Observation Report 30/09/10

[astroron]

I set up at about 19:30 sky was lovely and clear after such a long time.
I had a look at the usual pretty pictures such as Jupiter a bit fuzzy but still quite pleasant, then onto Uranus and Neptune, also took in the dumbbell (M27) and M71 Globular cluster in Sagitta before doing the Sue French "Deep Sky Wonders" "Splashing Around the Dolphin". AS&T October 2010.
there are some really challenging object in in this constellation but was able to observe most of them , a couple of the PGC and UGC objects escaped detection as the seeing was not the best.

UGC11590B and NGC 6930 where only seen with averted vision.
NGC 6928 was easy at 302xmag with the 6mm Radian, but NGC 6927 was only just glimpsed.
The Globular Cluster NGC 6934 seemed to be elliptical with some quite bright stars on the periphery. it has quite a dense core but was able to resolve quite a few stars as the seeing would allow.

I then attacked NGCLes's 'Spring Barred Spirals" from same issue.
First cab of the rank was NGC 7424, This galaxy is quite large with a bright nuculus and large defuse outer spiral arms, this surely is a must for better seeing.
NGC 1232, even though still quite low was still quite a sight in high mag.
Ngc 7479 in Pegasus, the bar was quite bright but the arms where not very defined .
Intermittent clouds interupted the rest of the night but waited around till Comet P103 Hartley2 cleared the horizon, at only 8.9 deg above my horizon I was sitting on the ground to observe it.
It is very Star like, quite bright in a 15mm eyepiece, no sign of a tail, but it was still in the haze of the horizon,so it was not a good observation.
I just packed everything away when it started raining:(
Phew! that was close:D

[orestis]

Excellent Report Ron,

Sounds like you had a great night.
Good to here someone got some clear sky.

Regards orestis:thumbsup:

[astroron]

Thanks Mate, It doesn't look like I will get a repeat performance tonight:(
But hoping for Saturday:thumbsup:

[pgc hunter]

These obs reports are an endagered species lately - thanks for posting Ron. Looks like it'll be clear tonight and I will be attempting some of these objects. Love the Dumbell, really a sight in a med-large scope with a filter!

[astroron]

Thanks Seb, I have decided to post more reports as I was one of the people who wanted them in the first place:thumbsup:

[Robh]

Nice report, Ron.

Good to see someone getting some observations in.
I tried the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 7424 in Grus with my 12 inch at home last month but didn't get a whiff of it. It is very diffuse. The sky-glow here is about 20.4 mags/sq arcsec. I think the sky needs to be much darker.

Regards, Rob

[pgc hunter]

top stuff, look forward to seeing 'em :thumbsup:



I've attempted IC 5332, which is a similar galaxy from outer suburbs using a 12" and managed to see a compact core with a very low surface brightness halo. These type of objects are very poorly suited to observation from anything less than a fully fledged dark site.

[Liz]

Lots of goodies glimpsed there Ron, including the comet, well done. :thumbsup:

[astroron]

Thanks Liz:) the Comet was so low down that I nearly had to dig a hole to get down to see it:lol::lol::lol:

[Paddy]

Sounds like a good night, Ron. Thanks for the report.

[Suzy]

Thank you Ron for posting that fabulous report, sounds like you had a very busy night. That bit about you nearly having to dig a hole was so funny. :lol:

I've never posted an obs report here before (feel a bit nervous truth be known), :rolleyes: but I made lots of notes on my last few obs, so I will give it a go to post it here soon. Due to poor weather, I haven't been able to observe for a month (except for 30mts when the sky cleared one strange night), so reflecting back doing the report will probably make me feel like I'm out there again :screwy: :lol:.

I will endeavour to prioritise making these reports as I feel they are such an important part of visual observers and too little of it on this forum compared to so much astrophotography here. I love reading the reports and seeing the sketches, and I know many of you'll do as well, so that being said, I should contribute as well.

