New Galaxy Log video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9emkcXzCLQ
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Monday, March 9, 2015
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The July GL 2014 is posted with something new called Galaxy Log NearView.
From the video:
From the video:
Hello galaxy observers.
Galaxy Log is going through a
change, and my wish is you’ll get more out of the videos and the joy of
observing these greatest of objects.
What you’ll see with this month’s galaxies is something
we’re calling Galaxy Log NearView.
The images will be a close representation of the eyepiece
view through the various telescopes. This will be done using notes and some
modest sketching to adjust the photo image of the galaxy so that it looks near
the actual view at the eyepiece.
Thank you and enjoy the new Galaxy Log.
M-102 NearView with a 7.1" f/6 refractor
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
When I arrived at one of our
dark sites called Ds-2 around 8:00 PM and got out of the van, that nasty wind
was gone with only a gentle breeze. A CAS member (Lou) was already well into
setting up, but I had to say “we should have gone to our darker site (called the
Edge)”. Oh, well better safe then sorry I guess. Even so the sky conditions were
quite good (seeing also).
I had the 8” f/9 refractor and
the 4” f/10 refractor (needed some GL notes).
My initial CGE two star mount
alignment proved to be off a bit. So I redid it with terrific results and the
mount work perfectly through the night.
Lou’s 17.5 inch dob is a
marvelous set-up, and provided terrific views. He should be very proud of that
scope, but hey it’s a Telekit with a Zambuto mirror! He also has the complete
line-up from 14mm to 3.5mm Delos, which match his scope perfectly.
Lou’s views of a number of
objects like M-82 (and dimming SN), M-51, Ngc 2371/2372, and the Eskimo nebula
to name a few were outstanding.
As for my night the 8”
refractor was hitting on all cylinders, with a first view of M-82 and the SN.
Using a 9mm X-Cel LX (200x) gave a very fine view of the galaxy and SN. This is
when I borrowed the 8mm Delos (225x) from Lou. The view just blew me away and
showed just how good this Beast of a refractor could optically perform. The
match of this eyepiece to this high-end refractor was nothing short of
perfection. The galaxy showed vivid detail, and the SN standing out very well.
The clarity and contrast (black background sky) was off the charts. And I’m
thinking this is just Ds-2, and the Edge (we should have gone) is darker of
course.
I returned Lou his eyepiece,
and went onto other galaxies in the area like Ngc 3675 which gave a very nice
view. Also Ngc 2841 (a favorite), which looks like a distant M-31 in the
eyepiece. The interacting galaxy Ngc 3690 (GL 04.2013) in my 7mm Pentax (257x)
and Meade 5.5mm UWA (327x) showed some nice detail, including a bright stellar
nucleus.
Some other galaxies in the area
were Ngc 3998 and next to it Ngc 3990. Ngc 3998 showed a round disc and an
intensely bright stellar core. The small 3990 was slightly elongated with also a
nice though less bright stellar nucleus.
Did some Galaxy Logging with
both the 8” and the almost forgotten 4” refractor. Hey, the Celestron Omni 4”
f/10 refractor is really a good scope and highly recommended, but when you have
a 17.5” dob and 8” refractor to view through, it kind of remains as a secondary
observing scope. I will say it certainly did its job for Galaxy Log, and a 4”
refractor can indeed show fine views of many galaxies.
Showed Lou a medium power view
of M-5 (a favorite), and a must see when in that area of the sky.
Back to galaxies and a nice
pair in Canes Venatici Ngc 5311 and Ngc 5313. I think these are going to be
future GL video “stars’. In Bootes Ngc 5611 was a nice find, and that also could
be a future GL object.
Did some deep viewing with a
trio of galaxies in Bootes as in Ngc 5598, Ngc 5601, and Ngc 5603. With a AT 8mm
WF the two brighter 13th mag galaxies were easily visible, but I used the Meade
5.5mm UWA and a ES 4.7mm UWA (393x) to glance at the almost 15th mag Ngc 5601,
which looked like a dim fuzzy star.
As the night was getting closer
to the end, plus some high clouds were coming in. With the 4.7mm still in the
scope, I gave a quick look at M-57 as Lyra was rising in the east. I then swung
the scope back over to the west to view M-63 and M-106, both providing views to
end a great night.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
It was a
bit nippy (actually damn cold) at one of our dark
sites (EL 1350 ft.), but the warm feeling of getting out and enjoying the
night kept me and another CAS going later
then both of us intended.
