Astronomy thread/Kìng a teri tanhìyä tìftia

Started by Vawmataw, December 31, 2012, 11:38:07 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

#2240
Got out the 16 inch this evening and observed from home.

Seeing was above average, but transparency really stunk.

NGC 2419 (intergalactic wanderer globular cluster) was invisible. So was a nearby galaxy.

M81 and 82 were visible. I could even see detail in M81 with the 15 mm 100 degree AFOV eyepiece I won at OSP this year. Still, they have been much better here.

NGC 7239 (Helix nebula) was faint but visible with an OIII filter. It was dimmer than usual (partly due to altitude) in the 30 mm eyepiece, but even dimmer in the 15 mm. This is typical, I think, of low surface brightness objects.

The veil nebula (NGC6960/6992/6995) was much dimmer than usual, even though it was still fairly high up. I used an OIII filter. I could just barely make out the 'claws' on NGC 6995, and the witch's broom (NGC 6960) was barely visible. Normally, some parts of the broom are quite bright. I tried an UHC filter on the Eastern veil, and I could barely tell it was there.

The North America nebula (NGC7000) was not visible with a UHC filter, and just barely visible with an H-beta filter. I did not try an OIII filter here because most of this emission is from hydrogen.

I then turned my attention to open clusters. Here, I had better luck. M36, 37 and 38 were wonderful, if a bit dim in the 15 mm. The Pleiades were just stunning in the 15 mm.

Even with the lousy transparency, I tried the California nebula with the H beta filter. It was simply invisible this evening.

If the Helix nebula showed that low surface brightness objects look better at low power, M1 the Crab nebula broke the rule. It was a little fuzzy patch with the 30 mm eyepiece, but showed detail with averted vision in the 15 mm eyepiece. I wonder if it has something to do with the light from this object being syncdhrotron radiation, and therefore has a different spectrum than almost any other object out there.

The Double Cluster (NGC 869/884) was truly amazing with the 15 mm eyepiece. I saw detail I have never seen before. I should have sketched it.

The Orion Nebula was really amazing. I spent a lot of time studying the Trapezium, trying to tease out additional stars. I didn't, although there were times when I thought I glimpsed one every now and then. The nebeulosity unter the poor transparency looked like smoke from a candle you just blew out.

Lastly, I observed Uranus and Neptune. They were clearly visible, but below average ti observe,especially Neptune.

All the work on the digital setting circles is paying off. The 'scope aligned on the first try and stayed accurate through the night. I used Vega and Betelgeuse as alignment stars.

Although cold out, once I warmed up, I was fine.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Toliman

#2241
And I observed tonight again too :) I was again under completelly dark sky.

Sky conditions were again excellent, Milky way and zodiacel light were spectacular again.

I observed again NGC253 Sculptor Galaxy + also near globular cluster NGC288 and few less bright galaxies in this area (NGC247 + any other). NGC253 was amazing (nive dust lines!) and globular NGC288 was interesting too.

Nice were IC1848+1805 Soul and Heart Nebula and also faint nebulae IC405 and IV410 in Auriga.

I observed again bright deepsky like as M31, M33, M42+43, NGC884+869 Doube Cluster + also faint nebulae at M45 and NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula and many less bright open clusters in Cassiopeia, Perseus and Auriga.

On end of night I observed all three winter globulars (M97, NGC2419 and Palomar 2). Palomar 2 is very faint and during common sky conditions almost invisible fot me, but thanks excellent sky, tonight was visible surprisingly good (was still very faint, but was visible)

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

#2242
Interesting you mention NGC288. While enjoying a pizza this evening, I paged through a catalog of globular clusters to observe, and NGC288 was the first one listed. I kind of did a double take when I saw NGC253 on the finder map for NGC288. That will definitely be on the list the next dark night I am out.

I enjoy looking at the Heart and Soul nebulas, even though there is not a whole lot to see there, even with a filter. The next time you are in that part of the sky, you might want to check out IC59 and IC63 near Gamma Cassiopiae, a star also known as Navi ;) These are also something I like to observe when I am in a place with sufficiently dark skies.

Do you do anything special to see the nebulos areas in M45? I have never seen these with any certainty.

I know there will be several more opportunities to observe NGC2419, one of my favorites. Last night's poor transparency was epic ;) I definitely also need to check out Palomar 2. When we have decnt skies.

This week, there is an asteroid occultation Friday evening, as a time when I should be doing a public astronomy event. I'm thinking of seeing if they can be combined.

