46p again

Viewed the comet again last night, but under very much worse conditions.  The sky was hazy with fog and high clouds, and the waxing moon was placed near Auriga, washing out the sky.  I spent about 15 minutes searching by sweeping in the finder and in the 12.5-inch, before deciding the better way was to star hop using the finder chart.  I did eventually find it, but it was very tough; a "breath on a mirror" in the finder and a hazy quasi-stellar point with some haze around it in the scope.  I tracked it for about 20 minutes to be sure of movement.  The coma was very faint and diffuse.  Moonlight was pouring into my tube however I think by focuser baffle did its job to block the light.

I then turned to the moon itself, which still showed pretty well despite the fog haze.  Binoviewers.  I especially enjoyed the Aristarchus Plateau and had a really good look at the Marius Hills, the first time I recall seeing them.  Both these features have a strikingly square appearance, due probably to uplift and different shading of the surface.  I wonder why?  Reiner Gamma showed really well, the paisley shaped bright feature with its elongated bright oval and squiggly tail.  Seeing was not very good so I didn't push magnification very high.

2.1x42 in bino mount

Spent a little while tonight with the Vixen 2.1x42 on the binocular mount.  There were high thin clouds, some in long rollers visibly passing through the sky like Pacific waves underneath the moon.  I tried to imagine the clouds were interesting nebulousness...  I could see enough to confirm I can use the mount with these binos too.  Having them steady while trying to focus helps a lot.  And it's always a treat to see Orion head to toe, Betelgeuse to Rigel.  And the Pleiades and Hyades in the same FOV.  Tried to see the comet 46p but no luck.  These will be great to use during the next great comet, whenever it should come. 

46p wirtanen

Forecast was for clear skies last night but stepping outside around 9pm there was a thin layer of cloud/fog overspreading the sky.  It was still possible to see the brighter stars and the moon, but transparency was highly compromised.  I was disappointed because I wanted to observe comet 46p Wirtanen, now at magnitude 5, and it was forecast to be cloudy for the next week at least.

I hesitated to roll off the shed and set-up Big Blue.  I started to head inside, but decided to try to find the comet with my 7x35 binoculars -- and after a while I thought I could make out a small round glow where the comet was to be.  So I thought, what the hell, give it a shot.

Soon enough I swept up the comet in my 80mm finder, still the faint glow but now with a quasi-stellar nucleus, then settled in to view at 101x in the scope.  The comet was in line with the base of three stars which formed an equilateral triangle.  This would make it easy to track movement.  My tracking platform was nearly dead on, with a very slow drift to the west after 20 minutes.  In the scope the halo was round and very diffuse.  With the comet filter the psudo-nucleus was muted and the halo was less round; in fact it was pushed to the NW to form the beginnings of a fat tail.

I tracked the movement of the comet over the next 40 minutes.  I made sketches every 10 minutes and the movement was obvious; the triangle stretched into a diamond with the comet as the fourth "star."  In between I watched the just-past quarter moon set, lit side down like a fishing float, glowing yellow in a haze of cloud.  After making an observation of the comet I was startled to see the moon set behind the ridge of a neighbor's house.

Always very cool to observe a comet moving.  I'm glad I stayed out for it.

7x50s

Last night another clear sky, but seeing was forecast to be poor, so I kept BB in the stable.  I used my binocular mirror mount, this time with the 7x50s.  I'm glad I made the mirror yoke adjustable for different focal length binos; the 7x50s needed it slid all the way up the rail.  Once again, stunning views, this time with a 12 degree field.  M45 with a huge field of stars around.  All of the Hyades comfortably in the view.  Scanning from M37 to M36 and M38.  Stock 1 in Perseus.

Orion with its belt and sword as it rose over the meridian tree.  This was a special view, since I had the upper branches of the redwood tree in the view along with the belt, sword, and the Great Nebula.  It gave a earthly scale to the celestial scene, and reminded me of my human life in relation to the rest of the universe.  This feeling is the driving force behind my observing and I hope never to forget it.

I'm convinced the mirror mount is the only way to use binoculars for astronomy.  I hope to have it out to a dark sky soon.

clear window

The clouds parted in the early evening last night and a clear window to the sky opened up, perhaps for the last time this year.  I tried to make the most of it and stayed out as long as I could, three arcs of the equatorial platform.  Seeing was variable, 6-8/7, and my targets were over my roof so it wasn't perfect.  But nonetheless it was a happy time.  I was glad I had some charts prepared.  Big Blue:

STT 33: Pretty yellow-white and red-orange pair, wide, 1.5-2 delta mag.  340x  Nearby X Cas a very pretty red. 
01H 37M 22.87S +58° 38' 14.7" P.A. 77 SEP 26.9 MAG 7.26,8.96 SP B3IV DIST. 833.33 PC (2718.32 L.Y.)

BU 396: Bright white and 3-4 delta mag blue, ~2", well split.  340x
01H 03M 37.01S +61° 04' 29.4" P.A. 67 SEP 1.3 MAG 6.06,8.62 SP F0II DIST. 613.5 PC (2001.24 L.Y.)

BU 258: Barely split at 340x, a brightening in the first diffraction.  Wanted more certainty so went to 553x, clean split, 2" 3 detla mag.
01H 13M 09.82S +61° 42' 22.3" P.A. 262 SEP 1.5 MAG 6.50,8.80 SP B9V DIST. 201.61 PC (657.65 L.Y.)

STF 96: Mostly notched but moments of hairline split with seeing  1.5 delta mag.  Very tough!  Yellow-orange stars.  553x.
01H 12M 41.24S +65° 00' 32.9" P.A. 286 SEP 0.9 MAG 7.92,8.92 SP F0 DIST. 218.34 PC (712.23 L.Y.)

35 And: Yellow-white A and red-orange B, wide finder split, 2 delta mag.

BU 781: Very fine faint pair, need to wait for seeing.  1", 1 delta mag.
00H 51M 36.19S +68° 59' 14.0" P.A. 23 SEP 1 MAG 8.41,9.33 SP A2

STF 65: Equal pair, white-yellow.  Wide and pretty bright
00H 52M 45.61S +68° 51' 59.3" P.A. 220 SEP 3.2 MAG 8.00,8.02 SP A2 DIST. 255.75 PC (834.26 L.Y.)

A2901: Elongated to notched with seeing.  Seeing not cooperating.  553x & 885x
01H 01M 30.15S +69° 21' 30.7" P.A. 65.4 SEP 0.4 MAG 7.12,7.84 SP B9 DIST. 273.97 PC (893.69 L.Y.)

BU 513: Searched around the swollen, shimmering bright A star disk and felt there was a faint close B trying to resolve in the first diffraction at 553x.  Apodizing mask cleaned up the image but no B resolved.  Could just be a trick -- there's a faint blue star, very wide to the north which could be it.  [AB is 0.5" and 2 delta mag so not seen; likely saw AD which is 12.6 mag 54".  AC likely too faint at 13.2.  One to try in the 20-inch someday.]
02H 01M 57.55S +70° 54' 25.4" P.A. 346.5 SEP 0.5 MAG 4.65,6.74 SP A3V DIST. 35.26 PC (115.02 L.Y.)

NGC 654: Open cluster, near some doubles I was viewing.  Switched to 170x.  Red star dominates, but the cluster's brighter white stars form a mini Cassiopeia asterism with a moderate concentration of faint stars in the center of the "W."

NGC 663: Fairly large, about half a degree.  Appears in the finder as a fine mist to the south of an arc of three stars.  Brighter stars form a delta wing asterism with many fainter stars scattered within.  Several orange and red stars in the mix.  Increasing power to 553x, I viewed three Struve pairs within the cluster making a triple double:
STF 151: Equal, fairly faint but by no means the faintest in a very rich field.  Visible in finder.
01H 45M 59.32S +61° 12' 45.6" P.A. 39 SEP 7.2 MAG 10.59,10.98 SP B4
STF 152: A about 11th mag and B wide separation 1.5 delta mag. [not physical].
01H 46M 04.90S +61° 13' 41.8" P.A. 106 SEP 9.4 MAG 9.04,11.20 SP B5 DIST. 310.56 PC (1013.05 L.Y.)
STF 153: Well separated ~10", 1 delta mag pair
01H 46M 34.53S +61° 15' 45.0" P.A. 69 SEP 7.7 MAG 9.36,10.38 SP B2II

NGC 659: Brighter stars form a keystone asterism with a spur of three closely separated stars sticking out the east side.  An thick arc of fine fainter stars spreads beneath it running NE-SW.  Nearby 44 And, which is a wide split yellow and white optical pair, 2 delta mag.

