I landed at Bragan to a fantastic view. The air was clear, the views were excellent and the wind was almost non existent. I got set up quickly - and didn't forget my finder scope this time - and observed Mars and Saturn while waiting for it to get dark enough.
The quality of the dark sky wasn't as striking as light night but with little wind around I wasn't expecting it to be as dramatic.
Location = Bragan
Equipment = 14" Skywatcher
Start Time = 22:12
Porrima - Gamma Virginis = This pair was beautifully tight. Seeing was a little poor in the southern sky but the 8mm split the double well enough. Both stars appeared to be of similar size and a bright white colour.
17 Virginis - Easily split, with a golden yellow primary and a faint rusty coloured secondary. This was a really enjoyable sight.
Xi Ursa Major - A crisp, clean double that is very tight. The 8mm just about managed to split it and a fine sight it is.
Nu Ursa Major - I never observed this double before and what a stunning sight it is, easily my favourite double of the constellation now. Brilliant golden primary with a striking pin point, diamond white, secondary that is perfectly split in the 8mm. This is a double not to be overlooked.
Palomar 4 - Sue French's new book - "Deep-Sky Wonders" - showed that I was very close to the second most distant globular cluster in our galaxy - the most distant in the northern sky - so how could I go past this...
I was able to find it surprisingly quickly. Appearing brighter than I had expected but nothing more than a blurry smudge at first. Averted vision soon revealed to me the familiar looking structure of a globular and soon after that I could start to pick out some individual stars around the outer edge of the cluster. The core appears rather bright.
It was a thrilling feeling to observe this, especially when knowing that it is over 355,000 light years away.
NGC 3184 - Another one of Sue's suggestions. Quite faint but AV showed a galaxy appearing face on, with two spiral arms. The arms themselves appearing faint and ghostly.
M101 - Another glorious view of this rare treat. Every bit as good as last night. Spiral arms filling the FOV of the 17mm Hyperion.
NGC 2841 - Quite nice, with a large disk and bright core.
NGC 3242 - A fantastic PN and probably 7 years since I last observed it. Appearing very bright and when trying to use AV to see if I could get a hint of the central star this wonderful knotted structure started to form like a ring with in the nebula itself. One of my finest PN observations.
M68 - Considering this cluster was just about 10 degrees above the horizon the view was quite good. Many stars were resolving well. The only let down was the washed out grey looking sky.
NGC 3115 - Large, bright, delicate and lovely. A really bright core with an almost edge on appearance with the disk of the galaxy looking strong. Some small teasing details seemed to appear at times making me want for more.
Mars - Easily the best view I've had all year. No details hidden to the eye. So sharp was the image I could have drawn a map of the surface and would have only for the small fact that I cannot draw...
Finish = 23:42
A thrilling night and so many new objects observed. If I get more nights like this before the season ends then I will have no reason to complain about the weather.
Friday 13 April 2012
11th April 2012 - Report
I was very excited about tonight after looking at the weather data. Crisp clean air from the north, no clouds and humidity levels were below 60%, I could feel the galaxies calling for me.
I suppose I was a little too excited about it because I forgot to pack the finder scope away so that really annoyed me but I didn't let it beat me. I was still able to get a two star alignment done and the GOTO accuracy was good. Annoyingly though, almost all of the objects I had down on my observing list were not on my GOTO database so I changed my observation plans and just went to objects on the GOTO.
The wind was an awful curse, something the weather forecast got wrong. Looking at Zenith caused the least shaking of the scope so I was able to observe galaxies in Ursa Major fairly well.
The night was amazing, the sky so pristine and all the stars shining like diamonds with next to no twinkling. Looking at Mars told me that the seeing was at least a 4 out of 5, transparency was the same, but that darned wind made it impossible for me to use the 8mm so it was 17mm Hyperion the whole session.
Location = Bragan
Equipment = 14" Skywatcher
Start Time = 22:01
M104 - Looking bright, as always, with strong looking features. A good view and a great way to start the evening.
M101 - Sensational!! Almost photographic, from core to the tips of the spiral arms. Very plain to see and not much need for averted vision to see the structure of the superb galaxy.
