Willow Spings, 25 Aug 06

by Bill Parkhurst

Willow Springs site south of Hollister. Many thanks to those people who made this great, dark observing opportunity possible. Bob Ayers property. Hosted by Bob and sponsored by SJAA. Car pooled with observing buddy Joe Fragola. Arrived before sunset. Set up on Flat area. Set up with Joe near two Marks, two Steves, and Bob.

Viewed the Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC 869 and NGC 884) naked eye just before midnight. Was able to split naked eye object into two separate halves. Upper half brighter. Lower half slightly left of upper half. Got idea to try and split Double cluster naked eye from a Walter Scott Houston Deep Sky Wonders article. First time I've been able do it. Usually the two clusters look like one object without optical aid.

Lots of meteors seen all night. A meteor was seen every few minutes, either naked eye or while looking through the eyepiece. Most were quick, dim meteors. A couple were bright with glowing trails. At about 04:35am, I saw a bright flash out of the corner of my eye - like some one had turned on a flash light. I looked up at the ridge and saw a stationary, glowing trail just above the ridge. Trail was about 4 or 5 degrees long and appeared granular or sparkly. The trail stayed in the same place for several seconds and faded gradually.

A light dome appeared in the East a little before 05:00am. I had not noticed city lights that bright, in that direction, earlier. The light dome was narrow and grew much taller and brighter right next door to Orion. Light dome was as tall as Orion was high, and it washed out the sky next to Orion. I've never seen the Zodiacal light from the Sun reflecting off of solar system dust just before twilight, but I think this was it. Don't know what else it could have been.

Sirius (star in CMa) was just rising above the hill to the East before twilight. Through all of the atmosphere, Sirius was twinkling furiously. Rapidly repeating color changes between yellow, red, and green.

We stayed up until twilight precluded viewing at 05:30. It was fun to see the Winter constellations during a Summer month. Slept a couple of hours and packed up before 08:00 to drive home.

No clouds, no fog, very little wind. Mild night - temps probably in 50s (degF).

Observed with 10 inch reflector on Dobs mount (XT-10).

Looked at Jupiter quite a bit before it got truly dark. Jupiter was low in the West. Wavy view with brief moments of clarity. Four moons visible, three on the right (eyepiece view) and one on the left. Some moments with lots of cloud bands and details visible. Saw a dark smudge near the lower (North) dark band. Smudge was about 1/4 of the way in from the left edge of the planet disk. Thought this might be a moon shadow but checked the next day and found no shadows were transiting at this time.

Started around Sagittarius and Scorpio. Took advantage of the low, low southern horizon to hop below the Teapot.

M54 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Star hopped from lower left Teapot star (Ascella). Object seen in Finder. Small, round fuzzy object with a bright center at 48X magnification. Best view was at 120X. Cluster looked blotchy, but no stars were resolved.

M70 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Hopped form M54. M70 was a bit smaller than M54. Round fuzzy object. Brighter core seen with averted vision at 48X. Tried 190X and cluster looked granular - hint of stars resolved. Density appeared more concentrated on the left (eyepiece view).

NGC 6723 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Found cluster below the Teapot. Seen in Finder. Big glob cluster at 48X. Object had a loose, diffuse edge. Center was not much brighter than the rest of the object. Tried 190X and started to resolve stars. Cluster filled half of the field of view with the 6.3mm eyepiece, or about 7 arc seconds. Object had a square'ish shape with diffuse edges. (NGC 6723 glob cluster is big and obvious. It shares the same one degree field of view with four other objects; NGC 6726, NGC 6727, NGC 6729, and IC 4812. I read about these objects in O'Meara's description of Caldwell 68 (NGC 6729).)

NGC 6726 - Reflection Nebula - (CrA) Faint glow seen around two stars at 48X. Viewed at 120X also. Nebula forms a peanut shape around the two stars. Drew a picture.

NGC 6727 - Nebula - (CrA) Did not see. Charts makes it look like this object should be a small nebula next to, or attached to, NGC 6726.

NGC 6729 - Nebula - (CrA) Viewed at 120X and 190X. Tiny nebula shaped like a pointed ice cream cone. Star visible embedded in the point of the nebula (tip of the cone). Fun object.

IC 4812 - Nebula - (CrA) Did not see. Chart shows this should be a tiny nebula next to a double star. Nothing visible at correct location around two stars.

M4 - GC - (Sco) Lots and lots of stars resolved. Cluster showed irregular shape. Looked like a fat "U" at 48X. Viewed at 120X and saw a small, straight string of stars running north-south in the middle of the cluster. Cluster spanned almost 24 arc seconds. Drew picture (compare to picture drawn 11Jul05). M4 is always one of my favorite globulars, but on really good nights like this one, it takes on a whole different shape/look.

