by Robert Leyland
I arrived around 6:30pm; already pretty dark, to find Kent with his 8" SCT already set up and observing!
Through the evening we shared views, he had an excellent view of M33 almost directly overhead, and I think he appreciated NGC 1184 the most.
In setting up the EQ platform, I still have to work out some kinks using it with the larger telescope. It handles the 8" no problem, but there seem to be some friction problems driving the larger weight when resetting, of course it may just be that my battery needs to be more fully charged. Also one of the leveling bolts blocked movement of the platform, until I re-adjusted and re-levelled it with all the screws raised slightly higher off the ground.
| Observer | Robert Leyland |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 Nov 2002 |
| Time | 1830-0100 PST (UT -8, or 0230-0900 30 Nov 2002 UT) |
| Location | Lake Sonoma CA, 38°43'N 123°02'W Elev ~1400 (Lone Rock Flat) |
| Weather | 10°C Temp, 50-60% Humidity |
| Seeing | LM 6, transparency 8/10, steadiness 8/10 |
| Moon | new moon |
| Equipment | 17.5" F5 Dob, EQ Platform, Pentax XL EPs |
I followed up my Cepheus observations with the 17" Dob, picking up those objects that were very faint or difficult in the 8".
CEPHEUS
IC 1454 - PN - confirmed my sighting in the 8", in the bigger scope it was still dim but easily held with direct vision, and an OIII filter brings out the oval shape very nicely. A dim field star is visible nearby, and one bright star is half the FOV away (160x).
Ced 214/Be59/NGC 7822 - At the end of a dog-leg of stars from Iota CEP lies this OIII emission region, it is quite large (1° x 1.5°) and subtle, a second clump of OIII madness lies N and is even more subtle (7822) and extended (about .5° x 2+°). These form a triangle with open cluster NGC 7622. Very delicate strands and bumps are visible in the 40mm eyepiece with an OIII filter (55x) around this region.
The open cluster NGC 7622 fills the view at 100x and looks like a paw print (or spread hand with 3 stubby fingers).
PK116+8.1 a very nice circular PN, a flat disc with adjacent stars at right angles. Sharply defined edges under OIII filter (160x)
NGC 2300 and 2276 revisited. A nice galaxy pair. 2300 is small and elongated 3-1 with a bright core. 2276 is larger and diffuse with an irregular oval shape approximately 6:5.
NGC 1544 a very faint galaxy, an arc of three stars adjacent helps identify it. Two extremely faint spots right next to the halo might be adjacent galaxies. It is a 3:2 oval shape with a broad non-stellar core.
NGC 1184 is a totally cool edge on galaxy with a broad stellar core. Some bulge noticed at 320x and a faint stellar point just the the left of center (S of core) gives the galaxy a lopsided appearance.
This completes my first survey of Cepheus, and I took a break to scan the Fornax galaxy cluster. I can see about 8 or 9 galaxies easily but the cluster is very low to the horizon (I found myself sitting on the ground), and not in a very good part of the sky.
Still it was a good night, and plenty of time remaining. So I made a start on Lynx, a constellation that seems to be overlooked next to the much larger and brighter Auriga, U Major and Gemini.
LYNX
NGC 2415 - a nifty little galaxy on the border with GEM. Circular with a diffuse core, possibly elongated N-S.
NGC 2419 - GC - the "intergalactic wanderer" . I remember trying to find this about two years ago with the 8" and having a very difficult time. Now it seems a lot easier, following a chain of stars above Castor to a medium sized globular cluster with a uniform, unresolved core and sandpaper appearance. It is very nice, and deserves better than NSOG's ** rating.
NGC 2444, 2445 - a pair of galaxies inside a squashed ring of stars, they appear as two faint little bumps. At 210x a couple of very faint field stars can be seen, one next to each galaxy.
NGC 2549 - galaxy - a star hop from O UMa (Muscida), a nice elongated 4-1 compact elliptical with a bright stellar core. It diffuses nicely into the traditional galaxy shape (220x).
PK164+31.1 - A large PN, very soft and diffuse found using an OII filter at 160x. It looks veiny and bulbous, at low power 55x with an OIII also, it is a non-uniform variegated blob. Without a filter it is only slightly brighter than the background, barely detectable.
NGC 2474, 2475 - two very faint galaxies; situated between a faint triangle of stars and a moderately bright field star. To get the best views I had to move that star out of the FOV. Both galaxies appear circular, one is smaller and dimmer and has a faint adjacent field star.
Another good night! Even though it was not nearly as nice as two days ago, we are lucky to get this in before the upcoming storm.