BU 1103 = 44 Cas: Extremely fine, extremely faint spec consistently in one spot in the diffraction, 1", when seeing perfects.  Need a slight averted vision to see it.  [12-fold system with many fainter stars about.]
01H 43M 19.75S +60° 33' 04.8" SEP 1.6 MAG 5.78,12.10 SP B8IIIN DIST. 320.51 PC (1045.5 L.Y.)

Arn 55: Very wide separation 1 delta mag.; physical double  [This is the AD pair of a more complicated system.  AB = V773 Cas = BU 870 which is 6.29/8.68 0.3"; AC = GUI 2, 6.29/16.00 16.8".  Both of these would be great targets for the 20-inch.]
01H 44M 17.96S +57° 32' 11.8" P.A. 45 SEP 160.5 MAG 6.29,9.92 SP A3V DIST. 84.96 PC (277.14 L.Y.)

STF 163: Pretty orange star in the finder.  Wide separated blue B, 2 delta mag.
01H 51M 16.93S +64° 51' 17.9" P.A. 38 SEP 34.5 MAG 6.80,9.13 SP K4+IB-IIA DIST. 5882.35 PC (19188.23 L.Y.)

STF 234: Light orange star, definitely elongated, maybe notched, but no convincing split.  553x & 885x.  Tough little Struve...
02H 17M 23.00S +61° 21' 06.5" P.A. 222.3 SEP 0.64 MAG 8.74,9.40 SP G2V DIST. 59.14 PC (192.91 L.Y.)

STF 263: At the end of an arc of three stars of similar magnitude.  The pair is wide, 2 delta mag.  [I saw AB.  Quadruple system but with a lot of complicated orbital dynamics going on: AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD]

STF 277AB: Could not see the faint component.  Seeing / transparency may be failing.
02H 36M 55.29S +59° 53' 01.1" P.A. 140 SEP 3.1 MAG 7.81,11.38 SP B9.5IV DIST. 375.94 PC (1226.32 L.Y.)

STF 283: Well split light orange pair, half delta mag.  [AB seen; AC 13.9 mag]
02H 40M 31.92S +61° 29' 02.2" P.A. 210 SEP 1.8 MAG 8.38,9.03 SP G8III+

Sti 1797: Pretty orange and blue stars, 2-3 delta mag, well separated 10"
02H 10M 24.05S +56° 17' 49.6" P.A. 140 SEP 9.3 MAG 7.53,11.85 SP K2III DIST. 117.23 PC (382.4 L.Y.)

I ended the night looking at M45 at low powers in both the finder and in the main scope.  The scope showed mistiness in the field which made me think the eyepiece was fogging up but is the nebulosity.  WIshed I could have stayed out longer.

color

I had a short binocular session in my back yard last week.  I viewed M31 and M32, hazy patch with an intense core.  M15 was small, hazy, and round with a glowing middle.  Also watched a very slow satellite make it's silent way through northern Pegasus.

What was really special was finding a widely separated pair (if they are a pair) of bright orange and blue stars to the north of Lyra and Cygnus.  Very Alberio-like in color, but much more widely separated.  The orange star had a 3 delta mag companion close in to it.  I thought I wanted to look at atlases and figure out what it was, but decided not to.  I'd rather leave it as a beautiful memory, which maybe I can return to sometime in the future when I'm in the mood for the kind of daydream observing the binocular mirror mount lends itself to.

a few burnhams

The rain last week pushed the bad air from the Bay Area.  With more on the way this week, there was a gap last night of relatively clear skies.  Transparency was poor (in fact the whole northeast was covered in low clouds), and dew was pretty heavy, but seeing was a decent 7/10.  Viewed what close doubles I could with Big Blue, 553x:

BU 1095: Very bright yellow- white A.  B is a very faint but consistent point resolved just beyond the first diffraction ring when seeing stills.  Nice to start off the night with this! [AB seen; AC and AD very wide and faint.]
00H 30M 07.34S +29° 45' 06.1" P.A. 16 SEP 2 MAG 5.22,13.10 SP A7III DIST. 62.77 PC (204.76 L.Y.)

STF 47: Easy; likely a triple.  Orange A star with 1.5 delta mag. B, 10".  Third star another 1 delta mag, further out in a similar PA.  [Correct about the triple; BU 1348 is the third star out, which is paired with both A and B -- pretty weird orbit, trying to picture it...]
00H 40M 19.78S +24° 03' 14.0" P.A. 205 SEP 16.6 MAG 7.25,8.82 SP A4III DIST. 131.58 PC (429.21 L.Y.)

BU 1310: Pretty orange stars but pairs are too faint; try with the 20-inch.  The equatorial platform is knocking (problem with the motor?) which interferes with the view; every couple of seconds a shudder through the scope.

00H 32M 39.47S +23° 11' 36.1" P.A. 213 SEP 3.8 MAG 6.86,11.80 SP G5IV DIST. 137.74 PC (449.31 L.Y.)

Ho 204: Nope.  Too faint.  Near zenith so tough to center.  Try in the 20.
23H 52M 14.16S +28° 34' 35.8" P.A. 357 SEP 5.7 MAG 8.52,10.70 SP K2

Ho 215 = 45 And: Disk seems not round but far for me to claim it.  try in the 20.
01H 11M 10.29S +37° 43' 26.9" P.A. 225 SEP 0.1 MAG 6.60,6.60 SP B7III-IV DIST. 242.13 PC (789.83 L.Y.)

BU 1147 = 2 And: Shard of light in the first diffraction ring.  But that's too far out (~1") to be it?  Try the 20.
3H 02M 36.34S +42° 45' 28.1" P.A. 137.7 SEP 0.05 MAG 5.19,7.70 SP A3VN DIST. 129.2 PC (421.45 L.Y.)

STF 2973: Yellow-white and surprisingly faint B -- appears as a haze and then a point appears with seeing; almost need averted vision.
23H 02M 45.15S +44° 03' 31.5" P.A. 39 SEP 7.5 MAG 6.41,10.14 SP B2V

Bvd 142: Orange stars, 1 delta mag, well separated (finder split).  B looks suspiciously like a pair -- but the transparency may be causing it to smear.  [!! This is quite an amazing catch considering the conditions!  AB is as described 7.80/10.28 79.6".  B is indeed a pair: TDT 3916 = BaBb, 10.69/11.41 0.6".  Discovered in 1991 and only one observation!  Holy cow!  Definitely try the 20!]
23H 10M 29.28S +41° 19' 18.7" P.A. 165 SEP 79.6 MAG 7.80,10.28 SP F5V+K0V

STF 2992: Well separated 2 delta mag. [AB seen; AC too faint]
23H 13M 06.32S +40° 00' 10.1" P.A. 285 SEP 14.3 MAG 7.66,9.59 SP A7III

NGC 7662: Blue Snowball, planetary nebula.  Even with poor transparency, near full moon, and red zone light pollution, this high surface brightness object shows.  Round shell, cut off slightly on one side; soft edges.  Two arcs of brighter filaments within the shell and hints of more detail.  No color; OIII no help (dims the object, actually)

STT 500: Disk seems not round, but unsure.  Try the 20.
23H 37M 32.03S +44° 25' 44.5" P.A. 20.3 SEP 0.4 MAG 6.08,7.38 SP B8V DIST. 247.52 PC (807.41 L.Y.)

