10/25/2008, Lodi, CA
Having had planned for almost two weeks for a long observing session with Saturday's moonless night, I had to change my plans at the last minute, opting to observe on Friday night instead. But, as Robert Burns stated: "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
With virtually no observing list (I usually make my observing list the day of my planned observations, but as how I was at work Friday, I had no time to do so), the last minute change of plans actually was quite productive. I was extremely bummed in that Jackie wasn't out observing with me...but with the change of plans I figured that too would be the case. Unfortunately I wasn't able to observe anything in my favorite constellation Sagittarius, nor was I able to observe Jupiter. Unfortunately, with the change of plans, I will miss Io's transit shadow crossing the GRS as well. Two spectacular events on the face of the King of Planets and I will miss it. *sigh*
After taking my scope out much later than I had planned, and allowing it to come to temp., I set up the COL on my scope and was rewarded with a Warp Factor of +0.1...and EVERYTHING was almost dead-smack in the middle of the EP, which does not happen too often. Hey...I might be able to salvage part of the night after all.
I had a October observing list from last year that I dug up and used that as a starting point for the nights observations; and it didn't disappoint! I observed some great Open Cluster's in Cassiopeia that I had not seen prior, as well as a few new Nebulas and double stars as well. A few OC's I found particularly interesting and intriguing were NGC 637, NGC 654 & NGC 1502. There was also the nebulas NGC 1491 and NGC 1931 that too were quite nice and interesting to observe. I was quite surprised to find that some of these nebula were not noticeable in the least until I used the OIII filter. My Skyglow Filter also helped to coax out some detail in some other objects. I did manage to sketch all of those (and more) mentioned.
The weather was quite nice with a hint of Falls crispness in the air, but it was comfortable with only a light quilted shirt on. As always, my faithful companion Hyde (Black Lab) sat near me on his blanket most of the night while I was under the stars.
DSO's:
Cr69 - OC
M1 - Crab Nebula
M35 - OC
M36 - OC
M37 - OC
M38 - OC
M76 - Little Dumbbell Nebula
NGC 457 - OC - "ET" cluster
NGC 559 - OC
NGC 637 - OC (sketched)
NGC 654 - OC (sketched)
NGC 663 - OC
NGC 752 - OC
NGC 1491 - Nebula (sketched)
NCG 1502 - OC (sketched)
NGC 1514 - Nebula (sketched)
NGC 1664 - OC
NGC 1778 - OC
NGC 1857 - OC
NGC 1907 - OC
NGC 1931 - Nebula (sketched)
NGC 2392 - Eskimo Nebula
Planets:
None
Stars:
Polaris
Capella
Betelgeuse
Bellatrix
ADS 5188 - DS (sketched)
ADS 5221 - DS (sketched)
Omega Aur - DS (sketched)
14 Auriga/W. Struve 653 - TS (sketched)
Equipment:
XT10i
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Other:
Skyglow Filter
OIII Filter
Seeing/Transparency: 8/7
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10/19/2008, Lodi, CA
With clear skies, cooler temps, and the Moon not due to rise for a few hours, this evening had all the appearances of an excellent couple of hours for observing. We both took our scopes out early to acclimate, set up our observing stations (which are nothing more than one chair for sitting in and another for placing our sketchbooks, atlases, etc. on), and brewed up a pot of coffee in readiness for the night.
Once the sun went down, I set up the COL's on the scopes, and we started our observations for the night. Jackie was busy using the "Star Tour" function, while I had a list of objects I wanted to observe befor ethe Moon made its presence known.
For the first hour or so, we did manage some fair observing, taking in Jupiter in the south, as well as a few DSO's in the southern sky & constellations. However, we noticed what appeared to be a contrail from a passing plane...or so we thought. But as the night progressed, there was no mistaking that this single contrail was actually on of many elongated clouds that soon descended upon us. Although we tried to ignore the few clouds at first, we both noticed that many of the objects we wanted to observe were either completely obscured by clouds, or that they were diffused by the clouds. Either way, the clouds had begun to move in and, as can be imagined, affected our observing. By the time we decided to call it a night due to the clouds and packed up all of our gear, the Moon was just rising in the east, and we could clearly see a sky full of clouds.
Although the clouds had foiled us, it wasn't a complete loss. We managed to take in the Saturn Nebula, the Blue Snowball, as well as a few double stars and various other objects. I did manage to sketch a nice double star in Aquarius...29 Aquarii.
But it looks like fall is quickly progressing into winter, and we once again have the dreaded cloud cover leaving us to their mercy when it comes to observing this time of year.
