but
light-polluted skies. M42 was emerging from the branches of the
neighbour's birch and at x39 showed some pleasing structure. The four
stars of the Trapezium were clearly resolved. I tried an OIII filter and
almost gasped at how much more structure I could see.
Chasing objects nearer the zenith, particularly between the zenith and
the pole, proved to be an interesting task and reminded me why I like
GEMs -- the fork tine and base always seemed to be where I wanted to put
my face. A red-dot finder would be a boon here, allowing the head to be
further from the telescope than does the 6x30 finder.
At x39, M31 was about what I expected with a 3.2mm exit pupil,
suggesting that the f/6.3 focal reducer might be an early purchase -- it
would give a 5mm exit pupil with the 32mm Plossl. The open clusters in
Auriga were beautiful as ever and cruising through Perseus and
Cassiopeia revealed several more small clusters which I enjoyed but
didn't bother to identify.
By this time the Moon was rising over the neighbouring bungalows and
the sky was brightening significantly. Some dew was beginning to form
(must make a dew cap or this corrector plate is going to be almost
permanently wet!) and it seemed a good time to call a break.
The next session will, if seeing is good enough (wasn't too bad last
evening), involve some attempts on close doubles in order to see just
what the optics are capable of. Piggy-back photography (guided and
unguided) is clearly an option, and the drive quality suggests that some
unguided prime focus and eyepiece projection photography may be
successful. I need to find a way of mounting the 60mm refractor as a
guidescope in order to try guided photography through the telescope.
Verdict: This is an excellent portable instrument which is
extremely sturdy and well-made.-- it scores over the NexStar (which
superseded it) in that it does not require power to be usable! It is a
doddle to set up and dismantle and fits easily in the boot of the car
-- it will get a lot of use!
|
| Observer: | Charlie Wallace |
| E-mail address: | cvwallace@webtv.net |
| Date and time of Observation: | 11-5-00 0000-0100 |
| Observing Location: | Columbus, Indiana, USA |
| Object Observed: | M42 |
| Viewing conditions: | clear, windless, and cold. |
| Telescope | Celestron G5 (cassigrain) |
| Eyepiece | 50x - 150x zoom |
| Observing notes: |
Hi All,
I got out of the car and took a look and it was beautiful. The winter
circle was almost completely above the horizon. Ran in the house and
said to my wife "hello the skies are clear" and dashed outside and had the
scope setup in record time.
Went straight to the Orion nebula. I figured I'd let myself get dark
adapted at the ep. The trapezium and the 3 diagonal stars were really
bright and the nebulosity really bright. I soaked in the view for a few
minutes and decided to see what else there was to look at. To my horror
and dismay everything I wanted to look at was above my scopes max height
about 60 degrees. I followed a line from east to west and everything was
to high to view. What was left of Cygnus entered the light pollution
zone, Andromeda was to high in the west. What a waste of a good clear
sky!
Not wanting to go inside I thought I'd get the binos out and do some
observing since I didn't have any charts out. The binos dewed up almost
instantly. This sad development left me with one option. M42
I had my 26-8mm zoom lens (the only one I have other than the one that
came with the scope) in and at 50x the trapezium was clearly visible
and blue white in color. Following the three diagonal stars down I saw
that the nebulosity extended way down. Something I've never seen before. I
zoomed in on it and the visual effect was that it darkened the
surrounding area and brought out the nebulosity more clearly. It had an
irregular shape. I zoomed back out to 50x and the nebulosity took on the loose
shape of an "s".
Up to this point I considered the nebulosity as the foreground and the
black as background. I mentally flipped this around and went back to
150x and followed the edges of the nebulosity. I could see the various
shades of grey along the edges and it actually looked like a cloud rather
that a flat looking grey patch of light. I looked at my watch and 45
minutes had went by!
I guess the lesson here is not to be in such a hurry and spend some
time looking at one object. I wouldn't have imagine such awesome sights
could be seen at all much less thru my little 5 inch scope. Just doesn't
figure! :-) |
| Observer: | Charlie Wallace |
| E-mail address: | cvwallace@webtv.net |
| Date and time of Observation: | Oct 28, 2000 7pm-8:30 pm local |
| Observing Location: | Columbus, Indiana |
| Object Observed: | M31,M32, double cluster, Saturn |
| Viewing conditions: | clear, windy, and cold |
| Telescope | Celestron G5, 5 inch sct |
| Eyepiece | 25mm (50x) and a 25mm to 8mm zoom 50x to 150x |
| Observing notes: |
Hi All,
All I'm getting is short periods of observation between days of clouds.
Got a good dose of cold last night.
The sky was clear and settled. Wind out of the east at a constant 20
mph. I tried to get out of the wind but couldn't do it. I had the wind
blowing in my face as I was observing.
I started out the evening with M31 and M32. Normally I just spend a few
minutes looking at any objects in view but decided to spent some time
with each object.
