The ragged rear end of a cold front moved through the area in the late afternoon, providing some clear skies. Transparency was still bad -- evidenced by the long vapor trail from jets shining silvery in reflected light pollution -- and seeing was no better. But it was a good night to use the 25x100 binoculars, which I haven't had out since the summer of 2015. There's a reason for that...
I spent some time this weekend adjusting the balance of the Peterson pipe mount I use, and had it working tolerably well -- so it was ready for me to use last night. I went out after dinner and started out with the Pleiades, of course. I focussed each eyepiece and the stars were nice and sharp; with better focus I could pick up fainter stars, and wishes of even fainter stars in the grainy dark. The Hyades were just clearing a neighbor's roof, so panned around there, and the Alpha Persei Cluster (Mellote 20). Found the Double Cluster after a bit of sweeping. Then to Mu Cephei, Herschel's Garnet Star, very beautiful reddish orange. In fact seeing so much color in stars is one of the great pleasures of binoculars. I was seeing steely blue, orange, yellows, reds -- like an autumn forest. The whole area of Cepheus is very rich.
The problem was I was standing and craning my neck, which was starting to hurt. I needed to take some breaks and look down at the ground to stretch my neck muscles. This is the drawback to binoculars. Looking with two eyes is nice an relaxing, but the neck strain makes extended viewing uncomfortable. I did use my lounge chair, but one is limited in movement -- unless one wants to study an object for a long stretch, it's annoying to have to get up and adjust the chair's position every few minutes. Even while lounging the mount is still shaky, and even when perfectly still bounces with my heartbeat, picking up on my body's movement with my pulse. This is why I'm so pleased with my 10-inch f3.8 Springsonian -- seated viewing with the same FOV, more light grasp, and better freedom of movement. I don't have two eyed viewing but I could always install a binoviewer. Perhaps I will end up selling these 25x100s.
I moved them over to Pegasus and found M15 straight away -- a ball of light with faint streamers coming out of it. I was impressed with myself. Next I tried Uranus, and while I didn't have a finder chart handy, I do think I saw it, a small faint bluish point, not a disk, in a string of stars.
After an hour of viewing the sky seemed to become hazy, with halos around the stars. The lenses had not dewed. I went inside and brought the binos with me to warm up. I came back out after 9pm, this time using my lounge chair exclusively.
Auriga was now cleared of the neighbor's roof, so I had a look at M38, M36, and M37. M37 was mostly unresolved, flower shaped; the stars seemed to really want to resolve but could not quite. I could see the bright red star in its center; and there were hints of the surrounding rich faint field which surrounds the cluster. The bright carbon star FU Aurigae was on the outer edge of this field, a wall flower next to its very attractive sister. M36 was loose but compact, and M38 was larger and lankier. I also enjoyed the chain of stars running to the south (which has a Mel designation I can't find now).
M42 in Orion was nice, especially when my eyes were better dark adapted. I could clearly see the dark nebula forming the fish's mouth, and the extended bright "wings" shooting out from the brightest part of the nebula. I could not see the Flame Nebula, but enjoyed the rich field of the belt stars, and the cluster Cr 39 surrounding Meissa, Orion's head star.
I ended the session just sweeping around, finding pretty fields and arrangements of stars to soak in. I'm looking forward to getting out under better skies.
I should mention I had the chance to fix the collimation on the 12.5-inch this weekend . Turns out the secondary spider was off center -- which is strange since when I installed the scope in the shed a year ago I re-did the collimation, including the spider. In any case the collimation looks good now. I discovered that where the Zlomotion altitude rod attaches to the front of the sonotube had bent the tube, nearly to being ripped out. I replaced the regular flat washers with a pair of metal door strike plates, which I had in my screw jar, which now sandwich the sonotube to provide strength. It should hold. I covered the shiny metal with black tape. This scope is really a kludge job!
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Saturday, November 26, 2016
more doubles in pegasus and environs
The night of the 23rd was predicted to be transparent and with very good seeing. Transparency was indeed quite good, but seeing was not to my hopes. It may have been because I didn't run my boundary layer fan for fear of dewing up again. In any case I spent time trying to split some close pairs in Pegasus along with some with large delta magnitudes; all will mixed results.
85 Peg / BU 733: Not seen [5.83, 8.9; 0.8"]. Seeing Pickering 6
Fox 103: Orange A. Very faint B to south, well separated. [6.25, 10.72; 13"]
STT 2: Yellow A, well separated faint B [AB,C seen, 6.3, 10.37; 18". AB is 0.4 separation but not seen]. In Andromeda.
STF 24: Near equal brightness white star. There is a third to the east, perhaps, well separated? [7.79, 8.44; 5". No third.]
BU 1047: Nope! [BC 9.11, 9.71; 0.4". There is an Aa,Ab 0.2", and an A,BC 11.3" -- I should have been able to see this one....]
