josefk

Hi [wrong tag] - i posted them over here but missing June and July - i must have not prepared them yet - probs for obvious reasons. If you use them just upload September first and check it - i'm not sure if exporting lists exports the whole list in its native state or "my" current view of it. If September is empty it's my current view in the export (all observed). just let me know and i'll try again with the filters off. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/294168-member-contributed-observing-lists-and-links-to-others/page/3/#comment-4468432 Cheers

I hope i am not breaking any intellectual property rights by posting these lists - they are a simple transfer to Sky Safari of the monthly lists Steve O'Meara presents in his excellent book "Herschel 400 Observing Guide: How to Find and Explore 400 Star Clusters, Nebulae, and Galaxies by William and Caroline Herschel". In any event i recommend the book. I did realise only today i haven't listed June and July though... Herschel 400 - January.skylistHerschel 400 - February.skylistHerschel 400 - March.skylistHerschel 400 - April.skylistHerschel 400 - May.skylist Herschel 400 - August.skylistHerschel 400 - September.skylistHerschel 400 - October.skylistHerschel 400 - November.skylistHerschel 400 - December.skylist

There's a more descriptive observing report over here for the session that enabled these sketches: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/421050-galaxies-galore-in-sextans-leo-virgo-and-coma-berenices-09100424/#comment-4477013 This post is the tidy version of 11 out of 12 thumbnails made at the eyepiece (in the cold) on the 9th and 10th of April. I've enjoyed drafting these tidy versions just now as nearly as much as the actually observing - that's another win win from sketching - you get twice the pleasure of the event. Small proviso - taking pictures of pastel on card nearly always heightens the contrast versus how the sketches appear in real life and definitely versus the actually view at the scope. The Intergalactic Wanderer, NGC 2419 and Herschel I-218 It's been on my spring target list since being discussed on here: NGC 2683 a spiral galaxy in Lynx: NGC 3227 & NGC 3226. A spiral and an elliptical galaxy pair in Leo. two weeks ago in a 130mm refractor at x70 these were a single smudge. With a bit more "gain" using a bigger scope they were very satisfying indeed. This FOV should also include another NGC galaxy NGC 3222 to the west but i couldn't detect that: Another pair here, NGC 3193 and NGC 3190. There are two "missing" undetected galaxies in this FOV too - One of them (NGC 3185) should have been available to my aperture but i couldn't see it: The Spindle galaxyNGC 3115 in Sextans. These next few were at lower elevation/altitude and i suspect were diminished by atmospheric extinguishing. I suspect i was only seeing the very brightest part of their cores. I wanted to make sure i captured something this season though before they are fully rotated out of view: This one is interesting - NGC 3166 and NGC 3169 - two softly glowing balls. There is another NGC galaxy in this FOV, NGC 3165 but it is Mag. 14.5 and i almost certainly can't observe that with 185mm of aperture and almost certainly NOT at this altitude BUT - there was suspicious soft star exactly were it should be (preceding this pair to the west). I'm not counting it in the bag 🙂 ... NGC 3521, also at quite low altitude and suffering for it i suspect: NGC 3640 and a Herschel 400 target (as are some of the others in this session): Messier 95 and Messier 96. Very strange that these two and the sort of nearby M91 are Messier discovered objects because i found these to be dimmer than other very nearby galaxies on this night. M91 particularly so - i wonder if these really get bigger and better in darker skies? ...and finally a very pleasing group, M105, NGC 3384 and NGC 3389. NGC 3389 wasn't detected with the Delos at x141 but was detectable some of the time with slightly higher magnification (x174). I also proved to myself again the value of sketching the star field as carefully as possible because it really helps with confidence in the observation when following up after the fact... if you got this far thanks for looking - fingers crossed for more clear skies this weekend. Joe

how about solar transits of Venus and Mercury? I've never seen one and won't be able to see a transit of Venus now in my lifetime. Mercury transits next in 2032.

