Ho66es's Blog

A late call by Stevie resulted in a great evening at Killylane. Joined by Derek Brian and Jonathan we settled in for a relaxing evening where I mainly went for galaxies and the odd? cluster. The sky was clear of contrails but seemed to contain a lot of moisture, it may have been some volcanic dust but I am unsure. My scope did dew up by the end of the night and all was covered in a thin film of moisture.

i took a few images with the dslr through the night which can be found here.

I observed the following objects and more:

1. Messier 103 (also known as M103, or NGC 581) an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia.
2. Messier 92 (also known as M92 or NGC 6341) a globular cluster in the constellation Hercules.
3. Messier 91 (also known as NGC 4548) a barred spiral galaxy about 63 million light-years  away in the constellation Coma Berenices.
4. Messier 95 (also known as M95 or NGC 3351) a barred spiral galaxy about 33 million light-years  away in the constellation Leo.
5. Messier 96 (also known as NGC 3368) an intermediate spiral galaxy about 31 million light-years  away in the constellation Leo.
6. Messier 105 (also known as M105 and NGC 3379) an elliptical galaxy in the constellation  Leo.
7. Messier 65 (also known as NGC 3623) an intermediate spiral galaxy about 22 million light-years  away in the constellation Leo.
8. Messier 99 (also known as M99 or NGC 4254) an unbarred spiral galaxy approximately 60 million light-years  away in the constellation Coma Berenices.
9. Messier 85 (also known as M85 or NGC 4382) a lenticular galaxy (type S0) in the Coma Berenices constellation
10. Eta Cassiopeiae (η Cas / η Cassiopeiae) a star system 19.4 light years away from Earth, in the constellation Cassiopeia.
11. Gamma Leonis (γ Leo / γ Leonis) a binary star system in the constellation  Leo. It has the traditional name Algieba  or Al Gieba.
12. Tegman Zeta Cancri (ζ Cnc / ζ Cancri) a star system in the constellation Cancer containing at least four stars.
13. Mars
14. Saturn (some banding and well defined rings over the face of Saturn).
15. Venus
16. Mercury (a small and sullen orb)
17. Moon (nice earthlight)

My aches from earlier gardening settled in fully and combined with the dew sent me packing early, as usual when all the kit was in the car it seemed to get clearer.

Had a great time, arrived shortly before Simon, Stevie, Jonathan and Simons friend Neville? First order of the day was food and we enjoyed a hearty repast of sausages and burgers washed down with mugs of hot tea.

As the sun slowly set we had visitors (the first of many) a young couple on a motorbike pulled over to see what we were doing, they later returned in their car.  I think by the end of the evening there were 3-4 cars from the local area as people called other people to tell them about the weird blokes on the hill They were all treated to a good introduction to astronomy.

An early treat took shape in the form of a glorious sun pillar.

First to drop into view was Venus and it wasn’t long before Jonathan had Mercury in his binoculars. Shortly after I caught my 1st glimpse of mercury in my scope and managed to grab a photograph too.

Other planets included Saturn and Mars, both clearly visible and a nice introduction to telescope viewing. Other objects I visited included Bodes galaxy, the Whirlpool galaxy and Eta cas. Simon and Stevie both had problems with their scopes getting alignment of the scope to sky in Simons case and internal scope alignment in Stevies case. Jonathan was quick to point out that he had no alignment issues with his equipment .

I mounted the camera on the new adaptor to try for a few images before clouds interfered with the view and of course knocked my scope off alignment. I was able to grab a few images of the Beehive cluster and Mars.

By this time Simon had packed up and as the scattering of clouds were rapidly becoming annoying I packed up too and shortly after midnight we departed from the scene, a good night made better by visitors getting a nice introduction.

My first foray into the world of youtube video shows my recently completed tellurion beside my orrery.

Yay I made it and although a short night it was filled with many astounding sights but the best was saved to last.

