For the first time since I picked up binoculars a couple of months ago, I went to a dark sky site about 1.25 hours southwest of where I live. I arrived around 8pm and only got back to Bondi after 5am. The night was excellent, and the sheer number of stars visible to the naked eye was refreshingly impressive. We had some early cloud but after midnight things were mostly clear, and the light domes of Sydney and Wollongong had diminished to almost nothing by around 2am.
There were far too many objects to point the scopes at (there were 3 beginners there with their scopes, including me, and 2 old hands with 18" and 20" Obsession clones between them). We had an early treat shortly after 10pm when an Iridium flare blazed across a portion of the southeastern sky - my first such experience and very impressive indeed!
Some notes, in no particular order:
- Tarantula nebula was impressive, once again, and the 18" and 20" scopes showed wonderful detail
- Omega Centauri was spectacular as usual in my 10"; the 18" scope brightened it somewhat and showed more individual stars
- saw the Jewel Box for the first time through my 10" scope with a 25mm eyepiece; didn't even have time to switch up to the 10mm EP but enjoyed the colour and spectacle of it
- M42 was lovely before the sky had darkened; forgot to point my scope back at it later in the evening to compare with my light polluted home views (oops)
- Eta Carinae nebula, saw the homunculus in the 10", 12" and 18", with all three scopes showing detail in the lobes and the 18" scope showing quite a bit more in each of the lobes
- Saturn was excellent through all of the scopes; the rings were clearly visible over the planet disk in all three scopes, and 2 moons were clearly visible in the 10" and 12" scopes, while the 18" scope showed a slightly larger and significantly brighter image and clearly showed a third moon
- NGC 1365 was an early contender for galaxy of the evening (and my first confirmed galaxy sighting) in the 18"
- Saw the Leo Trio in the 18" and zoomed in on M66 to see details, confirming an earlier unconfirmed sighting of these objects a few weeks ago in my 10"
- Observed M83 in the 18" and my 10"; excellent in both (though not easy to locate and not as bright as I had expected for a Messier)
- Sombrero Galaxy - knocking socks off to the sound of Mike Oldfield's latest album (I suspect that next time I view M83 it would be appropriate to play some M83) - could make out the dust lane
- Saw the big football cluster somewhere near Eta Carinae (cannot for the life of me recall its name or catalogue designation)
- Observed the Pleiades and Southern Pleiades through my binos
- Alpha Centauri is a nice looking binary, as it happens
- Les pointed his 18" at a planetary nebula heretofore unobserved visually, and became the first human to see the object. My untrained eyes were unable to see what he was so excited about!
There were other objects, but as you can see it was a very productive evening. I can also report that:
- green laser pointers are awesome
- I definitely need a variable-height astro chair like Richard brought
- the GSO (also branded Bintel) 12" solid-tube Dob is well-constructed and a joy to use
- shooting stars and satellites still bring me great joy
- aperture fever may be cool but eyepiece lust is way more alluring right now
- it's worth bringing my laptop to my next session because fishing out star maps is slow and ruins your night vision!
- salt and vinegar chips taste excellent at 4am while driving on the Hume Highway; Arnotts Montes are great reward for arriving alive back in Bondi
Anyway the night was excellent, and thanks to Les in particular for everything. You're a champ!
Yeah it was a lovely night and all had a very nice time I think. After mid-might it was the darkest Bargo sky I can remember for quite a long time. The SQM/L readings I took at about midnight showed 21.53 -- A ZLM of +6.4. I think I might have to get down there more often on a Sunday night instead of Saturday!
The football cluster you refer to is NGC 3532 -- which I seem to remember Herschel thought was an exceptionally impressive object -- and it is. It is best seen in 8-10" 'scopes.
It turns out that the MASH PNe (PNG 285.5-03.3 = PHR 1019-6059) we saw in Carina (unbeknownst to us all) was seen for the first time ever by Lynton Hemer in South Australia only the night before using Ian Bedford's 30" 'scope -- so we were beaten there unfortunately. It probably remains to John B & Hector as to whether they saw it even earlier (I think John & Hector are currently observing at "Coona").
