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Ships and Stars

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Everything posted by Ships and Stars

  1. I don't think I've seen 3357, I looked back through some notes and I've spent a fair bit of time on galaxies in Leo, so well done! I know what you mean by blinking it into view, hoping someday night vision becomes more affordable, wanting to give that a go, but on the other hand, nothing really replaces seeing something just with the naked eye, some lenses and mirrors. I'd never be able to see so many objects without GOTO, it's a little off sometimes, but I'll use Periodic Error Correction in the Synscan menu to fine tune an area. I think DSC sounds a bit more accurate and probably easier to use in many ways than the Synscan, but it's still a real timesaver. Something over a billion light years away must be worth a look!
  2. Thank you! I get in a bit of a rut, not going out, but then I have a great night and it makes it all worthwhile. Yes sir it did! Got mildly told off for a bit of surface rust on the discs, but it's been sitting a lot lately. One less thing to worry about for awhile
  3. Great report, M51 is wonderful when conditions play along. 14.2 mag is getting seriously faint in my book, and will have to try for a quasar sometime, have never seen one!
  4. Sounds like an excellent evening and quite a few galaxies to boot. Always a relief when the weather plays along. Hopefully I'll get out one more time before I lose astronomical darkness until the autumn, but will be close.
  5. I've sussed the HH with a 12" dob from just under 21sqm, but wasn't much to see. With the 20" on my best nights under 21.80+ it's right there, but detail can be elusive as my vision goes in and out. My goal this past winter was with 20/40x100 bins with Hb on one side and TV nebustar filter on the other. Couldn't do it, under 20.9-21.2, but was close. 21.80+? Very possible. I reckon an 8" dob or 6" refractor could do it with the right conditions. A lot is up to you being completely dark adapted, no LEDs, no phone screens, no nothing for a good long while beforehand. The hoods help a lot with this if there are any lights in the distance. I generally find the flame best without any filter, and I tried astronomik Hb and OIIIs a lot. Was really surprised at that, but that's what I saw. Didn't try UHC. Seeing the HH or the Flame repeated times under great conditions with a larger scope (I know, I know! Easier said than done) helps a shedload with trying to see it with a smaller scope or under brighter conditions.
  6. Filtered binoculars were a revelation for me. My first views of the North America nebula and Pelican were unforgettable. TV nebustar on one side and UHC on the other. The Helios Apollo bins and a few others have filter threads.
  7. Great haul and variety of targets Stu, I saw the Whale and Cocoon for the first time recently, they were wonderful! I'll have to try my hand at some doubles next time conditions are right (read: if I collimated correctly!)
  8. Excellent! I'd love to see some of the sights in the southern skies... someday!
  9. Thank you @Whistlin Bob ! I was in a terrible rut with the astronomy and other things this winter as there have been seemingly endless family issues, but last weekend made all that disappear. I'm thrilled I finally got out for a bit. Hi Mark @mdstuart - I meant to say thanks very much for the post on the Webb Deep-Sky Society - I was looking at their galaxy of the month posts and several of those made my list. I'll have to join the society. I admire your passion for galaxies - I'm inclined the same way, they fascinate me, even the faintest glimpse of some distant galaxy millions of light years away is something that never gets old. 👍 Thanks @estwing I'd love to - I'll have a look and see what's cooking. My work schedule is all over the place, but surely I can plan something that far in advance Cheers!
  10. Indeed, more clear skies needed! I actually messed about with stellarium today and realised how many galaxies are actually on there...still blows my mind how something so small and faint in the scope is actually many, many light years across in reality. Incredible.