NGC 6144 - GC - (Sco) Found glob cluster (between M4 and Antares) in 25mm eyepiece (48X). Object was dim and small with no stars resolved. View at 190X was a dim, very faint glow. One star visible on the edge of the cluster at the 9 o'clock position (eyepiece view).

09:45pm time check. Did a naked eye star count in the great square of Pegasus. About 10 stars visible, so should equate to about limiting magnitude 5.75. Pegasus was low in the East. Also looked South. M7, M8 and possibly M20 were visible with naked eye.

177P/Barnard - Comet - (Dra) Quick break to see a comet in Joe's scope. Near head of Draco. Large but faint glow. Impression of faint streamers extending off the top left (eyepiece view) of object.

M80 - Glob Clus - (Sco) Found cluster above M4. Glob cluster visible in Finder. View at 120X showed a diffuse object with a bright center. Maybe some stars resolved with averted vision. Tried 190X magnification and cluster had an irregular shape with a granular appearance. Nice object.

M22 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Found easily above the Teapot dome. Bright object visible in Finder. Large at 48X magnification. Stars resolved all across cluster, with glow of more unresolved stars behind.

M28 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Found above Teapot dome. Small object at 48X with brightening towards the center. No stars resolved. Round object. Cluster appeared granular at 190X with some stars resolved. Shape was not round at 190X. Chain of stars extended from the lower left side.

NGC 6644 - Plan Neb - (Sgr) Found correct location very near star Lambda Sgr (Kaus Borealis). Planetary Neb appeared stellar at 48X. UltraBlock filter brightened the object a bit. Still looked like a star at 190X.

NGC 6642 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Small object with irregular shape when viewed at 190X. Four stars resolved with averted vision. Only a small, faint glow at 120X.

NGC 6629 - Plan Neb - (Sgr) Found object above the Teapot dome. At 120X, PN was just a bit bigger than a star. UltraBlock narrowband filter helped view. Confirmed correct location by comparing star pattern at 48X with chart. PN located near one star in a pentagon pattern of five stars. PN appeared stellar at 48X.

M8 and NGC 6530 - Neb and cluster - (Sgr) - Viewed at 48X. Dark lane bisecting two halves of nebula. Left part (eyepiece view) of nebula brighter. UltraBlock filter greatly enhanced the lagoon shape of the nebula. Nebula and cluster spanned about 30 arc seconds. Drew picture (compare to picture drawn 12Jul05). Looked at the small, brightest part (Hourglass) of the nebula using 190X magnification. Maybe bright spot was rectangular shape with averted vision.

10:55pm time check. Could see the magnitude 5.6 and a magnitude 5.8 star in Ursa Minor part time with averted vision.

NGC 6583 - Open Clus - (Sgr) Saw small, faint hint of an object at 48X. Very dim object. Small, diffuse, compact object with granular, undetermined shape when viewed at 120X and 190X.

NGC 6568 - Open Clus - (Sgr) Large, loose open cluster viewed at 48X. Not certain where cluster ends. Several lines, loops and semi-circle patterns of stars in cluster. Drew picture of approx 45 stars.

NGC 6546 - Open Clus - (Sgr) Did not see. Confirmed correct star pattern, including triangle of three stars, with charts. Stared for a faint glow but could not distinguish any hint of a cluster from the surrounding field of stars. Did search but did not find any TAC ORs with this object in archive. Seds site showed a couple of obs reports.

NGC 6522 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Found small glob cluster above Teapot spout. Fit in same 24 arc second field of view as NGC 6528 (GC). Small and faint with granular appearance.

NGC 6528 - Glob Clus - (Sgr) Found small glob cluster above Teapot spout. Fit in same 24 arc second field of view as NGC 6522 (GC). Small and faint object.

NGC 6540 - Open Clus - (Sgr) Small object viewed at 48X. Stared at field for quite a while before seeing a small, faint haze. Also faint at 120X but better with averted vision. Undetermined shape. Best view at 190X. Bowl shaped object. A few stars resolved with averted vision. Drew picture.

NGC 6520 - Open Clus - (Sgr) Fuzzy object seen in Finder next to bright star. Cluster of stars shaped like a "C" at 48X. Drew picture along with Barnard 86.

Barnard 86 - Dark Cloud - (Sgr) Inky dark spot visible at 48X between NGC 6520 and bright star. Spot was shaped like a right triangle at 120X. Drew picture along with NGC 6520.

