Category Archives: Observation Notes

Decembers Observations

December 31, 2011   Dan   No comments
M35_feature

Although we didn’t have many clear nights this December I did manage to get in a little observing time. All of Decembers observations were made with the new Orion astroView 90mm refractor which replaces the Meade DS 90 that was the observatory staple for the past 7 years. We’ll miss the old DS 90 as it showed us that even with the light polluted skies here in southeastern Pennsylviana, many deep sky objects can be viewed. But I have to tell you that the Orion AstroView 90 is a good telescope and we would recommend it anyone looking for a small scope with one exception, buy a better mount. The one it comes with is just not sturdy enough.

That said, I’ll move on the the observations. M35 (NGC2168) is the first target. This open cluster is conspicuous in the eyepiece. M35 is an extremly nice star cluster and the slightest optical instrument will resolve the brighter stars and give a splendid view at low magnifications. The first thing you’ll notice is the two rows of brighter stars arching out from center. some observers see M35 as a nearly circular cluster with rather uniform stellar distribution. However you see it, one thing is for sure, low powers and wide-field eye pieces show M35 at its best.

Next target is NGC2392, planetary nebula due of its double-shell morphology, exhibits a particular appearance the Eskimo or Clown Face Nebula. This object was viewable with direct vision due to its 9.1 magnitude. At 65x the planetary appears round with a bright core surrounded by a fainter halo. The “Eskimo” features are not visible but I suspect with a larger telescope the features would be easier it see.

For the other four objects I observed this December I’ll let you explore my notes for yourself. You can find them at December Observations. I’d like to here from readers about their observation during December so be sure send them along.

Happy New Year everyone and clear skies!

Dan

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Brilliant Venus and a crescent Moon

December 28, 2011   Dan   No comments
Venus Moon Conjunction December 26 2011

Brilliant Venus and a crescent Moon lined up in conjunction on the evening of December 26, 2011. This scene was presented to me as I walked out of the grocery store Monday evening on the 26th. As I placed my packages in to my car I remembered that I had left my camera in the trunk from the day before. I quickly attached my 70 – 300mm zoom lens and captured this shot.

So, what is a conjunction? Conjunction is a term used in positional astronomy. It means that, as seen from the Earth, two celestial bodies appear near one another in the sky. In this case it’s Venus and the Moon.  Although not a close conjunction as some planetary groupings but, still an eye catching view because of each objects brightness. The Moon is just two days past new phase and is about 6 percent illuminated while Venus shines at about magnitude -4.0. The pair is separated by about 7 degrees. Another Conjunction of Venus and moon will occur again on Jan. 25 and 26 2012. I’m looking forward to it.

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The King of the Planets

October 29, 2011   Dan   No comments
Jupiter's Great Red Spot

I saw an opportunity a few nights ago when there was a break in the cloud cover to get in a little observing. Since I had just finished repairing a Meade ETX 60AT I thought this was a good time to see how well it performed.

I quickly setup the telescope and gave myself 20 minutes to allow my eyes to adapt while I looked over the night sky. It’s interesting to see the constellations changing this time of year as the remains of the summer constellations are passing overhead to the West and the winter constellations rising up in the East. But as I saw clouds approaching from the West I knew I had only a few minutes until the entire sky would become overcast.

The target would be Jupiter rising high in the East and well placed for viewing. Using my 27mm Extra Flat Field eyepiece (13x), Jupiter’s four bright moons are easy to see and I can make out the Equatorial bands quite well.  I dropped in my TMB 9mm planetary eyepiece giving this scope 38x and the Equatorial bands are well defined. I also noted a little shading toward the North Polar Region.

Jupiter is a great target in any telescope and the observing season for Jupiter is just getting started. After the Sun, Moon and Venus, Jupiter is the forth brightest object in the sky. Depending on Jupiter’s position in relationship to Earth, the planet can vary in magnitude from -2.9 at opposition, which occurred October 29th, 2011, to -1.6 during conjunction with the Sun. The smallest of optical aid will reveal the planet and its four Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Telescopes of 60mm aperture will reveal the North and South Equatorial Bands and with telescopes of 90mm and up even more surface features become visible. It’s always fun to watch as the Great Red Spot crosses the central meridian, although the GRS can be a bit tricky to see at times, or to watch the shadow of Io drift across the surface of Jupiter.