At first M31 was just a fuzzie of the central mass but as I continued
to look at it the edges became more defined and a fuzzie disk appeared
around the core. I moved M31 to the edge of the fov and M32 came into
view. Very bright and tiny even at 150x 8.1 mag is as far as I've been
able to reach with my five inch scope. I studied this one for a while
and I could see a pinpoint white area in the center. The angle of the
galaxy was as if viewed from the top. Any confirmation of M32's
orientation. It's really hard to see detail in something that small. Not sure if
my mind wasn't playing tricks with me.
Next I split the Capela double and saw a couple of meteors go by. Then
on to the double clusters. I can get both of them in the same fov at
50x. I took in the view and enjoyed it immensely. I noticed dim fuzzie
stars among the bright stars and tried focus on them. It was an
interesting view but not as good just looking at the clusters at 50x.
It's rather amazing what different levels of light pollution can make
in an observation. I went to view Saturn again after the star party at
the remote site. This time I was observing from my backyard. Saturn was
not as clear and the surface appeared smooth without any bands present.
It almost seemed like it was slightly out of focus but it wasn't. It
might of been the atmosphere since it was lower in the sky than when I
saw it at the star party. Even though, it's still a great view to behold.
By this time it was getting to cold for me to do any more observing. It
was supposed to drop to the 30's and I figured it must be getting
close.
The winter circle is looking good. Waiting for Cannis major to get
above the horizon. It's a great sight to see (the winter circle) naked eye
with Saturn and Jupiter right in the middle of it.
Charlie
|
| Observer: | Charlie Wallace |
| E-mail address: | cvwallace@webtv.net |
| Date and time of Observation: | 10-18-00 1830-2130 |
| Observing Location: | Columbus, Indiana, USA |
| Object Observed: | Star Party. whatever was up. |
| Viewing conditions: | excellent |
| Telescope | Celestron G5, sct |
| Eyepiece | 25mm & 8mm |
| Observing notes: |
Hi,
Tonight was supposed to be a planetarium program followed by a star
party and it got canceled.
Woke up this morning and found an email in the box from one of the
Local Group. It said it takes 2 for a star party anyone else interested in
going out to observe even though the program got canceled. 10 of us
were out tonight.
We went to our usual observing site around 6:15 and we observing by
6:30: Took the scope and binos and set them up side by side. Air temp was
on the cool side, no breeze, just about normal for this time of year.
M31 was the first target easily located. Not really well defined but
nice. Not really dark enough at this point. The double cluster was next
and it was more awesome thru the scope than I imagined. just stood there
staring at it. I then viewed the double thru and 6" dob, 10" dob and
13" dob. Talk about astro heaven! I was there!
A lot of good astronomy talk was going on. There is an amateur in our
group who is doing scientific research of gamma ray bursts and he was
telling us how he was gripping about how he could not see past 19 mag. We
all told him quick that we all wished we had his problems! He is
working with
the variable star observers organization. He was telling us that a
gamma ray burst is so powerful that if one occurred on the next spiral arm
of our galaxy it would fry the earth's atmosphere facing the blast.
Next off to Sagittarius which was tilted over pretty far on it's side.
M8 was looking rather strange tonight. No nebulosity to be seen. The
cluster in it was really nice. Since I was going by memory I tried for
M56 in the lower left hand corner and somehow put M22 into the fov.which
was in the upper left part. M22 was crystal clear with many pinpoints
stars visible.
Did some comparison observing with a 30x77 bino set up. That was fun.
By this time Saturn and Jupiter appeared above the horizon. I looked at
it with the 50x ep in and it was looking good. Never saw the right
tilted at this angle before. Went to Jupiter and caught it between
branches of a tree and it looked awful. Found that my ep dewed over. Checked
the front and it was ok so I went and got my only other ep and put it
in and went back to Saturn at 150x. I was totally stunned. I saw a black
band on the planets surface and the shadow of the planet on the rings.
I checked this out with other observers to make sure and they all saw
what I was seeing. Got to see the same view thru an 8" cassigrain and
the 13" dob. Mind boggling. I sure love my G5. It wasn't to long after
than and the front of the scope was dewed and I was done for the night. I
was home by 10P and my astro cravings were satisfied. :-)
charlie
|
| Observer: | John Carlyle |
| E-mail address: | jcarlyle@interserv.com |
| Date and time of Observation: | 06 Sep 2000 01:00 UT |
| Observing Location: | 40d 12m N, 74d 46m W |
| Object Observed: | M8, M11, M13, M16, M17, M27, M39, M57, M92 |
| Viewing conditions: | Seeing was great, about 4/5, transparency was very good, about 9/10. |
| Telescope | N5 (127 mm f/10 SCT) |
| Eyepiece | 10 mm and 18 mm Radians and the TV 32 mm Plossl. |
| Observing notes: |
Since it was early (0100 UT), many of my summer favorites were still out.
The Double Cluster, M8, M11, M13, M16, M17, M27, M57, M92 were duly
observed. I spent about 5 to 10 minutes on each, appreciating anew
their beauty. But, I was a little annoyed at the washing out effect of the
half Moon. Guess I'm getting spoiled by some of the dark sky sites I've been
to over the summer! 8-)
Then, I slewed to M39. Oh, my heavens! I had never observed this
particular Messier object before, and it was gorgeous! It is a huge, rich, open
cluster, comparable in size to the Double Cluster. It has many more
stars than other OCs that I have seen, and what impressed me was the
intricate patterns that all of these stars made against the inky black sky.