One other thing. My neighbor claims they had a bear in their yard last night. I heard deer only about 50 feet away while I was observing. I wouldn't know a bear was there until it swatted at my head to decapitate me  :o This time of year, bears are especially carnivorous, as a kill can put on a lot of fat and weight for the upcoming hibernation :(
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Toliman

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on October 15, 2018, 12:36:36 AM
Do you do anything special to see the nebulos areas in M45? I have never seen these with any certainty.                                                                                                                                                                                   
Yeah, this is very hard to observation. Only one things help here - very dark sky. And even on dark sky there nebulosities are very faint.

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on October 15, 2018, 12:36:36 AM
The next time you are in that part of the sky, you might want to check out IC59 and IC63 near Gamma Cassiopiae, a star also known as Navi ;) These are also something I like to observe when I am in a place with sufficiently dark skies.                                                                                                                                                                           
Yeah, I know about this and I tied, bit I was not successfull. :-\




Tonight after moonset I observed again.
I saw globular clusters M15, M2, M75, M71, M56, NGC6934 and NGC7006, open clusters M39, M29, NGC6910 and NGC188 and planetary nebulae M57 and M27

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Nice selection of globulars!

I see you also observed NGC188. This is another object that 'disappears' easily in marginal conditions. But it is really nice under excellent conditions. It's also circumpolar.


Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Toliman

Yeah, NGC188 is really quite sensitive on sky conditions. I love how close to the Polaris this cluster it.

Vawmataw

#2246
Despite the #Na'vionly party on Discord, I'm gonna write my astro report in English. ;D

There were some periods of partial cloudiness and some of total cloudiness, but I was able to stargaze a bit with my telescope. The transparency was good.

Tonight was the International Observe the Moon Night, so it was a great opportunity to go out and stargaze. The image of the Moon was so crispy and beautiful.
Here is a picture I took of it:

The sky conditions were way better than last year. ;D

Otherwise I took some time to observe many interesting objects of the night sky: M2, M13, M15, M21, M31, M32, M34, M57, M92, NGC 457, NGC 752, NGC 869, NGC 884, NGC 6530, NGC 6633, IC 4756, Mars, Saturn (and Titan) and Neptune (close to the Moon).
Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

Toliman

Nice observation and image :)

Sadly, both weekend nights were cloudy here (first cloudy nights after almost one month of totally clear sky).

Vawmataw

Quote from: Toliman on October 21, 2018, 11:56:22 AM
Sadly, both weekend nights were cloudy here (first cloudy nights after almost one month of totally clear sky).
D'oh :(
I remember when the sky was clear almost every night :(
Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

Toliman


Vawmataw

Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

Toliman

Yeah, direct imaging of exoplanets is amazing!

Vawmataw

It seems like observing Saturn is no longer possible :(

I observed M2, M15, M27, M34, M45, M57, M92, NGC 752, NGC 869, NGC 884, IC 4665, Stock 2
The negative side was the poor transparency, which made me miss NGC 457. I also missed M81 and M82.

The Moon was an interesting object tonight, despite its effects on the sky conditions, its details were quite interesting. The shadow on Mare Crisium is truly worth the observation. Here are some pictures of the Moon tonight:

Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

I did my fourth Friday of the month public astronomy session this evening. A combination of high clouds, the usual lights from the parking garage next door, and the stadium lights from the stadium on the other side of the garage did not help much. Neither did a telescope that behaved like a thing possessed!  ::) Its acting like there is a hardware failure in the computer section. On three occasions this evening, the 'scope went off and did its own thing!

We only looked at Mars, Saturn and the moon. And Vamataw is right. The moon was spectacular this evening. I rarely observe the moon. I I took time to do it this evening, and it was one of the most interesting moons I have ever observed.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Vawmataw

QuoteNeither did a telescope that behaved like a thing possessed!
Halloween is 4 days from now  ;D

Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

Toliman

Nice Moon images :)

i also observe Moon only rarely, almost exclusively when his phase is around first/last quarter.

Vawmataw

It was really a good idea to stargaze last night since it will be cloudy next week.
Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

Toliman

So good that you stargazed yesterday :)

Here will be cloudy week probably too.

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

I did a brief public astronomy event tonight. The sky was mostly socked in, so we only looked at Mars. But I had an enthusiastic group of folks who had just enjoyed a horror film in an outdoor ampitheater. Ity was an enjoyable time!

There will probably be some stargazing next weekend, perhaps with the club's 24 inch 'scope. Its mostly dependent on the weather, though.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Vawmataw

Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu