21/22 August 2009 - Report

The day as a whole was very mixed with sun, rain, wind and even lightning but as the evening drew closer the breaks in the clouds became more consistent so a nights observing was afoot.

I had the pleasure and great company of two members from the club to join me, Stevie and Mark, so Carrin Rock was the observing site for the night.
The night didn't start off looking good with wall to wall cloud and showers of rain to be seen all over the country but a slow walk up to the viewing point, with a full panoramic view of the country to be seen - from the Mournes to the Wicklow Mountains in Dublin - and after spending a few minutes up there breaks in the clouds could be seen forming and headed our way.
Upon coming back to the site it started to rain lightly so it was into the cars for shelter and warmth but not very long after it stopped and begun to, slowly, clear up.
I took my time setting, paying extra attention to my polar alignment, which I am glad to say paid of with great results of excellent tracking through the whole night.
After setting up it clouded over again but 10 minutes or so later the sky exploded with clarity along with a wonderfully vibrant and stunning milky way, running from horizon to horizon.

So, the night, for me, went as follows:

Equipment - EQ6 Pro and Orion 10" Newt

Seeing - 4
Trans - 3

Start time - 22:58

Jupiter - WOW! That really is the word to use here. Such a crisp and highly detailed image with so much detail to be seen in the bands and zones in the atmosphere. I missed the transit of Io and Europa but it was a beautiful site to see them appearing so close to each other.

M17 - A remarkable view with superb detail, while using the UHC-S filter. The wonderful swan like shape easily seen along with excellent contrast showing depth and texture to the nebula's look.

M27 - Very nice view with decent detail while using the filter. It was equally as good with out the filter.

NGC 7000 - Not my best view but the Mexican region of the NAN was easily seen with some pleasant detail to take in.

NGC 6960 - Absolutely stunning. Beautiful intricate web/filament like detail running all throughout the nebula. This is definitely a great nebula for an OIII filter.

M33 - Using the UHC-S reveals the H-II nebulous regions within the galaxy which were a sheer delight to see and never thought I could. With out the filter the galaxy was barely visible.

NGC 40 - Using the filter showed a nice bright central region with good out lying nebulosity. Not my best view of this object though.

Jupiter - I had to have another look now that the GRS was in view and I also decided to keep in the UHC-S filter for the fun of it and the results were shockingly good. The contrast boost was amazing, allowing me to see details of the atmosphere I never saw before and the GRS stood out like a sore thumb. The filter also did a fantastic job on the moons, giving them unique hues of colour and making them pin point sharp. The king was certainly showing of tonight.

NGC 7009 - A nice view and a long time since I observed this PN and strangely it was best viewed unfiltered. Very bright with a darkish central area.

During the whole session there was regular passing of cloud but we did get an awesome window that lasted about an hour, however we did get an overcast spell of equal length later on, but between the gaps and cursing at the sky some great observing was done and great fun all around.
A night to remember for me and I hope the next clear night won't be so far away.

Finish time - 03:26