DSO's:
M2 - GC
M11 - Wild Duck Cluster
NGC 6649 - OC
NGC 6644 - OC
NGC 6683 - OC
NGC 6704 - OC
NGC 7009 - Saturn Nebula
NGC 7662 -Blue Snowball nebula
Planets:
Jupiter
Stars:
Polaris
29 Aquarii - DS (sketched)
Mirphak
Equipment:
XT10i
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Other:
Skyglow Filter
OIII Filter
RGBY Planetary Filters
Seeing/Transparency: 4/5
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09/28/2008, Lodi, CA
Observation Date: 9-27-08
As how the previous night had been a bust, we thought we would attempt to try again this evening. Knowing that this was going to be a Moonless night, we had actually been planning this session for well over a 3 weeks. Not only was it a Moonless night, it was also to be Jackie's first Moonless night with her new scope.
We prepared early, getting our scopes set up well before dark. We also set up our observing "stations" which consists of a chair for siting in and another to place our atlases, sketchbooks, filters and miscellaneous items on next to us. While the scopes were coming to temperature, we went inside and brewed a couple of pots of coffee, and ordered a pizza.
While we waited for the pizza to arrive, we went over our observation target list that we had prepared earlier in the afternoon. I was busy scouring SEDS, Cartes du Ciel and Stellarium, while Jackie was checking her atlas and Starry Nights software. The pizza arrived and we ate in no time. The coffees were poured, and outside we went to start the night under the stars.
The first thing we noticed was that it was indeed a bit cooler and nowhere near as humid as it was the night before. Then it dawned on us, the skies appeared inky black with very little ambient light around us. Our scopes were poised in the darkness, the sky was free of the moon, and we both had pretty large observing lists to keep us busy.
Settling down we both slewed our scopes towards the south where Jupiter was staging a show in the inky dark sky. As with the previous night, we observed Jupiter simultaneously, comparing how the different filters either enhanced or had no effect on this gas giant. It would be one of many objects were would observe together this night. After we had our fill of observing Jupiter, I got the COL's on our scopes working, and we set about on our individual objects on our lists.
The night air was now quite comfortable, with just the slightest hint of a breeze...almost not noticeable except for the conformation of such by the rustle of the leaves on nearby trees. I was quite comfortable in my shorts and short-sleeve polo shirt the entire evening.
As we both worked our way through our target list, we were amused and tickled to discover that we had a couple of the same items on our separate target lists. When we realized this, we made an effort to observe these objects at the same time, and again made comparisons of what we were observing. We even sketched Open Cluster NGC 457 in Cassiopeia together. Although I found it enjoyable, as did Jackie, this was also her first sketch of an OC, and afterwards she sat back, sighed, and said she felt like she had a workout!
We observed a few Double Stars together as well as the Triple Star Iota Cas, and then, to my surprise, Jackie tracked down M77! She asked me to take a look through her EP to confirm if this was indeed a galaxy, and upon noting that it was, I went back to my scope, punched in the coordinates, and slewed my scope to the same target. We observed this faint but well-structured galaxy together, sharing comments and enjoying the dual observing session.
We both had an exceptional evening, finding many of the objects we had set out to observe. I still have yet to catch a glimpse of the Veil, Crescent or Fetus Nebulas, but for the most part, it was an excellent night observing together under some great dark skies! We called it a night only after our aching backs protested the prolonged observing session for the night.
DSO's:
M11 - Wild Duck Cluster
M15 - Perseus Cluster
M16 - Eagle Nebula
M77 - Galaxy (sketched)
NGC 7065 - OC
NGC 6791 - OC
NGC 6604 - OC
NGC 6645 - OC
NGC 6755 - OC
NGC 281 - OC
NGC 457 - OC (sketched)
Planets:
Jupiter
Uranus
Stars:
Antares
Polaris
Lambda Sagittarii
Epsilon Lyra (double-double)
Eta Cas - DS
Iota Trianguli -DS (sketched)
Sigma Cas -DS (sketched)
Struve 239 - DS
525 Lyra - DS (sketched)
2470 Lyra - DS (sketched)
2474 Lyra - DS (sketched)
Equipment:
XT10i
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Other:
Skyglow Filter
OIII Filter
RGBY Planetary Filters
Seeing/Transparency: 7/7
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09/28/2008, Lodi, CA
Observation Date: 9-26-08
With a Moonless night ahead of us, Jackie and I quickly set up our telescopes after a long day at work, and prepared for some great dark sky (at least for us) observing. While our scopes were cooling to ambient temperatures, we went looking over our star atlases for observing for the night. We were also excited to use our new planetary filters we recently purchased from Orion. With a fresh pot of coffee brewed, and the scopes now at temp., we sat down, slewed our scopes towards Jupiter and gazed in amazement at the King of Planets riding high in the south.