Although I've never seen M39 before, the half Moon seemed to have no effect on
it. I highly recommend viewing this baby!
About 0400 UT I was looking at the Moon, when the police arrived. I
guess they thought something was suspicious about a guy standing alone in a
dark graveyard? Anyway, we went through the usual hard edged questioning
confrontation until I invited the officer to look through the EP, which
he did. I talked a bit, showed him M39 and M13, then he asked if I would
stay for a while so that his sergeant could see this. When the sergeant
arrived he was kind of reserved and withdrawn, but after he saw the Moon, M39,
M11, Albireo and M31 he started talking about the humbling nature of the
universe and how we cannot be alone. They both left after about half an
hour, thanking me for really making their night. It really *is* nice to
share the stars, seems to bring out the best in people....
Best regards, |
| Observer: | Bill Keel |
| E-mail address: | keel@bildad.astr.ua.edu |
| Web site: | www.astr.ua.edu/keel |
| Date and time of Observation: | July 2000 |
| Observing Location: | Greer, White Mountains Arizona |
| Object Observed: | Various |
| Viewing conditions: | See observing notes, little light pollution |
| Telescope | NexStar 5 |
| Eyepiece | 25mm, 9mm |
| Observing notes: |
I recently got my hands on a NexStar 5 and took it along on a vacation
to the White Mountains of Arizona. While not in the same class as
hauling
a big Dob up to Hale Pohaku (hey, I was impressed by that report on
sci.astro), my experiences might be of interest to a few folks out
there.
On a visit to Tucson about a month ago (my last observing run at Kitt Peak having
been beautifully timed for the start of monsoon season, resulting
in some of my personal best lightning pictures), I looked around at a couple
of telescope shops to compare the Celestron and Meade 5" products. The folks
at both Starizona and Stellar Visions were more than helpful in demonstrating
both side-by-side. When I came back a few weeks later for a long-planned
family vacation, the choice on where to by was strictly conditioned by which
place had a secondhand NexStar that had come in as a trade-in. I picked the
NexStar over the Meade because it fits my needs a bit more closely.
The faster f/ratio (as if f/10 were "fast") makes deep-sky work a bit
easier than f/15, and the NexStar folds into a rather more compact unit
for transport. Besides, even if it's seldom used, any right-angle finder is
an abomination upon the land. (I hope that my grumpiness over our dept. once
having to wait 22 months to get a Pictor CCD camera delivered didn't
enter into it; we do use 10- and 16-inch Meade Newtonians for classes).
In construction, the single metal support arm seems more
steady than the plastic fork. I was reasonably impressed with the usability
aspects of the system, such as the star pointer and intuitive alignment
procedure.
Off we went for five nights at a cabin in Greer, located in the White
Mountains of Arizona between Springerville and the Sunrise ski area
(elevation about 9000 feet). So far so good, except that the visit
started at full moon, and the summer monsoon pattern extends this far
north with local modifications. The typical daily weather pattern
was clouds building up during the day, often with rain or thunderstorms
near dusk, clearing well after midnight (yeah, after moonrise). When it
was clear, it was quite dark, with essentially no strategic light
pollution
and spotty tactical sources (a couple of street or cabin lights that I
couldn't miss while still getting clean horizons north and south and
not having to go too far).
Night 1. Weather clears off, decide to have a shot even with the full
Moon. The visual limiting magnitude, based on Ursa Minor, is about 5.0.
Still better than most moonless nights at home. At 50x (which is what
I used almost exclusively, though I did bring a 9mm eyepiece along
to try a few higher-power views), stars showed up in M13 and M22.
It was surprising how prominent M51 and its companion appeared (or
maybe I'm just accustomed to rotten skies). This was a chance to see
how
choice of alignment stars and care in centering them play out in
pointing
accuracy. After aligning on Arcturus and Altair, there was a very
consistent
pointing offset of more than 0.5 degree across the NW sky, while
objects to the south were right as advertised.
No chance to look for comet LINEAR, since it was below the treetops
once the skies cleared.
Night 2 (2 nights later). There were about 1.5 hours usable this time.
To catch it at all, I started with comet LINEAR, which looked like
a miniature of Bennett in 1970, with parabolic outline to the coma
and tail (of which I saw a bit more than 1/2 degree, within 10 degrees
of the horizon). At first I thought the sidereal tracking was bad this
low in the sky, until I remembered just how fast the comet's apparent
motion
was.
On to deep-sky objects. The pointing was better overall tonight, even
with the same setup stars (maybe I was more careful centering the stars
or something). The Lagoon Nebula was nice, with plenty of nebulosity. I
caught
NGC 6231 just in time, with treetops in the field of view (this is
one that will join my list of public-night views). In a quick look at
the Virgo Cluster, the central galaxy M87 was pleasantly big and fuzzy.