M108 - Another marvellous view. The details from edge to edge of the disk were excellent, along with delicate clumps of dark and light areas running all along the disk. The central area had a strong appearance of being illuminated from the inside and almost centre of the galaxy was a milky way star in the foreground shining like a diamond. An unforgeable sight and I spent a good bit of time observing this.
M109 - The barred spiral features of this galaxy were plain to see and the spiral arms really stood out well with averted vision. Not too often I get to see this galaxy so well and with barred spirals being my favourite category of galaxy I was more than satisfied with this view.
M51 - A stunning amount of detail. Every feature seen and looked just like some images short exposure CCD images.
NGC 2841 - A large milky disc with a bright core. I couldn't make out any features of detail.
NGC 4656 - Decided to end the night with one of my favourites of the spring sky. Looking really strong but not much details.
Finish = 23:53
It was when observing NGC4656 that noticed my secondary mirror had misted up a bit so I decided to call it a night. Was a rewarding night, despite having to battle the wind.
I suppose I was a little too excited about it because I forgot to pack the finder scope away so that really annoyed me but I didn't let it beat me. I was still able to get a two star alignment done and the GOTO accuracy was good. Annoyingly though, almost all of the objects I had down on my observing list were not on my GOTO database so I changed my observation plans and just went to objects on the GOTO.
The wind was an awful curse, something the weather forecast got wrong. Looking at Zenith caused the least shaking of the scope so I was able to observe galaxies in Ursa Major fairly well.
The night was amazing, the sky so pristine and all the stars shining like diamonds with next to no twinkling. Looking at Mars told me that the seeing was at least a 4 out of 5, transparency was the same, but that darned wind made it impossible for me to use the 8mm so it was 17mm Hyperion the whole session.
Location = Bragan
Equipment = 14" Skywatcher
Start Time = 22:01
M104 - Looking bright, as always, with strong looking features. A good view and a great way to start the evening.
M101 - Sensational!! Almost photographic, from core to the tips of the spiral arms. Very plain to see and not much need for averted vision to see the structure of the superb galaxy.
M108 - Another marvellous view. The details from edge to edge of the disk were excellent, along with delicate clumps of dark and light areas running all along the disk. The central area had a strong appearance of being illuminated from the inside and almost centre of the galaxy was a milky way star in the foreground shining like a diamond. An unforgeable sight and I spent a good bit of time observing this.
M109 - The barred spiral features of this galaxy were plain to see and the spiral arms really stood out well with averted vision. Not too often I get to see this galaxy so well and with barred spirals being my favourite category of galaxy I was more than satisfied with this view.
M51 - A stunning amount of detail. Every feature seen and looked just like some images short exposure CCD images.
NGC 2841 - A large milky disc with a bright core. I couldn't make out any features of detail.
NGC 4656 - Decided to end the night with one of my favourites of the spring sky. Looking really strong but not much details.
Finish = 23:53
It was when observing NGC4656 that noticed my secondary mirror had misted up a bit so I decided to call it a night. Was a rewarding night, despite having to battle the wind.
Wednesday 4 April 2012
3rd April 2012 - Report
An unlikely night for me to go out as the weather turned bitter cold with strong winds and there was even snow and light hailstones earlier in the evening but there were two reasons for me wanting to go out. First was that in the morning I had a eureka moment for a solution to a small issue I've been having with the secondary mirror in my 10" Orion Europa 250. It took me 6 years for this moment to arrive but it was worth the wait. I was able to correct my mirror woes in less than 10 minutes so I was really excited about getting the scope out for a test.
The issue I would have is during the scopes cool down time I would see a lot of ghosting or comet like tails coming out of the side of stars. I put this down to the secondary mirror not being set at the correct angle or position.
The second reason was to observing some double stars of the list I have compiled for my coming talk this May.
I was very well sheltered from the wind, most of the time I was unaware that on the other side of my house there was a strong wind with gale force winds at times.
I was very happy with the results of my fix for my secondary mirror but upon observing Regulus, as my first alignment star, the comet effect was still there but not as prominently. I discovered a short time later that my Crayford focuser was now to blame. I noticed that as the tube changed position the focuser also moves slightly, thus knocking collimation slightly off. I suppose this wouldn't be noticed in most reflectors but having a fast F4.5 scope it is awful unless collimation is perfect.
