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Observation reports - Langley cricket ground ...
Reading about other people's experiences at the eyepiece of a telescope
often inspires us to view the glory of the night sky. Go forth and explore
...!
Remember, don't forget to send your observing reports to observations@maccastro.com.
27/07/01 -
observing report
It had been a while since a group of us had gathered to observe,
and Friday evening turned out to be the perfect opportunity.
Myself, Chris, Stan, Richard and Tony met at Pott Shrigley cricket club
(PSCC) with a Vixen 4" refractor, SBTC 10" Dobsonian, Meade
10" LX200, Takahashi 5" refractor and Konus 4.5" reflector
respectively. What a line-up!
I arrived at our observing site by 2200. Although still light at this
time, I really like to get my equipment set up and ready for when darkness
falls. More importantly, I love to experience the peace and quiet associated
with being in the open countryside and the wonderful sky colours as the
Sun sets. It's a great feeling that's hard to put into words ...
When darkness arrived, we were already in full swing. The Moon was very
close to disappearing behind a hill so I aimed my 'scope at it and watched.
As it started to slowly disappear I could see all the trees and bushes
in silhouette against the lunar disk - it was an extremely pictorial view
and would have made a great photograph!
Next was Mars. It was immediately apparent that the planet is receding
from us now, as the size of the disk was smaller than I recalled previously.
I wasn't too sure if I could see any surface detail - the planet-wide
dust storm is still raging - but the seeing was particularly steady.
I don't remember spending very much time at my telescope as I was travelling
from one 'scope to the next looking at what other people were observing.
We tend to call out to each other what we're looking at, form an orderly
queue and all take a peak!
Richard and Tony concerned themselves with CCD imaging. Unfortunately,
Tony wasn't having too much luck with his efforts, but soldered on regardless
- it was only later when he realised what was wrong - life's like that!
Richard was having more success imaging the Lagoon nebula in Sagittarius.
We were all astounded just how quickly he was able to produce a brilliant
result. His final image is stunning.
Stan's visit to PSCC was his first in a while so he wasn't quite up to
speed in setting up his LX200. I heard him say in slight frustration 'I
can't believe how quickly you can all set up your equipment!', still with
a little patience he was soon slewing his mighty telescope from object
to object. He was particularly impressed with his telescopic images of
M11, M2, M57 and the Double Cluster.
Chris quietly busied himself with the Dobsonian. We all agree that his
equipment is very good indeed; the images produced with that telescope
are first class. Especially good is the Double cluster in Perseus, a profusion
of stars that's an all time favourite of mine.
As the night progressed we noticed that Saturn had risen in the east.
Not expecting to be able to see a great deal because of it's location
near to the horizon, I was very surprised to find that that image was
very good indeed at 166x. Cassini's division within the rings was visible
during steady moments of seeing and we could easily spot the planets largest
moon Titan a short distance away. What a great way to end an observing
session with a tantalising glimpse of what's to come later in the year.
Just as I started to pack away, Jupiter had begun to rise as well ...
Too late though, I'd already taken my telescope off its mount. Next time,
next time ...!
Andrew Greenwood
13-15/07/01 - observing
report
Chris and I ventured out on Friday 13 July and Sunday 15 July.
I have pleasure in reporting that the skies are indeed getting darker!
It was great to get back underneath the stars after such a long absence.
My quarry for the night was to be comet LINEAR. At 22.45 I started sweeping
the sky with my binoculars to the right of the Great Square of Pegasus.
I didn't expect to find the object as it was still light and was at a
predicted magnitude of 6 (fainter to the eye due to its diffuse nature).
But no, there it was! I was surprised to find that the coma is really
rather large. It seemed to me that this object was indeed brighter than
magnitude 6. This was confirmed when I could detect the object with the
naked eye in a still not-so-dark sky.
I have since found out that the comet flared by 2 magnitudes (up to 4)
on Friday - hence its brightness. I wish I had taken my camera!
Telescopically, I detected a very faint tail pointing away from the Sun
in the 10 o'clock position in the eyepiece of Chris's 10" Dobsonian.