To its north, the edge-on spiral NGC 4565 showed as a faint but
well-defined
splinter of light. M101 has always been a problem for my eyes - never
have
found it with my 10" Coulter from my house in Tuscaloosa, despite
star-hopping
so I knew it was in the field. My only previous sighting used 12x80
binoculars
from Kitt Peak. But it was very obvious in the Nexstar, as a round glow
with
almost no central condensation. I caught M81 and M82 in the same field
below
the Pole (score one for alt-az mounts; lots of equatorials would barf
at that).
Added M4 to well-resolved globulars; M80 next door is quite a contrast,
a comet like but unresolved glow. Finished off with the Dumbbell and
Ring nebulae (well-defined but still tiny at 50x) before moonrise and
increasing clouds sent me off to bed.
Night 3. Chasing holes in cloud cover the whole time, so I learned some
interesting things about alignment and its improvement. The evening
started with a Mir pass at magnitude 1.3, and a magnitude -8 flare from
Iridium 80 flare nicely backlighting a cloud in front of the Cygnus
Milky Way for several onlookers. I set up on a dirt road between the
cabins, to get a level place for the tripod. The only car to pass
thoughtfully dimmed to parking lights when they saw what I was doing
(and the driver even remarked on what a nice dark place it was).
I concentrated on the southern Milky Way (maybe because that's where
it was easiest to tell whether a cloud was in the way or not).
Some individual stars showed up in M5, but not M9 or M14. The Trifid
stars were obvious, but not the nebula itself. One odd point is that
it kept looking for M10 below the horizon, as if it had dropped the
leading
zero from the declination (will probably check this out the next clear
night we get around here). In a fit of laziness, I spent a few minutes
running the table of Sagittarius Messier clusters. The cores of
globular
clusters were especially interesting, since M54 and M70 have rather
prominent bright cores and M60 doesn't. I'll add M23 to my public-night
showpiece list.
No comet tonight, with al those clouds to the north.
I turned around to examine M31 and M32 as moonlight approached, then
watched moonrise over a nearby ridge. The seeing was no great shakes,
but watching the poines and occasional bats silhouetted against the
visibly moving Moon was worth waiting for.
I did catch the comet once more from Tucson on July 22, with the
nucleus still bright and star like (little knowing what a short-lived
sight that would be).
This was all on a single set of AA batteries, which surprised me a bit
since the folks at both telescope stores said that batteries tended
not to last as long as Celestron says. Go figure.
I can verify that the Nexstar, folded straight down, will fit in a
duffle
bag under an airplane seat. Imagine, if you will, the faces of the
X-ray
operators in Phoenix airport who were determined not to ask...
Bill Keel |
| Observer: | charlie Wallace |
| E-mail address: | cvwallace@webtv.net |
| Web site: | http://members.tripod.com/~c-wallace/index.html |
| Date and time of Observation: | 7/24/00 1:30 am ---3:00am |
| Observing Location: | Columbus, Indiana |
| Object Observed: | saturn, jupiter, cresenst moon |
| Viewing conditions: | clear and dark. Much shimmering due to unsteady atmospheric conditions |
| Telescope | celestron G5 on GEM |
| Eyepiece | 50x and 100x |
| Observing notes: |
The night air was cool with an occassional
hint of a breeze gently colliding with my exposed skin. The cresent moon
was sitting on the tree tops waiting to catch a falling star and
watching the spectacle unfolding above.
Andromeda, having to pay the price for her mother Cassiopia's arrogance
was being carried away from the wrath of the gods by Pegasus. Her hero
and true love, Perseus, had yet to arrive above the horizon.
I went out to see if the planets (1:30am) jupiter and Saturn had risen
and was surprised to see the great square due East. Saturn was small at
50 x but the ball inside the ring was clearly visible. the atmosphere
was very unstable. Made the planet appear to be alive and pulsating in
every direction. Had an orange color which I attributed to the
atmosphere since the planets weren't that far above the trees. I knew right
then picture taking would be pointless so I settled for the view.
During set up I polar aligned and set up the clock drive. With Saturn
in view I fipped on the drive and just watched the planet ever so slowly
move across the fov.
I took pause to consider that I was observing something approx 888
million miles away! That's quiet a feat in my book and that's just a
planet. Viewed M31 naked eye and remembered a figure of 33 million light
years. That's 33 million times 6 trillion. The vastness of space
crashed down around me. Back to the ep.
I sat there fiddling with the scope trying to fine tune the alignment
and was able to slow saturn down more but couldn't acheive
motionlessness. Saturn sure looked good. Tiltled at a good viewing angle. showing
the rings really well. Awesome sight.
Turned my attention to Jupiter. First view was stunning. Four moons
aligned to the right at about a 45 degree angle. pin points surronded by
solid black with juptier nearby. Jupiter at 50 x revealed no bands but
did have some color. Atmosphic no doubt. I sat and watched it and
thought that it would be nice if I could have enough clear nights to watch
the moons orbit juptier.
