by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95 30' W Lat: 37 55' N) |
| Equipment | 8" Discovery DHQ dob |
| Eyepieces | 25mm Plossl, 15mm Plossl, 6.5mm Plossl, 4mm Plossl |
| Time | 9:00pm - 11:00pm CDT |
| Transparency | Partly Cloudy |
| Seeing | Mostly Stable |
| Weather | Temperature in 60s. There was little to no wind. |
Today was a beautiful day, with the high in the low 70s. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, until right about sunset. By the time I got my telescope outside and cooled down, a few clouds were moving in. I had to keep re-aiming my telescope as different parts of the sky clouded over or cleared up. It was sort of like searching for buried treasure.
I did get a chance to use my 8" yesterday at a site that is a bit darker than my backyard. I didn't make a formal observing report for this previous session, since I was observing with a friend. But I made mental notes of what I saw and how it looked. Tonight, my plan was to observe many of the same objects and compare the images.
| : Castor (a Gem) [Gemini] - 9:00pm CDT |
|---|
| At 81X, the star merely looks elongated. So I kicked up the power to 188X. The double is definitely split at this magnification. The companion is just slightly dimmer than the primary, and both appear to be white in color. |
| : a CVn [Canes Venatici] - 9:25pm CDT |
| This is a nice looking double. The companion is about half as bright as the primary. |
| @ M81 (NGC 3031) [Ursa Major] - 9:44pm CDT |
|
M81 and M82 have the honor of being the first two galaxies that I have ever
viewed with my new 8" telescope. In fact, besides M31 and M32, they are only
the third and fourth galaxies that I've been able to view from my backyard
location (the first two being M31 and M32).
M81 definitely has a brighter core than M82. It looks to be fairly oval in shape. Bumping the magnification up to 81X, the core is a little more pronounced, but no real detail is seen. |
| @ M82 (NGC 3034) [Ursa Major] - 9:44pm CDT |
| At low power (49X), I am able to get both M81 and M82 in the same field of view (barely). At 81X, M82 is definitely fainter, but appears a little larger (this is probably due to the fact that I'm only seeing the core of M81). M82 is a long, thin galaxy. It has a pretty diffuse core, and you can definitely tell the direction the arms are facing. |
| # Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) [Gemini] - 10:00pm CDT |
|
Through my 25mm eyepiece (49X), this planetary nebula appears as an
out-of-focus star. It is real close to another fairly bright star, so that
at this low power, it appears to be a binary system, with a fuzzy component.
My best view tonight was at 188X. The nebula appeared to be definitely non-stellar. In fact, it closely resembled a small, bright globular cluster. It was more or less a spherical glow, with perhaps a tinge of blue to it. |
| @ M65 (NGC 3623) [Leo] - 10:05pm CDT |
|
M65 and M66 also will barely fit within the same field of view using my 25mm
(49X) eyepiece. They both appear as faint smudges of light from my backyard.
They were much easier to detect the other night from a darker site. In fact,
I couldn't view either galaxy at higher than 49X, due to their faintness. I
couldn't find any sign of the other galactic component of the Trio in Leo
(NGC 3628), although it was plainly visible the other night, as well.
The galaxy is oblong in appearance (similar looking to M82), but no detail could be discerned within the arms. |
| @ M66 (NGC 3627) [Leo] - 10:05pm CDT |
| M66 appears to be almost the same brightness as M65. Both have a similar shape as well, although they are pointed in slightly different directions. |
| * M3 (NGC 5272) [] - 10:10pm CDT |
|
I had actually found this cluster earlier tonight, but it was deep within
the horizon haze. So I decided to come back to it later. At 49X, I can't
quite seem to resolve any individual stars, but the cluster is definitely
globular or spherical in shape. At 81X, it appears as a larger lump. I still
was unable to resolve any stars, although there does appear to be a little
bit of mottling around the edges. Given a little darker site, I'm sure I'd
be able to resolve some of the stars.
At 188X, the edges definitely appear mottled. By relaxing my eyes and using averted vision, I can almost detect individual stars around the edges. |
| * M53 (NGC 5024) [Coma Berenices] - 10:28pm CDT |
|
This globular cluster is fairly faint. It appears about the same size as M3,
but is a lot dimmer. This makes sense, as this cluster is about twice as far
away from us as M3 is.
At 49X, there is a double star positioned nicely within the same field of view. M53 makes the third point of a long, thin triangle. This cluster is too faint to make out many details at all, except for its spherical, fuzzy appearance. At 81X, the cluster appears larger, but I still was unable to resolve any stars. This cluster kind of reminds me of what M13 looks like through my little 60mm telescope. Pushing up the magnification further only results in an extremely dim image. |
| : e Boo [Boötes] - 10:42pm CDT |
| At 220X, I could barely split this double. By kicking the magnification up to 305X, the split is a little more obvious. The companion is much fainter than the primary, and is fairly close in. While the primary is yellow, the dim companion was bluish in color. This is a pretty double, but it would be a lot prettier if the companion was of a comparable magnitude as the primary. |
The clouds finally won out, now having covered all but a couple of stars. I waited around for a few more minutes, but the clouds appeared to be getting thicker, rather than thinner. I packed it in and called it a night.