11:50pm time check.

Moved over towards Vulpecula.

NGC 6905 - Plan Neb - (Del) Found "Blue Flash" PN. Objected blinked into view with averted vision using 48X magnification. Ultrablock filter helped brighten object. Round object steadily visible at 120X. Maybe light blue color? (on To-Do list from TAC OR - Mark Wagner - 06Sep05)

12:20pm time check.

Cr399 - Coathanger Asterism - (Vul) Fuzzy object naked eye visible. Viewed coat hanger asterism in 9X50 Finder.

NGC 6802 - Open Clus - (Vul) Found cluster off the right (eyepiece view) end of the Coathanger asterism. Visible at 48X. Hazy, oblong shape. Best view at 120X. Long granular rectangle shape. A couple of pairs of stars resolved at the lower (North) end of the cluster. Drew picture.

M71 - Glob Clus - (Sge) Found between two stars in Sagitta. Fuzzy object visible in Finder. Bright, round glob cluster seen at 48X. Hint of stars resolved. Viewed at 190X with stars resolved all across object. Cluster had a triangle shape.

M27 - Plan Neb - (Vul) Viewed "Apple core neb" at 48X and 120X. Very bright even without filter. Upper lobe brighter.

NGC 6882 and NGC 6885 - Open Clus - (Vul) Found an open cluster next to a bright blue star. Viewed at 48X and 120X. Drew picture of about 25 stars. Loose, fairly large cluster should be NGC 6882. Could not distinguish anything like a smaller cluster (NGC 6885) in, or near, the star field. TAC obs archives show a small cluster should be superimposed on the larger cluster and centered around the bright star. Did not see it.

NGC 6940 - Open Clus - (Vul) Big, big cluster filled one degree field of view. Hopped from Epsilon star in Cygnus. Cluster had several brighter stars surrounding a group of many dimmer stars. 01:00am time check. NGC 457 Owl cluster naked eye visible as fuzzy object.

Moved to Aquarius.

NGC 7293 - PN - (Aqr) Three stars in an arrow shape point to the "Helix Neb". Uniform milky spot at 48X. Large, round object. UltraBlock filter greatly improved the view with the middle looking darker.

Uranus - Found in Aquarius. Small, but non-stellar at 48X. Disk shape visible at 190X. Round and light green object. Tried to pick out Uranus naked eye - occasionally got a brief glimpse. 01:30am time check. Did a naked eye star count in the great square of Pegasus again. About 16 stars visible, so should equate to about limiting magnitude of 6+.

NGC 7606 - Galaxy - (Aqr) Found galaxy near triangle of three stars. Galaxy completes a "Y" pattern when combined with those three stars. Thin (long and narrow) fuzzy object with brighter core viewed at 48X. Viewed at 120X and 190X also.

NGC 7723 - Galaxy - (Aqr) Small, faint and round object. Viewed at 48X. NGC 7723 just fits in same one degree field of view as NGC 7727.

NGC 7727 - Galaxy - (Aqr) Small, faint and round object. Viewed at 48X. NGC 7727 just fits in same one degree field of view as NGC 7723. NGC 7727 has a brighter center.

NGC 7724 - Galaxy - (Aqr) Did not see. Should be in same field as NGC 7723 and NGC 7727. TAC obs archive (Navarrete) shows NGC 7724 is much fainter than 7723 and 7727.

Over to Auriga.

M38 - Open Cluster - (Aur) Found low in the East - just over the hill top. Viewed at 48X. Sparse cluster but nice view. Close to M36 and M37.

M36 - Open Cluster - (Aur) Found low in the East - just over the hill top. Viewed at 48X. Sparse cluster but nice view. Close to M38 and M37.

M37 - Open Cluster - (Aur) Found low in the East - just over the hill top. Viewed at 48X. Sparse cluster but nice view. Close to M36 and M38.

Shifted to constellation Sculptor.

NGC 253 - Sculptor Galaxy - (Scl) Treated to a view of galaxy through Mark Wagner's 18" reflector. Great view. Bigger scope shows lots of galaxy details not visible with my 10" scope. In Mark's 18", galaxy was spanning the eyepiece field, thin and long, with a dust lane cutting along the lower left half. Found Sculptor galaxy in my 10" scope to compare view. Galaxy spanned more than 1/2 degree at 48X, with a bright middle and pancake shape. At 120X, galaxy had dimmer ends extending on either side, and the left half had some mottling.

NGC 288 - Glob Clus - (Scl) Obvious object visible in Finder just above Alpha star in Sculptor. Fairly large object viewed at 48X. Dim but granular cluster. Round'ish shape with diffuse edges. 120X view showed a triangle shape of resolved stars, and the glow of more unresolved stars in the middle. Very dim.

