Last night I attempted an observation of a double shadow transit on Jupiter. Europa started first with shadow ingress at 11:14pm PST, with transit ingress 34 minutes later. Io's shadow was to ingress at 1:37am, and transit at 1:53am. From 1:37 to 2:00am both Europa's and Io's shadows would be on Jupiter, and both moons might be visible until 2:30am. The weather was predicted to be iffy: good seeing but poor transparency due to water vapor pouring into the Bay Area, as I could clearly see on the GEOS weather satellite. It was worth a try nonetheless.
I went out at midnight to use my 12.5-inch f/7 reflector on an equatorial platform. The sky was sheeted with a thin layer of low cloud. Seeing was steady and I observed Jupiter at 340x. The sky background was bright with the cloud, but I could still see the Northern & Southern divisions in the South Equatorial Belt, the small and dark red Great Red Spot, and gradations of color in the North Equatorial Belt. All other major belts were visible. Europa's shadow was a tight black dot, and I could intermittently see the small bright disk of the moon itself.
I spent some time observing the moon, which I don't often see at this phase (waning gibbous 88% illuminated). The cloud made it appear like an old, badly exposed photograph. Many crater walls and mons appeared disconnected from the lunar surface along the terminator, especially in the area around Langrenus. I noticed rather prominent pair of hills on the edge of the moon which I think were near crater Kopff, but I am unsure. They reminded me of Mission and Monument Peaks overlooking Fremont.
Back to Jupiter at 1:15am to try to see Io's shadow. But now the cloud cover was thickening, and more clouds rippled in from the west. The air had a strange smell, like ozone but more metallic and salty. Gradually Jupiter lost more detail and it lost its color. I looked up and could not see it with my naked eye. But it was still there, eerie and vague, in my telescope. The cloud cover was just thin enough to allow me to see it through the telescope. In the eyepiece, the sky background was black, and Jupiter became a faint, solid but dark bluish-grey orb with soft edges. It looked exactly like a faint planetary nebula, but without a central star or ring structure. It was the real Ghost of Jupiter, veiled and obscure. It looked nothing like itself, and I only knew it was Jupiter because my telescope was tracking it just minutes before. NGC 3242, the planetary nebula which carries the nickname, is a lighter blue and by comparison teems with detail, with a double shell apparent with aperture, not at all like the apparition I saw. I venture not many people have seen Jupiter or other planets through cloud cover like that.
By 1:35am I lost sight of Jupiter altogether and decided to pack it in. I should have stayed out longer. When I glanced up before stepping inside, I could again see Jupiter naked eye through a narrow gap in the cloud cover. If I still had the telescope out I could have seen the two shadows.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
nice evining in the back
Had a nice session with the 12.5-inch (or should I say, 11.5-inch with the mask). Val and I had looks at M42, M41, Sirius, and M45. Apparently Sirius is involved with the Harry Potter books in some way, Val was excited to see it. The ladder is quite high for her, I might need to attach a grab handle.
Later I came back out and looked at Sirius again, this time at 443x. Sirius B popped out immediately, without my having to try. Seeing was quite good and the diffraction shrunk so that there was a nice clean gap between the stars. No interference from the spider diffraction spike. It will be fun to track this star in the coming years to see it swing around and get closer together.
I had a look at a few other objects:
M44, The Beehive, Praesepe, open cluster in Cancer. I know this one well enough to land pretty close to it with just the Telrad. Most complete view in the 50mm finder, of course. There were about 20 brighter stars scattered within a stretched diamond shape, with some faint cloudiness behind that. The scope (101x FOV of 0.7 degrees) only showed about 25% of the cluster, with many bright stars, a few of which were red or orange. Doubles scattered throughout. Some of the fainter stars started to resolve. Wonderful object. It's about 600 light years distant; its age and proper motion are shared with the Hyades in Taurus, so they may share a similar place of origin. The brighter stars are in the core and there are supposed to be fainter stars in a halo around it, but to me I did not see much of an outer halo -- perhaps another look in a dark sky will help. This is one where I hope to find several galaxies within the cluster, perhaps my next time out with the 20-inch.
X Cancri, carbon star, was an easy hop from the Beehive to delta Cancri, then to the scattered field to the south east. X was red in the finder and an easy find. Lovely orange red; in the scope at 277x it was lonely in the field, with only two other stars on either side of the FOV.
Star HD93521 in Leo Minor was a rather ordinary star about 7th magnitude, slightly bluish. It is an O type star.
Lalande 21185 in Ursa Major was reddish orange, about 7.5 magnitude. It is a red dwarf and only 8.3 light years away, and is approaching the sun: in 20,000 years it will be "only" 4.65 light years away. Maybe by then humans can travel to it. It was claimed to have a planetary system as early as 1951; since then no planet has been confirmed but if there is one it could only be the mass of Jupiter.
RU Camelopardalis, carbon star: I tried for this last week in the 8-inch but was blocked by my roof. This time the 12-inch was in the right spot in the yard to see it, and easy hop from Muscida. Red in finder, a nice reddish orange in the scope.
I started to feel a bit tired and packed it in at around 10:20pm. I wish I stayed out longer: on my way inside I noticed Jupiter pretty high in the east--the seeing was pretty good and I bet Jupiter would have looked nice. There is a double shadow transit late tonight from 1:30-2:30am, which I hope to catch if the weather cooperates. I can sacrifice some sleep for it!
