Wednesday Night 11/23 at IHOP

by Shneor Sherman

I had packed Tuesday night in anticipation of a washout for the remainder of the long weekend, and I left from work, having changed into cold-weather gear before leaving work. Traffic was not too bad, and it took me just an hour and 15 or 20 minutes from downtown Sacramento (about what it usually takes from Davis). I arrived at about 5:05, to find Jim Ster and his friend Dave, with the 30" already set up. There were a few clouds, but as Jim predicted, they disappeared within an hour. There was a slight breeze, that imcreased a bit after 10, as Dave had predicted. The moon rose just after midnight, so we had something over 5 hours observing time.

After setting up and eating dinner, I began to check out some equipment. I'd had to return my Denmkeier Power Switch because - as it turned out - there was a "bad optic" (I think the wrong optic for a newt) that had to be replaced. So my first target was M57, in a good part of the sky. I checked all the alternative magnifications and was happy to find all was working well, although the OCS-Power Switch junction is still too tight.

In general, the sky conditions were average to below-average transparency (below average to the east and south)and the seeing was average (but above average to the high west). Nontheless, the everning provided nice views of M57 and the Veil in my 22". NGC253 looked reasonably good, although NGC 1535, a double-shelled planetary in Eridanus, was disappointing due to poor seeing. The double shell was barely distinguishable. But the Fornax Cluster's galaxies are so bright that they were eminently visible, and a pleasure to pan across. I viewed Mars a couple of times, and some detail was visible, but nothing to write home about. I also viewed a few other galaxies in Eridanus.

The views of M42 were disappointing, with very muted colors once it had risen for a couple of hours. Two years ago, I had an absolutely astounding, 3-D view of M42 in full color as it was rising at around 3 a.m., shortly after I got my Denks. I've been vainly hoping for a repeat performance. Still, I did get a nice view of (I think) NGC1999, a planetary in Orion with a dark spot in the nebulosity. Also, a very nice view of Thor's Helmet, one of my favorite planetaries.

Finally, I had a great view of M76. This also gave me a chance to check out my new X-Cel 2.3mm eyepiece, which I purchased with the expectation that there might be two or three nights a year when I would be able to use it profitably. M76 filled the field, and although the stars were not pinpoint, I may have caught a couple of minutes of good (not excellent) seeing, as some detail could be observed in the nebula.

This, by the way, is a very light eyepiece, although about 4-5 inches long. It appears to be very well made, with rubber grip, and comes with endcaps and a plastic case.

Jim also shared some nice views in the 30", which I'm sure he'll describe. One notable view was Thor's Helmet without a filter, yet reasonable clearly defined.

I'm very glad I was able to make it Wednesday night.

There is a possibility that Saturday night will be usable, and if it is I plan to be out observing somewhere.

Posted on tac-sac Nov 24, 2005 15:31:06 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Mar 16, 2006 20:28:00 PT