The thrill of a new scope no matter of size was also a driving force, and the Vixen 5" f/5 reflector is a fine scope with really excellent optics.
First catching M-42 (naturally) brought out a very nice small scope view of this great object. A quick view of M-35 with Ngc 2158 in the background was also very nice, but I had to go for M-82 and the SN (supernova 2014J).
The view using a 10mm UWF (65x) was better than I thought it was going to be. The SN stood out well within the heavily mottled galaxy.
I moved on to the February and March small scope Galaxy Log video, which the 5" gave a very nice view using powers up to 138x. More details to come in the videos.
At this time I needed to get the 6" f/6.5 refractor going which it didn't mount-wise with GoTo. The extreme cold was just too much, so manual was it for this scope.
Did some galaxy logging for the mid-sized scopes with the 6" refractor.
So as we were nearing the end of our night is when things got a bit more serious with the supernovas (M-82 and M-99).
I put both the 5" reflector and 6" refractor on M-82 and used various magnifications, including nearly identical powers. The 5" reflector did very well, but the difference of the larger refractor was quite evident.
Josh (the other CAS member) was at this time observing M-82 and the SN with his 25" f4 dob. I will say the view was as good or better than most images. The color (pale reddish-orange) of the SN was quite striking when compared to the nearby whitish field star. The detail in the galaxy and the SN being so bright gave it a surreal view. One of the grandest views in a scope I've seen.
The view of M-99 was very impressive…arms and faint SN (2014L)!
Went back to the smaller scopes, and the 6" using a 5.5mm UWF eyepiece (180x). The color in the SN (a pastel orange) was evident. Here the galaxy's mottling and dark lane with the bright SN (though not the view of the 25" of course) was awesome.
I even said to Josh if I was going to have a refractor up here tonight, and though the 6" refractor is a fine scope, I wish this view was through the 8" f/9 refractor (The Beast). I'm quite sure this would have been (along with the view of M-42 from West Virginia) the best of the Beast.
This is a terrific supernova is a great galaxy to observe in almost any scope.
Side note:
Missed the SN (2014G) in Ngc 3448. Plain forgot about it. I'm blaming the cold.
The thrill of a new scope no matter of size was also a driving force, and the Vixen 5" f/5 reflector is a fine scope with really excellent optics.
First catching M-42 (naturally) brought out a very nice small scope view of this great object. A quick view of M-35 with Ngc 2158 in the background was also very nice, but I had to go for M-82 and the SN (supernova 2014J).
The view using a 10mm UWF (65x) was better than I thought it was going to be. The SN stood out well within the heavily mottled galaxy.
I moved on to the February and March small scope Galaxy Log video, which the 5" gave a very nice view using powers up to 138x. More details to come in the videos.
At this time I needed to get the 6" f/6.5 refractor going which it didn't mount-wise with GoTo. The extreme cold was just too much, so manual was it for this scope.
Did some galaxy logging for the mid-sized scopes with the 6" refractor.
So as we were nearing the end of our night is when things got a bit more serious with the supernovas (M-82 and M-99).
I put both the 5" reflector and 6" refractor on M-82 and used various magnifications, including nearly identical powers. The 5" reflector did very well, but the difference of the larger refractor was quite evident.
Josh (the other CAS member) was at this time observing M-82 and the SN with his 25" f4 dob. I will say the view was as good or better than most images. The color (pale reddish-orange) of the SN was quite striking when compared to the nearby whitish field star. The detail in the galaxy and the SN being so bright gave it a surreal view. One of the grandest views in a scope I've seen.
The view of M-99 was very impressive…arms and faint SN (2014L)!
Went back to the smaller scopes, and the 6" using a 5.5mm UWF eyepiece (180x). The color in the SN (a pastel orange) was evident. Here the galaxy's mottling and dark lane with the bright SN (though not the view of the 25" of course) was awesome.
I even said to Josh if I was going to have a refractor up here tonight, and though the 6" refractor is a fine scope, I wish this view was through the 8" f/9 refractor (The Beast). I'm quite sure this would have been (along with the view of M-42 from West Virginia) the best of the Beast.
