Fiddletown Memorial Day Weekend

I had a great birthday weekend up in Amador County, staying at the historic Volcano Union Inn Bed and Breakfast for three nights, spending time along highway 49, up 88 and in through the Shenendoah Valley wine country. After touring 49 and getting a late dinner, the evening was spent doing naked eye astonomy from the patio of the B&B, discussing astronomy with other patrons. Actually, there were no other patrons of the B&B, but there were locals and tourists enjoying an evening drink and socializing. Saturday was spent in the wine valley - doing several tastings and enjoying the ambiance of beautiful architecture, vineyards, and sunshine - although - it did cloud up late in the afternoon - just before I was going to head to the Fiddletown observing site.

I arrived up the dirt road, clouds overhead, but with hope for clearing - there was a hard edge to the clouds, and clear behind them. When I pulled into the observing site I was surprised to see two vehicles and three people there. It was Charlie Stifflemeyer and friends. We stopped, said hello, looked at the sky, and bailed on back to the B&B for a good dinner and to watch the sky from outside. It cleared just around sunset, but the air went chill and carried the smell of moisture. Sure enough, the tops of cars parked along the main street of Volcano showed signs of dewing. I decided to stick with naked eye observing and enjoy the pleasant company of the proprietors. Nice evening.

Sunday night looked good, just some thin cloud which I expect dissipated, but dinner was late at the Saint George Hotel, and again, there was dew on the roofs of cars when we walked back to the B&B.

My 18" Obsession never made it out of the truck, but it was a fantastic weekend - that part of the state is about as scenic as you can imagine with wildflowers lining the hills, highways and gardens - old storefronts from the 1800's, and lots of people with smiles on their faces - I guess those are the things I got to observe this Memorial Day weekend.

Next weekend, weather permitting - local - up to Coe.

See you there.

Emptying the Cup!

Last night my daughter Mimi, boyfriend Jeff and I joined Peter Natscher for a short night of observing on Coulter Row at Fremont Peak. It has been forever since I've observed from that location. I can report that the site is still quite good, and has seen some nice improvements since my last visit - new restrooms up at the overlook, and good pavement. I brought my 18" f/4.5 Obsession and 10" f/5.7 CPT, Mimi got to use the smaller scope to show her boyfriend some highlight objects. It was a short night for Mimi, as the cold got to her, and she was gone by eleven.

I decided to go to the Peak - my annual trip - and try Coulter as it is protected somewhat from the wind, has a very good southern horizon, and Peter was going. I had not seen him since Shingletown last year. I enjoyed the evening - Peter and I were swapping views - he had several nice galaxy groups during the night.

I was continuing my Herschel 2500 project. Man, what a task. My hat's off to folks like Gottlieb and Czerwinski, who've logged that many objects and (in Steve's case) more. I've been at this off and on for a very long time. Last night I went after objects in Crater, which was among the springtime constellations that are so difficult to get clear skies for. As noted in Peter's report, temps were chilly, dropping into the mid 30's, but other than my fingers, I was not cold.

Here are the objects I observed:

NGC 3081	Galaxy type SAB, mag 12.85, SB 13.2, size 2.1'x1.6': I began hunting this target (actually in Hydra) in the late twilight, and found the location difficult. Using Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) and making a right angle with Lambda Hydrae, I ended up using the naked eye pair of stars SAO 177840 and SAO 177866, which are 23' apart, to hop via my 10x70 finder to the correct position. The galaxy was dim, but had a bright non-stellar core surrounded by a dim halo disk. It is located off a nice chain of six stars to its NE. There may be some elongation NNW/SSE.
NGC 3892	Galaxy type SO, mag 11.5, SB 13.4, size 3.0'x2.2': I hopped from Alpha Crateris to Delta, and out NE to mag 6.2 SAO 156896, which made the position easy to locate. The galaxy is small, oval with some elongation E/W. It contains a bright core with a dim stellar point.
NGC 3956	Galaxy type Sc, mag 12.1, SB 13.3, size 3.4'x1.0'. This one appeared as a dim slash ENE/WNW with even brightness throughout. There were two pair of stars of equal PA to the NNW that helped locate the galaxy. I found this one going form Delta to Gamma Corvi and down to mag 5.2 SAO 157042, and the galaxy was just beyond, barely inside Crater's border.
NGC 3962	Galaxy type E2, mag 10.7, SB 12.6, size 2.6'x2.2'. This was one of the tougher locations, without a bright star nearby. I went from Gamma Corvi to mag 5 SAO 156998, then north, and hunted around a bit. There were two bright stars nearby to the S and SW that helped mark the location, but the galaxy itself was quite bright and obvious in the eyepiece. It had a stellar core with a bright inner disk that diffused abruptly out to a dim outer disk.
NGC 3981	Galaxy type Sbc, mag 11.3, SB 13.8, size 5.2'x2.3'. Very near the location of NGC 3956, this very long galaxy had an even brightness and was in a WSW/ENE position.
NGC 3456	Galaxy type SBc, mag 12.4, SB 12.9, size 1.9'x1.3'. Located at the western extreme of Crater, it is easy to locate star hopping from mag 3.1 Nu Hydrae. It is small, very dim and elongated E/W with a dim star just to its E. There was no detail. But, I do like sequential NGC numbers like this one (my favorite is NGC 6543).
NGC 3571	Galaxy type Sa, mag 12.1, SB 13.2, size 3.0'x1.0'. In an easy position in Crater nearly mid-point between Alpha and Gamma. This appeared to be edge-on, had a bright core with a near stellar nucleus, and seemed quite elongated E/W 5x2.
NGC 3715	Galaxy type SO, mag 13.9, SB 12.7, size 0.8'x0.5'. At first I thought I was just dyslexic and had transposed numbers with the prior object, but no, this was really the next on my list. It is located very close to NGC 3571, on the same line toward Alpha Crateris. Small, bright and round, with a stellar core.
NGC 3667	Galaxy type Sbc, mag 12.7, SB 12.4, size 1.5'x1.0'. Very easy to locate going from Alpha to Delta, then another 1.5 degrees further. This galaxy appears oval and even brightness, elongated E/W. Bumping up the power brought out NGC 3667A, much dimmer, but about the same size as 3667 which is to its W. 3667A forms a right angle with 3667 and a close star. 3667A is elongated NE/SE and is separated by only 1'.
NGC 3955	Galaxy type SO, mag 11.9, SB 12.9, size 2.9'x0.9'. I used mag 3 Epsilon Corvi and mag 4 Alpha Corvi (yes, you read those mags correctly) to form an isosceles triangle to locate this target. This was a nice view, very elongated N/S with a pronounced bright large central bulge. A very slight hint of a stellar core - the southern extent of the galaxy seemed to be disrupted, or perhaps it is a barred spiral - there seemed to be hints of arms curving back of the ends of the extensions.
NGC 3957	Galaxy type SO, mag 11.8, SB 12.5, size 3.1'x0.7'. Nice! Bright, very elongated about 5X1 N/S, with a dark area in the S extension. In an easy position to locate, Delta to Gamma Corvi, to SAO 157042, and a bit west - three stars to the galaxy's NW help mark the field.
NGC 3732	Galaxy type EO, mag 12.5, SB 12.8, size 1.2'x1.2'. Too easy to find, just off mag 4.7 Theta Crateris. It is small, round and has a stellar core in a bright nucleus. A bright star sits close to its W.
NGC 3508	Galaxy type Sb, mag 13.2, SB 12.9, size 1.0'x0.9'. Located very close to a pair of naked-eye stars just N of Alpha Crateris. It appears irregular, elongated SSW/NNE, possibly larger on the SSW end. It has a star embedded in the NNE end. I wonder if this galaxy is disrupted?
NGC 3951	Galaxy type SBO, mag 13.1, SB 13, size 1.3'x0.8'. Easy hop off of Delta Crateris, however, this proved a difficult object. It was odd that it was *just* visible in my 20 Nagler (100X), but not in the 12 or 7 Naglers. As such, the best description I can attach is, non-descript!
NGC 3661	Galaxy type SO, mag 14, SB 14.2, size 1.7'x0.8'. Great location! Go from Alpha to Delta and just beyond - really easy. The galaxy is elongated SSE/NNW with a bright core containing a dim stellar point. I felt there was some mottling. An easy bright chain of three stars sits very close to the galaxy's south.
NGC 3734	Galaxy type Sbc, mag 13.7, SB 13.9, size 1.4'x1.0'. I used Iota (24) Crateris as the jumping off point to hop to this target. It was extremely faint and yielded no detail. I could see it only in the 12 Nagler and even then, only by jiggling the telescope, which showed a round ghost coming in and out with averted vision.
NGC 3791	Galaxy type SO, mag 13.7, SB 13.8, size 1.3'x1.0'. This was a fun target, and my last for the night. Alpha and Delta to hop to mag 4.7 Theta Crateris, then star hopped to the galaxy from there. The galaxy was small and round, averted vision showed a stellar core. It was easy to pick out a low power. Three other galaxies in a tight knot - NGC 3771, MCG 1-30-17 and MCG 1-30-18 break up nicely at high power (280X), although the two MCGs are very close together. One oddity was that NGC 3791seemed to have a double nucleus at high power.

That was it for the night. I had finished off the objects in Crater, emptied the cup of H2500 objects.

Before finishing, I will say, as I do each year, off of Highway 101 along 156 then up San Juan Canyon Road is one of the most beautiful I know of in spring. It is verdant green, there are wildflowers on the shoulders of the road, and cattle, horses, rabbit and wild turkey around the turns. The view of the coast from Fremont Peak is a treat.

I also found that it was not too bad observing galaxies with a 5+ day old moon. Earlier in the day I wrote Attilla Danko, ex-bay area resident (used to attend our Lassen Star Parties) asking him about an additional feature for the clear sky clocks. I wondered if there could be a way to quantify magnitude loss for various percentages of the moon - for its phase, and for certain degrees off the moon - and perhaps model in transparency as well. This would help tell observers if the targets they are interested in would be visible, or "mooned" out on a particular night. I did not mind having the moon up... I'll do it again. I might even go back to the Peak again before next year!

