Actually managed the first observing session since the end of June last night, 24th October 2008. As I was tired I couldn't be bothered to lug the scope out so I took the binoculars (8x42) out. After finishing the Astronomical League Messier Binocular Award (see previous post), I have now began the AL Deep Sky Binocular Award.
It was cloudless but chilly and breezy with steady seeing (not a twinkle to be seen!).
It got off to a decent start with 12 objects in and around Cassiopeia, Perseus and Camelopardalis, all open clusters: NGC's 869 and 884 (together making up the Double Cluster), 663, 457, 129, 1893 and 1528, Stock 2, Trumplers 2 and 3, Kemble 1, Collinder 463 and Melotte 20 (the Alpha Persei Association).
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
AL Observing Pin
I got my Astronomical League Messier Binocular pin and certificate today. The pin is now on my Texas Star Party cap along with my other observing pins I got at the TSP in 2006 and 2008. :-)
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Autumn is here...
...with the promise of longer nights, but will it be clear? For a die hard visual deep sky observer like myself, the shitty weather all summer has been hard to live with. I miss observing, and have only had frustrating, hazy, glimpses of the jewels beyond through holes in almost endless cloud cover. Bugger La Nina and Britain's stupid maritime climate, but here's hoping that with the winding down of the La Nina effect the conditions will improve.
Monday, 8 September 2008
Large Hadron Rap
I normally hate rap, being more into heavy metal, but I just have to share this, it's great:
On a serious note, I am looking forward to the science from this awesome device. And no, the world is NOT going to end. Not because of the LHC anyway.
On a serious note, I am looking forward to the science from this awesome device. And no, the world is NOT going to end. Not because of the LHC anyway.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Observing 30th June-1st July 2008
It was clear last night and I didn't have to be at work today so I set up the 12 inch for an hour or two of observing under less-than-ideal conditions - it was clear enough, but as the solstice was only ten days ago, it wasn't really dark enough for serious deep sky observing but as I am fed up with no observing and at least *something* was visible I went out anyway. As it was, it didn't get 'dark' enough for observing until after midnight, when brighter portions of the Milky Way became visible.
I did, however, begin the Astronomical League Globular Cluster Observing Program as summer is a prime time for hunting these and there are rich pickings to be had in Ophiuchus and what parts of Scorpius and Sagittarius there are accessible to those of us at these northern latitudes. I'd bought the AL's Globular Cluster book at TSP in 2006 with the intention of doing this program.
Seeing was excellent, very steady (detail was visible on Jupiter when it rose higher) and transparency was also very good, with little haze. Shame about the sky not being quite dark, though!
Because of the fairly light sky, finding stuff was a little difficult and actually seeing it was worse, but I found things that I would never have seen with the old 8 inch.
NGC 6426 was the first GC on my list. It's located just north of an attractive white double, 61 Ophiuchi. It was round, very faint and not resolved. I couldn't see it at all at 44x but it was seen at 102x. 2330 UT (0030 BST).
Because of the conditions, I messed around looking at brighter stuff and then packed up at 0100 UT (0200 BST). There was, at 0010 UT (0110 BST), a bright meteor which left a green trail through Cepheus.
I got to use my new 35mm TeleVue Panoptic for the first time on my 12 inch (although it had its actual 'first light' on Larry Mitchell's 36 inch Obsession at TSP last month) and my slight concerns about it being too heavy and tipping the scope were unfounded. The balance on the 12 inch, and the friction on the bearings, are so good that it stayed put when the big eyepiece was put into the focusser. The view was good right across the field to the edges, with practically no coma.
I did, however, begin the Astronomical League Globular Cluster Observing Program as summer is a prime time for hunting these and there are rich pickings to be had in Ophiuchus and what parts of Scorpius and Sagittarius there are accessible to those of us at these northern latitudes. I'd bought the AL's Globular Cluster book at TSP in 2006 with the intention of doing this program.
Seeing was excellent, very steady (detail was visible on Jupiter when it rose higher) and transparency was also very good, with little haze. Shame about the sky not being quite dark, though!
Because of the fairly light sky, finding stuff was a little difficult and actually seeing it was worse, but I found things that I would never have seen with the old 8 inch.
NGC 6426 was the first GC on my list. It's located just north of an attractive white double, 61 Ophiuchi. It was round, very faint and not resolved. I couldn't see it at all at 44x but it was seen at 102x. 2330 UT (0030 BST).
Because of the conditions, I messed around looking at brighter stuff and then packed up at 0100 UT (0200 BST). There was, at 0010 UT (0110 BST), a bright meteor which left a green trail through Cepheus.
I got to use my new 35mm TeleVue Panoptic for the first time on my 12 inch (although it had its actual 'first light' on Larry Mitchell's 36 inch Obsession at TSP last month) and my slight concerns about it being too heavy and tipping the scope were unfounded. The balance on the 12 inch, and the friction on the bearings, are so good that it stayed put when the big eyepiece was put into the focusser. The view was good right across the field to the edges, with practically no coma.
Friday, 20 June 2008
Nights will draw in - thank goodness!
Depending on who you listen to, the summer solstice is either today (it bloody well felt like 'the longest day' at work today, too) or tomorrow the 21st, depending on who you listen to. On the local news today, according to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich the solstice is today, but according to other parties (New Age types and druids) it is at 0100 BST (0000 UT) on the morning of the 21st. I'll stick with the astronomers' version, I think, rather than the druidic claims.
At least the 'longest day' is now over for 2008 and thankfully the light hours will be getting fewer and those of us stuck at higher latitudes will be able to a) observe and b) observe at more reasonable hours as the nights draw in. I hate mid-summer - and the weather's crap again this year, too (I can see it going the same way as 2007 when half of England was flooded and it didn't stop raining until September).
The long-range weather forecast isn't promising for the rest of June and the whole of July. Long-range forecasts can be about as accurate as astrology although, unlike astrology, they cannot be entirely dismissed.
At least the 'longest day' is now over for 2008 and thankfully the light hours will be getting fewer and those of us stuck at higher latitudes will be able to a) observe and b) observe at more reasonable hours as the nights draw in. I hate mid-summer - and the weather's crap again this year, too (I can see it going the same way as 2007 when half of England was flooded and it didn't stop raining until September).
The long-range weather forecast isn't promising for the rest of June and the whole of July. Long-range forecasts can be about as accurate as astrology although, unlike astrology, they cannot be entirely dismissed.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Slightly related to the above: I am thinking more and more about leaving the UK for a drier and warmer climate. Apart from the point of view of observing and the British weather is f**king awful for an astronomer, I also get SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder and hate the cloudy winter days. I like the long nights when it is clear and I can get out and observe, but I loathe the clouds and damp weather we mostly get. Besides I have a couple of old back and shoulder injuries, plus joint trouble, and the damp causes pain in these areas.
It's all very well for Australians and others to moan about a couple of weeks of shit observing conditions, but try living on a group of islands in the north-eastern Atlantic when shit observing conditions go on for bloody months. Then you can really bloody complain about the conditions.
I am hoping to do an IT network engineering course in September, and eventually I hope I can emigrate. A bad day in my current, menial, job and the fact it is raining - again - has put me in a bad mood!
Thursday, 19 June 2008
New toys
At TSP, I bought a 2" fit 35mm TeleVue Panoptic eyepiece (I don't really need one, but I have always wanted one which is a good enough reason). It is pretty heavy, though, and I am hoping I will not have to make too many (any!) adjustments to the balance of the scope.
35mm Panoptic
I also bought - second hand - a 4 inch Meade Schmidt Cassegrain for the bargain price of $110. I have to admit that I need an SCT like a hole in the head, but I couldn't resist it and it will be a good travel scope (unlike the little refractor travel scope I already have and which doesn't focus very well without racking it in until it will go no further and also has a godawful mount on it). This is a cute little scope. I also had to get a 2" diagonal to fit it, which cost me an additional $50 but this was also a bargain.
The Meade with the 2" diagonal and 35mm Panoptic in it
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
'Observation Manager'
While surfing various astronomy sites I came across 'Observation Manager', a German-made observing notes software. I've downloaded it as it looks interesting.
It is a nice, easy-to-use clean interface and you can enter information easily. The lack of a 'Help' menu is irritating, but the program is so easy to use that it doesn't really matter -anyway it was free so I can't really complain about anything I suppose!
To enter an observation, select 'Create Observation' and then fill in the necessary details of location, scope, etc. To add notes, click on 'Deepsky Finding Details'.
Another slight irritation is that the utterly pointless and waste-of-time 'Caldwell Catalogue' is in there and is the default option, rather than the RNGC (the RNGC is in there of course, but the list follows alphabetical order so Caldwell pops up first).
If you neglect to enter an observer or any other piece of data then the program will not let you proceed further, so you have to - annoyingly - scrap the observation, enter the required data in 'Create New...' and start again.
It's not a bad little bit of freeware though, but I'll stick with - mostly - my Deepsky program I bought at TSP a couple of weeks (a couple of weeks??!!) ago.
It is a nice, easy-to-use clean interface and you can enter information easily. The lack of a 'Help' menu is irritating, but the program is so easy to use that it doesn't really matter -anyway it was free so I can't really complain about anything I suppose!
To enter an observation, select 'Create Observation' and then fill in the necessary details of location, scope, etc. To add notes, click on 'Deepsky Finding Details'.
Another slight irritation is that the utterly pointless and waste-of-time 'Caldwell Catalogue' is in there and is the default option, rather than the RNGC (the RNGC is in there of course, but the list follows alphabetical order so Caldwell pops up first).
If you neglect to enter an observer or any other piece of data then the program will not let you proceed further, so you have to - annoyingly - scrap the observation, enter the required data in 'Create New...' and start again.
It's not a bad little bit of freeware though, but I'll stick with - mostly - my Deepsky program I bought at TSP a couple of weeks (a couple of weeks??!!) ago.
Friday, 13 June 2008
Some observations from TSP
Here are some observations from TSP. Of course, I did sketches too, but these aren't scanned in yet. The observations here were put together using the Deepsky software I bought at TSP. The software is good, once you have sussed out how to use it, and I like the Logbook feature (used to make the observation notes below).