STF 3061: Faint, but not too faint, near equal brightness, white, well separated. [8.4, 8.51; 7.1"]
STF 3060: Very close, ~3", equal brightness, pretty faint. [AB seen, 9.32, 9.65; 3.4". There are AC, AD, and AE pairs -- 5 stars total -- but the E is 16.58 mag and >999" -- stelle doppie seems to have run out of numerals for the separation measurement.]
HO 208: Could not find it -- could have been a certain orange star but did not detect any pair to it [spectral class is G0IV, yellow -- so maybe I was looking at the correct star. 8.2, 9.81; 1.0"]
STT 256: Wide separation equal brightness white stars; a fainter third forming an arc with the other two? [AB seen, 7.13, 7.28; 110.7". There are three more pairs, all orbiting the A star, but all much fainter. I could have seen the AD, 10.94.]
Anonymous to east of STT 256: Third in arc of stars, forms a pretty triangle of white stars.
AC 1: Tight yellow-white pair, near equal magnitudes. [7.27, 8.26; 1.8"]
h5451: Orange, pretty bright star, bluish / fainter widely separated B [6.01, 9.34; 55.3"]
Pi Peg: Bright white star with two fainter on each side in a nearly straight line. [CDSA's designation is not found on Stelle Doppie. Pi Peg has 5 stars, AB, AC, AD, and interestingly DE. I don't think I saw any of them, however, since the magnitudes are fainter than 11, and I haven't been seeing anything fainter than 10.]
STF 40: Pretty yellowish star with fainter, widely separated B. [AB seen, 6.72, 8.48; 12". The AC is fainter at 12.8]
S 384: Widely separated, yellow-white A, 2 delta-mag fainter B. [AB seen, 7.04, 10.30; 103.1". There are seven (!) stars in the system, 13th to 15th magnitude.]
STF 27: Pretty, light orange star with a faint bluish B, widely separated. [6.38, 11.25; 30"]
STT 10: White A with ~3 delta magnitude B, very wide separation. [Likely saw the AC pair, 6.46, 9.48, 274.5". There are AB and BD pairs in the system.]
49 Peg: Bright white and very faint wide separated B. [AB 3.9, 10.2, 16". AC, AD, Da,Db not seen of course.]
52 Peg: Not split -- 0.5"
STF 46: Orange with wide separated blue B. [5.56, 8.49; 6.6"]
I had started to feel the cold for quite a while, and at this point decided to stop rather than going inside for a warmer jacket. After sliding the shed back in place I spent some time looking through winter constellations in my 7x35 binoculars. I was surprised I could see the Auriga clusters, M38, M36, & M37 as faint patches. I suppose I am learning to better see them at a small scale; but it could also be due to the improved darkness of the sky with the LED streetlamps installed around town -- they are far better baffled than the old ones. Orion's belt region, with its many loops of stars. The star fields of Cassiopeia, Perseus, and M31 overhead. I noticed Gemini rising: M35, a large hazy spot, quite prominent. It was very nice.
The next day I pulled out both my mirrors to do a quick cleaning. The secondary had a haze over it, which cleaned off nicely. The primary was dusty and seemed to have a lot of pock marks on it. It cleaned well, and while running my fingers over it I did not feel any bumpiness, and the coating -- which is only a year old -- seemed uniform. I held the rear of the mirror up to the sun to check for pinholes, but the sun was too low and did not illuminate the whole of the mirror. Seems the pock marks are pin holes -- more of them than I would like -- but I don't have the patience to send the mirror out for coating. Perhaps in a few years I will send it out again -- I hope Steve Swayze is still refiguring mirrors by then -- to take care of the overcorrection and the turned-down edge. After reinstall my quick collimation showed the secondary alignment was well off; I will need to work on it when there's clear weather.
85 Peg / BU 733: Not seen [5.83, 8.9; 0.8"]. Seeing Pickering 6
Fox 103: Orange A. Very faint B to south, well separated. [6.25, 10.72; 13"]
STT 2: Yellow A, well separated faint B [AB,C seen, 6.3, 10.37; 18". AB is 0.4 separation but not seen]. In Andromeda.
STF 24: Near equal brightness white star. There is a third to the east, perhaps, well separated? [7.79, 8.44; 5". No third.]
BU 1047: Nope! [BC 9.11, 9.71; 0.4". There is an Aa,Ab 0.2", and an A,BC 11.3" -- I should have been able to see this one....]
STF 3061: Faint, but not too faint, near equal brightness, white, well separated. [8.4, 8.51; 7.1"]
STF 3060: Very close, ~3", equal brightness, pretty faint. [AB seen, 9.32, 9.65; 3.4". There are AC, AD, and AE pairs -- 5 stars total -- but the E is 16.58 mag and >999" -- stelle doppie seems to have run out of numerals for the separation measurement.]
