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 (49x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x), 6.5mm (188x), 4mm (305x), 2" 51.5mm (24x) Modified Plössl |
| Time | 9:00pm - 11:45pm CDT |
| Transparency | Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Stable (8/10) |
| Weather | Temperature in the upper 50s. There was little to no breeze. |
After a whole week of cloudy weather, it was nice to see clear skies again. Even from my backyard, the Milky Way could be seen dividing the sky nearly in half. I took my telescope outside and began setting up.
I recently purchased a cheap 2" 51.5mm Modified Plössl eyepiece, and was anxious to try it out. I wanted a low-power widefield eyepiece that would bring out the best of the large objects in the night sky. This seemed like it might be a good fit for my needs.
Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I got everything set up, and started pointing my telescope at a few showpieces while waiting for it to cool down, the neighbors on both sides of me turned their porch lights on. Arrgh! One of them turned the light off after a few minutes (they just turned it on long enough to do a few outside chores), so I moved all my gear behind the shed to block out the other light. I could still barely see the Milky Way overhead, but it wasn't nearly as prominent as a few minutes before. Determined to make the best of it, I began my observing session again.
| Struve 2404 | Aquila | Double Star | 9:20pm CDT |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA: 18 50.8 | Dec: +10 59 | Mag: 6.9, 8.1 | |
| This is a tight double. I used 305x in order to get a good visual separation. The brighter component is yellow-white, and the slightly dimmer companion is a pale blue-white. | |||
| NGC 6709 | Aquila | Open Cluster | 9:30pm CDT |
| Cr 392 | RA: 18 51.5 | Dec: +10 21 | Mag: 6.7 |
| This open cluster is shaped like a Divining Rod, or a Y-shaped branch. The
brightest stars are the endpoints. One of the forks consists of three stars
of similar magnitude. The other fork and the foot of the Y are both about
the same magnitude, with the foot being just slightly dimmer.
The best view was at 81x. Perhaps 30 stars are visible, and the Y roughly points to Struve 2404. This isn't a bad cluster; at least it has a recognizable shape. Other stars in the cluster are dimmer, and don't really follow the Y pattern. | |||
| Eta | Cassiopeia | Double Star | 9:40pm CDT |
| 24 | RA: 00 49.1 | Dec: +57 49 | Mag: 3.4, 7.5 |
| This is a nice double star. The bright white-yellow primary is easily visible with the naked eye. The much fainter secondary component is pretty close in, and is pale orange. Also visible in the same field are a couple of dim blue stars. This makes for a nice color contrast. Although the pair can be split at 49X, my favorite view is at 81x, which gives the stars a nice separation. | |||
| Sigma | Cassiopeia | Double Star | 10:00pm CDT |
| 8 | RA: 23 59.0 | Dec: +55 45 | Mag: 5.0, 7.1 |
| This is another tight double. The primary is a couple of magnitudes brighter than the secondary. Both stars are a blue-white color. In order to get a nice clean separation, I had to jump up to 305x. There were only a couple of additional field stars at this magnification, and both were dimmer than the secondary. | |||
| Struve 163 | Cassiopeia | Double Star | 10:05pm CDT |
| RA: 01 51.3 | Dec: +64 51 | Mag: 6.5, 8.5 | |
| This is a beautiful double. It can be easily found right off the tip of e Cas. The primary is bright orange, where the secondary is fainter and a rich medium blue. The separation is comfortably wide, even at 49x. The contrast is striking. This was my first view of this double, but it won't be my last. It has become a favorite! | |||
| O.Struve 254 | Cassiopeia | Double Star | 10:15pm CDT |
| WZ | RA: 00 01.3 | Dec: +60 21 | Mag: 7.5, 8.0 |
| This double is wide, and is in the midst of several other stars of almost
equal brightness. But instead of being white like the other stars, these are
both adorned with brilliant colors. The primary is bright orange, and the
other a bright blue.