DSB's collimation issues and mirror cell problems were all sorted out very early in the evening and the collapsible 10" works wonderfully well -- yes? And "DarkskyBondi now appreciates that the sky at Bondi isn't really dark at all.
Very nice Iridium flare at mag -8 -- even for me!
There was one other little object detected that you might hear a little more about in due course. It seems member of this forum (not me -- and who has already reported his discovery elsewhere and it is being investigated at the AAO) has serendipitously discovered a "new" small reflection nebula surrounding a naked-eye star in the southern sky via a blue-plate inspection, while he was in the course of researching another project.
Two observers including myself believe we detected a portion of the new nebula at about 2.30am. If it all turns out as we think, this small nebula may turn out to be the closest illuminated nebula to our solar-system at only 40-odd parsecs (130ly) distance -- so there you go!
No recorded observations made last night -- there was simply too much fun to be had! DSB summed it up pretty well! We all had a ball and that's what it's all about!
It turns out that the MASH PNe (PNG 285.5-03.3 = PHR 1019-6059) we saw in Carina (unbeknownst to us all) was seen for the first time ever by Lynton Hemer in South Australia only the night before using Ian Bedford's 30" 'scope -- so we were beaten there unfortunately. It probably remains to John B & Hector as to whether they saw it even earlier (I think John & Hector are currently observing at "Coona").
Best,
Les D
Hi Les,
Great to hear you had excellent observing conditions. I didn't end up making it to Coonabarabran. I ended up having all of last week off work with this virus that made me dizzy. No way I could have driven to Coona on Friday and not killed myself and everyone else on the road, or climbed up a ladder to observe.
Andrew (Hector) and Rod Berry (Rodstar) ended up still going. However, I didn't see them before they left and never had a chance to pass on that PN Challenge [MASH PNe (PNG 285.5-03.3 = PHR 1019-6059)], to them.
I did talk to Andrew on the phone yesterday. He said conditions weren't great because of a major electrical storm at Narabri, which illuminated the sky from Broken Hill to Brisbane so it may have been a very difficult target under those conditions.
Cheers,
John B
Note re Bargo conditions. I have observed from a friends' property at Canyonleigh quite frequently. It is a bit further South and I regularly get excellent conditions with21.5 to 21.7 SQM readings with a NLEM of about 6.5 or 6.6.
Those are quite impressive SQM figures for Canyonleigh.
As a matter of interest, here is a copy of what I posted on AMASTRO about this challenge PNe:
"I recorded it in my 46cm f/4.9 at 12.30am local time (13.30hrs UTC) on Sun night/Mon morning 25/26012009 at my Southern Highlands site about 130km SW of Sydney. I'd rate the seeing at about 7/10 and the SQM/L gave a reading of 21.53 equating to a ZLM of 6.40 about 1/2 hr before the observation.
The field is pretty easy to acquire about 28 arc-min NE of 3rd magnitude SAO 250905. It was very tough to see at x185 without filtration but a fairly simple object with filtration (UHC and OIII tried -- UHC seemed to give best results) as a small, perhaps 25" x 15" oval or oblong in about PA 90 of quite LSB mist with a weak central brightening and very diffuse edges, nearby and almost running parallel to closely spaced mag 11 and 13 stars. The best view was at x247 with a 9mm T1 Nagler and UHC. The observation was confirmed by a very experienced observer Gary Mitchell of the Sutherland Astronomical Society and by three other relatively inexperienced observers."
Renormalised wrote:
"Very interesting to hear about the new neb...should be interesting to find out more about it"
Love to tell you more -- sworn to secrecy!! It is pretty surprising it has never been noted before and I was even more surprised to *detect* (and I mean "detect") it visually. I think I saw it twice over about 5-6 mins. Another very experienced observer (Gary Mitchell SASI) did the same
Was it noticeable with averted vision or could you see it directly?? How faint (or not) was it?? Were you using an UHC filter to view it or was it quite noticeable without a filter??. I have plenty more questions where they came from!!!
