June 6, 2008 After working Friday I decided I was well enough to do a bit of observing and my wife agreed. With the presence of June Gloom ready to pounce once again it was an opportunity not to be lost as we had clear skies. I armored myself against the rapacious bloodsuckers that gave me so much pain the last time. I wore my boots with two pair of socks, heavy jeans, shirt, and loose coat with elastic on the sleeves. To cover my head I had my turtleneck sleeve and scarf to wrap around the face and a cotton nightcap. It looked more like a January session than June! Oh, and I sprayed myself with insect repellent as well.
Alas, there was a flaw in my careful preparation. Yes they came, and they sucked greedily and stealthily before I killed one of them. Having none with me I asked my sister if she had some gloves that would fit me! She did. They prevented further injury but as I type this I have two bites on my left hand forefinger, one of them on the knuckle, and it is swollen. There is one on my right hand forefinger as well. I cannot recall ever having to deal with such persistent airborne attack in my home viewing area! So other than dealing with predatory insects how was my night you may ask? It was grand. The weather remained clear and didn't start to get damp until after midnight. The air was pretty transparent and the seeing was very good, a vast improvement on the last attempt outside.I lined up my new Orion 9x50 right angle finder with the scope using the Moon. It was a pleasure I daresay. I then set up the go-to system using Procyon, Pollux, and Mizar. The system worked like a champ and remained accurate the entire evening.
At around 8:30 I began my journey among celestial wonders by observing the Moon. It was a lovely crescent both in my finder and in my 26mm Plossl at 58x. It was quite steady too and there was a hint of earth-shine on the dark-side as well. What struck me most were the prominence of Mare Crisium and the rugged nature of the terrain around the terminator. Craters Pierce and Picard along with the slumping wall along the shore made a nice happy face! My Father came out and enjoyed the view as well. He soon retreated to his living room to watch a baseball game and would return only at the end of the session. About this time I took some photos of the Moon with my point and shoot camera. Several images came out passably well but I have done better in the past.
Returning to the telescope I was amazed to find it was already after 9:30! There was no time to lose now and I slewed the telescope to Saturn. It was a very pretty sight even at 58x. I moved up the magnification to 120x with my Orthoscopic and could see the rings very plainly but no Cassini Division. The ring shadow on the corner of the rings was evident as were two Moons, Rhea on one side and Titan on the other. I put in my 6mm Plossl and at 250x the image was quivering a bit but in moments of clarity it was a joy to behold. I could see the Cassini Division at the end of the ring arcs, the ring shadow was clearer, and the evidence of the Crepe Ring came and went. I could also see a dusky band on the planet itself. I put in my 6mm Expanse to see if I could capture some more Moons and was rewarded with Dione near the rings inboard of Titan. I also could glimpse Tethys as it winked in and out near the rings as well. A divine sight and it remained so even as Leo raced to the horizon. It was already 10:30! I spent an entire hour looking at the ringed wonder of the night. I don't regret it as all too soon Saturn will be lost in the solar glare this summer.
I swung over to Mars just out of curiosity as it was too near the horizon to get a good view or to see the Beehive. Its size reminded me of Uranus except for the color which was orange rather than green. It was time now to go for another wonder of the night M-13. There has been a lot of talk over at Astronomy.com about Omega Centauri so I felt it was only appropriate to look in on our great globular of the north. It was easy to see in my finder and at 58x I worked on up to my 6mm Plossl and was not satisfied with the view. I could see a lot of stars in the halo and on occasion some across the face but it wasn't as clear a view as I have seen in the past. I switched to my 6mm Expanse so I could have a wider FOV and could use my averted vision to better effect. It made quite a difference. I could resolve many more stars and the "propeller" became visible as well. I would say about 25 stars could be seen across the face but resolution of the centre was still not possible. Still it was a grand view.M-92 is often neglected because of its showier cousin but I always pay my respects while in the area. As the telescope was slewing to it and just about done I took a look and was startled by a very bright object crossing the FOV.