  11. Thanks Iain! Glad to be back in the saddle, so to speak. Was a bit depressing seeing the scope sitting in the corner of the room all winter! Thanks Gordon! I'll make a list of targets on a sheet of A4 and tick them off using shorthand notation in regards to brightness, initial impressions, other galaxies in the field of view, etc. I can use the synscan controller's red backlight keypad (very dim) to read my paper as I go along the list. This is something I just started doing but should have done it ages ago as I've already seen quite a few of the brighter ones in Leo. Thank you! I did get through quite a few, but was actually able to spend a little time seeing what detail I could squeeze from them. I wear a lot of wool and down to stay warm, but my secret weapon is a small van with an overnight diesel heater which will run quietly on low and keep the van about 12-15C inside for a quick coffee and glance at the star charts. But moving around a lot when viewing, so that helps too - and no windchill to speak of except Sat night was breezy. A great weekend I will remember for a long time! Thanks Kon, believe it or not, I've only scratched the surface of the galaxies within our visual reach - you're probably familiar with Stellarium desktop, have a look on their if you adjust the slider for hints and labels for galaxies, it's bonkers! Many are very faint but a lot are accessible to us with a range of scopes. I've even seen M51 and M101 with 15x70 binoculars, but not in any detail. My 12" dob does a great job as well for a fraction of the price of the 500p, but the 20" rules the roost for galaxies, no doubt. Just need to add night vision for some EEVA now, after that lottery win
  12. Glad the mob got out! My van was out of mot for a month so couldn't take the big dob out. Skies same here, seemed to be high hazy cloud, but the galaxies were still showing, so full steam ahead! I'll have to try and catch up with the mob sometime! I worked down near Galloway Forest Park a few years back and the night skies were brilliant!
  13. Thanks Gerry, I really went for it since I've barely used the scope lately. No way I can see something 18+mag, I wish! A typo in Stellarium, unless I misread it. Stellarium is crashing today, quite a few bugs unless my PC is getting tired... My alignment seemed ok for HCG 55 compared to the other objects I could find. Might have been some high cloud or haze passing through, but I was probably using the 20mm and needed more mag anyway. The 13mm seems great for finding smaller galaxies, then once I'm on it and it warrants a closer look, out comes the 10mm BCO which has really grown on me. Excellent optics and excellent value. I will try for HCG 55 again around next new moon if the weather plays along, fingers crossed! I'm tempted to try some short 6 or 8 second subs in the 500p with my DSLR to tease out more detail. I tried this a few years back with great results - not works of art, but good all-round reference photos of some galaxies too faint for me to view. A really good weekend though, feel much more motivated to read and push onwards for more objects and improve my viewing skills.
  14. Thanks Joe! It was a little hazy, conditions have to be very good for the really faint ones. I feel like I've pushed the limits of the 20" near what my eyes are capable of. I took some photos a few years back with a DSLR and stacked 8" exposures of some really faint galaxies in Hercules. The results were quite good, but time consuming. I feel like I will need to use night vision/EEVA or astrophotography, even short subs from a GOTO alt/az mount like the 500p to get much more, but quite happy with the scope! Thank you! It's frustrating to have a decent scope and not be able to use it, so quite happy to really put in some hours lately.
  15. Thanks Jeremy! Making up for lost time. First time this winter I've used the 500p and only twice last winter. The undersuit is actually trim fitting, I have insulated coveralls which are a lot bulkier and probably not as warm. The down parka is light as well. Good movement and large pockets for eyepieces. Better too many layers than not enough
  16. The ladder works really well, it's small, but has a top bar which extends above which I can lean against for stability. I mainly use the bottom step, only the second one approaching zenith. I make sure the feet are well planted to prevent surprise wobbles! Besides the HCGs and ARPs, I mainly use the Sky and Telescope Jumbo Atlas, p. 31,41 and 51 are near zenith, I'll start jotting down NGCs from the top of the page on down and start with that. Plenty more to see! Some are quite faint and don't get any mention, but it's always a great feeling to locate a new one!