Going direct I made it on site first and was just finishing setup when Simon and Jonathan arrived.

what follows is a list of what was seen between dusk and packing up shortly after 10pm:

• The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) a diffuse nebula situated south[b] of Orion’s Belt.
• Saturn
• Mars
• Venus
• The Andromeda Galaxy a spiral galaxy approximately 2,500,000 light-years (1.58×1011 AU) away in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224
• Messier 110 (also known as M110 and NGC 205) a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy.
• Messier 32 (also known as NGC 221 and Le Gentil) a dwarf elliptical galaxy about 2.65 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. M32 is a satellite galaxy of the famous Andromeda Galaxy
• Eta Cas
• Messier 103 (also known as M103, or NGC 581) is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia.
• The Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, NGC 650/651, the Barbell Nebula, or the Cork Nebula [1], a planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus.
• Gamma Andromedae (Gamma And / ? And / ? Andromedae) is the third brightest star in the constellation of Andromeda. It is also known by the traditional name Almach
• Polaris
• 30 Aries
• Messier 38 (also known as M38 or NGC 1912) an open cluster in the Auriga constellation.
• Mintaka
• The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus.
• pen Cluster M36 (also known as Messier Object 36, Messier 36, M36, or NGC 1960) an open cluster in the Auriga constellation.
• Messier 37 (also known as M37 or NGC 2099) the richest open cluster in the constellation Auriga
• The Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194) an interacting[5] grand-design[6] spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici.
• Owl Nebula
• Messier 52 (also known as M 52 or NGC 7654) an open cluster in the Cassiopeia constellation.
• NGC 4631 an edge-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy’s slightly distorted wedge shape gives it the appearance of a herring or whale, which is why it is infrequently referred to as the Whale Galaxy.
• NGC 4565 an edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy about 20 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices.
• 38 Gem
• Messier 50 (also known as M 50 or NGC 2323) an open cluster in the constellation Monoceros.
• 19 Lyncis
• The Sunflower Galaxy (also known as Messier 63, M63, or NGC 5055) a Spiral galaxy in the Canes Venatici constellation.
• The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Sleeping Beauty Galaxy; designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826)
• Messier 65 (also known as NGC 3623) an intermediate spiral galaxy about 22 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M65, M66, and NGC 3628 comprise the famous Leo Triplet, a small group of galaxies.
• Messier 66 (also known as NGC 3627) an intermediate spiral galaxy about 36 million light-years away in the constellation Leo

Fireworks at Armagh Cathedral, yes Jonathan spotted these in his binos and in short order all scopes were trained on a lovely display which could have been put on just for us.

My personal hilight of the evening was playing with yet another new toy, after talking with Stevie (get well soon, we missed yoy!) at Killylane I had thought to get a zoom lense, after a bit of research I found a cheap celestron 8-24mm eyepiece on ebay (just over £50) this was a true eye opener.

Being able to switch from 24mm to 8mm meant I never even felt like switching eyepieces all night, and the optics were on a par or better than my standard eyepieces.

The 8 se again surpassed itself and getting used to it proved I have got myself another bargain, even when i left the eyepiece zoomed in and went to eta cas it was in the field of view!

The Craic was great and we covered many subjects both celestial and mundane.

Its almost a year since I got my 1st telescope a Nexstar 5, in that year the biggest (and best) change has been meeting the folks in this society and the wealth of knowledge they have shared with me. Tonight was no exception, as I sit here sipping a ‘small’ glass of whisky and type up the list of objects that I saw tonight I look back with amazement at that 1st night when I gazed on Saturn. I wonder what the next year will bring

Thanks everyone for a great year!

Finally a good night to check out my new scope, shortly after 6pm I headed up to Killylane. I was first to arrive and was able to quickly get unpacked and setup. The new scope goes together almost as fast as the old one with the exception of the OTA which is a bit ‘scary’ as I am unused to having to fit the dovetail. Once levelled I tried out skyalign using Mars, Venus and Sirius, alignment success, a nice feature.

Next to arrive was Jonathan and the observing began. I started with M42 and that was to become the focal point of the evenings observing for me. It was as if I was using a filter, everything just ‘popped out’  the detail and clarity were stunning. Shortly after Stevie arrived and last but by no means least was Derek. Items viewed by myself included:

M37 an open cluster in Auriga

M38 another open cluster in Auriga

M32 (also known as NGC 221 and Le Gentil) a dwarf elliptical galaxy

M31 the Andromeda Galaxy

Eta Cas a lovely binary

M101 the Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy

Gamma Ari another lovely double

M81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode’s Galaxy) a spiral galaxy

M82 (also known as NGC 3034 or the Cigar Galaxy) the prototype nearby starburst galaxy

Saturn

Mars

Venus

the ISS made an early and very bright appearance too.

A few other objects were observed, but then Stevie lent me his Wilson optical diagonal and we tried it with his Hyperion eyepieces and Dereks Panoptic, although we moved around a bit we usually ended up back at M42. Eventually the old and the prospect of an early rise got to us and we started to pack up, only then did I notice a layer of dew on the front of my scope despite a shield, and a thick coating of ice on almost everything else . It had dropped to -3c whilst observing!

one other useful kernel of knowledge gleaned from stevie was the use of ‘precise goto’ on my scope, a very good feature.