DSB's collimation issues and mirror cell problems were all sorted out very early in the evening and the collapsible 10" works wonderfully well -- yes? And "DarkskyBondi now appreciates that the sky at Bondi isn't really dark at all.
Firstly thanks again Les for patiently guiding me through all that stuff, both online and last night. Yes, we sorted those issues out early and quickly; I'm very pleased that the mirror cell is intact and that collimation is relatively painless. I'm keen to learn collimating without a laser because I feel like it's something that's worth knowing (as you said, Cheshires require no batteries, and I'm a minimalist) - will a cheap cheshire do?
Meanwhile, agree on the "darkskybondi" issue. The Milky Way from here on the coast is better than from elsewhere in the city, but Bargo's sky blew my view out of the water. Amazing to see the various objects in and around Carina with the naked eye as easily as I can see M42 from the city. Can't wait to get to what you regard as a truly dark site.
The best part of the evening was probably just being walked through the sky by Les with a laser pointer (Gary walked the other beginners through in the same way, almost inducing a singularity and thereby nearly collapsing the universe in on itself). Thanks Les! The only other thing I was remiss in was not trying out other eyepieces on my own scope. There was so much going on that I didn't think of it. Next time!
For completeness I'll mention that we observed Centaurus A NGC 5128 which looked quite good through my 10" scope.
Also, Les, the site I mentioned is Hype Machine - literally like pressing play on the internet. I don't think you can sort by genre, but with a bit of patience you discover some gems.
What's the site to locate Iridium flares by time/location?
Happy Australia Day!
DSB
p.s. We joked about the petrol cost - I had borrowed my dad's car which easily fit the scope and it guzzled through around $30 worth of fuel.. no surprises in that, coming from the east, but thought I'd mention it. The price and journey were well worth it!
Very interesting to hear about the new neb...should be interesting to find out more about it
Les and all...
I was just amazed when I heard of this particular new visual observation of this now quite likely newly discovered southern nebula. Like most things, I suppose before any announcement there has got to be THE confirming observation - if not only to say if it is pure fantasy or real. (Justifiably, Egg Foo Yong is just so difficult to remove once it sticks to your face.)
Most probably the position of this object will still require to produce a second photographic image, so at present, this is rather awkward topic to talk about or even confirm or deny its existence. (Torture is against the Geneva Convention, I think)
Hopeful that defining moment of awakening will come along very soon. (and we can then put all the eggs away!)
Quote: 2001 : A Space Odyssey
HAL: "Well, forgive me for being so inquisitive, but during the past few weeks I've wondered whether you might be having some second thoughts about the mission ... I know I've never completely freed myself of the suspicion that there are some extremely odd things about this mission ... certainly no one could have been unaware of the very strange stories floating around before we left. Rumors about something being dug up on the moon ... I never gave these stories much credence. But particularly in view of some of the other things that have happened, I find them difficult to put out of my mind. For instance, the way all our preparations were kept under such tight security..."
I wonder if this new southern nebulosity you saw looks something like this?
Happy Holidays!
Enchila...
Please note, this questioned object is still awaiting further confirmation...
Image: 6.36x6.66 arc min. Processed using ALADIN 5.013, Stern colouration, enhanced.
I wonder if this new southern nebulosity you saw looks something like this?
Well, no. To fill everyone in to a certain extent, without at this stage disclosing the identity of the star in question (Renormalised, you will need either Sodium Pentothal or a gallon of Port) (I believe they have the same net effect, but the port is more pleasant by all accounts).
The attached image is a UKST blue plate with N up and W to the right as per convention. You can see this star has an "arc" surrounding it in the NE quadrant that looks somewhat like a "bow-shock", and to the SW (in the opposite direction) there is a little trail pointing directly away from the star and another arc in that direction.
Well, we didn't see the NE "arc" but two pretty experienced observers *detected* a small, thin line trailing away from the said star at least a couple of times over several minutes -- x185 27' TF and no filter. We both independently had the same position which is consistent with the image. A diffraction spike caused by the 'scope wasn't far from that position (seemed to almost run parallel at the time) but we're both pretty convinced that is wasn't a visual artifact of some sort.