There were no blinking lights on the object as it passed by so I started to fumble for my glasses in the dark seeking to see this probable satellite as it went by but by the time I could get them on nothing could be seen. Thinking back on it I could kick myself for not switching over to my finder! I am a dumb bunny indeed. When using the GoTo I don't put my glasses on since they are not needed when looking into the eyepiece but without them the world is a very fuzzy place beyond 20 feet. M-92 is a grand sight in the scope even if it is smaller than M-13. Using my 6mm Expanse and averted vision I could see individual stars across the face of the nebula like centre.
NGC-6210 is a bright planetary nebula in Hercules. At 58x one can just tell that it is not a star. I went up to 250x and the tiny little blob got only slightly larger, but it is a definite blue color. NGC-6229 is a tiny globular in Hercules that is at one corner of a triangle formed by it and two other stars. It really starts to look like a globular at 94x but it was too faint to resolve even at 250x.Now to a quite remarkable double star, 95 Hercules. This is a pretty pair of 5Th magnitude stars that is easily split at 58x. I went up to 250 just for fun and was rewarded with tiny colored dots with just the hint of airy discs. What is remarkable about this pair is that I can now add another apple green and red double star into my journal. Yes I know there are no green stars but optical illusions aside this still makes for a pretty pair.Its globular time! M-4 in Scorpius eluded me last time but I was determined and found it lurking by Antares. One would think such a large globular would be easy pickings but despite its size it remains dim. I am sure without the menace of light pollution this is a much grander object.
I next went to M-80 in Scorpius which while smaller is brighter at the core and easier to spot. I could see some granulation across its small face at 250x. I next turned to M-16 in Seprens Cauda. The Eagle’s nebulosity is not seen well in small scopes except in the darkest skies but the open cluster is pretty and prominent. I could see around forty or so 8TH magnitude stars at 58x. I popped in my Ultra Block LP filter and was rewarded with a diffuse background glow to the cluster. It was shapeless and there were no dark bits but it could be glimpsed with averted vision and that was a sight that would be missed entirely without the filter. Since most of the stars in the cluster are fairly bright the LP filter did not hide them from view.So I leaned back in my chair and planned my next move.
Ophiuchus was beckoning to me with its splendid globulars and was well placed for observation. At this point my Father returned. It was after midnight and getting damp. I noticed now the dew accumulating on my equipment and books. He wasted no time in pointing out that a rather bright star had now arisen in the Southeast and perhaps would make a good object to explore before calling it a night.
The last part was probably a command transmitted to him by my wife. Jupiter was very steady at 75x with two clear belts on the planet with Callisto on the far right, Europa and Io close together near the planet with Ganymede far along on the opposite side. Since the view was so good at lower power we popped in the 6mm Expanse at 250x and were greeted by some boiling but with moments of clarity that showed detail in the north and south equatorial bands, shading at both poles, and some fainter bands as well. Color in the planet was visible, a sort of muddy brown with pale red, and the bands had some detail as well. No red spots were visible. My father commented that Jupiter looked rather like a croquet ball! It was quite late now, after 1AM and very wet.
Some dew was now forming on the collector plate and I knew it was time to go but there was Sagittarius and the teapot above the horizon! How could I not at least look at something I asked myself? I reasoned that choosing just one object to whet the appetite would be alright. My wife hadn’t rung me up on the cell yet so I could sneak a peak, yes? So I did. The Lagoon Nebula (M8) is an open cluster of stars that was easily seen in my finder and the eyepiece at 58x despite the dew. No Nebula though. So once again in went the old Ultra-Block and there it was. I could see the circular nature of the nebula with the southern edge being quite a bit brighter than the rest. Averted vision and technology afforded a grand view of a summer object which I was happy to meet once again.It was late now and wet so despite the very real urge to keep exploring I packed it in.
I returned home to bed about 2AM quite happy with a good nights observing. The new additions added to my scope worked as promised and the fog, dew and overcast helped by staying away long enough as well. Now, If only I could get the mosquitoes to give me a break and go somewhere else to dine. Equipment used in this evenings star trek:Celestron 6” (150mm) SCT Advanced Series telescope on CG-5GT GEM mountTelescope modified with addition of Orion 9x50 right angle finder and dielectric mirror diagonal.Orion ultra block narrow band light pollution filter.26mm Orion Highlight Plossl, 6mm Expanse, Meade 12.5mm orthoscopic, Celestron 16mm Erfle and 6mm Plossl eyepieces.