Friday Night Observing
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Friday night was clear, with fairly good seeing. I observed with the 16” f/6, a rather tall telescope but one with good optics. Note sometimes I push the magnification on planetary nebulae. Planetaries hold magnification because, well, they’re fuzzy looking anyway. NGC 7009 (The Saturn Nebula) looked fantastic at high power. I just barely saw a bright, green ring within the nebula. I looked at a photograph on the internet and sure enough saw that rings. See the attached picture.
List: 22/09/23 16”
Omega Nebula - M 17 (Bright Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:05:15 PM Comment: This looked absolutely beautiful tonight using the 16mm Nagler at 150x and the Lumicon OIII Type 3. I could see dark markings throughout the nebula. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
Eagle Nebula - M 16 (Bright Nebula in Serpens) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:10:39 PM Comment: A fairly bright nebula using the 16mm Nagler at 150x and the Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter but pales in comparison to M17, The Omega, aka The Swan Nebula Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6629 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:14:23 PM Comment: A small but very bright PNe, blue in color. Using the 5mm Pentax at 500x it looked much larger. Going up even higher in power with the Takahashi 4mm TOE at 635x I saw an very faint outer envelope and glimpsed the central star Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
Messier 28 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:24:13 PM Comment: Although M 28 was sinking to the SW it still is a beautiful globular cluster. I could resolve it with the 7mm Pentax at 360x but was able to resolve it to the core with the 5mm Pentax at 500x. Seeing wasn't very good that low though Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6644 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:30:16 PM Comment: Small very high surface brightness planetary nebula. Stellar at 150x. Responds well to the Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6638 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:33:31 PM Comment: Fairly small but bright globular cluster. I could not resolve it at 150x. I could just begin to resolve it with the 7mm Pentax at 357x. If seeing were better I'm sure it I could resolve it better Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
Messier 22 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:37:07 PM Comment: This is one of the most impressive globular clusters in the sky, and resolves so well. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6642 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:38:51 PM Comment: A fairly small and faint globular cluster Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
IC 4732 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:44:04 PM Comment: Small but bright stellar PNe . Responds well to the Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6716 (Open Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:48:50 PM Comment: A pretty "S-shape"!open cluster of about 50 bright stars Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Collinder 394 (Open Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:49:41 PM Comment: A large, almost 1/2-degree open cluster of a dozen or so bright stars Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
NGC 6717 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:52:41 PM Comment: An interesting globular cluster nearly in contact with the 5th magnitude star Nu Sgr. Very ghostly looking Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Little Gem Nebula - NGC 6818 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:58:57 PM Comment: The best view I had tonight was with the 3.3mm Takahashi TOE at 765x. I wqs able to see it as annular with a dark center, but no central star Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 55 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:03:57 PM Comment: M 55 is a globular cluster I don't often observe because it's low in the southern sky. It's a large very loose globular and therefore easy to resolve Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 30 (Globular Cluster in Capricornus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:06:45 PM Comment: M 30 looked good tonight but not nearly as bright as in the 25" Wednesday night. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Palomar 12 (Globular Cluster in Capricornus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:11:12 PM Comment: I could just barely see a hint of this, with 3 brighter stars involved, probably foreground stars Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 75 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:14:52 PM Comment: A bright and tight globular cluster. I could just begin to resolve the outer edges at 500x but seeing was rather rough. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Saturn (Planet in Capricornus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:26:23 PM Comment: Saturn looked disappointing compared to the way it looked when we had excellent seeing during much of the summer. The only moons I saw were Titan, Rhea and Dione Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Saturn Nebula - NGC 7009 (Planetary Nebula in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:34:52 PM Comment: I tried to see the central star using the 5mm Pentax at 500x but could not see it. I then tried the 3.5mm Pentax at 735x and still could not see it. However I did see dark areas as well a a brighter outer green ring inside the nebula, the ring that shows up well in photographs. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 72 (Globular Cluster in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:52:21 PM Comment: I'm always surprised at the low surface brightness of this large globular cluster Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Messier 2 (Globular Cluster in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:55:31 PM Comment: Resolved to the core with the 10mm Pentax at 250x but not as impressive as in the 25" Wednesday night Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Messier 15 (Globular Cluster in Pegasus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:58:11 PM Comment: M 15 has always been one of my favorite globular clusters, maybe because the stars are so tightly compacted together. I also like the view of the 6th magnitude blue star in the same field of view Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
NGC 7479 (Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:07:25 PM Comment: Although hardly impressive in light polluted skies but at least I was able to see this galaxy that lies 98 million light years away Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
NGC 7814 (Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:10:33 PM Comment: Large elongated galaxy next to two 9.6 magnitude stars. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
NGC 185 (Elliptical Galaxy in Cassiopeia) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:22:34 PM Comment: A large oval galaxy with very low surface brightness. Best with the 16mm Nagler at 150x Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Neptune (Planet in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:28:18 PM Comment: It's good to see 8th magnitude Neptune again, with it's distinctive blue color. Even at only 150x I could discern a disc. I tried to see Neptune's moon Triton but could not see it.