You can upload your observations to a blog but this is the downside - you have to have an account with Astronomy Blogs. That's no problem because it's free and it doesn't take long to sign up but I use Blogspot (Blogger) and want to continue to use Blogspot for my blog. So, a choice would be nice. Besides Astronomy Blogs has problems - missing pages, 'funny' dates (my uploaded observations came out dated 12/31/1969 which is a month before I was born - WTF??!) and doesn't seem to be very active and I don't see it lasting. Still, I can cut and paste my observations from there to here or my main site if I want to.
Object: NGC 6572 - Emerald Nebula, PK 34+11.1
Deepsky Catalog: NGC 2000
Date Observed: 13/06/2008 19:45:28
Object RA: 18h 12.10533m
Object Declination: 6d 51.2155'
Object Type: PlnNeb
Constellation: Oph
Magnitude: 9
Size: 0.1
Locate Method: Star Hopping
Observing Location: Prude Ranch, Fort Davis, TX, USA
Primary Equipment Used: 36" Dobsonian
Power/Magnification Used: 232x
Transparency/Seeing: Deepsky Extremely Clear / Deepsky Mostly Stable
Detailed Observing Notes: Bright blue PN with a dense bright centre (central star?), surrounded by fainter halo. Beautiful object.
You can upload your observations to a blog but this is the downside - you have to have an account with Astronomy Blogs. That's no problem because it's free and it doesn't take long to sign up but I use Blogspot (Blogger) and want to continue to use Blogspot for my blog. So, a choice would be nice. Besides Astronomy Blogs has problems - missing pages, 'funny' dates (my uploaded observations came out dated 12/31/1969 which is a month before I was born - WTF??!) and doesn't seem to be very active and I don't see it lasting. Still, I can cut and paste my observations from there to here or my main site if I want to.
Object: NGC 6572 - Emerald Nebula, PK 34+11.1
Deepsky Catalog: NGC 2000
Date Observed: 13/06/2008 19:45:28
Object RA: 18h 12.10533m
Object Declination: 6d 51.2155'
Object Type: PlnNeb
Constellation: Oph
Magnitude: 9
Size: 0.1
Locate Method: Star Hopping
Observing Location: Prude Ranch, Fort Davis, TX, USA
Primary Equipment Used: 36" Dobsonian
Power/Magnification Used: 232x
Transparency/Seeing: Deepsky Extremely Clear / Deepsky Mostly Stable
Detailed Observing Notes: Bright blue PN with a dense bright centre (central star?), surrounded by fainter halo. Beautiful object.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Object: NGC 4216
Deepsky Catalog: NGC 2000
Date Observed: 13/06/2008 19:39:47
Object RA: 12h 15.90433m
Object Declination: 13d 8.985'
Object Type: Gx
Constellation: Vir
Magnitude: 10
Size: 8.3
Locate Method: Star Hopping
Observing Location: Prude Ranch, Fort Davis, TX, USA
Primary Equipment Used: 36" Dobsonian
Power/Magnification Used: 232x
Transparency/Seeing: Deepsky Extremely Clear / Deepsky Mostly Stable
Detailed Observing Notes: A superb view with the 36". 4216 is very large, very bright and elongated, with a bright compact core.
-----------------------------------------------------
Object: NGC 4206
Deepsky Catalog: NGC 2000
Date Observed: 13/06/2008 19:20:47
Time Observed: 23:00Local
Object RA: 12h 15.27917m Object Declination: 13d 1.438333'
Object Type: Gx
Constellation: Vir
Magnitude: 12.1
Size: 5.2
Locate Method: Star Hopping
Observing Location: Prude Ranch, Fort Davis, TX, USA
Primary Equipment Used: 36inch Dobsonian
Transparency/Seeing: Deepsky Extremely Clear / Deepsky Mostly Stable
Detailed Observing Notes: NGC 4206 is an elongated edge-on galaxy. It is in the same f.o.v. as NGC 4216 through the 36" at 232x, but is smaller, fainter and lacks a bright core.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Object: NGC 3190 group/Hickson 44
Deepsky Catalog: Hickson Catalog of Compact Groups of Galaxies
Date Observed: 03/06/2008 20:13:47
Locate Method: Star Hopping
Observing Location: Prude Ranch, Fort Davis, TX, USA
Primary Equipment Used: 36" Dobsonian
Power/Magnification Used: 232x
Transparency/Seeing: Deepsky Extremely Clear/Deepsky Mostly Stable
Detailed Observing Notes: A nice group of galaxies. NGC 3190 is the brightest member with a prominent dust lane and its elongated.
NGC 3187 is faint, round and evenly bright
NGC 3185 has a slight brightening towards the centre.
NGC 3193 is round with a dense core and a fuzzy halo.
Texas Star Party 2008 - Part 2
Here's the second - and final - part of my trip to the 2008 Texas Star Party.
Day 5 - Friday 6th June 2008:
I had put my name down for the Friday trip to McDonald Observatory but ended up not going and crossed myself off the list because I was too tired and didn't fancy a 12 mile trip in an old non-air conditioned school bus in 100 degree heat. I wasn't that bothered because I had been before in 2006.
In addition to the Globular program, I have also finished a binocular program so there's another pin to add to my collection. Cool! Talking of observing pins, I have seen several people including Ben Jones, Barbara Wilson, Larry Mitchell, Steve Goldberg, Amelia Goldberg and Matt Delavoryas wearing dozens of TSP and Astronomical League observing pins on hats, scarves and jackets. That's pretty inspiring and I am going to aim for some AL pins - one reason I joined the AL was to do their observing programs. I have just about completed my binocular Messier project - and I'll send the observations off to the AL soon. Observing programs and their associated pins are a great way of doing a structured observing program.
I have what seems to be a cold, but it could be just an adverse reaction to the dust and smoke.
Visited the 'swap-meet' at the vendors hall and somehow came away with a 4 inch Meade SCT and a 2-inch diagonal to fit it, for the bargain sum of $160 (the scope was $110). I also went into the vendors again and bought some decent-looking software 'Deepsky' from Bob Kepple's (he of 'The Night Sky Observer's Guide' and 'Astro Cards' fame) stand.
Visited Jimi Lowrey's 48 inch scope for an observing session - wow, what a beauty and a thoroughly enviable set up; Jimi is living the dream. I was there at the invitation of Larry Mitchell, who was invited and was asked to invite a few people of his choice. I was really pleased to be asked as opportunities for observing with such a big scope are few and far between.
I didn't do any sketching, not enough time as we had a big list of objects we wanted to see. I also didn't write down what we saw, but as we all saw the same things another member of our group, Jose, did and is going to send me the list.
The 48 inch makes the unobservable observable, the faint, dim and fuzzy bright and detailed and the bright and spectacular simply awesome. M51 filled the field of view - it looked like the size of a saucer - and was better than a photograph. The arms were full of detail, HII regions shone and the whole thing was akin to a 'religious experience'. The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), the Saturn Nebula (NGC 7009) (bright blue-green and showing lobes and 'layers'), Hickson 88, Stephan's Quintet and the Ring Nebula (M57) were also incredible. The Ring showed massive amounts of detail and, for the first time ever, I actually saw a colour other than blue or green in a deep sky object. The Ring was blue-green, but the outer portion of the ring was pink. The pink was subtle but it was obvious. The central hole was filled in, giving a gauzy effect and the central star was visible.
As for the globular M13, this was more detailed than I have ever seen before. The propeller feature was very obvious, looking exactly like a ship or aircraft propeller, a black mark on a bright background.
Another first for me was seeing Neptune as a disk and its moons. The planet was a lovely blue. Jupiter's moons were also disks (these firsts keep on coming!) and as for Jupiter itself, wow! It was tack sharp in moments of good seeing and the detail was - at the risk of being cliched - photographic, with the Great Red Spot (more pale pink than red) and other spots seen, as well as belts, bands and festoons.
Jimi kept saying how the night wasn't very good and the seeing was soft - actually it was a little soft - but to someone from the UK used to really shit observing conditions it was an awesome night. It's all relative.
At the end of the night we all agreed that it was one of the most magical nights of astronomy any of us had ever had. The 'feeling' of the occasion was also helped by the native American music ('Sacred Spirit Vol II' and 'Wolves') that Jimi - who is of Cherokee descent - put on his stereo.
We eventually got back to the Prude Ranch at 0600.
Day 6 - Saturday 7th June 2008:
The last day of the 2008 Texas Star Party, sadly. It may be hot, but I wish it could go on forever. There are some ominous-looking clouds to the north of us but hopefully they will move away and we can have a final night of observing at TSP 2008.
Later: the clouds have filled the sky, it's not looking good for any observing.
The evening's talk was 'The Mysteries of the Universe' by Bob Berman of Astronomy Magazine, which was a fun and entertaining talk. The questions were almost hijacked by a guy who wanted to take Bob on on some issue until Barbara Wilson (the MC) shot him down in flames. It was the same guy who tried to bore Robert Reeves and myself to death earlier in the evening at dinner by talking about mathematics. Won nothing in the 'Great Texas Giveaway' this time, but I never do anything in raffles anyway. The grand prize this evening was a 13mm Televue Ethos. Faux prayers were offered but sadly, it was not to be.
By the time we left the meeting a spectacular lightning storm was underway, so it was time for chat and farewells before going to bed before 1am.
Day 5 - Friday 6th June 2008:
I had put my name down for the Friday trip to McDonald Observatory but ended up not going and crossed myself off the list because I was too tired and didn't fancy a 12 mile trip in an old non-air conditioned school bus in 100 degree heat. I wasn't that bothered because I had been before in 2006.
In addition to the Globular program, I have also finished a binocular program so there's another pin to add to my collection. Cool! Talking of observing pins, I have seen several people including Ben Jones, Barbara Wilson, Larry Mitchell, Steve Goldberg, Amelia Goldberg and Matt Delavoryas wearing dozens of TSP and Astronomical League observing pins on hats, scarves and jackets. That's pretty inspiring and I am going to aim for some AL pins - one reason I joined the AL was to do their observing programs. I have just about completed my binocular Messier project - and I'll send the observations off to the AL soon. Observing programs and their associated pins are a great way of doing a structured observing program.