Later I came back out and looked at Sirius again, this time at 443x. Sirius B popped out immediately, without my having to try. Seeing was quite good and the diffraction shrunk so that there was a nice clean gap between the stars. No interference from the spider diffraction spike. It will be fun to track this star in the coming years to see it swing around and get closer together.
I had a look at a few other objects:
M44, The Beehive, Praesepe, open cluster in Cancer. I know this one well enough to land pretty close to it with just the Telrad. Most complete view in the 50mm finder, of course. There were about 20 brighter stars scattered within a stretched diamond shape, with some faint cloudiness behind that. The scope (101x FOV of 0.7 degrees) only showed about 25% of the cluster, with many bright stars, a few of which were red or orange. Doubles scattered throughout. Some of the fainter stars started to resolve. Wonderful object. It's about 600 light years distant; its age and proper motion are shared with the Hyades in Taurus, so they may share a similar place of origin. The brighter stars are in the core and there are supposed to be fainter stars in a halo around it, but to me I did not see much of an outer halo -- perhaps another look in a dark sky will help. This is one where I hope to find several galaxies within the cluster, perhaps my next time out with the 20-inch.
X Cancri, carbon star, was an easy hop from the Beehive to delta Cancri, then to the scattered field to the south east. X was red in the finder and an easy find. Lovely orange red; in the scope at 277x it was lonely in the field, with only two other stars on either side of the FOV.
Star HD93521 in Leo Minor was a rather ordinary star about 7th magnitude, slightly bluish. It is an O type star.
Lalande 21185 in Ursa Major was reddish orange, about 7.5 magnitude. It is a red dwarf and only 8.3 light years away, and is approaching the sun: in 20,000 years it will be "only" 4.65 light years away. Maybe by then humans can travel to it. It was claimed to have a planetary system as early as 1951; since then no planet has been confirmed but if there is one it could only be the mass of Jupiter.
RU Camelopardalis, carbon star: I tried for this last week in the 8-inch but was blocked by my roof. This time the 12-inch was in the right spot in the yard to see it, and easy hop from Muscida. Red in finder, a nice reddish orange in the scope.
I started to feel a bit tired and packed it in at around 10:20pm. I wish I stayed out longer: on my way inside I noticed Jupiter pretty high in the east--the seeing was pretty good and I bet Jupiter would have looked nice. There is a double shadow transit late tonight from 1:30-2:30am, which I hope to catch if the weather cooperates. I can sacrifice some sleep for it!
Monday, February 15, 2016
sirius b!
I fixed the Astroscan today and was able to improve the collimation a little bit. I used a laser collimator when putting the front glass plate back, and used pieces of tape as shims on one side of the housing rim where the glass plate needed to be lifted. I tried it out during twilight and it seemed fine. No harm done, luckily; the mirror had a couple of marks on it but should not make a difference in the view.
After dark I went out with the 8-inch and tried a few carbon stars, keeping an eye on the seeing, which was pretty good from about 9:30pm to about 10:00pm. I started to get airy disks while looking at X and T Cancri. I had seen the E & F in the Trapezium previously. I went to Rigel and checked it for separation and did a fine focus. Then to Sirius; I focused again on the 9th magnitude stars which precede it, to remember the dimness, then let the scintillating mess pass through. Actually it was pretty stable in the center. But my spider diffraction spikes where nearly W-E... Several passes and nothing. Then again and this time a small disk formed as I looked, riding on top of the diffraction spike, at the correct separation. Tried again and it wasn't there... then it was. I could hold it about 30% of the time.
So I will call it a success. This in the 8-inch (really 7.5-inch since I have the outer 1/4-inch of the primary masked off to deal with a turned down edge), f7.25, at 368x (8mm with 2x barlow).
Some bands of cloud started sweeping through. I looked at the quarter / waxing moon awhile at 368x and orange filter--some heaving from the atmospheric seeing but really nice sharp view along the terminator. Then looking east I noticed a bright light below Leo -- Jupiter. I swung the scope over for a look. A bit mushy, and no Galilean moon events. The sky was still variable; and tomorrow's a work day, so I packed it in.
After dark I went out with the 8-inch and tried a few carbon stars, keeping an eye on the seeing, which was pretty good from about 9:30pm to about 10:00pm. I started to get airy disks while looking at X and T Cancri. I had seen the E & F in the Trapezium previously. I went to Rigel and checked it for separation and did a fine focus. Then to Sirius; I focused again on the 9th magnitude stars which precede it, to remember the dimness, then let the scintillating mess pass through. Actually it was pretty stable in the center. But my spider diffraction spikes where nearly W-E... Several passes and nothing. Then again and this time a small disk formed as I looked, riding on top of the diffraction spike, at the correct separation. Tried again and it wasn't there... then it was. I could hold it about 30% of the time.
So I will call it a success. This in the 8-inch (really 7.5-inch since I have the outer 1/4-inch of the primary masked off to deal with a turned down edge), f7.25, at 368x (8mm with 2x barlow).
Some bands of cloud started sweeping through. I looked at the quarter / waxing moon awhile at 368x and orange filter--some heaving from the atmospheric seeing but really nice sharp view along the terminator. Then looking east I noticed a bright light below Leo -- Jupiter. I swung the scope over for a look. A bit mushy, and no Galilean moon events. The sky was still variable; and tomorrow's a work day, so I packed it in.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
napping in the back
Spent some time today trying to fix my pipe mount for my big binos. After an hour's effort I finished, but it's frustrating to have to devote so much maintenance to it. And it cannot balance well. I went out at 9om and had some views of Orion's Sword, the belt, the head cluster, M41, and M45.... But there was high fog blowing in and a quarter moon. I ended up closing my eyes and listening to the crickets singing over the traffic noise. I must've drifted off for a bit. In any case, I packed it in, determined to build a decent parallelogram mount so I can better enjoy the big binos, The view of Orion's sword would be excellent if I could get it steady.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
fremont peak session, completed
There have been several promising nights to observe this week, getting my hopes up, only to be thwarted by high thin clouds at the last moment. Like tonight. I have not been idle, though, and have finally written up my notes from the session at Fremont Peak last Saturday. It does take some days on concentrated effort to make fair sketches and notes from what I see, and do the research to confirm, so the cloudy weather is not necessarily unwelcome.
Sorry for the laundry list. All with the 20" in average to poor transparency, Pickering seeing 6-7:
NGC 1045: Gx in Cet; 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, round bright core. Halo faintly elongated NE-SW. Foreground star on SW tip of halo
NGC 1114: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, bright core. Halo brightens on West side. 4:1 N-S [actual is 2:1, seems I could not detect some halo on its sides]
NGC 1162: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Stellar nucleus and bright round core. Diffuse round halo. Small.
NGC 1172: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Round bright core, fairly bright halo is oval, tending SSW-NNE. Bright star off to east of the NE tip
NGC 1199: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Bright core, stellar nucleus, round. Four other galaxies in field: 1189 to west a stellar nucleus and faint round core; 1190 to SW is small and faint, elongated 3:1 E-W; 1191 & 1192 are non stellar pair
NGC 1209: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Stellar nucleus and bright core. Elongated 3:1 W-E. Direct vision but faint, very diffuse halo. Did not see companion galaxy 1231 to NE.
NGC 1187: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Fairly bright, diffuse halo, gently brighter in middle but no pronounced core or nucleus. Ill-defined edges. Bright foreground star to NW. 2:1 NW-SE.
NGC 1325: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Faint, 3:1 elongated NW-SE. Not a strong core; diffuse halo. Averted vision needed to bring it out. Star in NE halo. Non-stellar patch NGC 1319 to west
NGC 1332: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Stellar nucleus, round bright core pierced through by thin bright halo, 3:1 NW-SE. Followed closely by non-stellar patch [NGC 1131]
NGC 1353: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: At end of string of three stars. Brighter core, irregular bright halo hints of spiral. 3:1 NE-SW
NGC 1400: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Brightest of three galaxies in field. Round, bright core diffusing to halo, which is evenly bright with diffuse edges. NGC 1407 to the NE is larger, fainter, with a round halo, large brighter core. NGC 1404 is seen averted vision, a hazy patch to the WNW edge of FOV
NGC 1421: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Lovely long grey 4:1 N-S. Some mottling in otherwise even surface brightness; some brightening to core with averted vision.
NGC 1012: Gx in Ari: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, even surface brightness halo elongated 3:1 NNE-SSW. Gradually brighter long core. Foreground star touching central region on SE side.
NGC 1060: Gx in Tri: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, round core, diffuse halo. Brighter than nearby NGC 1066, which has a smaller core but is also round. NGCs 1061, 1057, and 1067 noticed nearby as faint, small round patches; 1061 has a brighter core. NGC 1062 not seen.
NGC 1156: Gx in Ari: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, uneven surface brightness / mottled halo 3:2 NNE-SSW. Foreground star on N. tip. Diffuse edges; pretty large.
IC 351: PN in Per: 205x / 0.5°: No filter: a small, hazy blinking star. With OIII it stays in view without blinking. Bright center might be central star. Round, even surface brightness, diffuse edge
IC 2003: PN in Per: 205x / 0.5°: Seen in field as blinking star. OIII helps hold the view and increase apparent disk. Bright, large middle round portion, with a thin ring surrounding it with diffuse edges.
IC 418: PN in Lep: 333x / 0.3°: No filter needed. Bright, faintly greenish and large round halo, mottled, with ragged edges. Central star steady with averted vision, comes and goes with seeing direct vision.
NGC 1663: OC in Ori: 205x / 0.5°: Anchor shaped. 12 stars, some fainter behind, not quite resolved. Row of three brighter stars to south. Est. III2p. [IV2p]
NGC 1662: OC in Ori: 205x / 0.5°: Omega "w" shaped asterism. 15 brighter and as many fainter -- close double in central concentration. III1p [II3m]
NGC 2022: PN in Ori: 205x / 0.5°: Fairly large, bright, round, with a hint of mottling with OIII, which enhances the view. Brighter arc on western rim. No CS. In a rich field of stars
NGC 1514: PN in Tau: 333x / 0.3°: Central star visible in 80mm finder. Bright central star with faint, milky, large round haze around it. OIII shows mottling & defined edges with brighter rims to NW and SE, and absence of halo / darkening in NW & SW parts of shell.
Jonckheere 320: PN in Ori: 333x / 0.3°: Disappointingly easy! Without filter at 205x a hazy, bloated, blinking star. 333x with OIII made it more substantial, with a bright oval and dense core, with a thin shell around that. No CS. Small.
IC 2165: PN in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Stellar in 80mm finder. Bright CS with small round fringe with OIII enhances. Rich field of stars.
NGC 1579: RN in Per: 121x / 0.7°: Large glow, bright in NE region; fades slowly and irregularly to west. Direct vision no filter, UHC helps contrast for best view. In trapezium of stars.
NGC 1750: OC in Tau: 86x / 1.0°: A concentration of a wide range of medium and faint stars, ~25 within NGC 1746. 1746 fills the field with scattered bright stars, not concentrated. NGC 1758 is a condensation of a dozen faint stars in the SE part of the field.
NGC 2283: Gx in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Pretty faint, in triangle of stars. Very faintly round halo. Elongation of core tending N-S [this is the bar]. Don't look at Sirius in the finder!
NGC 2359: EN in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Extensive nebulosity, much mottling. Round hollow sphere with brighter rim to N and NW, with two stars involved. Central star direct vision. There's a larger, fainter arc broadly W-E, and clouds of nebulosity to the NE and south.
NGC 2374: OC in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: "W" shape of 20 brighter stars in a rich field. Mains a N-S chain with extensions arching out to NW. IV1p [IV2p] No nebulosity seen despite use of filters.
NGC 2396: OC in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Near a bright star to north. A grouping of 25 stars, the brighter of which ten W-E concentration with parallel some parallel strings pointed N. Rich field. IV1m
NGC 2414: OC in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Bright star with a concentration of about 20 stars close by, especially those W and N. Distinct arc of 3 brighter stars in NW of cluster. I3m
NGC 2438: PN in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Without filter, central star is direct vision; there is a thick ring, round, defined edges, grey. With OIII no central star seen, but inside ring is mottled, ring is even thicker and also mottled. A field star closely follows it to the SE.
NGC 2432: OC in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Tight grouping of 10 brighter stars arrayed generally N-S -- forms a giraffe asterism: body and legs to north, neck and head to south. As many fainter stars around; rich field. II2m
NGC 2440: PN in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Bright CS visible in 80mm finder. IN scope, a star with haze around it. With OIII there is much more extension of the haze into a dumbbell shape. Pretty large. It's a dramatic reveal of the shell with the OIII. Lobes of shell are NNE-SSW
NGC 4361: PN in Crv: 205x / 0.5°: Without filter, CS is direct vision, shell is a grey irregular roundness with irregular edges. Mottled shell but I don't see the brighter arms. OIII loses the central star and does not add any detail.
NGC 2367: OC in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Sparse group, triangular, rather like a Christmas tree with top pointed south. Top has the brightest stars. II3m
NGC 4039: Gx in Crv: 205x / 0.5°: 4038 to north is brighter oval. 4039 to south is moderately fainter, with a disrupted core and faint but defined halo 3:2 NE-SW. No hint of tails in either galaxy, except some thickening stumps at the eastern junction of the cores. Noticeable dark sly between the lobes.
NGC 3242: PN in Hya: 333x / 0.3°: In 80mm finder as a blinking star. Steady view at 333x, but also tried 667x for details. Wow! Central star sits serene in inner ring which is thick and visibly tubular. The whole is enveloped in a semitransparent shell with defined edges. All features are a teal blue. High power mottles the sphere and reveals bright bolts running between outer shell and inner ring in moments of good seeing.
NGC 1514: PN in Tau: 333x / 0.3°: Central star visible in 80mm finder. Bright central star with faint, milky, large round haze around it. OIII shows mottling & defined edges with brighter rims to NW and SE, and absence of halo / darkening in NW & SW parts of shell.
NGC 4024: Gx in Crv: 205x / 0.5°: Bright core, almost stellar nucleus 3:2 ENE-WSW. At the end of a string of three stars.
NGC 3887: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Large, diffuse halo of fairly even surface brightness, but a brighter arc / dark lane on west rim -- spiral arm? Brightening to core and stellar nucleus with averted vision. 3:2 NNE-SSW. In a triangle of stars
NGC 3732: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Small, round, pretty bright core, diffuse edge halo. Stellar nucleus with averted vision.
NGC 3672: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Pretty large, 3:2 N-S, bright halo with some mottling--hinting of spiral structure. Gradually brightening core. East rim is not as rounded as west and seems to have a sudden fall off in brightness--a dark lane? MCG-1-29-19 is a faint, irregularly round small patch on NE edge of FOV.
NGC 3636: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: To WNW of bright foreground star; round, concentrated bright core and defined edge thin halo. NGC 3637 to NE in FOV
NGC 3637: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: To NE of bright foreground star. Slightly less bright core than nearby NGC 3636, but a larger, more diffuse round halo.
NGC 3892: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Stellar nucleus and bright elongated core; overall 3:3 W-E. Brighter inner halo direct vision; averted vision shows a faint increase in size of halo
NGC 3693: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Not plotted in Interstellarium. U2k shows it 0.5° S of IC 2856, which I found first. Very faint, need averted vision to really see. Small bright core and diffuse halo, 3:1 W-E. Overall small.
