by William G. Schultz
Gaggle is associated with geese; pride goes with lions, etc. I 'm not sure what pack-term applies to the feral hogs of Henry Coe Park. On Halloween, my family witnessed the extended family of 10 - 12 dark porkers rooting about the oaks of adjacent hilltops, hopefully in search of acorns.
Last night the hilltop and oak tree of the overflow parking lot was the feeding zone, Visuals of the group were difficult. The sound was more like a chilling, never-ending symphony of grunts, snorks and squeals. The dark figures had the lot encircled, looking like the attack in "Day of the Trifids". I was the lone witness of the spectacle. The parking lot was ours to share for the evening.
Astronomical observing conditions were excellent: the temp started at 64 degrees and fell to 61 degrees. Humidity was a constant 40%. Seeing supported clear views at greater than 200X early on, and clear views of Jupiter to over 300X after midnight. Early on, there were bands of clouds to the west, and enough murk in the valley to suppress the background of San Jose and Morgan Hill lights.
Later there were some thin bands that obscured Sirius for a while, but the Big Dog mascot soon prevailed. The eastern clouds dissipated. For most of the night there was clear viewing.
Observing object program: Herschel II (Rose City Astronomers/Astronomical League).
Progress: at evening's end, I have completed 60 objects (including EP sketches).
Observing record (not including eyepiece FOV sketches):
OTA: C-11
| 7354; H 705-2; Cep | Direct vision. PlN, found at 70X as a featureless disk. At 215X the disk had fairly defined perimeter, maybe with a greenish color. No internal structure was apparent. A very faint star (maybe 14th mag) was adjacent to the disk. This was my first DSO found while using The Sky software. S of 30 Cep. |
|---|---|
| 7377; H 589-2; Aqr | Direct vision. Circular appearing galaxy, located S of 68 Aqr; easily found at 70X; at 105X was located between the short leg of a right triangle asterism and another pair of brighter stars. The object has little apparent structure: an amorphous blob. |
| 7392; H 702-2; Aqr | Direct Vision. Oval appearing galaxy, located on a faint sparse starfield. Averted viewing shows a brighter elongated core. N & E of 7377, in a line of stars extending from 68 Aqr. |
| 1045; H 488-2; Cet | Direct Vision. Small round galaxy with bright core. Easily found along a string of stars running N from eps-Cet; just E of the 4th star. At 215X, only one other brighter star shares the FOV. |
| 1073; H 455-3; Cet | Direct Vision. Fairly large and round galaxy. Amorphous in apearance. Best viewed at 70X; adjacent to bright equilateral triangle of stars, very pleasing starfield. As I view the object at higher mags (215X), I sense a granularity in halo structure. |
| 1087; H 466-2; Cet | Direct vision. A wonderful object(!) with round to oval shaped galaxy with brightened core. M77 is nearby (1 deg to NW). Shares the FOV with 1090. An attractively strung grouping of stars separates the two galaxies. |
| 1090; H 465-2; Cet | Direct Vision. Oval, small and faint galaxy, much fainter than the companion. |
| 1114; H 449-3; Eri | Direct Vision. Very faint round galactic smudge located in a racked box of brighter stars. Difficult to find! Took over an hour to find. Finally found the object using the HB AstroAtlas. (The Sky software was of little help with this object.) |
| 1156; H 619-2; Ari | Direct Vision. Elongated galaxy with a bit of brightness in core. Quite diffuse around the edges. 165X. See sketch, as the starfield is a but hard to describe. |
| 1161; H 239-2; Per | Direct vision. Small oval galaxy, brighter than anticipated. Nested up close to a diagonal pair of 10 - 12 mag stars. At 215X, and to the north you can see the broader fainter glow of 1160. |
| 1162; H 469-3; Per | Direct vision. Very small but roundish galaxy, viewed at 265X. Some brightening of core is evident at the high mag. Only four (two brighter and two fainter) stars occupy the 265X FOV. |
| 1169; H 620-2; Per | Direct vision. Faint and small oval galaxy. Found just at moonrise. Core appears bright, or maybe a brighter foreground star. 6 to 8 stars share the sparse 215X starfield. |
Following the moonrise, I observed the moon and shadow transits of Jupiter for a while. With Jupiter overhead, I was able to view comfortably at up to 400X. Bl
The night was a sure winner! This morning our family had Dittmer's bacon with our potato rosti. If only last night's hilltop companions knew.
"Sooooooooey, pig, sooooooey!"