I have what seems to be a cold, but it could be just an adverse reaction to the dust and smoke.
Visited the 'swap-meet' at the vendors hall and somehow came away with a 4 inch Meade SCT and a 2-inch diagonal to fit it, for the bargain sum of $160 (the scope was $110). I also went into the vendors again and bought some decent-looking software 'Deepsky' from Bob Kepple's (he of 'The Night Sky Observer's Guide' and 'Astro Cards' fame) stand.
Visited Jimi Lowrey's 48 inch scope for an observing session - wow, what a beauty and a thoroughly enviable set up; Jimi is living the dream. I was there at the invitation of Larry Mitchell, who was invited and was asked to invite a few people of his choice. I was really pleased to be asked as opportunities for observing with such a big scope are few and far between.
I didn't do any sketching, not enough time as we had a big list of objects we wanted to see. I also didn't write down what we saw, but as we all saw the same things another member of our group, Jose, did and is going to send me the list.
The 48 inch makes the unobservable observable, the faint, dim and fuzzy bright and detailed and the bright and spectacular simply awesome. M51 filled the field of view - it looked like the size of a saucer - and was better than a photograph. The arms were full of detail, HII regions shone and the whole thing was akin to a 'religious experience'. The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), the Saturn Nebula (NGC 7009) (bright blue-green and showing lobes and 'layers'), Hickson 88, Stephan's Quintet and the Ring Nebula (M57) were also incredible. The Ring showed massive amounts of detail and, for the first time ever, I actually saw a colour other than blue or green in a deep sky object. The Ring was blue-green, but the outer portion of the ring was pink. The pink was subtle but it was obvious. The central hole was filled in, giving a gauzy effect and the central star was visible.
As for the globular M13, this was more detailed than I have ever seen before. The propeller feature was very obvious, looking exactly like a ship or aircraft propeller, a black mark on a bright background.
Another first for me was seeing Neptune as a disk and its moons. The planet was a lovely blue. Jupiter's moons were also disks (these firsts keep on coming!) and as for Jupiter itself, wow! It was tack sharp in moments of good seeing and the detail was - at the risk of being cliched - photographic, with the Great Red Spot (more pale pink than red) and other spots seen, as well as belts, bands and festoons.
Jimi kept saying how the night wasn't very good and the seeing was soft - actually it was a little soft - but to someone from the UK used to really shit observing conditions it was an awesome night. It's all relative.
At the end of the night we all agreed that it was one of the most magical nights of astronomy any of us had ever had. The 'feeling' of the occasion was also helped by the native American music ('Sacred Spirit Vol II' and 'Wolves') that Jimi - who is of Cherokee descent - put on his stereo.
We eventually got back to the Prude Ranch at 0600.
Day 6 - Saturday 7th June 2008:
The last day of the 2008 Texas Star Party, sadly. It may be hot, but I wish it could go on forever. There are some ominous-looking clouds to the north of us but hopefully they will move away and we can have a final night of observing at TSP 2008.
Later: the clouds have filled the sky, it's not looking good for any observing.
The evening's talk was 'The Mysteries of the Universe' by Bob Berman of Astronomy Magazine, which was a fun and entertaining talk. The questions were almost hijacked by a guy who wanted to take Bob on on some issue until Barbara Wilson (the MC) shot him down in flames. It was the same guy who tried to bore Robert Reeves and myself to death earlier in the evening at dinner by talking about mathematics. Won nothing in the 'Great Texas Giveaway' this time, but I never do anything in raffles anyway. The grand prize this evening was a 13mm Televue Ethos. Faux prayers were offered but sadly, it was not to be.
By the time we left the meeting a spectacular lightning storm was underway, so it was time for chat and farewells before going to bed before 1am.
Lightning over the Davis Mountains - best shot I got.
Sunday 8th June 2008:
Long drive back to San Antonio via Fort Stockton for breakfast and Ozona. Heat exhaustion, tiredness and a chest problem due to dust and smoke caught up with me and, combined with plain old car sickness, necessitated a stop alongside Interstate 10 near Junction for me to get out and part with seven dollars' worth of breakfast, but this was a small price to pay for the amazing Texas Star Party we all had.
I flew home on Tuesday evening on an overnight Delta flight to Gatwick via Atlanta, arriving back on the Isle of Wight late Wednesday morning.
All-in-all this, my second, was a fabulous TSP and people were saying it was the best, observationally, for years due to the wonderfully clear skies and warm night-time conditions. The smoke on Wednesday night and the cloud-out on Saturday were minor irritations.
All that's left now is to say a MASSIVE thank you to - first and foremost - Robert and Mary Reeves (and the cats!) of San Antonio for hospitality and lifts to and from the airport and the Prude Ranch, Larry Mitchell, Amelia and Steve Goldberg, Bob Summerfield, Mike Planchon, David Moody, Richard and Connie Brown, Becky Ramatowski, Tracey Knauss, Barbara and Buster Wilson, Ben Jones, Jim and Ana Chandler, Todd Hargis, Jose Sancho, Jimi Lowrey, David Nagler, Matt Delavoryas, Bill Christian, Keith and Jan Venables (fellow 'Brits') and many others for help, telescope use and hospitality over the week.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Texas Star Party 2008 - Photos
Here are some photos from this year's Texas Star Party:
These are various views of the upper telescope field, showing how dusty it was. The Texas Star Party is (in)famous for the dust and there was plenty of it this year:
These are various views of the upper telescope field, showing how dusty it was. The Texas Star Party is (in)famous for the dust and there was plenty of it this year:
Here is the 'Belt of Venus' phenomenon, seen from the upper field.You can see the shadow clearly in the pic:
On Wednesday night there was a big grass fire to the south west and it was visible from the ranch as a glow reflected in the smoke. It was actually further away (around 20 miles distant) than it appears in this photo:
The Milky Way from the upper field:
Monday, 9 June 2008
Texas Star Party 2008 - Part 1
I am back from the Texas Star Party, although I am not back in the UK until Wednesday. I'm staying in San Antonio until my flight home tomorrow night.
The TSP was excellent and, from what I've heard and read about previous ones, one of the best ever. We had five nights (six for those who were there on the first Sunday) of outstanding observing - ok, four and a half nights as the first half of Wednesday night was affected by smoke from a massive grass fire 20 miles away to the south west of us. The days were the hottest temperatures I have ever been in, and the thermometer regularly topped 104 degrees - I have to admit that, as a British Isles resident, I found it a bit hard to live with but fortunately the air conditioning in the Prude Ranch buildings worked very well. As I overheard someone say to another person: "The heat'll kick your ass", and it did several people's, including mine.
Ok, here's a day-by-day account of the TSP (I have photos but I'll add these when I get home on Wednesday):
Day 1 - Monday 2nd June 2008:
We - that is Robert Reeves and I - arrived at the Prude Ranch in the early afternoon. The weather is hot, scorchingly so - it must be at least a hundred degrees on the Upper Field. I helped Robert set up but the most we could really do was sit on top of his cooler and drink - a lot of - beer. The sky is clear and things look promising for the night to come.
We registered and renewed friendships from before. I met Larry Mitchell again and he invited me to share his 36-inch Obsession for observing.
I observed until 0215 - I hate giving up on a superb night so quickly but I was tired because I'd been up since 5am the previous morning and we'd left San Antonio at 6.
I began the 'Globular Glory' observing program with my 8x42s to pick off the brighter and easier ones and also Larry's gigantic 6 inch Japanese binoculars (these are of World War 2 vintage and previously belonged to a Japanese battleship). I also observed with Larry's 36 inch but not do much sketching due to being tired.
Day 2 - Tuesday 3rd June 2008:
Another blisteringly hot day in the low 100's.
I visited the vendors' (always a dangerous time for my wallet) and came away with a 35mm Televue Panoptic (I have always wanted one but they are way too expensive in the UK, at least twice the price you pay in the US), a copy of Kanipe and Webb's 'The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies' (again much cheaper than at home) and an auto-collimator.
Observed until 5am with Larry's scope, the Yard Scope (another 36-incher) which I used to knock off most of my Globular Glory observing program, and Mike Planchon's 20x125mm binoculars. Did quite a few sketches of galaxies.
Day 3 - Wednesday 4th June 2008:
Again, incredibly hot. Late in the afternoon we noticed a huge plume of smoke coming from the south west and rumours spread just as quickly as the fire did. It turned out to be a massive bush fire covering some 50,000 acres. There was concern as the fire at one point was coming closer to us and the possibility of having to evacuate the Prude Ranch did cross a few people's minds, but fortunately this was not necessary. The TSP and Prude staff kept in contact with the relevant authorities by radio and phone just in case evacuation of the Prude Ranch became necessary and to keep up with the progress of the fire.
The smoke made life uncomfortable for all of us, causing eye and lung irritations. I thought I'd forgotten to bring my asthma inhalers and, although my asthma is mild and not at all serious it was beginning to make its presence felt. Luckily I found the inhalers in my jacket pocket but because of the smoke, I felt like I was getting a severe cold and chest infection.
Because of the smoke no-one did any really serious observing but I did manage to finish my Globular Glory program, courtesy of Mike Planchon's giant binoculars. I also spent time chatting with Barbara Wilson, Ben Jones, Larry Mitchell, Steve Goldberg, Jimi Lowrey (who owns a newly completed 48-inch Dobsonian in an observatory at Limpia Crossing, near the ranch) and David Nagler (he of Televue fame). We got to try out a new prototype Denkmeier binocular image intensifier through Barbara's 20-inch Dobsonian and it was pretty impressive. Is this the future of visual observing? Probably not if they aren't allowed to export it (something to do with US technology having to stay in the States - boo). The worst of the smoke cleared up at around 2 am and although people were saying how crap the seeing was it was still better than the shitty skies we get at home.