That looks pretty accurate @YogSothoth - i took the liberty of identifying a coupe of double star targets in M44 if thats your thing - i'm identifying the primaries with the arrows not identifying you drew them with their secondaries already 🙂 - sounds a bit left field i know but i am currently compiling a list of targets in targets (double stars in Messier open clusters basically) so these were top of mind this morning... Top arrow is 38 Cancri (possibly), and the bottom arrow is 41 Cancri (possibly)

nice report Peter - "galaxy season" seems fleeting indeed, like the clock is ticking and the clear amenable nights few and far between...👍

So desperate times call for desperate measures and this is a summary of six hours or thereabouts on the evening of the 9th April into the late early hours of the morning the 10th April. I don't think anyone noticed my lack of sleep at work the next day 🙂 . I wouldn't normally entertain such a long session on a "school night". The moon had set about 21:15 and sky SQM was 20.66 so this was a perfect night for my larger scope (the 186mm Cassegrain) and a purposeful attempt on galaxies in the constellations of the title [plus the globular cluster -the Intergalactic Wanderer]. NB i know SQM 20.66 isn't great in the bigger scheme of things but this is a local dark site not a million miles away from house. Nearly all observations are with a Delos 17.3mm EP for 141x/30'/1.3mm exit pupil or a new to me Meade 14mm UWA for 174x/27'/1.1mm exit pupil. I would not normally use a 1.1mm exit pupil for galaxies but somehow it was supremely effective tonight. A great eyepiece. Notionally i had a Herschel H400 list open for the session but not everything is a H400 object. I am super happy that i DID add 16 new H400 DSO to my meagre ongoing list though and galaxies in the list (and in general outside of the bright Messier ones) are rare beasts were i live and the skies i live under so i'm quite chuffed. NGC 2903 was a repeat observation (i observed it two weeks ago with my 130mm refractor). I had come back because i wanted to try and secure NGC 2905 (a bright star forming region) within it. I still don't think i have I'm afraid - not definitely. NGC 2903 itself is relatively bright and "rough" i.e rough edges and with patchy brightness gradients. It has bright star like spots in it but these are very difficult to lock down for precise location... Unbelievably the galaxy remained observable even at x300 and an exit pupil of 0.6mm as i ramped up the magnification step by step to try and find a magnification that shook NGC 2905 lose. No joy i don't think yet. NGC 3227 (w/ NGC 3226) was also a repeat after a first observation w/ 130mm two weeks ago. With 130mm this was a broad smudge w/ variegated brightness and i logged it as NGC 3227 and called NGC 3226 a miss. With the larger Cassegrain (and at twice the magnified scale versus the 'frac, and at x141 and an exit pupil of 1.3mm) this was clearly two close galaxies. NGC 3227 is the larger and brighter. Together they lie in a NS orientation, both are soft glows without bright cores but with brighter centres if tap makes sense. Like a soft snowman with a slightly leaning head. NGC 3227 is the body, NGC 3226 is the lopsided head. NGC 3222 should also be in this 30' FOV but i couldn't see it tonight (its a very faint - probably out of reach for me Mag 13.7). NGC 3190/3193 are also available together in the same FOV. These are quite large soft glows (5 or 6 arc-minutes) and occasionally with averted vision NGC 3190 was obviously elongated at (i haven't checked yet) 135-degrees (i.e NW/SE). NGC 3115, 3166, 3169, & 3521 are all lower down and in a direction were the sky on this evening was quite a light grey relatively speaking so all were poorer observations than others this evening. NGC 3379, 3384, & 3389 are another nice group observable together in the same FOV. 3379 and 3384 are "obvious" softly glowing balls. I had to shake NGC 3389 out with a slightly higher magnification (than 140x) and consequently smaller exit pupil (sp. 174x and 1.1mm). It was a marginal observation and needed averted vision. I could secure the star field though so a definite spot nonetheless. For the first half of the session i was also sketching and this helps me immensely to maintain concentration and ensure the observations are secured: I'll be tidying a few of the 12 thumbnails up for my index card records over the next few days. While sketching is super helpful, on this kind of dark night chasing these (for me and my scope/sky) fainter targets the red light (even a dim one) starts to get bothersome. I was also getting a bit cold and that was effecting my concentration so when i moved up to the Markarian's chain area i tried something i've been wanting to do for a while - i simply sat behind a relatively static scope - eye constantly at the eyepiece - and let the sky scroll past to the West. This was incredibly enjoyable and productive - i have new observations in this area i think due in part to this method. It really enables uninterrupted eye time at the EP and maximum dark adaptation in the circumstances. NGC 4374, 4406, 4388, 4459, 4474, 4473, 4477 were all observed in this (relatively) fixed scope fashion and in that order of incrementing RA. Some of those are new observations to me. No averted imagination required - either a smudge is detected preceding west and its ID checked (with one eye in SSP) or it isn't (detected) and it sails by unseen. I should add the method is facilitated for me by using SSP and having a spot on aligned push to set-up. I am going to rope my partner in on "Caroline duties" watching SSP for me while i observe uninterrupted in the warmer spring weather. NGC 4473 and NGC 4477 in that list are H400 objects and have adjacent Herschel numbers II-114 and II-115 so though i haven't checked them yet i wonder (and like to think) William Herschel actually discovered these two objects one after the other stood at his fixed scope using the same method. 🙂 Anyway - observing log here with metrics (and a penultimate lollipop obs):