NGC 3511: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: with 3513. 3511 is in north in FOV; quite large, 3:1 ENE-WSW; stellar nucleus and even surface brightness halo with diffuse edges; foreground star on eastern tip.
NGC 3513: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: With 3511. Fainter than 3511, smaller; core is a small round glow and the oval halo tends N-S 3:2
NGC 3145: Gx in Hya: 205x / 0.5°: Bright lambda Hya in FOV to NE. Galaxy is pretty large, inclined spiral 3:1 NNE-SSE, small bright core and diffuse / mottled halo. Can see more halo with lambda Hya out of FOV and with averted vision.
Sorry for the laundry list. All with the 20" in average to poor transparency, Pickering seeing 6-7:
NGC 1045: Gx in Cet; 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, round bright core. Halo faintly elongated NE-SW. Foreground star on SW tip of halo
NGC 1114: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, bright core. Halo brightens on West side. 4:1 N-S [actual is 2:1, seems I could not detect some halo on its sides]
NGC 1162: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Stellar nucleus and bright round core. Diffuse round halo. Small.
NGC 1172: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Round bright core, fairly bright halo is oval, tending SSW-NNE. Bright star off to east of the NE tip
NGC 1199: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Bright core, stellar nucleus, round. Four other galaxies in field: 1189 to west a stellar nucleus and faint round core; 1190 to SW is small and faint, elongated 3:1 E-W; 1191 & 1192 are non stellar pair
NGC 1209: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Stellar nucleus and bright core. Elongated 3:1 W-E. Direct vision but faint, very diffuse halo. Did not see companion galaxy 1231 to NE.
NGC 1187: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Fairly bright, diffuse halo, gently brighter in middle but no pronounced core or nucleus. Ill-defined edges. Bright foreground star to NW. 2:1 NW-SE.
NGC 1325: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Faint, 3:1 elongated NW-SE. Not a strong core; diffuse halo. Averted vision needed to bring it out. Star in NE halo. Non-stellar patch NGC 1319 to west
NGC 1332: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Stellar nucleus, round bright core pierced through by thin bright halo, 3:1 NW-SE. Followed closely by non-stellar patch [NGC 1131]
NGC 1353: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: At end of string of three stars. Brighter core, irregular bright halo hints of spiral. 3:1 NE-SW
NGC 1400: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Brightest of three galaxies in field. Round, bright core diffusing to halo, which is evenly bright with diffuse edges. NGC 1407 to the NE is larger, fainter, with a round halo, large brighter core. NGC 1404 is seen averted vision, a hazy patch to the WNW edge of FOV
NGC 1421: Gx in Eri: 121x / 0.7°: Lovely long grey 4:1 N-S. Some mottling in otherwise even surface brightness; some brightening to core with averted vision.
NGC 1012: Gx in Ari: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, even surface brightness halo elongated 3:1 NNE-SSW. Gradually brighter long core. Foreground star touching central region on SE side.
NGC 1060: Gx in Tri: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, round core, diffuse halo. Brighter than nearby NGC 1066, which has a smaller core but is also round. NGCs 1061, 1057, and 1067 noticed nearby as faint, small round patches; 1061 has a brighter core. NGC 1062 not seen.
NGC 1156: Gx in Ari: 121x / 0.7°: Moderately bright, uneven surface brightness / mottled halo 3:2 NNE-SSW. Foreground star on N. tip. Diffuse edges; pretty large.
IC 351: PN in Per: 205x / 0.5°: No filter: a small, hazy blinking star. With OIII it stays in view without blinking. Bright center might be central star. Round, even surface brightness, diffuse edge
IC 2003: PN in Per: 205x / 0.5°: Seen in field as blinking star. OIII helps hold the view and increase apparent disk. Bright, large middle round portion, with a thin ring surrounding it with diffuse edges.
IC 418: PN in Lep: 333x / 0.3°: No filter needed. Bright, faintly greenish and large round halo, mottled, with ragged edges. Central star steady with averted vision, comes and goes with seeing direct vision.
NGC 1663: OC in Ori: 205x / 0.5°: Anchor shaped. 12 stars, some fainter behind, not quite resolved. Row of three brighter stars to south. Est. III2p. [IV2p]
NGC 1662: OC in Ori: 205x / 0.5°: Omega "w" shaped asterism. 15 brighter and as many fainter -- close double in central concentration. III1p [II3m]
NGC 2022: PN in Ori: 205x / 0.5°: Fairly large, bright, round, with a hint of mottling with OIII, which enhances the view. Brighter arc on western rim. No CS. In a rich field of stars
NGC 1514: PN in Tau: 333x / 0.3°: Central star visible in 80mm finder. Bright central star with faint, milky, large round haze around it. OIII shows mottling & defined edges with brighter rims to NW and SE, and absence of halo / darkening in NW & SW parts of shell.
Jonckheere 320: PN in Ori: 333x / 0.3°: Disappointingly easy! Without filter at 205x a hazy, bloated, blinking star. 333x with OIII made it more substantial, with a bright oval and dense core, with a thin shell around that. No CS. Small.
IC 2165: PN in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Stellar in 80mm finder. Bright CS with small round fringe with OIII enhances. Rich field of stars.
NGC 1579: RN in Per: 121x / 0.7°: Large glow, bright in NE region; fades slowly and irregularly to west. Direct vision no filter, UHC helps contrast for best view. In trapezium of stars.
NGC 1750: OC in Tau: 86x / 1.0°: A concentration of a wide range of medium and faint stars, ~25 within NGC 1746. 1746 fills the field with scattered bright stars, not concentrated. NGC 1758 is a condensation of a dozen faint stars in the SE part of the field.
NGC 2283: Gx in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Pretty faint, in triangle of stars. Very faintly round halo. Elongation of core tending N-S [this is the bar]. Don't look at Sirius in the finder!
NGC 2359: EN in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Extensive nebulosity, much mottling. Round hollow sphere with brighter rim to N and NW, with two stars involved. Central star direct vision. There's a larger, fainter arc broadly W-E, and clouds of nebulosity to the NE and south.
NGC 2374: OC in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: "W" shape of 20 brighter stars in a rich field. Mains a N-S chain with extensions arching out to NW. IV1p [IV2p] No nebulosity seen despite use of filters.
NGC 2396: OC in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Near a bright star to north. A grouping of 25 stars, the brighter of which ten W-E concentration with parallel some parallel strings pointed N. Rich field. IV1m
NGC 2414: OC in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Bright star with a concentration of about 20 stars close by, especially those W and N. Distinct arc of 3 brighter stars in NW of cluster. I3m
NGC 2438: PN in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Without filter, central star is direct vision; there is a thick ring, round, defined edges, grey. With OIII no central star seen, but inside ring is mottled, ring is even thicker and also mottled. A field star closely follows it to the SE.
NGC 2432: OC in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Tight grouping of 10 brighter stars arrayed generally N-S -- forms a giraffe asterism: body and legs to north, neck and head to south. As many fainter stars around; rich field. II2m
NGC 2440: PN in Pup: 205x / 0.5°: Bright CS visible in 80mm finder. IN scope, a star with haze around it. With OIII there is much more extension of the haze into a dumbbell shape. Pretty large. It's a dramatic reveal of the shell with the OIII. Lobes of shell are NNE-SSW
NGC 4361: PN in Crv: 205x / 0.5°: Without filter, CS is direct vision, shell is a grey irregular roundness with irregular edges. Mottled shell but I don't see the brighter arms. OIII loses the central star and does not add any detail.
NGC 2367: OC in CMa: 205x / 0.5°: Sparse group, triangular, rather like a Christmas tree with top pointed south. Top has the brightest stars. II3m
NGC 4039: Gx in Crv: 205x / 0.5°: 4038 to north is brighter oval. 4039 to south is moderately fainter, with a disrupted core and faint but defined halo 3:2 NE-SW. No hint of tails in either galaxy, except some thickening stumps at the eastern junction of the cores. Noticeable dark sly between the lobes.
NGC 3242: PN in Hya: 333x / 0.3°: In 80mm finder as a blinking star. Steady view at 333x, but also tried 667x for details. Wow! Central star sits serene in inner ring which is thick and visibly tubular. The whole is enveloped in a semitransparent shell with defined edges. All features are a teal blue. High power mottles the sphere and reveals bright bolts running between outer shell and inner ring in moments of good seeing.
NGC 1514: PN in Tau: 333x / 0.3°: Central star visible in 80mm finder. Bright central star with faint, milky, large round haze around it. OIII shows mottling & defined edges with brighter rims to NW and SE, and absence of halo / darkening in NW & SW parts of shell.
NGC 4024: Gx in Crv: 205x / 0.5°: Bright core, almost stellar nucleus 3:2 ENE-WSW. At the end of a string of three stars.
NGC 3887: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Large, diffuse halo of fairly even surface brightness, but a brighter arc / dark lane on west rim -- spiral arm? Brightening to core and stellar nucleus with averted vision. 3:2 NNE-SSW. In a triangle of stars
NGC 3732: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Small, round, pretty bright core, diffuse edge halo. Stellar nucleus with averted vision.
NGC 3672: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Pretty large, 3:2 N-S, bright halo with some mottling--hinting of spiral structure. Gradually brightening core. East rim is not as rounded as west and seems to have a sudden fall off in brightness--a dark lane? MCG-1-29-19 is a faint, irregularly round small patch on NE edge of FOV.
NGC 3636: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: To WNW of bright foreground star; round, concentrated bright core and defined edge thin halo. NGC 3637 to NE in FOV
NGC 3637: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: To NE of bright foreground star. Slightly less bright core than nearby NGC 3636, but a larger, more diffuse round halo.
NGC 3892: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Stellar nucleus and bright elongated core; overall 3:3 W-E. Brighter inner halo direct vision; averted vision shows a faint increase in size of halo
NGC 3693: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: Not plotted in Interstellarium. U2k shows it 0.5° S of IC 2856, which I found first. Very faint, need averted vision to really see. Small bright core and diffuse halo, 3:1 W-E. Overall small.
NGC 3511: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: with 3513. 3511 is in north in FOV; quite large, 3:1 ENE-WSW; stellar nucleus and even surface brightness halo with diffuse edges; foreground star on eastern tip.