Don’t miss out on any opportunity to view the “King of the Planets”. There’s always something happening at Jupiter.

Clear Skies!

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Looking at a comet

September 06, 2011   Dan   No comments
Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd)

During the past dark window I had the opportunity to image C/2009 P1 Garradd using my DSLR attached to my AR152 refractor. All these years in astronomy and I never took the time to look at a comet. I know, shame on me. How could I have spent all these years observing and not look at a comet. Especially since over the past ten or fifteen years we’ve been treated to a few bright comets. So, on the night of August 23/24, 2011 during one of my rare trips to a dark sky site someone mentioned that somebody should look for the comet. Alright I said, I’ll look for it. Well, I needed a little help from one of the observers there whom just happened to have the coordinates close enough for me to find it.

Once I located the object I dropped in my 2″ Meade Series 4000 QX 26mm Wide-Field eyepiece and I take a look……

C/2009 P1 Garradd

C/2009 P1 Garradd August 23/24, 2011. Captured at French Creek Gun Range

For the next 20 seconds or so I am speechless. I found it difficult to move away from the eyepiece to let others take a look. Once everyone has the chance to enjoy the view I couldn’t resist breaking out my camera to image this very cool looking object. The sight of the comet against the star fill background is spectacular. The resulting image is at left and you can click on for a larger view.

A few days later another amazing thing happens. I get out to another dark sky site. This time I venture off to the Blue Mountian Vista Observatory to meet up with a few friends from my astronomy club (CAS). This never happens, me getting out to a dark sky site twice in one month. Since it even darker here I’m going to have another look at this comet. And once again someone had the coordinates close enough for me to find it.

Wow. Even cooler. And once again I have to get a photo. It’s the one at the top left of this post.

I certainly enjoyed my first experience observing a comet. I have read many times about different comet hunters such as David H. Levy and Don Machholz and others but never took much interest in comets, their origins or even hunting them down. While I don’t think I’ll start hunting for them or spending a lot of time trying to understand the science of comets, I will pay more attention to the ones that swing by close enough to get a good look at. Who knows, maybe I’ll snap their photo too.

Clear Skies,

Dan

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Cloudy Nights

August 01, 2011   Dan   No comments
cloudy_nights

There hasn’t been too much of clear skies around here as of late. The last time I was out to do any observing was back in early July. The hobby of astronomy can be a little frustrating with respect to the weather at times. Hot, humid, hazy skies, sometimes the sky is clear all day and you start to think, it’s going to be a great night to get out with my telescope, only to have the sky cloud over around dusk. What’s an amateur astronomer to do with all those cloudy nights?

A few things come to mind. Take the time to plan your next observing session. It’s always a good idea to know what you want to observe once you do get out there. I like to plan most of my session around one or two constellations. I like to really dig into an area of the sky and seek out all the objects the constellation has to offer. Start with the bright stars and double stars then move on to clusters, nebulas and galaxies. It’s a good idea to have an alternate plan as well. Just in case the objects you initially planned on observing are lost behind trees or some other obstruction.

Give your equipment a good going over. Inspect your telescope lens for dust or smudges. Be careful cleaning them however. If your not sure how to go about cleaning your optics, don’t. You could damage the special coatings on the lens and render your telescope useless. Those special coatings on your telescopes lens are there to enhance the performance of the lens. Damage them and the deep sky objects may not seem as bright as they used to.

Read. Nothing gets the astro-juices flowing like a good article from one of the astronomy magazines or a good astronomy book. Find a topic and research it until you’re an expert on the subject. The science of astronomy has a wide range of topics and you’re sure to find a field in astronomy that interests you. I am particularly interested in variable stars. To be more specific, eclipsing binaries stars fascinate me, and I can spend hours researching them.

So, don’t let the cloudy skies get in the way. There’s still plenty of fun to be had.

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