Day 4 - Thursday 5th June 2008:
The TSP was excellent and, from what I've heard and read about previous ones, one of the best ever. We had five nights (six for those who were there on the first Sunday) of outstanding observing - ok, four and a half nights as the first half of Wednesday night was affected by smoke from a massive grass fire 20 miles away to the south west of us. The days were the hottest temperatures I have ever been in, and the thermometer regularly topped 104 degrees - I have to admit that, as a British Isles resident, I found it a bit hard to live with but fortunately the air conditioning in the Prude Ranch buildings worked very well. As I overheard someone say to another person: "The heat'll kick your ass", and it did several people's, including mine.
Ok, here's a day-by-day account of the TSP (I have photos but I'll add these when I get home on Wednesday):
Day 1 - Monday 2nd June 2008:
We - that is Robert Reeves and I - arrived at the Prude Ranch in the early afternoon. The weather is hot, scorchingly so - it must be at least a hundred degrees on the Upper Field. I helped Robert set up but the most we could really do was sit on top of his cooler and drink - a lot of - beer. The sky is clear and things look promising for the night to come.
We registered and renewed friendships from before. I met Larry Mitchell again and he invited me to share his 36-inch Obsession for observing.
I observed until 0215 - I hate giving up on a superb night so quickly but I was tired because I'd been up since 5am the previous morning and we'd left San Antonio at 6.
I began the 'Globular Glory' observing program with my 8x42s to pick off the brighter and easier ones and also Larry's gigantic 6 inch Japanese binoculars (these are of World War 2 vintage and previously belonged to a Japanese battleship). I also observed with Larry's 36 inch but not do much sketching due to being tired.
Day 2 - Tuesday 3rd June 2008:
Another blisteringly hot day in the low 100's.
I visited the vendors' (always a dangerous time for my wallet) and came away with a 35mm Televue Panoptic (I have always wanted one but they are way too expensive in the UK, at least twice the price you pay in the US), a copy of Kanipe and Webb's 'The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies' (again much cheaper than at home) and an auto-collimator.
Observed until 5am with Larry's scope, the Yard Scope (another 36-incher) which I used to knock off most of my Globular Glory observing program, and Mike Planchon's 20x125mm binoculars. Did quite a few sketches of galaxies.
Day 3 - Wednesday 4th June 2008:
Again, incredibly hot. Late in the afternoon we noticed a huge plume of smoke coming from the south west and rumours spread just as quickly as the fire did. It turned out to be a massive bush fire covering some 50,000 acres. There was concern as the fire at one point was coming closer to us and the possibility of having to evacuate the Prude Ranch did cross a few people's minds, but fortunately this was not necessary. The TSP and Prude staff kept in contact with the relevant authorities by radio and phone just in case evacuation of the Prude Ranch became necessary and to keep up with the progress of the fire.
The smoke made life uncomfortable for all of us, causing eye and lung irritations. I thought I'd forgotten to bring my asthma inhalers and, although my asthma is mild and not at all serious it was beginning to make its presence felt. Luckily I found the inhalers in my jacket pocket but because of the smoke, I felt like I was getting a severe cold and chest infection.
Because of the smoke no-one did any really serious observing but I did manage to finish my Globular Glory program, courtesy of Mike Planchon's giant binoculars. I also spent time chatting with Barbara Wilson, Ben Jones, Larry Mitchell, Steve Goldberg, Jimi Lowrey (who owns a newly completed 48-inch Dobsonian in an observatory at Limpia Crossing, near the ranch) and David Nagler (he of Televue fame). We got to try out a new prototype Denkmeier binocular image intensifier through Barbara's 20-inch Dobsonian and it was pretty impressive. Is this the future of visual observing? Probably not if they aren't allowed to export it (something to do with US technology having to stay in the States - boo). The worst of the smoke cleared up at around 2 am and although people were saying how crap the seeing was it was still better than the shitty skies we get at home.
Day 4 - Thursday 5th June 2008:
The fires are still burning and from what I have heard, 50,000 acres were destroyed, including a ranch (killing the cattle). As someone noted at lunch it sounds as if half of south-west Texas is on fire.
I did my talk this afternoon and it was well-received. I was given a 'Texas Star Party Certificate of Merit' for it which was a nice touch. I also picked up my globular cluster observing pin from John Wagoner.
Another all-nighter until 0530. I spent most of it with Larry's 36 inch and did a lot of sketches. I also observed with Jim Chandler's 30 inch and Barbara Wilson's 20 inch. The most interesting object of the night was the ring galaxy Hoag's Object (PGC 54559) in Serpens Caput, seen though the 30 inch. The core was seen easily enough but the ring was tougher. Some people saw it, others didn't. I eventually saw it, but only after a lot of staring with averted vision. Part of it popped into view, then another part and eventually the whole ring appeared for a second before disappearing again.
Also observed Sharpless 2-71, a faint planetary. On Barbara's MegaStar image it looked as if it had a huge ? stamped on it but only part of this was visible through any of the large Dobs.
I managed to drop my Nikon D80 into the Prude dust but before I went to bed at 0600 I cleaned it up with no damage done - that dust is evil stuff and you don't want it anywhere near optics of any sort. I just hope none has found its way inside but as I have not changed lenses it should be ok - I hope.
Part 2 - plus photos - to follow...
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Off to TSP
I'm setting off for Texas tomorrow (hotel at Gatwick then transAtlantic flight to San Antonio via Atlanta mid morning Saturday).
The long-range weather forecast for the Fort Davis area looks promising - I hope it's accurate! - and I am hoping for at least a couple of good nights' observing. I have plenty of offers to share large scopes so I should - weather permitting, of course - be able to get lots of good sketches and observations...I am aiming for another TSP Observing Pin, too. Last time I got a binocular pin and I am hoping for an Advanced Pin this time.
The long-range weather forecast for the Fort Davis area looks promising - I hope it's accurate! - and I am hoping for at least a couple of good nights' observing. I have plenty of offers to share large scopes so I should - weather permitting, of course - be able to get lots of good sketches and observations...I am aiming for another TSP Observing Pin, too. Last time I got a binocular pin and I am hoping for an Advanced Pin this time.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Don't we know it!
While browsing deep sky websites I was reading Steve Waldee's excellent website and his essays. One, in particular, caught my eye - 'Astronomical Chauvinism - Alive and Well' - which is basically about how location can affect how well, or not, a particular object is seen. An observer in northern Europe might dismiss an observation of a difficult object made by an observer in California, for example, and as Steve points out, to do so is just plain wrong because the conditions in Europe are not as favourable as those in parts of the USA or Australia.
I do feel that he does rub it in slightly - albeit unintentionally - when he states that "But, would I trade the skies of Arizona and California for those of the British midlands? Certainly not." Steve, and others, are obviously in no doubt how fortunate living in those places make them and the rest of us who are not so lucky can only dream of leaving cloudy, murky, over-crowded, light polluted Britain (I'm working on it!). Steve, you could have Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Debussy (classical music does nothing for me anyway) and even Patrick Moore if we could have better observing conditions in the UK!
All being well, I'll be in Texas this time next week. I leave on Friday for Gatwick and my flight to San Antonio via Atlanta is on Saturday. I'm hoping there'll be no delays at Atlanta and - more to the point - at Gatwick. The long range forecast for the Fort Davis area is looking excellent and I really hope it holds up for the whole TSP - it's the only decent observing I'll probably get all year!
I have three more days - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - to endure at work before then and I have a feeling they'll drag.
I do feel that he does rub it in slightly - albeit unintentionally - when he states that "But, would I trade the skies of Arizona and California for those of the British midlands? Certainly not." Steve, and others, are obviously in no doubt how fortunate living in those places make them and the rest of us who are not so lucky can only dream of leaving cloudy, murky, over-crowded, light polluted Britain (I'm working on it!). Steve, you could have Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Debussy (classical music does nothing for me anyway) and even Patrick Moore if we could have better observing conditions in the UK!
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All being well, I'll be in Texas this time next week. I leave on Friday for Gatwick and my flight to San Antonio via Atlanta is on Saturday. I'm hoping there'll be no delays at Atlanta and - more to the point - at Gatwick. The long range forecast for the Fort Davis area is looking excellent and I really hope it holds up for the whole TSP - it's the only decent observing I'll probably get all year!
I have three more days - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - to endure at work before then and I have a feeling they'll drag.
Monday, 19 May 2008
Collimation
During my last observing session with the 12-inch, the collimation was way off, so I was only able to use low powers which is a pain in the arse when you want a closer look at something. I couldn't suss out the laser collimator I got (it came without instructions - how stupid is that?!) although centering the beam on the primary helped a bit (but do not look down the tube to see where it is before holding a piece of paper in front of the scope to see where the return beam falls if it misses the secondary- if the beam is off, you might get an eyefull of laser and you certainly don't want that!).
However, after posting on Cloudy Nights I found out that centering the beam in the primary is not enough because that means that only the secondary is aligned. Once the beam is in the centre of the primary, you then have to adjust the screws on the primary so the laser return beam is centred on the hole in the centre of the view port on the laser - it will look like a tiny eclipse.
There is a super video on a website called Andy's Shot Glass and this is the best, most instructive tutorial on collimation anywhere I think: collimation video
The laser is great because that eliminates the need for a second person to twiddle the knobs while you look down the eyepiece. If you keep the laser view port facing the back of the scope you can see where the collimation is at and twiddle the knobs. Afterwards you can see what the mirrors look like with a collimation eyepiece (I made one from an old film canister I found in a drawer).
I am hoping for a clear night tonight so I can try it out, so it's full Moon, but that doesn't matter.
However, after posting on Cloudy Nights I found out that centering the beam in the primary is not enough because that means that only the secondary is aligned. Once the beam is in the centre of the primary, you then have to adjust the screws on the primary so the laser return beam is centred on the hole in the centre of the view port on the laser - it will look like a tiny eclipse.
There is a super video on a website called Andy's Shot Glass and this is the best, most instructive tutorial on collimation anywhere I think: collimation video
The laser is great because that eliminates the need for a second person to twiddle the knobs while you look down the eyepiece. If you keep the laser view port facing the back of the scope you can see where the collimation is at and twiddle the knobs. Afterwards you can see what the mirrors look like with a collimation eyepiece (I made one from an old film canister I found in a drawer).
I am hoping for a clear night tonight so I can try it out, so it's full Moon, but that doesn't matter.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
'Observing' 13th May 2008
It was clear but the moon is on its way up, so I took the refractor out instead of the 12". Sky conditions were dreadful to say the least - there was drifting cloud, a waxing gibbous moon and the high pressure haze was awful.
Not only that, my refractor's red dot finder had stopped working, due to me leaving it switched on last time I used it, sometime back in March, so I used it as a rough guide but in all honesty a red dot finder with no working red dot is useless - naturally it doesn't take sensible batteries such as AA or AAA ones, of which plenty are lying round the house, it takes a crappy little CR2032 flat thing which I had none of until a trip to Tesco this morning.
I did manage to look at a few bright deep sky objects and some double stars. I even looked at the moon (yes, you did read that right!) and that was impressive with my 8mm TeleVue Radian.
I didn't stay out long as I hate observing in conditions like that - it was so bright I could have read a book out there and the haze was appalling. It was like observing from the middle of London (and I have observed from London - it's crap!).
Two and a half weeks to TSP (two weeks until I finish work, can't wait, expecially as I'm planning on not going back to the job, too stressful!). I have been asked to do an afternoon talk on the Thursday, and my topic's going to be Visual Deep Sky Observing (From a UK Perspective). My friend Robert Reeves is on before me, so between us we've practically taken over the Thursday PM session! I'm looking forward to getting there and seeing everyone again. Naturally I hope that we have clear skies both day and night, but the TSP being in June this year, I'm not sure what the local conditions are - more thundery, I think. Whatever the conditions are, I'm up for a good time.
Not only that, my refractor's red dot finder had stopped working, due to me leaving it switched on last time I used it, sometime back in March, so I used it as a rough guide but in all honesty a red dot finder with no working red dot is useless - naturally it doesn't take sensible batteries such as AA or AAA ones, of which plenty are lying round the house, it takes a crappy little CR2032 flat thing which I had none of until a trip to Tesco this morning.
I did manage to look at a few bright deep sky objects and some double stars. I even looked at the moon (yes, you did read that right!) and that was impressive with my 8mm TeleVue Radian.
I didn't stay out long as I hate observing in conditions like that - it was so bright I could have read a book out there and the haze was appalling. It was like observing from the middle of London (and I have observed from London - it's crap!).
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Two and a half weeks to TSP (two weeks until I finish work, can't wait, expecially as I'm planning on not going back to the job, too stressful!). I have been asked to do an afternoon talk on the Thursday, and my topic's going to be Visual Deep Sky Observing (From a UK Perspective). My friend Robert Reeves is on before me, so between us we've practically taken over the Thursday PM session! I'm looking forward to getting there and seeing everyone again. Naturally I hope that we have clear skies both day and night, but the TSP being in June this year, I'm not sure what the local conditions are - more thundery, I think. Whatever the conditions are, I'm up for a good time.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Observing, 7th-8th May 2008
A much more transparent night due probably to a breeze that had been blowing during the day and into the evening. This died down when it got dark.
Set up the scope in twilight and wondered why, when I came to align the finder and check the collimation, I couldn't see a damned thing. The secondary holder had become misaligned but a quick adjustment soon sorted that out. The nut holding it had worked its way loose so two seconds with a spanner tightened it up - I'll have to keep an eye on that because the last thing I want is for the secondary to work loose and crash into the main mirror, which doesn't bare thinking about!
Date: 7th-8th May 2008:
Conditions: Clear, slight breeze (this died down after dark), cooler than previous evening, more transparent (on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is cloudy and 5 is excellent, this was around 4).
Scope: 12" f5 Dobsonian.
Place: near Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK.
As the conditions were more transparent than the previous night I looked for galaxies in Ursa Major - the 'lollipops' M81 and M82 were superb through the 12" ( a real 'wow' factor with lots of detail) and other, small, galaxies in the vicinity were easy to see: NGC 3077, NGC 2976 and, further away, NGC 2787.
Hercules was rising, so I had the obligatory look at M13 - it was a fantastic sight in the 12" with a dense core and arms of stars radiating out from it. I didn't do a sketch, that can wait until later in the year. While in the area, I decided to have a look at the galaxy near M13, NGC 6207. At low power (37x) both M13 and NGC 6207 are in the same field of view. NGC 6207 is a slightly elongated oval smudge, evenly bright.
It was on to NGC 6229 a globular cluster in Hercules. At 37x, this was obvious, next to a couple of bright stars. It's small, condensed, round and bright. Some stars resolved, but only just.
After this it was 1am and time to pack in.
Set up the scope in twilight and wondered why, when I came to align the finder and check the collimation, I couldn't see a damned thing. The secondary holder had become misaligned but a quick adjustment soon sorted that out. The nut holding it had worked its way loose so two seconds with a spanner tightened it up - I'll have to keep an eye on that because the last thing I want is for the secondary to work loose and crash into the main mirror, which doesn't bare thinking about!
Date: 7th-8th May 2008:
Conditions: Clear, slight breeze (this died down after dark), cooler than previous evening, more transparent (on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is cloudy and 5 is excellent, this was around 4).
Scope: 12" f5 Dobsonian.
Place: near Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK.
As the conditions were more transparent than the previous night I looked for galaxies in Ursa Major - the 'lollipops' M81 and M82 were superb through the 12" ( a real 'wow' factor with lots of detail) and other, small, galaxies in the vicinity were easy to see: NGC 3077, NGC 2976 and, further away, NGC 2787.
Hercules was rising, so I had the obligatory look at M13 - it was a fantastic sight in the 12" with a dense core and arms of stars radiating out from it. I didn't do a sketch, that can wait until later in the year. While in the area, I decided to have a look at the galaxy near M13, NGC 6207. At low power (37x) both M13 and NGC 6207 are in the same field of view. NGC 6207 is a slightly elongated oval smudge, evenly bright.
It was on to NGC 6229 a globular cluster in Hercules. At 37x, this was obvious, next to a couple of bright stars. It's small, condensed, round and bright. Some stars resolved, but only just.
After this it was 1am and time to pack in.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
The Herschel 400
I have never been one for doing systematic observing projects, always instead doing my own thing and either just choosing targets for any given session or just deciding what to observe 'when I got there', so to speak.
However, having just seen most (70) of the Messier Objects with a pair of 8x42 binoculars which was a project brought on by financially-induced scopelessness a few years ago, I have decided to have a bash at the Herschel 400. I have probably seen a lot of the Herschel 400 anyway (I'll have to dig out old notes to be sure) but observing them with the 12" will be a fun project. I want to re-observe previously seen stuff with the 12" anyway and I daresay this'll pick up quite a lot of Herschels.
I have the Astronomical League book 'Observe the Herschel Objects' (I also have their 'Herschel II' book) so, using that as a reference, this will be an ongoing project. It's going to take me quite a long time to complete because of the UK's crappy climate and also other commitments getting in the way of observing.
However, having just seen most (70) of the Messier Objects with a pair of 8x42 binoculars which was a project brought on by financially-induced scopelessness a few years ago, I have decided to have a bash at the Herschel 400. I have probably seen a lot of the Herschel 400 anyway (I'll have to dig out old notes to be sure) but observing them with the 12" will be a fun project. I want to re-observe previously seen stuff with the 12" anyway and I daresay this'll pick up quite a lot of Herschels.
I have the Astronomical League book 'Observe the Herschel Objects' (I also have their 'Herschel II' book) so, using that as a reference, this will be an ongoing project. It's going to take me quite a long time to complete because of the UK's crappy climate and also other commitments getting in the way of observing.
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The Telrad dew heater arrived this morning and I discovered a bit of a snag. I need to buy a dew controller to make it work. Bollocks!!! Oh well, I need one anyway for my refractor, so when I'm a bit more flush, I'll get one (they're around £45).
Observing 6th-7th May 2008
A beautiful day yesterday (6th May 2008) led to a clear, dry night so, as I didn't have to go to work the following morning it was time for a spot of observing.
Date: 6th-7th May 2008
Conditions: Clear, but milky sky (on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent, this ranked around 2.5 to 3), warm.
Scope: 12" f5 Dobsonian
Place: near Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK
Sadly, the sky was fairly milky and a lot of the fainter stuff was not visible but I did do a sketch of M51 whose spiral arms and HII regions were visible. I also located and sketched NGC 4036 and NGC 4041, galaxies in Ursa Major (and objects on the Herschel 400 list). Unfortunately a lot more UMa galaxies I wanted for the Herschel 400 were behind the tree in the garden by the time I got round to them, and will have to wait for another time.
This observing session was not without incident - the collimation went out on the scope (I need to do a few mods, I think) necessitating a lot of fiddling with laser collimater and allen keys (it's the secondary which is being a pain in the arse), I knocked my makeshift observing 'table' (an artist's rucksack cum stool) over scattering charts, pencils and sketchpad all over the adjacent flower bed and then injuring my right knee while kneeling to pick them up (I have a damaged cartilidge and it 'locks' up - painfully - from time to time) which meant I spent five minutes in agony and doing a lot of (quiet!) swearing and no observing. Combined with crappy seeing, this was a slightly frustrating session!
After checking out the Ring Nebula which was rising above the trees it was time to pack up. By then it was 1am and I'd been up since 0630 the previous morning.
Date: 6th-7th May 2008
Conditions: Clear, but milky sky (on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent, this ranked around 2.5 to 3), warm.
Scope: 12" f5 Dobsonian
Place: near Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK
Sadly, the sky was fairly milky and a lot of the fainter stuff was not visible but I did do a sketch of M51 whose spiral arms and HII regions were visible. I also located and sketched NGC 4036 and NGC 4041, galaxies in Ursa Major (and objects on the Herschel 400 list). Unfortunately a lot more UMa galaxies I wanted for the Herschel 400 were behind the tree in the garden by the time I got round to them, and will have to wait for another time.
