by Paul Sterngold
I had intended to go to Del Valle last night in order to take photos of the comet, but that was a boneheaded idea right from the start, because:
So following my usual pattern, I didn't arrive until 8:30pm. My 9-year-old daughter, Joanna, had begged to come along and despite my warnings that she would be quite bored because I would be taking photos, she persisted and I yielded. So the two of us packed all my photo gear plus the 11x80 binoculars, parallelogram mount and tripod.
We arrived late as mentioned above and found the moon quite bright, but Joanna still proclaimed what a beautiful, clear night it was. And indeed it was, although transparency wasn't great. I then had a change of heart and decided -not- to set up anything except the binoculars and mount. With nobody else there to distract us, with such a pretty night and with our spirits high, this seemed like a good opportunity for a father-daughter night of exploration.
I had a brainstorm and wondered if Joanna might like to pursue an AL certificate, as I am doing. I told her about it and tried my best marketing approach. She was mildly interested, so I told her how to find and log objects with TheSky. We brought up the log entry for the Pleiades, then Joanna went back to the eyepiece so she could write her description.
About a year or so ago at MB, Joanna renamed the Pleiades as "the Poodle cluster". I had scoffed but Joanna insisted that I look through the binocs. Yup, immediately I saw the pup in reclined rest, paws stretched out in front. It was clearly a poodle. So of course Joanna first wanted to visit her old pet.
The poodle was upside down now, so Joanna's brain worked out a new pattern. "Dad, there's a tank top off on the left side." You'd think I'd have learned by now but again I scoffed, and again she insisted I take a look. There it was, a nearly perfect pattern of stars forming the body and straps of a tank top. That girl's got good pattern recognizing abilities.
I then guided Joanna verbally to the Orion Nebula. Finally, I showed her how to star hop to M41. Those three objects evidently consumed Joanna's creative powers because she became bored and went into the car to read. (Or maybe it was 'cause she was getting pretty cold and wanted to warm up.)
Anyways, I then began working on my own binocular Messiers. Deep sky objects always surprise me through the binoculars, they are brighter and many are more interesting than I suspect they will be.
I began at 9:20pm and made my last observation at 11:15pm, managing to bag 23 M's and a few N's as well. Not bad for a short mini-marathon. Here are our logs for the night...
| Time | Object | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3/18/02, 8:42 PM | M45 (The Pleiades) | Del Val Big binoculars usually poodle at this time of year upside down on left side of cluster looks like tank top two skinny straps coming up and a body |
| 3/18/02, 9:02 PM | M42 | calm no wind fingernail moon-bright could see six stars in nebula sone brilght some dim |
| 3/18/02, 9:17 PM | M41 | very fuzzy tons of little dim stars hazy some stars out of haze area |
| Time | Object | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3/18/02, 9:22 PM | M78 | Pretty sure I've got this in the 11x80's! Nautilus curve of stars (actually starts with L shape) that starts to the s, curves up to the e and then to the N, with this object at the center or radius of curvature. Surprisingly bright given the moon and hazy conditions tonight. Not all that difficult. Like a star with haze around it, can't tell any direction or offset to the haze. |
| 3/18/02, 9:27 PM | M42 | Could see extension of the "wings" to the nw and se, about 30 mins on either side of Trap. No color, no real detail- too much moon and haze? |
| 3/18/02, 9:38 PM | M41 | Lovely with about a dozen brighter members and many several dozen dim ones. Probably losing some due to the moonlight and haze but still beautiful. Pretty "streamer" of dimmer stars shooting in an arc to the nw, with a single brighter star in the se, about a degree overall, maybe larger. |
| 3/18/02, 9:38 PM | M93 | Much smaller and compacter than above, not impressive in the binocs. Brigher "bar" running e-w with a haze of dimmer stars clustered near the e end of this bar. |
| 3/18/02, 9:38 PM | NGC 2360 | Found this cluster on my way to m46/47, it's about 30 mins e of SAO. Just a haze but easily spotted. |
| 3/18/02, 9:38 PM | M47 | What a great field, with several objects and interesting contrasts. First M47- bright and gaudy, easy to find, really grabs your attention. A dozen or so bright stars around a central triangle, with an overall flared vase shape from the sw to ne. |
| 3/18/02, 9:38 PM | M46 | So much dimmer than M47 in the binocs, like a big hazy patch but only a
few of the brighter stars resolve, the rest remains a tantalizing grainy
haze. I'm sure darker conditions would yield resolution of many of the
dimmer members.