We returned on Sunday night to find that comet had moved considerably
further north, but I felt it has started to fade a little.
Those who haven't seen the object, do so as soon as you can, it may now
start to fade rapidly from view. We're never sure how long it will be
before the next one will come along as bright as this - take the opportunity!
Messier recorded during our observations: M10, M11, M12, M14, M57, M27,
M78, M8, M25, M22, M13, M18, M20, M4, M29, the Double Cluster, M103 and
more ...
Andrew Greenwood
23/05/01 - observing
report
Out again, this time under better skies ...
I resumed my search for Mercury as the western horizon was far less cloudy
than the previous night. After about five minutes of scanning back and
forth with my binoculars, I swept up Jupiter about 5-7 degrees above the
horizon, clearly showing a disk at 15x.
This was the first step and an encouraging indication that it was likely
I would indeed find the Winged Messenger (thanks Dave!). I looked where
I expected to find the planet, again sweeping back and forth over the
same area of sky. Nothing!
Then, in the back of my mind, I thought about how misleading star charts
can be in terms of scale. This is especially so when you have no background
stars to use to help find your target. Obviously, as I was looking in
the direction of the recently set Sun, this was the case.
I re-checked my Starry Night finder chart and simply moved away from Jupiter
in a north westerly direction - I'd hopefully arrive at Mercury sooner
or later. I did! Initially, I thought it was a star, but further examination
through my binoculars showed that it wasn't scintillating. I couldn't
believe just how very small the planet was. No phase or disk was discernible
at 15x, yet Jupiter, almost on the opposite side of the Sun to Earth,
was easily recognised.
Next, I hurriedly set up my 4" refractor and to my annoyance, I'd
forgotten my finderscope! This would make observing much more difficult
... My solution was to use cloud as my guide to relocate the planet. Thankfully,
it worked. Mercury truly is a fleeting world - at 25x I still couldn't
detect a phase, only when I used 50x could I begin to believe I could
see its 30% illuminated disk. Finally, at 80x the little planet was clearly
showing a crescent phase.
I attached my camera to the telescope and finished off a roll of 200 ASA
slide film. I do not expect that the images I have captured will show
anything other than a point of light. I would imagine any phase detail
has been lost due to the poor seeing conditions through the thick atmosphere
close to the horizon.
I'm quite pleased with what I achieved whilst observing Mercury. I'm now
left with one planet to observe - Pluto. I know it is going to be difficult
to see visually, maybe even impossible, but I'm definitely ready for the
challenge! The fact that our outer planet is at opposition on June 4th
means that at magnitude 13.74, it will be as bright as it can ever be
to observers on Earth. We'll see ...
After Mercury had begun to fade, I decided to turn my telescope to an
old favourite of mine, the Double Double in Lyra. I was amazed just how
steady the seeing conditions were at higher altitudes. I was able to use
a magnification of 333x (133x greater magnification than the theoretical
limit of the refractor) to very easily split the binary stars *and* still
easily identify them as point sources of light, rather than fuzzy patches.
That was most definitely impressive!
Chris and I then took a brief tour of a number of celestial objects some
old, some new, before packing away and heading home ... M13, M3, M103,
Epsilon 1 and 2 Lyrae, Alberio, M8, Mars, M12 and M10.
Andrew Greenwood
22/05/01 - observing
report
A bit on the hopeful-side, this observing session ...
The day started perfectly with pristine, clear skies. However, as the
day progressed, high Cirrus soon made the sky look very milky.
As I walked home form work, things looked no better. I wanted to glimpse
Mercury just after sunset, so I arrived at Langley just before 2100. Things
didn't look promising ... Although there was a good clear patch of sky
above me, towards the West it was very cloudy. I tried and tried for the
little planet, but it was no use - I was defeated.
Still, to the North and East the sky was improving. By 2300 Stan and Chris
had arrived, we set up 'scopes (LX200 and 8" reflector) and we set
about observing some old Messier favourites. Due to the sky, there was
no point in chasing anything too fuzzy, so I decided to wait until a better
night to snare comet McNaught-Hartley.
