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Best night so far...
Well last night was my best night since purchasing my 130mm parabolic
Newt......no clouds......moon did look a little wibbly- wobbly but sky looked pretty clear.....well as clear as my maximum naked eye mag +4 LP sky could be......... Anyway.......first off was M81 and M82 - locating a barely visible to naked eye upsilon UMa- I travelled up the Dec northwards until I spotted my quarry, for me quite near the zenith.....M81 had a noticeable brighter core with a fainter periphery. M82 was a lumpy disk or bar. Both easier to spot than M51 (as I had been told was so). I took a look at M51 next.....and I remembered how to find it without maps - This time it looked different- I could see TWO bright cores with a 'mist' between them...one bigger than the other- NGC 5195 I guess......I was on a roll now so I thought I would shoot for M101.......the one I could never see..........But this time I could- although it was only observable by indirect tube jiggling........quite dim and disappointing Next up was my first planetary nebula.......The Eskimo Nebula NGC 2392. A pretty easy star hop from delta Gem to the triangle of 61,63,56 Gem- and there it was- pretending to be a mag 9 star......Upping the mag to my max without a barlow of 65x I could discern it as a fuzzy brighter inner core with a paler outer shell (my x2 barlow is a poor Skywatcher mega chromatic piece of junk)........Not bad but I cant wait for M57 and M27 to get higher! Next up were some galaxies around Leo......M65 and M66 (although I couldnt find NGC3628) and I think M105 (found by traveling west from Regulus) Then onto M44- very pretty open cluster and not to spread out at 26x- are those red giants there?.....My usual experience of open clusters is the Pleiades which are young blue stars.....Anyway as I was in cluster mode I thought a look at the one west of Leo Mel 111- this was well spread out and to me looked almost like lines of stars......traveling southwards from Mel111 I think I spotted another galaxing- but couldnt decide if it was M85 and M100 and as it was getting late and today had to work I decided to packup and go indoors........ My future sessions will hopefully be from darker skies.........and I now want to see a globular cluster.......M13 should do it! -- M ------ "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." [Benjamin Franklin] "War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it." [Erasmus] "A collision at sea can ruin your entire day." [Thucydides] |
#2
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Best night so far...
On Mar 23, 6:06 pm, "M" wrote:
iece of junk)........Not bad but I cant wait for M57 and M27 to get higher! They'e grand objects... Next up were some galaxies around Leo......M65 and M66 (although I couldnt find NGC3628) Keep after it, it's not that tough. If you could see the bridge in M51, 3628 is no problem. Then onto M44- very pretty open cluster and not to spread out at 26x- are those red giants there?. Most of the members range from A6 to about K 3. M44 is what you might call an "adolescent" cluster My future sessions will hopefully be from darker skies.........and I now want to see a globular cluster.......M13 should do it! Be sure to track down M3 and M5. I think those are the most stunning in a backyard scope. See how many stars you can resolve in each. (There will be more than you can resolve in M13) Ben |
#3
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Best night so far...
On Sat, 24 Mar 2007, "M" wrote:
Well last night was my best night since purchasing my 130mm parabolic Newt... Wow! Sounds like you had a great night! . . . M81, M82, M51, NGC 5195, M101, the Eskimo, M65, M66, etc. You're likely to really enjoy M57, M27 and M13 when those objects are high in your sky. When you go after M57 and M27, stop roughly midway between them and have a look at Beta Cygni (Albireo). It's one of the most beautiful double stars in the sky! -- Bill Celestial Journeys http://cejour.blogspot.com |
#4
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Best night so far...
I am sort of kicking myself for not tracking down M3 and M53....having never
seen a glob before I was looking in about the right part of the sky.........but just didnt realise...... My excuse.???........I had only "planned" on M81, M82, M51, M101 and NGC2392.......the other objects were cos I found the planned ones so quickly and the atmosphere was so clear...... Ah well..........need to wait for another good night now........prolly be cloudy and/ or misty for weeks! -- M ------ "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." [Benjamin Franklin] "War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it." [Erasmus] "A collision at sea can ruin your entire day." [Thucydides] "Ben" wrote in message oups.com... On Mar 23, 6:06 pm, "M" wrote: iece of junk)........Not bad but I cant wait for M57 and M27 to get higher! They'e grand objects... Next up were some galaxies around Leo......M65 and M66 (although I couldnt find NGC3628) Keep after it, it's not that tough. If you could see the bridge in M51, 3628 is no problem. Then onto M44- very pretty open cluster and not to spread out at 26x- are those red giants there?. Most of the members range from A6 to about K 3. M44 is what you might call an "adolescent" cluster My future sessions will hopefully be from darker skies.........and I now want to see a globular cluster.......M13 should do it! Be sure to track down M3 and M5. I think those are the most stunning in a backyard scope. See how many stars you can resolve in each. (There will be more than you can resolve in M13) Ben |
#5
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Best night so far...
When the clouds next clear I am planning on tracking down some GC and some
PN......prolly M5, M3, M53.....M13, M57 & M27 will only be on my list if I take my scope out of my back garden (back of my house faces west......and there is a street lamp by my front garden- so I think I will travel into the wilds!) -- M ------ "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." [Benjamin Franklin] "War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it." [Erasmus] "A collision at sea can ruin your entire day." [Thucydides] "W. H. Greer" wrote in message ... On Sat, 24 Mar 2007, "M" wrote: Well last night was my best night since purchasing my 130mm parabolic Newt... Wow! Sounds like you had a great night! . . . M81, M82, M51, NGC 5195, M101, the Eskimo, M65, M66, etc. You're likely to really enjoy M57, M27 and M13 when those objects are high in your sky. When you go after M57 and M27, stop roughly midway between them and have a look at Beta Cygni (Albireo). It's one of the most beautiful double stars in the sky! -- Bill Celestial Journeys http://cejour.blogspot.com |
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