Last night I observed and sketched two double stars as well as M72, M73, and an un-named (as far as I know) small asterism similar to M73.
The session actually began with a sighting of the International Space Station gliding across the sky. The ISS appeared to be somewhat brighter than Jupiter -- a rather brilliant, white, moving light in the sky. Of course, as the ISS entered the earth's shadow it rapidly dimmed.
The seeing was 'good' -- a '6' on the modified Pickering Scale. I used 477x for the seeing check.
My NELM was 6.5.
Observations and sketches were all made at 135x, though other magnifications were used at times.
Showing posts with label Globular Star Clusters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Globular Star Clusters. Show all posts
02 October 2008
03 June 2007
Sharing the View
Date: 3 June 2007 U.T.
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 U.T.
Telescope: 13cm refractor
Magnifications: 35x, 90x, 170x, 240x
Filters: #56 and #58 Green (for Venus only)
Seeing: Good
Transparency: Bright and darkening twilight
After many cloudy or otherwise missed nights everything fell into place for a good evening. The telescope was set up on on an equatorial mount with an electric RA drive. The motorized tracking simplified sharing the view with two guests.
Venus was our first target, and for a long while our only target. The seeing was very steady with the refractor -- one of the benefits to using a relatively small telescope. The planet's sharply defined quarter (or 'half-moon') phase was easily visible to everyone present.
The green filters helped cut down the brightness of the brilliant, white planet to a more tolerable level. We took turns studying the planet at 90x. Through the use of questions and answers, it looked like the guests may have been able to perceive some of the subtle markings in the Venusian atmosphere.
Eventually the sky darkened enough for the younger guest to spot Saturn in the twilight sky. We shared views at 35x and gradually worked our way up to 240x. Titan was immediately noticed near the ringed planet. After the sky had darkened a bit more we saw three more of Saturn's moons. The two moons between Titan and the planet, one above the other, were later identified as Tethys (to the north) and Rhea (south of Tethys). Just off the north-following limb of the planet was Dione.
At the higher magnifications the ring was visible in front of the planet. The guests also noticed Saturn's South Equatorial Belt (SEB). Cassini's Division presented a challenge for the guests, but they eventually succeeded in seeing this division between Saturn's A and B rings -- at least on one side of the ring system. The shadow of the planet on the ring system proved to be a bit more of a challenge for the guests.
After Saturn we took a look at the globular cluster, M13 in Hercules. Next was the Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra. The final object was Albireo (Beta Cygni) -- one of the northern hemisphere's "showpiece" double stars.
Twilight had still not quite ended by the sessions end. Nevertheless, part of the summer Milky Way was seen. We also saw at least one meteor, an airplane and at least one satellite.
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 U.T.
Telescope: 13cm refractor
Magnifications: 35x, 90x, 170x, 240x
Filters: #56 and #58 Green (for Venus only)
Seeing: Good
Transparency: Bright and darkening twilight
After many cloudy or otherwise missed nights everything fell into place for a good evening. The telescope was set up on on an equatorial mount with an electric RA drive. The motorized tracking simplified sharing the view with two guests.
Venus was our first target, and for a long while our only target. The seeing was very steady with the refractor -- one of the benefits to using a relatively small telescope. The planet's sharply defined quarter (or 'half-moon') phase was easily visible to everyone present.
The green filters helped cut down the brightness of the brilliant, white planet to a more tolerable level. We took turns studying the planet at 90x. Through the use of questions and answers, it looked like the guests may have been able to perceive some of the subtle markings in the Venusian atmosphere.
Eventually the sky darkened enough for the younger guest to spot Saturn in the twilight sky. We shared views at 35x and gradually worked our way up to 240x. Titan was immediately noticed near the ringed planet. After the sky had darkened a bit more we saw three more of Saturn's moons. The two moons between Titan and the planet, one above the other, were later identified as Tethys (to the north) and Rhea (south of Tethys). Just off the north-following limb of the planet was Dione.
At the higher magnifications the ring was visible in front of the planet. The guests also noticed Saturn's South Equatorial Belt (SEB). Cassini's Division presented a challenge for the guests, but they eventually succeeded in seeing this division between Saturn's A and B rings -- at least on one side of the ring system. The shadow of the planet on the ring system proved to be a bit more of a challenge for the guests.
After Saturn we took a look at the globular cluster, M13 in Hercules. Next was the Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra. The final object was Albireo (Beta Cygni) -- one of the northern hemisphere's "showpiece" double stars.
Twilight had still not quite ended by the sessions end. Nevertheless, part of the summer Milky Way was seen. We also saw at least one meteor, an airplane and at least one satellite.
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