mental4astro
28-09-2009, 12:18 PM
Hi all,
Answering Lismore Bloke's call to arms', I thought to put down the observing session done on Friday 25'th of September.
Done from Sydney's Eastern Suburds, I aim to show what can be seen in the sky, even during the Moon's first Quarter.
I also hope to enthuse new comers to Astronomy. Peter has only had his 8" scope for a couple of years, is still getting his bearings and realise the full potential of it.
Equipment: 8" GSO f/6 dob, 17.5" Odssey II f/4.5 dob, various EPs, #80A blue colour filter, Lumicon Nebula filter, and 10X50 binos. The binos are invaluble in a light polluted enviroment. Just won't find most objects otherwise, except if using digital setting circles.
We were originally to set up from a school's oval, but the wind proved too strong & cold. Moved viewing session to my backyard, nearby & offered shelter from the wind.
First object was Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Peter hadn't seen it. The GRS can prove illusive to spot, as it is not cherry red in colour, rather it is pale, and the glare of the planet can wash it out if you don't know what to look for. We used the blue filter on a 1.25" EP, and there it was, bang in the middle of the disk on the southern cloud band. The blue filter made it an obvious soft orange colour breaking up the southern cloud belt which was now darker in colour. Seeing was aweful that night, so any higher power over 150X was not possible. Still this offered the occasional glimpse of swirls & festoons of detail.
We then had a go at M4. With the moon located close to the head of Scorpio, it was ney impossible to view it. After much effort, we just caught a glimpse of it as a faint streak of cloudiness, which M4 is famous for.
We then moved away from the moon & had a go at the globular cluster NGC 6752 in Pavo. Spectacular. It has a dense core with a mass of stars radiating out. Its stars vary in brightness and colour, give a 'jewel encrusted' feel to it. Though the Odyssey showed more stars, the 8"'s image was more pleasing as its slower focal ratio made for a darker backgound continuum, improving contrast.
Next was 47 Tuc. Amazing in any scope. It seemed to leap out of the 2" GSO 30mm 68degree EP.
I then tried to track down the Grus quartet of galaxied, NGC 7531/52/82 & 99. I had seen their obvious galactic cloudiness from Sydney in both the 8" & the 17.5", but this time with the Moon it was impossible to make out anything.
Then had a go for the beautiful galaxy NGC 253. Though not as detailed even when viewing from town without the moon, it was an obvious oval streak in both scopes. Didn't need to employ the giggling technique with this one. We returned to it after the dark of the night started, and it began to reveal some faint mottled detail in the 17.5"
Had a go then for another galaxy, NGC 55. A pencil thin streak of light which needed the scope to be 'giggled' or moved about, to be able to spot clearly at first. I'm not too sure how this giggling technique works, but it does with the faint fuzzies. The 8" showed it a little more clearly on moving with its better contrast.
Peter chanced on the Tarantula Nebula with a scan of the sky through the 8". Silly me knocked it out of view and we had a hell of a time finding it again, even with the binos, as there are no bright stars to help with the star hopping. But we did. The Lumicon filter helped bring out some detail, and revealed more nebulosity surrounding the Tarantula within the Large Magellanic Cloud.
I also had a go at tracking down Uranus. Again the binos came into their own as where it is in the sky there are few bright stars, especially with the moon about. It was my second viewing of Uranus & Peter's first. Well worth the effort with its emerald/lime green colour & small but obvious disk. Uranus is easily visible in the binoculars, just need a Uranus/Neptune map to track down. Neptune is also visible, being located close to Jupiter at the moment. But need a scope to view it as well as the map, with its brilliant deep blue colour distinguishing it from the surrounding stars.
It was 11pm by this time. Tried for the galaxy NGC 300, but weariness got the better of us, so we packed up.
I hope this encourages fellow astro junkies to take out their scopes while the moon is on its smaller phases. Try to keep the moon behind you, be patient & use binos. Peter's scope uses a 50mm right angle correct image finder & my Odyssey had its new 3" reflector finder with a red dot finder mounted on it. Without the binos to navigate first we would not have found what we had. I always use them in the big smoke.