This is a terrific supernova is a great galaxy to observe in almost any scope.
Side note:
Missed the SN (2014G) in Ngc 3448. Plain forgot about it. I'm blaming the cold.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
A terrific night at my local (less than 2 hour drive) darkest site with my 4” and 8” refractors.
As I pulled in the site, and got out of the van I looked NW towards the low riding Big Dipper, and a nice bright meteor went through the handle. I thought to myself that could be a sign of an excellent night.
As I gazed up at the rest of the sky as darkness was settling in, it was apparent that the transparency was quite good. The Milky Way was very vivid, with the major star clouds looking like mottled cumulus clouds. Even some dark nebula in the Sagittarius region was seen.
Out of the van came the 8” (Beast) first to be set up. So after the mount was calibrated to the sky, I just hit M-92 in the hand controller as first object to make sure all is fine, but to take in a greatview of a terrific glob.
So as the scope wastracking M-92, I got the 4” f/10 refractor set up and also put on some heavier clothes on this cool September night on the mountain.
Now I must admit I bought some new glass, so with M-92 in the center of a 42mm wide-field eyepiece (43x), I changed it out for a new E.S. 4.7mm UWF (383x). The view was great as the glob fill the eyepiece with myriads of tiny stars, with the core of the glob intensely bright of resolved stars. This is a very fine eyepiece that is very Nagler-like, but better eye relief. I found this eyepiece having similar quality and eye relief of my newer Meade 5.5mm UWF, with stars pinpoint right to the edge of the field..
I next went into Draco as a good test for this eyepiece and the interacting faint pair Ngc 6621/6622. The large refractor showed this duo pretty well as a double lobed object, with Ngc 6621 showing the larger of the two and a faint stellar nucleus. Ngc 6622 was a faint round glow.
Most of my work this night was across the meridian to the east and the Fall constellations.
I put the 42mm eyepiece back in and swung thescope to M-31. The view was poster-like, with the galaxy showing a extremely bright core and dark lanes (spiral arms), with Ngc 206 (star cloud) showing in the SW region of the galaxy. M-32 and M-110 enhanced the overall view.
Next I did some views for upcoming Galaxy Log, even though these particular galaxies are set for the large scope (12.5” plus). The view for Galaxy Log will be described through the 22” dob, but the 8” refractor showed this faint pair. The thing that caught my eye here using the 4.7mm eyepiece was three very faint stars to the NE with magnitudes of 14.7, 15.4, and 15.6, which showed me that this eyepiece does quite well in light transmission, again Nagler-like.
While in the area I caught a real nice view of M-76 (Little Dumbbell) using 12mm to 7mm eyepieces (150x – 257x).
It was around this time I heard a crashing to the wooded area on the western side of the lot, and a distinctive grunt or groan. Yep, a black bear, so I grabbed my large metal baseball bat and yelled loudly and pounded the bat on the ground. I added a nice size rock to throw into the woods, and I could hear him run like hell out of the area. Interesting.
Now back to the rest of the universe, and some more galaxies.
Hit a neat galaxy in Cetus for next month’s Galaxy Log video, which became one of the views of the night. Some interesting detail seen.
Ngc 877 area was next with this galaxy showing in a 12mm eyepiece as an oval glow, with a slightly brighter center, and a 13 to 14 mag star off its SE edge. Ngc 871 directly west was a fairly bright elongated glow. Using a 5.5mm eyepiece (327x) showed Ngc 876 as a very faint ghostly glow to the SW of Ngc 877.
Around this time I put the 4” refractor to work with just pointing it at M-31. Not the view the 8” had a bit earlier of course, but still quite good.
So from there I swung the 4” refractor to M-33 with a 12mm SWF eyepiece (83x). Quite a spectacular view, with two spiral arms seen, as well as a couple HII regions, in particular Ngc 604 to the NE of the center region.
Now back to the main scope and Ngc 750/751 area with a 14mm SWF (129x). Here it shows this interacting pair quite well, with 750 the brighter of the two. The faint Ngc 761 to the north shows as elongated glow with a brighter center. Inserting a 7mm UWF made each galaxy stand out a bit more. Slewing a bit SW to center Ngc 736, which showed as a fairly bright round disc and bright core. Ngc 740 is a very faint edge-on, which was hard to see here with a 10th mag star just to its east. Inserting a 5.5mm UWF eyepiece helped a bit.