NGC 3513: Gx in Crt: 205x / 0.5°: With 3511. Fainter than 3511, smaller; core is a small round glow and the oval halo tends N-S 3:2
NGC 3145: Gx in Hya: 205x / 0.5°: Bright lambda Hya in FOV to NE. Galaxy is pretty large, inclined spiral 3:1 NNE-SSE, small bright core and diffuse / mottled halo. Can see more halo with lambda Hya out of FOV and with averted vision.
Monday, February 8, 2016
backyard awhile
Spent about an hour in the back with the 8-inch, noodling around Orion and environs. I came in a little early. Despite the great forecast the sky seemed a bit off, maybe some thin clouds. And I'm still a bit tired from Saturday night's long session. I noticed a lovely loop of stars running between Mintaka and Alnilam -- very much like Melotte 20 (Alpha Persei cluster). Several red and orange stars there too. I think tomorrow if it's clear I'll use the big binos, which I have yet to use in the winter sky.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Fremont Peak Saturday night
The night of Feb. 6-7 I was joined by my friend Balint at Fremont Peak. Conditions were decidedly non-ideal, with gusty winds, average to poor transparency, and occasional sweeps of cloud moving through. Nonetheless it was a productive session [I made more than 50 observations; "productive" is an understatement!]: the wind seemed to help keep the water vapor that was pouring in from the north from spoiling too much of the viewing area. As it grew later we lost more of the north and west, but we could still explore the southern sky. We made do with what we had. Through the night my SQML ranged from 20.50 to 19.40 to 20.93 – as crazy as the weather.
Dr. Peter Jenniskens of SETI arrived at sundown to work on his meteor detecting equipment (http://cams.seti.org/). He pointed out the zodiacal light, which rose about 20° in the west. I had noticed this light before but not having ever seen or identified zodiacal light, I assumed it was a light dome from Salinas. He also pointed out the winter Milky Way, which I hadn’t taken care to notice. So, our sky was not all bad.
Here are some of the more interesting observations, all in my 20-inch reflector:
NGC 2359, bright nebula in Puppis, “Thor’s Helmet”: Viewed 205x, nebulosity visible without filter but viewed best with UHC. Extensive nebulosity like a hollow sphere with a bright rim to the north [which I find this morning has its own designation as NGC 2361]. There is a central star and two more stars at the northern rim. More large arcs and spheres of nebulosity to the north, west, and south. SQML 19.66, this must be amazing in a better sky.
IC 418, PN in Lepus, “Spirograph Nebula”: Central star steady with averted vision, comes and goes direct vision with the seeing. Faintly greenish large round halo, ragged edge, mottled. Astrophotos show loops and arcs of bright strands which give it its name, which I did not see.
Jonckheere 320, PN in Orion. This was disappointingly easy! I had heard of this being a challenge object, but at 205x without a filter it was a hazy bloated blinking star. OIII at 333x made it more apparent, brighter dense oval core with some thin halo around that; no CS.
NGC 2440, PN in Puppis: Central star visible in 80mm finder. In the scope at 333x it is a bright star with a round haze close by. With OIII the haze extends into a dumbbell shape nebula.
NGC 2432, OC in Puppis: Around 20 faint stars with 10 brighter which form a galloping giraffe asterism.
NGC 3887, GX in Crater. Large 3’x2’ visible, stellar nucleus and bright core, diffuse halo with a stubby dark lane intruding in the eastern portion but not crossing the whole.
NGC 3672: GX in Crater. Large 4’x2’ elongated NNE-SSW; some mottling in the halo hinting of spiral structure with a sharp cut off on the eastern side – dust lane? By moving it to the edge of the FOV, I could pick up MCG-1-29-19 about 0.3° to the NE as a faint, even surface brightness 3:2 elongation
NGC 3145, GX in Hya: Very close to the south of Lambda Hydrae, pretty large 3:1 NE-SW, stellar nucleus and a diffuse / uneven surface brightness halo, obviously an inclined spiral.
NGC 3242, Ghost of Jupiter, PN: Visible in the 80mm finder as a blinking star. Amazing in the scope! Best view at 333x without a filter, but I did try 553x which enhanced some details in rare moments of seeing. All features in the PN had a light blue / teal color. The central star sat serene in the middle of a ring which was visibly tubular. The gap between this ring and the star was only slightly darkened. The whole was enveloped in a large semitransparent outer shell with defined but oddly soft edges. Moments of still seeing at high power hinted at annularity of both inner ring and outer shell, and some bright filaments like electric bolts running between the outer shell and the inner ring. Imagine what this looks like on a good night.
Jupiter: I ended my night looking at Jupiter itself, which was a bit north of its Ghost. The Great Red Spot rode on the SEB, which had bright and dark areas within indicating turbulence. The NEB especially had many gradations of color. The temperate belts and the polar regions showed a little soft.
Dr. Peter Jenniskens of SETI arrived at sundown to work on his meteor detecting equipment (http://cams.seti.org/). He pointed out the zodiacal light, which rose about 20° in the west. I had noticed this light before but not having ever seen or identified zodiacal light, I assumed it was a light dome from Salinas. He also pointed out the winter Milky Way, which I hadn’t taken care to notice. So, our sky was not all bad.