  17. Ah, thank you. Great to get the big scope out under clear skies. Long overdue. It was fairly cold - I wear lots of layers, either wool or down or both. Typically a set of heavyweight wool thermals with tracksuit bottoms and a wool fisherman's jumper over those, with an insulated one piece undersuit for drysuit diving over that, then a down parka with a thin wool balaclava and a fleece 'Monk's Hood' over that which I use to hang over the eyepiece for total darkness. If all else fails and I have my van, it has an overnight diesel heater running off a leisure battery. Sort of cheating, but a godsend if it's really cold. Hop in for coffee and review star charts! You do get used to the cold after awhile. Getting out of a warm van and setting up is a bit of a shock, but once I'm moving and viewing objects, I tend to forget about the temps.
  18. **LONG REPORT WARNING!** 😁 Hi all, Summary: Some intense galaxy hunting resulting in tons of personal new galaxy observations (around 130-140) and return visits to a number of old galactic friends with the 20” dob, with a few nebula thrown in for good measure. Areas like the Coma Cluster and Virgo Cluster are almost impossible for me to count without sorting some kind of detailed notetaking and detailed galaxy 'maps' or stellarium screenshots. Many here are also faint and hard to see, so any errors or repeat observations below are solely my doing. An epic weekend nonetheless 👍 -------------- Intro: The few times I’ve taken the mighty 500p out this winter, the weather didn’t play along which was very frustrating. As a result, I was on a mission when I saw the forecast last weekend – three online weather sites in agreement for clear skies, a sliver of a crescent moon setting after 8pm or so (on Friday anyway), plus a fresh MOT on the van that morning without issue. Too good to be true… I was set up and GOTO aligned at my beloved dark site ‘Alpha’ in the Cairngorms by 7:30pm. I’ve had SQM-L readings of 21.87 here before, not a single light or house within sight and unobstructed 360 deg views surrounded by low to medium hills which helps block distant LP on the horizon from Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. -------- Night One: Friday Mar 4: Very cold (-3 to -5C) but no wind. Skies looking brilliant and clear, but the odd cloud drifting overhead. Mainly used 20mm XWA to locate targets, then more mag as needed with 13mm XWA or 10mm BCO. (NB - The GOTO was plagued by a mystery short/loose connection in my 12V leisure battery (115Ah!) wiring. I had to do no less than 7 or 8 realignments Friday night. Fixed one suspect connection Saturday morning but found a second one Saturday night at the spring clamp on the Neg battery post). B33 Horsehead directly observable using Hb filter with the moon still up (only 17% though) and IC 434 faint but glowing nicely… Flame Nebula NGC 2024 M1 Crab Nebula – glowing nicely, no filter needed Hubble’s Variable Nebula NGC 2261 looks like a mini-comet with a wide fan-like tail Rosette NGC 2268 – wow, another favourite. A huge nebula that extends beyond even the 20mm XWA’s field of view --------- After a realign, it was dark enough for galaxy time, 21.4 or 21.5 SQM-L and getting darker. I started out with the usual suspects to get warmed up: M31 Andromeda M110 (couldn’t get it a few nights before with the 12” from this spot for some reason) M32 – shining bright M33 – Triangulum not bad at all. Very nice. M101 – Spiral arms faintly visible. Will revisit later in evening as sky darkens. M51 – Simply amazing. Revisited several times over the following nights with more mag as conditions improved. Best view ever was with 10mm BCO Sunday night. Then up to UMa and M108 Surfboard Galaxy and M97 Owl Nebula, two old friends. ---------- Time to start chasing Hickson Compact Groups, so I revisited my notes from last spring to re-confirm. Hickson Compact Groups: 57 Copeland’s Septet, 59, 51, 61, 44, 79 Seyfert’s Sextet (No Luck with HCG 55) HCG 57 in Leo was very faint, my secondary mirror started frosting so I applied a bit of heat to clear. Could just make out some detail, but again, very faint. Would revisit on following nights. HCG 59 in Leo – IC 737/IC 736/PGC 36871 (14.70 to 15.30 mag) Don’t ask me for details, I could barely detect it, but was a hit of… of…something. Very faint as to be expected. A 36” dob would have been really handy! 😊 HCG 51 in Leo – I could just make out NGC 3653 13.83 mag and the cluster of NGC 3651 and PGC 34899 with IC 2759 as an outlier. HCG 61 ‘The Box’ in Coma Berenices – four galaxies, three basically side on slivers and one (NCG 4169 I believe) more face on. Very detectable and nice to look at. Brighter than the other HCGs above. HCG 44 ‘Leo Quartet’ – lovely view of this group! NGC 3187 is only 13.64 mag, so faint in comparison. Don’t recall noting the two tidal tails on this one. HCG 55/ARP 329 – No Luck! More mag and perhaps a better alignment needed. Small and faint but very intriguing looking group on Stellarium Desktop. HCG 79 Seyfert’s Sextet low down in Serpens later in the evening (2-3am) 4-5 galaxies here, very, very faint 13.82-14.93 mag, but altogether in chorus, allow for detection of a faint smudge of some sort of galactic goodness – more magnification/larger scope needed! NCG 6027 in here was probably the brightest at 13.82mag. ------- And more galaxies: NGC 4567 and 4568 ‘Siamese Twins’ in Virgo at 11.19 and 11.31mag respectively. Wonderful! NGC 4564 – 11.12mag in same field of view (FOV) as the Siamese Twins. Nice! NGC 4535 ‘Lost Galaxy of Copeland’ in Virgo at 10.16mag. Large spiral but diffuse overall. NGC 4526 nearby, simply the ‘Lost Galaxy’ 10.16mag. Considerably brighter than 4535 as it is edge on rather than face on. M87 Virgo Galaxy 8.63mag M88 13.18mag in Coma Berenices NGC 4516 tiny in comparison but faintly detectable at 13.19mag nearby in 20mm XWA FOV M90 in Virgo - bright at 9.54mag, quite large! NGC 4631 ‘Whale Galaxy’ – First time I’ve seen this one to my recollection. Superb! NGC 3395 or ARP 270: 12.10mag and NGC 3396 12.50mag ‘Colliding galaxies’ in Leo Minor (LMi) Who doesn’t like watching two galaxies crash into one another! Amazing. Mistook 95 and 96 as a single galaxy I believe. Worth a revisit! NGC 3430 - a 12.19mag galaxy in LMi, but also: NGC 3424 13.20 mag and… NGC 3413 13.10mag in the 20mm XWA FOV NGC 3735 (lovely!) near HCG 55/ARP 329, but no joy on HCG55 as mentioned above. Markarian’s Chain – What can I say? Simply awesome region with tons upon tons of galaxies. NGC 4490 Cocoon Galaxy in Canes Venatici (CVn) along with NGC 4485 – Superb way to end the night, a stunner. --End of Night One c.3:30am, slept in van for 3 hours, no sleeping bag but occasionally turned on diesel heater, drove home at sunrise — -- Night Two: Sat 5th March-- Since the scope was already in the van from the previous night, I checked the weather and…clear! As the moon was up a bit longer this time, I had two hours to kip early evening and I was back on the road… Bitterly cold. Guessing it was -7C to -10C, possibly a touch more. Gloves needed most of night for sure. Otherwise, free hand went in down parka pockets as were 13mm XWA and 10mm BCO. Heavy frost on scope and clouds of frosty breath hanging heavily in the air as I set up. ‘Twas a late start, didn’t align and start viewing until 11pm. Relied more this time on the 13mm XWA (153x) to locate and 10mm BCO (200x) as the 20mm (100x) wasn’t giving enough magnification for the smaller galaxies. M1 again to start and check GOTO alignment and conditions, M1 in centre of eyepiece, looking great! NGC 4251 NGC 4062 NGC 4580 NGC 4911 NGC 4725, very nice 12.44mag in Com +2 other galaxies in FOV - NGC 4747 13.20 mag and 4712 13.50mag IC 3998 in the mighty Coma Cluster in Coma Berenices. Simply put, an absolutely ridiculous number of galaxies here when looking at Stellarium Desktop, though in reality, many are quite faint. I didn’t make a lot of hits here as I was only using the 20mm XWA and needed much more mag, but definitely worth a lengthy revisit. M64 Black-eyed Galaxy – In Coma Berenices. A whopping 8.52mag. Like a neon sign in the desert. Bang, right there hanging in space! M81 & M82 - stunners IC 2574 VERY FAINT - listed as a galaxy but called ‘Coddington’s Nebula’ on Stellarium. It’s 10.36mag but the faintest of patches in the scope. NGC 3027 – very faint but nearby in the FOV is… NGC 2985 which is considerably brighter. NGC 2782 What’s this? Massive aurora at 1:22am - a curtain of light from NNW to NNE Now I took the Sky and Telescope Atlas and began writing down NGC galaxies on some scrap paper to take with me to the scope. I used the faint red light from the Synscan controller against the paper to read targets and keep dark adaptation. I was on a roll by this point, furiously punching in NGCs, viewing and moving on as it was bitterly cold. NGC Galaxies night two here we go: 3079 – very nice edge on galaxy, 10.86mag in UMa known also as the ‘Phantom Frisbee Galaxy’ according to Stellarium… 2950 2768 2742 – quite faint 2685 - also faint 2549 - 12.10mag in Lynx which lies very close to star 30 Lyn in 13mm XWA FOV 2841 – aka ‘Tiger’s Eye Galaxy’ in UMa. Very nice, 9.22mag 2681 2500 – this one in Lynx was a super faint, ‘face on’ galaxy. Mag is 11.62 but surface brightness is listed as 21.61 or 21.74 after extinction. 2541 – no joy! 2776 – got it Sunday night, missed it Sat night 2537 2782 2859 2683 – the ‘UFO Galaxy’, very nice. In Lynx. 9.70 mag edge on galaxy. 2805 2685 2549 4559 - Koi Fish Galaxy – superb! 10.01mag in Coma Berenices. 3359 2950 – no luck but caught it Sun night. 2841 2681 3310 - near a bright star in UMa - HIP 52136, 5.5mag 2776 – no luck but returned and got it Sunday night 3198 3180 – Little Pinwheel Galaxy in Lynx, 11.63mag 2768 – 9.87mag in UMa, near… 2742 3319 – very faint 3432 – ‘Knitting Needle Galaxy’ 11.67mag in LMi, nice edge on galaxy 3294 2859 3003 – (update - looks like Stellarium has magnitude swapped with surface brightness in the description, though other sources say it's between 11.8 and 12.5-ish mag, anyway...) 2964+ 2 other galaxies in FOV (2968 14.25mag and 2970 14.70) Nice! 3430 – revisited from previous night, lots of small galaxies in this FOV in Umi, incl colliding galaxies 3395 and 6 mentioned above 3504 3486 3414 3227 – My ‘Lucky Dip’ Galaxy as I meant to key in 3277 but keyed in 3227 instead. I quickly noticed the scope slewed to a totally different part of the sky – but a galaxy was right there, a nice 11.79 mag disc with the much fainter NGC 3226 extending away. 3277 3245 --- End Night Two – 4am, drove home to sleep in a real bed --- Night Three: Sunday March 6th, 2022. Yes, you guess it, Scope already in van, clear skies. Excellent collimation and alignment, had lots of practice recently!! Abell 347 including the nearby NGC 891 and NCG 898 – superb! Abell 1185/NGC 3552 et al. 13mm XWA, detectable, but very tricky to say the least. Probably 10mm BCO or 9mm XWA territory, very small. NGC 3550 is 482 million light years away!! More NGC Galaxies, night three – let’s roll! 3356 13.58mag & 3349 (pair in Leo) 3362 3202 3205 3207 2551 ‘red and dead’ (meant to punch 2541 in the Synscan controller which I missed the night before, but found 2551 anyway, another ‘lucky dip’) 2776 – missed the night before but got it – same as 2551 ‘red and dead’ no star formation visible. 4656 – ‘Crowbar Galaxy’ 10.52mag in CVn, nice, vy close to Whale Galaxy, C32 or NGC 4631 4395 4203 4062 4656 4414 4314 4448 4278 4274 4245 4150 4136 4062 – No Joy 3900 3912 4251 4889 – Coma B – a silly amount of small, faint galaxies here. Can’t pinpoint which is which!! Worth an extended revisit under exceptional conditions with high mag, at least 10mm or 9mm. 4565 – The Needle Galaxy, 12.43mag in Coma Berenices. Awesome with the 10mm BCO. Reminds me of a 1950s flying saucer! 4494 Back to M51 with the 10mm BCO to end the night. Amazing detail showing. Best view I can recall of M51, stunning. Slept in van like a baby from 3:30am to 9am with winter sleeping bag. What a weekend!
  19. Yip Had my scope out Saturday night here in NE Scotland around 1:15am, there was the aurora! Looked quite a display.
  20. Nice one! It's not the most overwhelming visual spectacle, but as @jetstream says, a rite of passage and a good yardstick to measure sky quality. It also gets easier to see once you have observed it a few times. You know things are firing on all cylinders when you can see it. I saw it through the 20" two nights ago (tonight will be third night on the trot, large report forthcoming!) still not a clear horse head shape, but a darker fingerprint with more contrast set against an equally brighter IC434. Again, great job, if 21.7 is from your home, that's remarkable! Would love to live someplace like that where I could actually leave the scope set up and not rush.
  21. Hanging onto the scopes for now! Really want to keep the 20" but it's a struggle. I'll find a way, because I'll never be able to afford to replace it. Glad I bought it when I did. No yetis, would love to see one. Surely they have an appreciation for dark rural skies, we might strike up a friendship Looking clear tonight and tomorrow, van is in for MOT in an hour, I hope it passes, becuase I'm desperate to take the 20" out tonight. The 20" will fit in my car, as long as I completely remove the rear seats (yes, I've done this before!). It's a lot of work, depends on how motivated I am. Would just be easier if the old van passes the MOT this morning, plus it has a diesel heater and a table, perfect to warm up and check star charts. Fingers crossed ✌️
  22. I lived in the Midlands for many years, only out near Edale or the Peak District would it be dark enough from my recollection. I wish I had 21.5 or darker at home, I'm recently divorced so immediately thought about moving to someplace remote here, but would miss being able to visit my children on short notice! Still, if I move, it will definitely be rural! It's nice to dream
  23. Orion is highest in the sky around 7:20pm, so from then until maybe 8:45 or 9pm probably best time. Maybe study ap pics of the HH location in relation to the stars around it so you know right where to concentrate. It's tricky at first, very faint, but once you have seen it, it becomes easier and easier. Nice dark skies by the way!! I wish I had them at home, but an hour isn't too bad a drive I suppose...
  24. Hi there, glad to be back. The HH is definitely within reach of a 12" dob with a 25mm or so eyepiece and Hb filter. I think the brightest sky conditions were a 20.8sqm, but I'd aim for 21.5, basically get to a nice dark spot. A 12" dob is very capable. Hoping to have a few more galaxy sessions before summer, though I'm missing that too!
  25. Ah thanks, this is a great spot, very, very little traffic, maybe three cars from 8-10pm and none after that. No houses or lights visible, except glow from Aberdeen and Dundee some 60 miles away. Wide open 360deg views of the sky and quite dark. The undersuit works really well, they can be had second hand online for not a lot. I have insulated coveralls but they are bulky and snag on lots of things. The heavy wool thermals make a big difference as well. I hated to leave, the conditions were perfect, very little wind, though was thinking 20C would be an improvement (!) as long as the humidity was low. It's an hour and twenty to this spot, but it's safe, can see cars coming a good quarter to half mile before they reach me and there's no one on foot, all open moorland/glen. I envy the nearest house. Hoping to take the 20" out Saturday, the days are getting longer in a hurry and by mid April DSOs get harder to see. Have fun!
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