by Michael Peck
Has anyone seen this? There is a picture in NSOG that looks similar to what I saw, but I had a lot of trouble relating the stuff around it, and tracking them down.
My question is this: Should I have been able to see much nebulosity? I tried a sky-glow filter, but it didn't change the view at all at either 80x or 160x. I didn't try any colored filters, maybe I should have. I have a C8, and the seeing seemed to be great. I was primarily using the 25mm eyepiece that came with the scope, and also used a 12.5mm Orion Sirius Plossl. for the 160x views. The NSOG mentioned a UHC and O-III filter. Would those have enabled me to see the nebulosity, or is it just an apeture problem? (Lack there-of)
Also, I started out at Dino Point. I got there during twilight, and was just about done setting up at 9:15, when a ranger drove up and (very politely) kicked me out. She said that astronomers are only allowed there with "the group." I've never noticed any mention of arrangements before, so was it just that I didn't know the code-word, or that I was setup in the parking lot above the ramp or what?
So, I packed up and headed for the Peak. Got there at about 11:30. Talked to the ranger to make sure it was ok that I set up in the SW lot, since the gate was closed. He said go ahead, nobody else was there. He was having quite a night tracking down unruly campers.
It was awesome up there, better than Thursday night in Livermore. The Milky Way was very bright, and I saw probably 30 shooting stars. No satellites though, darn it. (I always like to see at least one satellite when I go out;)
I ended up staying until the sky started to lighten up, and then headed home.
The hilight of my evening was finding comet Hoenig. (I think that's the name.) It was at RA 2222 Dec +68.1, if I had the setting circles lined up correctly. (I'm still new to them, and not sure I trust that I'm getting them aligned correctly every time.) It was a fuzzy blob with no discernable core in both 80x and 160x views. The "cloud" I could detect was probably one tenth of a degree by two tenths, a nice oval shape. (I haven't figured out how to tell north vs south and east vs west in the view yet, so I can't say if it was longer NE-SW or which direction.) I tried some piggy-back photos of it, but when trying to make sure they camera was lined up wtih the scope, I bumped it good, and ruined the best polar alignment I've ever had. So, the tracking wasn't great in the first couple of shots, I hope the "hand-guided" ones turn out.
I also decided to give a shot at a star-trails picture. If any of these turn out, I'll let you know, if not, I won't mention it;)