1 Feb 2014

[glenc]

Last Sunday my son-in-law, Tim, modified my 16" GSO Dob and reduced its weight by 8kg.
He replaced the two base circles with monopan. http://www.monopan.ca/about/
It now moves very smoothly too.

Paul came out last night from Lismore and we observed from 9pm to 11pm.
It is rare to have a clear night this time of year and last night was excellent. Paul supplied some great 7mm and 12mm eyepieces.

We looked at Jupiter and its moons first then some DSOs.

Some of the DSO were:
OC: M35, M37, M45, M46, N2516, N2158, N3293
GC: N104, N362, N288, N2808, N3201
Neb: M42/43, M78, eta Car, M346, N1435, N1763, N1977, N2024, N2070, N2071, N2261, N2174, N3199, N3247, N3324, N3581/82, N3603, IC2944
PN: N1360, N1514, N1535, N2392, N2438, N2867, N3132, N3242, N3699
Gxy: SMC, LMC, M77, N253, N1313, N1365, Fornax group, 1549/53/66 and nearby galaxies.

[Lismore Bloke]

Hi Glen,

It was a really great evening with superb conditions. Early shimmering soon settled down and star images were pin sharp. The transparency was also excellent with little light pollution or smoke and dust. I must say it is really good to say I saw quite a few objects for the first time. The "Bean Nebula" in the LMC really did look like a baked bean! It was the best I have seen the Tarantula, truly spectacular. We used my Nagler T4 12mm for most of the evening with the addition of the Astronomiks UHC filter on the nebulae. The T4 12mm is a brilliant eyepiece with a perfect combination of a useful field of view and enough magnification to make it an ideal DSO choice. We also used the Nagler T6 7mm for a closer look at a couple of PN's later on. Thanks to Glen for the use of his excellent 16" Dobsonian, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the night sky and his willingness to share. Is there a more skilled visual observer? Maybe not!!

Cheers, Paul.

[glenc]

Thanks Paul.
I saw a galaxy that I have never seen before, PGC 413165 with Bmag 13.7.
The attached 28' by 28' wikisky image shows PGC 413165 and mag 11.1 NGC 1596.
http://leda.univ-lyon1.fr/ledacat.cgi?o=PGC413165

[Judith]

Paul in response to your rhetorical question Is there a more skilled visual observer? I would say a resounding no! Glen definitely takes the cake as far as I'm concerned. I miss you both!

Judith

[glenc]

We miss you too Judith.
If you go to the Qld Astrofest or Leyburn you will see some great visual observers.
No doubt they are at other star parties too.
Unfortunately they are a dying breed.

[glenc]

I observed from moon-set to twilight this morning (3:50am to 5:15am). It has been dry and unusually clear for this time of year.