I Hate M57

I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!

Mean Mr Mustard wrote:
I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!

Tiny? It's about a light year across making it a trillion times larger
than Disneyworld and getting bigger all the time!

Get a larger scope.

Randy

Randy Roy wrote:
Mean Mr Mustard wrote:
I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!

Tiny? It's about a light year across making it a trillion times larger
than Disneyworld and getting bigger all the time!

Is Disneyworld six miles across?

Well, yes, if you just consider the theme parks, which is afterall what
most people consider to be Disneyworld. Another way of looking at M57's
size is it is about 150 trillion times larger than Graceland give or
take a hunk a hunk o' burning love.

Randy

Mean Mr Mustard wrote:
I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!

Guess what? It doesn't like you either. ;-)

It is actually one of my favorite objects and usually impresses
non-astronomer folks when I show it to them in my 10 inch dob.


"Mean Mr Mustard" wrote in message
oups.com...
I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!

I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!
======================================

I do sort of understand your reasoning, and thoughts Mr Mustard, it's an
elusive little bugger to find sometimes!

When I first seen pictures years ago of M-57 in Lyra, I thought "Oh man,
that is cool". Of course these photos I speak of were probably film
emulsions taken through Mount Wilson's Reflector.

The first time I personally seen M-57, was through a then new (1968)
Edmund 4" F-15 Refractor that I borrowed one summer from my High School
in Wisconsin.

Yes, through repeated star hopping on the Edmund non-driven EQ Mount,
and referring to the somwhat lacking star charts I had back then, I
found it!

Yes, although small, and I suppose one could say a disappointment after
seeing the no doubt hours long photgraphs, still it had that eerie
presence just floating in space amongst a field of little jewels
(Stars), and was an object that mesmerized me, and still does.
Especially when one becomes to learn what it is, and when it was said to
happen.

Of course back then with the 4" Edmund Achromat, with it's now lowly,
but then considered good Kellner, and Ramsden Eyepieces, I wanted more!

This was one of the heavenly objects that made me want more. More
aperture, darker skies, better eyepieces, better charts-atlas, and on,
and on.

Fast forwarding 30 years to a Star party at Astrofest 2002, and it's
pretty amazing how far we have come, with technology, better scopes, the
CCD.

I'm crouched over, right next to Roland Christen, with his beautiful AP
10" Mak on his 1200GTO Mount right in front of him, SBIG Cam, and Laptop
on his tabletop right out in the field amongst 800 other observers in
light polluted Kankakee, Ill skies.

He's pulling up images on the fly of M-57 effortlessly, which were
absolutely amazing, especially considering we're not camped out on some
remote mountaintop somewhere reaping the benefit, and advantage of
pristine dark skies.

They rivaled the pictures I saw 30 years earlier in books though the
massive Mt Wilson reflector, and that's what I find quite amazing.

The Central Star of M-57 was easily within the grasp of this Scope/Cam
combo, and in fact we were seeing the more elusive Galaxy that is
positioned not very far from M-57.

Evertime I see M-57, many times I flash back to the simpler, younger
times of my life, thoughts reflect back to that old, skinny $347 High
School Edmund Refractor, and the first time I seen this object standing
out there alone that one cool Wisconsin summer's eve. Ahh memories.
Mark D.

"Mark D" wrote in message ...
I hate that tiny little ring of smoke ... There I said it!
======================================

I do sort of understand your reasoning,

What reasoning?

--

Hilton Evans
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Lat +42° 11' 06.7"
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Mark D wrote:
The first time I personally seen M-57, was through a then new (1968)
Edmund 4" F-15 Refractor that I borrowed one summer from my High School
in Wisconsin.

Now you have me intrigued! I wasn't aware that EdScorp produced long
focus refractors in anything larger than 3" ... then I googled and
found this beauty.

http://valleystargazers.com/gallery/Members/P4280043

Do you know if that was something they produced in Barrington? Was it a
rebranded Jaegers or Japanese scope?

Mean Mr Mustard wrote:
Mark D wrote:

The first time I personally seen M-57, was through a then new (1968)
Edmund 4" F-15 Refractor that I borrowed one summer from my High School
in Wisconsin.


Now you have me intrigued! I wasn't aware that EdScorp produced long
focus refractors in anything larger than 3" ... then I googled and
found this beauty.

http://valleystargazers.com/gallery/Members/P4280043

Do you know if that was something they produced in Barrington? Was it a
rebranded Jaegers or Japanese scope?



Wow! That is one long tube. I wonder if the Japanese were making
scopes for US distribution back in 1968. No memory, one way or the other.

Phil