This observing session was not without incident - the collimation went out on the scope (I need to do a few mods, I think) necessitating a lot of fiddling with laser collimater and allen keys (it's the secondary which is being a pain in the arse), I knocked my makeshift observing 'table' (an artist's rucksack cum stool) over scattering charts, pencils and sketchpad all over the adjacent flower bed and then injuring my right knee while kneeling to pick them up (I have a damaged cartilidge and it 'locks' up - painfully - from time to time) which meant I spent five minutes in agony and doing a lot of (quiet!) swearing and no observing. Combined with crappy seeing, this was a slightly frustrating session!
After checking out the Ring Nebula which was rising above the trees it was time to pack up. By then it was 1am and I'd been up since 0630 the previous morning.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
An hour of galaxies
I only had a short observing session last night due to having to be back at work today at 0730 (I am ditching this bloody job when I come back from Texas in June as the hours are crap) and I spent an hour poking around the galaxies of Virgo again. I didn't make any sketches though, just looking and seeing what was there. So many galaxies, so little time! Like I said in the previous post my 12" shows me so much more than the old 8" ever did - small faint ones, large faint ones, large bright ones, small bright ones, edge-on spirals, face-on spirals, the lot. Wonderful!
I also added M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, in Virgo to my binocular Messier list - I have observed 70 Messiers with my 8x42s to date so I am going to send them off to the Astronomical League for a binocular Messier pin - you need to observe 50 or more to qualify for the pin - and I also attempted M68, a globular cluster in Hydra, but I totally failed to see it properly, probably due to haze and its low altitude. If it clears tonight I'll give it another go.
Constantly wiping dew off the Telrad becomes tiresome very quickly and I spent a lot of time doing just that last night and the night before, so I decided to buy a dew heater off the net. Prices varied, from an outrageous £69 on one site to a more reasonable £9.99 from Telescope House, so I sent off for the latter and hopefully this should turn up by Tuesday (or Wednesday as there's a bank holiday in the way). Buying new gear always guarantees clouds, but surely a tiny, ten quid dew heater shouldn't attract the 'new equipment curse'...?
I also added M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, in Virgo to my binocular Messier list - I have observed 70 Messiers with my 8x42s to date so I am going to send them off to the Astronomical League for a binocular Messier pin - you need to observe 50 or more to qualify for the pin - and I also attempted M68, a globular cluster in Hydra, but I totally failed to see it properly, probably due to haze and its low altitude. If it clears tonight I'll give it another go.
Constantly wiping dew off the Telrad becomes tiresome very quickly and I spent a lot of time doing just that last night and the night before, so I decided to buy a dew heater off the net. Prices varied, from an outrageous £69 on one site to a more reasonable £9.99 from Telescope House, so I sent off for the latter and hopefully this should turn up by Tuesday (or Wednesday as there's a bank holiday in the way). Buying new gear always guarantees clouds, but surely a tiny, ten quid dew heater shouldn't attract the 'new equipment curse'...?
Friday, 2 May 2008
Galaxy hopping through the spring sky
A clear night at last, so after the weekly meeting down at the VAS Observatory I came home and set my scope up. It was looking extremely promising, so I decided that I was going galaxy hunting and really seeing what the 12" can do in that respect. Because of work the next day and lousy weather I've not used the scope that much since I got it in March (about four or five times) and even then the sessions were cut short or a bit hit-and-miss because of poor sky conditions.
Date: 01-02 May 2008
Conditions: Cool, clear, very dewy. The odd bit of drifting cloud but otherwise good transparency.
Place: Back garden, near Sandown, Isle of Wight, England
Date: 01-02 May 2008
Conditions: Cool, clear, very dewy. The odd bit of drifting cloud but otherwise good transparency.
Place: Back garden, near Sandown, Isle of Wight, England
My first object this evening was NGC 4361, a planetary nebula in Corvus. It was extremely easy to find, although not that bright, being low in the southern sky. It was easily picked up as a roundish brightening against the background sky and an OIII filter made it stand out more. At 102x, it was not quite round and brightened in the middle, with fuzzy edges.
I didn't bother with the Antennae, as I have seen these before under better conditions in Texas and Australia.
Next it as up to Coma Berenices and Virgo and the Realm of the Galaxies. I decided - because of an article on Cloudy Nights - to have a look along Markarian's Chain in Virgo. This is a long chain of galaxies and starts with Messiers 84 and 86 and includes NGC 4438, 4435, 4458, 4461, 4473 and 4477. It's ages since I've looked at the Chain, the last time was as far back as 1993, with our local society's 18" Dob.
Also in Virgo I observed and sketched NGC's 4596 and 4608. I've also observed and sketched others, but identification can wait until tomorrow - I mean later today.
With the 12" I can see stuff I couldn't have in my old 8" - galaxies were everywhere and a good proportion of them weren't just dim little ovals like they were before. Ones that were once seen as dim little ovals in my old 8" were bright and full of detail and previously unseen galaxies now made themselves available, courtesy of those few extra inches of aperture.
I eventually packed up at 1am as I was getting cold and also drifting cloud was increasing. It was an excellent session.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Observing, 8th April 2008
Last night was another clear one, so it was out with the scope. I set it up early in the evening and decided to have a bash at collimating it properly. I made sure the sling on the primary was ok (it had slipped a little) and, with the laser, collimated the secondary. Perfect! Job done.
The light shroud keeps slipping as, despite measuring before the scope was completed, it's a little too loose. I'm going to have to get a bungee cord or something to help keep it in place.
I spent the time in the galaxies and, as expected the 12-inch showed up galaxies, and details in galaxies, that my old 8-inch never could. I managed to make a sketch of NGC 3953 in Ursa Major before being clouded out - the clouds were temporary but as I had to be up at 0630 I packed in for the night.
NGC 3953 appeared oval, with a brighter nucleus, at 61x and 102x. At 37x it was oval but shows no other detail. Unfortunately drifting clouds hampered the observation.
The light shroud keeps slipping as, despite measuring before the scope was completed, it's a little too loose. I'm going to have to get a bungee cord or something to help keep it in place.
I spent the time in the galaxies and, as expected the 12-inch showed up galaxies, and details in galaxies, that my old 8-inch never could. I managed to make a sketch of NGC 3953 in Ursa Major before being clouded out - the clouds were temporary but as I had to be up at 0630 I packed in for the night.
NGC 3953 appeared oval, with a brighter nucleus, at 61x and 102x. At 37x it was oval but shows no other detail. Unfortunately drifting clouds hampered the observation.
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Messier session
A very nice clear night last night, quite transparent and with good seeing but as I was feeling like crap (got some disease, heaven knows what but I feel tired all the time), I didn't lug the scope out and instead knocked off some more Messier Objects with my binoculars.
I did the entire early Spring group in one session and some of the late Spring group as well. Of course some of the galaxies were a bit difficult and I didn't see M108 at all (this was my second attempt at it) but M44, 48, 81, 82, 109, 101, 40, 3, 51, 94, 67, 106, 63, 64, 53, 65, 66 and 105 are all in the bag (some I have observed before, but I was trying to improve the observations, e.g. M97 I failed to see last time, but last night it was no bother at all). That makes it 69 out of the 109 or 110 Messier Objects I have seen to date during this project.
It's shaping up to be a nice night tonight as well, and I will take the scope out this time, although I have to get up early for work tomorrow (I'm looking for another job as I bloody well hate having to be at work by 0730 - probably something to do with the chronic tiredness I bet).
I did the entire early Spring group in one session and some of the late Spring group as well. Of course some of the galaxies were a bit difficult and I didn't see M108 at all (this was my second attempt at it) but M44, 48, 81, 82, 109, 101, 40, 3, 51, 94, 67, 106, 63, 64, 53, 65, 66 and 105 are all in the bag (some I have observed before, but I was trying to improve the observations, e.g. M97 I failed to see last time, but last night it was no bother at all). That makes it 69 out of the 109 or 110 Messier Objects I have seen to date during this project.
It's shaping up to be a nice night tonight as well, and I will take the scope out this time, although I have to get up early for work tomorrow (I'm looking for another job as I bloody well hate having to be at work by 0730 - probably something to do with the chronic tiredness I bet).
Friday, 4 April 2008
'Hidden Treasures'
I ordered a copy of Steve O'Meara's book 'Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures' from Waterstones last Saturday and it arrived today, so I went into town and collected it after work. It is a big, fat book, much larger than Steve's previous books in the Deep-Sky Companions series: 'The Messier Objects' and 'The Caldwell Objects' (to be honest, I have no time for the 'Caldwell Catalogue' but I collect books on deep sky observing and it was nice to have this as part of the set. Besides, I bought it at London Astrofest in 2006 when Steve was there, doing a talk and I got mine signed - how could I resist?!) but is laid out the same way, object by object, with information, photos, sketches and descriptions.
Because of the title Hidden Treasures, Steve has introduced a pirate theme and categorised observers as such e.g. people who observe objects quickly and move on for the sake of completing lists (such as Herschel 400, etc) are described as hit-and-run 'Barbary pirates' while those who take their time and really look at objects, maybe making notes and sketches are the more 'romantic' pirates, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, rifling through the treasure chests of the night sky, although I think there's a bit of both observer-pirate types in all of us. I have seen people on various forums on the net saying they dislike the pirate theme, but personally I find it a refreshing change, it isn't laboured and it is a bit of fun, although on my first flick through I did wonder at first about the fixation with ships before the pirate connotations became apparent.
It's not all pirate fun though, the object descriptions are serious enough, and it is full of excellent tips on how to observe these objects.
Steve is a wonderful observer (I had the pleasure of observing with him at the Texas Star Party in 2006) and as ever, his super sketches grace the book. As a visual observer myself, I particularly appreciate books with a visual bias and this is one of the best. Steve does have the advantage of a high observing site, on Kilauea Volcano in Hawai'i, which is also blessed with good weather and many clear nights but this shouldn't detract from the usefulness of this book in planning your own observing sessions. I am looking forward to going to bed in a while (yes, it is cloudy!) and having a good read.