Spent the remnder of my time watching the moon. Never tire of this
planet. Always something to see. Obsrving the mountains this time.
Increased the mag to 100x, took a few pictures and made the terrible mistake of
looking at my watch: 3am. Came reeling back to reality(?) and knew I'd
never be able to get up for work tomorrow if I stayed up any later so I
packed it in. As I went to put the scope back in the shed I noticed
that the tront had completely dewed over. I smiled and thought "you
didn't get me this time!"
charlie
Comment: Good views inspite of the shimmering effects of the atmosphere
|
| Observer: | Charlie wallace |
| E-mail address: | cvwallace@webtv.net |
| Date and time of Observation: | June 30,2000 |
| Observing Location: | Columbus, Indiana |
| Object Observed: | Various |
| Viewing conditions: | excellent. milky way very prominent |
| Telescope | Celestron G5 (5 inch cassigrain) |
| Eyepiece | 50x,150x zoom |
| Observing notes: |
This is the report I posted to NCTU
astronomy club forum.
Hi,
Finally made it out under the stars last night! Almost forgot how to
star hop. : -(
There were about 8 of us this time out.
Conditions were cloudy at sun down but cleared nicely as the night
progress. I found the temp to be warm
but others put on their jackets later in the evening
I gave up a chance to see the fireworks display to observe and just
after I set up someone spotted the fireworks on the horizon.. I watched
the fireworks thru the scope at 50x. What a sight!
The sky was dark enough so we started out with the Ring Nebula.
Finally found it after all the time I've looked for it. I can see now why I
missed it. It was a fuzzy in my scope` and not well defined. Went
next to M27. That looked the same no matter how big the aperture. Square
and gray
Got to see m13 thru a 10 inch scope and I was totally amazed. It was
not round as I'm used to seeing it. It had many "fingers" protruding
from the central mass. Many, many of the stars resolved to pin points of
light. Really a cool sight to see.
Through this same 10 inch scope saw the veil nebula with a filter and the
Rosetta nebula.
Then we took the tour thru Scorpius and Sagittarius. M8 had no
nebulosity which was strange. It was pretty nebulous last year. Don't
figure. M4 was looking good along with M!!, m7,m6, m17, m22.plus some in
the body of scorpius that I didn't have the maps to ID.
Another amateur used my scope to split the double double in Lyra which
was amazing and made me think my glasses needed glasses. I tried to
split them before and didn't notice the tiny split but it was there.
Saw quite a few satellites go by as the sun was setting. The only
thing lacking was a few meteors. :-)
Charlie
|
| Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
| E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
| Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com/ |
| Date and time of Observation: | 1 July 2000 |
| Observing Location: | Troy, New Hampshire, USA |
| Object Observed: | Scorpius, Sagittarius, Scutum, Ophiuchus, Capricornus, Aquarius |
| Viewing conditions: | Seeing 5/10; limiting magnitude 5.5 |
| Telescope | C5 5-inch SCT w/.63 focal reducer/corrector |
| Eyepiece | 30mm and 7.5mm Celestron Ultimas, homemade 23mm and 19mm Erfles, 11mm Tele Vue Plossl |
| Observing notes: |
My recent observing session almost ended
before it began. I made a "field trip" to the town ball field, where
there is a good southern horizon. It's supposed to be off-limits after
dark, but no one has ever shown up to chase me away.
My goal for the night was to observe a number of objects for the first
time with my C5. I had previously observed most of these objects only
with small binoculars or a 80mm ShortTube, so I was eager to see them in
an instrument with more aperture.
When I arrived, there was about 60% cloud cover, but between the
clouds, the sky looked beautiful. So I waited, did some naked eye observing,
saw a couple of meteors, and even watched a thunderstorm in progress
far away to the west. It was an awesome sight.
More clouds rolled in, and I almost left for home without even setting
up the scope. There were still a few gaps, though, and things seemed to
be clearing in the west. Again, I waited. I think a front came through,
because the skies slowly cleared and the air became more humid. So
after almost an hour of waiting, I set up the C5 and was off to the races.
I started in Scorpius, with M4, M80, and NGC 6144, all globular
clusters and located in the most light-polluted part of the sky. The latter
two were quite dim, though I noted M80 seemed to have an unusually bright
core. 72x.
At the "stinger" end of Scorpius, I swept up M6 and M7. M6, the
Butterfly Nebula, really does have a shape appropriate to its name, consisting
of several dozen stars in a two-lobed rectangular pattern. M7 is a
giant of a cluster, nearly filling the 1.7° field of view of the 30mm
Ultima. Both are gorgeous objects and deserve more time than I spent on
them. 26x.
Up to Ophiuchus now, to visit its three big globulars for the first
time with the C5. M12 was first, showing many resolved stars with averted
vision at 105x. It appeared rather ragged at the edges. In contrast,
M10 was more uniform, with about the same level of resolution, using
averted vision. A bit further east, M14 seemed almost as large as the other
two, but it is noticeably fainter. I could not resolve any of its
stars.
