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michaellxv
30-06-2011, 02:05 AM
Another clear night, yay:). At home again with the light polution.

All obs with the 10" Lightbridge

20:40 M83 Gx 26mm
Yes, still on this. I wanted to see if I could find it from home.
I did but only just. The bright core was only just visible appeared more like a small GC with only a hint of the outer areas. No structure visible.

I then set out on a tour through Scorpius

20:58 M4 GC 15mm
Less impressive at home. Central region looked like a bar in the N-S orientation. What looks like outer arms like a propeller turning.

21:10 NGC6281 OC 15mm
Nice OC with about a dozen stars making an arrow point W with a tail of 4 or 5 stars. Two arms of 4 stars each curving to the S. All of similar brightness.

21:15 Bug Nebula NGC6302 10mm
Better than I expected. Bright in the middle with an overall elongated shape apparent.

21:29 Graffias double star.
Omega1 Scorpii distinct blue colour
Omega2 Scorpii distinct orange colour
Nu Scorpii could not split it any further than the 2.

21:44 26mm
Zeta Scorpii plus one other make a nice triangle at the top of the tail.

North to NGC6231 OC.
7 brighter stars in the center loosely surrounded by up to 40 others. Hard to tell which one belong to the cluster.

North to Collinder 316 OC.
Loose group of 60 plus stars spreading along lines. Trumpler24 also in this area but cannot tell which stars belong. Nebula IC4628 on the very edge of visibility.

North to NGC6242 OC
Small group of about 20 stars in a line SE-NW. 1 red star stands out, is it part of the group?

East to NGC6268 OC
Faint group of about 20 stars forming an S shape.

Then on to the double Mu Scorpii. Now 22:10

22:20 NGC6388 GC 15mm
Compact GC with a bright core and even halo all round.

22:44 NGC6441 GC 26mm
Small GC bright at the core.

Then my EP started to fog up. The shroud had performed well again tonight. No dew problems on the primary or secondary despite my charts getting damp.

Paddy
30-06-2011, 03:52 PM
Another set of vivid descriptions Michael - very good to read. One thing you might not have tried with a fogged ep is to put the caps on and put it in your pocket to warm it up. Works OK but i have to say that although dew isn't usually a big problem at my place it's been shocking this year and I'm going to make myself a heated eyepiece box before too long.

michaellxv
01-07-2011, 12:53 AM
If I was thinking straight I could have just swapped EP. Doh! Must have been ready to come in anyway.

pgc hunter
01-07-2011, 01:30 PM
Nice obs Michael.The nebulosity in the Zeta Scorpi/NGC 6231 region actually responds well to a H-beta filter as I've found out the other night observing it with 120ST refractor. I've tried UHC , OIII and H-beta and the H-beta is the best of the bunch. UHC works well aswell but OIII ruins it.

michaellxv
01-07-2011, 02:38 PM
Thanks Sab. I was thinking my next purchase would be a quality EP, but maybe I should factor in filters as well. Plenty of time til my birthday to sort that out.

orestis
02-07-2011, 07:34 AM
Hi Michael,

Great set of observations :thumbsup:,If you take your time with the bug nebula i'm sure you will be able to see much more,unless ofcourse your have Light pollution.

Also if your looking for a great double apart from graffias,in the same constellation Scorpius, is Nu scorpii an amazing double double which offers some colour aswell.

Regards Orestis;)

michaellxv
02-07-2011, 10:09 PM
I had a go at Nu scorpii after seeing it in your report but I think I would need perfect conditions to do it at home. I'll defintely try it again next time I'm at a dark site.

pgc hunter
02-07-2011, 11:55 PM
To start of with, I would suggest getting a UHC filter, it is the most versatile as it will enhance virtually all emission nebulae and most planetaries.