In went the 15mmExpanse EP, and then the addition of my Shorty 2x Barlow. One filter at a time, I noted the improvements of the viewing with each filter. Yellow seemed to lighten the overall disk of the planet, and brought out a little more detail in the equatorial bands. Red made it too dark to really observe anything. Green seemed to highlight the bands, while lightening the cloud cover a bit. This would be a good filter to observe any moon-shadow transits. The Blue filter improved the view of this gas giant immensely. The bands were nice and dark, but defined, the clouds seemed to be a bit lighter, and the overall contrast was great!
After getting my fill of Jupiter, I them turned to my observing targets for the night. I did notice, however, that the nights seemed to be quite warm still, and there seemed to be quite a bit of ambient light from all around washing into the backyard where we were set up. Then we noticed it, that the humidity seemed to be on the increase, and with it, the seeing seemed to be on the decrease. After toiling with the heat and humidity for a few hours, we decided to call it an early night, and try again Saturday evening.
It wasn't a toatl bust as I was able to observe a few favorites, but for the most part, out moonless sky was thwarted by the ambient lighting and poor air quality.
DSO's:
M11 - GC Wild Duck Cluster
M13- GC / Hercules Cluster
M15 - GC Perseus Cluster
M17 - Swan Nebula
Planets:
Jupiter
Stars:
Antares
Polaris
Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii)
Epsilon Lyra (double-double)
Eta Cas
Iota Cas
Equipment:
XT10i
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Other:
Skyglow Filter
OIII Filter
RGBY Planetary Filters
Seeing/Transparency: 4/5
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09/21/2008, Lodi, CA
Observing Date:
Sept. 20, 2008
With the waning Moon well below the eastern horizon, we were treated to some fairly decent dark skies this evening. Knowing that our time would run out around midnight or so when the Moon begins its gradual climb into the sky, we set-up our scopes well before dark, arranged our observing spaces, and even had a few thermoses of coffee brewed up in anticipation for a decent half nights observing.
This evening was a treat for Jackie as we got her COL aligned early, and she was able to find and observe quite a few more objects than on previous nights. She kept herself busy with one of the pre-programmed "Star Tours" contained in the COL. She is getting much better at locating some of the faint fuzzies, which is making her observing sessions more enjoyable and rewarding. On occasion she will ask me to verify an object or two, but overall she is doing just fine considering she has only had her scope and started observing for a little less than a month. She certainly has seen more in her first month of observing than I ever did.
As Jackie was busy with her own observing regimen, I had my own list of objects that I wanted to observe. Firstly were a few Clusters in Sagittarius and Scutum. One in particular was the Globular NGC 6624, which I found easily enough. Although it appeared as a very compact GC with a bright core, I was not able to get any stars to resolve, even at higher magnifications. I am not sure if this is due to the fact it was sitting fairly low in the southern sky, or if this is standard for this GC. Although interesting, it was not too visually exciting from my location.
Next was a OC that I had not observed yet this year, M23. As always, this vast cluster of stars filled the EP and looked like cut diamonds on a black velvet background. Next was the smaller M18, a small but interesting OC. Attaching my OIII filter, I then slewed the scope to the Swan Nebula; I can not believe what a difference the OIII makes in observing the overall detail and shape of this well-known nebula.
As how Jupiter is residing in Sagittarius, naturally I took in the King of Planets and 3 of its moons as it shone majestically in the southern sky. The seeing and transparency was quite improved this evening, allowing for some excellent views of the zones and bands as they danced across the face of this gas giant. I sketched Jupiter as I could not resist the level of detail I was able to see this evening. This now makes Jupiter the single most sketched object for me to date. I just find this planet fascinating as every time I observe it, it offers something new.
As how I was already on the southern sky, I also took some time to observe the Saturn Nebula for the first time this year as well. As always, the blue "saturn" shape was impressive in the night sky. Unfortunately there was a period of time when a slight breeze picked up, and it happened to be when I was observing this neat nebula. Although the view was good, the breeze did hamper my efforts to really pump up the magnification. But none-the-less, it was a great object in the 32mm.
I also was able to observe the Blinking Planetary NGC6826 in Cygnus for the first time. Unfortunately by the time I had begun to observe in this region of the sky, the Moon had begun its gradual climb in the east. Although I was able to see the ary disk and bright central core, the wash of the Moon's light had begun to affect the more subtle features of this (and other) DSO's.
Overall, it was a great early fall evening under the stars. It is really a great improvement observing with another person as it adds to the fun and excitement. There are times when we will observe the same object at the same time, and we are able to compare and comment on the features of whatever it is we are observing. It is also neat to hear a distant "That's cool" or "I found it! I found it! I got that sucker..." This to me only confirms that Jackie is indeed becoming more proficient at locating objects, and I get to share in her first time observations of the splendors of the night sky.
Naturally, our Black Lab Hyde was close by, finding a comfortable spot between the two of us on the blanket that was spread out on the grass for him.
DSO's:
M13- GC / Hercules Cluster
M17 - Swan Nebula
M18 - OC
M23 - OC
M27 - Nebula / Dumbbell Nebula
NGC 6520 - OC
NGC 6624 - GC
NGC 6826 - PN / Blinking Planetary
NGC 7009 - Saturn Nebula
Planets:
Jupiter - sketched
Neptune
Stars:
Antares
Polaris
Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii)
Epsilon Lyra (double-double)
Gamma Delphinus - sketched
Eta Cas
Equipment:
XT10i
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Other:
13% Moon glow filter
Skyglow Filter
OIII Filter
Seeing/Transparency: 5/6
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09/20/2008, Lodi, CA
With a coolness in the air, and a slight breeze on our necks, Jackie and I set up our scopes early in hopes of catching a glimpse of a few DSO's and Jupiter before the Moon rose in the east.
As how Jackie is still getting aquatinted with her new scope, we did our short observing session by star hopping together. We would both align our scopes on the same star, and with my guidance we would star hop together until we reached a particular object. Not only will this help Jackie become familiar and more proficient with her star hopping skills, by doing so together I can assure that she doesn't get discouraged by walking her through the maze of stars in the sky.
I do have to say that she did quite well this evening. The first object that we star hopped to was M22 in Sagittarius. Although it took her a bit to get Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii), in the Teapot in the EP, once she found it, she did quite well hopping her way up to M22. We observed this great GC together for a bit, and then it was on to our next object. I had planned on hopping to M17 (The Swan Nebula), but the Moon was just on the rise and starting to obscure the anchor stars in which we would hop to and from.
At this point, we both took a few minutes to take a look at Jupiter and its 4 moons as it stretched majestically across the sky. The belts were very easily visible, as were the different zones, but no sight of the GRS this evening. There was a star in the same FOV that made it appear as if there was an extra moon, which was a neat sight in the EP.
I then slewed my scope towards Delphinus, which was almost at Zenith, and was going to attempt splitting a few of the doubles in the "Dolphin". I did, however, have a heck of a time getting any of the stars of Job's Coffin in my finder scope. I can not explain it as I have had no problems previously locating Delphinus, but tonight it decided it just didn't want me to observe it. Some nights are like that.
Jackie on the other hand found it straight away and enjoyed observing a few of the doubles, as well as locating a unique double that did not appear in our Pocket Sky Atlas.
As Jackie was busy observing some doubles, I slewed the scope to Lyra, and took in the double-double as well as The Ring Nebula...one of my favorite PN's. Using the OIII filter, the detail of The Ring was striking, even with the Moon now looming large and bright in the eastern sky.
Moving away from Lyra, I then took a few moments to observe the striking double star Struve 163 in Cassiopeia. With the Moon now placing a fair amount of wash in the sky, I decided to observe the southern highlands of the Lunar surface for a bit. The wrinkle ridge Dorsa Smirnov was spectacular, as were the craters Cyrillus and Theophilus, their central mountains looming like fingers from the center of each.
Even though the Moon forced us to call it a night fairly early, it was good night under the stars. I am excited being able to observe with Jackie, and I am also pleased at how well she is doing with getting familiar with her new scope, changing EP's and learning to "sweep" different regions of the sky. I am also having a blast explaining and helping her, and seeing the excitement in her face as she finds new objects on her own.
Hyde, the black lab, was spoiled tonight as well. He was, as always, close by, but tonight he was treated to a blanket being spread out on the grass for him to lie on. He too must have had a good time as the stillness and quiet of the night was broken only by the sound of his snoring only a few feet away.
DSO's:
M17 - Swan Nebula
M20 - Triffid Nebula
M22 - GC
M57 - Ring Nebula
Planets:
Jupiter
Stars:
Antares
Polaris
Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii)
Struve 163 CAS
Epsilon Lyra (double-double)
Equipment:
XT10i
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Other:
13% Moon glow filter
Skyglow Filter
OIII Filter
Seeing/Transparency: 5/5
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