by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95°24'W Lat: 37°55'N) |
| Equipment | Discovery DHQ 8" dobsonian, Simmons 10x50 Binoculars |
| Eyepieces | 1.25" Plössls - 25mm (49x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x), 6mm (203x), 4mm (305x) |
| Time | 9:30pm - 12:30am CDT (02:30-05:30 UT) |
| Transparency | Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Stable (8/10) |
| Weather | Temperatures in the 60s. There was little or no breeze. |
| CANES VENATICI | M3 |
|---|---|
| COMA BERENICES | M53, NGC-4147 |
| HERCULES | M13, M92, NGC-6229 |
| OPHIUCHUS | IC-4665, M10, M12 |
| SCORPIUS | M4, M6, M7 |
| SERPENS | M5 |
Tonight looked great. I could hardly believe that the skies were clear on a New Moon weekend. I was soon to find out that this would change. Right at about 10:00, just as twilight was ending and it was getting truly dark, a flash of light caught my eye as I was looking through the telescope. Lightning? I glanced up. Much to my surprise, a large search beacon was waving back and forth across the sky. It originated west of me, and stretched nearly to the treeline in the east. Almost no matter where my telescope was pointed, every few seconds, the view through my eyepiece would light up. I hoped I could ignore it, and log a few more Herschels. It was such a nice night outside.
| Meteor 1-31 | Rocket Body | 9:42pm CDT | |
|---|---|---|---|
My observing session tonight began with a satellite pass that I just happened to catch as it cleared the trees in the southeast. It appeared bright yellow-white, and was moving very slowly to the north. It passed through Bootes, and then on between Draco and Ursa Minor. It was moving slow enough that I could hand-track it with my dob at low power (49x). At this magnification, I saw an elongated light (or perhaps two lights, one right in front of the other). I later looked on the Heavens Above website to determine that instead of a satellite, this was actually an old rocket body from a launch in 1981. | |||
| NGC 6229 | Hercules | Globular Cluster | 10:25pm CDT |
| RA: 16h 46m 59s | Dec: +47° 32' | Mag: 9.4 | |
This globular cluster was best viewed at 305x. At this magnification, with averted vision, the core appeared stellar, and a few of the outer stars would wink in and out of view. The middle was fairly bright, but not really resolvable. It formed a triangle with two bright field stars, making it easier to focus. | |||
| NGC 4147 | Coma Berenices | Globular Cluster | 10:40pm CDT |
| RA: 12h 10m 06s | Dec: +18° 32' | Mag: 10.4 | |
This was a fairly faint globular, with the best view being at 203x. It appeared fairly large, and the core was nearly stellar with averted vision. No individual stars could be detected, but it did have a mottled appearance. | |||
After this point, I had given up on trying to find faint Herschels. As the sky grew darker, the search beacon became brighter and more distracting. The night was too nice to let go to waste, however. I grabbed my binoculars and decided to do some Messier hunting. With the binocular's bright field and ability to be pointed close to the horizon, the searchlight wouldn't be nearly as much of a hindrance.
| M 3 | Canes Venatici | Globular Cluster | 11:05pm CDT |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 5272 | RA: 13h 42m 11s | Dec: +28° 22' | Mag: 6.3 |
In binoculars, this globular appeared as a fuzzy patch with a stellar core. It formed a triangle with two bright stars that are about the same brightness of M3's core. | |||
| M 53 | Coma Berenices | Globular Cluster | 11:10pm CDT |
| NGC 5024 | RA: 13h 12m 55s | Dec: +18° 10' | Mag: 7.7 |
This is really faint and easy to miss in binoculars. With averted vision, however, it was more apparent, having a bright not-quite-stellar core. | |||
| M 4 | Scorpius | Globular Cluster | 11:15pm CDT |
| NGC 6121 | RA: 16h 23m 33s | Dec: -26° 31' | Mag: 5.4 |
This cluster was really faint, and easy to miss in binoculars if you don't know where to look. With averted vision, it appeared large, and of a fairly uniform brightness. The globular was slightly oval in shape. | |||
| M 5 | Serpens | Globular Cluster | 11:20pm CDT |
| NGC 5904 | RA: 15h 18m 34s | Dec: +02° 05' | Mag: 5.7 |
This globular was bright and large. It is located next to another bright star, and is pretty easy to find in binoculars. The core was brighter than the outer edges, but not quite stellar. Even with a quick sweep of the area, the fuzzy patch of light was obvious. | |||
| IC 4665 | Ophiuchus | Open Cluster | 11:30pm CDT |
| CR 349 | RA: 17h 46m 12s | Dec: +05° 43' | Mag: 4.2 |
This open cluster was wide, and 12-15 individual stars were easily visible. The stars were arranged in a roundish but irregular pattern, and were of varying brightness. This made for a nice cluster to view in binoculars. The bright star Beta Ophiuchi was in the same field, and was somewhat distracting. | |||
| M 10 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | 11:35pm CDT |
| NGC 6254 | RA: 16h 57m 09s | Dec: -04° 06' | Mag: 6.6 |
This was a faint, but large globular cluster, and fairly easy to detect in binoculars. The middle was slightly brighter than the edges. | |||
| M 12 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | 11:35pm CDT |
| NGC 6218 | RA: 16h 47m 15s | Dec: -01° 57' | Mag: 6.1 |
This cluster was slightly smaller than M10 and a little dimmer. | |||
| M 13 | Hercules | Globular Cluster | 11:35pm CDT |
| NGC 6205 | RA: 16h 41m 42s | Dec: +36° 28' | Mag: 5.8 |
This globular is large and bright, easily seen in binoculars. The core was much brighter than the outer edge, and appeared stellar with averted vision. | |||
| M 92 | Hercules | Globular Cluster | 11:40pm CDT |
| NGC 6341 | RA: 17h 17m 07s | Dec: +43° 08' | Mag: 6.5 |
This cluster was as bright as M13, but was smaller. It had a stellar core, and was definitely fuzzy compared to nearby stars. However, with quick scans, it could have been easily mistaken for just another star. | |||
| M 7 (Ptolemy's Cluster) | Scorpius | Open Cluster | 12:25am CDT |
| NGC 6475 | RA: 17h 53m 54s | Dec: -34° 47' | Mag: 3.3 |
Through binoculars, this was a nice wide cluster, with perhaps two dozen stars visible. It was fairly compact, and most of the stars were of similar brightness. The center seemed to be the densest. | |||
| M 6 (Butterfly Cluster) | Scorpius | Open Cluster | 12:25pm CDT |
| NGC 6405 | RA: 17h 40m 25s | Dec: -32° 14' | Mag: 4.2 |
Through binoculars, this cluster was in the same field of view as M7. I could make out maybe 4-5 stars interspersed between a fuzzy background patch of light. It was about 2/3 the size of M7. | |||
Even after being outside for over three hours, there wasn't a trace of dew on any of my equipment. If it hadn't been for the annoying searchlight, it could have been almost perfect. I later found out that the searchlight was part of a McDonalds promotion. I wasn't a big fan of McDonalds before, and now even less. Thankfully, they said that the searchlights would only be used for two nights. Too bad it was during new moon.