HO 208: Could not find it -- could have been a certain orange star but did not detect any pair to it [spectral class is G0IV, yellow -- so maybe I was looking at the correct star. 8.2, 9.81; 1.0"]
STT 256: Wide separation equal brightness white stars; a fainter third forming an arc with the other two? [AB seen, 7.13, 7.28; 110.7". There are three more pairs, all orbiting the A star, but all much fainter. I could have seen the AD, 10.94.]
Anonymous to east of STT 256: Third in arc of stars, forms a pretty triangle of white stars.
AC 1: Tight yellow-white pair, near equal magnitudes. [7.27, 8.26; 1.8"]
h5451: Orange, pretty bright star, bluish / fainter widely separated B [6.01, 9.34; 55.3"]
Pi Peg: Bright white star with two fainter on each side in a nearly straight line. [CDSA's designation is not found on Stelle Doppie. Pi Peg has 5 stars, AB, AC, AD, and interestingly DE. I don't think I saw any of them, however, since the magnitudes are fainter than 11, and I haven't been seeing anything fainter than 10.]
STF 40: Pretty yellowish star with fainter, widely separated B. [AB seen, 6.72, 8.48; 12". The AC is fainter at 12.8]
S 384: Widely separated, yellow-white A, 2 delta-mag fainter B. [AB seen, 7.04, 10.30; 103.1". There are seven (!) stars in the system, 13th to 15th magnitude.]
STF 27: Pretty, light orange star with a faint bluish B, widely separated. [6.38, 11.25; 30"]
STT 10: White A with ~3 delta magnitude B, very wide separation. [Likely saw the AC pair, 6.46, 9.48, 274.5". There are AB and BD pairs in the system.]
49 Peg: Bright white and very faint wide separated B. [AB 3.9, 10.2, 16". AC, AD, Da,Db not seen of course.]
52 Peg: Not split -- 0.5"
STF 46: Orange with wide separated blue B. [5.56, 8.49; 6.6"]
I had started to feel the cold for quite a while, and at this point decided to stop rather than going inside for a warmer jacket. After sliding the shed back in place I spent some time looking through winter constellations in my 7x35 binoculars. I was surprised I could see the Auriga clusters, M38, M36, & M37 as faint patches. I suppose I am learning to better see them at a small scale; but it could also be due to the improved darkness of the sky with the LED streetlamps installed around town -- they are far better baffled than the old ones. Orion's belt region, with its many loops of stars. The star fields of Cassiopeia, Perseus, and M31 overhead. I noticed Gemini rising: M35, a large hazy spot, quite prominent. It was very nice.
The next day I pulled out both my mirrors to do a quick cleaning. The secondary had a haze over it, which cleaned off nicely. The primary was dusty and seemed to have a lot of pock marks on it. It cleaned well, and while running my fingers over it I did not feel any bumpiness, and the coating -- which is only a year old -- seemed uniform. I held the rear of the mirror up to the sun to check for pinholes, but the sun was too low and did not illuminate the whole of the mirror. Seems the pock marks are pin holes -- more of them than I would like -- but I don't have the patience to send the mirror out for coating. Perhaps in a few years I will send it out again -- I hope Steve Swayze is still refiguring mirrors by then -- to take care of the overcorrection and the turned-down edge. After reinstall my quick collimation showed the secondary alignment was well off; I will need to work on it when there's clear weather.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
if you get a clear night, take it
We've had a long string of cloudy days these last couple of weeks. Last night it cleared just after sundown, so observed with the 12.5-inch after dinner until about 9pm, then again for another 40 minutes until 10pm. Seeing improved from Pickering 6 to 7, but transparency was below average. There was a lot of dew, and in fact I shut down earlier than I planned because my secondary and even my primary fogged over. I forgot to start the dew heater on the secondary, and the boundary layer fan, which I probably didn't need, was blowing the moist air over the mirror. The last time I had dew on the primary it ruined my coatings; I will need to clean it this weekend.
I started with doubles in Pegasus, then in Pisces. I didn't have my close pair finder charts with me, so I only looked at what was plotted on the CDSA. I noticed there are a lot of carbon stars in this area: yellow, orange, and red stars visible in the 50mm finder and in the scope itself. After my 9pm break I pointed the scope to the "dunce cap" of Perseus, and then moved up to the Double Cluster. The stars looked "wet," and it was here I realized my mirrors were fogging. I started out at 277x but was able to get to 553x after four observations. There was still a fair amount of diffraction and flaring, but I could still make useful observations.
