EpickCrom
24-04-2022, 01:12 PM
Hi fellow observers! The skies were nice and clear last night, no moon plus the smoke from the recent bush burnoffs had finally cleared. As dark as I can get from my bortle 6 backyard. I took the opportunity to observe various targets with my 10 inch dob.
M 60: Eliptical galaxy in Virgo. Presented itself as a hazy ball seen in direct vision. There is currently a supernova in neighbouring galaxy NGC 4647. I was not able to see this galaxy or the supernova:(
NGC 5824: Globular cluster in Lupus. Faint, small but concentrated. No stars resolved.
NGC 3372: The Eta Carina Nebula. A big WOW viewing this while 61 degrees above the horizon! Simply stunning views showing the nebulosity, embedded clusters and brilliant starfields surrounding this remarkable object. This was the best I've ever seen it yet:eyepop:
NGC 5139: Omega Centauri. Another WOW! Man we are blessed here in the Southern Hemisphere! The largest, brightest globular cluster in the sky, an overwhelming view at 150x. I could clearly see" The Hole of Omega" at its centre. :eyepop::eyepop:
NGC 5128. The Hamburger Galaxy. This one was rather faint, some haze around a faint star.
NGC 2301. A nice open cluster in Monoceros. It has an unusual shape with a rich centre. There are three streams of stars radiating outwards from the centre point. A nice double at its centre.
M 65 and M 66 in Leo: A nice pair of galaxies. I could not see NGC 3628 which completes the " Leo Trio".
NGC 3293: The Gem Cluster. A beautiful open cluster. It looked absolutely fantastic last night, like precious gems glittering again the dark sky. Close to it is NGC 3324, another open cluster but it is bathed in faint nebulosity which I saw for the first time.
NGC 5873: Planetary nebula in Lupus. Took some finding but saw it in the end. Rather faint at 11th magnitude. A small luminous smudge.
It was a very satisfying session. My Saxon 10 inch dobsonian is really delivering the goods under light polluted skies. I wish you all clear skies and wide eyes!
Joe
M 60: Eliptical galaxy in Virgo. Presented itself as a hazy ball seen in direct vision. There is currently a supernova in neighbouring galaxy NGC 4647. I was not able to see this galaxy or the supernova:(
NGC 5824: Globular cluster in Lupus. Faint, small but concentrated. No stars resolved.
NGC 3372: The Eta Carina Nebula. A big WOW viewing this while 61 degrees above the horizon! Simply stunning views showing the nebulosity, embedded clusters and brilliant starfields surrounding this remarkable object. This was the best I've ever seen it yet:eyepop:
NGC 5139: Omega Centauri. Another WOW! Man we are blessed here in the Southern Hemisphere! The largest, brightest globular cluster in the sky, an overwhelming view at 150x. I could clearly see" The Hole of Omega" at its centre. :eyepop::eyepop:
NGC 5128. The Hamburger Galaxy. This one was rather faint, some haze around a faint star.
NGC 2301. A nice open cluster in Monoceros. It has an unusual shape with a rich centre. There are three streams of stars radiating outwards from the centre point. A nice double at its centre.
M 65 and M 66 in Leo: A nice pair of galaxies. I could not see NGC 3628 which completes the " Leo Trio".
NGC 3293: The Gem Cluster. A beautiful open cluster. It looked absolutely fantastic last night, like precious gems glittering again the dark sky. Close to it is NGC 3324, another open cluster but it is bathed in faint nebulosity which I saw for the first time.
NGC 5873: Planetary nebula in Lupus. Took some finding but saw it in the end. Rather faint at 11th magnitude. A small luminous smudge.
It was a very satisfying session. My Saxon 10 inch dobsonian is really delivering the goods under light polluted skies. I wish you all clear skies and wide eyes!
Joe