Looking out my backdoor...

I went out to my backyard observatory last night and finding almost zero dew decided to pull off the tarp covering my 14.5" Dob. The sky was quite dark by Los Gatos standards, although the seeing was a bit unsteady. Still for views of deep sky objects it would suffice. I continued my pursuit of objects in Aries listed in the Night Sky Observers Guide. I used 20mm and 12mm Nagler Type II eyepieces, a Telrad, 11x70 Unitron finder, Tirion SA2000 Deluxe and Uranometria.

My first object was NGC 1012. The area was already familiar to me after hunting galaxies in the vicinity several nights ago. I usually think of Aries constellation lines being comprised of only the bright star Hamal and dimmer Sheratan to its SW. But NE of those two is a dimmer triangle of stars, remarkable in the finder, comprised of 41 Arietis at mag 3.6, 39 and 35 Arietis at mag 4.5 and 4.6 respectively. To the SE of 35 Arietis sits another bright star, helping establish direction for hopping off the bright triangle. Arcing gently away to the W from 39 Arietis are mag 8 and 7.5 stars. The galaxy sits between the two stars, just slightly NE. The galaxy was dim. Like whisper only sometimes audible, this galaxy revealed itself after first finding the location with the 20mm eypeiece (100x), then bumping the power up with the 12mm (183x). It appeared round with a possible stellar core, and showed only occasionally with averted vision. A chain of several stars ran E/W to its N. The chain had a "dimple" in the line pointing N near where the galaxy was located. The brightest stars in the chain were to the NE of the galaxy. I enjoyed the easy star hop to this object.

I found the next object listed as DoDz1, an open cluster. This object would take me to the other dimmer triangle of stars that make the other "horn" of the Ram, SSE of the other. The stars making this dimmer triangle all have mags in the mid-4, which make them more of a "glow" to the naked eye, rather than being resolvable. Their designations are 48, 57 and 58 Arietis. It is easy to hop around this area, and I found a pair of stars outside the triangle to the E good markers to tell direction. I headed S off 48 Arietis passing mag 5.8 47 Arietis and continued in that direction 3 degrees until I found the bright pair 45 and 46 Arietis. These stars are in a nice field full of other bright stars that help point the way W almost 2 degrees to mag 5.3 42 Arietis. DoDz1 is conspicuous there even in the finder. 2 bright stars running N/S with 3 not quite as bright running E/W make up the main components of this easy open cluster. At first that is all I saw. When I put in the 12 Nagler a dim haze of stars filled the space between the 5 bright ones. The haze looked rather like nebulosity. With the 5 "jewels" in this mist of stars, I bet the view from a darker site would be stunning.

Next was the galaxy NGC 1134, an easy hop from DoDz1. With my finder on 42 Arietis, I could see the next star in my hop, 43 Arietis, 2 1/2 degrees S. The galaxy was twice that distance S. It was very dim though and required tapping the scope to confirm.

NGC 1156 was in the same category, very faint, requiring tapping to confirm the haze. The galaxy is located between the two triangles in Aries. I used the brighter triangle to draw a line from 35 to 41 Arietis, then continue on to mag 6 49 Arietis, a notable double. To the SE is 52 Arietis at mag 5.5. Using these stars I could find the correct field close by to the W. The galaxy showed just occasional hints, with a very faint star close to its N and a brighter star still further N in the field of view.

Thinking that my night was going to be essentially dim galaxies that were mere hints tapping the scope and using averted vision, I took a break to just look at the sky for a while.

Those of us who look at the sky regularly know we can see it differently than most. Still, at times I am like most folks who, when seeing the stars, look at them as "the sky" and see it as a monolithic, two dimensional ceiling, a "skyscape" that is close, a constant that generations have viewed and counted on to return, familiar, assuring, season after short season. Other times, like last night, when I've lost myself in the eyepiece, those societal restraints peel away momentarily. It then becomes travel in space and time to mysteries created by forces we can't comprehend. At those times I see beyond the familiar and the universe reveals just a bit of its fantastic detail. I see things my ancestors could not fathom consciously or create in dream. The thin veil protecting our physical and psychological existence lifts. It is then I think of how enormous, deep and mysterious a place that perceived "skyscape is. And amazingly, it is just out my backdoor. How lucky we are to be able to enjoy and in a real sense be stimulated firsthand by such amazing creations!

I had finished the list in Aries and now looked for new targets. Andromeda was high and in a good direction from my observing pad. I turned the scope toward NGC 80.

This object sits just east of the Great Square of Pegasus, outside the line between Alpharatz and Algenib. The finder reveals several stars to hop from. The brightest is mag 4.8 89-Pegasi. 45' to its E is a mag 7 SAO. These two established my position. To the N a mag 7 then a mag 6.2 star, then NE is a close double that shows well in a finder. Very near the double is a cluster of galaxies containing NGC 80 and 83, the brightest of perhaps a dozen, mostly extremely faint. NGC 80 and 83 were relatively easy and could be held constantly with averted vision. The pair ran N/S in the field, with 83 to the N and sitting just W of the apex of a small triangle of stars. NGC 80 sat alone.