STF 2986: Red A, bluish B, wide separation ~ 2 delta magnitude [6.61, 8.88; 31.2"]
STF 2958: White A and red B; ~2 delta mag, fairly wide separation ~5" [6.63, 9.09; 3.9"]
STT 483 / 52 Peg: Not split. [6.11, 7.27; 0.5"]
STT 536: Not split. [7.0, 7.3; 0.3"]
Sigma / 49 Peg: A bright and white; B very wide and much fainter, to the east [3.9, 10.2; 16"]
STF 2982: A a pretty, bright orange; B widely separated to south, bluish B ~3 delta mag. [5.29, 10.06; 32.6", PA 198°]
STF 2991: Duplicate of STF 2982, even with the colors, but PA is to the north. [5.96, 10.16; 32.5" PA 358°]
A lot of orange stars around here! On 66 Peg now; also orange.
STF 3012 & STF 3021: !! Double double! a delicate sight and such a pleasing surprise. 3012 is near equal brightness ~3" separation. To east is STF 3021, a little wider separation and ~1 delta mag. [3012: 9.47, 9.82; 2.8". 3021: 8.06, 9.26; 8.9"]
STF 3023: very faint star preceeding, about 1" separation. Nearly lost in diffraction. ~2 delta mag. [7.23, 9.11; 1.8"]
74 Peg: Is it the wider separation to the N? [No, not seen; 6.26, 11.3; 91.2" -- too faint, too far away to make the connection]
75 Peg: Very faint, wide separation, pops out with seeing; to south west [AB pair]. Another star to NNE, further away. [5.4, 11.6; 27.5" PA 245°]
STT 504: Orange star with very faint bluish B widely separated to the south. Stills with seeing; 9-10 mag. [7.39, 10.33; 7.6" PA 176°]
STF 3055: Faint yellow-orange A with very small / faint blue B to N, ~3" sep. [7.28, 10.34; 5.5"]
HJ 321: Wide separation but very faint B to south. [6.62, 10.5; 25.3" 135°]
STF 5: Hard white A, very faint but definite small point B to south, 4x fainter. [5.54, 9.44; 7.2" PA 158°]
BU 1093: Very faint, very wide sep to N? [not split: 6.73, 8.55; 0.7" -- separation closer than what I was looking for]
STF 22: A 1803 not seen [0.2" separation]. Saw STF 22 AB,C: near equal white pair, well split, B ~1/2 delta mag, PA to SW. There is also a D and an E pairing with AB, not seen.
STF 12: Yellow and white, ~1 delta mag, PA to S. [6.06, 7.51; 11.5" PA 147°]
STF 36: MCA 1 not seen [0.2"]; but did observe the AB and AC; AD too faint to see. Quintuple system.
STF 27: Orange, with wide separation blue B, PA to NNW, ~3 delta mag. [6.4, 10.3; 29.7" PA 315°]
STT 10: Suspected a very wide separation to W; this seems to be AB [6.46, 10.19 PA 240, 113.6"]. This is a complex system with an AC and a BD. Apparently it is also an optical double :-(
49 Peg: Very wide, much fainter B to east of white A. [3.9, 10.2; 16" PA 83°]
64 Peg / BU 718: Very faint, very small star suspected; hair-split. Flashes in and out with seeing, dances in first diffraction ring. I feel sure of it, it is small, hard, and round; not a diffraction flare. [at 0.4" it would be very tough indeed…hesitant to claim]
72 Peg / BU 720: I saw a small, hard, faint point very tight to A but split. Stays with seeing. [However since this is a <1 D-mag pair, and 0.5" separation, it is very doubtful this is the split. Since what I saw is very similar to my 64 Peg observation, I'd say there was some flare or artifact I was seeing, not the pair.]
In Perseus:
STF 331: Yellow A; B ~1 D-mag. Also looked at anonymous just below this star: orange-yellow with very faint widely separated B, bluish, seen with AV and seeing. [5.21, 6.17; 11.9" PA 85°]
Tau Per / LAB 1 / 18 Per: I noted a very close, much fainter pair; but this is not among the possibilities for this star @ 0.1" separation. Not seen.
STF 314: near equal brightness; A more yellow yellow-white of the two; ~2 disk separation [this is AB,C: 6.95, 7.26; 1.6" PA 317]
Anon. below STF 331: Orange-yellow with very faint, widely separated bluish B, visible with AV and seeing.
STF 307: Orange with faint, bluish, widely separated B. Top of the Perseus dunce cap. [3.76, 8.5; 28.8", 303°]
STF 268: Orange A, faint, wide separated B. Nearly a double-double with STF 272 but my FOV is too narrow. [7.0, 9.66; 21.4" 305°]
STF 270: Tighter, 1 D-mag, white A reddish B. [8.33, 8.36; 1.9" PA 216°]
NGC 957: open cluster near the double cluster: Loose, ~ 20 stars roughly W-E orientation, with one prominent arc of brighter stars.
I looked at the double cluster groups at 101x, and M45 -- which was too large for the FOV but did seem to have nebulosity. I even tried looking at M42, breaking some branches off the apricot tree to do so, but it was still rather low -- the light was diffused by the lattice running along the top of the fence. Patience, it will come.