Back into Aries and a faint trio led by Ngc 1024. Best view here was with a 7mm UWF (257x). Ngc 1024 showed as having a bright oval central area surrounded with a very faint elongated haze. Ngc 1029 to its SE was a small streak, and just to the north a small glow looking like a faint out of focused star is Ngc 1028. Inserting the 4.7mm UWF eyepiece showed 1028 and 1029 a bit more prominent.
With the 4” refractor I hit the Double Cluster (WOW!!!), and also a couple galaxies for future Galaxy Log’s, with all very nice views. A good 4” refractor can make a nice DSO scope for sure, and proof is in the eyepiece.
I finished this terrific night with the 8” refractor with galaxies like Ngc 1023 (another beauty), Ngc 1465, M-74 and the bright supernova. Swinging the big refractor back over to the western sky for Ngc 7331 (with Ngc 7335, 7337, 7340), and one final look at the supernova in Ngc 7250, which is fading away. Still a great view though.
Nice way to end a sensational night with two fine scopes and the beauty of very clear dark starry skies, that continues to reveal the wonders of deep space to me.
As I pulled in the site, and got out of the van I looked NW towards the low riding Big Dipper, and a nice bright meteor went through the handle. I thought to myself that could be a sign of an excellent night.
As I gazed up at the rest of the sky as darkness was settling in, it was apparent that the transparency was quite good. The Milky Way was very vivid, with the major star clouds looking like mottled cumulus clouds. Even some dark nebula in the Sagittarius region was seen.
Out of the van came the 8” (Beast) first to be set up. So after the mount was calibrated to the sky, I just hit M-92 in the hand controller as first object to make sure all is fine, but to take in a great
So as the scope was
Now I must admit I bought some new glass, so with M-92 in the center of a 42mm wide-field eyepiece (43x), I changed it out for a new E.S. 4.7mm UWF (383x). The view was great as the glob fill the eyepiece with myriads of tiny stars, with the core of the glob intensely bright of resolved stars. This is a very fine eyepiece that is very Nagler-like, but better eye relief. I found this eyepiece having similar quality and eye relief of my newer Meade 5.5mm UWF, with stars pinpoint right to the edge of the field..
I next went into Draco as a good test for this eyepiece and the interacting faint pair Ngc 6621/6622. The large refractor showed this duo pretty well as a double lobed object, with Ngc 6621 showing the larger of the two and a faint stellar nucleus. Ngc 6622 was a faint round glow.
Most of my work this night was across the meridian to the east and the Fall constellations.
I put the 42mm eyepiece back in and swung the
Next I did some views for upcoming Galaxy Log, even though these particular galaxies are set for the large scope (12.5” plus). The view for Galaxy Log will be described through the 22” dob, but the 8” refractor showed this faint pair. The thing that caught my eye here using the 4.7mm eyepiece was three very faint stars to the NE with magnitudes of 14.7, 15.4, and 15.6, which showed me that this eyepiece does quite well in light transmission, again Nagler-like.
While in the area I caught a real nice view of M-76 (Little Dumbbell) using 12mm to 7mm eyepieces (150x – 257x).
It was around this time I heard a crashing to the wooded area on the western side of the lot, and a distinctive grunt or groan. Yep, a black bear, so I grabbed my large metal baseball bat and yelled loudly and pounded the bat on the ground. I added a nice size rock to throw into the woods, and I could hear him run like hell out of the area. Interesting.
Now back to the rest of the universe, and some more galaxies.
Hit a neat galaxy in Cetus for next month’s Galaxy Log video, which became one of the views of the night. Some interesting detail seen.
Ngc 877 area was next with this galaxy showing in a 12mm eyepiece as an oval glow, with a slightly brighter center, and a 13 to 14 mag star off its SE edge. Ngc 871 directly west was a fairly bright elongated glow. Using a 5.5mm eyepiece (327x) showed Ngc 876 as a very faint ghostly glow to the SW of Ngc 877.
Around this time I put the 4” refractor to work with just pointing it at M-31. Not the view the 8” had a bit earlier of course, but still quite good.