My final target for the night was NGC 160. It is an easy hop from 29 to 31 Andromedea, which are the first pair of stars in the chain that describes the constellation. Use the two stars as a pointer south to mag 4.0 34 Andromedea. Just over a degree W is a grouping of four or five bright stars that stand out. Another degree W is an obvious bright double with mags of 6.2 and 7.2. NGC 160 sits close by and S of the dimmer of these two stars. NGC 169 is W and close to the brighter star. 160 was much easier to detect, with 169 being only glimpsed occasionally between the pair of bright stars.

It was nearly 11 o'clock, and I had planned on a short night. The night had been very nice. Very little dew had formed. A slight chill in the air was made more noticeable by gentle breeze that constantly rustled the fall leaves on the trees around my house and dancing down the street. Orion was fully risen, helping announce the approaching winter.

I looked up at Taurus and decided to peek at Saturn. I so rarely do this, it is always a treat. The seeing was indeed a bit soft.. the detail was okay but not great. Shading on the planet was obvious in the subtle bands of cream and tan. The Cassini division was black, but beyond that, I did not look for more detail. A bright set of moons stood off to one side. The ring, now tipped steeply toward us, shown behind the ball of the planet. The edge of the planet seemed to have a crisp dark line along its edge where it clipped part of the view of the ring behind it. I brought my wife out to look, and enjoyed the expected ooohs and aaaahs.

Again I looked up at the sky. After a night outside with the telescope, I again saw it differently than others do.

I tipped the scope down, turned on its night light and tucked it under the tarp. The convenience of backyard observing is wonderful. Like playing a musical instrument, practice improves performance, increases enjoyment and appreciation. I like being able to play regularly. I'll practice more tonight.

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Backyard observing 10/09/01

I set up at dusk out back. That means I put the eyepieces and charts out, and the light blind up. The 14.5" f/5.6 Dob had been outside waiting for a good night. What a nice evening to be out!

I began my session working on Herschel 400-II objects.

First I looked for NGC896 in Cassiopeia. Using Gamma and Delta Cass to draw a line, I moved over to Epsilon and made imagined where another star would be to mimic Delta in relation to Epsilon. This put me immediately in the right field. Using a UHC filter on the 20 Nagler I could detect occasional haze or a subtle change in background contrast. While initially on the object a wobbly satellite tracked drunkenly across the field. There were large areas with few bright stars, in fact, with few stars at all. The contrast differences would at times increase, seeming to cover large areas like the North American Nebula. I wondered if I'd stumbled onto the larger IC 1805. Even in my 11 x 70 finder I thought at times I could detect a glow where the bright nebula was supposed to be. At times, I was quite sure I was seeing some hard edges to the glow through my eyepiece.

Next was the surprise of the night. Very cool, a small bright nebula in Cygnus. I began by hopping off Eta Cygni, which is very easy to locate. Just 1.2 degrees SW is an notable chain of stars that can be counted... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, skip, seven. Once there is an empty spot in the chain, look close to the NE, opposite a double to the SW. An obvious puff only a few minutes in size each direction but glowing more noticeably E to W. Possibly could be just a very bright section of a larger dim bubble encompassing stars to the E, N and S. The bright glow may be just a very bright knot at the W edge of a larger nebula. It is neat! When using the 12 Nagler I found a very dim star embedded in the NE end of the nebula. The UHC was doing a great job on the object. On close inspection there seemed a glow from the bright section extending dimly to a bright star toward the S. Good in town object!

NGC 6991 was near a bright star that seems a double, bright white yellow and dim gold, close to the NNW. The open cluster was just a hazy area with many dim stars to the WSW of the double. This was not very exciting, and is the type of object that makes people not like OCs.

The next object, NGC 6697, was not on my Tirion atlas or Uranometria. But I could see it was located in the North American Nebula. The cluster was fairly large, medium rich and quite distinct. It is most likely a gorgeous object nestled into the big nebula along the edge and embedded. I could also detect a change in contrast to the S and W when using my UHC filter.

NGC 7082 is a nice hop off 76 and 77 Cygni. There are very recognizable chains off these two easy to find stars that lead right to this open cluster. The cluster is elongated SW/NE with many dozen bright components, but the brightest are a pair to the S and a single star to the N bisecting a large haze of very dim stars. I guess the cluster is over 30' in length along its major axis.

NGC 6793 is an open cluster in Vulpecula. I located it by finding the Coathanger (CR 399) easily without optical aid. Following some bright stars off the Coathanger to the N led me to a large open cluster comprised of two chains of at least several dozen stars joined at the S. The E section has more stars but the W side has the brightest ones. A wide bright white double sits NW about 30' away (guess).

On the way to my next object I began on the star Alpha Vulpeculoruilium (whatever). I was struck by how nice this wide gold double appeared!

Hopping off Alpha Vul, close by to the NNW are maybe 2 dozen bright stars with a hazy background. The cluster, NGC 6800, is nice sized and gracefully situated at the end of a nice arc of stars including the pretty double Alpha Vul.

