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Old 05-01-2011, 09:37 PM
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astroron (Ron)
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Observing Report 05/01/11

I have been desperate for a look at Saturn with the storm for what seems forever
At 02:45 this morning the heavens cleared and there was Saturn in all its glory About 40 degs high in the Eastern sky
Using my 20cm (8") Celestron Ultima SCT I spent some time observing Saturn using my Tmb 9mm and eventually my 6mm Radian eyepieces.
Observing with this scope is a renewed experience for me As I have been observing with the 16" Dob for so long I had forgotten the magnification and light gathering difference between the two scopes
At first the seeing was pretty ordinary but as Saturn rose higher in the sky
and the scope cooled down the view became better.
the Cassini Division and some banding was seen.
It must have been averted imagination on my part as I thought I could see a whitish streak low down on the north close to the limb in the 6mm Radian, I am disappointed that it was not the Storm
I also observed some of the old favourites
First observed was the Leo Triplet M65/66 and NGC 3628, these three galaxies just fit in the field of view of the 30mm Celestron Ultima eye piece.
I then headed South to NGC5128 (Cent A) so much smaller and dimmer than I am used to but the dark lane was very pronounced and the two 9th to 10th mag foreground stars where plainly
seen, it was good to see this galaxy again
NGC 5139 Omega Cent was a splendid sight with the seeing being the best since I started observing, this giant ball of stars was a beautiful sight in the dawn sky.
NGC 4945, this 9th mag edge on galaxy seemed extremely faint but was quite plainly seen but no detail even in high mag
By this time the dawn sky was brightening, so one more hopeful look at Saturn then over to Venus which was about 25degs high shining brilliantly in the east.
Through the scope a fine crescent was seen shimmering in the early morning glow, a fine sight to finish off a short but pleasant observing session.
Closed up the observatory at 04:15 and was in bed for 04:30

PS on going through my bits of paper I noticed that I also observed M104
It was a sliver of light in the dawn sky but was plainly seen
in the 21mm TV plossl eyepiece

Last edited by astroron; 06-01-2011 at 08:36 PM.
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Old 06-01-2011, 01:27 AM
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Suzy
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Ron, did you find out for sure that it wasn't the storm on Saturn? Has anyone else "visually" seen this yet?

I saw my first view of Saturn for this season (naked eye) for what must have been without exagerration, 1 second - I ran inside to put my glasses on to see it better (which couldn't have been more than 30sec) and then it was gone, completely blanketed over by cloud.

Ron, it's fantastic to get an obs report from you with a downsized scope, makes it an extra interesting read. Regarding NGC 4945, I'd be curious to know how much extra detail you get in your 16", or is it still quite feint despite Thank you for the enjoyable post.

I'm still laughing at your "averted imagination" line. You put wonderful humour in your posts.
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Old 06-01-2011, 01:40 AM
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astroron (Ron)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzy View Post
Ron, did you find out for sure that it wasn't the storm on Saturn? Has anyone else "visually" seen this yet?

I saw my first view of Saturn for this season (naked eye) for what must have been without exagerration, 1 second - I ran inside to put my glasses on to see it better (which couldn't have been more than 30sec) and then it was gone, completely blanketed over by cloud.

Ron, it's fantastic to get an obs report from you with a downsized scope, makes it an extra interesting read. Regarding NGC 4945, I'd be curious to know how much extra detail you get in your 16", or is it still quite feint despite Thank you for the enjoyable post.

I'm still laughing at your "averted imagination" line. You put wonderful humour in your posts.
Suzy and thanks for the compliment, I am only going on reports on iis that it is not visible till Saturday morning
There is considerably more detail in the 16" with high mag of NGC 4945
I am finding it just a little frustrating at the small size of objects I am observing
CHEERS
PS none of the web sites mention anyone seeing it visualy .
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Old 06-01-2011, 10:22 AM
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Thanks for the report Ron. I can't imagine that Saturn storm would be that hard to see visually, going by images, it is huge and contrasts well against the globe and it's smallest dimension is larger than the width of the Cassini Division. It was likely just on the far side from us.
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Old 06-01-2011, 10:28 AM
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Paddy (Patrick)
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Thanks for the report Ron. I'm looking forward to having a go at this storm myself. Can it really be time to look at Leo? It seems only yesterday that it was up for 2010.
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Old 06-01-2011, 10:52 AM
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Good on you for making the effort to get up at that hour.
Obviously it's well worth the effort.
Thanks for posting the report.
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Old 06-01-2011, 11:01 AM
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astroron (Ron)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjnettie View Post
Good on you for making the effort to get up at that hour.
Obviously it's well worth the effort.
Thanks for posting the report.
Thanks JJ I had not been to bed as I had been checking the sky all night at very regular intervals then Wella the sky started to clear and it turned out beautiful
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Old 07-01-2011, 06:51 AM
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Great stuff Ron.

See persistence does pay off.I have yet to try early morning observing.Though the dew would be pretty bad as I have everything dripping only at 10pm but then again its been raining lot lately.

Thanks for posting
cheers Orestis
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