I started with doubles in Pegasus, then in Pisces. I didn't have my close pair finder charts with me, so I only looked at what was plotted on the CDSA. I noticed there are a lot of carbon stars in this area: yellow, orange, and red stars visible in the 50mm finder and in the scope itself. After my 9pm break I pointed the scope to the "dunce cap" of Perseus, and then moved up to the Double Cluster. The stars looked "wet," and it was here I realized my mirrors were fogging. I started out at 277x but was able to get to 553x after four observations. There was still a fair amount of diffraction and flaring, but I could still make useful observations.
STF 2986: Red A, bluish B, wide separation ~ 2 delta magnitude [6.61, 8.88; 31.2"]
STF 2958: White A and red B; ~2 delta mag, fairly wide separation ~5" [6.63, 9.09; 3.9"]
STT 483 / 52 Peg: Not split. [6.11, 7.27; 0.5"]
STT 536: Not split. [7.0, 7.3; 0.3"]
Sigma / 49 Peg: A bright and white; B very wide and much fainter, to the east [3.9, 10.2; 16"]
STF 2982: A a pretty, bright orange; B widely separated to south, bluish B ~3 delta mag. [5.29, 10.06; 32.6", PA 198°]
STF 2991: Duplicate of STF 2982, even with the colors, but PA is to the north. [5.96, 10.16; 32.5" PA 358°]
A lot of orange stars around here! On 66 Peg now; also orange.
STF 3012 & STF 3021: !! Double double! a delicate sight and such a pleasing surprise. 3012 is near equal brightness ~3" separation. To east is STF 3021, a little wider separation and ~1 delta mag. [3012: 9.47, 9.82; 2.8". 3021: 8.06, 9.26; 8.9"]
STF 3023: very faint star preceeding, about 1" separation. Nearly lost in diffraction. ~2 delta mag. [7.23, 9.11; 1.8"]
74 Peg: Is it the wider separation to the N? [No, not seen; 6.26, 11.3; 91.2" -- too faint, too far away to make the connection]
75 Peg: Very faint, wide separation, pops out with seeing; to south west [AB pair]. Another star to NNE, further away. [5.4, 11.6; 27.5" PA 245°]
STT 504: Orange star with very faint bluish B widely separated to the south. Stills with seeing; 9-10 mag. [7.39, 10.33; 7.6" PA 176°]
STF 3055: Faint yellow-orange A with very small / faint blue B to N, ~3" sep. [7.28, 10.34; 5.5"]
HJ 321: Wide separation but very faint B to south. [6.62, 10.5; 25.3" 135°]
STF 5: Hard white A, very faint but definite small point B to south, 4x fainter. [5.54, 9.44; 7.2" PA 158°]
BU 1093: Very faint, very wide sep to N? [not split: 6.73, 8.55; 0.7" -- separation closer than what I was looking for]
STF 22: A 1803 not seen [0.2" separation]. Saw STF 22 AB,C: near equal white pair, well split, B ~1/2 delta mag, PA to SW. There is also a D and an E pairing with AB, not seen.
STF 12: Yellow and white, ~1 delta mag, PA to S. [6.06, 7.51; 11.5" PA 147°]
STF 36: MCA 1 not seen [0.2"]; but did observe the AB and AC; AD too faint to see. Quintuple system.
STF 27: Orange, with wide separation blue B, PA to NNW, ~3 delta mag. [6.4, 10.3; 29.7" PA 315°]
STT 10: Suspected a very wide separation to W; this seems to be AB [6.46, 10.19 PA 240, 113.6"]. This is a complex system with an AC and a BD. Apparently it is also an optical double :-(
49 Peg: Very wide, much fainter B to east of white A. [3.9, 10.2; 16" PA 83°]
64 Peg / BU 718: Very faint, very small star suspected; hair-split. Flashes in and out with seeing, dances in first diffraction ring. I feel sure of it, it is small, hard, and round; not a diffraction flare. [at 0.4" it would be very tough indeed…hesitant to claim]
72 Peg / BU 720: I saw a small, hard, faint point very tight to A but split. Stays with seeing. [However since this is a <1 D-mag pair, and 0.5" separation, it is very doubtful this is the split. Since what I saw is very similar to my 64 Peg observation, I'd say there was some flare or artifact I was seeing, not the pair.]
In Perseus:
STF 331: Yellow A; B ~1 D-mag. Also looked at anonymous just below this star: orange-yellow with very faint widely separated B, bluish, seen with AV and seeing. [5.21, 6.17; 11.9" PA 85°]
Tau Per / LAB 1 / 18 Per: I noted a very close, much fainter pair; but this is not among the possibilities for this star @ 0.1" separation. Not seen.
STF 314: near equal brightness; A more yellow yellow-white of the two; ~2 disk separation [this is AB,C: 6.95, 7.26; 1.6" PA 317]
Anon. below STF 331: Orange-yellow with very faint, widely separated bluish B, visible with AV and seeing.
