The Light Light Show

by William G. Schultz


I've been dodging aircraft all week: the ones that haul my butt to other regions or countries. I was hoping to schedule trips for the full moon period, but nothing has worked according to plan. I still have to travel and it appears as thought the dark period will be impacted. As each day passes, I'm not encouraged.

I considered a trip to Coe after reading Phil's posting, and then Mark mentioned I'd be seeing mostly white plaster. So I stayed home and watched a movie with the family.

At 10:00, I wandered outside to see the Light Light Show. My first impression was that I'd be inside in two hours or less. Resolving objects within 30 degrees of the moon/Scutum region would be like trying to resolve potato starch granules in New England clam chowder.

I checked my lists for potential targets. My Herschel DB is organized by months in Excel. I combined three months objects into a single page, then sorted by mag. Oh, well, I'd have some chance with the brighter objects, right? And if I stayed away from the "plaster" I might see *something*.

There were a couple of objects in Cepheus that might be likely success stories around midnight: 7380 and 7510. Bingo! Two more off the list, and ~mag 9 each.

Cygnus was overhead and I thought I'd explore that busy area. I was shocked in my finding 7086 and 7128, OCls listed at ~mag 11. This might be an interesting night after all!

6905 in Delphinus eluded me last night. The mag 12 PlN couldn't compete with background. I was able to confirm 6934: just a bit brighter, and with sufficient brightness and granularity to be different from it surroundings.

I was able to snag some objects in Lacerta (presumably named after the great LA Dodger manager), Andromeda, and Cassiopeia.

The moon set at about 4:00. I was able to reconfirm 7331 from my light polluted backyard. Pegasus also yielded 7217, 7448 and 7479.

What surprises me most of night observing is the night itself. The sky has such speed. Objects, especially those away from the pole, are most fleeting: in just a few minutes they are lost until the next opportunity.

The outcome of this observing session not anticipated. All I wanted to see was a few Persieds and maybe some brighter jewel boxes. After 4:00 I wondered if I should begin tackling the November Herschel list. I opted for sleep. This time there was no winding road home.