This is the January observing challenge. I hope a lot of you will participate. Please post your observation reports and sketches of the objects in this thread.
I presume most of you have stellarium to find these objects if not you can download it here http://www.stellarium.org/.
Open cluster- Ngc 2516:Vmag-3.8
Is called The Diamond Cluster because of its stellar clarity.The cluster itself is easily visible with the naked eye from dark skies but binoculars will yield a much better view. The Diamond Cluster contains two beautiful 5th magnitude red giants and three double stars. A small telescope would be required to split the double stars. It contains about 100 stars that appear about the same size as a full moon.It is located about 2 1/2 degrees from the mag 2 star Epsilon carinae star which is part of the false cross.
Diffuse nebula-M42: Vmag- +4
The great Orion nebula has to be the most viewed object in the night sky. It is easily visible to the naked eye even from light polluted areas as a hazy star. The Orion Nebula contains a very young Open cluster, known as theTrapezium due to the asterism of its primary four stars. Two of these can be resolved into their component binary systems on nights with good seeing , giving a total of six stars. Can you see them?Can you see any colour in the surrounding gas ?What colour?
Rigel double star –Vmag-0.18
Rigel(beta orionis) is the sixth brightest star in the sky in the constellation of Orion . Rigel a blue supergiant is actually a double star. Rigel B is not particularly faint at magnitude 6.7, its closeness to Rigel A — which is over 500 times brighter — makes it a challenging target for telescopes smaller than 150 mm.Can you see it?
Galaxy: IC 335
‘‘A nice little Spindle located just north of the Fornax cluster. Blue Magnitude is 12.9. Can you see it's strongly elongated shape?’’
This is going to be quite challenging object for small scopes.
Cluster: NGC 121
''A tiny, faint globular belonging to the SMC. Mag 11.2, and located about 30' northeast of 47 Tuc.''
Mars polar ice cap:
Can you see the mars polar ice caps this opposition,the NPC is qute prominent at the moment.Can you see any detail? Do filters help?While your there can you see any surface markings?Will the seeing co-operate?
Well there it is the January observing challenge.i encourage participants to sketch as this will help them observe and give all of us something to look at.
I'd like to thank Sab for his nominations of IC335 and NGC121 also i'd like to thank Michael for his great idea and nomination of the mars polar caps.
MARS
Before I saw this list, I was looking at Mars for the first time through my 'scope. I could quite clearly see the polar ice cap and some of the darker surface markings, but could not see much of difference using filters. The seeing was so-so. It had been a hot day.
RIGEL
I could just barely make out the binary with a 6" reflector. Rigel B appears to be sitting right next to Rigel A with no clear separation at 100x mag.
MARS
Before I saw this list, I was looking at Mars for the first time through my 'scope. I could quite clearly see the polar ice cap and some of the darker surface markings, but could not see much of difference using filters. The seeing was so-so. It had been a hot day.
RIGEL
I could just barely make out the binary with a 6" reflector. Rigel B appears to be sitting right next to Rigel A with no clear separation at 100x mag.
Nice work on mars.
Considering Rigel ,it depends on the seeing but also the magnigication i have seen it clearly at 276x but in good seeing.
Mars- It was an amazing night and mars was high so we had a look.It was the first time i could see proper detail,it was a breathtaking sight.
I could see the NPC which seemed to be outlined and several dark markings on the surface.The #80A blue filter which i had recently bought helped a lot with bringing the brightness down and outlining the polar cap well.The green filter was also good but i found that the view through the blue filter was better .Unfortunately i didn't do a sketch but will try to do one next time.i was using the 6.5 mm eyepiece at 138x magnification it was small but so much detail.I was absolutely thrilled!.
I got my scope out last night to look at these objects. I hadn't observed since the birth of my son, well over a year ago.
Scope: 101mm APO f5.4 refractor.
Location: Melbourne
Seeing: very good
Transparency: average
NGC2516
Easily located just off the end of the False Cross. Nestled in against a bright "diamond" shape grouping of four stars. Pleasing cluster, two obvious red members, and around 80 (by my count) members spread across 30'. I was going to sketch the cluster, but it was beyond my talents. I began though, and marked what I thought were two double stars and a triple.
M42
Easily held five stars in the Trapezium. Always used to see six in my larger scopes before the great downsize. Only seen six stars once in the refractor.
Rigel
Easily split at 90x. Went for a hopeful stab at Sirius.... you know the result!
Mars
Lovely detail at 180x (3mm Nagler zoom) ... could have taken more magnification, despite the low altitude. Sharp triangular wedge of dark markings from the south extending to the equator. Confirmed as Syrtis Major when I got back inside. I though the North Polar cap was jumping out at me ... it was so obvious, however it may have been the contrast with the darker band of Nilosyrtis, which seemed to stand out. I need to compare my sketch with an image taken last night.
Great Stuff Doug,glad to hear that your out there observing again.
Nice work on starting the ngc 2516 sketch,i did one last month i have attached it.Does it look like what you saw?It takes a little patience when sketching oc's.
Mars is just amazing in good detail your description is pretty much what i saw.When i viewed it the NPC was outlined and just stood out so much. Nice sketch .
nice sketch Orestis, you've got more patience than me , I can never get the proportions right when I try OC.
Anyway I too had a clear night and went out with the challenge list.
Scope: 80mm f11 refractor.
Location: Adelaide
Seeing: good
Transparency: average
NGC 2615.
I used a 32mm EP to take in the full field of the cluster the two red giants stand out. This is a very nice OC one I have looking at with my binos on my random sweeps on the Carinea region. I put in the 15mm EP to find the doubles, I found 2 doubles and one that looked like it might be a tripple. (Will check in Stellarium later).
M42.
This is a favourite in any EP. The trapezium is easily visible but not matter how long I stare at it or what EP I use I could not split the doubles.
Rigel.
This was a tough one but I got it. While I was locating it with the 15mm a meteor went through the field . To split the double I had to use the 6mm EP and stare at it for a long time. It was only in moments of good seeing that I could see the double. Once I had found it I put the 15mm back in and I could again find it but only in moments of stillness. A nice challenge.
IC335.
I don't know this area of the sky at all so was lost. While searching around I did see a couple of faint fuzzies but not the object in question.
NGC121.
This one also elluded me. It wouldn't be a challenge if it were easy
Mars.
Well I can find it . And it does appear visibly larger than since I first saw it at the beginning of the month. I cannot say I can resolve any surface features. It is just a bright orange ball. One side does appear brighter and could be the polar cap but I cannot pick any defining line where it ends. Tried all my filters and while they take away some of the glare it just changes the colour of the ball.
The month is not over yet so I still have time to complete the project
Ok, I have notes on some of these objects so here goes
NGC 2516 (Caldwell 96)
Date 5/12/09 11pm Seeing - Very Good
Object is west and slightly south of approximately 24’ from Avior (Epsilon Carinae) and is visible to naked eye despite low position to south and light pollution. Epsilon Carinae is the westernmost star of the “False Cross” making it very easy to identify.
Sometimes mistaken as Lacaille’s Southern Pleiades which is actually IC 2602 to the south.
O’Meara makes some interesting points about the history of this object. Various sources quote different sizes for this object with a trend of smaller sizes being reported over time. Cluster appears very large in 24mm eyepiece with a 1.1o field of view. There also appears to be 3 brighter stars on a gentle arc on north side. Uranometria doesn’t include these stars and shows a diameter of about 22”. The varying sizes arise as the visual cluster is quite large and includes the 3 stars, while accurate measurements by Hipparcos indicates that at least one of the 3 stars is not part of the cluster.
A very beautiful and rich cluster displaying a wide variation in colours and brightness. A most rewarding object.
M42 17/10/09
Easily located in Orion. First time viewing with aperture larger than 200mm. Very bright with much evidence of structure. Trails of dark dust evident to south of central part of nebulosity. Trapezium stars very evident at 115x. Easily located stars E and F without averted vision. Use of UHC filter dramatically increased contrast.
NGC 121 11/11/09 Time 11-45pmVery small and faint globular cluster to NNE of NGC 104. Using 24mm EP both it and 104 appear in same FOV.
Mars Ice cap Observed at Camperdown Friday 15th Jan 2010. Used 13mm ep with 2x barlow (230x) Clearly visible with a dark ring around it. A prominent dark patch extended south, may be Syrtis Major. Not really familiar with planetary geography (or should that be Arieography for Mars, Jovieoraphy for Jupiter?) so not really sure.
Subsequent observations were in unstaedy seeing so not easy to pick up.
Rigel and IC335 will have to wait, have looked at Rigel but have no notes!
Michael-Wow some very nice descriptions through such a small scope.nice work on ngc 2516 ,just wondering if you or anyone else knows how to actually distinguish the doubles as i have no idea.
I admire your determinination to see rigels companion,especially through your scope,people say its difficult to see it with a scope smaller than 150mm but i have seen it many times through my 130mm.
Regarding ic335 and ngc 121,i think they are just way too faint for your scope but you can still try.
My first view of mars was just a blur but if you see my description about a day or two later in good seeing its absolutely amazing, i am looking forward to trying to do a sketch to show you guys what i can see.Keep trying you will be amazed if you get good conditions.
Malcolm-Very nice descriptions,especially ngc 2516(so detailed).
keep up the good work.
Heres my description of ngc 2516.i also did the skecth on the same night.
NGC 2516:-i could see 80 or more stars in the fov.The distribution of the stars was quite irregular ,some grouped areas while there were also big bald patches were no stars could be seen.The central star had a red hue to it and the brightest to the right was yellow.Magnificent open cluster.
I got my scope out last night to look at these objects. I hadn't observed since the birth of my son, well over a year ago.
Scope: 101mm APO f5.4 refractor.