[Paddy]

:thumbsup:

Go Suzy! It will be great to read your reports and have another contributor to the reports section. For a long time I didn't understand writing observation reports, but I've found it transforms the whole experience of observing. :thumbsup:

Oh, and you're absolutely right about feeling like you're back out there again when writing up. I find when I'm listening to my tape and typing up, I can see the objects again in my mind's eye quite clearly. When I have time to also look up the classification of the object, be it a cluster, nebula or galaxy, I find I start to understand the classification system much better and hence the objects I've observed. It's also quite interesting to then look at images of the object and I find it surprising how much can be seen in faint fuzzies quite accurately. And also that some of the patterns/asterisms that the eye sees don't show up in images.

Again I say :thumbsup:and :thumbsup:and :thumbsup:

[astroron]

Suzy!now you know why I have the Green Carpet, to keep my Bum dry when I have to get down really LOOOOOOW:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Rob_K]

Great job Ron, enjoyed the read! :thumbsup:



Just as a matter of interest, seeing as I had good dark skies tonight, I had a go at NGC 7424 and IC 5332 with my 4.5" f8 Tasco with 21mm EP (43x). Both were extremely faint, hard to hold, and not the sort of objects I would ever pick up in idly scanning through the fields - but I had their positions well nailed down in the field. NGC 7424 was a shapeless ghost-of-a-ghost, while IC 5332 was a little easier to see. I got the impression it has a slightly brighter core than 7424 - in fact that was pretty much all I saw of it I think. By contrast, the mag 11.3 NGC 7410, just a field away, was an easy spot, a nice little edge-on. A similar distance away from 7424, the faint mag 12.2 NGC 7462 was also visible, but only in averted vision because of a bright little star at one end.

Two good lessons - good skies are everything, and magnitude on its own doesn't mean much! I'd love to see all these galaxies in a 10" or 12" under skies at my place. The door's always open fellas! ;) :lol:

Cheers -

[Suzy]

Patrick, thank you for all that fabulous encouragement (and tips too!). You put the biggest smile on my face :).
So, you use a recorder ... brilliant! I will do the same. No wonder your reports are so fantastic.

Ron.. :lol: Carpet burn much. :question:

[astroron]

Carpet Burn Suzy:shrug:
only on my bum from sliding around.:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Paddy]

Thanks Suzy. The tip about using a recorder came form Les Dalrymple in a thread quite some time ago. It makes the whole process so easy. Looking forward to your reports!

[Rob_K]

Suzy, remember that it's not 'compulsory' to put up your obs in any formal way. Guys like Patrick & Les put up great posts that cumulatively
form a valuable archive of observations that others can refer to, but a less 'technical' report that communicates your impressions, enjoyment or the like can be just as valuable. After all, that's what drives us to do it, and keeps us going through shared experience! :thumbsup:

Er, what I think I'm saying is that an observation report is not a test! :lol:

Good luck!!

Cheers -

[astroron]

Hi Patrick, we up here in "Sunny Queensland":shrug:
have to get rid of this rain before we can do some More observing reports:mad2:

[astroron]

I had a recorder for years , it was a great tool :) till I dropped it :sadeyes:
they don't bounce very well:sadeyes:

[Paddy]

Couldn't agree more, Rob!

[RobF]

In fact I suspect many of the astrophotographers enjoy reading these reports too Suzy. Very few wouldn't have done at least some visual before being led astray, and it does make you feel like you've shared a bit of the night (even if you've been clouded out for eternity in reality :lol:). I promised myself when I bought my latest scope I would keep good observations, spending many hours tweaking the format I would use/used. I managed to keep that up for 6 or 9 months before the imaging bug really bit. Even now I get a lot of satisfaction making notes each night I'm out, albeit usually simple text files in Notepad now I tend to have a laptop with me all the time - a text file for each night saved into the directory along with all my raw image files. I like to record more than object/exposure times/filters/etc though - is nice to read back about people you were with, visitors, or even how noisey the neighbours or dog next door have been. :lol: It certainly evokes more memories when you're reading back later.

Ron, you're not wrong about that carpet - I have fond memories of grovelling on it while chasing a couple of very low galaxies on the northern horizon.

