by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95 30' W Lat: 37 55' N) |
| Equipment | 8" Discovery DHQ dob |
| Eyepieces | 1.25" Plössls (25mm, 15mm, 10mm, 6.5mm, 4mm) |
| Time | 10:00pm - 12:05pm CDT |
| Transparency | Clear |
| Seeing | Stable |
| Weather | Temperature in the upper 80s. There was no breeze. |
Looking outside after dark tonight, I could see the Milky Way sweeping through Sagittarius and Aquila and Cygnus. The southern star clouds and the Great Rift were plainly visible. This appeared to be one of the better nights I've had for quite a while, so I decided to take full advantage of it.
Two of my favorite constellations are Scorpius and Sagittarius. I wanted another peek at them before they disappeared for the year. I decided to set up my telescope where I could best take advantage of the Southern sky. Unfortuneately, that meant exposing the telescope to several light sources. The Milky Way appeared noticeably dimmer, but it was still visible.
| V | Aquila | Variable Carbon Star | 10:00pm CDT |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA: 19 04.4 | Dec: -05 41 | Mag: 6.6 | |
| I occasionally like to take a peek at this star, as I've heard that it can sometimes really be a deep red. Tonight wasn't quite like that, but it was as red as I'd personally ever seen it. The color was a deep pumpkin orange, and really stood out from the rest of the field stars. If you've never seen a carbon star before, this is an easy one to find. | |||
| Wild Duck Cluster (M 11) | Scutum | Open Cluster | 10:05pm CDT |
| NGC 6705 | RA: 18 51.1 | Dec: -06 16 | Mag: 5.8 |
| At 122X, this rich cluster fits into the field of view nicely. A bright
yellowish star is near one end of the cluster, and all the other stars are
much fainter. Off to the side of the cluster is a pair of fairly bright
stars.
Hundreds of stars of varying magnitudes are visible in the cluster. Interestingly, these stars are grouped in clumps, with dark patches between. I'm not sure whether these dark patches are dark nebulae or just the chance alignment of the stars. In any case, the view is impressive. At first glance, the cluster appears sort of square in shape. On closer examination, two of the sides of the cluster appear to be more sharply defined, with the bright star being right along one of these lines. Increasing the magnification reveals more and more stars. | |||
| M 25 | Sagittarius | Open Cluster | 10:35pm CDT |
| IC 4725 | RA: 18 31.6 | Dec: -19 15 | Mag: 4.6 |
| This is a large, scattered open cluster. Even at 49X, it takes up most of the field of view. It has several bright stars in it, and almost right in the center of the cluster is an asterism of fainter stars that looks like a letter D (with part of the vertical line missing). Even at this low power, about 40-50 stars are visible, so it is fairly rich. | |||
| Omega / Swan (M 17) | Sagittarius | Cluster + Nebula | 10:40pm CDT |
| NGC 6618 | RA: 18 20.8 | Dec: -16 11 | Mag: 6.0 |
| At 81X, the entire "swan" is resolved, including the curving head. I've seen it a little better on other nights, but there is a lot of light pollution from where I had to move the telescope in order to get a good view of this celestial treasure. | |||
| Lagoon (M 8) | Sagittarius | Cluster + Nebula | 10:45pm CDT |
| NGC 6523 | RA: 18 03.8 | Dec: -24 23 | Mag: 5.8 |
| 81X offers a really nice view of this nebula. A wide dark lane intersects the two main sections of the nebulosity. The fainter Eastern section goes about halfway into nearby open cluster NGC 6530. The Western side is much brighter, especially the central portion. A row of four or five stars is in this central portion, which casts an eerie glow on this part of the nebula. M8 can be easily found, because to the naked eye it appears as a puff of smoke coming out of the Teapot of Sagittarius. | |||
| Emerald | Ophiuchus | Planetary Nebula | 11:10pm CDT |
| NGC 6572 | RA: 18 12.1 | Dec: +06 51 | Mag: 9.0 |
| At 122X, this planetary is just barely detectable as non-stellar. It doesn't really look like an emerald, but appeared instead to be aqua in color. At 188X, it's a little more obvious, but it still only looks like a small disk of fuzzy light. | |||
| M 26 | Scutum | Open Cluster | 11:35pm CDT |
| NGC 6694 | RA: 18 45.2 | Dec: -09 24 | Mag: 8.0 |
| This is a small, unimpressive open cluster. At 122X, it easily fits within
the field of view. About 15-20 stars are visible. One end of the cluster
appears to be trapezium-shaped. A small string of stars curves off of one of
the endpoints and gives the cluster the appearance of having a sack-shaped
dark nebula off to one side of it.
At 188X, more dim stars are visible along the other side of the trapezium. This makes it appear a little fuller, but it still isn't overly impressive. | |||
| 57 | Aquila | Double Star | 11:50pm CDT |
| RA: 19 54.6 | Dec: -08 14 | Mag: 5.7, 6.5 | |
| This is a nice double. Both components appear white, with one being a little brighter. The pair is easily split at 49X. This is a "headlight" double, with both stars appearing as eyes staring back at you. | |||
| NGC 6709 | Aquila | Open Cluster | 12:00am CDT |
| RA: 18 51.5 | Dec: +10 20 | Mag: 6.7 | |
| I found this cluster quite by accident. It wasn't even labeled on my star chart. I was looking for Struve 2404 (a double star) when I came across this. At 49X, it seems to have about 25-30 members of varying magnitudes (although none of them are really bright). Three stars of similar magnitude in an oblong triangle is the most noticeable feature of this cluster. The cluster is shaped like an oblong oval which comes to a point at one end. The triple star is right along one of the minor axis endpoints. | |||
I never did positively identify Struve 2404. There are many doubles in the same general area, and not knowing what it looks like prevents me from narrowing my search. I'll have to do a little more research and look this one up again another night.
I was getting a little tired tonight, so packed it in before I fell asleep at the eyepiece.