IC 4665 is a big, beautiful open cluster in Ophiuchus. It was nicely
framed at 34x in my 23mm homemade Erfle. I saw a dozen stars brighter
than mag. 9, plus another dozen or so fainter members. I really like this
object, but then I'm a sucker for open clusters. Not far south of IC
4665 is another large open cluster, Cr 350. Although charts show it as
larger than 4665, its stars are sparse and scattered, and it looks very
much like any other patch of sky in this region. 34x.
Sagittarius beckoned, and I dropped down to the Small Sagittarius Star
Cloud, M24. The 30mm Ultima had dewed up, and M24 was really too large
for the 23mm Erfle. But what a sight, nevertheless -- a dense swath
almost 2 degrees long in a region of sky already packed with stars. As
always, I swept 4° east then the same distance west to take in M25 and
M23. Of the two, I think M23 offers the more interesting view, with its
dozens and dozens of mag. 9 and fainter members. 34x.
Next came open cluster M18, where I noticed that most of its members
are concentrated in an arrow-shaped asterism, pointing northeast. Once
seen, the arrow seemed plain as day, yet I had never noticed it before.
72x.
Just a degree farther north, M17, the Omega or Swan nebula, appeared as
an irregular east-west swatch of nebulosity. No Swan, no omega, in the
C5. 34x and 72x.
M16 is small but striking. In the C5, I saw a small open cluster
embedded in a cloud of nebulosity, the Eagle Nebula. I've seen this object in
larger scopes, where it is much more impressive. 72x.
It had become cold and clammy now. Almost everything, including myself,
was feeling rather soggy. But down inside its long, foam dew shield,
the corrector plate of the C5 was still clear. Onward to Scutum!
After the magnificent open clusters of Sagittarius, M26 was somewhat
anticlimactic. At 72x, I could see 10 clusters members with direct
vision, but another 10 popped out with averted vision.
On the way to M11, I detoured to NGC 6712, a small globular. It was
best at 72x but still a small, featureless fuzzy.
And M11 -- wow! At 34x, it was a dense, barely resolved patch, looking
like a bright nebula at first glance. But at 72x and 105x, the
cluster's true character was revealed -- an incredibly dense open cluster. I
saw it as a fan-shaped pattern, with a bright star at its apex. I suppose
this pattern is what prompted someone to nickname it the Wild Duck
Cluster -- the shape is vaguely reminiscent of a flock of ducks in flight.
It's a pattern I do not see in photos, but it is readily apparent at
the eyepiece.
To Capricornus now, where bright alpha and beta served as the point of
departure for a sequence of "planetary" objects. First was planetary
nebula NGC 6818 in Sagittarius, also known as the Little Gem Nebula. It's
fairly bright, and easily seen at 105x as a small white ball, clearly
non-stellar.
Next were the planets Uranus and Neptune. While neither is very
impressive, they were fun to pick out amongst the many other points of light
at 34x. At 105x, each became obviously non-stellar, though I was
hard-pressed to identify any bluish or greenish coloration.
Low on the other side of Capricornus lies M30. This must be a fine
globular when higher in a less light polluted sky. But at 20° elevation in
a bright part of the sky, I saw it only as a dim, round haze. 34x.
To conclude a great night under the stars, I observed three objects in
Aquarius for the first time.
M72 was barely visible at 34x, but upping the power just a little, to
41x, made this globular stand out a bit better. M73 has to be one of the
least impressive of the Messier objects. I saw the small triangle of
stars easily at 72x. Unimpressive as they were, logging these two objects
leaves me with only two Messier objects unobserved.
The night's final object was the Saturn Nebula, NGC 7009. I suppose it
looks like Saturn in some scopes, but in the C5, it was a large, bright
planetary nebula that seemed not quite circular. 105x, 144x.
Despite an uncertain start, it was a fine night under the stars. Even
the first hour of impatient waiting for clear skies was enjoyable. I
can't wait to do it again.
|
| Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
| E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
| Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com/ |
| Date and time of Observation: | 2 November 1999 (UTC) |
| Objects observed: | Herschel 400 Objects in Cepheus and Cassiopeia |
| Viewing conditions: | Seeing: 6/10. Transparency: magnitude 5.5 at zenith. |
| Telescope | C5 5-inch SCT on CG-5 Equatorial Mount |
| Eyepiece | 30mm and 7.5mm Celestron Ultimas Barlow |
| Observing notes: |
I've undertaken a casual (very casual)
pursuit of the Herschel 400 with my humble C5. At the rate I'm going, I
figure it will be sometime in 2002 before I complete the list -- or even
attempt all the objects. However, it's an interesting challenge, and it
provides some direction and purpose to my observing sessions.
I took advantage of the last clear night before a storm system moved in
to tackle some H400 objects (and other targets of opportunity) in
Cepheus and Cassiopeia, most of which are open clusters. Here's what I saw
during a pleasant evening of star hopping.
Abbreviations: OC = open cluster, PN = planetary nebula, BN = bright
nebula, Gal = galaxy.
Cepheus
NGC 6946 - Gal. The only galaxy on tonight's list eluded me. I
suspected it, but did not log it as "confirmed." The listed magnitude is 8.8,
but it's fairly large, making it more challenging than the magnitude
would suggest. Low surface brightness, I presume.