Location: Melbourne
Seeing: very good
Transparency: average
NGC2516
Easily located just off the end of the False Cross. Nestled in against a bright "diamond" shape grouping of four stars. Pleasing cluster, two obvious red members, and around 80 (by my count) members spread across 30'. I was going to sketch the cluster, but it was beyond my talents. I began though, and marked what I thought were two double stars and a triple.
M42
Easily held five stars in the Trapezium. Always used to see six in my larger scopes before the great downsize. Only seen six stars once in the refractor.
Rigel
Easily split at 90x. Went for a hopeful stab at Sirius.... you know the result!
Mars
Lovely detail at 180x (3mm Nagler zoom) ... could have taken more magnification, despite the low altitude. Sharp triangular wedge of dark markings from the south extending to the equator. Confirmed as Syrtis Major when I got back inside. I though the North Polar cap was jumping out at me ... it was so obvious, however it may have been the contrast with the darker band of Nilosyrtis, which seemed to stand out. I need to compare my sketch with an image taken last night.
He's back!
Good to hear you had a successful Mars observation. I observed it with my 12" a few weeks ago and both polar caps had a "collar" of dark markings and additional patches of dark features reminded me of the spots on a cheetah!
Also made an attempt at Sirius pup at 283x, was a pretty easy split and incidentally the little bugger was right in a diffraction spike.
Looks like it might be clear again tonight....you know what you have to do
Great Stuff Doug,glad to hear that your out there observing again.
Nice work on starting the ngc 2516 sketch,i did one last month i have attached it.Does it look like what you saw?It takes a little patience when sketching oc's.
Mars is just amazing in good detail your description is pretty much what i saw.When i viewed it the NPC was outlined and just stood out so much. Nice sketch .
Regards orestis
Wow, lovely sketch. Yes, that gels - it certainly reminds me of what I observed last night. I tried to compare my view with O'Meara's sketch in Caldwall Objects, but couldn't work it out.
The suspected doubles, and one triple, seemed obvious to me, but I did have a 11mm Nagler in, which only gives me around 44x, so perhaps I was fooling myself.
I also visited a few old favorite doubles in Orion, notably eta Orionis, which at 180x resolved into a figure 8 dumbbells. Very tight double, must be around 2" separation, or just under, but pleasing. I also forgot to mention seeing seemed so steady, even Rigel's companion was throwing a diffraction ring.
I also went off looking for NGC121, but couldn't even find 47 Tuc, to my shame. Just not enough naked eye stuff from Melbourne to get close. I didn't have my atlas or binos outside, or my Argo fired up. I tried sweeping with my 6mm Nagler zoom, but the FOV was too tight.
Mars.... someone's posted an image they took at the same time I was observing ....
Thanks for the initiative in setting up this observation challenge, great for those new to this pursuit.
My observation is from a nice bright mooonlight suburban back yard...........! None the less, I have had great success with all but IC 335 and NGC 121. They will wait until a Snake Valley visit.
The most interesting challenge was Mars. It was achieved from the front yard, in between street lights and over the northern suburbs of Melbourne at about 11.00pm. Out of the orangeish murk there were moments of wonderful clarity with great views at 170x.
The learning from this exercise is to look closer at stars in clusters, and to obtain a good sky map book that will provide info in support. What recommendations?
Pity that I will be travelling in Feb and will miss that challenge!
Great List I will add it to my iPod App Starmap Pro under the featured section (Does anyone else have this app?). Ill set my alarm clock to 1:15 (Bloody Moon) Maybe you should make the chart at the beggining of Feb as the Moon wanes?
Had a great night viewing last night. Having the monthly challenge MADE me get the scope out and write down what was seen.
Rigel: Was a great view directly above. Able to split it with the 10mm EP. Used the 2x Barlow for a closer look, But the "further away" view was better. Had a go at Sirius while i was up there but no good. Need a fine focuser i think and a smaller EP (6mm?)
Mars Polar ice cap: Was difficult to view because it was so low in the sky, but the ice cap stands out regardless a white tinge to the northern part of the planets disk.
Had a great night viewing last night. Having the monthly challenge MADE me get the scope out and write down what was seen.
Rigel: Was a great view directly above. Able to split it with the 10mm EP. Used the 2x Barlow for a closer look, But the "further away" view was better. Had a go at Sirius while i was up there but no good. Need a fine focuser i think and a smaller EP (6mm?)
Mars Polar ice cap: Was difficult to view because it was so low in the sky, but the ice cap stands out regardless a white tinge to the northern part of the planets disk.
Tonight looking good for more
Happy viewing
Benno
Great to hear your out there observing has been cloudy most of the week here.
Sweet you got Rigels little fella, what telescope were you using?
.
. To split the double I had to use the 6mm EP and stare at it for a long time. It was only in moments of good seeing that I could see the double. Once I had found it I put the 15mm back in and I could again find it but only in moments of stillness. A nice challenge.
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