09/07/2008, Lodi, CA
After doing some research and comparing different scopes, we finally went to the Orion Store in Cuppertino, CA and purchased my wife's first telescope. She decided on the XT8I Intelliscope. Along with her purchase of the new scope was a 15mm Expanse EP, a Moon filter and a couple of observing books.
As how this was her "First Light" and our first night of observing together, I spent time helping her located different objects AND she was able to find a few on her own by star hopping. For her first night out, she actually did very well, taking in some of the more common DSO's, a few double stars, and the Moon.
For me, it was a visit to some old favorites, but with the added excitement of doing so together, the wife with her scope, me at mine.
The night was quite warm and balmy as it tends to be this time of year, and the Moon cast enough of its light to obscure a lot of the wonders that Sagittarius (sitting in the southern sky) has to offer. But for the most part we were able to get in a good nights observing. I know the wife is tickled to death with her new scope, and was quite excited by actually being able to see some of the wonders in the heavens for herself.
I know I too am equally as excited to be able to share this great hobby with the wife, together, with our own scopes. I look forward to many more great nights under the stars together.
DSO's:
M8 - The Lagoon Nebula
M11 - Wild Duck Cluster
M13 - GC
M17 - The Swan Nebula
M20 - The Triffid Nebula
M24 - OC
M31 - Andromeda Galaxy
M57 - The Ring Nebula
NGC 884 & NGC 869 - Double Cluster
Pleiades
Hyades
Planets:
Jupiter
Stars:
Alberio
Almach
Double-Double (in Lyra)
Equipment:
XTi10
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
2" -35mm
32mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Seeing/Transparency: 6/4
|
Comments [1]
08/10/2008, Lodi, CA
After spending the day creating my observation targets for the evening, I was looking forward to another great night of observing under the stars. The weather seemed perfect; mild temperatures, a crystal-clear sky, and just a very slight hint of a breeze. Boy, can initial looks be deceiving!
After allowing the scope come to temperature, I settled in for a good night of observing, my goal being a few more difficult objects. Well, it seemed as if the Moon instantly dashed any hopes of observing many of the fainter objects on my list. I had hoped that by the time I got out to peer through the EP, that the Moon would have set in the west. Not so. It was riding fairly high in the southern sky, pretty much washing out Scorpius and Sagittarius...the two primary constellations that I had built my observing session around. Undaunted, I decided to move from DSO's to double stars, objects that aren't affected by the bright glow of the waxing moon.
Firstly though, the King of Planets, Jupiter, was beckoning. Putting in the 15mm Expanse EP, I slewed my scope to the south, located the planet in my finder scope, and was ready to see what this gas giant had to offer up for the night.
Would I see the shadows of one (or more) of its many moons transit the face of the planet?
Possibly I could finally see the GRS; after all, the sky was clear.
I peered into the EP and...fuzzy! It looked like everything was out of focus. I collimated the scope earlier, and I had at first wondered if I had messed it up somehow. I tried switching to the 20mm Ep, and the same thing...fuzzy. Reaching for my red light, I shone it at the EP. It was fogged up! It then dawned on me that I was sweating. Shining the light around, I noticed that there was already dew settling in. Checking my weather report on the cell phone, it noted that the humidity was a whopping 49%...extremely high for this part of California during this time of year.
So, I decided to sit it out, sipping on some coffee and having a smoke or two to allow myself to adjust to the outside temperatures, so to say. After almost an hour, I was able to continue my observing for the night; but between the unexpected light from the moon and the high humidity, I had somewhat lost my enthusiasm.
I fired up the COL, aligned to my stars, and although my warp factor read +0.2, everything seemed to be way off when slewing the scope. I tried realigning, and the same thing...I was off by a very large margin. After a little bit of tinkering, I was able to figure out where the objects I had entered actually would appear when looking through the EP.
Even though the night started off less than stellar, I was able to observe and sketch a few objects. Most notable to me were the Globular Clusters M2 and M13. The stars that resolved in these magnificent GC's were just absolutely astounding. These objects also provided some challenges to sketch due to the sheer amount of stars in the FOV. I naturally visited some old favorites such as the Dumbell Nebula, the Little Dumbell Nebula, and a few other Open Clusters and a galaxy or two.
However, due to the poor observing conditions in combination with the glare of the Moon, many of the objects I had planned to observe were too washed out, and the air was extremely unsteady. I just managed as best as I could to salvage the night.