Just this week the James Webb telescope took a fantastic picture of Neptune's rings. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
19 Piscium (Variable Star in Pisces) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:38:41 PM Comment: !! A fantastic 5th magnitude deep red carbon star, one of the best in the sky. It's 900 light years away and 635 times more luminous than the sun! I showed this to Bob H. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
VX Andromedae (Variable Star in Andromeda) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:42:21 PM Comment: Only 5 degrees NW of The Andromeda Galaxy. Like 19 Psc, this is a very impressive deep red carbon star, and even further away at 1300 light years. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Blue Snowball Nebula - NGC 7662 (Planetary Nebula in Andromeda) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:49:42 PM Comment: I saw several dark areas inside this planetary but even with the 3.3mm Takahashi TOE at I could not see the central star as I did with the 25" last Wednesday night. The 25" has 2.5x the light grasp of the 16" so that certainly explains it. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Jupiter (Planet in Pisces) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:53:42 PM Comment: What could be better? Not only was the GRS on the meridian but also a shadow transit of the moon Io. As I discovered last year the Orion UltraBlock filter is amazing on Jupiter. The cloud belts become very pronounced, as does the GRS. The new Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter works well also, but not as dramatic. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 56° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9 |
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Ian Stewart
Thanks for the write up Kent. I got lazy and just pulled the refractor out. Yes Jupiter was most cool with the GRS and an Io transit. Seeing was not great here so not a good night for doubles.
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Cheers Ian On 9/24/2022 9:17 AM, Kent Blackwell wrote:
Friday night was clear, with fairly good seeing ... |
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Average seeing last night is why I opted for the "big guns" telescope. I usually use the refractor on night the moon is in the sky, but Ian, to tell you the truth it hardly matters here in the city. The sky is almost as bright with or without the moon. Sad, isn't it? I surely miss my Coinjock sky.
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jimcoble2000
We saw Triton years ago in Pungo. NGC 185 is always faint as are a couple of other galaxies up there in CAS. I am surprised you could do it from the city.
On Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 09:17:24 AM EDT, Kent Blackwell <kent@...> wrote:
Friday night was clear, with fairly good seeing. I observed with the 16” f/6, a rather tall telescope but one with good optics. Note sometimes I push the magnification on planetary nebulae. Planetaries hold magnification because, well, they’re fuzzy looking anyway. NGC 7009 (The Saturn Nebula) looked fantastic at high power. I just barely saw a bright, green ring within the nebula. I looked at a photograph on the internet and sure enough saw that rings. See the attached picture.
List: 22/09/23 16”
Omega Nebula - M 17 (Bright Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:05:15 PM Comment: This looked absolutely beautiful tonight using the 16mm Nagler at 150x and the Lumicon OIII Type 3. I could see dark markings throughout the nebula. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
Eagle Nebula - M 16 (Bright Nebula in Serpens) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:10:39 PM Comment: A fairly bright nebula using the 16mm Nagler at 150x and the Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter but pales in comparison to M17, The Omega, aka The Swan Nebula Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6629 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:14:23 PM Comment: A small but very bright PNe, blue in color. Using the 5mm Pentax at 500x it looked much larger. Going up even higher in power with the Takahashi 4mm TOE at 635x I saw an very faint outer envelope and glimpsed the central star Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
Messier 28 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:24:13 PM Comment: Although M 28 was sinking to the SW it still is a beautiful globular cluster. I could resolve it with the 7mm Pentax at 360x but was able to resolve it to the core with the 5mm Pentax at 500x. Seeing wasn't very good that low though Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6644 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:30:16 PM Comment: Small very high surface brightness planetary nebula. Stellar at 150x. Responds well to the Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6638 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:33:31 PM Comment: Fairly small but bright globular cluster. I could not resolve it at 150x. I could just begin to resolve it with the 7mm Pentax at 357x. If seeing were better I'm sure it I could resolve it better Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
Messier 22 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:37:07 PM Comment: This is one of the most impressive globular clusters in the sky, and resolves so well. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6642 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:38:51 PM Comment: A fairly small and faint globular cluster Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
IC 4732 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:44:04 PM Comment: Small but bright stellar PNe . Responds well to the Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 8 Transparency: 9
NGC 6716 (Open Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:48:50 PM Comment: A pretty "S-shape"!open cluster of about 50 bright stars Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Collinder 394 (Open Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:49:41 PM Comment: A large, almost 1/2-degree open cluster of a dozen or so bright stars Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