NGC 613 - Galaxy - (Scl) Hopped from Alpha star in Sculptor. At 48X, saw cigar shaped fuzzy. Very small object next to the top star of a pair of stars. Pair if stars separated by about 10 arc seconds. Cigar shaped galaxy was about 4 arc seconds long. Same shape at 120X with point core occasionally visible, and a diffuse border. Drew picture.

Shifted over to Cassiopeia.

NGC 457 - OC - (Cas) Viewed at 48X. Same stick pattern strings of stars on either side of two large eyes made up by brightest two stars, with “star party“ names of Poulimati and Kookoovayia. Unusually large number of stars visible in the body section. Owl's torso was rectangular shape instead of the familiar stick figure. Stick pattern feet sticking out from bottom of stick legs.

M103 - OC - (Cas) Triangle shaped cluster. Brightest star located at top of Christmas tree shape. Cluster star in the middle of one side was orange color.

NGC 663 - OC - (Cas) Seen in Finder. At 48X cluster shows many pairs of stars arranged in the shape of a block letter "U". (OC called the "Horseshoe Cluster" by O'Meara in Caldwell book.)

NGC 659 - OC - (Cas) Found near NGC 663. Visible in same one degree field of view as NGC 663. At 48X, cluster NGC 659 has a rough pentagon shape. Viewed at 190X but no additional stars resolved.

03:20am time check.

NGC 654 - OC - (Cas) Small, open group of only a few stars at 48X. Located next to a bright star. Stars in top (eyepiece view) part of cluster form outline of a bent over rectangle. View at 120X showed more stars. Drew picture of 17 stars using 120X magnification.

IC 166 - OC - (Cas) Did not see. TAC obs archive (Dillon) shows this should probably just look like an unresolved hazy patch.

NGC 637 - OC - (Cas) Tiny, little cluster with only a few stars at 48X. Drew picture of 12 stars using 120X. A fairly straight string of 5 to 6 stars in the middle, with a wide pair of stars hanging off of the trailing end, and a close pair of stars hanging off of the preceding end. And a pair of stars angled off of the straight string from above.

NGC 559- OC - (Cas) Small cluster viewed at 48X. Only three stars resolved. Also viewed at 120X and 190X which showed three stars in a triangle on an irregular shaped bed of star dust.

NGC 609 - OC - (Cas) Did not see. Two dim stars at the correct location suing 48X. Cluster should have been just next to top star in pair.

NGC 278 - Galaxy (Cas) Found very small, round, faint object using 48X. 120X showed round object with point core visible using averted vision.

NGC 185 - Galaxy (Cas) Faint, diffuse, round glow seen at 120X. Bigger than NGC 278. No indication of a brighter core. Viewed at 48X also. (To-do list item from Phil Harrington Challenge Objects - Astronomy magazine web site. Gravitationally bound to M31.)

NGC 147 - Galaxy (Cas) Large but very dim at 48X. Must know where to look in order to spot this galaxy. Oval shape. Diffuse glow using 120X magnification. Very, very dim but possibly a star in the center? (To-do list item from Phil Harrington Challenge Objects - Astronomy magazine web site. Gravitationally bound to M31.)

Finished up with:

NGC 6960 - Neb - (Cyg) Witch's Broom portion of Veil neb seen in Joe's scope. Used UltraBlock filter. 04:20am time check.

M1 - Crab Neb (Tau) Found from memory. Oval milky patch seen at 48X. Diffuse border. 120X view increased the diffuse edge around the object . UltraBlock filter did not improve the appearance.

04:35am time check. Fireball meteor to the West.

M31 - Galaxy - (And) Very big with a dark lane on the same end as M32 but on the side facing M110.

M32 - Galaxy - (And) Small and round, but bright.

M110 - Galaxy - (And) Big and extended but dimmer than M32.

M42 - Neb - (Ori) Fantastic object. Filled most of one degree field of view without using filter. Nebula shape looked like a Medusa head with a key-stone shaped face including an off center mouth formed by a dark lane close to the bottom of the narrower end of the key-stone; and huge long extensions arcing off from either side of the wider end of the key-stone. At 190X, was able to see E and F stars in Trapezium.

M43 - Neb - (Ori) Near M42. Round nebula surrounding a star.

M41 - Open Cluster (CMa) Found cluster low in the East below Sirius. Drew picture at 05:20am, using 48X magnification, of 24 stars. Pattern of stars looks like a four bladed pinwheel.

Bill Parkhurst.