I may invest in a Moonlight Crayford in the future as I would like this scope to become my primary imaging scope because of the superb quality of the optics.
Location = Home
Equipment = EQ6 Pro and Orion Europa 250
Start Time = 21:47
Algieba - A beautiful golden pair, with the secondary star quite close to the parent and about half the visual size.
6 Leo - Well split in 8mm (175x) with a nice red primary and the secondary a smaller star with a diamond blue appearance.
93 Leo - Easily split with a white/yellow primary and the secondary a small pale star.
24 Com - Nicely split in the 8mm. Crisp red primary with a deep blue secondary, a very nice pair indeed.
35 Com - Somewhat similar to 24 Com but the secondary is much smaller and several magnitudes fainter.
Cor Coroli - Truly a stunning pain and I rarely observe it for reasons that are unknown to me. Both stars a brilliant white with the secondary smaller and several magnitudes fainter.
Izar/Epsilon Bootis - Magnificent! I really love this double and is in my top ten list. The 8mm just managed to split it, revealing a dramatic double indeed. The primary star a stunning golden red and a small marine blue coloured secondary star that hugs tight to Izar. Make sure you observe this if you're in Bootes.
Alkalurops/Mu Bootis - Quite nice, and a triple system. Appearing as a wide double star at first but a close look at the secondary soon shows itself to also have a companion. Not much colour contrast between all three stars.
Kappa Bootis - A lovely small pair. Bright white in colour with the secondary smaller than the parent and quite close too.
Iota Bootis - Similar view to Kappa only not as tight.
Finish = 23:24
Because my view is limited in my back garden and the constellation I wanted to move onto next was Hercules and would have to wait two hours until it was high enough it was time to call it a night. I was pleased with how much I got through, considering I had to wait some time for the scope to cool down.
Hopefully I will be able to get to Bragan with the 14" and get through Virgo, Hercules, Cygnus and a few others.
The issue I would have is during the scopes cool down time I would see a lot of ghosting or comet like tails coming out of the side of stars. I put this down to the secondary mirror not being set at the correct angle or position.
The second reason was to observing some double stars of the list I have compiled for my coming talk this May.
I was very well sheltered from the wind, most of the time I was unaware that on the other side of my house there was a strong wind with gale force winds at times.
I was very happy with the results of my fix for my secondary mirror but upon observing Regulus, as my first alignment star, the comet effect was still there but not as prominently. I discovered a short time later that my Crayford focuser was now to blame. I noticed that as the tube changed position the focuser also moves slightly, thus knocking collimation slightly off. I suppose this wouldn't be noticed in most reflectors but having a fast F4.5 scope it is awful unless collimation is perfect.
I may invest in a Moonlight Crayford in the future as I would like this scope to become my primary imaging scope because of the superb quality of the optics.
Location = Home
Equipment = EQ6 Pro and Orion Europa 250
Start Time = 21:47
Algieba - A beautiful golden pair, with the secondary star quite close to the parent and about half the visual size.
6 Leo - Well split in 8mm (175x) with a nice red primary and the secondary a smaller star with a diamond blue appearance.
93 Leo - Easily split with a white/yellow primary and the secondary a small pale star.
24 Com - Nicely split in the 8mm. Crisp red primary with a deep blue secondary, a very nice pair indeed.
35 Com - Somewhat similar to 24 Com but the secondary is much smaller and several magnitudes fainter.
Cor Coroli - Truly a stunning pain and I rarely observe it for reasons that are unknown to me. Both stars a brilliant white with the secondary smaller and several magnitudes fainter.
Izar/Epsilon Bootis - Magnificent! I really love this double and is in my top ten list. The 8mm just managed to split it, revealing a dramatic double indeed. The primary star a stunning golden red and a small marine blue coloured secondary star that hugs tight to Izar. Make sure you observe this if you're in Bootes.
Alkalurops/Mu Bootis - Quite nice, and a triple system. Appearing as a wide double star at first but a close look at the secondary soon shows itself to also have a companion. Not much colour contrast between all three stars.
Kappa Bootis - A lovely small pair. Bright white in colour with the secondary smaller than the parent and quite close too.
Iota Bootis - Similar view to Kappa only not as tight.
