Tonight I decided to try to view Uranus and I think that I did actually get it. But I'm not sure and think that I will review this object until I can actually confirm it. The object that I was viewing appeard to be a light grey in color. And under 300x magnification it seemed to resolve into a disk but I'm not absolutely sure on this. I will definately have to return to Uranus to be sure that I actually did indeed see it.
I also viewed Mars with the 90mm Maksutov I was impressed with the view that this little scope could provide! I could push Mars upto about 200x magnification! The disk was large but it was to detect any land features however I did notice the Ice Cap fairly quickly.
Next I viewed M27 in the Dobsonian. This was truly amazing! You can easily see the apple core shape of the nebula. Also, there appears to be nebulosity extending off of just the main apple core shape. I am very pleased with what the Dobsonian can do on planetary nebulae such as M27. But now I decided to search down a Globular which I have not seen in a very long period of time, M15.
The last time I viewed M15 was with the 114mm reflector. So, I was expecting quite an improvement with the 254mm Dobsonian then of the old 114mm. And that is exactly what I got. Although not as grand as M13, this globular was outstanding! I couldn't resolve it all the way to the core. However, I did resolve the stars along the outer edge of this Globular. A vast improvement indeed. Through the 114mm I can recall it as being nothing more than a fuzzy patch of light. But now I have stars resolved!!
Next up was M31, M32 and M110... all in the Andromeda constellation. I can say that the farther M31 gets toward the zenith, there is more to see in it. And M31 and M32 look so great sitting side by side in the same field of view. A nudge of the scope down brings you to M110, which is alot more appealing than in the 114mm Reflector. The view of these three galaxies is truely bewildering. I will most definately be returning to these three like I have always have. No matter how many times I will views these galxies they will remain among Saturn... an inspirer of the vast unknown which is our Universe.
Next up and easily visible to the naked eye as two distinct fuzzy patches of light is NGC869 and NGC884, the Double Cluster. These two clusters make the best view of any open clusters in the sky. Rivaling that of the Pleiades, if not actually surpassing them. The amount of stars is truely innumerous and makes for a view of immeasurable splendor. Even just to the naked eye... the thought that these two great clusters is visible is amazing. But speaking of being visible to the naked eye... that brings us to the final object upon observation for the night, M45.
M45 appears as a mini dipper. Although not related to Ursa Minor in anyway, or even in that general area of the sky, many people mistake it for the Little Dippper. This is an object best viewed with a wide field telescope or a pair of binoculars. Tonight I only viewed it with the naked eye. But I prefer the view through Binoculars the most. I am yet to view it with the 254mm Dobsonian so I don't know what my chances on the Merope Nebula will be. Lets hope something will turn up. Now I must pack up and return to the warmth of the indoors. But hey, next time I'm out... hopefully I will get a confirmation on Uranus. The I could scratch another off the Board... that would make seven down, only two more to go ;-).
September 18, 2003
Objects observed: M31, M45, NGC 884 and NGC 869
Telescope Used: 254mm Dobsonian Reflector and 90mm Maksutov Cassegrain.
Recieved the 90mm Maksutov Cassegrain scope from Orion today. Assembled it and then took it out. I didn't have enough time to actually use it as much as I would have liked. Infact all I had time to do was get the finder somewhat aligned and test it out on some stars. All resolved beautifully. I will hopefully be using this scope on Mars soon if weather permits. The reasons for purchase of the 90mm Makustov is mostly for its portability. I will generally use it only for Planetary study. And will bring it along on trips which will be much more appealing than just a pair of Binoculars.
Since it was getting later by the minute I only had enough time to view very few objects with the Dobsonian. Well, since the Moon was no where to be seen (just below the horizon) and M31 was visible to the naked eye upon slight aversion I decided to give it a go. M31 appeared in the finder beautifully. And in the scope? Very very nice. I could see the shape of galaxy beautifully surrounded by a field of stars with a fairly dark black sky. I could feel that I was just on the verge of revealing the dark dust bands. I could see something, but I'm not that confident in it yet. Perhaps when M31 reaches close to the zenith. And also becomes visible to the naked eye upon direct observation.
The Double Cluster (NGC 884 and NGC 869) was also visible to the naked eye! So I decided to goto it next. And it was absolutely marvelous. Hundreds of stars scattered about the field of view from these two clusters. I always find these two clusters to be awe-inspiring.
Looking up from the telescope... whats this? M45 in the horizon!! Wow, M45 was just above the trees. I couldn't get the scope to view them since the fence blocks the scopes view of it. But I could see them. The tiny dipper of stars shimmering in the Horizon. Reminds me of the first time I saw them. Just like this, low in the horizon shimmering. Looking up you can see Cygnus and the Milky Way reaching across the sky. I take the dob and just scan around. So many Stars... so many. The view is spectacular as you scan our own galaxy. So many many many stars. But now I must take the scopes back in since it is nearly 12:00 AM. Take one last look of the nice dark starfilled sky before going in. A great (quick) session!
September 12, 2003
Objects observed: Mars, M31, M57.
Telescope Used: 254mm Dobsonian Reflector and 114mm Newtonian Reflector.
Tonight I decided to try and image Mars with the Dob. But first, as i waited for Mars to climb higher I viewed M57 and M31. M31 came first and was viewed in both the XT0 the Nexstar 114GT. The view through the Dobsonian was much brighter than in the 114GT but only revealed more of the galaxy, no more detail. I will still have to wait until later that I can see M31 in darker moon-less nights. Next I went to M57 and viewed it quickly in the 254mm Dobsonian. The ring shape is obvious and is much better than in the 114GT.
By now I also finished setting up the computer and Mars was in a fair position of the sky. Just above the tree tops... when I unfoucsed the Mars image image you could actually see the tree leaves and branches in the airy disc. But I still decided to take the images. It was quite hard to keep the dob steady enough to take the images... but I managed to get nine good frames that I can run through astrostack.... the result?
Better than what I thought I was going to get with only 9 individual images. I am quite impressed with these results. I don't know if I will be imaging Mars anymore recently because of just how low the planet is. Its nearly in the trees. I had to move the dobsonian around the yard alot so I could get Mars out from behind the trees. But the images are fairly impressive and many features are visible. Including Syrtis Major and a polar ice cap. Overall, I'd say it was well worth it. A good night of Astrophotography.
"Hier kommt die Sonne. Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen."