Coe beats the odds

I started the day Saturday looking at the Clear Sky Clocks for Coe, Plettstone and other points south in the Sierra Foothills. Turned out that by mid-afternoon, Coe looked the best...

And, it exceeded our expectations. Conditions were cool, but not cold, dewy early on then drying out, calm winds that picked up around midnight, and reasonably steady seeing even for planetery observing. As usual, the drive up East Dunne Road through the green mountaintops and canyons was beautiful.

Three of us met there, all with 18" telescopes, two f/4.5s, the other must be an f/5. We had few visitors, just some day hikers at sunset, and then a group with headlamps on walking into the parking lot while we were observing - they quickly agreed to douse their lights and look through the telescopes. Its always fun to hear someone react to seeing Saturn the first time...

This was my second night at Coe in less than a week. I have been observing object in William Herschel's catalog, and continued in Coma Berenices, which is now quite a familiar constellation for me. While the transparency was better on Tuesday night, I had little trouble locating most targets last night. Here are my notes:

NGC 4919A - this galaxy is very faint, just a glint between NGCs 4919 and 4911. NGC 4911 is obvious, 4919 is more difficult but still direct vision. The only time 4919A was visible was with averted vision.

NGC 4927 sits inside the lip of a nice little Big Dipper asterism, and is "there" but difficult in my 20 Nagler. Bumping up the power with the 12 Nagler makes the galaxy much easier to observe - still - it is indistinct - a stellar core pops out with averted vision.

NGC 4983 - there is a nice "arrow" of four stars - very distinct - that point to this galaxy. Reminds me of the pointer that helps find M104. The galaxy is dim, medium size, but shows no detail. Much more obvious is nearby galaxy UGC 8229, which is elongated N/S.

NGC 4921 at first rated a "maybe"... in fact, I thought for quite a while (spent way to much time on this one) I thought it could be misplotted. It does not show up on The Sky, something I would run into off and on during the night, but the pointer would show the location it should occupy. Others were all around, this is a fun galaxy field. Showing up were NGCs 4022, 4023, 4015, 4016, 3987, 3997 and 4018. After carefully star hopping in the eyepiece (7 Nagler) 4021 finally showed itself, very near by a dim star and further away from the two pointer stars I thought it was equidistant from.

NGC 4074 was a dim but not difficult galaxy, with a dim star very near by to its west. This was another fun galaxy field, yielding NGCs 4070, 4066, 4065, 4061, 4076, 4086, 4090, 4093 and 4095.

NGC 4559 is a galaxy with designations of A, B and C. The galaxy was fun to view, after all the dim stuff, as it was large and bright. It is large, roundish and has three stars embedded in the southern half. There are two bright knots, which I take to be the B and C designations, in the northern section, the brighter one being more central, and the dimmer on on the northern extremity, and very dim. There is also a possible knot to the northeast.

NGC 4979 is an obvious N/S elongated galaxy that forms a right angle with the two brightest stars in the field.

NGC 5004B and C and IC 4210 were puzzling, at least the NGCs were - The Sky does not use letter designations consistently, sometimes it uses them, other times not. The NGCs were easy, there is a nice star pattern to work off of. The IC is very difficult, a dim star just to its E helps mark the location.

NGC 4035 is a possible elongated galaxy. Or perhaps its spiral arms give it an elongated appearance. I could only detect this detail at 280X. Getting there was a big problem... I was sure I was in the right field, all stars except the mag 9 one located dead on the galaxy were there... and I wasn't seeing the galaxy at low power. I finally realized The Sky had the star misplotted, badly, after looking at the thumbnail image. I went to the position, bumped up the power, and there was 4035.

My last object was NGC 4714 - nice, obvious. An easy, bright asterism makes the location simple. In the field also were NGCs 4722, 4723 and 4748.

I knew this would not be a long observing session, with things to do on Sunday. But I finished off Coma Berenices and started tackling the few remaining targets in Corvus. So, it was a good and productive evening.

Almost forgot one of the most interesting observations of the night. It was the first - a thin crescent moon in the murk to the west at twilight. There appeared to be a bright spot sitting right on the edge of the limb just north of the lunar equator. In the telescopes, there was no bight spot... but there was a large crater with a raised internal plain. Cool sight, I wonder if we were seeing that flat crater interior reflecting light brighter than the rest of the crescent. There was also a thought later at night that a supernova could have been picked out - a new one - the observer was using SkyMap and I was using The Sky, neither of our programs showed the bright star very close to this Herschel 400 galaxy...

Great night. Too bad more people weren't there. I was saying that even when it looks iffy, you stand a chance of getting in some observing, and certainly a chance of getting skunked. We got lucky and had a fun night. But, if you don't go, you are guaranteed to get skunked. And that stinks.

So, how were things at the Peak and other sites?