That was it for my Herschel II list for this month, unless I begin observing in the morning a few hours prior to astronomical twilight.

So, I moved on to Pegasus.

The first object was NGC 7331, very familiar to many deep sky observers. It as bright and elongated. In my 20 Nagler I thought it looked rather like the Sombrero (M104), but what I'd expect he Sombrero to look like in my 10" f/5.6 instead of a 14.5" scope. When I put in the 12mm Nagler, the core of 7331 became very bright.

Most of the time I hear someone mention NGC 7332, I figure it must be a dim smudge right next to 7331. Wrong. Mu and Lambda Pegasi are easy naked-eye stars, and 7332 is an easy hop off them just 2 degrees west. The galaxy is bright and elongated. Quite easy to see located between two bright stars to its N and S, but closer to the N star. With my 12mm Nagler I was surprised to unexpectedly run into NGC 7339. 7332 sites NNE/SSW while the dimmer 7339 lies very close by but nearly E/W. 7339 appeared the same size or larger than 7332. This is a nice view!

Not wanting to bun up the sky, or be out too late during busy week, I finished with NGC 7448. This galaxy is in a great field for dark sky observing, but is more of a challenge from the backyard. I found it just NW from Alpha Pegasi (Markab). The galaxy is mag 11.6, but not all that bright compared to the others I'd seen tonight. Its glow was even across the core without a bright nucleus, and the glow evened out gradually toward its edges at the NNW and SSE.

It was nice to be out again. I didn't push too hard. I found myself spending a good amount of time on objects. I especially enjoyed the bright nebula in Cygnus, it was soooo unexpected.

The scope is still out back. I hope to continue tomorrow night. Amazing what one can see just out their back door!

More doubles under the full moon.

I was observing in my backyard again last night. It was beautiful outside... I was in shorts and a t-shirt until I came in at 11 p.m.

Using a 14.5" f/5.6 Dob and a combination of 20mm and 12mm Naglers, I observed double stars and several deep sky objects. Seeing was much steadier than the night before, about 7/10.

I began with Alpha Herculis, aka Rasalgethi. I was surprised to learn that Alpha Herc is located so close to Ophiuchus. I always think of Hercules as the Keystone, but it is a large constellation by area. The double has a gold primary with a green companion several magnitudes dimmer and closeby only 53" to the SSE. The primary shines at mag 3.5, which was naked eye low to the south. The companion shines at mag 5.4.

More difficult to find was 95 Herculis. This star required use of my 11x70 finder to locate the proper field. 105 Herc was just visible naked eye at mag 4.3, which aided in getting to the correct area. This star was gorgeous! Two mag 5 stars sitting just 6.8" apart, one gold, the other a brilliant blue-white. I called my wife and daughter out back to see these jewels.

Once my daughter was outside by the telescope, I had to yield to her request to find something. I suggested Gamma Aries, the next star on my list. I pointed out Alpha and Beta Aries and described where to find Gamma. Mimi was on it instantly, thrilled to find a tight pair of equally bright white stars in the eyepiece!

She then pointed the Dob at M13, M92, M57, M15, M31 and the Double Cluster. She was most interested in knowing what happens to collapsing globular clusters, like M15. She noted the compressed core and I explained that in an S&T article within the past year or two that M15 was described as collapsing. Mimi wanted to know if the stars would fall together and become a black hole.

At 10 p.m Mimi went to bed, since it was a school night. But how nice for her to be able to walk out into her backyard and spend an half an hour doing astronomy!

I continued on with more doubles.

1 Aries was next on my list. I find it to be a very tight double of gold and white, with a large difference in magnitude between the pair. I would think this double would be a great field to observe in a dark sky, as there are many galaxies in the immediate area.

I moved to Eta Persei which was another Albiero. I am convinced that the most plentiful combinations of colors in doubles must be blue and gold. Eta is an easy target, although sky brightness made it a challenge in the glare of the moon and San Jose. Imagine, it was hard to pick out a mag 3.7 star! But its location is easy, being the most northerly bright star in the constellation. The stars sat east/west of each other, the blue component more of a steel blue than Albiero's.

Pisces was very close to the most moon-washed part of the sky, but I decided to try my hand at what can only be described as star-hopping by Braille.

I went next to 55 Piscis, another small Albiero. The blue component was much dimmer than the medium bright gold primary, and sat close to its north. The star is close to the Pegasus border and required using Zeta Andromeda and Gamma Pegasi to locate.

I finished the night on Zeta Pisces. This was work. The star was not visible naked eye... it is one of the chain of stars leading north from the Circlet under Pegasus... all dim stars even in dark skies. I used my finder to star hop off my Sky Atlas 2000 chart. When I hit the double it was obvious. The double is comprised of two white stars that area close together, but not what I'd call "tight". The brighter component was to the west, and the companion was a bit more gold than the primary.

It was another nice night outside. The moon does not pose too many problems for double stars. With enough aperture, it is even reasonable to hunt deep sky objects too, as Mimi had proven.