by Jeff Barbour
No folks, there were no real fireworks for me Independence Day. Suppose I could have done the research on the web and followed an Iridium flare or two. But I didn't. Did watch the holiday's movie treat though: "Independence Day". "Ugly space aliens" decide we weren't doing a good enough job of despoiling the planet, so they take a hand at it. Wipe out a bunch of major cities. Then litter various rural landscapes with their own detritus. Got what was coming to them. I trust we ourselves will fare better...
No, my special treat came on the 6th. Dan, Tony, and I headed south-southeast to Fremont Peak where I joined my FPOA confreres in giving the public a chance to look through the Big Eye. But first we stopped over at "Jardines" in San Juan Bautista had a fine meal (thanks again Dan), kept the convesation moving forward nicely and got an earful of "Mariachi Harp".
Speaking of music, this was the first time Saxman Tony (of TAJQ and Redwood Rose) joined me on an observing excursion. Tony, like Dan and I, had held a fascination with amateur astro in his youth. Like many of us, puberty brought a change of priorites and it was just last year that Tony picked up a lawn sale 114mm EQ-2 Newt. Since then he's had it out a number of times viewing the Moon. But this would be his first real opportunity to go to a dark sky site and really soak up some deep sky photons in earnest. And what a way to start...
30 inches, and where patchy clouds managed not to spoil the fun, 6.0 magnitude stars unaided...
We were on site at the observatory by 7:00 pm. Pat, Ron, Eric and other FPOA members were already present. And the roof was rolled back. (Paul. Loren, Doug, and several others turned up as well, before sunset.) We had the Solaris scope setup and tracking in no time flat. Good thing too, after a few quick looks by all in attendence, a large bank of clouds decided to hog Sol's rays to itself. Before actual sunset though the Sun peeked out again and we watched it along with its retinue of prominences, spots, faculae, and granules drift behind distant foliage. Thereafter, passing in shining countenance to those exotic Pacific Islands and the Land of the Rising Sun.
With Sol's passage, we adjourned to the public room attached to the observatory. FPOA President Pat gave an engaging rumination on things observatorial and astronomical (including slide show). Like Dan and Tony, this was my first public talk. I was very fortunate to sit next to an attractive young oriental lady who asked many good questions concerning things astronomical. Enough of a brain trust was present to provide the needed answers. I suspect that should she return (and after doing more independent research), we would need to make sure Stephen Hawkings is present to handle the more advanced questions she would ask in the future!
Frankly I personally was very surprised to hear that the sky had (mostly) cleared during the course of the talk. Paul had the 30 incher turned on Venus before activities shifted. Stability was good enough to reveal the Vieled Beauty's slightly gibbous phase. The sunward limb of the planet was very luminous. Albedo shadings could be seen along the 60% terminator.
It was still before skydark. We turned the scope on nearby Regulus (Venus lay in western Leo) and Gamma Leonis. Regulus distant 9th magnitude companion was easily detected - even through 4.0 ULM skies. Gamma was easily resolved - but the two three plus magnitude components flared insolently. The Double Double was next. The scope had not stabilized and no resolution was seen between the tighter 2.5 arcsec components. By this time a little less than a dozen members of the general public were in attendence.
Just before astronomical dusk, we had the Ring Nebula in sight at some 166x. Throughout most of this period orientation of the scope was my responsibility. I also explained a little of what we were seeing and managed the queue of observers. Dan, Tony and I were unimpressed with the doubles, but stood up and took notice of the Ring. Could make out the central brightening where the progenitor lay. But the star itself was not apparent. Though the Ring stood out in high relief, the only color present was the typical "robbin's egg blue" seen even through small scopes. Several small children were assisted by parents in seeing the planetary. The kids thought it looked variously like an "egg" and an "eye". Adults tended to describe it as an elongated smoke ring. Apt descriptions all...
We headed toward Albireo and dropped in on nearby M56. With 30 inches of aperture collecting photons had no trouble resolving as many as a hundred members of this 8th magnitude 10 arcmin "city of stars". The view was as good as any had of M13 through 6 inch Argo. Main difference was that the stars still blurred due to thermal issures with the main mirror. As the night progressed however, stars began to resemble those nice little "points" we optophiles are so fond of.
Paul had brought along an Ultrablock filter. So we dropped it into the 22mm Panoptic and slewed to 52 Cygni. And this is where the Big Eye rose up mightily and demonstrated its dominance. In Dan's words, the Western Veil took on a "dimensionality" that can not even be hinted at in - even the largest of backyard scopes. Fortunately, (for those remaining), the first batch of public viewers had departed. And some serious observing time was available to all. Both Western and Eastern Veils could be walked end to end. Detail rivaled the best black and white shots made of the Cygnus Loop from the first half of the twentieth century.
As ever present cloud bands encroached on Cygnus, shifted northwest to a lowering Whirlpool Galaxy - M51. At first I was dissapointed in the view. All I saw was a bright patch in the middle of the field. But this turned out to be the core! At some 233x (16mm Nagler) the spiral arms curved well out toward the perimeter of the field - staggering...
Then went deep south. Turned up that faint little 10th magnitude globular cluster on the northwest perimeter of M7 (NGC6453). Then onto an astonishingly compact NGC6441 in the field of G Scorpii. By midnight, clouds began to make one final push - but not before we caught the Great Sagittarian Cluster - M22 - in the 166x field. By this time, the scope had fully stabilized. Thousands of pinpointy 10-15th magnitude components populated the field. The soft glow of numerous dimmer members swarmed the core region. Like M13, several dark "worm-like" bands of obscuration blotted out numerous lights elsewhere.
But the Big Eye had not been the only instrument of interest. Throughout the evening, Tony mysteriously dissappeard with Eric to make forays with a 70mm refractor and six inch dobsonian. Meanwhile, Pat and I snuck looks through the fine 5 inch, long focus achromat attached to the main scope. Finally, 8th and 9th magnitude asteroids Hebe-6 and Iris-7 were turned up using the 11x80mm binoculars in Scutum and Aquarius respectively.
And what about "the Rockets' Red Glare". No, none of that - but we did catch a pair of Iridium Flares after skydark. That was enough "fire works" for me on this particular 4th of July weekend...