BU 995: ! Very fine 4 delta mag, <0.8"
23H 47M 33.04S +46° 49' 57.2" P.A. 250 SEP 0.8 MAG 6.11,8.73 SP B3IV

BU 9001: Faint companion, wide separation. [AC seen.  AB, weirdly, is ES 9001, B star is fainter at 13.70 than C star.  AC Burnham was first in 1893, Espin AB second in 1914?  Why the reversed letter designation?]
00H 05M 09.75S +45° 13' 44.5" P.A. 235 SEP 21 MAG 6.69,10.58 SP A1VN DIST. 138.5 PC (451.79 L.Y.)

BU 997: Orange and blue, pretty, well separated.
00H 04M 57.53S +45° 40' 25.6" P.A. 337 SEP 3.8 MAG 7.64,9.39 SP F8IV-V DIST. 71.12 PC (231.99 L.Y.)

impromptu moon

With rain in the forecast I discounted doing any observing this week.  But while stepping outside last night to take out the garbage I noticed the moon was up with only a thin fog around it -- certainly worth the effort, which is none at all, to set-up and observe.  So I quickly opened up the shed and brought Big Blue out from its two week hibernation.  I viewed the moon at 310x with binoviewers at first, and the seeing was just barely able to support it.  No particular plan, and I didn't even open my atlas; just soaking in the views along the terminator, around Plato (four craters seen with some effort), along the limb with its hills on the horizon.  Then I switched to 97x, and followed a similar circular meandering path.  This time I was struck by the rays, their variety and greyscale, some in scattered fans, some in bright streaks, some blocked by mountains, and some, especially around Tycho, laying in a thick snow across the landscape. 

I thought about how the 20-inch would certainly best Big Blue on such a night, and give me some versatility.  If there are a clear few days next week I might set them up side by side and see exactly what the differences are.  I feel sad I am contemplating retiring Big Blue, it is such a fine scope and really is a "lifetime" back yard instrument.  But better is better.  If I could justify this by buying a portable large aperture scope for dark site deep sky work, then it would make the decision easier...

progress

I received the AutoCAL cable in the mail today and was able, after a couple of tries, to successfully do the program.  I failed the azimuth but after straightening the encoder arm with some washers it passed.  There has been some very bad wildfires so I haven't used the scope for a number of days.  Tonight I could just barely make our Daneb and Fomalhaut for a 2-star alignment.  It was good enough as I could go-to Mars pretty well.  I then slewed over to the moon; seeing was pretty good and I spent most time at 333x.  Plato revealed four craters, and the craters seemed more detailed than I recall.  The 20-inch really resolves well.

I plan to redo my wheelbarrow handles tomorrow and may have to move the scope back inside as there is some rain coming.  I think I need a fine-focus knob--I can snap to focus but with seeing I feel I could use some critical focus.  It started to dew up pretty good which is a good sign -- the wind is more on shore, and the air wetter, which means the smoke should start to be pushing to the east.  Hope there is another night or two for me to confirm the tracking is as improved as I think it is.

servo working

With the current spell of relatively clear weather I've kept my 20-inch set-up in the back yard and have been working on the servoCAT set-up.  Happily with a new setting program from the vendor, it finally works!  Tracking is smooth but has a very slow drift, but I can work it out with the tracking improvement protocols in the manual.  

Last night I spent some time going goto to various Messier objects, then Mars, Uranus, and Neptune.  It was a real pleasure to move object to object and have a look.  I need to work on better star alignment and the improving the tracking, but it will get better and I hope to really enjoy the new capability -- like spending time really studying objects, changing magnification, and all the rest.

early morning binos

I woke at 5:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, worrying about things at work.  I could tell it was clear from the glow of moonlight in the window so I snuck outside without waking anyone with my binocular mount and the 15x70s.  First some scanning around, more or less at random, to take in the views.  Once again I'm impressed at how many colored (red, orange, blue/white) stars there are, and the new associations to see (which might have to do with the inverted view).

I found Sirius then did a little hop down to find M41, which even in the moonlight and hazy horizon was lovely with scattered stars, with two prominent orange stars in the center.  The depth of field was nice.  Orion next, viewed through a gap in the trees: the entire sword, with the great nebula very clear and hinting at its full 2 degree extant -- just imagine it under a darker sky!  The the belt, with the S-shaped trail of stars.  I tried to find M35 but did not, and M46 & 47, but did not -- star hopping is a little awkward as yet, and I didn't have an atlas so I relied on memory.  I noticed Leo just edging his front above my roof, and thought I could sweep up M44, the Beehive -- I aimed the mount in azimuth to where I though it would be in front of Leo's forepaw, then swept up with the mirror, and voila, there it was.  It nearly filled the view and spangled with its double stars; looked more like a large Christmas tree.

I ended by giving up what night vision I had and looked at the moon, sharp with details and black sky all around it to the edge terminator (no earthshine, facing away?) with some purple and yellow fringe.  Amazingly sharp rays and a chiaroscuro in the mare.  So much detail to find.

I often wish I could observe in the mornings; the seeing is much calmer, and it's a very nice way to start the day -- I feel refreshed rather than tired out from the night.  Wish I could make more time for it in my schedule.

one double and the moon

The the sky the night of the 19th was quite obscured with marine haze and it was dewy and cold, and I was tired...  I tried one double but was discouraged of seeing many of the B stars, so went on to a very rewarding session on the moon.

BU 677: Upped the magnification, to make sure no trick; checked the CDSA index to make sure what I was seeing -- 2 delta mag but very wide faint stars.  There's another one I notice with averted vision and then can hold with direct, which is another of the set.  [AB was the first, AC the second 11.2, 15.5"]
20H 47M 10.72S +34° 22' 26.8" P.A. 120 SEP 8.1 MAG 4.94,10.03 SP K3III

I used 310x and binoviewers, as the seeing was good 8/10.  I started out with crater John Herschel, then South -- the two observing buddies with adjacent craters, both with rough and rubbly floors, but Herschel being the larger.  I was able to just make out Sharp Rille and a quavering line below the Louville hills.  Gruithuisen Domes were interesting, being among the largest of the type and steep-sided.  Harbinger Mountains and Prinz Rilles next, and I could see a few more smaller of these besides the main five.  Crater Caroline Herschel was a night sight, a multi-terraced, sharp round crater.  I checked crater Kriger to see if it had its rabbit ear shadows, but they were stumpy -- I must be a day late to catch them.  The Marius Rille made a great impression (no pun intended), long and sinuous with a long rounded hook.  I checked carefully for Suess Rille but could not see it. 

plato craterlets and more

The night of the 18th had quite good seeing, which I hope I exploited well.  Using Big Blue and starting with binoviewers, at 310x (I likely could have gone higher), I saw five of the craterlets on the floor of Plato right off (A, B, C, and D) and with a little effort e, which is near a mass of slumped rock.  Crater W was also visible within the bowed in rubble fall.  Really exciting.  Of course I spent time going over other detail in the area, but this was a highlight.

Later I switched to 553x and went after some doubles, though the marine haze interfered:

BU 167: Four delta mag, <2" very faint point holds steady with seeing, just beyond first diffraction.  Yellow-orange A, blue B.
21H 36M 13.98S +30° 03' 19.5" P.A. 88 SEP 1.7 MAG 6.37,9.95 SP G8III

AD Cyg: Very faint, hints of colors in finder, deep orange in the scope.  Nice!

Ho 603: Orange and very wide separation B, bluish. [AB seen; BC is 11th mag 3.6" and should be doable in the 20-inch]
21H 32M 04.61S +34° 12' 06.1" P.A. 251 SEP 80.5 MAG 7.53,9.82 SP F0

BU 692: Tried pretty hard at 553x, 887x, but no sign of 11th mag. B.  Disk at 887x, seeing is so good!  Orange star.  [5 stars in system]
21H 50M 05.37S +31° 50' 52.4" P.A. 10 SEP 2.9 MAG 7.47,11.03 SP K0

STF 2822: Yellow and light orange pair, ~1", 1 delta mag.  Very pretty, subtle colors.  [7 stars in system, many faint and wide.]
21H 44M 08.57S +28° 44' 33.4" P.A. 324.2 SEP 1.5 MAG 4.75,6.18 SP F6V+G2V DIST. 22.24 PC (72.55 L.Y.)

