Hello all,
Thanks for the report Mike! Just after you left the skies became a
little more transparent and Geoff, Ron, Rob and Myself continued to
observe until about 4am.
Here is my report:
Session: 01-011
Date: April 20, 2001
Time: 21:00-04:00
Location: FLO, Almonte, Ontario
Weather Description: +4 Deg winds light to clam. Light haze drifting
in and out.
Limiting Magnitude: 6.2 at best down to 5.7
Seeing: 6/10 (had an hour of 8/10)
Scope: Celestar 8
Targets:
1) NGC 4361: Planetary Nebula in Corvus. A faint gray fuzzy in 18mm
(113x). Suspected central star 1/3 of time. Using the 24mm+Barlow
(170x) the central star was seen using averted vision 50% of time.
Object was low in sky and in local sky glow. OIII did not improve
view.
2) M104: The Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo. Bright, edge on shape,
oriented E-W. Suddenly brighter core. Using 18mm (113x) the dark
lane was visible with averted vision 30% of time. Using 24mm+Barlow
(170x), the dark lane was visible 60% of the time and was more
obvious using averted vision. The dark lane was noted to be south of
the bright core.
3) M51: The Whrilpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici. During an hour of
excellent conditions (very transparent and steady), M51 and its
companion, NGC 5195 put on quite a show. Using the 18mm(113x) and
averted vision, the outer structure of the galaxy was very mottled
and showed hints of spiral structure! A connection between NGC 5195
and M51 was suspected with averted vision, I could never hold the
detail long enough to say for sure.
4) NGC 4274: Galaxy in Coma Berenices. Faint with very slightly
brighter core. Edge on? Extended NW-SE. Observed using 18mm(113x).
5) NGC 4278: Galaxy in Coma Berenices. Bright, round with a suddenly
brighter core. Observed with 18mm (113x). NGC 4283 in same field.
6) NGC 4283: Galaxy in Coma Berenices. E-N-E of NGC 4278. Dimmer
and smaller then 4278. Round with slightly brighter core. Observed
with 18mm(113x).
7) M53: Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices. Large, bright with a
gradually brighter core in the 24mm (85x). Appeared granular with
averted vision. Using the 24mm+barlow (170x), it was very granular
or slightly resolved with averted vision.
8) M14: Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus. Faint and fuzzy in 24mm
(85x). Didn't look much better in 18mm(113x). I suspect higher
magnification should be used to resolve.
9) MARS: At about 2:50AM (Apr 21st) I observed mars even though it
was still low in the eastern sky. The best view was with the 18mm
(113x) unfiltered. I tried a red filter but the little bit of detail
I noticed was lost. Using information in Sky&Telescope I computed
the Central Meridian to be approximately 58 Deg. Using this
information and a map in the same magazine I was able to determine
that the detail I saw was Mare Erythraeum. I made a small sketch at
the eyepiece.
10) M10: Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus. Dim. Partially resolved
with 18mm (113x).\
11) M80: Globular Cluster in Scorpius. Faint, gradually brighter
core. Unresolved in 18mm (113x). Low in sky when observed.
Notes:
An excellent night at FLO! There where about 7 scopes set up on
the "hill", including a close to new C-11! The night started out
looking bad, but it cleared off almost exactly at the end of
astronomical twilight. The sky opened up to have excellent
transparency for about an hour. The rest of the night was slightly
hazy. At around 9:30 (I think?) we were treated to a pass of the ISS
followed shortly by the Shuttle on a catch up course. Very neat to
see. On the "hill" this night were: Mike Ziedler, Geoff Meek, Rob
Relyea, and Ron StMartin. I forgot two people's names, one was Mike
Z's friend with the C-11 and the other had an Omcon? DOB. If either
of you is reading this I appologise, I am terrible with names (the
only reason I remembered the others is because I wrote them down).
Please send me an email so I can add your name to my notes.
I was very excited to see my first bit of detail on Mars for the
year. I am looking forward to opposition.
I had the opportunity to try out two nebula filters on my 8-inch
tonight. My thanks to Rob for allowing me to borrow his Lumicon OIII
and Orion Ultrablock. Using the brightest portion of the Veil as a
testing ground I ran the two filters through their paces. Without
filter there was no sign at all of the nebula. I popped in the OIII
and, BOOM, there it was. Plain as day. Amazing! I removed the OIII
and installed the Ultrablock. I could still see the nebula but it
was not as contrasty as the OIII. I would guess the OIII was twice
as effective as the Ultrablock. So in short, I will be shopping for
an OIII filter soon. The only question is what size? 1.25 or rear
cell?