There is a pretty, "carpenter's square" shaped asterism directly above (ne) that catches the eye. The two right sides run sw (down towards m46) and nw. Two quite bright stars further s mark the "edge" of this excellent field. Above (ne) m47 is... |
| 3/18/02, 9:38 PM | NGC 2423 | Just a tiny hazy patch but eye-catching nonetheless.
The field is terminated to the nw by a series of dim, hazy asterisms- clusters? |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M50 | In a nice rich field but still stands out, easy to spot. Smaller than M41, M47, M46. A pair of brighter stars seem to mark the se edge, and a smattering of a few dozen dimmer stars running n from there. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M48 | Pretty big, pretty bright, really nice. There seem to be two parts, a main part in a triangular shape with a highly condensed, bright grouping at the center; then off to the n there's a sweep of dim stars that leads to a seeming extension of the cluster. Not sure if the sweeping arm or extension actually are part, but visually they certainly are. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M1 | Larger and easier than expected, especially considering the lousy w skies here and the moon (which has nearly set now). About 1.5 degs n or zeta, no shape just a haze. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M35 | Big and bright, real eye-candy. V-shaped, about 3/4 deg overall, a dozen or so bright stars scattered throughout with many dozens of somewhat dimmer but fully resolved members. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M37 | Moderately bright, about 20-30 arc-mins in size with a roundish, bright core but then another mass (extension) to the se. Grainy texture, teases with averted vision but I wouldn't claim to have resolved individual stars. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M36 | Compact but bright, with a pair of brighter stars to the e edge, and a "spur" running to the s. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M38 | Nice contrast and in same field as previous entry. Much dimmer but still has a distinct shape and patterns- three brighter stars in a line lead to it frmo the s, then there's a cross shape or swept-wing airplane shape, with dimmer stars in between the fuselage and wings. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M44 | Big, bright and beautiful. Naked eye. Lots of doubles (pairs) of bright stars, one conspicuous trio in a Sagitta-shape. Overall, has an amphora-shape or even an ice cream sundae shape, with the bottom of the bowl facing w, the mound of ice cream pointing e, and the sides of the bowl on the n and s. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M67 | Easily found but surprisingly not resolved. Bright star at the e edge, and a knot of brightening at the w edge. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M68 | Dim, small hazy patch but easily found due to proximity due e of SAO 180965. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M104 | Surprisingly easy to find, brighter than expected but as small as expected. Could detect e-w elongation, confirmed correct orientation with TheSky. Do I detect a roundish bulge around the center, or is that my imagination based on images? |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M83 | Surprisingly large- maybe 20 arc-mins? Low sb but it popped out nonetheless, found it before I confirmed its position in TheSky. No real shape, just a blob. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M105 | Small but surprisingly bright, easiest of this foursome with 95/96 and its neighbor. Bright core, small hazy spot, no shape or detail. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | NGC3384 | Definite maybe, pretty sure I got this one. Dimmer than above but seems to have a "shape"- thin with l-r (e/w) elongation. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M96 | Actually this may be a little easier than 105 above, stands out a little more. Seems bigger, maybe 2x, than 105, but doesn't have the bright core that 105 has. |
| 3/18/02, 10:07 PM | M95 | Hmm...not sure, could see the star and thought I saw some haze but can't claim this one. |
| 3/18/02, 11:16 PM | M66 | These are a lot brighter and easier than 105/95/96. Thjis one is the brightest of the three, and both it and 65 have a distinct elongation se/nw while 65 elongates n/s. |
| 3/18/02, 11:16 PM | M49 | Somewhat bright but really small, almost stellar but easy to find on a line between two semi-bright stars. Star hop to this area was a little more challenging than previous ones. |