💾 Archived View for koyu.space › mrael2_obsv › sessions › 2019 › 2019-08-24.gmi captured on 2023-04-19 at 23:40:25. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2022-06-03)
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Date: 2019-08-24
Seeing: I
Transparency: 7
Time: 8:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Object: Jupiter and Saturn
Cassini Division prominent at 139x along with gradations on the globe itself.
Bands clear on Jupiter with three moons visible.
Time: 9:15 PM
Object: M54 in Sagittarius
This is a very small globular cluster that is cloudy and compact at 84x. At that magnification and 139x, no outer stars could be resolved. It remained fuzzy at both magnifications.
Object: M70 in Sgr
This globular cluster is even smaller and dimmer than M54. At 139x, the core is more compact and less fuzzy, but only 2 or 3 stars were resolved amid the sparse outer halo.
Object: M69 in Sgr
Another small and dim globular, this one has its stars much more evenly distributed throughout. At 84x, this leads to a cloudy appearance, but 139x shows a bit of detail without fully resolving any stars. M69 has a nearby companion star that makes for a nice pairing.
Object: NGC 6652 in Sgr
The most diminutive of the globulars thus far, it has a comet-like appearance at 84x. At 139x, more definition can be seen around the edges. By coincidence NGC 6652 has a companion star in the field of view just like M69 did. And the orientation of the star is the same for both! The companion of NGC 6652 is much brighter than that of M69.
Object: M55 in Sgr
Big and well-defined, this globular cluster has several resolved stars around the ragged outer edge. At 139x, the resolved star cont numbers in the dozens and offers a very pleasant view.
Object: M75 in Sgr
Perhaps the smallest globular of the night, it seemed comet-like at 84x. At 139x, a sparse outer halo surrounds a denser core, and a slight hint of nearly resolved stars teases the eye all around the outer cloud.
Object: M30 in Capricornus
This globular cluster was small and dim at 84x, but 139x revealed an asymmetrical shape with two limbs of resolved stars emanating away from the center.
Earlier in the evening I also observed M22 in Sgr.
I concluded the evening at 11:00 PM.
It has been over four months since I last observed in April. May was cold and cloudy. June and July were wet and plagued with the worst mosquitoes I have ever seen in La Florida! Only in mid-August were they finally gone. This was the first weekend without a Moon that I was able to observe in the summer of 2019 in comfort.
It was a very productive evening, and I hope to have more such evenings/nights in the next few months before winter.