Here are some of the more interesting observations, all in my 20-inch reflector:
NGC 2359, bright nebula in Puppis, “Thor’s Helmet”: Viewed 205x, nebulosity visible without filter but viewed best with UHC. Extensive nebulosity like a hollow sphere with a bright rim to the north [which I find this morning has its own designation as NGC 2361]. There is a central star and two more stars at the northern rim. More large arcs and spheres of nebulosity to the north, west, and south. SQML 19.66, this must be amazing in a better sky.
IC 418, PN in Lepus, “Spirograph Nebula”: Central star steady with averted vision, comes and goes direct vision with the seeing. Faintly greenish large round halo, ragged edge, mottled. Astrophotos show loops and arcs of bright strands which give it its name, which I did not see.
Jonckheere 320, PN in Orion. This was disappointingly easy! I had heard of this being a challenge object, but at 205x without a filter it was a hazy bloated blinking star. OIII at 333x made it more apparent, brighter dense oval core with some thin halo around that; no CS.
NGC 2440, PN in Puppis: Central star visible in 80mm finder. In the scope at 333x it is a bright star with a round haze close by. With OIII the haze extends into a dumbbell shape nebula.
NGC 2432, OC in Puppis: Around 20 faint stars with 10 brighter which form a galloping giraffe asterism.
NGC 3887, GX in Crater. Large 3’x2’ visible, stellar nucleus and bright core, diffuse halo with a stubby dark lane intruding in the eastern portion but not crossing the whole.
NGC 3672: GX in Crater. Large 4’x2’ elongated NNE-SSW; some mottling in the halo hinting of spiral structure with a sharp cut off on the eastern side – dust lane? By moving it to the edge of the FOV, I could pick up MCG-1-29-19 about 0.3° to the NE as a faint, even surface brightness 3:2 elongation
NGC 3145, GX in Hya: Very close to the south of Lambda Hydrae, pretty large 3:1 NE-SW, stellar nucleus and a diffuse / uneven surface brightness halo, obviously an inclined spiral.
NGC 3242, Ghost of Jupiter, PN: Visible in the 80mm finder as a blinking star. Amazing in the scope! Best view at 333x without a filter, but I did try 553x which enhanced some details in rare moments of seeing. All features in the PN had a light blue / teal color. The central star sat serene in the middle of a ring which was visibly tubular. The gap between this ring and the star was only slightly darkened. The whole was enveloped in a large semitransparent outer shell with defined but oddly soft edges. Moments of still seeing at high power hinted at annularity of both inner ring and outer shell, and some bright filaments like electric bolts running between the outer shell and the inner ring. Imagine what this looks like on a good night.
Jupiter: I ended my night looking at Jupiter itself, which was a bit north of its Ghost. The Great Red Spot rode on the SEB, which had bright and dark areas within indicating turbulence. The NEB especially had many gradations of color. The temperate belts and the polar regions showed a little soft.
Monday, February 1, 2016
monoceros carbons
Had a short but nice session out back with the 8-inch. Seeing and transparency were both average, and at 10:30pm I lost the sky to some high clouds. There's another storm moving in for the next couple of days. But this weekend is predicted to clear; fingers crossed for a nice night Saturday, just in time for the new moon.
I chased down some carbon stars in Monoceros, and a couple other interesting sights along the way; all 184x:
FU Monocerotis: Strikingly orange-red. Small, dim, about 9th magnitude--as faint as two stars preceding it.
IC 448: a star about 7th magnitude with a small smudge of nebulosity around it. At first appears as mist on the eyepiece but follows the sky. Seems elongated N-S; brighter rim to the NE. Best view without filter; did not respond to OIII. I don't find much online about this one.
RV Monocerotis: Deep orange, about 7th magnitude [AAVSO pegs it at 8th]. Ragged string of stars to south. Visible in finder but no color.
V614 Monocerotis: Pretty orange in a dense field. Took a while for the color to show. A winking star is to the NE just preceding a double, at the edge of visibility. I wonder if it's a planetary nebula? [None listed in Uranometria...]
NGC 2311 Open Cluster. It must really look like something in a dark sky with more aperture. A dozen 7th-8th magnitude stars in loose concentration with a greyish mottling of faint stars trying to make it to my eye. This is a William Herschel find.
I chased down some carbon stars in Monoceros, and a couple other interesting sights along the way; all 184x:
FU Monocerotis: Strikingly orange-red. Small, dim, about 9th magnitude--as faint as two stars preceding it.
IC 448: a star about 7th magnitude with a small smudge of nebulosity around it. At first appears as mist on the eyepiece but follows the sky. Seems elongated N-S; brighter rim to the NE. Best view without filter; did not respond to OIII. I don't find much online about this one.
RV Monocerotis: Deep orange, about 7th magnitude [AAVSO pegs it at 8th]. Ragged string of stars to south. Visible in finder but no color.
V614 Monocerotis: Pretty orange in a dense field. Took a while for the color to show. A winking star is to the NE just preceding a double, at the edge of visibility. I wonder if it's a planetary nebula? [None listed in Uranometria...]
NGC 2311 Open Cluster. It must really look like something in a dark sky with more aperture. A dozen 7th-8th magnitude stars in loose concentration with a greyish mottling of faint stars trying to make it to my eye. This is a William Herschel find.
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