Nice report Jeff! Glad you had fun down there (I can "see" Omega Centauri,
from up here at 40+N but its no more than a big fuzy blob with hints of
stars). I did manage to see it a couple of nights ago, but it was only 2.2
degrees above my south horizon, so it was more of a "let's just do it"
challenge than a detailed observation. You also posted:
I viewed C53,
the Spindle Galaxy, and it looked very nice. I spent quite a bit of
time on Caldwell 80 (Omega Centauri) and it looked spectacular at 100x
in my 20MM Nagler. It was resolved right across the center and it was
huge!! Also, in Centaurus, I viewed C77, the Centaurus A galaxy. I
was able to see two stars in the constellation Crux (Southern Cross)
with my Naked eye with a third seen with averted vision. Also in
Crux, I was able to view C94, the Jewel Box, but it was mostly washed
out due to its very low altitude in the southern sky.
This is probably a minor quibble to some, but using the Caldwell "List"
numbers is a less common way of indicating what you are seeing, since the
Caldwell is not one of the standard astronomical catalogs. It is merely a
listing cooked up by Patrick Moore (ie: they aren't exactly the Caldwell
"Objects" in the same way the Messier or Herschel objects are). The revised
New General Catalog (NGC), Index Catalog (IC), Messier Catalog (M), or one of
the other standards are better, as they usually have a little better "number
recognition". The Spindle Galaxy is NGC 3115, the galaxy sometimes referred
to as "Centaurus A" (actually a radio source designation) is NGC 5128, Omega
Centauri is NGC 5139, and the Jewel Box (Kappa Crux) is NGC 4755. Even when
people are doing an observing program like the Herschel 400, they don't
usually use the Herschel numbers (even though it was a form of official
catalog), as the NGC's are a little better known.
Lastly, I was
able to see Alpha Centauri, the closest star to Earth other than our
Sun,
You might want to look 2.2 degrees to the southeast of Alpha for a faint (11th
magnitude) red dwarf star known as Proxima Centauri. It is just a tad closer
(4.22 light years) to us than Alpha is (4.40 light years). Clear skies to
you.
--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory:
http://www.hydeobservatory.info/
**********************************************
* Attend the 11th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 18-23, 2004, Merritt Reservoir *
*
http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
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