So from there I swung the 4” refractor to M-33 with a 12mm SWF eyepiece (83x). Quite a spectacular view, with two spiral arms seen, as well as a couple HII regions, in particular Ngc 604 to the NE of the center region.
Now back to the main scope and Ngc 750/751 area with a 14mm SWF (129x). Here it shows this interacting pair quite well, with 750 the brighter of the two. The faint Ngc 761 to the north shows as elongated glow with a brighter center. Inserting a 7mm UWF made each galaxy stand out a bit more. Slewing a bit SW to center Ngc 736, which showed as a fairly bright round disc and bright core. Ngc 740 is a very faint edge-on, which was hard to see here with a 10th mag star just to its east. Inserting a 5.5mm UWF eyepiece helped a bit.
Back into Aries and a faint trio led by Ngc 1024. Best view here was with a 7mm UWF (257x). Ngc 1024 showed as having a bright oval central area surrounded with a very faint elongated haze. Ngc 1029 to its SE was a small streak, and just to the north a small glow looking like a faint out of focused star is Ngc 1028. Inserting the 4.7mm UWF eyepiece showed 1028 and 1029 a bit more prominent.
With the 4” refractor I hit the Double Cluster (WOW!!!), and also a couple galaxies for future Galaxy Log’s, with all very nice views. A good 4” refractor can make a nice DSO scope for sure, and proof is in the eyepiece.
I finished this terrific night with the 8” refractor with galaxies like Ngc 1023 (another beauty), Ngc 1465, M-74 and the bright supernova. Swinging the big refractor back over to the western sky for Ngc 7331 (with Ngc 7335, 7337, 7340), and one final look at the supernova in Ngc 7250, which is fading away. Still a great view though.
Nice way to end a sensational night with two fine scopes and the beauty of very clear dark starry skies, that continues to reveal the wonders of deep space to me.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
A night of Beast, Bear, and Beauty
A terrific night at my local (less than 2 hour drive) darkest site with my 4” and 8”
refractors.
As I pulled in the site, and got out of the van I looked NW
towards the low riding Big Dipper, and a nice bright meteor went through the
handle. I thought to myself that could be a sign of an excellent night.
As I gazed up at the rest of the sky as darkness was
settling in, it was apparent that the transparency was quite good. The Milky
Way was very vivid, with the major star clouds looking like mottled cumulous
clouds. Even some dark nebula in the Sagittarius region was seen.
Out of the van came the 8” (Beast) first to be set up. So
after the mount was calibrated to the sky, I just hit M-92 in the hand
controller as first object to make sure all is fine, but to take in a great
view of a terrific glob.
So as the scope was tracking M-92, I got the 4” f/10
refractor set up and also put on some heavier clothes on this cool September
night on the mountain.
Now I must admit I bought some new glass, so with M-92 in
the center of a 42mm wide-field eyepiece (43x), I changed it out for a new E.S.
4.7mm UWF (383x). The view was great as the glob fill the eyepiece with myriads
of tiny stars, with the core of the glob intensely bright of resolved stars.
This is a very fine eyepiece that is very Nagler-like, but better eye relief. I
found this eyepiece having similar quality and eye relief of my newer Meade
5.5mm UWF, with stars pinpoint right to the edge of the field, with excellent
contrast.
I next went into Draco as a good test for this eyepiece and
the interacting faint pair Ngc 6621/6622. The large refractor showed this duo
pretty well as a double lobed object, with Ngc 6621 showing the larger of the
two and a faint stellar nucleus. Ngc 6622 was a faint round glow.
Most of my work this night was across the meridian to the
east and the Fall constellations.
I put the 42mm eyepiece back in and swung the scope to M-31.
The view was poster-like, with the galaxy showing a extremely bright core and
dark lanes (spiral arms), with Ngc 206 (star cloud) showing in the SW region of
the galaxy. M-32 and M-110 enhanced the overall view.
Next I did some views for upcoming Galaxy Log, even though
these particular galaxies are set for the large scope (12.5” plus). The view
for Galaxy Log will be described through the 22” dob, but the 8” refractor
showed this faint pair. The thing that caught my eye here using the 4.7mm
eyepiece was three very faint stars to the NE with magnitudes of 14.7, 15.4,
and 15.6, which showed me that this eyepiece does quite well in light
transmission, again Nagler-like.
