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 was standing in the parking lot at work with an associate talking and she said that her zodiac sign was Taurus. To my surprise I could see the "V" shape clearly. The significance of this is that in the middle of town I never have seen anything except the brightest of stars. Couldn't wait to get home where I knew the skies were going to be great.

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! :-)
Charlie

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,
It has been an incredible struggle this month to be in the right place at the right time. Had 3 local star parties to go to this month and all were canceled due to you know what.

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,
John

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
Astronomy, University of Alabama

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 6939 - OC. A fuzzy haze at 26x resolved into a nice little cluster at 72x, with 8-10 stars embedded in a dim glow.

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 7789 - OC. At 26x, this was a large, diffuse glow of barely resolved stars. Increasing the magnification to 72x resolved it into a lovely cluster of about two dozen stars spread across 1/4 degree of sky.

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:
26x - barely detectable.
41x - easier, but still difficult.
72x - possible central brightening.

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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