...forgive the over exuberance this morning - it's been a while :-)... Initial notes looks like 19 new observations out of the 31 (the ones in orange at the left hand side of this table). I'm guessing a good bunch of those will also be H400 objects. Ding dong. Fuller report now added over here: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/421050-galaxies-galore-in-sextans-leo-virgo-and-coma-berenices-09100424/

i've been casually waving a telescope at the sky for 30 years this year but i've only been pursuing this hobby with diligence and an aim to get better at if for 2 years exactly this month. Pride comes before a fall and all that but last night i felt like the newbie training wheels could come off :-). Super productive night with the moon out of the way and my Cassegrain out pointing (not waving) into the dark clear skies. It looks like my "haul" is 31 DSO, 29 of them galaxies in Sextans, Leo, and Virgo, with 12 sketches (!!!) and probably quite a few new "Herschel 400 ticks", and finally a brilliant hour observing purely in the "Herschel style" letting the sky drift West over a fixed scope/EP POV. I was doing this in the Markarian's chain area - hardly moving my observing eye from the scope for long periods and letting the sky develop and reveal itself in front of me. A fascinating and i think (need to check my notes) quite productive method - bringing me new observations (i think/hope) in this area which by definition are guaranteed "not imaginary" because i was only checking smudges "after the fact" (i.e after detection) to ID them. Awesome - now i need to get through a full day in the office on 3hrs sleep 🙂

That's a great book @Whistlin Bob - if you use Sky Safari and would like the monthly observing programme of that book in SS lists let me know - i have slowly slowly created those lists over the last year or so. 👍

I enjoyed that video and write up @AstralFields - looks like a very cool event.

M53 was 'my first Messier' (i.e. knowingly looked at "as a Messier object" and discounting M45 because i don't know when i first saw that) so M53 has a special resonance for me and i know those two stars you have near it very well - could you see the nearby NGC 5053 - i have managed to not see that twice in the past two years of looking - it didn't ought to be that hard so i'm not sure what the issue is...

Thanks Derek @Dek Rowan Astro and for your help on email. I've run into a "small" problem with the 12" Cassegrain anyway - basically the picture on FLO (that i used above) could do with a tin of beans in it for scale (actually a shelf stackers carton of beans in this case) 🤣. I haven't seen one in the flesh but from this you tube video i fear even unmounted i'm going to struggle humping this thing about both in person and in my vehicle never mind storing it (RC shown in the screen shot but the CC i was considering has the same dimensions)... ...so its back to the drawing board for a bit... Cheers

I have had the same update from Amazon @Xsubmarinerbut left my order in place. On the Cambridge University Press website (the publisher) it just says “coming soon” so read into that what you will but clearly a publishing delay rather than a stocking issue. i buy quite a bit of music on pre-order and have to keep a list of what I have outstanding otherwise I could not receive half of it and would probs not remember what I was missing 😂

I'll take a look at those @Deadlake thanks but my plan a and plan b is to try and do this with the az100. i don't use motors and i'm unlikely to i think...

