By mid to late afternoon is became apparent that clear sky was going to develop so naturally I put the word out and started to ponder about what to look at.
I got the 14" all set up for 20:30 and the sky was mostly free of clouds and by 21:30 I could already tell the seeing was really good. Wind died down to nothing and the temperature was much milder than I was expecting. By 22:00 I got the scope collimated and by 22:20 did my two star align for my tracking and the views of Arcturus and Regulus were superbly crisp.
I had no plan for tonight. I just had my atlas out and decided to start in Corvus and just work my way up, expecting transparency to be good to excellent I wanted to observe a lot of familiar friends but also some new. I stuck to that plan very well, only near the end did my concentration start to wander and I ended up going to random things by the end - not all I made notes on - but it was past 02:00 by that time.
I started observing about 22:40 and even though it wouldn't be at its darkest for another 30 minutes or so it was really obvious the transparency was very good.
The entire session was excellent, almost every view giving me spine tingling views and several so good I likely audibly gasped.
It was a busy night for wild life too, every hedge, bush, tree and the fields themselves were bustling with noise and activity. Many strange noises from the hedge row beside me, cows grazing away. I almost jumped out of my own skin at one point as I was just locked onto the eyepiece and standing still for 10 minutes or more when a fox came to with in a few feet of me which then noticed me and ran off at such speed that the sound of that scared the life out of me, I was unaware of it being near me at all until that happened. I also had the pleasure of an owl landing in the tree at my back garden. I couldn't see it but I could tell it was a big owl as it made a good bit of noise landing and rustling about.
I finished up some time after 02:00 and felt very happy and satisfied. It dawned on me as I got the scope back into the house that I didn't feel tired and probably should have just stayed out another hour until it started to get bright but too late now.
It was a special night, one of those you only get two or three times a year.
With the weather looking like it will be dominated by wetter low pressure systems it is quite likely that will be the last observing of the season as the nights will become too bright in a few weeks for DSOs, if that is so then what a way to end the season.
With the weather looking like it will be dominated by wetter low pressure systems it is quite likely that will be the last observing of the season as the nights will become too bright in a few weeks for DSOs, if that is so then what a way to end the season.
No doubt I will switch over to double star observing in the summer but for now I am all geared up for NLC season an look forward to that with great anticipation.
Location = Home, front garden
Equipment = Skywatcher 14" GOTO
Seeing = 4
Trans = 3/4
M104 - Virgo = Oh my goodness! A jaw dropping view... Using AV this was just like looking at a black and white photo. The central dust lane appeared as this gorgeous dark black line - as if someone too a black marker and drew through it - and on either side the intense glow of the core and softly reaching out was the bulging ethereal glow of the remaining disk on either side. This is the kind of observation that makes your go numb with awe and burned into your memory. Truly unforgettable and once the best observations I have ever had of this, I absorbed in this view for at least 20 minutes.
NGC 4361 - Corvus = Excellent view! The central star pin sharp and bright diamond white, with an apparent ring shaped gap between the star and the nebula. The nebula itself was strong with easy to define shape with some regions being quite rich. A thrill to see this PN so well.
NGC 4038/39 - Corvus - Antennae = Considering how low to the horizon this galaxy was for me the view was really good. It did take the 10mm Delos to resolve it cleanly and AV showed the lovely irregular shape of this interacting couple. No details could be made out but to be expected when less than 10 degrees from the horizon.
3C 273 - Virgo = Not much to look at of course, unless you know what you are looking at this looks nothing more than a mag 12/13 star of a brilliant white but of course knowing what you are looking at is what makes this such an impressive observation. I was in the area and had been a good number of years since I last observed it, in fact I do believe my last observation was in Stevie's 12" Lightbridge at Bragan in 2011/12
M61 - Virgo = Oh my! What a view! I seldom look at this but despite that easily the best view I've had. Bright, lovely spiral arms, core is really bright with the barred shape extending out to the arms. It was all here and so wonderful.
M49 - Virgo = Really well seen. Bright with the disk being large and diffuse.
M60/NGC 4647 - Virgo = A really impressive sight. Bright and diffuse but it was NGC 4647 that made this view as special as it was, with the disk easily seen and littered with granular like details.
M59 - Virgo = As good as view as one can expect from an elliptical.
M58 - Virgo = Quite a good view with a small but bright core, nice bar structure. It took AV to give a hint of any arms.
M87 - Virgo = Very good
M84/86 - Virgo = Very good.
M99 - Virgo = Really good view with a large core. AV hinting at one large arching arm.
M98 - Virgo = A lovely view. Delicate oval disk filling the FOV with a dim but dense core. Easily my best view of this galaxy.
M85/NGC 4394 - Virgo = Both galaxies were really well seen. Not much details to pick out form 4394.
M64 - Coma Berenices = Possibly the best observation I have ever had of this galaxy. I was aghast with surprise when I looked in the eyepiece. Normally this galaxy is nothing more than a big smudge and if you are lucky you can pick out a dark patch but wow, never have I seen so much detail. The black eye feature was plainly obvious, warping itself around the densely bright core. The disk is usually the challenge for this object as it is mostly dark dusty nebula but the full shape and size of the disk was apparent and some patches of the darker regions could be made out with AV. Outstanding.
NGC 4631 - Canes Venatici = A beautiful crisp view, bright with all the details here. Had I been fighting sleep and fatigue - which I luckily wasn't - I may have heard the whale songs, ha ha. This makes me very happy.
M63 - Canes Venatici = This was a really good view. Another galaxy that usually is a disappointing view but all was here to see, large disk in the FOV, details were about average but that is quite something for this object.
M106 - Canes Venatici = Another excellent, beautiful view here too with rich oval shape to the disk and AV lightly showing arching arms.
M51 - Canes Venatici = Just like the past few nights, photographic with astounding levels of detail. It gives you chills when you see a galaxy to this level of crisp detail and clarity.
M108 - Ursa Major = This was really nice! Filling the FOV and peppered with detail along the slender, rich, disk.
M101 - Ursa Major = I thought I would end the night on a whimsical chance as there was nothing to loose. Changed eye piece to the 17mm Delos and then hand slewed to this and got my eye to the eye piece and expected the usual affair of a ghostly appearance but slightly better with the nicer conditions but holy milky cow! I couldn't believe the view. It was a moment of disbelief and am quite sure I shout out with OMG or something similar but I had to take a little walk to calm the mind and went back to try and settle in for the view that was presented to me. The entire FOV was filled with stunning spiral arms with elegant details to be picked out along each of the arms, all the way to the core, was knotted with cluster features, dark gaps and breaks, along with brighter regions. I literally cannot recall seeing a better view of this. It's a once in a decade observation. Wow! What a thrill.