TW Peg: Deep orange star--orange in finder too.

Ho 178: Another 11th mag -- can't see it for the haze & moon's scattering light. 
22H 11M 28.36S +32° 05' 09.9" P.A. 223 SEP 3.4 MAG 7.40,11.16 SP F0

STF 2881: Light orange stars, ~1 delta mag, 2-3".
22H 14M 34.67S +29° 34' 20.6" P.A. 76 SEP 1.3 MAG 7.65,8.24 SP F6III

finished binocular mirror mount

I set up Big Blue to cool down after arriving home, but I ended up not using it at all last night!  Instead I tried out my binocular mirror mount and was enthralled with the view.  I'm very happy that it works, and that the mirror is good enough quality and the imperfections in my workmanship have no effect. 

The mount is smooth and mostly stable -- just a little vibration I think due to the metal strip holding the binoculars.  I could sit comfortably and enjoy the depth of view two eyes provide.  I used the 15x70s which are excellent.  The steady view really does help one see more detail, and more stars.  I mainly swept about and enjoyed picking out fresh associations of stars, which are lost with a narrower field of view.  There's a physicality and presence to the view which I don't get in the finder when star hopping, when the stars have a more utilitarian purpose.  And I noticed so many colored stars! 

So totally worth it and I can't wait to have them out at a dark site, and to try my other binos with it.  Next step is to make a cover for the mirror, and maybe attach a green laser to help with pointing -- though I had no trouble to sweep up M31, the moon, etc. with it last night.

all the colorful stars

I planned to finish my binocular mirror mount last night but found the RTV I planned to use was too old; so will need to head to the hardware store today.  I observed with Big Blue instead.  Seeing was not very good and there was the usual marine haze.  Moon and Mars through binoviewers after dark.  Nearly precisely a half moon; nice scattering of rays and crater splahes.  Then back after 9pm for doubles, 553x in spite of the imperfect seeing.

STF 2799: Equal yellow-orange, ~5" [Either my separation estimate is way off or I didn't see this...]
21H 28M 52.79S +11° 05' 05.2" P.A. 257.9 SEP 1.88 MAG 7.37,7.44 SP F4V DIST. 105.04 PC (342.64 L.Y.)

BU 163: Very close but clean split momentarily with seeing; both yellow-orange, 3 delta mag, <1" [AB seen; 5 stars in system but rest are too faint]
21H 18M 34.85S +11° 34' 08.2" P.A. 77.5 SEP 0.91 MAG 7.31,8.88 SP G0V+G6V DIST. 47.66 PC (155.47 L.Y.)

STF 2786: Pale yellow stars, B a slightly darker tint though 1 delta mag dimmer; well split 6-8" [My estimates off?]
21H 19M 39.36S +09° 31' 30.3" P.A. 189 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.49,8.20 SP A3IV

Ozone smell...  I've noticed this lately, after 9pm there's an ozone smell in the air, as if it's going to rain.

STF 2765: Faint, matched, slightly red tinted stars, ~8" [AB seen though split over-estimated]
21H 10M 59.31S +09° 32' 57.9" P.A. 79 SEP 2.8 MAG 8.47,8.50 SP A3IV

S 781: Finder split, super-wide, equal yellow-orange stars [Though I looked at the time in case one of these stars had a close pair, I did not see any -- and turns out one of them is a BU, #270, 7.42/9.40 0.5" -- not possible in the 12.5-inch but maybe the 20-inch...]
21H 13M 27.24S +07° 13' 04.9" P.A. 172 SEP 186.1 MAG 7.25,7.17 SP A7V

STF 2742: equal light orange, wide, 10-12", pretty. [Why are my separation estimates so far off?]
21H 02M 12.51S +07° 10' 47.3" P.A. 215 SEP 2.9 MAG 7.41,7.64 SP F8

STF 2737: Easy yellow stars, very wide, 1 delta mag. [AB,C seen.  AB is 0.2" and must've been wider at discovery.  5 stars in system -- but not physical, so how did it get in to CDSA 2nd edition?]
20H 59M 04.54S +04° 17' 37.8" P.A. 67 SEP 10.5 MAG 5.30,7.05 SP F6IV+DF4

STF 2735: Pretty orange and blue, Alberio-like, 2 delta mag, wide-ish ~6" [Again with the separation...]
20H 55M 40.64S +04° 31' 57.7" P.A. 281 SEP 2 MAG 6.45,7.54 SP G6III-IV

STF 2744: Split, 1.5", near equal yellow-orange stars.  [4 stars in system, fainter]
21H 03M 03.09S +01° 31' 55.9" P.A. 102.2 SEP 1.19 MAG 6.76,7.33 SP F7IV DIST. 70.82 PC (231.01 L.Y.)

So many colored stars!

Howe 55: Bright light orange with fainter bluish B, very wide separation.  Second nearly as faint star a little further out and to the side.

Ho 292: Extremely faint B, 2", PA to north?  Averted vision only. [Seems like a yes!]
22H 23M 15.11S +05° 38' 47.8" P.A. 65 SEP 3.9 MAG 7.66,11.24 SP A2

STF 2920: Blue-white stars, very wide, 1 delta mag.  [AB seen, AC too faint]
22H 34M 31.58S +04° 13' 20.6" P.A. 144 SEP 13.7 MAG 7.55,8.85 SP B9.5V

BU 701: Orange star.  Could be a slightly mis-shaped disk, or the very wide separated bluish star 2-3 delta mag.  [AB is the former, AC is the latter -- 11.97 mag 126"!]
22H 28M 07.24S +12° 14' 55.5" P.A. 176.8 SEP 0.99 MAG 7.34,9.62 SP K0V DIST. 66.4 PC (216.6 L.Y.)

Ho 296: Snowman.  Light orange.  Very tough. [Totally awesome catch! 0.43".  2 other pairs in system very wide and faint.]
22H 40M 52.71S +14° 32' 57.5" P.A. 43 SEP 0.43 MAG 6.14,7.22 SP G4V DIST. 33.8 PC (110.26 L.Y.)

STF 2908:  Orange and blue (for faintness).  Very wide separation, 2 delta mag.
22H 28M 11.55S +17° 15' 47.9" P.A. 113 SEP 9 MAG 7.74,9.68 SP G9III

I'm impressed by all the colors in this part of the sky.  Why are many doubles colorful?  Many variables are colorful too, and are also binary... wonder why.

two nice observations

I let out Big Blue to cool the evening of the 14th but poor transparency forced me to "cancel" the night -- but not before making two nice observations:

The moon and Saturn were in close proximity, well within the FOV of my 80mm finder.  The moon looked great, with a lot of detail and the earthshine was bright.  Saturn was small, orange-yellow and elongated -- not enough magnification to show too much.  A satellite glided slowly up the side of the view.

While writing the above down in my notebook, a looked up in time to see a meteor travelling from Equuleus to the western half of the box of Pegasus, with a white, lingering trail.  Really nice view.

I was tired from spending the day building the binocular mount, which is nearly finished and which I want to try out this week.

from the 13th

Seeing was better this evening but there was a typical marine haze.  553x mostly.

SU Cyg: Orange in the finder; lighter in the scope.  Wide separation, 3 delta mag.

STT 390: Very wide, 2-3 delta mag.  A few other faint star actually closer in could be part of a system. [Four stars in system but not closer in than this...]
19H 55M 06.50S +30° 11' 41.6" P.A. 22 SEP 9.9 MAG 6.63,9.50 SP B6V+A5V

STF 2580 = 17 Cyg: Yellow and blue, wide separation.  [11 stars in the system; just call it a cluster!]
19H 46M 25.60S +33° 43' 39.3" P.A. 67.9 SEP 26.09 MAG 5.06,9.25 SP F5V DIST. 21.23 PC (69.25 L.Y.)

