I also remember seeing Saturn through a 60mm refractor for the first time. Amazing event but my top views came with a 29" reflector. incredible detailed views of Halley's comet, unbelievable detail on Jupiter but top of the pops was the Tarantula region in a period of iextraordinary atmospheric clarity. Spent more than an hour using a 4mm orthoscopic and didn't move the scope more than an inch...
- tracing the full extent of the two-degree-scale HII region called RCW 108 (the 15 arcminute core of which is NGC 6188) in binoculars and in the telescope. It resembles a ghostly version of the Eta Carinae Nebula!
- seeing the brightest part of Barnard's Loop in 10x50 binoculars.
- under perfect conditions, with a high quality 10 inch Newt., when I saw, for the first time, the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud looking a lot like it does in photographs....seeing numerous extremely-closely-spaced and extremely-tiny stars all across the face of it.
- seeing the two primary spiral arms of M33 in 80mm binoculars
- seeing the semi-chaotic distribution of star clouds & HII regions all over the face of the SBd-type galaxy NGC 1313
- tracing the spiral arms, the bar structure, and the bar-encircling ring structure, in the giant low-surface-brightness galaxy NGC 6744
- observing dark nebulae at really high contrast, with Mark Suchting's 8 inch binoculars.
- first time I saw the arm asymmetry in the barred spirals NGC 2442 and NGC 1097
My first would have to be comet Ikeya–Seki 1965 a sungrazer, it was glowing so brightly, I remember that it was freezing cold but my mum had to drag me back into the house. I was only about 8 then but after that night I was hooked on astronomy. A close second would be Comet Hyakutake 1996 and the third would have to be in 1986 when I travelled 80kms in search of clear skys (it was pouring rain) to get a look at the total eclipse of the moon. We eventually got past the rain and saw the eclipse and there right near the moon was Comet Halley sporting a long bright tail. My only regret was not having any imaging equipment with me. I have never come across a photo of Comet Halley taken that night.
Here is a photo of Comet Hyakutake 50mm f1.7 5min exposure and one of Comet Halley
The one thing that sticks in my mind clearly is watching through my 10" newt as Jupiter rotated to show the impact scar from Shoemaker-Levy for the first time. Any time I see a picture of it, it's almost like a "we were there" moment.
The one thing that sticks in my mind clearly is watching through my 10" newt as Jupiter rotated to show the impact scar from Shoemaker-Levy for the first time. Any time I see a picture of it, it's almost like a "we were there" moment.
Absolutely, it was an outstanding event "in real time", unlike a lot of things in astronomy that take a million years to happen.
Before the first of the large comet fragments hit, a lot of us thought that we would see very little, or even nothing at all.
The enormous dark splotch that rotated into view as a result of the impact, because all of the fragments were hitting Jupiter just barely on the hidden side of the planet, was awe inspiring, and unexpected.
Relatively small comet fragments impacting and being easily visible from Earth! Food for thought!
An comet nucleus or asteroid impact can "really spoil your whole day" if it happens on your own planet.......
For me, looking at Eta Carina neb and M42 in my old 6" reflector. I had never looked through an astronomical telescope before - it was a big WOW! and was obviously hooked.
More recently, the Saturn Nebula with my 12" SW, seeing colour-vision 'kick in' at the eyepiece was awesome, the green / blue hues were fantastic. And also more recently, Tarantula Neb through the 12" so many things to explore in the LMC.
My first look through a big dob - thanks Ron!! It was his 16" with a Nagler and the target was the Tarantula.
Peter
Thanks Peter, without being too big headed, I am proud to say I have had this info passed onto me by quite a few people over the years I have been doing the Cambroon nights.
It's been either Jupiter,Saturn,Omega Cent, 47 Tuc,or The Tarantula at High mag that people have said was their greatest WOW moment in astronomy .
Cheers
I live in the western suburbs of Sydney, and night skies are pretty poor for DSOs.
My best "first"s were seeing 47 Tuc through an 8" LX90 (whereupon I bought the scope).
And just last month using an amazing f4.5 30" dob to see the Tarantula nebula, M1, and NGC263 at a dark site west of Sydney. It is a real treat to be able to see these things with the eye (i.e. visually). Previously I needed camera support to see them.
While I use (and will continue to use) cameras, there is no doubt the visual experience is something special that we would do well not to forget.
A simple little thing keeps me returning - the Blue Planetary in Centaurus. First seen in a Celestron 6" SCT, and wondered at ever since! The blueish colour, symmetry and 'can't quite touch it' sensation have me entranced.
I have three that stick to mind the most and in no particular order:
1. Halley's Comet 1986 when I was 11yrs old.
2. Impact marks of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 at a viewing session at the Sydney Observatory 1994.
3. Saturn 2011 with my very first telescope at first light using a 6" Saxon reflector.
Mine were with my first two scopes and no scope at all.
1) M104 - Sombrero Galaxy through my little 130mm Skywatcher reflector from Linden Observatory....found using star hopping, it was awesome to see another galaxy in that tiny scope, so clearly.
2) Seeing M42 through my 12" dob at Linden and seeing GREEN clour in it, due to the large mirror and the dark sky combo. Even the Flame Nebula was yellowish.
3) Comet Lovejoy from Dee Why beach, visually and through my camera. I initially couldnt see it as I was near a south east blocking cliff face. Walking 10 metres north, I literally stopped, gasped and tilted my head back to see this MASSIVE tail stretching from the horizon, past Centaurus and Crux and almost all the way to Sirius. it was HUGE and very humbling. I remember being sooo nervous and excited trying to capture images with my camera, I completely forgot I was out on the edge of a cliff at 4:30am and all by myself.
My first would have to be comet Ikeya–Seki 1965 a sungrazer, it was glowing so brightly, I remember that it was freezing cold but my mum had to drag me back into the house. I was only about 8 then but after that night I was hooked on astronomy.....
1986 Halleys Comet with a (from memory) 1400mm f15 Meade Refractor with clock work made from gears I purchased to track for my 35mm Canon 50mm lens camera piggybacked on it. I took the photos approximately 5am 16th March, developed the negs printed 10x8's by 7am. I never saw the satellite while taking the photos I was so excited I thought I had captured Giotto going through Halleys Comet I called the Perth Observatory but was told no...not Giotto but still it was a highlight for me I'll never know what the satellite was but I'll never forget the moment seeing the image appear in the developer tray
Comet Halley during total lunar eclipse of 24 April 1986 in SE Queensland near NSW border where it is (was?) very dark. Very humid air I had a newspaper as a lens hood for the objective of my 80mm scope.
[QUOTE=skysurfer;931498]Comet Halley during total lunar eclipse of 24 April 1986 in SE Queensland near NSW border where it is (was?) very dark. Very humid air I had a newspaper as a lens hood for the objective of my 80mm scope.
That was also a memorable night for me in 1986 when I travelled 80kms in search of clear skys (it was pouring rain) to get a look at the total eclipse of the moon. We eventually got past the rain and saw the eclipse and there right near the moon was Comet Halley sporting a long bright tail. My only regret was not having any imaging equipment with me. I have never come across a photo of Comet Halley taken that night.
M31 - Andromeda. It was a very cold June/July morning at about 5am. My fingers were nearly frozen and after scanning with my sky masters at a very low altitude in the north for about an hour, between the scattered could, suddenly there it was! A distinct bulge surrounded by a hazy milky disc. Looking at this, between the clouds in the early morning as the sky was turning from back to blue, was just incredible, its always stuck in my mind.
Comet Hyakutake
I am proud to say I have had this info passed onto me by quite a few people over the years I have been doing the Cambroon nights.