Finish = 23:24
Because my view is limited in my back garden and the constellation I wanted to move onto next was Hercules and would have to wait two hours until it was high enough it was time to call it a night. I was pleased with how much I got through, considering I had to wait some time for the scope to cool down.
Hopefully I will be able to get to Bragan with the 14" and get through Virgo, Hercules, Cygnus and a few others.
Sunday 1 April 2012
31st March 2012 - Report
Another clear night. This has to be some kind of record for our country. Five clear nights in one week, doing well if you get that in five months.
I had to do some late work and when I got home I was feeling to tired to bother going out but after getting a text message from the Chairman about how good the seeing was and the view of Mars I had to get out.
Sadly the good seeing didn't reach its way down to me but I wanted to image the moon again and see if I had learned anything from my mistakes.
Mars was actually terrible for me. I could barely make out any details and the polar cap was not to be seen most of the time.
I only stayed out for just over 90 minutes to image the Moon. Even looking at double stars was awful so I packed up after I got all the AVIs I wanted. I used the EQ6 Pro with the 4" Refractor.
I am pleased with my result this time. Everything looks more consistent and sharp.
I had to do some late work and when I got home I was feeling to tired to bother going out but after getting a text message from the Chairman about how good the seeing was and the view of Mars I had to get out.
Sadly the good seeing didn't reach its way down to me but I wanted to image the moon again and see if I had learned anything from my mistakes.
Mars was actually terrible for me. I could barely make out any details and the polar cap was not to be seen most of the time.
I only stayed out for just over 90 minutes to image the Moon. Even looking at double stars was awful so I packed up after I got all the AVIs I wanted. I used the EQ6 Pro with the 4" Refractor.
I am pleased with my result this time. Everything looks more consistent and sharp.
28th March 2012 - Report
Today was forecast to be the last clear day and night of the week and possibly the weekend, so how could I resist. I didn't want to miss a possible last chance, maybe for some time, and also getting out for a fourth night in a row. Something that's never happened to me before.
The evening started of so lovely. The air was warm, there wasn't a breath of wind, humidity was low and seeing was steady. Transparency was poor but that's to be expected in a high pressure weather system.
The evening was great right up until the moment I stopped imaging. Almost as soon as I had finished cloud moved in from the north and because there was barely a breeze it wasn't going to move any time soon so I decided to call it a night and get to bed early for once this week.
Location = Bragan
Equipment = 14" Skywatcher, laptop, webcams.
Start Time = 20:48
My imaging results were varied, I wasn't completely happy but it's another step in the learning curve.
I was feeling pleased about the capture I had of Venus only to realise that I still had the monochrome cam in from imaging the moon, whoops.
The image of the moon was hit and miss. I made a few silly errors in shutter speeds and camera gain, which resulted in some inconsistent colour tones across some of the image. I also got a bit hungry and decided to have a nibble at a few parts of the moon, I do apologies but could you imagine my disappointment when I discovered that it wasn't Cheshire cheese!
As the clouds were rolling in I did have a view at Mars, a few double stars and M3 but the views weren't anything to write home about so that's all I will say about them.
Finish = 23:20
The evening started of so lovely. The air was warm, there wasn't a breath of wind, humidity was low and seeing was steady. Transparency was poor but that's to be expected in a high pressure weather system.
The evening was great right up until the moment I stopped imaging. Almost as soon as I had finished cloud moved in from the north and because there was barely a breeze it wasn't going to move any time soon so I decided to call it a night and get to bed early for once this week.
Location = Bragan
Equipment = 14" Skywatcher, laptop, webcams.
Start Time = 20:48
My imaging results were varied, I wasn't completely happy but it's another step in the learning curve.
I was feeling pleased about the capture I had of Venus only to realise that I still had the monochrome cam in from imaging the moon, whoops.
The image of the moon was hit and miss. I made a few silly errors in shutter speeds and camera gain, which resulted in some inconsistent colour tones across some of the image. I also got a bit hungry and decided to have a nibble at a few parts of the moon, I do apologies but could you imagine my disappointment when I discovered that it wasn't Cheshire cheese!
As the clouds were rolling in I did have a view at Mars, a few double stars and M3 but the views weren't anything to write home about so that's all I will say about them.
Finish = 23:20
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)