While in the area I caught a real nice view of M-76 (Little
Dumbbell) using 12mm to 7mm eyepieces (150x – 257x).
It was around this time I heard a crashing to the wooded
area on the western side of the lot, and a distinctive grunt or groan. Yep, a
black bear, so I grabbed my large metal baseball bat and yelled loudly and
pounded the bat on the ground. I added a nice size rock to throw into the
woods, and I could hear him run like hell out of the area. Interesting.
Now back to the rest of the universe, and some more
galaxies.
Hit a neat galaxy in Cetus for next month’s Galaxy Log
video, which became one of the views of the night. Some interesting detail seen.
Ngc 877 area was next with this galaxy showing in a 12mm
eyepiece as an oval glow, with a slightly brighter center, and a 13 to 14 mag
star off its SE edge. Ngc 871 directly west was a fairly bright elongated glow.
Using a 5.5mm eyepiece (327x) showed Ngc 876 as a very faint ghostly glow to
the SW of Ngc 877.
Around this time I put the 4” refractor to work with just
pointing it at M-31. Not the view the 8” had a bit earlier of course, but still
quite good.
So from there I swung the 4” refractor to M-33 with a 12mm
SWF eyepiece (83x). Quite a spectacular view, with two spiral arms seen, as
well as a couple HII regions, in particular Ngc 604 to the NE of the center
region.
Now back to the main scope and Ngc 750/751 area with a 14mm
SWF (129x). Here it shows this interacting pair quite well, with 750 the brighter
of the two. The faint Ngc 761 to the north shows as elongated glow with a
brighter center. Inserting a 7mm UWF made each galaxy stand out a bit more. Slewing a bit SW to center Ngc 736, which
showed as a fairly bright round disc and bright core. Ngc 740 is a very faint
edge-on, which was hard to see here with a 10th mag star just to its
east. Inserting a 5.5mm UWF eyepiece helped a bit.
Back into Aries and a faint trio led by Ngc 1024. Best view
here was with a 7mm UWF (257x). Ngc 1024 showed as having a bright oval central
area surrounded with a very faint elongated haze. Ngc 1029 to its SE was a
small streak, and just to the north a small glow looking like a faint out of
focused star is Ngc 1028. Inserting the 4.7mm UWF eyepiece showed 1028 and 1029
a bit more prominent.
With the 4” refractor I hit the Double Cluster (WOW!!!), and
also a couple galaxies for future Galaxy Log’s, with all very nice views. A
good 4” refractor can make a nice DSO scope for sure, and proof is in the
eyepiece.
I finished this terrific night with the 8” refractor with
galaxies like Ngc 1023 (another beauty), Ngc 1465, M-74 and the bright
supernova. Swinging the big refractor back over to the western sky for Ngc 7331
(with Ngc 7335, 7337, 7340), and one final look at the supernova in Ngc 7250,
which is fading away. Still a great view though.
Nice way to end a sensational night with two fine scopes and
the beauty of very clear dark starry skies, that continues to reveal the
wonders of deep space to me.Monday, September 2, 2013
September Galaxy Log video is posted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4EK9sSgAEg
Now you can double your September galaxies with the September 2012 Galaxy Log video.
Would like to read about some personal observations of these galaxies. Post them here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4EK9sSgAEg
Now you can double your September galaxies with the September 2012 Galaxy Log video.
Would like to read about some personal observations of these galaxies. Post them here.
Friday, August 16, 2013
We were able to both image and view (with sketches) the bright SN in Ngc 7250 and M-74.
The observations and sketches were done by my wife and I using our 6" f/6.5 refractor and 22" f/4.5 dob.
She sketched Ngc 7250 using the 22" dob, and I sketched M-74 in the 6" refractor.
We are in the process of doing a special video for Galaxy Log with the images taken from the HASB observatory and the sketches. Stay tuned.
The observations and sketches were done by my wife and I using our 6" f/6.5 refractor and 22" f/4.5 dob.
She sketched Ngc 7250 using the 22" dob, and I sketched M-74 in the 6" refractor.
We are in the process of doing a special video for Galaxy Log with the images taken from the HASB observatory and the sketches. Stay tuned.
