[shelltree (Shelley)]

Originally Posted by astroron

Great Report Shelley,
It only gets better from here
Cheers

Thanks so much Ron, I'm excited!

Originally Posted by FJA

NGC 6231 is one of my favourite open clusters and, with H 12 makes up the 'False Comet' in Scorpius. Alas for us up here in the UK it's below the horizon but I always make a point of looking for it when I am at more southerly latitudes and it is up.

Ahhhh, so that's what it's called! I was wondering whether the entire structure was NGC6231. It is absolutely magnificent! I really think it shines in binoculars and my finderscope more than the eyepiece. Of course I don't have a widefield eyepiece yet so...

Originally Posted by orestis

Wow what a report, a great read.

Coincidently my first galaxy was M104, I remember printing out charts of the asterisms to help me find it. Those 3 stars point straight at it so it was not to hiden. The first thing i thought when I saw this magestic galaxy was wow I am seeing light that has travelled for 30 million years and that image of the galaxy was 30 million years old. It was the first time I realised I had a light time machine.

Ngc 6231 is quite a lovely cluster forming a part of the grand constellation of scorpius. I like the mixture of very beight and slighty dimmer stars vey much like the jewel box.

Thank you very much for posting Shelley, this report has stirred aome great memories.
I hope to be under the stars soon. His has made me feel like doing some observing tonight even if I have school the next day.
Regards Orestis

Yes, mate! Those three stars are what gave it away. I saw the small triangle shape and as soon as I saw the line of stars in the Jaws asterism, I instantly knew I had done it! It is such an amazing feeling, especially when you are out there on your own, searching and researching and getting frustrated and then finally everything just falls into place! Magical So so glad this has made you feel like getting out under the stars again! I was too lazy to head out last night and now I'm regretting it because it's overcast again

Originally Posted by ngcles

HI Shell & All,

Wonderful report Shell, I can feel your excitement from Sydney! As Ron said, it only gets better from here on in !

Best,

Les D

Thanks Les! I think it may have been my yippee's and 20,000 exclamation marks that gave it away Looking forward to getting out there again soon (when this soup eases up again!)

Originally Posted by Suzy

You do great reports Shell!

Congratulations on your catch of galaxies- it's so exciting nabbing galaxies & in particular, for the first time isn't it- I share your excitement!

I could never figure out that star hop to Cent.A galaxy, I always had soooo much trouble finding it. Good on you!

Thanks Suz I knew that it was suppose to be somewhere beneath that triangle but would always get so frustrated because I could never pinpoint it, grrr! Then I decided I would give the binos a try and would you believe it, a faint fuzzy in the sky where it should be! Lined up the box like shape and tada I was quite surprise after all of that, that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!

Originally Posted by Lismore Bloke

Hi Shelley,
What a great report, observing galaxies near any large city can be a bit of a challenge. Your enthusiasm and enjoyment is very obvious, great stuff. Look forward to lots more. Cheers, Paul.

Thanks so much Paul, I was astounded myself! Luckily I am a good 45-40 minutes from the city and live on 4 acres so on a dark night I can make out wisps of the Milky Way but I have to compete with a lot of trees

Originally Posted by barx1963

Well done Shelley.
Some of my favourite objects there, I love M104.
Good to see you practising star hopping. With a little practice it get much easier, and after a few sessions it will be second nature. Charts do take a little getting used to, but you are on your way.
The whole area around Sagittarius is a star hoppers paradise, lots of stars, lots of bright objects especially all the globs, so it is a great place of hone your skills.

Malcolm

Thank you Malcolm, I am stoked! The next clear night I am going to focus on objects in Sagittarius before it gets too high in the sky and get some star hopping practise The key is to find sort of recognisable shapes out of a few stars, I find patterns most definitely make it easier!

Originally Posted by Paddy

Delightful report Shelley. The excitement and joy of your night is quite contagious. And as you keep star hopping, over time you will find each object more quickly and the sky will be your oyster. Keep 'em coming!

Thank you Patrick, I intend on keeping these objects fresh in my mind now. The more objects I learn, the more times I will go to find them each session until they become second nature I'm hooked!