DSO's:
M2 - Globular Cluster (sketched)
M15 - Globular Cluster (sketched)
M27 - Dumbell Nebula
M76 - Little Dumbell Nebula
M57 - Planetary Nebula: Ring Nebula
NGC188 - Open Cluster
NGC869 - Open Cluster: Double Cluster
NGC884 - Open Cluster: Double Cluster
NGC1023 - Galaxy
NGC7662 - Blue Snowball Nebula
Planets:
Jupiter
Stars:
Alpheratz
Mirphak
Polaris
Ari E180
Equipment:
XTi10
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
2" -35mm
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Seeing/Transparency: 5/3
|
08/03/2008, Lodi, CA
It seems as if an eternity has passed since I was last able to get under the canopy of darkness and peer at the night sky. Between the constant winds earlier, and the ever-present smoke that filled the skies from nearby wildfires, it has been a good 3 ˝ to 4 months since I peeked through the eyepiece of my mighty telescope.
Tonight, however, was the perfect night for getting out and getting back in touch with the heavens. The sky was moonless and a breeze so slight as to only be enough to make me aware of its presence. There was no dew to contend with and (thankfully) all the neighbors' lights were turned off for the night. It was perfect! As is usually the case, my best-buddy "Hyde" (our Black Lab) was a constant companion all night long as well. My wife kept me supplied with fresh coffee and the temperatures were just right for observing in shorts and a short sleeve shirt all night.
Once I had my telescope acclimated to the outdoors, my main region of choice for the night was to the South, more particularly my favorite constellation of Sagittarius and all the jewels that it has hidden within its boundaries. Naturally there were the impressive Globular Clusters to be seen as well as the equally impressive Open Clusters as well. I also managed to glimpse a few Planetary Nebulas that had been, up until now, elusive to me. Naturally my visits to this constellation always includes a few minutes taking in the Triffid and Lagoon Nebulas (M20/NGC 6514 & M8/NGC 6523 respectively). I also managed to sketch a few Globular Clusters that I was able to find for the first time tonight.
Jupiter was shining bright between Albaldah and Nunki, and what a display it put on. It was so bright that it actually washed out a small area in this region. The view through the EP however, was magnificent! The cloud bands were dark and prominent around the equatorial regions, as well as in the Southern Hemisphere. Its nearby moons also putting on an equally impressive and unique display.
After going through my list of potential targets in this constellation, I then slew the scope towards Aquila to take in one of my favorite Open Clusters, the Wild Duck Cluster (M11/NGC 6705). Also, for the first time, I was able to locate and observe the Planetary Nebula NGC 6781 in Aquila as well. This too made it into the ol' sketch book.
Next on the list was another favorite, the Ring Nebula (M57/NGC 6720), which never fails to impress.
With the skies being as dark as they were, I thought I'd try for a faint galaxy that I had never been able to observe, NGC 7217 in Perseus. Tonight was perfect as evidenced by the fact that I has finally nailed this galaxy, and quite easily at that. It did take some averted vision at first, but there it was in all its glory. Wonderful!
After going through my nights much anticipated observing list, I took a few moments to just slew around the night sky and take in some favorites that seemed to welcome me to the night sky. The Double Cluster in Perseus looked like diamond chips glistening against black velvet. Putting in my 2" EP, this whole region of the night sky just kept mesmerized for well over 15 minutes, slightly slewing my scope to follow its path through the sky.
Tonight was a welcomed night under the stars that seemed to offer up some new goodies as well as put on a display of old favorites as if to welcome me back to the heavens.
DSO's:
M28 - Globular Cluster (sketched)
M31 - Galaxy: Andromeda Galaxy
M69 - Globular Cluster
M57 - Planetary Nebula: Ring Nebula
M11 - Open Cluster: Wild Duck Cluster
NGC869 - Open Cluster: Double Cluster
NGC884 - Open Cluster: Double Cluster
NGC1023 - Galaxy
NGC6543 - Planetary Nebula; Cats Eye Nebula
NGC6544 - Globular Cluster
NGC6553 - Globular Cluster
NGC6644 - Planetary Nebula (sketched)
NGC6664 - Open Cluster
NGC6712 - Globular Cluster
NGC6781 - Planetary Nebula
NGC7217 - Galaxy
Collinder 399 - Open Cluster: Brocchi's Cluster/Coathanger
Planets:
Jupiter
Stars:
Altair
Polaris
Equipment:
XTi10
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
35mm 2"
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Seeing/Transparency: 7/7
|
04/27/2008, Lodi, CA
After too many cloudy nights and much too much time in-between observing sessions, tonight proved to be the best night of observing so far this year. The temperature was extremely mild, with only the slightest hint of a breeze rustling through the treetops. The skies were, for the most part, dark, but there was some LP coming from a nearby school that added a bit of wash to the W-SW region.