NGC 7160 - OC. Six bright stars in two groups of three, plus a half
dozen more dim members. 72x.
NGC 7142 - OC. This was a toughie. I saw a single 10th magnitude star,
with another 4-5 visible only with averted vision. 72x.
NGC 7129 - BN w/cluster. I saw a single faint star, but no sign of the
"bright" nebula. Not an H400 object. 72x.
NGC 7380 - OC. Here I saw one bright star, DH Cephei, plus a handful of
faint, widely scattered magnitude 10-12 stars. 72x.
NGC 7510 - OC. This neat, compact open cluster featured approximately
10 stars brighter than mag. 11.5. 72x. But if the boundaries of the
cluster are shown correctly in SkyMap Pro, it appears that only the
brightest of these is a cluster member. The others lie outside of the cluster
boundary as depicted in SkyMap. Can anyone provide more info on this
one?
Markarian 50 - OC. Just four mag. 9, 10 and 11 stars here. This is a
cluster? Not an H400 object. 72x.
King 19 - OC. Averted vision was required to see more than a single
star at this location. With AV, I glimpsed 7 or 8 fainter members of the
cluster at 72x. Not an H400 object.
NGC 40 - PN. This magnitude 10.7 planetary nebula was an easy target.
It's only one arc minute across and appeared stellar at 72x. Perhaps
higher magnification would help to differentiate it from a star.
Cassiopeia
NGC 7790 - OC. At 26x, four stars embedded in a dim, hazy patch. With
72x, averted vision yielded a half dozen more cluster members, barely at
the edge of perception.
NGC 225 - OC. This open cluster forms the SW end of a lovely little
semi-circle of 9th and 10th magnitude stars. The cluster consists of four
bright members, plus 6-8 fainter stars that glimmered in and out of
view. 72x.
NGC 129 - OC. This large but sparse cluster also revealed four bright
members, with a handful of others stars visible with averted vision.
72x.
The Moon was rising now and starting to wash out the fainter stars. I
turned the scope for a fast look at Jupiter, Saturn, and the Orion
Nebula. At Jupiter, a transit of Europa had just ended, but the black dot of
satellite's shadow was still visible against the creamy white South
Temperate Zone. Europa itself was hanging just off Jupiter's SW limb.
What a night!
|
| Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
| E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
| Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com |
| Date and time of Observation: | May 3, 2000 (UTC) |
| Objects Observed | Herschel 400 objects + one Messier |
| Viewing conditions: | 6/10. Transparency: magnitude 5.5 at zenith |
| Telescope | Celestron C5 5-inch SCT on CG-5 Equatorial Mount |
| Eyepiece | 30mm Celestron Ultima, 19mm homemade Erfle, 11mm Tele Vue Plossl |
| Observing notes: |
The beautiful weather has continued here in
southwest New Hampshire, allowing another fruitful night of Herschel
400 hunting. Few of the objects on tonight's target list present a very
inspiring view in the eyepiece of the C5. Instead, the thrill for me is
in the chase -- improving my star hopping skills and observing
technique.
Unless noted, the galaxies showed no detail. In only a few instances
could I positively see any elongation or orientation.
NGC 3621 - Gal - Hydra. The evening began with a disappointment. I
failed to detect this low-surface-brightness galaxy. It is sinking lower
each night; I should have tried for it a month ago when it was less
deeply immersed in the light pollution.
NGC 4361 - PN - Corvus. An easy one. Easily spotted at low power (26x)
but best at 41x. As with most planetary nebulae I've seen in the C5, it
resembles an out of focus star. Star hop from delta Corvi.
NGC 2964 - Gal - Leo. Small galaxy above the head of Leo. Most 11th
magnitude galaxies aren't visible in the C5, but this one is so small that
it has a comparatively high surface brightness. Still, averted vision
was required to see it. 72x. Star hop from mu Leonis.
NGC 2903 - Gal - Leo. Something bright for a change. Large, with a
bright core and two 11th magnitude stars on the southern edge. Averted
vision brought out the galaxy's elongated shape and clearly revealed its
position angle. 72x. Star hop from lambda Leonis.
NGC 3190 & 3193 - Gal - Leo. Two galaxies in the same FOV. 3190 was
obvious at 41x, but it took the darker background afforded by 72x to bring
out 3193. Star hop from gamma Leonis.
NGC 3226 & 3227 - Gal - Leo. I think I saw them both for brief moments,
but it may have been wishful thinking. The listed surface brightness
for 3227 should make it a very tough target. I probably saw 3226 and
imagined 3227. Another try on a darker night is called for. Star hop from
gamma Leonis.
NGC 3686 - Gal - Leo. This small galaxy resembled a very faint star at
72x. I presume I was seeing only the bright core. There is a 12th
magnitude star just N of the galaxy. Star hop from theta Leonis.
NGC 3655 - Gal - Leo. I could hold this one indefinitely with direct
vision at 72x. This object is "bright" compared to the previous one. Star
hop from NGC 3686.
