by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95°30'W Lat: 37°55'N) |
| Equipment | 8" Discovery DHQ dob |
| Eyepieces | 2" 51.5mm Modified Plössl, 1.25" Plössls - 25mm (49x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x), 6.5mm (188x), 4mm (305x) |
| Time | 8:30pm - 10:15pm CST |
| Transparency | Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Mostly Stable (7/10) |
| Weather | Temperatures in the mid 30s. There was little wind. |
Tonight's forecast was for clear skies and wind gusts up to 20mph. We had the clear skies, but luckily missed out on the wind. I had to do some chores around the house, but finished up by about 8:00pm and decided to take advantage of the good weather.
| NGC 2169 ("37" Cluster) | Orion | Open Cluster | 8:40pm CST |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA: 0608.4 | Dec: +1358 | Mag: 5.9 | |
| At 88x, the cluster shows up nicely and sure enough, it looks a lot like a
sideways 37. The "3" is somewhat squared off, resembling more of a backwards
Sigma. The end star at the top of the "7" is fairly faint, but the rest of
the number is bright and clear. This cluster is fun to see, and definitely
looks much better through my 8" than it ever did through my 60mm refractor.
About this time, my neighbor and his stepson came over and asked if they could look through my telescope. Of course, I can't refuse such an offer, so I let them view NGC2169. Both of them saw the "37" shape clearly and came away from the eyepiece smiling. The boy then proceded in with a series of questions. The conversation went something like this: Boy: What's that yellow star over there? Me: Saturn. Boy: Wow, can we see it? Me: Of course. *pointing telescope toward Saturn* Boy: Wow, that's cool! Dad: Hey, I can see the ring! Me: Yes, I never tire of looking at Saturn. I can stare at it for hours. Dad: I can certainly understand why. Boy: What's that bright star over there? And thus it went. I ended up giving them a quick tour of the heavens, showing them Jupiter and its moons and cloud bands, the Pleiades, the Beehive, the Orion Nebula, and Sirius (on this last one, they both thought that my cross-shaped diffraction spikes looked really neat and made sirius look like the Christmas Star. I briefly explained to them about how it was an effect of the four vanes holding my secondary mirror in place, and the father understood, but still thought it was neat looking. About then, my aunt and uncle pulled into the driveway with their two girls (ages 9 and 7), and my sky tour started all over again. I could tell I wasn't going to be able to get through my entire observing list tonight, but such interruptions are a welcome treat for me. Finally, everybody left and I looked over my observing plan to see what I could still salvage. | |||
| Rigel | Orion | Double Star | 9:30pm CST |
| Beta | RA: 0514.5 | Dec: -0812 | Mag: 0.1, 6.8 |
| At 122x, the companion can be seen clearly, even though it rests right on a diffraction spike. It is much fainter than the bright primary component, but definitely visible. Both stars appear to be white. Because of the proximity of the stars to each other and the brightness difference, it reminds me a lot of a planet and moon. 181x didn't really improve the view. | |||
| Mintaka | Orion | Double Star | 9:35pm CST |
| Delta | RA: 0532.0 | Dec: +0018 | Mag: 2.2, 6.3 |
| This pair can easily be split at 49x. The white primary is much brighter than the blue-green secondary. When I defocused the stars, the secondary actually appeared a medium blue. This is a nice, fairly pretty double. | |||
| Meissa | Orion | Double Star | 9:40pm CST |
| Lambda | RA: 0535.1 | Dec: +0956 | Mag: 3.6, 5.5 |
| This is the brightest "head" star of Orion. The stars are fairly close together. At 122x, I could separate them enough to see darkness between them. The primary is white and the secondary is yellow. 181x shows the split much better and provides a nicer view. The color contrast is obvious and beautiful. | |||
| M42 (Orion Nebula) | Orion | Reflection Nebula | 9:45pm CST |
| NGC 1976 | RA: 0535.4 | Dec: -0527 | Mag: 4.0 |
| At 49x, the nebula fits nicely into the field of view. The nebula is a vivid medium to dark green, with a lot of mottling and shades of color. A dark band separates M42 and M43. Coming off that band, almost perpendicular to it, is another dark cone-shaped band that ends just past the Trapezium. Even at this low power, all four of the main stars of the Trapezium can easily be seen. The many shades of this nebula give it a fluffy, 3-Dimensional effect. At 121x, the detail is even more pronounced. At 305x, it feels like I'm there. | |||
| Trapezium | Orion | Multiple Star | 9:50pm CST |
| Theta | RA: 0535.3 | Dec: -0524 | Mag: 6.7, 7.9, 5.2, 6.5 |
| Theta-1 and Theta-2 make up the Trapezium. Kicking up the power to 305x reveals the third member (E component) of Theta=1 in moments of good seeing. | |||
| NGC 1664 | Auriga | Open Cluster | 10:05pm CST |
| RA: 0451.1 | Dec: +4341 | Mag: 7.6 | |
| This cluster is fairly faint, but rich. At one edge of the cluster is a bright star, but I doubt that it is a member. Most of the members seem to be of uniform brightness. The shape of the cluster is two arcs that join at one end, similar to a cornucopia or wave. This cluster isn't particularly impressive, but I've seen a lot worse. The best view was at 88x. | |||
I was starting to get a bit chilly now, so decided to call it a night. I was happy to get under the stars again, but would welcome evenings that were a bit warmer.