NGC 6717 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:52:41 PM Comment: An interesting globular cluster nearly in contact with the 5th magnitude star Nu Sgr. Very ghostly looking Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Little Gem Nebula - NGC 6818 (Planetary Nebula in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 8:58:57 PM Comment: The best view I had tonight was with the 3.3mm Takahashi TOE at 765x. I wqs able to see it as annular with a dark center, but no central star Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 55 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:03:57 PM Comment: M 55 is a globular cluster I don't often observe because it's low in the southern sky. It's a large very loose globular and therefore easy to resolve Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 30 (Globular Cluster in Capricornus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:06:45 PM Comment: M 30 looked good tonight but not nearly as bright as in the 25" Wednesday night. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.3, 62° H 40% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Palomar 12 (Globular Cluster in Capricornus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:11:12 PM Comment: I could just barely see a hint of this, with 3 brighter stars involved, probably foreground stars Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 75 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:14:52 PM Comment: A bright and tight globular cluster. I could just begin to resolve the outer edges at 500x but seeing was rather rough. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Saturn (Planet in Capricornus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:26:23 PM Comment: Saturn looked disappointing compared to the way it looked when we had excellent seeing during much of the summer. The only moons I saw were Titan, Rhea and Dione Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Saturn Nebula - NGC 7009 (Planetary Nebula in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:34:52 PM Comment: I tried to see the central star using the 5mm Pentax at 500x but could not see it. I then tried the 3.5mm Pentax at 735x and still could not see it. However I did see dark areas as well a a brighter outer green ring inside the nebula, the ring that shows up well in photographs. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 7 Transparency: 9
Messier 72 (Globular Cluster in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:52:21 PM Comment: I'm always surprised at the low surface brightness of this large globular cluster Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Messier 2 (Globular Cluster in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:55:31 PM Comment: Resolved to the core with the 10mm Pentax at 250x but not as impressive as in the 25" Wednesday night Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Messier 15 (Globular Cluster in Pegasus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 9:58:11 PM Comment: M 15 has always been one of my favorite globular clusters, maybe because the stars are so tightly compacted together. I also like the view of the 6th magnitude blue star in the same field of view Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
NGC 7479 (Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:07:25 PM Comment: Although hardly impressive in light polluted skies but at least I was able to see this galaxy that lies 98 million light years away Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
NGC 7814 (Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:10:33 PM Comment: Large elongated galaxy next to two 9.6 magnitude stars. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
NGC 185 (Elliptical Galaxy in Cassiopeia) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:22:34 PM Comment: A large oval galaxy with very low surface brightness. Best with the 16mm Nagler at 150x Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Neptune (Planet in Aquarius) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:28:18 PM Comment: It's good to see 8th magnitude Neptune again, with it's distinctive blue color. Even at only 150x I could discern a disc. I tried to see Neptune's moon Triton but could not see it.
Just this week the James Webb telescope took a fantastic picture of Neptune's rings. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
19 Piscium (Variable Star in Pisces) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:38:41 PM Comment: !! A fantastic 5th magnitude deep red carbon star, one of the best in the sky. It's 900 light years away and 635 times more luminous than the sun! I showed this to Bob H. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
VX Andromedae (Variable Star in Andromeda) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:42:21 PM Comment: Only 5 degrees NW of The Andromeda Galaxy. Like 19 Psc, this is a very impressive deep red carbon star, and even further away at 1300 light years. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Blue Snowball Nebula - NGC 7662 (Planetary Nebula in Andromeda) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:49:42 PM Comment: I saw several dark areas inside this planetary but even with the 3.3mm Takahashi TOE at I could not see the central star as I did with the 25" last Wednesday night. The 25" has 2.5x the light grasp of the 16" so that certainly explains it. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 59° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9
Jupiter (Planet in Pisces) Observed: Sep 23, 2022 at 10:53:42 PM Comment: What could be better? Not only was the GRS on the meridian but also a shadow transit of the moon Io. As I discovered last year the Orion UltraBlock filter is amazing on Jupiter. The cloud belts become very pronounced, as does the GRS. The new Lumicon OIII Type 3 filter works well also, but not as dramatic. Location: Virginia Beach SQM-L 18.5, 56° H 42% Equipment: 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, 16mm Nagler Seeing: 6 Transparency: 9 |
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jimcoble2000
Nice transit though.
On Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 11:30:25 AM EDT, Ian Stewart <ian@...> wrote:
Thanks for the write up Kent. I got lazy and just pulled the refractor out. Yes Jupiter was most cool with the GRS and an Io transit. Seeing was not great here so not a good night for doubles. Cheers Ian On 9/24/2022 9:17 AM, Kent Blackwell wrote: > Friday night was clear, with fairly good seeing ... |
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