Mt. Lassen to Coyote

A tale of observing obsession of a pyro queen

by Stacy Jo McDermott

Observing Log for 7/31 – 8/2, 2003

My objective for this particular trip, taking place from Wednesday, July 30th through Sunday, August 03, 2003, was to finish up on those Messier objects viewed through binoculars to meet the criteria of the Astronomical League’s Binocular Messier Certificate. I used 7x50 Orion binoculars for all Messier objects on the list.

(I had also brought with me my 10” Dobsonian, dubbed “R2”designed and built by Robert Perry. Many thanks to Mr. Jim Bartolini for encouraging me on that name – we were both parked in the “D2” campsite space. However, upon arriving at Mt. Lassen, I found that I had forgotten my Rigel finder. A second challenge was the fact that when Jim Bartolini and I tried to collimate the primary mirror when I se! t up on Thursday, the collimating screws on the back panel were not moving the primary at all. I decided to not use the 10” for the remainder of the trip as I probably would not really be able to see anything clearly. As it turns out dear reader, Mother Nature had the same idea in mind).

7/30/03 – 8/1/03 Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
Devastated Interpretive Area

7/30/03 - Wednesday

No observing due to altitude headache, stuffed up sinuses and long day of driving.

7/31/03 - Thursday

Seeing	Fair to good to non-existent
Transparency	Good to poor due to thunderheads
Instrument used	7x50 Orion Binoculars
Time	22:15 to about 23:00 PDT
Objects viewed	M8, M17, M23, M27, M29, and M92

M8 – Nice binocular view of M8, which is also known as the Lagoon Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius. Nebulosity was visible as well as the star field. Very easy to find.
M17 – The Swan Nebula in Sagittarius. Nebulosity as well as star field visible. Could not totally make out the “swan” shape, but could see nebulosity.
M23 – An open cluster in Sagittarius. Per Stephen James O’Meara, one should detect a bat shape; I didn’t really but enjoyed this smaller companion to the two above M objects.
M27 – The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula. How this one made it to the AL’s “easy” list for binocular M objects, I’ll never know. I detected it only by constantly looking at my star chart and matching the background star field. I thought I might have seen it as a “blotted” point of light, but this could have been adverted imagination.
M29 – Open cluster in Cygnus. Nice grouping of stars for an open cluster. Very pretty once one zones in on exactly where to look. Background can be overwhelming.
M92 – Globular Cluster in Hercules. I could have sworn I had logged this one as seen through my 7x50’s before, however, since no log entry exists in my notes, I included this one on things to observe. Very tight, small, fuzzy ball…often overlooked due to M13 being a showpiece in Hercules as well.

8/1/03 – Friday

Overcast with a teasing smattering of sucker holes. Stayed at camp and made a lovely camp fire with wood gathering assistance from Peter Natcher. My campfire building skills are still sharp and was able to get the fire going on the first try. My technique for a proper fire is all in the beginning of building a perfect kindling bundle. Dry kindling was a bit of a challenge to find around the campsite due to some intermittent rain, but I was able to find what I needed. Soon, there was a hardy gathering of people sitting around the campfire trading jokes and stories that kept all entertained.&n! bsp; A light rain began around midnight but stopped (or so we thought).

8/2/03 – Saturday

Rain began at about 03.30 and did not let up. Everyone, but Steve Sargent (who was hiking/backpacking with his wife Jean) bailed out by noon and headed back to the Bay Area. I made a rain poncho out of a garbage bag with cutting assistance from Rich Neuschaffer. A new look for the pages of Vogue. However, I still managed to get soaked.

8/2/03 – Saturday, continued:

Due to major traffic delays on I-80 into San Francisco, I diverted myself to San Jose when I learned that the Coyote view area had clear sky predictions for that evening. Since I was not working the next day, I cut over to I-680 and made my way down to fellow TACo’s, Kevin Roberts, place and from there we proceeded to Coyote. It was indeed much cleare! r than Mt. Lassen had been and I was certain I would be able to bag my remaining Messiers (with the exception of M48, which is in Hydra) that night. I was not disappointed.

Location	Coyote County Park, CA
Seeing	Fair to good
Transparency	Good (though poor at end of night)
Instrument used	7x50 Orion Binoculars
Time	22:15 to about 23:30 PDT
Objects viewed	M2, M3, M5, M15, M52, and M55

M2 – Globular cluster in Aquarius. This globular was not that easy to find, but when I found it, it looked like a small, fuzzy blob.
M3 – Globular cluster in Canes Venatici. This globular was quite the challenge to find; I’m surprised that it also was listed as an “easy” object for the AL’s binocular Messier certificate. It ‘taint that easy! But found it I did and it looked like a hairy point of light – the best description for it.
M5 – A fuzzy ball in Serpens Caput. “Fuzzy” ball, smudge, point seems to be the common thread in finding and viewing Messier objects through binoculars. While I would like to be able to describe each object with the flair of Truman Capote, unfortunately, he too would be at a lost for more apt descriptions other than the aforementioned “fuzzy”.
M15 – A globular cluster in Pegasus. An apt adjective for this one would be a “fuzzy blob” sitting just above a star.
M52 – An open cluster in Cassiopeia. I thoroughly enjoyed hunting for this one and viewing it through my 7x50 binoculars. Lovely splash of stars against the end of the Milky Way. It reminded me of a stunning diamond brooch that one could wear as the only accessory on a classic little black Chanel cocktail dress. Cassiopeia is one of my favorite constellations and I am constantly surprised at what jewels are in this area of the sky.
M55 – A globular cluster on the outskirts of Sagittarius. Another M object making it to the “easy” list. The only thing I can think of is that Jay Freeman had a hand in putting together this “easy” Messier objects for the binocular certificate ;-). I detected this globular as a fuzzy dot, albeit, a largish dot.

Even though we had to contend with rain, clouds and mosquitos (and those little buggers saw me coming), it was a thoroughly enjoyable 5 days and I was able to meet my objective of bagging most of the remaining Messiers needed for the binocular certificate. Would I do it again under the same circumstances? With the enjoyable company that made it to Mt. Lassen, you can bet your AP refractor that I wo! uld.