STF 307: Orange with faint, bluish, widely separated B. Top of the Perseus dunce cap. [3.76, 8.5; 28.8", 303°]
STF 268: Orange A, faint, wide separated B. Nearly a double-double with STF 272 but my FOV is too narrow. [7.0, 9.66; 21.4" 305°]
STF 270: Tighter, 1 D-mag, white A reddish B. [8.33, 8.36; 1.9" PA 216°]
NGC 957: open cluster near the double cluster: Loose, ~ 20 stars roughly W-E orientation, with one prominent arc of brighter stars.
I looked at the double cluster groups at 101x, and M45 -- which was too large for the FOV but did seem to have nebulosity. I even tried looking at M42, breaking some branches off the apricot tree to do so, but it was still rather low -- the light was diffused by the lattice running along the top of the fence. Patience, it will come.
Friday, November 18, 2016
short session
A short, but very satisfying session for an hour with the Astroscan. Seeing was predicted to be poor so I didn't try anything larger; in fact the brighter stars twinkled madly, so this was the correct choice. At 17x and a 3 degree field, I first took in the Pleiades, then moved along to various targets I could find using just the peep-sight and sweeping. Melotte 20 open cluster in Perseus, with its lovely loops of bright stars. The Double Cluster, small and dim in this scope. M103 in Cassiopeia, along with the sprinkle of faint stars in the area, and hints of other open clusters. Back to Perseus and M34, small and a little scattered. M31 showed the bright nucleus and hazy inner core, but no sign of its companions; where the halo should be was devoid of stars. The area around Gamma Cygnus was chock full of stars, a wistful reminder of the Milky Way stream now setting. I was able to make out NGC 6910 as a small triangular knot of stars. Scanning about brought me to M39, a comparatively large, lanky group. I even panned low for a look at Epsilon Lyrae, and the Steph. 1 open cluster.
I had been biding my time, waiting for Orion to rise high enough for a look at M42. I glanced over from time to time, but could not see it. Finally I realized it was lost behind thin cirrus blowing up from the south. We're to have rain this weekend so this was the leading edge. I leaned back in my chair and took in the advancing wing of cloud, tinted pale orange by light pollution, slowly advancing on the starry part of the sky. I hoped to see some meteorites but there were none. The clouds grew thicker to the south, and now the leading serrated edge was at zenith. Packed it in and came inside.
I had been biding my time, waiting for Orion to rise high enough for a look at M42. I glanced over from time to time, but could not see it. Finally I realized it was lost behind thin cirrus blowing up from the south. We're to have rain this weekend so this was the leading edge. I leaned back in my chair and took in the advancing wing of cloud, tinted pale orange by light pollution, slowly advancing on the starry part of the sky. I hoped to see some meteorites but there were none. The clouds grew thicker to the south, and now the leading serrated edge was at zenith. Packed it in and came inside.
the consolations of astronomy
There's been more gloom than just cloudy skies to contend with the last couple of weeks. There were breaks a couple of evenings before the "Supermoon," (closest to earth since 1948), which I observed with the Astroscan and the 5mm Nagler. The whole of the moon fit comfortably in the field, and I tried to distract myself tracing the terminator and following crater rays about. It helped, for a little while. So did listening to Mozart during my commute, instead of the news. It is with these little nibbles at culture that we treat ourselves. But the fight must stay in us to make a better world.
This morning was very cold; in the 30s outside. I woke at around 4:30am and went downstairs to turn on the furnace. Outside the waning gibbous moon shone brightly. The sky was very still and clear. Sirius barely twinkled. It would be a perfect time to go out and try to split it. But I balked, and decided to get another hour's sleep. I may have missed the opportunity, and the forecast is for cloudy weather as far as it goes. But there will be another chance. Such is the consolation.
This morning was very cold; in the 30s outside. I woke at around 4:30am and went downstairs to turn on the furnace. Outside the waning gibbous moon shone brightly. The sky was very still and clear. Sirius barely twinkled. It would be a perfect time to go out and try to split it. But I balked, and decided to get another hour's sleep. I may have missed the opportunity, and the forecast is for cloudy weather as far as it goes. But there will be another chance. Such is the consolation.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
scout badge
Last night I helped my nephew Andrew work on his scout badge for astronomy. He looked at and sketched the moon and Venus, which were setting fast after sundown. We also caught Saturn just before it set below a fence. Then Mars, which still had some detail -- Andrew pointed the 8-inch to Mars himself. The rest of the project was to identify some constellations, and bright stars within them, for which we used the planisphere and an atlas. We had trouble with the last one, Capricornus, since it is just at the edge of naked eye visibility. I had him use my 7x35 wide view binoculars to find it, first framing the view through some tree branches so he would know where to point the binoculars. Mission accomplished; he only needs to sketch the moon for the next three nights to complete the requirements.
