I finally got it!
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George Reynolds
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something). If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it. That's a project for another night. George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
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Ian Stewart
Excellent job George!
On 3/29/2021 11:18 PM, George Reynolds
via groups.io wrote:
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WOOO HOOOO George,
One correction, it is George’s 6i.
From: <BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027@...>
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something).
If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it.
That's a project for another night.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
-- v/r Chuck Jagow Treasurer - Back Bay Amateur Astronomers
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That's great George! I'm been struggling with the Galaxies at my house. Seems to take me three or four tries before I can see them with averted vision. When I do see them they are very faint and I certainly am not making out any details yet.
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George Reynolds
I must clarify how I finally got to NGC 3242. It was a combination of the Starblast 6i to get me in the right area, the binoculars to star-hop to its vicinity, but I finally SAW it in Samantha's 8-inch Dob (which lives at my house). I found Mu Hya in the 30mm eyepiece (40X), stepped up to the 25mm ep (48X), then the 10mm (120X -- which is where I first saw the fuzzy blob that was "The Eye Nebula", a.k.a., "The Ghost of Jupiter"), and finally I tried my seldom-used 5.2mm Lanthanum eyepiece (231X) and magnified the fuzzy blob. I could tell it was not a star out of focus, because I could see a small, dim star nearby, in focus. I was aided by the fact that the waning gibbous Moon did not rise until about 20:41, and although I was observing after 22:00, the Moon was blocked by my house. After finding my target, the Moon appeared, and I looked at it in the 8-inch Dob, without a Moon filter (Boy, was it bright!), with all 4 eyepieces. With the 5.2, I felt like an astronaut in orbit above the surface of the Moon. Now I am inspired to try to do the "Lunar II" program of the Astronomical League. George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 08:31:25 AM EDT, charles jagow <chuck@...> wrote:
WOOO HOOOO George,
One correction, it is George’s 6i.
From: <BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027@...>
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something).
If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it.
That's a project for another night.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
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Good job George! Congrats. Now, of course, I know you’re working on the planetary nebula program next.
Ted
From: BackBayAstro@groups.io <BackBayAstro@groups.io> On Behalf Of George Reynolds via groups.io
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2021 8:18 PM To: BBAA-Group <backbayastro@groups.io> Subject: [BackBayAstro] I finally got it!
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something).
If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it.
That's a project for another night.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
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Secretary
Make sure you use the moon filter! I was looking at the moon last night through my binoculars and I am still seeing spots... LoL
Jeff On March 30, 2021 9:33 AM George Reynolds via groups.io <pathfinder027=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:Jeffrey Thornton Secretary, Back Bay Amateur Astronomers
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George Reynolds
Thanks, Jonathan, for the link. Best wishes on your Urban observing list. Do you have a good way to log your observations? I use an Excel spreadsheet of my own making, with columns for Object number, Name, Type, Constellation, Observing location, Date, Time, Equipment (telescope & eps), Power, Seeing, Transparency, and Comments. (Some of the columns are pretty small.) George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 09:31:45 AM EDT, Jonathan Scheetz <jonathan@...> wrote:
That's great George! I'm been struggling with the Galaxies at my house. Seems to take me three or four tries before I can see them with averted vision. When I do see them they are very faint and I certainly am not making out any details yet.
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George Reynolds
THANK YOU, Chuck, for the 6i. I still haven't decided its ultimate destination, but I am using it when I can. And thank you for the Sun Funnel, which I "borrowed" from you many, many years ago (with no intention to return).  George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 08:31:25 AM EDT, charles jagow <chuck@...> wrote:
WOOO HOOOO George,
One correction, it is George’s 6i.
From: <BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027@...>
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something).
If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it.