I guess you can only say what you see and if in the end you're wrong -- then you're wrong -- I guess. But, I approached this task with a solid expectation that I would very quickly confirm that this nebulae candidate wasn't a visual object (at least not in 46cm) and was quite surprised when we both seem to have detected it and the same part and described it in the same way.
In the image, the NE arc seems to be the brightest bit but we didn't see that (tried hard, done fine) but no dice. Strange but true.
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth ... swallamegod.
Hi all, Just returned from Coona. Andrew Murrell did show me something nebulous in Carina with great fanfare in his Ptah (25") last night, which he thought only 4 or 5 other people may have observed. If that is the object to which you are referring, I must confess that it was only on the verge of visibility, and was not something which, at least visually, made much impression on me. I guess often it is the understanding of the significance of an object that can make the hunt so much fun. Andrew certainly has a grin on his face!
I think the smile on Andrew's face might have been about MASH PNe (PNG 285.5-03.3 = PHR 1019-6059) -- and not the above nebula. I don't think he will keep the smile -- see below:
So Andrew saw PHR 1019-6059 in 25". Well ... we saw it in 18"! And here is the note:
46cm f/4.9 at 12.30am local time Mon morning 26012009 or 13.30hrs UTC) 25012009 at Bargo. I'd rate the seeing at about 7/10 and the SQM/L gave a reading of 21.53 equating to a ZLM of 6.40 about 1/2 hr before the observation.
The field is pretty easy to acquire about 28 arc-min NE of 3rd magnitude SAO 250905. It was very tough to see at x185 without filtration but a fairly simple object with filtration (UHC and OIII tried -- UHC seemed to give best results) as a small, perhaps 25" x 15" oval or oblong in about PA 90 of quite LSB mist with a weak central brightening and very diffuse edges, nearby and almost running parallel to closely spaced mag 11 and 13 stars. The best view was at x247 with a 9mm T1 Nagler and UHC.
The observation was confirmed by a very experienced observer Gary Mitchell of the Sutherland Astronomical Society and two out of three other relatively inexperienced observers.
Unbeknownst to us all, both Andrew and I have been beaten "to the rights" by Lynton Hemer in South Australia only the night before using Ian Bedford's 30" 'scope.
Here is his report extracted from an AMASTRO post:
"On Saturday night 24th January 09, at Blacksprings, South Australia, we
tried for this PN using Ian Bedford's 30 inch Newtonian.
With the sky somewhere between Antoniadi I & II, & transparency steadily
improving as the night wore on, we tried for the object at around 2am, when the viewing was near its best for the night.
Using the given coordinates, we confirmed the field with a DSS printout,
& saw nothing obvious at 120x straight through. OIII showed a very faint smudge at 120X, but when Ian applied 480x it immediately revealed itself as a hazy patch,sitting fairly close to the adjacent stars.
At 480x with OIII, it was easily seen by Lynton Hemer & Alan Brinkworth
as a fairly even hazy patch around 35 arcminutes x 20 arcminutes, extending in a gentle curve away from the nearby stars. Its length & shape was difficult to tie down because of several faint field stars, which appeared occasionally inside, or next to the nebulous" area.
Ian Bedford's more senior eyes gave him less confidence estimating the
size of the patch, but the object was quite obvious & remained in view even as the seeing varied.
We would feel confident that others with smaller apertures may be able
to see this PN in reasonable conditions."
Personally, I think 16" will do this and maybe even 14 or a very, very sharp 12" in perfect conditions -- amazing it was only a recent discovery."
Wow, this PNe had quite a busy weekend -- didn't it!!
G'Day Les,
Here is a colour composite image of the planetary in question of PHR 1019-6059, which was obtained with the ALADIN Previewer. A interesting object in a dense star field. Some structure too, and notably brighter than I'd expected for a MASH object.
Good stuff!
even for me!
Neo-Nebulae (and the Removal of Egg Foo Youg)
First Time Out of the Box...
Phr 1019-6059