A final? outing for the Nexstar 5 as its successor wings its way to me and I wanted to achieve 40 of the nexstar50 list before retiring it that left me 4 objects to go.

NGC4565

NGC7510

M100

24 com.

The skies were gorgeous on my arrival about 19:30 and on setup I cleared 3 of the objects within the first 30minutes. next to arrive was simon and the pair of us settled into a nice viewing session visiting old favourites and finding new ones in the crisp and clearing winter/spring sky. Along the way M100 fell under my gaze confirmed by Simon as I had to drop to 30mm and avert to see it.

galaxies were plentiful and sitting out proudly from a deep backround, especially nice were the globular clusters!

Later stevie arrived and once he was setup I shortly departed as had been my plan. My equipment was coated in ice but what a great night. I hope Simon and Stevie enjoyed the rest of their stay

A great night, almost made the break worth while, I arrived at Killylane at 19:20 and Stevie and Derek were not long after, I hit an incredible list of firsts for me. I was maybe a bit hurried but they all got a look and some of the more doubtful ones got confirmed by Stevie (2nd there he was ‘unlucky’ to set up beside me). My eye is slowly getting used to my scope and picking up on fuzzies that this time last year I would have missed, what also helped was that my alignment was pretty spot on and even when i left the 12.5mm eyepiece in objects appeared in the field of view when gone to (my normal ‘goto’ ep is my 25mm).

Some objects were barely discernable, like M101 and NGC2392, others like a lot of star doubles were beautiful and readily split by distance and colour.

The Orion Nebula was clear and got better as the night went on, early in the evening Derek showed me it through his scope with the filter in and it really popped out.

Eventually about 10pm the cloud cover started to move in eventually covering most of the sky by 10:30pm when we decided to pack up and leave, though even then saturn was trying to show itself. My toes were almost painful for the first half of the drive home as they warmed up, and some of my static kit on the table was covered in hoar frost (left out of its boxes  its dried overnight.

Without further ado the list !

1/ Messier 67 (also known as M67  or NGC 2682)
2/ Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode’s Galaxy)
3/ NGC 7662 otherwise known as the Blue Snowball Nebula
4/ The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224
5/ Eta Cassiopeiae
6/ Messier 35 (also known as M 35, or NGC 2168) an open cluster
7/ Messier 46 (also known as M 46 or NGC 2437) an open cluster
8/ Gamma Andromedae the third brightest star in the constellation of Andromeda. also known by the traditional name Almach
9/ The Double Cluster common name for the naked-eye open clusters NGC 884 and NGC 869
10/ 30 Arietis a 6th magnitude binary star in the constellation Aries.
11/ Messier 34 (also known as M 34 or NGC 1039) an open cluster
12/ 32 Eridanus
13/ Messier 38 (also known as M38 or NGC 1912) an open cluster
14/ The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A)
15/ Open Cluster M36 (also known as Messier Object 36, Messier 36, M36, or NGC 1960)
16/ Messier 37 (also known as M37 or NGC 2099)
17/ Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) an open cluster
18/ 38 gem
19/ h3945
20/ The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392)
21/ Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034 or the Cigar Galaxy)
22/ Messier 65 (also known as NGC 3623) an intermediate spiral galaxy
23/ Messier 66 (also known as NGC 3627) an intermediate spiral galaxy
24/ The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101 or NGC 5457) a face-on spiral galaxy
25/ 24 com
26/ Gamma Leonis (γ Leo / γ Leonis) a binary star system in the constellation  Leo. It has the traditional name Algieba  or Al Gieba.
27/ NGC 2903 a barred spiral galaxy
28/ Messier 105 (also known as M105 and NGC 3379) an elliptical galaxy
29/ Messier 95 (also known as M95 or NGC 3351) is a barred spiral galaxy
30/ Messier 96 (also known as NGC 3368) an intermediate spiral galaxy
31/ Cor Caroli (α CVn / α Canum Venaticorum / Alpha Canum Venaticorum, originally known by the more elaborate Cor Caroli Regis Martyris) the brightest star in the northern constellation Canes Venatici.
32/ The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for “manger”), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189) an open cluster
33/ Messier 46 (also known as M 46 or NGC 2437) an open cluster
34/ Mars
35/ The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) a diffuse nebula

I think thats it all, and thats just through my scope. there were some awesome views through Stevies and Dereks too