Monday, August 5, 2013
My wife Sheree and I arrived at our darkest local site on Sunday night (8/4) at dusk under a very
clear and tranquil (very light gentle breeze) skies.
As darkness settled in the Milky Way was awesome, giving a heavily mottled look, and expanding into southern Ophiuchus and eastern Scorpius. M-13 and easy naked eye target.
We had the ES 6" f/6.5 refractor and the 22" f/4.5 Telekit dob
.
Then the issue started for the 6" refractor's Celestron AS CG5. Seems like an issue in the RA drive. This was the start of a bit of a frustrating night.
Now the 22" was letter perfect in collimation (something I strive for), and the early on images showed that. Since we added what I call a shroud baffle (it's a piece of heavy black fabric that Sheree made, that fits around the upper end of truss poles), seems to have increased contrast at the eyepiece of this big scope. The Astrosystems shroud is a bit more shear then I like, and use another down by the mirror box also.
Anyway, I first observer Ngc 6217 in UMi at low power just to take in a first galaxy. Nice bright stellar core with a bit of arm structure was very evident.
Worked a bit more with the big refractor's mount, but there's an issue, so manual would have to be the way to go tonight. Great view of M-13 (with August GL's Ngc 6207).
Then it started to cloud a bit, but would dissipate, but was the harbinger to come.
Did the SN in Ngc 7250 which was a great view in the 22" (with Ngc 7248 to the west). The galaxy was nice and bright in the 11mm T1 Nagler (an old friend of the 22"), with the supernova standing out very well.
I "found" it also in the 6" refractor, and Sheree took a little time to sketch it. Tough to do as the mount was not cooperating real well.
Did some Galaxy Logging for large scopes with the 22" for September, since It's in the same area of the sky as Ngc 7250.
Unfortunately around this time the sky went to crap, and stayed that way.
I was not happy at all, for the night looked so promising early on.
So we packed up the two big scopes, and went home.
As darkness settled in the Milky Way was awesome, giving a heavily mottled look, and expanding into southern Ophiuchus and eastern Scorpius. M-13 and easy naked eye target.
We had the ES 6" f/6.5 refractor and the 22" f/4.5 Telekit dob
.
Then the issue started for the 6" refractor's Celestron AS CG5. Seems like an issue in the RA drive. This was the start of a bit of a frustrating night.
Now the 22" was letter perfect in collimation (something I strive for), and the early on images showed that. Since we added what I call a shroud baffle (it's a piece of heavy black fabric that Sheree made, that fits around the upper end of truss poles), seems to have increased contrast at the eyepiece of this big scope. The Astrosystems shroud is a bit more shear then I like, and use another down by the mirror box also.
Anyway, I first observer Ngc 6217 in UMi at low power just to take in a first galaxy. Nice bright stellar core with a bit of arm structure was very evident.
Worked a bit more with the big refractor's mount, but there's an issue, so manual would have to be the way to go tonight. Great view of M-13 (with August GL's Ngc 6207).
Then it started to cloud a bit, but would dissipate, but was the harbinger to come.
Did the SN in Ngc 7250 which was a great view in the 22" (with Ngc 7248 to the west). The galaxy was nice and bright in the 11mm T1 Nagler (an old friend of the 22"), with the supernova standing out very well.
I "found" it also in the 6" refractor, and Sheree took a little time to sketch it. Tough to do as the mount was not cooperating real well.
Did some Galaxy Logging for large scopes with the 22" for September, since It's in the same area of the sky as Ngc 7250.
Unfortunately around this time the sky went to crap, and stayed that way.
I was not happy at all, for the night looked so promising early on.
So we packed up the two big scopes, and went home.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
A neat
interacting system in Draco is ARP 81 or Ngc 6621/6622
This is from
a report a couple years back from our best local site, using my 8” f/9
refractor.
ARP 81 (Ngc 6621/6622), which I've observed before in the 8"
from Cherry Springs. Pa.
Using a 14mm Denk (129x) the big scope slewed to this interacting pair. At this power the object(s) looked like a single elongated galaxy with two faint nuclei.
Inserting the Pentax 7mm (257x) showed them as a definite galaxy duo immersed together. Ngc 6621 is the larger and brighter of the two sporting a brighter core around a faint elongated wisp. Ngc 6622 is a bit fainter, but stood out well.