My planned observation(s) for the evening were strictly galaxies; more specifically the region in the Leo & Virgo constellations.
Those regions did not disappoint!
I started out the night by slewing the scope over to Saturn, and what a great view of the ringed planet it was! The rings were fairly well separated, well defined and there were a total of 5 moons visible...the most I have seen by Saturn to date! Their alignment was spectacular and added to the overall beauty of this favored planet.
My next observations were of the "Leo Triplet" (M65, M66 NGC3628)...I have observed M65 previously, but with my new 10" scope, this is the first time I was able to observe the triplet in one FOV and with some clarity. Just a neat sight through the EP.
The remainder of the night was spent looking at the myriad of galaxies in the region of Leo and Virgo; one observation that also comes to mind is a faint pair of galaxies known as "The Eyes". Just as the nickname implies, these two galaxies appear to be peering down from the darkness of space. A truly spectacular sight!
Overall it was a great night of observing under the stars; my faithful companion Hyde, my Black Lab sitting by my side the entire time.
DSO's:
M49 - Galaxy (sketched)
M61 - Galaxy
M65 - Galaxy (sketched)
M66 - Galaxy (sketched)
M87 - Galaxy
M95 - Galaxy
M96 - Galaxy (sketched)
M104 - Galaxy (sketched)
M105 - Galaxy (sketched)
NGC3371 - Galaxy (sketched)
NGC3628 - Galaxy (sketched)
NGC4435 - Galaxy
NGC4438 - Galaxy
Planets:
Saturn
Stars:
Denebola
Polaris
Equipment:
XTi10
Orion 10x50 binoculars
Eyepieces:
20mm
15mm Expanse
10mm
6.3mm
Orion 2x Barlow
Seeing/Transparency: 6/5
|
04/13/2008, Lodi, CA
After what seemed like an eternitiy, I was able to get out under the stars for some much-needed observing.
I had planned on taking in and sketching the bountiful galaxies offered up in the Virgo region, but with a Moon a little more than a quarter full and riding high in the sky, many of the DSO's I had planned on observing were, as one would expect, washed out.
I did glimpse a few of the brighter galaxies in the region, but due to the moonlight, there was little to no definition to be seen.
I did manage to salvage the night by observing a few Globulars, a Planetary Nebula and a few Double Stars however; of which I did make sketches of.
Altough the Moon had thwarted my planned obseravtions, it was still a nice treat to get out under the stars after such a long stretch of cloudy weather.
DSO's:
M13 - GC Hercules Cluster
M53 - GC (sketched)
M57 - PN Ring Nebula
NGC 6210 - PN (sketched)
Planets:
Saturn
Stars:
Epsilon Lyrae - DS
HER95 - DS (sketched)
Alpha Lyrae Vega
Alpha Ursae Minoris - DS Polaris
Equipment:
Orion SkyQuest XTi10
Orion 10x50 Binnoculars
Eyepieces:
20mm Plossl
15mm Expanse
6.3mm Sirius Plossl
2x Shorty Barlow
Seeing/Transparency: 5/6
|
03/11/2008, Lodi, CA
*Sigh* My poor telescope has been feeling negelcted over the last couple of months, with what seems to be a conspiracy of the weather Gods assuring that my days off have been plagued with cloudy weather.
I feel as if I have all but missed the entire winter observing season this year. I can not remember weather as terrible and non-condusive for observing as what it has been this year. In winters past, there were plenty of bone-chilling nights, but the skies were clear to allow for some observations; not so this year.
Clouds, fog, clouds. Naturally, during the week when I can not get out to observe, it is clear-as-a-bell; but come Friday or Saturday nights the clouds start to roll in. I don't think I have been out observing but maybe only 3 times since December.
Hopefully the weather is getting ready to take a turn for the better before too long so I can salvage some of the winter constellations and DSO's.
...naturally they are calling for rain this weekend though.
|
