💾 Archived View for koyu.space › mrael2_obsv › sessions › 2015 › 2015-04-11.gmi captured on 2023-11-04 at 12:15:26. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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Date: 2015-04-11
Time: 9:30 PM - 10:45 PM MDT
Seeing: I
Transparency: 7
Telescope: 254 mm f/4.92 Newtonian
Objects: Mizar and Alcor
Eyepiece: 30 mm w/2x Barlow (84x)
In my recent failed observation of M40, I suspected that I hadn't seen Mizar and Alcor, but tonight I confirmed that I did indeed see them previously.
What I didn't realize at the time is that Mizar and Alcor do not comprise the double star. Instead, these are merely close companions.
Mizar itself is where the double star lies, and I finally resolved the pair tonight using my Barlow lens (84x). The Mizar pair is quite close together. This pair and Alcor appeared in the same field of view.
Object: M101
Eyepiece: 30 mm (42x)
The Pinwheel Galaxy, as it's also known, was sadly a bit of a disappointment. I located the galaxy easily as in a prior observation, but I noticed little improvement over my last viewing even though tonight's sky was without a moon.
M101 was dim. There were no spiral arms visible.
Sketches online show spiral arms in 8" and 10" reflectors, so I have to conclude that my optics are not so great or my location does not have as dark a sky as I thought it did. There is some minor light pollution from Antonito and Manassa, but M101 was high and away from these glows. I'll just have to accept never seeing the spiral arms of M101 from my house.
Faint and fuzzy are apt descriptors.
Object: M44 (Beehive cluster)
Eyepiece: 30mm (42x)
This was the unexpected highlight of the night. Dozens of stars densely packed showed up in my field of view, which did not enclose the entire cluster. I had to pan around to see this marvelous grouping in its entirety.
The whole cluster was visible in my 8x50 finder scope, but the 30 mm eyepiece really showcased this object as a dazzling collection of brilliant stars.
Object: M67 in Cancer
Eyepiece: 30 mm (42x)
This open cluster was dimmer than M44 with fewer stars. It encompassed less area in the sky and fit entirely within my field of view. Stars here were more densely packed.
Object: M108 in Ursa Major
Eyepiece: 30 mm w/2x Barlow (84x)
This edge-on galaxy was quite prominent and somewhat bright. It tapered to sharper points near the ends.
Object: M97 in Ursa Major
Eyepiece: 84x as above
The Owl Nebula was dim and very round. I could not see the eyes nor the central star that some have seen in smaller apertures, and I attribute this again to poor optics or not-so-dark skies.
I collimated the scope before tonight's viewing, so I don't think that's an issue.
M97 was also faint but so distinctly round that I was impressed with the shape itself.
M108 and M97 were both in field-of-view at 42x!! Nice combination.
Object: Betelgeuse in Orion
Eyepiece: 9 mm (139x)
This star was brilliant red! Very enjoyable color.
Object: Sirius in Canis Major
Eyepiece: 9 mm (139x)
I noticed a small amount of blue in this predominantly white star.
Object: Jupiter in Cancer
Eyepiece: 139x
All four Galilean moons were splayed out vibrantly with excellent seeing (Antoniadi I). At this magnification, I wasn't 100% sure, but I think I saw the Great Red Spot. The position of what I think was the GRS was closer to the limb than the meridian, so this matches up with the transit timetables that I see online.
The GRS appeared as a reddish bulge in one of the belts.
It was a very productive viewing session tonight. I was pleased -- but did not plan for or expect -- that I saw five Messier objects.
Pity I can't see more detail in some of the objects, but I'm happy with what I'm seeing so far in the 10" telescope.
Throughout the night, a mouse was making quite a racket in my trash-filled burn barrel. I'm sure it smelled food from fast-food containers piled in the barrel. I lot the trash on fire after taking the scope back inside, but I suspect the mouse escaped upon sensing the heat, thought I neither saw nor heard the escape.
Log entry for this session concluded at 2015-04-12 00:43. Latest I've stayed up in a while!