With a quick scan, it's easy to miss this pair simply because of all the other stars vying for attention. But a slow pass instantly reveals the deep colorings of the pair. At 24x, the pair is close enough together to look much more like a double. | |||
| NGC 225 | Cassiopeia | Open Cluster | 10:20pm CDT |
| RA: 00 43.5 | Dec: +61 47 | Mag: 7.0 | |
| At 49x, this cluster reminds me a lot of the letter W. The cluster is pretty sparse, with perhaps 15-20 stars visible. Most of these are of similar magnitude. At 81x, the cluster still fits nicely in the field of view, but no more stars are visible. One side of the W actually appears as a double row of stars. | |||
| Zeta | Aquarius | Double Star | 10:40pm CDT |
| 55 | RA: 22 28.8 | Dec: -00 01 | Mag: 4.3, 4.5 |
| This is a really close double. At 305x, they could be cleanly split. Both stars are about the same magnitude and appear as a couple of brilliant white headlights in space. I could occasionally split the pair at 188x during moments of good seeing. | |||
| Saturn Nebula | Aquarius | Planetary Nebula | 10:45pm CDT |
| NGC 7009 | RA: 21 04.2 | Dec: -11 22 | Mag: 8.3 |
| This planetary is grey in color, with perhaps a tinge of blue. Typical of nebulae, it is rather difficult to tell when it is in sharp focus. As it is pretty bright, I could kick up the magnification to 305x. The The shape of the planetary is oval and the center sometimes appears to have a dark hole in it. | |||
| M 72 | Aquarius | Globular Cluster | 11:00pm CDT |
| NGC 6981 | RA: 20 53.5 | Dec: -12 32 | Mag: 9.4 |
| This globular is pretty faint. At 188x it starts to become dim and barely distinguishable from the background. I was unable to resolve any stars, giving it the appearance of a large, faint planetary nebula. It reminds me a lot of M71, except a bit fainter. | |||
| M 73 | Aquarius | Asterism | 11:10pm CDT |
| NGC 6994 | RA: 20 59.0 | Dec: -12 38 | Mag: 8.9 |
| At 188x, all four stars are easily visible, with the two forks of the Y shape being the brightest stars. The base of the Y is so short, that it more closely resembles a triangle to my eyes, especially at lower powers. | |||
| M 2 | Aquarius | Globular Cluster | 11:15pm CDT |
| NGC 7089 | RA: 21 33.5 | Dec: -00 49 | Mag: 6.5 |
| After the other clusters I've viewed tonight, this one is a real breath of fresh air. It's pretty large, but it still fits nicely in the field of view at 305x. The cluster appears symmetrical, and its stars are just barely resolvable. With my eyes relaxed, I can detect hundred of pinpoint stars. I would guess that the stars are about as faint as they can be and still be individually resolved in my telescope. With another couple of inches of aperture, this would probably be an outstanding globular. | |||
| Psi 1 | Aquarius | Double Star | 11:20pm CDT |
| 91 | RA: 23 15.9 | Dec: -09 05 | Mag: 4.2, 9.2 |
| This is a nice and wide double. Even at 49x, the pair is easily split, but 81x seems to bring out the colors a little better. The primary is yellow and the companion is blue. | |||
During the course of the evening, I pointed my new eyepieces at objects that caught my fancy. The Veil Nebula was difficult to detect with the surrounding light pollution, but with my O-III filter in place, I could make it out. It was great to be able to see so much of it in the same field (although neither section would completely fit).
I also pointed the eyepiece at the Cr399 (The Coathanger). If I centered it just right, I could barely squeeze the entire asterism into the field of view. This one is probably still best left to binoculars, however.
As soon as it popped up from behind the trees, I trained the eyepiece onto the Double Cluster in Perseus. Both clusters fit nicely into the field, but the magnification was a little too low to make out many of the stars. My 25mm eyepiece still gives me my favorite views of this showpiece.
Finally, I also pointed it at M45 (The Pleiades). While the entire cluster wouldn't quite fit, all of the naked-eye stars did (as well as dozens of others, of course). My binoculars still win on this one (mainly because of its 3D effect through them), but the 51.5mm is a close second.
I had been fighting dew all evening, and it was finally getting to the point where I was spending more time cleaning eyepieces than looking through them. But before I went inside, I noticed Saturn sitting between the trees, so I had no choice but to give it a look-see. Despite the low altitude shimmering, I had an outstanding view at 188x. It is a bit uncomfortable to use the telescope when it is almost pointed horizontally, but the view was well worth the effort. The Cassini Division was clearly visible, and a dark band clearly separated the rings from the front side of the planet. A little bit of color variance could also be noted on the rings, as well as the planet's shadow on the back side. The planet iself had a few bands visible, and was a beautiful golden-brown. I can't wait for Saturn to get a little higher in the evening sky.