Using a 14mm Denk (129x) the big scope slewed to this interacting pair. At this power the object(s) looked like a single elongated galaxy with two faint nuclei.
Inserting the Pentax 7mm (257x) showed them as a definite galaxy duo immersed together. Ngc 6621 is the larger and brighter of the two sporting a brighter core around a faint elongated wisp. Ngc 6622 is a bit fainter, but stood out well.
We will do this one in a future Galaxy Log video for the large
telescopes.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Friday night fights, under Friday night lights.
Well had a nice short, but sweet night at a good dark site with the 8” f/9 refractor (The Beast).
First view of the night was with Ngc 5005 in Canes Venatici, which the big refractor centered in my 24.5 SW (73x). Inserting a 12mm SW (150x) the view was just beautiful with the galaxy exhibiting a large very bright elongated disc, and a stellar nucleus.
Slewing the scope to the SE and 5005’s compadre Ngc 5033, which is another large spiral, though a bit dimmer overall. It showed a large broad oval mottled disc with a large elongated core and stellar nucleus.
Next was M-63, which in the 24.5mm SW looked like a wide-field photo image. Really stayed with this view longer than usual before going up with the 12mm SW. At 150x the galaxy was a large heavily mottled oval disc with a bright stellar nucleus.
Into Ursa Major and a nice bright edge-on galaxy Ngc 5308. Here with the 12mm SW the galaxy was a very nice bright high surface brightness streak. I then inserted a 5.5mm UWF (327x). The first thing I said was “WOW”, for this edge-on was very striking at high power, showing a very bright core area and stellar nucleus, and the ends really stretching out on both sides of the core.
Next was Hickson 68 in which I first located with the 24.5mm SW. Moving up in power with the 12mm showed Ngc 5350 as a round disc with a slightly brighter center. The pair Ngc 5353 and Ngc 5354 is striking. Ngc 5353 is a bright elongated oval, and Ngc 5354 is bright, but much more round in shape. Also NW of the pair is the small faint Ngc 5355 which showed a small bright surrounded by a faint haze, and east of the pair was also Ngc 5358 that’s just north of a 12th magnitude double star. The galaxy was a faint small slightly elongated disc. Both Ngc 5355 and 5358 were a bit more pronounced with the 5.5mm UWF at 327x.
Before I left this group I slewed to the NE and the wonderful spiral Ngc 5371. I just put in the 24.5mm SW for this view. This nice spiral sits of the edge of a ring of 10 to 12 mag stars, which gives the overall appearance of the largest diamond ring in the cosmos. The beautiful spiral being the “diamond.”
Did some quick views of Ngc 5907 and Ngc 6503 at just 73x, as I took a 5 minute or so coffee break. Both were quite nice in that large FOV.
Ngc 6181 in Hercules was next, and was best with a 9mm SW (200X). Here the galaxy showed fairly large oval mottled disc with a bright slightly elongated core.
A fainter galaxy in Hercules was Ngc 6485. With the 9mm SW the galaxy showed a round faint disc with a brighter core. The galaxy sits in a triangle of 9.5 to 12th mag stars.
While in Hercules I took some quick peeks at M-13 using 73x to 327x and the views were of course stunning. A large refractor on this object is a perfect match.
Back to before I took that coffee break I observed the very elongated spiral Ngc 5297 and it’s very faint companion Ngc 5296.
I used the 9mm SW (200x) and 5.5mm UWF (327x) to view them. Ngc 5297 was situated just to the SW of a nice 9th mag yellowish gold star. The galaxy showed a faint little stellar nucleus in a larger core region with the ends of the galaxy stretching NW to SE. Then just to the SW of the core area of Ngc 5297 was the small Ngc 5296, which was just a faint smudge. I was enamored by this view I decided to sketch them.
Well, I was not very please with the original sketch at all. So I decided to take my notes and the bad sketch to actually sit down at home to capture the essence of my view which is seen below.
Note: Ngc 5296 is seen just to the right of Ngc 5297, between the larger galaxy and a faint star. Click image to ENLARGE.
Oh the fight was right before midnight in the woods nearby the parking area of the site. It was between a pair of foxes that were definitely not happy with one another per their screaming at each other.
Clear Dark Skies,
Karl
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