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).
Category Archives: Observing
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.
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.
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…
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 8×42 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.
Observing, 9th Feb 2008
Conditions: Clear, a little hazy, much dew and mist
Instrument: 4″ refractor, 8×42 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.
Observing session 8th February 2008
Conditions: Clear but misty at ground level, +3 degrees C. Seeing very steady.
Instrument: 4″ refractor and 8×42 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 8×42 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,
Texas Star Party 2008
TSP Upper Observng Field in 2006I went to the Texas Star Party in 2006 and had such a great time, I want to go back. I couldn’t make it last year, for various reasons but have registered for this year’s and got the confirmation email at the weekend.
I’ve managed to find a seasonal job – not a great one it has to be said, but the money’s okay and it means I can do the travelling I want to this year. Hopefully I can accummulate some dosh in time to get a reasonably-priced ticket across the Atlantic – I’ll need to buy the ticket in April.
Observing, 6th February 2008
Conditions: Cold, misty, sky a bit hazy. No wind
Instruments: 4-inch refractor and 8×42 binoculars
Place: Near Sandown, Isle of Wight, England
A much interrupted observing session (the England football team were in action against Switzerland and it was on BBC1). Sketched the highly unimpressive Collinder 69 in Orion – this thing consists of three stars in a triangle and that’s it, unless the fainter ones in the middle are related and even then it struggles to be anything other than boring. It’s big though and very obvious to the unaided eye. Collinder 69 represents the weapon that Orion the hunter is in the act of bringing down on some unfortunate prey.
The conditions weren’t great and I swapped the scope for the 8×42 binoculars and knocked off a few more Messiers for the binocular project to see all these objects, bringing the total to 61 – M40, M48, M95, M96, M105. What was the deal with M40? It’s two stars – how on earth did Messier think these might possibly be confused with a comet?
NGC/IC binocular project
While I was out with the binoculars the other night, an idea hit me. I am currently doing a project, just for fun, to see how many of the Messier Objects I can see with my binoculars. This has been ongoing since 2005 and so far I have observed 56 Messiers with the bins. Because binoculars are a fun, easy and undervalued way of observing deep sky objects I have decided to have a go at seeing how many NGC/IC objects I can see with them and, of course, the results will be posted here and on my website.
8×42 binoculars
It will be a good project for those nights where I’m too idle to get the scope out or the conditions don’t warrant the effort required to set it up. Binoculars are the ultimate grab-and-go scope and are very under-rated as an observing tool – and I have been as guilty as anyone of underusing them in my observing.
Raindrops keep falling on my head. Apart from a couple of days (and a single night) it seems to have been wet and windy almost non-stop for the past month. This isn’t climate change, it’s La Nina (the sister phenomenon of the more famous El Nino effect) which was also responsible for the appalling weather last summer. It’s based in the Pacific but affects the weather across the planet, causing torrential rain and high winds here and droughts in India, etc. Hopefully, it’ll die down soon.