Afterward I tried out a monopod I bought (used) using my 8x56 binoculars. I don't yet have the pan head, but even so it was a big improvement over handheld to steady the view. Not very comfortable to look high up but I could prop it on a wall or the table to get the angle needed. I'm asking for the pan head for Christmas so hopefully will have an efficient binocular viewing system soon.
Afterward I tried out a monopod I bought (used) using my 8x56 binoculars. I don't yet have the pan head, but even so it was a big improvement over handheld to steady the view. Not very comfortable to look high up but I could prop it on a wall or the table to get the angle needed. I'm asking for the pan head for Christmas so hopefully will have an efficient binocular viewing system soon.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
variety
I focussed my observing last night -- after a long cloudy spell -- on double stars in Pegasus. But as I review my notes I see a nice variety of objects observed:
During nightfall I used my 8x56 binoculars to have a look at the two day old moon. There were hints of craters along the terminator, broken-up shadows. The best was the earthshine, which was a bluish grey and a similar color to the sky nearer the horizon but the moon was offset by the dark sky around it.
In the 12.5-inch I looked at Mars for a while. Yes, it's still up, and still showing detail but much further away than at opposition. Mare Sirenum darkened southern quarter, along with what appeared to be a thin ice cap. Seeing was not great but did well enough; 277x and a planetary filter. Venus was too low for the telescope so I viewed with binoculars; not enough magnification to show detail.
I noticed that the summer constellations were still pretty high and, from my back yard, still in the "dark" area of the sky -- seems the bay to the west of me helps with the light domes which surround me. I first had a look at the double double (STF 2382 & 2383), nice and clear, then Zeta Lyrae 1 & 2, and then down to M57, the Ring Nebula, which surprisingly showed up well, looking like a cell, with the 14th magnitude companion star showing consistently and sharpened when the seeing stilled. This was a surprising view. Then to the "other" double-double in Lyra, STF 2470 & 2474: wider and tinged with orange, but lovely nonetheless.
Finally, I ended the quick tour with M13, which was pretty low but very nice, with what must be a hundred stars resolved across its face.
Then on to double stars. Seeing was merely good, and transparency was fair (heavy dew), so I stayed at 553x throughout and did not seriously try for any super close pairs or with high delta magnitudes.
EE Peg: I knew I didn't have a chance at this, but I remembered seeing it in the Carro Catalog and had a look. Just a star. It's primary is 6.8 but there's no magnitude for the secondary, which is 0.1" separated.
STFA 56 / 3 Peg: Very wide separation, ~1 magnitude difference, 7 & 8. [6.18, 7.5; 39.1"]
4 Peg: Very wide separation; ~7th mag. A, and very faint ~10-11 mag. B. PA to the west. [5.67, 11.8; 27.2" PA 335°]
STF 2848: Very wide separation ~same magnitude, though B is a little fainter and redder. [7.21, 7.73; 10.9"]
STF 2857: Around 3 magnitudes difference, very wide separation, PA to the east. [7.14, 9.8; 20.1", PA 112°]
Anonymous near 21 Peg: Bright A, but no star closeby. Very faint star, very wide, to the north could be B?
20 Peg: Two stars suspected to be B, both to west. The closer of the two is very much fainter than the A. Nothing closeby. [5.6, 11.1; 58.9", PA 322°. Based on this I'd say the closer of the two was the B.]
STF 2854: ~2 disk separation, PA to the WSW, ~ same magnitude. [7.77, 7.89; 1.8"; PA 84° -- which is reverse of my estimate but still "correct" if the A and B are reversed!]
Cou 14: Seeing is too poor. B is either the very faint star popping out when seeing stills, to the west; or a fleeting brightening in the diffraction. [5.94, 6.94; 0.2", PA 65°. So, not seen.]
STF 2834: Yellow A, very faint red B ~4-5 disk separation. Seeing needs to still. PA to the west. [6.93, 9.89; 4.1", PA 298°].
STF 2841: Orange & blue, very wide separation, ~2 magnitude difference. [6.45, 7.99; 22.3"]
h947: White A much fainter blue; B widely separated, PA to the north. [5.78, 11.39; 18.9" PA 98°. My PA seems way off, or perhaps I did not see the B.]
STF 2877: Orange A. Suspect extremely faint B to WNW, ~5" separated; only when seeing stills. [6.65, 9.23; 23.3" PA 24°. I'd say not seen. This should have been a more obvious split.]
I took a little break to scan about with my 7x35 binoculars, to see how nice Cassiopeia would look. Without the binoculars I noticed a satellite travelling to the north, splitting between Cassiopeia and Cepheus, when a meteor streaked through the area headed west. It was pretty long, about 20°, and brightened twice during its fall, leaving smoke trails where it brightened for about a second.