We were also treated to three bright Iridium flares and a handful of satellite
transits, thanks to Stan's print out from Heavens Above.
Messier objects observed included ... M57, M29, M13, M8, M20, M21, M81,
M82 and M51. At 0130 we decided to call it a night. The sky was at it's
best, but getting up for work later that morning made me think sensibly!
Just as Stan and I said our goodbyes, a very bright meteor streaked across
the sky East to West from Serpens Caput to Ursa Major - probably about
magnitude -1.5. As Stan said, 'What an auspicious end to the night!'
Andrew Greenwood
11-14/05/01 - observing
report
Thankfully, the weather held over the weekend and we were treated to two
consecutive clear nights. We're back to rain now, so I expect that we'll
have to 'pay' for our fortunate grace!
11/5/01
Good turn out at Langley for this observing session - myself, Chris, Stan,
Richard and Terry. To complement the gathering, we had a very healthy
group of instruments at our disposal too ... a 5" Takahashi refractor,
4" Vixen refractor, LX200, 10" Dobsonian, 4.5" reflector,
image stabilising binoculars and 5 pairs of eyeballs!
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't quite as good as we had expected, it
was rather hazy and there was a particularly gusty breeze. The limiting
sky magnitude was approximately 5.2.
As an aside, Chris told me the following night that he had quietly smiled
to himself as he watched me running from 'scope to 'scope, then camera
and back again. Well, I really was enjoying myself ...!
Undeterred by the conditions, Richard set up his CCD equipment and busied
himself most of the night in and around M81, M82 and Cygnus. Even though
he limited his exposures to 1 minute, the images he acquired were particularly
impressive. M81 showed spiral structure, M82 distinctive mottling and
the sheer amount of nebulosity and stars within Cygnus was astounding.
I hope Richard considers uploading the images to this newsgroup.
I had printed a schedule for numerous satellite passes and magnitude -6,
-8 and two -3 Iridium flares. Many pin-points of light were seen crossing
the sky and we were treated to some amazing flares, all of which I caught
on film. I can't wait to see the results. The two -3 flares occurred within
two minutes of each other so I was able to capture both on one exposure.
We all agreed that the prediction for the final flare was inaccurate -
it was much brighter. Our collective gasps of amazement was enough to
prove that.
Between all of the above Chris spent his time meteor watching and unfortunately
was disappointed to see very few. The best I think we all saw - streaking
across the sky just after one of the Iridium events. Stan further refined
the pointing accuracy of his LX, and every so often call out 'Messier
"X"' and we'd all take turns at his eyepiece. He is clearly
enjoying his observing sessions now he's getting to grips with Goto computer.
I busied myself hunting down 16 Messier/NGC objects (traditionally, I
might add!), but started by searching for comet McNaught-Hartley. I printed
a finder chart from the Internet to help me locate the object, but it
eluded me. I expect that the observing latitude of the map was substantially
different from that of Langley, so the comet wasn't quite in the area
of sky I was looking. I'll try again.
Messier/NGC logged were as follows ... M57, M11, M8, M27, M13, M3, M103,
the Double Cluster, M81, M82, M64, M51, the Double Double, M39, M29 and
NGC7082.
Richard later spoke to me about how he finds it difficult to image any
of the nebulae within Sagittarius. His observing site at home only permits
a view of this region for one week throughout the year. Shortly after
saying this, he and Terry decided to call it a night and pack their equipment
away.
Chris also decided to make a move. Stan and I were left. By now Mars had
risen quite high and I decided to take a look at it through my 15x45 image
stabilising binoculars ... Wow! I was caught off guard - just to the left
of the planet was M8, the Lagoon nebula, looking absolutely stunning.
If only Richard had waited!
I always think that the nebula looks angry, and in my opinion, is more
interesting than M42, the Great Orion nebula. For me, seeing M8 made the
observing session complete and confirms that the most interesting constellation
(Sagittarius) has briefly returned to our skies. It was 0400 and the sky
was getting lighter and lighter as dawn approached - time to go home.