Mental.
Answering Lismore Bloke's call to arms', I thought to put down the observing session done on Friday 25'th of September.
Done from Sydney's Eastern Suburds, I aim to show what can be seen in the sky, even during the Moon's first Quarter.
I also hope to enthuse new comers to Astronomy. Peter has only had his 8" scope for a couple of years, is still getting his bearings and realise the full potential of it.
Equipment: 8" GSO f/6 dob, 17.5" Odssey II f/4.5 dob, various EPs, #80A blue colour filter, Lumicon Nebula filter, and 10X50 binos. The binos are invaluble in a light polluted enviroment. Just won't find most objects otherwise, except if using digital setting circles.
We were originally to set up from a school's oval, but the wind proved too strong & cold. Moved viewing session to my backyard, nearby & offered shelter from the wind.
First object was Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Peter hadn't seen it. The GRS can prove illusive to spot, as it is not cherry red in colour, rather it is pale, and the glare of the planet can wash it out if you don't know what to look for. We used the blue filter on a 1.25" EP, and there it was, bang in the middle of the disk on the southern cloud band. The blue filter made it an obvious soft orange colour breaking up the southern cloud belt which was now darker in colour. Seeing was aweful that night, so any higher power over 150X was not possible. Still this offered the occasional glimpse of swirls & festoons of detail.
We then had a go at M4. With the moon located close to the head of Scorpio, it was ney impossible to view it. After much effort, we just caught a glimpse of it as a faint streak of cloudiness, which M4 is famous for.
We then moved away from the moon & had a go at the globular cluster NGC 6752 in Pavo. Spectacular. It has a dense core with a mass of stars radiating out. Its stars vary in brightness and colour, give a 'jewel encrusted' feel to it. Though the Odyssey showed more stars, the 8"'s image was more pleasing as its slower focal ratio made for a darker backgound continuum, improving contrast.
Next was 47 Tuc. Amazing in any scope. It seemed to leap out of the 2" GSO 30mm 68degree EP.
I then tried to track down the Grus quartet of galaxied, NGC 7531/52/82 & 99. I had seen their obvious galactic cloudiness from Sydney in both the 8" & the 17.5", but this time with the Moon it was impossible to make out anything.
Then had a go for the beautiful galaxy NGC 253. Though not as detailed even when viewing from town without the moon, it was an obvious oval streak in both scopes. Didn't need to employ the giggling technique with this one. We returned to it after the dark of the night started, and it began to reveal some faint mottled detail in the 17.5"
Had a go then for another galaxy, NGC 55. A pencil thin streak of light which needed the scope to be 'giggled' or moved about, to be able to spot clearly at first. I'm not too sure how this giggling technique works, but it does with the faint fuzzies. The 8" showed it a little more clearly on moving with its better contrast.
Peter chanced on the Tarantula Nebula with a scan of the sky through the 8". Silly me knocked it out of view and we had a hell of a time finding it again, even with the binos, as there are no bright stars to help with the star hopping. But we did. The Lumicon filter helped bring out some detail, and revealed more nebulosity surrounding the Tarantula within the Large Magellanic Cloud.
I also had a go at tracking down Uranus. Again the binos came into their own as where it is in the sky there are few bright stars, especially with the moon about. It was my second viewing of Uranus & Peter's first. Well worth the effort with its emerald/lime green colour & small but obvious disk. Uranus is easily visible in the binoculars, just need a Uranus/Neptune map to track down. Neptune is also visible, being located close to Jupiter at the moment. But need a scope to view it as well as the map, with its brilliant deep blue colour distinguishing it from the surrounding stars.
It was 11pm by this time. Tried for the galaxy NGC 300, but weariness got the better of us, so we packed up.
I hope this encourages fellow astro junkies to take out their scopes while the moon is on its smaller phases. Try to keep the moon behind you, be patient & use binos. Peter's scope uses a 50mm right angle correct image finder & my Odyssey had its new 3" reflector finder with a red dot finder mounted on it. Without the binos to navigate first we would not have found what we had. I always use them in the big smoke.
Mental.