That's a project for another night.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
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George Reynolds
Yeah, Jeff, I was "night-blind" in my right eye after looking at the almost-full Moon without a filter. (I was too lazy to screw in my Moon filter.) George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 10:33:53 AM EDT, Secretary <secretary@...> wrote:
Make sure you use the moon filter! I was looking at the moon last night through my binoculars and I am still seeing spots... LoL Jeff > On March 30, 2021 9:33 AM George Reynolds via groups.io <pathfinder027=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote: > > > I must clarify how I finally got to NGC 3242. It was a combination of the Starblast 6i to get me in the right area, the binoculars to star-hop to its vicinity, but I finally SAW it in Samantha's 8-inch Dob (which lives at my house). I found Mu Hya in the 30mm eyepiece (40X), stepped up to the 25mm ep (48X), then the 10mm (120X -- which is where I first saw the fuzzy blob that was "The Eye Nebula", a.k.a., "The Ghost of Jupiter"), and finally I tried my seldom-used 5.2mm Lanthanum eyepiece (231X) and magnified the fuzzy blob. I could tell it was not a star out of focus, because I could see a small, dim star nearby, in focus. > > I was aided by the fact that the waning gibbous Moon did not rise until about 20:41, and although I was observing after 22:00, the Moon was blocked by my house. After finding my target, the Moon appeared, and I looked at it in the 8-inch Dob, without a Moon filter (Boy, was it bright!), with all 4 eyepieces. With the 5.2, I felt like an astronaut in orbit above the surface of the Moon. Now I am inspired to try to do the "Lunar II" program of the Astronomical League. > > George > > George Reynolds > "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia > Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) > http://www.backbayastro.org (http://www.backbayastro.org/) > http://www.geocities.com/pathfinder027/spacex.html > > http://groups.hamptonroads.com/BBAA/ > > > On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 08:31:25 AM EDT, charles jagow <chuck@...> wrote: > > > WOOO HOOOO George, > One correction, it is George’s 6i. > v/r > Chuck Jagow > Member - Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (http://www.backbayastro.org/) > Member – Dark Skies of The Wet Mountain Valley (https://www.darkskiescolorado.org/) > Member – Colorado Springs Astronomy Association (https://csastro.org/) > Rott'n Paws Observatory (http://www.jagowds.com/_jap/jap_obs_1.shtml)Moving ToVerde Mont Observatory (http://www.jagowds.com/_jap/sangre.shtml) > From:<BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027=yahoo.com@groups.io> > Reply-To:<BackBayAstro@groups.io> > Date:Monday, March 29, 2021 at 11:18 PM > To:BBAA-Group <backbayastro@groups.io> > Subject:[BackBayAstro] I finally got it! > I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something). > If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it. > That's a project for another night. > George > George Reynolds > "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia > Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) > http://www.backbayastro.org (http://www.backbayastro.org/) > > > > -- > > v/r > Chuck Jagow > Treasurer - Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (http://www.backbayastro.org/) > Rott'n Paws Observatory (http://www.jagowds.com/_jap/jap.htm) > N36:46:23.281 W076:13:31.512 (http://www.jagowds.com/_jap/jap.htm) > Jeffrey Thornton Secretary, Back Bay Amateur Astronomers
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George Reynolds
Oh, by the way, Chuck, three times I tripped on the splayed legs of the table the 6i sits on. But rather than "curse the darkness", I decided to be more alert and watch where I step!  Each time I think it messed up the computer object locator's idea of its position, so three times I had to set the scope back to vertical and re-align the computer object locator with a 2-star alignment. It worked well. And I am getting used to the red dot finder. It's a bit hard to adjust the altitude and azimuth of the finder (without moving the whole telescope by accident), but I got it. George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 12:39:11 PM EDT, George Reynolds via groups.io <pathfinder027@...> wrote:
THANK YOU, Chuck, for the 6i. I still haven't decided its ultimate destination, but I am using it when I can. And thank you for the Sun Funnel, which I "borrowed" from you many, many years ago (with no intention to return). George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 08:31:25 AM EDT, charles jagow <chuck@...> wrote:
WOOO HOOOO George,
One correction, it is George’s 6i.
From: <BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027@...>
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something).
If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it.
That's a project for another night.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
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I'm also just using an excel spreadsheet with a few modifications. I think that is working OK for me.
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Glad you are getting use out of it!
I could not think of a better family to have the sun funnel and the 6i.
From: <BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027@...>
Oh, by the way, Chuck, three times I tripped on the splayed legs of the table the 6i sits on. But rather than "curse the darkness", I decided to be more alert and watch where I step!
Each time I think it messed up the computer object locator's idea of its position, so three times I had to set the scope back to vertical and re-align the computer object locator with a 2-star alignment. It worked well. And I am getting used to the red dot finder. It's a bit hard to adjust the altitude and azimuth of the finder (without moving the whole telescope by accident), but I got it.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 12:39:11 PM EDT, George Reynolds via groups.io <pathfinder027@...> wrote:
THANK YOU, Chuck, for the 6i. I still haven't decided its ultimate destination, but I am using it when I can.
And thank you for the Sun Funnel, which I "borrowed" from you many, many years ago (with no intention to return).
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 08:31:25 AM EDT, charles jagow <chuck@...> wrote:
WOOO HOOOO George,
One correction, it is George’s 6i.
From: <BackBayAstro@groups.io> on behalf of "George Reynolds via groups.io" <pathfinder027@...>
I finally got the 100th object and the last one I was missing for the Astronomical League's Urban Program, NGC3242, The Ghost of Jupiter! I got in the ballpark with Chuck Jagow's Orion Starblast 6i, but could not see it. I got out my trusty Orion UltraView 8x42 binoculars, and star-hopped from Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) down to nu1, then up to nu2 and lambda, then down to mu Hya. I had sort of memorized the star patterns south of mu, so I star-hopped through them, and -- Voila! There was NGC3242! At 120X and at 240X it was a fuzzy blob, but it was there. And it didn't look at all like Jupiter (maybe a ghost of ... something).
If I had found all the objects in the Urban List back in 2003 or 2004 when I got 90% of the objects, I would be done now, but the A.L. had ADDED one new requirement. I have to observe Algol (again), and this time I have to watch it over a period of time and estimate its brightness and sketch it.
That's a project for another night.
George
Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
-- v/r Chuck Jagow Treasurer - Back Bay Amateur Astronomers
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