by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95°24'W Lat: 37°55'N) |
| Equipment | Discovery DHQ 8" dobsonian |
| Eyepieces | 1.25" Plössls - 25mm (49x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x); Starmaster 3X barlow |
| Time | 8:15pm - 10:00pm CDT (02:15-04:00 UT) |
| Transparency | Mostly Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Very Stable (9/10) |
| Weather | Temperatures in the 40s. There was little to no breeze. |
| PLANETS | Jupiter, Saturn |
|---|---|
| GEMINI | Alpha, NGC-2392 |
| ORION | NGC-2169 |
Tonight's sky was clear and bright, and the Moon wouldn't be rising for several hours, so I set up my telescope soon after sunset. This would probably be my only free night until the weekend, so I wanted to take advantage of the situation. The temperature was a bit chilly, but not bad for March.
I wasn't really feeling up to following a strict observing plan, so I thought I'd just cruiser around the sky and point my telescope at whatever caught my eye. I especially wanted to observe Jupiter and Saturn again, since they were going to be the guests of honor at a public viewing session I'll be co-hosting in a couple of weeks.
| Saturn | Gemini | Planet | 8:25pm CST |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA: 06h 27m 03s | Dec: +22° 47' | Mag: 0.6 | |
Wow! Saturn was absolutely gorgeous tonight. The planet cast a lovely shadow on the back side of its rings, and multiple cloud bands were detectable, in varying shades of brownish-yellow and grey. The Cassini Division was obvious all the way around the rings. Several moons were visible, but I'm not sure exactly which ones, because it is in a fairly populous starfield. The A ring was darker than the B ring. The Crepe Ring appeared as a ghostly gray shadow completely around the planet and was especially noticeable in front of the planet. At times, it looked like I could see little ringlets composing the two main rings. The outer edge of the B ring (right next to the Cassini Division) appeared brighter than the rest of the B ring. The best view was with my 10mm eyepiece barlowed (366x), where the details were still sharp. I think the air was steady enough to support even higher magnifications, but this was about the limit of my tracking ability. | |||
| NGC 2392 | Gemini | Planetary Nebula | 8:50pm CST |
| Eskimo Nebula | RA: 07h 29m 11s | Dec: +20° 55' | Mag: 9.9 |
The best view of this nebula is at 244x. It appeared as a fuzzy blue patch surrounding a bright central star. With averted vision, some mottling could be detected. Even though the eskimo-like features aren't visible at this aperture, it is still a nice planetary. A brighter, nearby field star is somewhat distracting, but helps in locating the nebula. | |||
| Alpha | Gemini | Double Star | 9:00pm CST |
| Castor | RA: 07h 34m 36s | Dec: +31° 53' | Mag: 2.0, 2.9 |
This double star could be split at lower powers, but the best view was at 244x. Both stars are brilliant blue-white, with one star about a magnitude brighter. The dimmer star appeared slightly bluer. After looking at the fairly faint Eskimo Nebula, these stars were like headlights shining in my eyes! | |||
| NGC 2169 | Orion | Open Cluster | 9:05pm CST |
| "37" Cluster | RA: 06h 08m 25s | Dec: +13° 58' | Mag: 5.9 |
The best view was at 244x, where the cluster fit nicely into the field, although it was upside down. I could make out about 11 stars on the "3" and another 6 stars made up the "7". | |||
| Jupiter | Leo | Planet | 9:30pm CST |
| RA: 11h 00m 03s | Dec: +07° 57' | Mag: -2.5 | |
Tonight, Jupiter featured two moons on either side of the planet. The best view was at 366x. Once equatorial band was noticeably wider than the other. Both were uneven, and other banding and streaks were visible in the temperate zones. A few dark spots would pop in and out of view inside both equatorial bands. The equatorial zone was noticeably darker than the temperate zones. | |||
Jupiter and especially Saturn were really impressive tonight. Some of my family came home at various times throughout the evening, and I'd move my telescope back over to Saturn and let them have a look. They agreed that it was about the best they'd ever seen it. I only hope the seeing will be this good at the public observing session.
I really hated to come back inside tonight, but the temperatures were dropping, and my sinuses were starting to act up in the cool, damp air.
Posted on amastro Wed Mar 10 16:00:11 2004 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.0 Wed Jul 7 22:28:10 2004 PT