cotterless45

It’s an enticing quandary. Visual Astro . Our urban skies have declined in quality. Led lighting and the proliferation of new houses have crushed contrast . Past times included views of the Milky Way through Cygnus . Now we’re lucky on the poorest of nights to get 12 stars by eye before the moon gets going . I used to happily sit and draw the whale galaxy using a 10” Dob . Now I can hardly see M82. The lust for faint fuzzies definitely exists ! Aperture and dark skies cry out ! But for most of us ; Solution to get results ! Forget the big aperture . A 4” achromatic refractor . You’ll catch open clusters , globular clusters , planetary clusters, el moon , planets and binary stars . Just upgrade to a 5” or 6” if your mount will manage . You’ll find that 4” will cope with poor atmospheric conditions and outshoot bigger Newts and Cats ( yikes) if the going gets tough. Ignore apos and ed scopes .for the visual amateur user just enjoy what your budget will accept . Remember , you want it , but do you need it ? There’s the advantage of reasonable cost , easy of handling and sheer pleasure with fracs . There’s little benefit in dreaming of the unreachable in poor skies . Best advice I can give , adapt and adjust ! Clearer skies ! Nick.

Two Saturns ! Put the C6r through its paces . Certainly appreciated the new Baader Steeltrack focuser . At least you don’t miss the target when rotating it ( previous was the swinging SW Crayford ) A balmy 13 degrees out there with a light sky . Some great clusters in Cassiopeia, got the binaries of iota ( triple) eta and sigma. Saturn just coming over the roof tops and a narrow ring with a difficult Cassini as it was bouncing with thermals over the town. After midnight the seeing settled to give a1.1” split to 36 Andromedae. Had a look around at what was up. Andromeda gave a high mag view of the blue snowball (NGC7662) . M15 off Enif looked great . Don’t forget NGC 752 another of Caroline’s finds. Caught M11 ( flying ducks) in Scutum, not much definition as being in the bright south . Saw that Aquarius was up which gave M22. Then turned to NGC 7009, the “Saturn nebula”. Quite as shock , very bright at +8 and I could see the spheroid shape . I had caught M17 earlier , just a glimpse of the Swan. Decent from the edge of town. Quite a few targets , lovely to get M13 and M92 when the Summer Triangle is next door ! After battling the security lights from the house up the way , repeatedly coming in on a bizarre cycle , returned to Saturn and Jupiter . Luckily he wasn’t out with his nightly bonfire , perhaps the lights hypnotised the beggar. Nice early kick off and winter is coming , under clear skies . Nick.

All over light sky even past midnight , only the brightest targets on view. Lovely 15C night with no dew and the lightest of breeze. “Yard Cannon “C6r on parade. Saturn first up , rings fairly closed but a really dark band across the planet surface . Then Jupiter and transit of the GRS. The southern belt again looked very light . Caught the blue disc of Neptune . Then had a look around . The Summer Triangle was just past zenith , Andromeda and Pegasus dominated the east . Cassiopeia and Perseus riding the north . A long gaze at the double cluster , never fails ! Up to the “blue snowball” NGC7662 and a lovely view , give it x200. Then “blue flash “in Delphinus. NGC 6905 and it does flash . M2 (Aquarius)was low in the south , but gave a lot of granulation . As did M15 hanging off the end of Pegasus. last time out , I had a stunning early view of M11 and a glimpse of HD140283 ( the Methuselah star) in Libra. Had a drift through the clusters of Cassiopeia, kept retuning to the planets . so much noise in the early hours from town . Yelling , car and motorbike racing etc. don’t know what pleasure they get . Not as much as from a warm night with great bright things . Just a single Perseid, clearer skies . Nick.

Easy to find half way between Altair and Vegan ! old Nick

Sixpenny Handley used to be good , http://www.swindonstargazers.com/members/starparties.htm nick

On north west Skye for two weeks , 22 miles from town . Up at 2am. OMG , the sky was pristine . Binoculars showed a brown fov as there were so many stars . The Milky Way was a bright delight through Cygnus and the sky glowed with clusters . Found UMa , followed the pointers , just couldn’t get Polaris or UMi ! The stunner was Coma Berenices and Melotte 111 , what brightness ! wherever you live and whatever your circumstances, get to see dark sky! clearer skies , Nick.

