by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95°24'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) |
| Time | 10:00pm - 11:50pm CDT (03:15-04:50 UT) |
| Transparency | Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Stable (8/10) |
| Weather | Temperatures in the upper 60s. There was no breeze. |
| AQUILA | NGC-6755, NGC-6756 |
|---|---|
| CYGNUS | NGC-6826, NGC-6866 |
| SAGITTARIUS | M17, NGC-6520, NGC-6544, NGC-6553, NGC-6568, NGC-6624 |
| SCUTUM | M11 |
The slightly older than First Quarter Moon was overhead tonight, but the weather was so beautiful, I just had to take out my telescope. I took it out a bit earlier than normal, because I wanted to tweak its collimation a bit before darkness set in.
After satisfying myself that the telescope was about as collimated as it could get with the tools I had available, I waited for twilight to end. While I was waiting, I set up my digital camera on a tripod, and took a few afocal picture of the Moon. I had recently bought the tripod, and was curious to see how much of a difference the tripod made compared to my handholding techniques.
The Moon was bright enough that the street lights weren't much of a hindrance, so I set up in a fairly brightly lit part of my yard, so that I could view the Southern sky. Sagittarius was well positioned, so I began my observing session there.
NOTE: The first two observations are from a previous night (Transparency: 7, Seeing: 6). I didn't want to make an entire StarLog for just two entries, so I am including them here.
| NGC 6866 | Cygnus | Open Cluster | 10:05pm CDT (July 13) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cr 412 | RA: 2003.7 | Dec: +4400 | Mag: 7.6 |
| This is a somewhat faint open cluster. It appears to consist of a couple dozen stars, fairly close together. There are some brighter stars nearby, that I don't believe to be part of the cluster. The main part of the cluster is oblong, and fits into the field nicely at 125x. In the center are two almost parallel arcs of bright stars, similar to rounded off chevrons. It's not bad looking, but it's nothing spectacular. | |||
| NGC 6826 | Cygnus | Planetary Nebula | 10:25pm CDT (July 13) |
| RA: 1944.8 | Dec: +5031 | Mag: 9.8 | |
| At 125x, the stellar core is visible, with a fuzzy glow surrounding it. No coloration was detected in the nearly circular nebula. With the O-III filter in place, the nebula brightens up, but the central star disappears completely. No real detail could be made out. At low magnification, two pairs of doubles appear in the same field. Both stars in each set are of similar magnitudes, but one pair is a magnitude or two brighter than the other. The fainter pair of stars are of a similar magnitude as the planetary's central star. | |||
| M 17 (Swan, Omega) | Sagittarius | Bright Nebula | 10:05pm CDT |
| NGC 6618 | RA: 1820.7 | Dec: -1610 | Mag: ? |
| Despite the first quarter Moon shining overhead, the O-III filter really made this nebula stand out. At 49x, the long, bright body was obvious, as was the curving neck and beak wrapped around a dark patch of sky. Without the O-III, the Moon's glare noticeably washed out and dimmed this nebula. | |||
| NGC 6520 | Sagittarius | Open Cluster | 10:10pm CDT |
| Cr 361 | RA: 1803.3 | Dec: -2753 | Mag: 7.6 |
| This is a fairly small open cluster. 188x shows it off nicely. It contains a couple dozen stars, with a few bright stars scattered throughout. The middle of the cluster contains the densest concentration of stars, with a bright yellow-orange star near the center. This cluster gives the impression of a long string of stars spiraling out from the center, like an interstellar @ sign. For a Herschel object, this one is fairly impressive. | |||
| NGC 6624 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 10:20pm CDT |
| RA: 1823.7 | Dec: -3022 | Mag: 7.6 | |
| This cluster is close to Delta Sagittarii. It is fairly easy to detect at low powers, but 188x offered the best view. The core appears stellar. Two field stars lie in a nearly straight line with the cluster, and are brighter than the globular core appears. No stars could be resolved. | |||
| NGC 6544 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 10:30pm CDT |
| RA: 1807.3 | Dec: -2500 | Mag: 7.5 | |
| This globular is much fainter than the previous one. It appears more diffuse, with no details visible. Even the shape is difficult to determine. It is not very impressive with this aperture, but the best view was at 125x. | |||
| NGC 6553 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 10:35pm CDT |
| RA: 1809.3 | Dec: -2554 | Mag: 8.3 | |
| This cluster is also faint, and individual stars cannot be resolved. It appears as a faint patch of light. With averted vision, a faint star appears to be right at the edge of the globular. It is probably unrelated, but at least it gives the cluster a spark of interest. 125x seems to offer the best view. | |||
| NGC 6568 | Sagittarius | Open Cluster | 10:40pm CDT |
| Cr 369 | RA: 1812.8 | Dec: -2135 | Mag: 8.6 |
| This cluster consists of mainly faint stars, and is somewhat sparse. The main part of the cluster has perhaps two dozen stars visible. Directly off to one side of the cluster is another string of stars of similar magnitude in the shape of the letter C. I'm not sure whether these stars are part of the main cluster or not. If they are, then the cluster as a whole takes on the appearance of a backwards number 2 in my newtonian telescope. It's not real impressive, but is relatively easy to find, especially for a Herschel object. Again, the best view is at 125x. | |||
| M 11 (Wild Duck) | Scutum | Open Cluster | 10:50pm CDT |
| NGC 6705 | RA: 1851.1 | Dec: -0616 | Mag: 5.8 |
| This is probably my favorite telescopic open cluster. The sheer volume of visible stars is incredible. At 188x, the cluster fills the field of view with swirls of stars and strings of dark dust blocking the starlight. Near the middle of the cluster shines a bright yellow-orange star, shining like a lighthouse beacon amongst a sea of blue-white suns. I can easily find myself staring at this cluster for hours. The longer you look, the more stars you see. | |||
| NGC 6755 | Aquila | Open Cluster | 11:15pm CDT |
| Cr 397 | RA: 1907.8 | Dec: +0414 | Mag: 7.5 |
| This is a sparse open cluster, but it is fairly wide. At 81x, it barely fits into the field of view. It is difficult to tell exactly where the cluster's boundaries lie. It's not very impressive, more like a slight thickening of the Milky Way in this region. | |||
| NGC 6756 | Aquila | Open Cluster | 11:20pm CDT |
| Cr 398 | RA: 1908.7 | Dec: +0441 | Mag: 10.6 |
| This open cluster is small and compact. In the same field are three "pointer" stars. It is extremely faint, right on the edge of detectability tonight. No stars are resolvable, resulting in a dim smudge of irregular shape. | |||
I made a bit of progress on my Herschel 400 observing list, so I felt that the night was pretty successful, in spite of the bright Moon.