I've recently read the book 'Solar Astronomy' by Christian Viladrich and i have to say with that new knowledge (about both the sun and its features you are capturing and also the tools and techniques required to capture those features it in high resolution as you are) i am even more blown away by what you are observing and the detail in which you are capturing it. Spectacular. From someone without a solar scope (and who may never get one) thanks for sharing these images. 👍

It was a positive list of discovery (versus a negative list of things to avoid) even in Messier's lifetime even if that wasn't entirely Messier's intention due the the generally prevailing at the time, and Messier's in particular, fascination with comet discovery as a route to astronomy fame and acclaim. William Herschel would use Messier's publications when they came out and would enthusiastically follow up new objects Messier had discovered even if out of respect for Messier he (Herschel) avoided including Messier's listed objects in his own catalogues (except for one or two inadvertent inclusions created by positional errors by one or the other of the two men). i haven't completed the list (i don't try very hard) but i like it because when you've spent a night frustratingly not seeing what you have been trying to see you can normally rely on a (typically brighter) Messier object to cheer yourself up and finish a session on a high note. M45, M44, M37, M13 take a bow...

Hi @Stu i also wonder about that top mounted bridge concept attached into both sides of the mount - i've talked about it with Derek at one of the astro shows before. The TTS panther follows that concept. A newt would be the sensible (and possibly most economic) choice, i'm aware of the fairly lightweight OO ones and APM have some truss ones too (though not so light) but actually i'm having a wonder about this Cassegrain.I like the ergonomics of a Cassegrain and i think it will suit the targets i have in mind (small things): It's a 24kg OTA - plus diagonal and EP say 25.5kg loaded. I've just realised it will be nearly a meter long (i thought it was shorter) but i assume (from having the 8") that a lot of that weight will be at the back and very close to the pivot of the mount. The safe choice would be the 10" at 17kg but the 10" isn't quite 10" (like the 8" isn't quite 8") and doesn't bring "enough" of an improvement in scale at a given exit pupil. The 12" would give me >50% bigger objects for the same exit pupil as my "not quite 8" 8". i think i'm going to jury rig some kind of overload apparatus and make a practical test with the kit i have loaded up to the weight i'm considering.

Nice links @SwiMatt i think the large pastel and one of his globes are at the Science museum in Oxford - the original Ashmolean building. …apparently even making a sphere of the globe to the required accuracy to take the gores of the map properly is very difficult (more like was very difficult pre machine age)… And if you didn’t know already, Herschel had a reputation for observing AND scope making at the highest level. Scope making was a business but he also wanted other astronomers to use them because some of his discoveries were so “out there” other astronomers couldn’t repeat them in their inferior scopes and so he wasn’t always believed.

Hi all. I have an AZ100 mount question for the SGL hive mind. Specifically does anyone have practical experience of completely “overloading” the mount with a 25kg plus (short) OTA on one side? I have this weight on the mount split across dual mounted scopes on occasion and somehow it can be even nicer than mounting a single ~15kg scope on one side (though I don’t know if I’m imagining this “even better damped” sensation). I’m considering a larger aperture scope (than my ~8” CC) and the real step improvement for the targets I have in mind would be 12” and heavy (though probably short). I really really don’t want to have to think about another mount plus new scope (…and I don’t want a Dob) cheers

Hope you don’t mind the extra post/pics… John Russell spent 40-years sketching, measuring and ultimately mapping the moon. He really took mapping quality forward in a notable way The page above about him is from “Mapping and Naming the Moon” by Ewan Whitaker. A great book.

Both lovely @SwiMatt but that globe is particularly fabulous. There is a real art and science to globe making beyond the obvious cartography we see on the surface. I may have a look into the Herschel connection but I guess the scope Russell bought from would have been something like a 6” reflector.

+1 for a “right way up right way round” view being quite satisfying at lower magnifications and especially full disk magnifications. For me it preserves a nice relationship to naked eye views, binocular views, globes, and/or everyday images of the moon.

I enjoyed your account there @AstralFields - I imagine it to be very satisfying indeed. 👍

I had NGC 2903 on my list last night @John, i noted variegated brightness within its smudge even little lumps of brightness but i was also trying to "definitively" see the brightening of NGC 2905 within it and had no joy with that. In general i was finding last night, in some of the groups that i knew to be groups, i could see the core of one or more group member (but usually one) and couldn't see the companions so i think i was clearly walking a tightrope for what magnitude/surface brightness was detectable in my aperture on this particular evening... Nice session though.