X Cyg: Must be in minimum it is much fainter than 17 Cyg.  Reddish orange in the finder, more yellow-orange in the scope.  No pair seen. [and no wonder; pairs are 16th and 18th mag.]
20H 43M 24.20S +35° 35' 16.1" P.A. 145 MAG 6.48, SP F7IB

STT 387: Overlapping disks, to a nearly hairline split with seeing.  Half delta mag.  [Very good!]
19H 48M 43.81S +35° 18' 41.3" P.A. 103.9 SEP 0.47 MAG 7.12,7.90 SP F6V DIST. 63.69 PC (207.76 L.Y.)

STT 394: Pretty orange and blue, well separated, 2 delta mag.
20H 00M 11.43S +36° 24' 50.8" P.A. 294 SEP 11.1 MAG 7.14,10.27 SP K1III

STF 2624: Arc of three stars and another farther out, 1-2 delta mag.  [AB seen; 4 in system]
20H 03M 29.42S +36° 01' 28.6" P.A. 174 SEP 2 MAG 7.09,7.73 SP O9.5IIIE

25 Cyg: White and wide blue.

Starting to dew.

STF 2609: White A, B slightly yellow-white.  Half delta mag, 5" [Not seen, a much closer pair]
19H 58M 34.37S +38° 06' 20.8" P.A. 23 SEP 1.9 MAG 6.69,7.64 SP B5IV

19 Cyg = HJ 603: Orange-yellow star with 2x fainter bluish B, well separated. [Not physical, 5 stars in system]
19H 50M 33.99S +38° 43' 20.7" P.A. 115 SEP 56.7 MAG 5.38,10.54 SP M2III

I feel tired...  Transparency not all that good, calling it a night.

from the 12th

Catching up on some logs.  This is from the night of the 12th, with Big Blue, seeing started a mediocre 6/10 but improved; transparency good 4/5.  Started at 277x but that really doesn't show the doubles easily, so went up to 553x right away.

BU 63: Wide and faint B, easy at 277x.  A seemed to be a tight pair, so went to 553x; sees to have some hardening in the diffraction but no split.  [Not seen.  Indeed a close pair but obviously seeing not good enough to resolve it.]
20H 30M 17.95S +10° 53' 45.3" P.A. 347 SEP 0.9 MAG 6.20,8.02 SP BE+B

STTA 213: Very wide split, orange-yellow A, white B, 1 delta mag.  553x, starting to show disks.
20H 59M 50.85S +16° 49' 27.6" P.A. 36 SEP 70.9 MAG 6.66,9.22 SP F4III

BU 681: Orange star with a very small and faint point, 0.8", condensed to a hard point in the diffraction.  Tough! [I think the magnitude difference made it seem closer & more difficult than it really was.]
21H 13M 16.58S +16° 55' 08.4" P.A. 243 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.48,10.92 SP K3III

Cou 430: For a Cou this is kind of easy.  Faint star well separated from A. [Saw ARY 70, 7.74/9.96 62.5".  Cou is much tougher 0.6"  Sorry I doubted you Jean!]
21H 25M 09.48S +18° 27' 45.4" P.A. 234 SEP 0.6 MAG 7.95,9.41 SP A0

STFB 11 = 1 Peg: Easy yellow-orange & wide separated B.  [AB seen; AC is 12th mag.; AD 5.4 delta mag and 5.3" should be doable in the 20-inch]
21H 25M 09.48S +18° 27' 45.4" P.A. 234 SEP 0.6 MAG 7.95,9.41 SP A0

STF 2724: Fine, near equal, 2"
20H 44M 28.01S +23° 56' 00.2" P.A. 150 SEP 2.6 MAG 8.97,9.00 SP G0

BU 66: ! Exceedingly fine, elongated haze resolved to a clean split, half delta mag, with seeing.  1"  Nice!
20H 48M 06.26S +27° 27' 25.3" P.A. 169 SEP 1.1 MAG 8.76,9.28 SP F0

BU 69: I sense overlapping disks at 553x, but unsure.  [Very good!  likely seen!]
21H 02M 36.08S +21° 41' 28.2" P.A. 7.5 SEP 0.36 MAG 8.35,9.80 SP F0 DIST. 73.64 PC (240.21 L.Y.)

Cou 129: I felt B flash momentarily with seeing, but not certain.  Very tough one.
21H 05M 32.01S +24° 33' 51.1" P.A. 75 SEP 0.7 MAG 8.80,11.80 SP F8

STF 2761: Well split, 1 delta mag; surprisingly faint B -- transparency failing?
21H 07M 29.36S +24° 28' 29.5" P.A. 112 SEP 5.6 MAG 9.29,9.76 SP A2

STT 430: Not seen. [B not really faint but too close to A to stand out, I think]
21H 11M 59.52S +24° 10' 05.3" P.A. 193 SEP 1.4 MAG 8.27,10.34 SP F9V

BU 447: Likely a multiple system.  I see two nearby faint stars, one on either side, one averted vision the other direct. [Six stars many of which are faint]
21H 24M 07.42S +25° 18' 44.6" P.A. 309 SEP 9.4 MAG 6.20,12.20 SP A2V

a few doubles...

Observed for about an hour last night with Big Blue.  Seeing came and went, starting out ok, improving, then going south along with the transparency.

Had a look at a gibbous Mars, with both polar caps visible and a single dark band, bifurcated at one end (basically Mare Sirenum).

Then a few doubles:

Enif = S 798: Bright yellow star with very wide / west PA 3 delta mag star, and much fainter star visible with averted vision, same PA, in between.  277x  [Correctly describes AB--faint pair--and AC--wider pair].
21H 44M 11.14S +09° 52' 30.0" P.A. 323 SEP 83.2 MAG 2.53,12.80 SP K2II

STF 2833: Orange and blue, well separated ~10".  Part of arc of three stars; 3 fainter from a triangle around it.  277x
21H 51M 56.56S +09° 04' 46.0" P.A. 337 SEP 9.1 MAG 7.84,10.20 SP A5

STTA 222: Finder split.  At 553x, wide orange pair, half delta mag.  Maybe third fainter star in arc in the system.
21H 44M 07.92S +07° 09' 29.7" P.A. 258 SEP 87.6 MAG 7.49,8.47 SP F2V

EI 53: Finder split, 1 delta mag.  White and dully yellow.  In the scope, I notice a matched fainter pair to the west.

BU 1212: Very wide, faint B.  553x  [AB,C seen; AB is 0.2"]
21H 39M 31.39S -00° 03' 04.1" P.A. 178 SEP 36.2 MAG 6.63,11.75 SP F6V

STF 2809: Wide, bright A, 2 delta mag.  M2 on edge of FOV in finder as a bloated hazy star!
21H 37M 33.76S -00° 23' 26.0" P.A. 163 SEP 31.1 MAG 6.22,9.36 SP A2III+F5V

M2: At 277x, grainy haze of soft stars, not quite resolved.  Thickened middle.  Arms and ragged outer fringes.  Wants to be brilliant but prevented.

EP Aqr: Very orange, nice in the finder!

Sca 104: Very wide separation, faint B
21H 52M 21.25S -03° 10' 28.8" P.A. 116 SEP 63.3 MAG 6.59,11.00 SP A0

STF 2863: Faint star with very faint, very wide B -- suspected with averted vision at 277x, readily seen at 553x. [Not seen; not sure what I was describing; might've had the star hop wrong]
22H 07M 06.65S +00° 34' 13.0" P.A. 96 SEP 2.5 MAG 8.04,8.41 SP G0

BU 172 = 51 Aqu: Bright white A, very wide and faint B.  557x  [AB,C seen; AB is 0.5" and there are 7 stars in the system.]
22H 24M 06.87S -04° 50' 13.2" P.A. 341 SEP 53.9 MAG 5.77,12.20 SP A0V

vulpecula doubles

Last night was pretty decent, with 3/5 transparency and seeing which varies from 8/10 to 7/10.  I spent some time going after doubles in Vulpecula, many of which were beyond the reach of Big Blue; hopefully I'll remember these for the 20-inch.

I also tried out my new 15x70 binoculars and OMG they are wonderful; huge field and very sharp stars.  Can't wait to finish the mirror mount for it!

BU 658: Pretty orange star; subtly out of round / pear shaped; 553x.  In a large cluster-like group of stars, around 3 degrees angular size, V-shaped, pretty in the finder.  If the stars were brighter it would be as famous as the M45. [0.6" at discovery so old Burnham didn't have too much trouble for it.]
19H 43M 55.97S +27° 08' 07.5" P.A. 284 SEP 0.3 MAG 6.72,7.92 SP B7V+G1III

STF 2584: Near equal, well split 2".  553x
19H 48M 22.40S +22° 11' 56.5" P.A. 294 SEP 2 MAG 9.14,9.20 SP F5

Cou 122: 553x & 885x, seems somewhat distorted but no clear shape.  Lost the seeing.  Not resolved.
20H 10M 28.04S +25° 02' 56.6" P.A. 355 SEP 0.6 MAG 7.24,9.91 SP A0

BU 983: Out of round but not resolved.  Bright white.  885x.  [AB attempted; AC super wide]
20H 15M 15.89S +25° 35' 31.1" P.A. 185 SEP 0.5 MAG 4.80,7.55 SP B3V

BU 985: Pale yellow and bluish B, ~6"; well separated.  885x.  [AB NOT seen, the B is too faint; I suspect what I saw was AC, HJ 1499, 10.87 mag.]
20H 18M 17.06S +25° 38' 53.7" P.A. 153 SEP 5.9 MAG 6.99,12.80 SP B2V

Cou 123.  Nice orange star, but no chance for this one.  885x [This one actually widening from 0.2" in 1966]
20H 12M 17.81S +22° 48' 28.6" P.A. 233 SEP 0.3 MAG 8.60,8.90 SP K0

Cou 124: Faint star and maybe with averted vision; but not certain at all.  885x. 
20H 22M 06.04S +22° 47' 12.8" P.A. 25 SEP 3.8 MAG 8.74,13.00 SP K0

Cou 125: Orange-yellow star, not exactly round, but not at all certain.  885x. 
20H 24M 25.79S +24° 16' 39.4" P.A. 117 SEP 0.4 MAG 7.27,8.92 SP G0

BU 441: Orange star with very faint bluish B seen with averted vision at first then can just hold.  Needs fine focus.  553x  [AB seen; Aa,Ab is POP1229, which is 0.4" separation but no magnitude given for Ab?]
20H 17M 31.54S +29° 08' 51.0" P.A. 64 SEP 6.1 MAG 6.37,10.50 SP G8III

BU 443: Is it a 4x system?  See two faint start in nearly the same PA, along with a brighter one. ['Tis]
20H 24M 09.01S +29° 00' 07.6" P.A. 151 SEP 16.4 MAG 7.31,10.97 SP A9IV

BE Vul = J 2310: Very faint field, not sure I found the correct star to look at, no splits. [12th mag B anyway, no chance]
20H 25M 33.64S +27° 22' 09.1" P.A. 323 SEP 33.5 MAG 9.86,12.10 SP A0

STF 2695:  Not seen.  [0.8" at discovery which was just about old Wilhem's limit]
20H 31M 58.19S +25° 48' 18.1" P.A. 257.4 SEP 0.44 MAG 6.58,8.75 SP AM+A2 DIST. 87.03 PC (283.89 L.Y.)

Cou 126: Hazy star appeared paired with another, but seeing was going downhill and the star was bloated and hairy, could not get focus -- then I lost the tracking.
20H 34M 12.59S +24° 49' 22.0" P.A. 91 SEP 0.9 MAG 8.75,10.93 SP A2

rocket launch from the back yard

It was a hot and windy day and smoke from a wildfire in the north bay ruined the sky for the night.  I was out back watering plants around 7:30 when I look up and see a five-pronged triangle of light falling toward the ground.  At first I thought it was a plane, or maybe a helicopter, whose light was being scattered by the smoke.  But then I realized it was a rocket launch from Vandenburg.  I called everyone outside to have a look.  It seemed not to move though after a couple of minutes it appeared to slowly move toward the horizon -- in fact it was heading down range up into orbit.  I waited to see if there would be a stage separation, and the engine light did cut out before it was beyond a neighbor's roof, but we did not see another light.

Clara took a picture:

It's great to have seen it since it was only yesterday I was describing to Val the two launches I had seen before, one from Pinnacles and another from CalStar last year.  We were watching the BBC footage of the Apollo 11 launch so she was interested.  After coming inside I checked my phone and found it was a SpaceX Falcon 9 launching an earth sciences satellite.  The booster had been used before, and this was the first launch where the booster landed at Vandenberg after the launch.  We watched the replay before the kids went to bed.

great little night

Out again last night with Big Blue, and this time the seeing was better, 7/10.  Went to the Double Double in Lyra first, really good image, so I thought to try 90 Her before it starts to set too late in the evening:

90 Her = BU 130: Yes!  Looks better at 553x, less jumpiness.  Need stillness, it coalesces from the diffraction to a light orange point at 553x (grey at 885x).  No doubt about it, star, point like.  For the first 10 minutes of observing seeing allowed me to glimpse it 1 of every 10 seconds.  But after a while seeing was better and I could hold it pretty consistently in both magnifications.  At 553x it's in the first ring, at 885x it's in the second.
17H 53M 18.03S +40° 00' 28.6" P.A. 110 SEP 1.6 MAG 5.28,8.76 SP K3III DIST. 108.46 PC (353.8 L.Y.)

STF 2282: White and very slightly orange B, 3", half delta mag.  [3 star system, AB and AC all the same mag, but BC is a 0.2" pair with only one observation...]
18H 06M 30.47S +40° 21' 39.6" P.A. 81 SEP 2.6 MAG 7.93,9.43 SP A1V DIST. 512.82 PC (1672.82 L.Y.)

STF 3130: Extremely faint but present DV, white A an blue B, 4" 3-4 delta mag.  Nearby R Lyr a pretty orange.  [AB,C seen; AB 0.4" -- try again!]
18H 55M 57.14S +44° 13' 41.9" P.A. 258 SEP 2.7 MAG 6.97,10.52 SP A2

Dawes 9: Faint but perfect star images showing.  3 delta mag, ~5".  B as bright as BU 130B?

16 Lyr = HJ 1362: Faint star at edge of DV/AV, fairly well separated.
19H 01M 26.36S +46° 56' 06.1" P.A. 289 SEP 46.9 MAG 5.01,10.60 SP A7V

Dju 4 = 13 Vul: Very bright white A and 3- delta mag B, ~1.5-2", west PA (platform ended its cycle so no tracking). 
19H 53M 27.69S +24° 04' 46.6" P.A. 246.8 SEP 1.37 MAG 4.63,7.37 SP B9.5III DIST. 102.56 PC (334.55 L.Y.)

brief mars

The night of the 24th had a brief session with Big Blue.  Seeing wasn't particularly good and there was marine haze; the nearly full moon didn't help.  Had a look at Mars 277x with the apodizing mask and planetary filter, and had a good view of Styris Major and some other features which covered most of the visible globe, given the planet's inclination.

I poked around Lyra a bit, including of all things M57.  One double star observation:

BU 648: In diffraction but steady disk of B within it, 2" 3 delta mag. [Several other fainter & wider pairings.]
18H 57M 01.61S +32° 54' 04.6" P.A. 236.7 SEP 1.31 MAG 5.34,7.96 SP G0V DIST. 14.87 PC (48.51 L.Y.)

And that was about it!

some hercules doubles

Thursday night had some pretty good seeing, for a change, 8/10, with transparency starting 4/5 the dropping 3/5 after midnight.  Quarter moon but I went for some doubles:

90 Her = BU 130: I wanted to reobserve this after CalStar.  I had several seconds of airy disk at 553x, and moments of stillness at 885x, though the diffraction was less stable; there was some marine haze developing.  I viewed both with and without an apodizing mask, at 553x and 885x.  The best I can say is I had a definite snowman or bulge to the disk, very subtle, but no split.  I thought maybe this was because the star had approached closer since 2009's measure of 1.6" -- but indeed it's not the case.  Whatever deformity I saw was not the secondary, which remains a faint star perhaps hidden by the diffraction disk.
17H 53M 18.03S +40° 00' 28.6" P.A. 110 SEP 1.6 MAG 5.28,8.76 SP K3III DIST. 108.46 PC (353.8 L.Y.)

STF 2282: Faint yellow white, 3", half delta mag. 553x.  [I need to try this again since the B star is also a pair, but only 0.2"]
18H 06M 30.47S +40° 21' 39.6" P.A. 81 SEP 2.6 MAG 7.93,9.43 SP A1V DIST. 512.82 PC (1672.82 L.Y.)

BU 1127: Very tough but a small point of a star resolved at the rim of the diffraction ring at both 553x & 885x, using kind of a partial averted vision.  [Aa,Ab is 0.7" but no B mag given...]
18H 02M 30.89S +44° 14' 02.6" P.A. 42 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.31,9.20 SP F5V DIST. 81.3 PC (265.2 L.Y.)

STF 3129: White and wide separation, 2 delta mag fainter orange B. 
18H 01M 07.16S +45° 21' 03.3" P.A. 168 SEP 30.7 MAG 7.59,10.64 SP B9 DIST. 132.28 PC (431.5 L.Y.)

HU 235: Very certain point sitting just outside the diffraction ring; brightens and sharpens with seeing.  2" 2-3 delta mag 553x.  [This is supposed to be a good analog of BU 130, and I did return to BU 130 after this but still did not see it.]
17H 57M 05.08S +45° 51' 21.4" P.A. 285 SEP 1.6 MAG 6.88,9.04 SP F7IV DIST. 70.03 PC (228.44 L.Y.)

STF 2242: Easy matched yellow pair, 3"
17H 51M 10.32S +44° 54' 28.0" P.A. 327 SEP 3.4 MAG 8.14,8.28 SP F0 DIST. 118.06 PC (385.11 L.Y.)

AC 15: Extremely faint B, just on diffraction ring, with seeing, both 553x & 885x.  1"
18H 07M 01.61S +30° 33' 42.7" P.A. 331.4 SEP 1.44 MAG 5.13,8.96 SP F7V DIST. 15.64 PC (51.02 L.Y.)

quick moon looks

Out last night with Big Blue, for looks at Mars and the moon.  Nothing too special to report; the seeing was poor and I mostly stayed at low power moon gazing, trying to see as much detail as I could -- especially mountains along the limb.  Just very nice to be outside and observing.  More good weather this week so it should be good getting out.

2018 CalStar fourth night

Conditions remained about the same as the previous night, ~21.6 SQM with 6-7/10 seeing.  I entertained some people with the Springsonian and tried a few observations -- next time, I won't just have it there as a curiousity or to "relax" -- I will develop an observing program for it to actually put it to some work.  If it's as good a telescope as some said it was, I should really use it in addition to enjoying it.

90 Her = BU 130: Seeing is poor but it resolves momentarily to be just split in the diffraction, 1"  [I don't think I saw it -- the PA was to the west, either SW or NW, but the PA in WDS is to the east... will save as a challenge from home.]
17H 53M 18.03S +40° 00' 28.6" P.A. 110 SEP 1.6 MAG 5.28,8.76 SP K3III DIST. 108.46 PC (353.8 L.Y.)

NGC 16: Bright nucleus and what looks like a double core?  Diffuse halo & fading edges.

NGC 112: Small, fairly faint, gradually brighter to the middle, quasi-stellar nucleus, 3:1 WNW-ESE. [v13.6, Sc]

HGC 99: Three small glows close together in an arc or L shape.  Each with quasi-stellar nucleus.  Very small and faint, at the edge of direct vision.  333x. [a, b, c seen; d and e not seen]. 

NGC 7806 & 7805: Three small glows with quasi-stellar nuclei.  Very small and faint, at the edge of direct vision. [The third glow, to the east, is MCG +05-01-026, is excessively faint and I have to wonder if I really saw it -- however my sketch matches, and I can tentatively claim it, as only two galaxies were plotted on the chart.]

NGC 7819: Sits as the diamond in a ring of stars.  Diffuse 2:1 oval E-W, small bright core; faint and small overall [v13.5 SBb].

NGC 130: Small and round. [Not seen; this is a small group of four galaxies.]

NGC 39: Pretty faint, and small, with a round, broken and mottled halo, quasi-stellar nucleus, and a faint star inside the southern rim.  205x. [v13.5, Sc]

NGC 43:  Faint, small, round halo with a small bright core elongated 2:1 E-W.  [v12.6 SB0]

NGC 70: Seven faint galaxies.  Three brightest and largest (NGC 70, 68, 71) in a triangle mingled with some faint stars.  All are moderately faint, slightly elongated with bright cores.  The other galaxies are scatters, much smaller and fainter: NGC 67 extremely small and to the SW of the NGC 70 trio; NGC 69 same description, to the south; NGC 72 slightly brighter, to the SE.  At the far eastern edge of the field is the very small and faint glow of NGC 74.  Like so many rice grains scattered...  [In the photo NGC 70 has a sweeping spiral halo, which was not seen visually.]

NGC 76: Stellar nucleus, small and faint, diffuse halo slightly E-W elongated. [Close eastern companion  MCG +05-01-073 not noticed.]

NGC 97: My notes mention three galaxies, which I sketched in a line, with a bright central one.  However the actual galaxy does not have companions -- it's possible I misinterpreted the stars N and S of the NGC 97 as galaxy, either due to faintness or seeing.  In any case, NGC 97 is bright, small, dominated by a large bright core and stellar nucleus, and very thin haze of a halo, slightly elongated N-S.

NGC 108: Stellar nucleus, very diffuse, faint round halo; core elongated E-W.  [DSS shows a tie-fighter light appearance of the core and nucleus, and a ring halo.]

NGC 140: Stellar nucleus and a faint, relatively large mottled and disordered round halo.  Three stars trail to the SE from the rim like a tail.  [v13.2, Scd]

NGC 183 & AGC 71: Many other very faint glows in the area, too hard to draw; nice to just take them in.  NGC 183 is the brightest and largest, stellar nucleus, round diffuse halo.

CGCG 500-74: 3:1, fairly small, fairly bright, direct vision, gradually brighter to middle halo.
<<CHECK ATLAS>>

IC 43: Very faint and diffuse, need averted vision to see at first.  Small, with a just stellar nucleus and a very faint mottled round halo.  Another galaxy "felt" with averted vision, a quarter field to the north [IC 45, 15.3B]

NGC 233: Small, fairly faint, dominated by large core and diffuse and mottled halo [12.4v, E0]

NGC 243: 3:1 with strong mottling in core.  Just to east of bright 10th mag star.  [13.7v S].

NGC 266: Fairly bright round glow, oval core E-W; view somewhat hindered by nearby star to south.  [11.6v, SBab].

Using the 10-inch I made the star hop down from Beta Ceti down through NGC 247 The Dusty Hand, to NGC 253 and the globular NGC 288 -- all of which were visible in the 50mm finder, if dimly in comparison to prior observations in the 20-inch.  I then went in search of the Sculptor Dwarf.  I spent a good while searching for the dwarf and thought I had some brown mass of a boarder visible when holding a yellow filter in front of the eyepiece, but nothing certain.  The area was encroached by the Paseo Robles light dome.  I went further down to NGC 300, probably the lowest declination DSO I've seen.  Somehow it appeared better in the 50mm finder, brighter and more cohesive as a dim elongated glow, but highly broken and distorted in the 10-inch at 37x.

NGC 262: Stellar nucleus, bright round core; small.  Halo is faint and somewhat elongated E-W from the core, with am "eyebrow" rim (possibly a detached arm) on the north side.  [There is a 2MASS galaxy on the eastern rim which I did not make note of.  13.1v S0-a]

NGC 287: Very faint small elongation, N-S, moderately bright but small, with almost no halo.  [14.0v, S0-a]

NGC 296: Near star.  Gradually brighter to middle, 3:1, fairly large.  [Seem I looked at the wrong one; the galaxy to the north UGC 567 is near a star, and what is more has a second galaxy, face on spiral UGC 566, nearby.]

NGC 282: Small and fairly faint, brighter core and 2:1 NE-SW.  Hindered by the 8.4 mag star to the south.

NGC 315 Group: 5-6 very faint galaxies in a jagged line.  Did not sketch since Steve called me over to look at 5 Cas, a pretty 2+1 double.  [Could be I saw only 2 galaxies, the others unresolved stars -- I didn't have time to study this field.]

NGC 404: Bright nucleus and core, strong impression of spiral. Next to a very bright star to the SE which strongly interferes with the view--throws out diffraction spikes.  [10.3v, E-S0.  The spiral is an illusion -- I wonder if it is the concentric rings which show when doing a star test -- maybe I was out of focus?]

NGC 431: Bright compact round core, and 4:1 dim halo elongated 4:1 NE-SW.  Suspect two other galaxies in the field.  [likely just faint stars.  12.9v, SB0]

NGC 447: Large oval with bright round core with a foreground star just east of the core, NE-SW extensions coming from the core.  There halo is very diffuse and round, very faint.  There are three faint stars on the SW rim and some more scattered to the SW.

2018 CalStar third night

Conditions were better and I felt more relaxed, and I was likely more productive.  Observing without a plan has the charm of finding new discoveries, but one needs a particular frame of mind to keep interest and attention, and to keep the observing pleasurable.  At times I wished I had a plan to keep me more focussed.  I was not over tired and that helped keep me going, though I petered out at around 2:30am.  It would have been nice to keep going since the sky conditions were very good.  Tonight should be the best night yet so I hope to rest up and be able to make the most of it.  I do feel tired this morning and have the beginnings of a sore throat.

As I go through my notes I find I observed some of the same objects twice within this session -- I simply forgot from a few minutes before what I had seen before.

NGC 7013: 205x.  Fairly bright and large, bright small core, elongated 3:1 NNW-ESE, diffuse but mottled halo with fading edges.  Faint star on the NNW tip of the halo.  Faint tumbling satellite passed by in the FOV during the observation, fun to watch it flash and flicker.

MWP 1: 205x.  Exceedingly faint large shell seen with averted vision & OIII filter only; it hangs from a string of stars like a water drop. Brighter on the SW rim, and barely there through the rest of the shape; seems to have ghostly rings inside the shell?  Edges are soft but not diffuse. A small star is green with the OIII but it is not central to the nebulosity and not clear to me it is a central star.  [According to Kent Wallace in his Visual Observations of Planetary Nebula, it is called the "Methuselah Nebula" due to its age, estimated at 150,000 years, old for a PNe; the shells of most dissipate within 50,000 years.  He also says the first known visual observation of this object was made during 2002 CalStar, probably in the same baseball field I was set up in, also in a 20-inch, and that a certain Jeff Gortatowsky verified the sighting!]

Alves 1 = ALV1 (PN G079.8-10.2): Very marginal observation.  Large amorphous glow in a scattering of stars, irregular shape, very exceedingly faint -- more felt than seen; maybe seen because I thought something should be there.  205x & OIII only.  [Credit for the image, the full version of which also includes MWP 1, is here.]

NGC 7037: Poor cluster, arc of stars and a triangle; 205x. [I only noted the ~10 brighter stars; there are fainter stars in the group -- needed to have a wider field to show it separated from the rich field.]

UGC 11761: Small extremely faint, elongated with brighter nucleus.  Two bright stars to the north and north east.  205x [Doubtful if seen; 0.19"x0.19", 13.8b -- well maybe?]

UGC 11781: Round core, very faint extended halo which brightens with averted vision.  205x  [v13.05, S0]

IC 1392 & UGC 11775: The IC has a bright 2:1 E-W elongated core, with a very faint halo haze around it; it is preceded by a group of five brighter stars, which include some faint doubles.  The UGC is very faint, small, and round 4' to the SE; it has a star just to the SE of the core.  205x

Abell 78: Very soft, faint large oval glow between two stars.  After some longer looks, the shell has a brighter arc along the southern rim.  205x w/ OIII

UGC 11762: Small, faint, round!

BU 167: Elongation but not in the right PA; some faint stars about but too far....  667x  [consider not seen...]
21H 36M 13.98S +30° 03' 19.5" P.A. 88 SEP 1.7 MAG 6.37,9.95 SP G8III

NGC 7116: Averted vision to see but can then hold with direct vision.  Moderately large and fairly faint, 4:1 WNW-ESE halo with a gradually brighter core offset to the NW.

UGC 11834: Extremely faint E-W elongated glow, even surface brightness; hindered by star on south rim.  205x

NGC 7137: Halo looks like a stumpy comet tail attached to a faint star attached to the rim and preceding it it to the NW.  The glow is wedge shaped with a uneven surface brightness.  Interesting!   [v12.4, SBc]

Abell 74: Barest hint of round faint round nebulosity.  Large.  Barely there.  OIII only 205x.

NGC 7052: Bright elongated / bulging core with hazy halo, 3:1 NE-SW.

NGC 7080: Rather faint halo, mostly round, fairly small, within a triangle of bright stars.  Interesting curve shape in the halo -- may be barred spiral? [v12.3, SBb]

And-G1: I see a faint round haze, rather large, fairly bright (direct vision) at the star hop location -- but I remember reading I should be seeing "Mickey Mouse" ears composed of two stars plus the globular.  So I'm not sure what I saw.

And I = PGC 2666: 4:1 elongated glow, extremely faint.  Used yellow filter which seemed to help a little.  Doubt the observation a little.  [Did not see -- the galaxy is far fainter and more diffuse than described.]

Baade A & B: Two extremely faint, slightly elongated glows, both with stellar nuclei.
Need to find a photo...

NGC 317: Small, fairly faint, 3:1 elongation E-W, with a gradually brighter core.  There's a small but bright non-stellar round glow hugging the NW rim of the galaxy. 205x, SBbc, v13.4 [The non-stellar glow is UGC 593, v13.56, SAB0a.  UGC 594, not noticed, is in the eastern spiral arm].

Mad 1: I tried up to 667x, no close split.  There is an orange star preceding a pretty blue bright star.  [Not seen...]
01H 00M 35.58S +47° 19' 14.6" P.A. 358.2 SEP 0.76 MAG 7.66,9.05 SP A2

IC 66: Curve shaped spiral 4:1 elongated NW-SE, pretty large, bright core.  Two stars on edge of SE end.  [Seems the curve shape comes from the brighter halo on the NW end giving the galaxy a twist look in visual.  205x.]

UGC 522: Faint, moderately large, very faint stellar nucleus with hints of spiral in the halo.  205x

NGC 278: Quasi-stellar nucleus and large round bright mottled halo -- wants to show spiral but not quite.  Bright star due north.  333x. [v10.8, SBb].

BU 257: Wide split 2-3 delta mag. [Not seen, this is a close double...]
00H 40M 13.00S +47° 15' 21.0" P.A. 253 SEP 0.6 MAG 8.06,9.11 SP G0 DIST. 246.31 PC (803.46 L.Y.)

NGC 185 = Hodge V: Glowing ball-like core slightly brighter than larger halo, 3:2 E-W, with knots scattered within.  Wants to show some kind of structure but remains hazy.  205x.

NGC 147: Very large 3:1 NE-SW glow with a gradually brighter core and a central star or stellar nucleus.  I see a dark lane or cut-off running along the SE side.  Quite diffuse and large.  [It is a foreground star in the center of the galaxy.]  205x

BU 394: Faint, 3 delta mag, wide separation.  [Not seen, is a close separation.]
00H 30M 45.56S +47° 31' 47.5" P.A. 277.6 SEP 0.84 MAG 8.49,8.77 SP G0 DIST. 49.33 PC (160.91 L.Y.)

Perseus Cluster: A dozen and more galaxies in each eyepiece view, swarming.  I did not try to sketch or describe, only to take it all in.  After a while of looking into the far distance, I pulled away from the scope, and looked into our own galaxy -- perhaps much like those I had seen at such a great distance.  I was isolated on the field, with its night sounds and wind, but felt what I was seeing, though strange and wondrous, was familiar, and was home.