by David Cooper
Telescope: AP155 Refractor
Mount: 900 GTO
Eyepieces: 21 mm (52x), 10.5 mm (103x), and 5.2 mm (209x) Pentax
(65 deg. apparent field)
SSP 2006 turned out to be a wonderful starparty. For once we had five dark clear nights, although the daytime heat was a bit of a challenge.
Below are some of my observing notes for those of you who may be interested in what can be seen using a relatively small refractor. Overall I made around 130 observations over the 5 nights, including about 40 Herschel 400 objects (which I’ve just started working on).
Jupiter – I had the best views of this gas giant in the early evening during the last two evenings of the starparty. It was a real showpiece on the Public night. Nice cloud band detail was observed and enhanced with a light blue filter. No sign of the red spot during my observations however. During moments of steady seeing at 200x, the discs of all four moons could be discerned, with Ganymede and Callisto appearing distinctly larger than Io and Europa. An observing neighbor of mine at the starparty with a large dobsonian remarked “you can see that with this little thing?” A beautiful shadow transit of Ganymede was also observed earlier in the week (6/22 – starting at about 10:13 PM).
M84/86 – A lovely grouping of galaxies at the beginning of Markarian’s chain in Virgo. Under the dark skies at Shingletown I can view a total of nine galaxies in the same field with the AP155. NGC4388 forms a nice equilateral triangle with M84 and M86 with fainter 4387 in the center. Due north of M86 is 4402 and SE of the triangle are 4425 and 4413. Almost due east of the triangle are “the eyes” formed by 4438 and 4435. All can be viewed at 52x (1.26 degree true field) with the 21 mm Px eyepiece
5350 Group – I first viewed this galaxy grouping (Hickson 68) in Canes Venatici through Mark Wagner’s 18” dob from the Bumpass Hell parking lot at the 2001 Mt. Lassen starparty. I return to view it on a regular basis from dark sky locations. Through my “little” AP155 at Shingletown a string of three galaxies (5350, 5353, and 5354) are readily apparent next to a pretty 7th mag. double star. Under careful examination with averted vision, 5355 pops into view as well, forming the apex of a triangle with the string of three galaxies forming the opposite base. I’ve been unable to view 5358 which is also part of this grouping, but then it’s 13.6 mag probably places it beyond the light gathering ability of my 155. Unfortunately I did not get the chance to look at this through the super-sized dob of my observing neighbor. NCG 5371 is about 30’ due E of this grouping and was also easily swept up.
5985/5982/5981 – A beautiful string of three galaxies in Draco. NGC5985 and 5982 are easy. Both show in my refractor as unresolved ovals with no discernable central core. NGC 5981 is a challenge for the AP155, but can be seen directly as a faint “sliver” with careful observation. NGC5976 and 5976A completes a row of five galaxies but, alas, both are well beyond the capabilities of my scope. I’ll bet this is a beautiful sight in one of the big dobs.
B92/B93 – Two neighboring dark blotches just off the Sagittarius star cloud (M24) and observable within the same field using an old 32 mm TeleVue wide field eyepiece. The small dense open cluster NGC6603 is about 30’ SE of the dark clouds. A stunning wide field with pinpoint stars!
M97 – The eyes of this planetary have always been a challenge for me, but finally using a UHC filter at 103x I was able to observe them with averted vision using the 155. Boosting the mag up to 209x did not help increase the visibility.
M27 – A real showpiece on Public night. Beautiful sharp views at both 103x and 209x. The central star was readily visible as were about 6 stars that appeared embedded in the nebulosity. The use of a UHC filter greatly enhanced the views of the nebula and made the dumbell shape readily apparent. I enjoyed hearing the comments of many of the novice observers on Public night comparing the views through my refractor with those afforded by other scopes. Most were puzzled why my scope provided (in their view) better views than those observed through much larger scopes.
6888 – The crescent nebula in Cygnus. A beautiful object in my refractor at 52x using an OIII filter. A soft oval nebula curving around a set of three bright stars. Most of the entire oval nebulosity is readily apparent with one half showing significantly brighter. The view must be superb in a larger scope!
M81/82 – Always a lovely pair to observe from a dark site. The dark band of M82 was readily apparent at 103x. Boosting the mag up to 209x revealed distinctly brighter regions with mottling throughout this irregular galaxy. M81 showed as a beautiful elongated oval with a bright stellar-like core. With some imagination I could almost convince myself I was seeing some spiral arms.
My thanks go out to all the dedicated people who helped to organize this event. In my view it was the best yet. I’m looking forward to next year!
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