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I made the collimation worse on the scope the other night while fiddling with it! My friend Richard, who built it, is coming over next week to sort it out - he thinks the secondary is out of alignment or that the sling has come off the primary (I'd not thought of either possibility, to be honest) when I brought it home in the car; it did rattle a lot and once that's sorted I'll be in business. Now if only we can get some decent clear nights, preferably when I don't have to be at work the next morning (is it me, or is the high cloud worse these days?)...
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Eight weeks to go until the Texas Star Party! I am flying to San Antonio on the 31st May (Saturday) and will get to the Prude Ranch on the Monday. I'm hoping it will be clear for some Big Scope observing, like last time, but even if it isn't (2005 and 2007 were grotty) the party will, for me, be on with or without stars. I'm there for the socialising as much as for the observing, a change of scenery and also indulging in my other hobby of birding.
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I wish I was at the BAA Winchester Weekend. That's on this weekend and I'm stuck at work until Monday! Ok, it isn't what it used to be (what is, these days?) but it's a fun social event. Mind you, I'm skint, so I couldn't go even if I wasn't working. I paid out for my air fare to the States a couple of weeks ago and my car is being MOT'd and serviced next week.
Monday, 31 March 2008
Observing platform and second light
I built myself a little 'observing platform' in the garden, from old concrete blocks, yesterday. I dug a large square hole and laid the blocks in it, getting them as level as possible to provide a nice, stable platform for my Dob and it works well, getting its first use that evening.
The Dob got it's second light (as it were) yesterday evening. I had the best views I have ever had of the Owl Nebula (M97) in Ursa Major; it had a definite greenish tinge to it and, for the first time, I saw the 'eyes' - two dark holes in the nebula - that give this interesting PN its nickname, although these were only really evident when I put an OIII filter into the eyepiece.
It wasn't a deep sky night, due to the high cloud - there seemed to be a 'cover' of very high thin cloud - but the views were not too bad of the brightest objects although the scope needs collimating, as while low magnifications are ok, the view through higher mags is out of focus, with a kind of shift to one side (i.e. one side of a star or planet is good, the other awful). This is due purely to collimation issues, so once I have sorted that out, the views will improve. I have bought a laser collimator for this purpose. Collimation isn't hard, just a bit of a pain in the arse to have to do.
Increasingly bad conditions and the need to have to get up early for work meant I had to pack up at around 9.30 pm. Nearly as irritating (although not a reason for packing up in itself) was a light aircraft that kept flying round in circles - funnily enough, and I have lived under Heathrow's flight path in the past, I never find the noise of big jets anywhere near as annoying as the buzzing drone of a light propeller aircraft.
The Dob got it's second light (as it were) yesterday evening. I had the best views I have ever had of the Owl Nebula (M97) in Ursa Major; it had a definite greenish tinge to it and, for the first time, I saw the 'eyes' - two dark holes in the nebula - that give this interesting PN its nickname, although these were only really evident when I put an OIII filter into the eyepiece.
It wasn't a deep sky night, due to the high cloud - there seemed to be a 'cover' of very high thin cloud - but the views were not too bad of the brightest objects although the scope needs collimating, as while low magnifications are ok, the view through higher mags is out of focus, with a kind of shift to one side (i.e. one side of a star or planet is good, the other awful). This is due purely to collimation issues, so once I have sorted that out, the views will improve. I have bought a laser collimator for this purpose. Collimation isn't hard, just a bit of a pain in the arse to have to do.
Increasingly bad conditions and the need to have to get up early for work meant I had to pack up at around 9.30 pm. Nearly as irritating (although not a reason for packing up in itself) was a light aircraft that kept flying round in circles - funnily enough, and I have lived under Heathrow's flight path in the past, I never find the noise of big jets anywhere near as annoying as the buzzing drone of a light propeller aircraft.
GMT/BST
If I were ever to come to power, one of the first things that would go (along with unneccessary lighting, animal experiments and child benefit) would be that infernal invention 'British Summer Time'. Putting aside all the ill-informed rubbish from some members of the public about 'extra daylight' (there isn't, you idiots) the fact that, due to this irritating tinkering, it gets dark an hour later is a major pain in the backside from an observing point of view, particularly when I have to be at work at the unreasonable time of 0800 the following morning.
Sunday, 23 March 2008
First light of 12-inch
The evening started off clear so I set the 12-inch up on the patio. After letting it cool down for a while, I aimed it at some bright stars in a rapidly-worsening sky (isn't that just typical??) and M81/M82. The collimation could do with a bit of slight adjusting but the view, despite the crap sky, was pretty good and I tried out a selection of eyepieces on it. Sadly, I had to pack up after only half an hour because the sky was becoming increasingly opaque. Annoying, but hopefully we'll get some nice clear nights soon, once Spring gets well underway, and I can test it properly. Anyway, I'm pleased with what I have seen so far.
I have sent off for a laser collimator from Telescope House, a cheapish one at £34.99, so hopefully that will make collimating the scope easier and quicker. This is the first large Dob I've owned so keeping the mirrors aligned properly will be more of an issue.
New 12" Dob
I went and collected the 12-inch Dob this afternoon and it's just as well I didn't get a 14" or larger or a longer f-ratio mirror or it never would have fit into my car, and I wouldn't have been able to carry it - the 12" is quite heavy, but I can (fortunately) lift it comfortably. On getting it home, my aunt started fussing slightly over the size of the thing: 'Big enough, innit?' and 'Where are you going to put that?' (I don't think she quite grasped the size of a 12" Dob until she actually saw it!).
Here are a few photos:
It was made with a 2-inch focusser but this can be adapted for 1 1/4-inch eyepieces, such as all mine are until I replace one or two with 2-inch versions (2-inch is the upper picture, 1 1/4-inch is the lower pic):
I am hoping for a clear night tonight so I can see how well (or not!) it works. Richard said that it focusses, but a bit further along the focus (it racks almost right in) than he'd like, so if that is a problem with some eyepieces, the mirror would need to be raised.
Here are a few photos:
It fits neatly into the corner of my room:
Looking down the tube:
It was made with a 2-inch focusser but this can be adapted for 1 1/4-inch eyepieces, such as all mine are until I replace one or two with 2-inch versions (2-inch is the upper picture, 1 1/4-inch is the lower pic):
I am hoping for a clear night tonight so I can see how well (or not!) it works. Richard said that it focusses, but a bit further along the focus (it racks almost right in) than he'd like, so if that is a problem with some eyepieces, the mirror would need to be raised.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
It's finished!
My 12-inch Dob is now finished and I should be able to collect it at the weekend. I now hoping the weather will co-operate and I do not get a case of the 'new equipment = cloudy weather for weeks' curse.
Saturday, 8 March 2008
IW Star Party Part 1
Friday: I finished work earlier than I thought so I headed off to the merry gathering at Brighstone Holiday Camp. When I got there it was less peopled than the Marie Celeste due to the fact they were all at the observatory at Winford (just down the road from home). Anyway I had a wander round and looked at the dangerously close cliff edge and the chalets that had been abandoned due to severe erosion. The whole Island is prone to erosion but the south-west side is worst affected of all. Basically it is greensand sandstone that sits on top of Gault clay. The rain percolates through the sandstone but as the clay is not porous the whole lot is prone to slippage, with disastrous results - many places that were once miles inland are now teetering on the edge.
Huts teetering on the edge.
View of the camp site, looking north
View looking east-south-east, back towards Chale.
VAS member Bill Johnston's Celestron C14
As it looked like it was going to be clear, I drove home, picked up my stuff and drove back; Radio Solent's weather forecast was excellent, promising clear skies and a frost. When I got back to Brighstone, Owen Brazell was setting up his gorgeous Obsession 20" Dobsonian and others were getting their gear ready as well. Dusk was falling and it was looking reasonably good.
Unfortunately this state of affairs did not last long. A threatening bank of cloud in the north-west decided to make its presence felt and soon blanketed the sky. Soon all observing was being done through sucker holes that kept opening and closing aound Orion, Canis Major and Monoceros. I managed to get a look at NGC 2359, known as 'Thor's Helmet' in Canis Major, through Owen's Obsession. This is a comparatively bright nebula and, visually, looks more like a referee's whistle more than a Viking helmet.
Of course, the scopes were more engaged looking at the lollipops, because the conditions were no good for serious deep sky observing and, naturally, Orion's famous M42, the Great Nebula, was a main feature. This showed superb detail though a Meade 10" and even more so through the 20" with a UHC filter attached, with filaments and extended nebulosity. You could easily see the structure that 18th and 19th century observers such as the Herschels and Lord Rosse drew and described, with the hatched structure very evident. I'd never seen this structure visually and had always thought the old drawings a little fanciful - but not any more!
Soon the sky was a complete cloud out and, as I'd had to be up that morning at stupid-o'clock to go to work, I packed up and drove home at 9pm.
It was a good fun evening and, despite the limited observing, was full of conversation and happy faces. I hope our little Isle of Wight Star Party grows and grows. It has a bright future, despite the iffy weather.
More to follow...
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Comet 17P/Holmes
Back in November, I was in Ecuador, in the western Andes, and during a rare clear night I saw and sketched Comet Holmes which was bright and large in Perseus at the time. When I first saw it I knew it was a comet, there being no deep sky objects quite that big and bright in that area, but not which one and next time I was in Quito I went onto the net and found out the name and designation. During the time it was visible, Holmes brightened by a factor of 1 million and put on a spectacular show.
I made a rudimentary sketch, reproduced below (click on picture for larger version). The observation was made with the naked eye and my 8x42 binoculars.
I also saw Holmes from the Amazon jungle. From both the jungle and the mountains, with no light pollution it was spectacular. I didn't get back to the UK until late December and subsequently got no further opportunity to look at this comet.
I made a rudimentary sketch, reproduced below (click on picture for larger version). The observation was made with the naked eye and my 8x42 binoculars.
I also saw Holmes from the Amazon jungle. From both the jungle and the mountains, with no light pollution it was spectacular. I didn't get back to the UK until late December and subsequently got no further opportunity to look at this comet.