NGC 3607 & 3608 - Gal - Leo. These two gave me a lot of trouble. Was I
really seeing them or not? To confirm the observation, I made a sketch
of the FOV at 72x, noting the positions of the galaxies with respect to
several 12th magnitude stars. Since these stars were not plotted on my
finder chart, this seemed like an honest way to determine if I was
imagining things. Later, when I fired up SkyMap Pro and compared my sketch
to the displayed positions, the agreement was nearly perfect. Star hop
from NGC 3655.
NGC 3640 - Gal - Leo. After the battle to see the previous two objects,
this one was relatively easy. Located just off Leo's hind leg. 41x.
Star hop from sigma Leonis.
NGC 3521 - Gal - Leo. One of the brigtest galaxies of the night. A
bright core surrounded by an elongated glow. The orientation of the galaxy
was easy to see. 41x. Star hop from NGC 3640.
NGC 5897 - GC - Libra. This globular is the only Herschel 400 object in
all of Libra. It's almost as large and bright as nearby M 80. I wonder
why it didn't make Messier's list? In fact, it appeared rather
comet-like. Star hop from sigma Librae.
NGC 5694 - GC - Hydra. A small, gray spot with a pair of 10th magnitude
foreground stars superimposed. 72x. Star hop from sigma Librae.
M 107 - GC - Ophiuchus. One of five Messier objects remaining on my
list. The other four must wait until autumn. Not resolved at 72x. Star hop
from zeta Ophiuchi.
Comment: It feels great to be tired out from late-night observing
sessions. Nights like these help you forget the long, dreary weeks of early
spring.
|
| Observer: | Jeff DeTray |
| E-mail address: | jeff@detray.com |
| Web site: | http://www.AstronomyBoy.com |
| Date and time of Observation: | May 1, 2000 (UTC) |
| Objects Observed | Herschel 400 objects + a couple of Messiers |
| Viewing conditions: | Seeing: 7/10. Transparency: magnitude 5.7 at zenith |
| Telescope | Celestron C5 5-inch SCT on CG-5 Equatorial Mount |
| Eyepiece | 30mm Celestron Ultima, 19mm homemade Erfle, 11mm Tele Vue Plossl |
| Observing notes: |
I usually observe from my back yard, but
Sunday night I made road trip, driving 4 miles to the local softball
field. The ball field has a great southern horizon, where I can observe
objects that never rise above the trees on my property.
My targets for the night were M 68 and M 83 in Hydra, plus a few
Herschel 400 objects in Hydra, Cancer, Sextans, Corvus, and Crater. Even our
tiny rural town produces some light pollution, so M 83 was down in the
murk when I arrived. I began with M 68, saving M 83 for later.
M 68 - GC - Hydra. Gray glow; galaxy-like. Best at 72x, but unresolved.
Star hop from beta Corvi.
NGC 2775 - Gal - Cancer. Faint. Tried several magnifications, with the
following results:
NGC 2974 - Gal - Sextans. Very small. Fairly bright, but appears
stellar at 72x.
NGC 3166 and 3169 - Gal - Sextans. These two are only 8 arc-minutes
apart, so they are in the same FOV even at high power. I have dubbed them
the "Twin Galaxies." They look very much alike, each with a bright core
and a faint surrounding glow. There's an 11th magnitude star on the E
edge of 3169. 72x.
NGC 3115 - Gal - Sextans. The Spindle Galaxy. Easily found at 26x while
star hopping. At 72x, a bright core with the spindle shape and
orientation easily seen. Averted vision helpful to see the spindle shape.
NGC 3242 - PN - Hydra. Ghost of Jupiter. Bright "fuzzy star." Went as
high as 144x. At all magnifications, it looks like a bright,
out-of-focus star. A hint of structure at high power. Perhaps it resembles Jupiter
in a larger scope, but not in my C5.
NGC 3962 - Gal - Crater. Extremely difficult, fading in and out of
view, even with averted vision. Wary that I might be imagining this object
rather than actually seeing it, I made a sketch of the field at 72x.
The field contained no stars plotted on my charts. I noted the position
of the galaxy with respect to three 11th magnitude stars. A later check
of the field in SkyMap Pro confirmed the position, so I am scoring this
as a confirmed observation.
NGC 4038 - Gal - Corvus. The Ringtail Galaxy. Very difficult, even with
averted vision. The charts show this object overlapping with the even
fainter NGC 4039, but I saw only one extremely faint object here, in the
correct location. 72x.
NGC 4027 - Gal - Corvus. My lone failure of the night. I had the right
field but saw no hint of the galaxy.
M 83 - Gal - Hydra. By now, M 83 was as high as it was going to get. It
was large, but difficult, still immersed in sky glow. Star hopped from
pi Hydrae. 41x gave the best view.
Comment: It was a fun session with some challenging objects. It left me
with 5 Messier objects still to be observed. I'll pick up M 107 next
time out, but the other 4 must wait until later in the year. My H400
total is now 120. Still a long way to go, but the one-third point is now
within easy reach.
|
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