I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself, but the best was yet to come ...
12/5/01
When I woke up on Saturday morning, the clarity of the sky had improved
dramatically. I hoped that it would stay that way and it did.
As darkness fell and the stars appeared I knew that we were in for a treat.
I arrived at Langley at 2320 and immediately after getting out of the
car to set up my equipment, the improvement over the previous night was
extremely apparent. The limiting sky magnitude was approximately 5.8,
maybe even better.
The stars looked almost 3-Dimentional - a sure sign that the atmosphere
was transparent. Chris arrived about three quarters of an hour after I
and although the breeze was still there, agreed that the conditions were
quite
superb.
Chris and I often speak of those 'once in a while' nights that occur perhaps
a handful of times a year - this was one of them. It was time to make
good use of it! I expected to not spend too much time at Langley as I
was tired from the previous night, but ended up staying until 0300. This
is why ...
In the total of 3 hours, I observed 31 Messier/NGC/IC and Cr objects.
That is definitely a personal record - all of which I found with my trusty
SkyAtlas 2000 and star hopping through the 10" Dobsinian.
Objects logged were as follows ... M57, M51, M81, M82, M27, M64, M39,
the Double Cluster, M29, Epsilon 1 and 2 Lyrae, Alberio, Hipparcus 3105.683
and Hipparcus 3105.726, M71, SAO 17062, IC4756, NGC 6633, Cr 350, IC4665,
M11, M26, M16, M17, M18, M19, M25, M22, M20, M24, M23, M4 and M103. How
about that for productivity, Stan? I thought you'd be proud!
I started the observing session by looking at Vega which looked so sharp
and well defined. I then went on to observe M57. It was so bright - much
more so than the night before! M81 and M82 were next and I have never
seen then look so amazing, nicely framed within the same field of view.
The mottling in galaxy M82 was very clear. This tempted me to move further
on to M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Even at 60x I was convinced I could see
spiral structure that had only been previously seen at 138x. The most
luminous object by far was M27 the Dumbbell nebula. Again, I have never
seen it look as it did that night. The distinctive 'apple core' shape
of this object was not so easy to spot, as I could see much fainter nebulous
structure.
Chris then pointed out the Milky Way. My goodness, it was impressive -
the Great Rift was very easily seen and the blotchy band of millions upon
millions of stars could be seen flowing to at least 15 degrees above the
horizon! We could also see the branching of the Milky Way as it passed
into Aquila, Serpens Cauda and Ophiuchus. What a sight it was.
I asked Chris to look through the eyepiece at where the telescope was
pointing and gradually move the 'scope towards him. He let out a gasp,
as from a region relatively devoid of stars he hit a well-defined bank
of thousands. This was a superb demonstration of the amount of obscuring
dust contained within our Galaxy and how it shields many stars from our
eyes. Next we travelled the Milky Way into Scorpius and found the huge
globular cluster M4 nestling next to the red giant star, Antares. We had
looked for this the previous night without luck, but this time it was
an easy target.
I had to have a look at Mars and the Lagoon nebula again ... What's this
above the Lagoon, I asked? It was the Trifid nebula! Again, the night
before it had been obscured from view. Mars, M8 and M20 all in the same
4.5 degree binocular field. Beat that for sheer impressiveness!
We spent the next hour or so moving throughout Sagittarius, gasping at
all the open clusters, globular clusters, star clouds and nebulae we came
across. Particularly noteworthy telescopically, was the Omega nebula (M17)
as it was very bright even though it was only 19 degrees above the horizon
and battling the glow of oncoming Moonlight.
I'd love to write more about all the amazing celestial showpieces we saw
on that night, but I really must stop writing as I'll never finish! Those
who read this, just pick up your star maps and reference the objects we
saw in such a relatively small area of sky. You've simply got to see them
for yourself!
I can't wait for the next time we're graced with such wonderful skies.
I only hope we are whilst Scorpius and Sagittarius are still in view.
I feel a long observing session coming on ...
Andrew Greenwood
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