With the 7x35s I also looked at M31, which was an unimpressive smudge, and the Double Cluster, which was a small faint dual brightening. Then I noticed a bright patch above the eastern neighbor's roof: the Pleiades. Already! They were lovely in the binoculars. Walking to the far end of the yard I was able to take in the Hyades, as well. I had taken so much time with the binoculars it was time to go in. Before stepping inside I noticed Orion, mostly blocked by neighbor's houses, starting to rise -- winter coming.
During nightfall I used my 8x56 binoculars to have a look at the two day old moon. There were hints of craters along the terminator, broken-up shadows. The best was the earthshine, which was a bluish grey and a similar color to the sky nearer the horizon but the moon was offset by the dark sky around it.
In the 12.5-inch I looked at Mars for a while. Yes, it's still up, and still showing detail but much further away than at opposition. Mare Sirenum darkened southern quarter, along with what appeared to be a thin ice cap. Seeing was not great but did well enough; 277x and a planetary filter. Venus was too low for the telescope so I viewed with binoculars; not enough magnification to show detail.
I noticed that the summer constellations were still pretty high and, from my back yard, still in the "dark" area of the sky -- seems the bay to the west of me helps with the light domes which surround me. I first had a look at the double double (STF 2382 & 2383), nice and clear, then Zeta Lyrae 1 & 2, and then down to M57, the Ring Nebula, which surprisingly showed up well, looking like a cell, with the 14th magnitude companion star showing consistently and sharpened when the seeing stilled. This was a surprising view. Then to the "other" double-double in Lyra, STF 2470 & 2474: wider and tinged with orange, but lovely nonetheless.
Finally, I ended the quick tour with M13, which was pretty low but very nice, with what must be a hundred stars resolved across its face.
Then on to double stars. Seeing was merely good, and transparency was fair (heavy dew), so I stayed at 553x throughout and did not seriously try for any super close pairs or with high delta magnitudes.
EE Peg: I knew I didn't have a chance at this, but I remembered seeing it in the Carro Catalog and had a look. Just a star. It's primary is 6.8 but there's no magnitude for the secondary, which is 0.1" separated.
STFA 56 / 3 Peg: Very wide separation, ~1 magnitude difference, 7 & 8. [6.18, 7.5; 39.1"]
4 Peg: Very wide separation; ~7th mag. A, and very faint ~10-11 mag. B. PA to the west. [5.67, 11.8; 27.2" PA 335°]
STF 2848: Very wide separation ~same magnitude, though B is a little fainter and redder. [7.21, 7.73; 10.9"]
STF 2857: Around 3 magnitudes difference, very wide separation, PA to the east. [7.14, 9.8; 20.1", PA 112°]
Anonymous near 21 Peg: Bright A, but no star closeby. Very faint star, very wide, to the north could be B?
20 Peg: Two stars suspected to be B, both to west. The closer of the two is very much fainter than the A. Nothing closeby. [5.6, 11.1; 58.9", PA 322°. Based on this I'd say the closer of the two was the B.]
STF 2854: ~2 disk separation, PA to the WSW, ~ same magnitude. [7.77, 7.89; 1.8"; PA 84° -- which is reverse of my estimate but still "correct" if the A and B are reversed!]
Cou 14: Seeing is too poor. B is either the very faint star popping out when seeing stills, to the west; or a fleeting brightening in the diffraction. [5.94, 6.94; 0.2", PA 65°. So, not seen.]
STF 2834: Yellow A, very faint red B ~4-5 disk separation. Seeing needs to still. PA to the west. [6.93, 9.89; 4.1", PA 298°].
STF 2841: Orange & blue, very wide separation, ~2 magnitude difference. [6.45, 7.99; 22.3"]
h947: White A much fainter blue; B widely separated, PA to the north. [5.78, 11.39; 18.9" PA 98°. My PA seems way off, or perhaps I did not see the B.]
STF 2877: Orange A. Suspect extremely faint B to WNW, ~5" separated; only when seeing stills. [6.65, 9.23; 23.3" PA 24°. I'd say not seen. This should have been a more obvious split.]
I took a little break to scan about with my 7x35 binoculars, to see how nice Cassiopeia would look. Without the binoculars I noticed a satellite travelling to the north, splitting between Cassiopeia and Cepheus, when a meteor streaked through the area headed west. It was pretty long, about 20°, and brightened twice during its fall, leaving smoke trails where it brightened for about a second.
With the 7x35s I also looked at M31, which was an unimpressive smudge, and the Double Cluster, which was a small faint dual brightening. Then I noticed a bright patch above the eastern neighbor's roof: the Pleiades. Already! They were lovely in the binoculars. Walking to the far end of the yard I was able to take in the Hyades, as well. I had taken so much time with the binoculars it was time to go in. Before stepping inside I noticed Orion, mostly blocked by neighbor's houses, starting to rise -- winter coming.
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