Hmmm, in fact, digging back through the archives, have found the text file for that night, with extract for latter part of night below!:

Sat 28/2/09 - 2nd Feb visit to Ron's, 130am:
Focus soft all night. First time used red cellophane on screen, and really wasn’t careful enough checking focus. Particularly disappointed with my first extra long exposure efforts on the Sombrero – mount really was tracking poorly.

Visual: M97 - Faint puff ball in Ron’s scope, kneeling on the ground, but clearly visible, like a ghost…

M51 - Beautiful twin galaxies. Ron says he can see M101 from here too….

NGC 4565 - Beautiful dust lane visible, with faint star like supernova below and brightish star away on other side of galaxy. Very nice in the dob!! Last object for the night before retiring to tent about 3am!!

I think my observation notes could use some work, but I can still vividly remember the scene, the dew and the objects reading that. +1 for obs reports :thumbsup:

[astroron]

Hi Rob,for one who has gravitated to the dark side:( It was a great report.:)
It seems like a lifetime since you where here in Cambroon:(
I hope when the weather fines up :shrug: we will see you again:)
Cheers :thumbsup:

[RobF]

Me too Ron - would love to sample the clear Cambroon air and cruise your skies again. In the final weeks of study/exams now, so should get my freedom back in time for the perfect skies Nov will bring...
(nothing wrong with eternal optimism! :))

[Suzy]

Rob F, wow! I really enjoyed reading that report - and this from a dark sider. Fantastic! Okay, well - if HE can do it, I can. :lol:

You're right guys I don't need to make it too technical, I see. I get a big buzz myself even out of the most simple obs.

Thank you Rob K & Rob F for the great advice & encouragement. RobF I hope to be at Ron's in November (weather permitting and God willing), I would love so much to meet you if you are able to attend. Sounds like Ron's carpet gets a lot of intimate encounters.:lol: Do you have a plush pile version for moi? Something in pink (matches my skin tone better) :question:.

Ron, I'm sorry about you're tape recorder - but I have to admit I laughed very very hard when you told that story. :rofl: Have you thought about using your mobile phone's recorder (that's what I'll be doing)?

I'm in the middle of digging up my note scribbled maps to do my first report - I even have star sketches amongst my notes (seems I've been a closet observer - just coming out :lol: ) I better get back to it. Gosh, hope there isn't a word limit, you know what my posts can be like...! :rolleyes: :lol:

Seeing as the weather has been miserable for most of us for some time, how about you guys dig back into some old obs and post them, as RobF did and just like I am about to do. :question: It will help carry us over till we can observe again. "Reflection Obs" sub titling the title. Thoughts? Ideas? Maybe you have even posted all your obs already, but for those who haven't (like me).

Err, sorry Ron, appears I have hijacked your thread. :question:

[astroron]

Yakity yakity Yakity yak:lol::lol::lol:
I don't mind one bit Suzy:):):)

[pgc hunter]

I tried for 7424 last weekend and saw exactly nothing. Not a target for suburban skies.



Agreed. Sometimes the improvement going from the city to the country is the equivalent of doubling your aperture.

[RobF]

That's a great idea Suzy to have a "reflection on past observations thread". You should do it! I'd like to hear what notes people dug up and lessons learned along the way. You should certainly write up some of your notes as reports. Do those bits of paper have lots of emoticons all over them.....:P :ashamed:

Would be great to catch up with you at Ron's some time if that works out. You couldn't hope for a nicer crowd of observers. Wife has been minding the kids for so many weekends I'll be working hard to scrounge enough brownie pts to get away, but wouldn't it be great to get a clear new moon before the Christmas break.....

Yes, sorry to nattering over your obs report Ron, but it really was a stimulating read on a wet rainy afternoon :)

[astroron]

No worries Rob I am enjoying the interaction :):):thumbsup:
I am hoping the weather will be kind to us next month:prey::prey::prey:
cheers

[shelltree]

It's great to hear you had some good weather for observing Ron and you found a heap of goodies too :) Reading your report made me excited about getting out there again when this rain goes away!

[astroron]

Thanks Shelly:) that green carpet is getting plenty of use, me on bended knee praying for this rain to stop:lol::lol::lol: