Above it all on the Peak

Jamie Dillon

George Feliz, in an e-mail about Thursday night at Coyote, was talking about objects that were difficult from there, and had gone -

>(these were more) suitable for Big Kid Skies like those at >Plettstone, Dino, Calstar or Sedona.

And I was all ahem. Also did some quiet wishing. These wishes did come true. We had a memorable night at the Peak last night. Just 4 of us in the SW lot, with Rich Neuschafer, Denis Lefebvre, Mark Johnston, very genial company.

Rod Norden, yes The Rod Norden, brought a group from Orion for a show he put on at the Observatory, then brought the gang over to the SW lot around 10. Chatty bunch, but polite and friendly. They didn't stay that late. Rod was one of the first people I observed with, in the spring of '99. He had this mondo 7" refractor and was showing off a life-changing view of Mars. He remembered I'd written about that view. Found it - /reports/99.04.16.html

By 10 it was getting pretty dark; after 11 the earlier haze had dissipated and we were looking at a very respectable sky, with at least 6.0 limiting magnitude. This was my 8th night in '08, and the first really dark sky I'd seen since New Year's Day. Satisfies a very particular thirst. Seeing was good too, 4/5.

Spent most of the night in a square just north of M49 in Virgo, two degrees on a side. Got 11 new galaxies in there, including one "discovery," two that Mark pointed out from Megastar that were right next to 4442, the DeepMap galaxy I was going for in the first place. Last time I'd had 4442 on an immediate target list was last summer at Bumpass, and it slipped behind the ridge before I got there. Very bright core, with stubby arms extending east-west. The discovery was 4483, confirmed in Uranometria, in among all the other galaxies in that field. This is Virgo after all. And there are two galaxies in that 4-degree square on SkyAtlas I still hafta go get!

One DDK warning object and one total eye candy item you gotta see it. I spent shreds of my remaining youth going back and forth across a very compact area scanning for 4488. Very dim, irregular shape, took jiggling the scope and averted vision to bring it in. Pfff. On the other hand, 4526 is a beautiful little galaxy in a lovely field. It's halfway between two bright stars, just right for a half-degree field of view; the galaxy itself has a bright complex core and bright arms. Do go there.

There was this kid Ben who made his mom and her friends walk back up from the main lot to see M13. Ben's about 9, a boy who knows what he wants. He was thrilled with M13, as well as a dessert look at M5. Those big globulars are thrilling every single time.

That summer Milky Way was big kid stuff. Got to play around in the Small Sag Starcloud for the hundred and nth time. Man, what an area. Turned Johnston onto some of the delights in there.

Saturn was pretty even when it was getting into the West; seeing was really cooperative all night. Saw Titan, Tethys, Dione and Rhea. Jupiter was up over the eastern ridge in time for a look, first time this season. That big brown barge in the NEB is still there. Callisto was off to the West, and Io and Ganymede were arrayed like a pair of jewels next to the planet.

Stopping on the saddle on the way home, there was all of Pegasus. Capricornus was there, so was the Water Jar in Aquarius. Summertime stars. Oh yeah and we saw a bunch of late shooters, turns out they were the Eta Aquarids.

Oh what a night, we so deserved it. Now more, why not be greedy?

DDK