Observation Report: 12th May 2008

[goober (Doug)]

Time: 2130 EST
Location: Melbourne
Telescope: 4" F5 refractor on alt-az
Seeing: 5 (Pickering)
Transparency: 6
Conditions: moon=Half, dew=light, wind=calm, temperature ~7C

At least a month since I was last out with the scope. Wanted to spend an evening or two under dark skies in Virgo and Coma Bernices, but that chance is fast fading for the year.

I tossed the scope into the back yard. The moon was up, and the neighbours floodlights were on in celebration of the first clear Melbourne night in 3 weeks. I set up around the back of the house and restricted myself to looking into the low eastern muck. Better than nothing!

Conditions were chilly - I got to try out my budget snow boots to stop the chill coming up into my feet - they worked well. I also used the Argo Navis for the entire session (~90 minutes) - it held up well to the colder conditions.

M62 - globular cluster in Ophiucus
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Bright, easy to make out despite low altitude, around mag. 6-7.

M19 - globular cluster in Ophiucus
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Looked more like a bright, nebulous patch rather than a globular cluster. Not a lot of detail spotted. Low in the east.

M6 - open cluster in Scorpius
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: The Butterfly cluster was rather washed out, being low in the east and well into the sky glow. Still, easy to spot and pleasing.

M80 - globular cluster in Scorpius
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Easy despite being low in the east. Bright core, hazy halo, estimated about 5' across. No resolution.

M4 - globular cluster in Scorpius
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Large and uneven, and very washed out in the skyglow. Resolved a couple of stars - not my best view of this object!

M7 - open cluster in Scorpius
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Large, with many bright members. Great cluster. About 1 degree across - nearly filled the field.

M9 - globular cluster in Ophiucus
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Small, faint globular, low in the east and very washed out.

M107 - globular cluster in Ophiucus
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Could not see it.

M12 - globular cluster in Ophiucus
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Very faint, couldn't see it initially low in the glow of the east. About to give up on it, when my averted vision must have been placed just right, as it snapped into view. Quite difficult given the altitude and light pollution.

NGC 6193 - open cluster in Ara
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Bright open cluster, with two v.bright stars that looked like a binary close together. About a dozen fainter stars in the shape of a saucepan. Caldwell 83.

NGC 6397 - globular cluster in Ara
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Big, fantastic globular - bright mag. 5-6, around 25' across. Around 5 stars popping in and out of resolution. Puts the earlier globulars in Ophiucus and Scorpius to shame.

Dunlop 213 - double star in Ara
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Nice double split at 49x, around 10" separation, mag. 6/8. Secondary looked gold, primary blue/white.

Hogg 22 - open cluster in Ara
EP: 11mm, 49x, 1.7 deg
Notes: Small open cluster - resolved ~6 stars, some quite bright, mag. 6 or fainter.

[§AB]

Jesus h Christ is that a Melbourne resident at the eyepiece??? Good gravy stuff me like a turkey I never thought we'd ever see telescopic observations happing in this city again!!

Nice to read your reports again. I see you had our typical fare in seeing but transparency looked quite good. Tonight I am off, nothing needs to be done so yer it will be cloudy. Webcams show nothing but high clouds and haze everywhere. Oh well. We MIGHT outlive the crap weather. TYPICAL Melbourne weather. Cloudzzz galorzz!!1!11!!

I went out to the airport at 10:00pm to collect my parents who enjoyed a spectacular sun-drenched week on the Gold Coast. The feedback - sun, chicks, awesome weather, vibe. In other words another planet compared to this cold cloud factory. Saw a bit of cloud/fog near the CBD but eventually it disappeared. I noticed the cold when I was doing a bit of plane spotting before the folk's flight arrived. Pretty much froze my gonads off.

btw, are you as shocked as I am, that objects we've last seen rising 1am are now the evening main course??? Living proof that our climate needs a tune-up.

ANyway, great report once again, I'm off to clean the now opaque dust of my telescopes.

[ngcles]

Hi Doug,

Good report mate -- an enjoyable read.

Yep, globular cluster season is upon us again and you've stopped in on a few of my fav's too.

M19 is very interesting from the point of view that it not even nearly round -- really quite oval elongated N-S (PA 0) as I recall and some good resolution in 12" -- very well resolved in 18".

M62 is also very underrated -- big and resolves pretty well with strong concentration to the core. It is one of the Milky Way's heavy-hitters among the globulars. Think it is number 8 of 157 in terms of absolute magnitude at mag -9.19 (not that far behind 47 Tucanae actually). Interesting.

And of course good 'ol M80 -- one of the most compressed clusters of all. A lovely sight, resolved into stars or not. From memory M80 is one of two Milky Way GCs is known to have hosted a nova. The other is M14.



Best,

Les D
Contributing Editor
AS&T

[Rob_K]

Nice report Doug, nothing like a tour through the brighter globulars! 6397 is a great GC, saw it (and dozens of others) through 12x50 binoculars under very, very dark skies last week. Surprisingly, the only globular that disappointed was M4, which retained a certain dullness I felt.

Look forward to more from you - hopefully clear skies next New Moon period!

Cheers -

[ngcles]

Hi Doug, §AB & All,

BTW §AB, I dunno whether you are a fan of The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, but the way you are describing the weather you guys are putting up with "down Mexico-way", makes it sound dangerously like Nowhat -- the alternate Earth in "Mostly Harmless" except there seem to be no nowhatian bog-hogs ??

Best,

Les D

[goober (Doug)]

My surname is Adams and I expect the royalty cheque, Les

[PhilW]

This report reminded me of an eyepiece observation relating to globulars I was intending to post. I recently bought an eyepiece specifically for planetary viewing (Pentax 5mm XO); it is an ortho with only a 42-degree FOV & minimal eye relief, but it is very sharp. Anyway, it turns out it is also a fabulous eyepiece for resolving globular cores. It might be fun to try it in your NP-101 Doug, if I can manage to avoid being ambushed by your observing chair.

[goober (Doug)]

Sure thing, Phil.

BTW, looking at your sig. line - just how compact is your 50cm going to be?

[PhilW]

It will be ladderless, even for shorties. F/3.7 + Paracorr.