Friday, 15 February 2008
Isle of Wight Star Party in March
In three weeks the inaugural Isle of Wight Star Party will be underway. It runs for four nights from 6th - 10th March and is being organised by Vectis Astronomical Society. It is not a public outreach event, so is not being advertised in the mainstream press. Outreach events are all very well, and VAS does plenty of these, but it is good to have events run by astronomers for astronomers with some serious observing without interruption. I just hope the weather co-operates and we can have plenty of fun and observing!
So far we have got 35 people coming, with more likely to book nearer the time. If you are interested click the link at the top of this post for full details.
Of course, I'll be there for a couple of days and nights at least, so photos will appear here.
So far we have got 35 people coming, with more likely to book nearer the time. If you are interested click the link at the top of this post for full details.
Of course, I'll be there for a couple of days and nights at least, so photos will appear here.
Monday, 11 February 2008
Lights out!!
There was an article on BBC South Today this evening about how some residents of Romsey, Hants, are up in arms over a council proposal to reduce the street lighting by turning some of it off. The usual misinformed garbage about fuelling crime and anarchy practically coming to the streets is being spouted by panic-stricken residents, plus emotive nonsense about the blackouts in World War 2 - the ordinary, non-astronomical public is so woefully ignorant it is almost funny.
Via Cloudy Nights forum, where this is also being discussed, I found this Daily Mail article about this, with the laughably over-the-top headline: Return of the Blackout: Crime fear as councils switch off streetlights to save the planet and complete with a lot of inanely stupid comments from people who, sadly, don't know anything other than what rags such as the DM tell them.
As for motorists, that's what vehicle lights are for - and it won't hurt to reduce speed and take a little more care either.
Right, come on Isle of Wight Council, turn ours off now, please! I live in a reasonably dark area, but even so, I have notice the domes from Newport, Ryde, Shanklin and Sandown getting worse over the past couple of years. Actually, it wouldn't hurt to kill off all these unnecessary (in)security lights too.
When I was a small kid, 30 years ago, street lights were routinely turned off after midnight and no-one complained. Have people in the UK really turned into a yellow-streaked, spineless lot fearful of the dark, since then? Or is it just a case of moan about it just to have something to whinge about?
If you are going to look on the bright side (no pun intended) of global warming and the increasing scarcity of cheap fuel, then from an astronomer's point of view turning off the street lights and lessening the cancer of skyglow is no bad thing.
Campaign for Dark Skies
Via Cloudy Nights forum, where this is also being discussed, I found this Daily Mail article about this, with the laughably over-the-top headline: Return of the Blackout: Crime fear as councils switch off streetlights to save the planet and complete with a lot of inanely stupid comments from people who, sadly, don't know anything other than what rags such as the DM tell them.
As for motorists, that's what vehicle lights are for - and it won't hurt to reduce speed and take a little more care either.
Right, come on Isle of Wight Council, turn ours off now, please! I live in a reasonably dark area, but even so, I have notice the domes from Newport, Ryde, Shanklin and Sandown getting worse over the past couple of years. Actually, it wouldn't hurt to kill off all these unnecessary (in)security lights too.
When I was a small kid, 30 years ago, street lights were routinely turned off after midnight and no-one complained. Have people in the UK really turned into a yellow-streaked, spineless lot fearful of the dark, since then? Or is it just a case of moan about it just to have something to whinge about?
If you are going to look on the bright side (no pun intended) of global warming and the increasing scarcity of cheap fuel, then from an astronomer's point of view turning off the street lights and lessening the cancer of skyglow is no bad thing.
Campaign for Dark Skies
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Observing, 9th Feb 2008
Conditions: Clear, a little hazy, much dew and mist
Instrument: 4" refractor, 8x42 binoculars
Place: Near Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK
Tried out OIII and UHC filters with my binoculars on the Rosette Nebula, the nebula is easier seen using the UHC filter. I also had a bash at the California Nebula (NGC 1499) in Perseus, but the sky conditions were not good enough for much of a view - I could see some brightening in the area of the nebula, but that was it.
Telescoping observing with the refractor was a dead loss, because of the amount of moisture in the air (it was pretty misty) causing severe fogging of the optics, despite the dew shield. I managed to see a few brighter galaxies in Leo with it, but as soon as I cleaned the objective it fogged again and the galaxies were reduced to being even more smudge like than usual in the small scope. The conditions were way too dismal to even attempt any sketching. Refractors are good in dry climates, where there is little moisture, but not so good in a damp area like northern Europe, which is one reason I prefer reflectors.
I packed the scope up and used the rest of the session for binocular observing, picking up open clusters Stock 2, Trumpler 2, Melotte 15, NGC 1027 and Collinder 13 in Cassiopeia, and not forgetting NGC 869 and NGC 884 which make up the Double Cluster in Perseus.
Instrument: 4" refractor, 8x42 binoculars
Place: Near Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK
Tried out OIII and UHC filters with my binoculars on the Rosette Nebula, the nebula is easier seen using the UHC filter. I also had a bash at the California Nebula (NGC 1499) in Perseus, but the sky conditions were not good enough for much of a view - I could see some brightening in the area of the nebula, but that was it.
Telescoping observing with the refractor was a dead loss, because of the amount of moisture in the air (it was pretty misty) causing severe fogging of the optics, despite the dew shield. I managed to see a few brighter galaxies in Leo with it, but as soon as I cleaned the objective it fogged again and the galaxies were reduced to being even more smudge like than usual in the small scope. The conditions were way too dismal to even attempt any sketching. Refractors are good in dry climates, where there is little moisture, but not so good in a damp area like northern Europe, which is one reason I prefer reflectors.
I packed the scope up and used the rest of the session for binocular observing, picking up open clusters Stock 2, Trumpler 2, Melotte 15, NGC 1027 and Collinder 13 in Cassiopeia, and not forgetting NGC 869 and NGC 884 which make up the Double Cluster in Perseus.
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Observing session 8th February 2008
Conditions: Clear but misty at ground level, +3 degrees C. Seeing very steady.
Instrument: 4" refractor and 8x42 binoculars.
Place: near Sandown, Isle of Wight, England
Naked-eye limiting magnitude: around 6.0 to 6.2
For once the weather forecast was accurate. We're currently in a spell of pleasant, quiet weather with clear skies. After the rotten weather of the past few weeks this is a nice change.
I took the refractor out and set it up, but not without a fair bit of swearing as I dropped the tripod screws on the ground more than once.
I spent the time poking around Monoceros, a constellation I have shamefully ignored in the past. Monoceros is a constellation which deserves more attention, overshadowed as it is by its' more illustrious and object-packed neighbours, Orion and Canis Major.
The Rosette Nebula, NGC 2237-9: Monoceros' most famous feature is the Rosette Nebula. This is a ring of nebulosity around an open cluster NGC 2244. It is large and with a low surface brightness but is visible through binoculars under a dark sky. I used my 8x42 binoculars with an OIII filter stuck in the right eyepiece and could easily see the nebula as a round glow, slightly darker in the middle, around NGC 2244. Without the filter and with averted vision I could just about make out the nebulous glow. I had never previously attempted the Rosette, believing it to be beyond my binoculars' and local sky's capabilities. Obviously this is not so and this goes to show that it pays to have a go at these things.
I sketched NGC 2244 through the refractor at 45x.
There are loads of open clusters in the vicinity and I came across an interesting-looking one while scanning around the area with the binoculars. This was NGC 2301, a pretty group of stars stretched out in a north-south orientation, looking a little like one of those modern longbows used in present day sports archery. I used the refractor for a quick sketch.
The sky conditions were by now beginning to deteriorate somewhat due to increasing mist and the refractor was, despite the dew cap, becoming unusable because of vast amounts of condensation forming. No sooner had I cleaned the moisture off of the objective then the eyepiece fogged and when I wiped the wet from that then the objective fogged so I took down the refractor and resorted to using binoculars only. The mist was also attenuating the light from an upstairs window making life more difficult so I packed in, finishing up with a couple of planetary 'lollipops' - Saturn (with Titan) and Mars.
I will scan and post the sketches sometime in the next few days, plus some from the other evening,
Instrument: 4" refractor and 8x42 binoculars.
Place: near Sandown, Isle of Wight, England
Naked-eye limiting magnitude: around 6.0 to 6.2
For once the weather forecast was accurate. We're currently in a spell of pleasant, quiet weather with clear skies. After the rotten weather of the past few weeks this is a nice change.
I took the refractor out and set it up, but not without a fair bit of swearing as I dropped the tripod screws on the ground more than once.
I spent the time poking around Monoceros, a constellation I have shamefully ignored in the past. Monoceros is a constellation which deserves more attention, overshadowed as it is by its' more illustrious and object-packed neighbours, Orion and Canis Major.
The Rosette Nebula, NGC 2237-9: Monoceros' most famous feature is the Rosette Nebula. This is a ring of nebulosity around an open cluster NGC 2244. It is large and with a low surface brightness but is visible through binoculars under a dark sky. I used my 8x42 binoculars with an OIII filter stuck in the right eyepiece and could easily see the nebula as a round glow, slightly darker in the middle, around NGC 2244. Without the filter and with averted vision I could just about make out the nebulous glow. I had never previously attempted the Rosette, believing it to be beyond my binoculars' and local sky's capabilities. Obviously this is not so and this goes to show that it pays to have a go at these things.
I sketched NGC 2244 through the refractor at 45x.
There are loads of open clusters in the vicinity and I came across an interesting-looking one while scanning around the area with the binoculars. This was NGC 2301, a pretty group of stars stretched out in a north-south orientation, looking a little like one of those modern longbows used in present day sports archery. I used the refractor for a quick sketch.
The sky conditions were by now beginning to deteriorate somewhat due to increasing mist and the refractor was, despite the dew cap, becoming unusable because of vast amounts of condensation forming. No sooner had I cleaned the moisture off of the objective then the eyepiece fogged and when I wiped the wet from that then the objective fogged so I took down the refractor and resorted to using binoculars only. The mist was also attenuating the light from an upstairs window making life more difficult so I packed in, finishing up with a couple of planetary 'lollipops' - Saturn (with Titan) and Mars.
I will scan and post the sketches sometime in the next few days, plus some from the other evening,
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