I made a few notes and then waited a few hours until the strong easterly wind dropped a bit . Stars of Bootes. Follow the handle of the "Plough " down and you'll find the bright star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes.This is a huge orange giant with a diameter of 27 suns and is the fourth brightest star in the sky . "Izar " ε (epsilon ) Bootis, a stunning orange and blue pair at x100. "Alkalurops " μ (mu) gives afaint faint distant from the primary , making this a lovely triple star. ξ (Xi) gives a yellow and deep orange pair . Stars of Hercules . α. Ras Algethi (alpha Herculis) is a giant red star. It has a diameter of 1.9 AU ( astronomical units : distance from earth to the Sun). It's 475 times brighter than the sun . It's a lovely double star.In a small scope you'll spot a blue green companion to this orange red star. κ kappa. "Marsic" (yellow giant and orange giant )are optical doubles. γ gamma "Eltanin" very faint companion , optical double. δ delta. "Sarin " a wonderful binary with a very delicate companion. ρ rho white and green at x50. 95 Herculis, a golden near identical pair at x50. 100 Herculis , as above , white. caught these for colour and contrast . Both the seeing and transparency were great . Got M102 in Draco , now that’s a forgotten one ! Very pleased to get a streak from town . Then back to Hercules and the “Turtle” planetary nebula. Again another surprise and it blinks well ! Had a shot at M53 , but once again NGC 5053 didn’t show , anyone seen it ?! Sky was very light and a pan through the spring galaxies only got M64 (black eye) and M63 (sunflower). I’ll Sarin a firm favourite , under clear skies ! Nick.

Well here’s the question. In middle England we’ve been subject to clouds . The forecasters give favourable south and dire north . We are caught in the middle . Awaiting a clean cold front for stable air and clear skies . Last year I managed 25 observing sessions as compared to +100 up to 10 years ago . Anyone else caught in a trap ? Nick.

Lovely show , great to see so many pilgrims . As we were driving off … spotted Brian May . Managed to barter down a 5 mm Nagler . Avoided by inches the Vixen 105M. Next on the wish list (lust !) clear skies , Nick

Will be coming with LeeB. I’ll be more than pleased to meet and chat with anyone , Nick

Clear skies ! Gripped , sorted and set up .Lets astronomise ! After two hours I managed to count 48 stars by eye , in the whole sky . The dew became horrendous, everything dripping and steaming up , apart from the 6" optics , dew heated . At 6pm , Jupiter and Venus were bright in the west . The sky views at 9pm were : South : Orion with Sirius and Monoceros to the east . Zenith : Capella , below to the south , Mars over Adebaran with the Pleiades to the west . West : Cassiopeia. Still not too late to catch these summer clusters ! North : Polaris and UMinor ,Kochab at 4 o'clock Polaris time in its anti-clockwise dance around Polaris. UMa was upright on it's tail with just a glimpse of Chara ( Canes Venatici) . East : Leo risen with Gemini high above . A great sky for beginners to find our late winter gems . I kicked off with the comet C/2022 E3. (ZTF) in Taurus , up by Aldebaran. It was both dimmer and smaller than previous views. Still exciting to spot this rare visitor. I gave some multiples and binaries a shot , just to test out seeing . Σ1831 in UMa is a gem . The tiny triple element is a tiny smokeball picked up at x216. The triple Tegmine ( Zeta Cancri) fell wide open with a 1.1" split . As did ΟΣ215 in Leo. 54 Leonis gave a lovely sapphire blue companion , best seen with a bit of aperture closed off . Then sat back and looked at the sky . Just for fun decided to sketch a few Messier's and favourites,to see what anyone could see from the edge of town . Transparency must have been good . Bode's gave a superb view . As did the "Eskimo nebula ", NGC 2392 in Gemini . Here a big of magnification gave the central hot white dwarf causing the halo . M35 gave a dazzling fov again in Gemini. Then M67 in Cancer . Not much to look at under town skies . But , a little digging shows this to be one of the oldest M clusters at 4 billion years . It's so old that it's 1500 light years off the plane of the Milky Way .Most open clusters sitting with the spiral arms. 12 light years across and 2,600 light years away . Sometimes , just looking isn't enough ! I include some simple sketches of what is possible from the edge of the urban jungle , Get out there ! Under Clear skies ! Nick,

Wow , it’s bad out there . Every year we go to north Skye , 30 miles from town . It’s pristine dark sky with the arms of M33 an easy view . When I return , some nights I can’t see more than 8stars instead of about 3000. Here , I’ve heard blackbirds singing at 2am it’s so light . As with so many things nowadays , nobody with the power to change things , cares . Nick

Our local Astro club is holding some outreach events . Last night we had the company of 60 children aged 9-10. Many had never been away from home as they stayed at a local yh and enjoyed the national space centre . I took them in groups to sit and draw a projected view of the moon and Jupiter . As they were drawing , I told them a few bits of interest on what they were looking at . Other members gladly gave up their time and took groups in turn to our obsy and presentation room, Cloudy skies had stopped any chance of a sky tour . It was amazing to see their interest and such questions ! " Why is Jupiter so big ?' " Is that the Great Red Spot ?" " The moon was chipped off the earth ". Certainly made a change from the usual boring carry on of endless youtube presentations and deep science talks , usually when the skies were clear ! So please support outreach , it broadens young minds to a Universe that we can see and respond to . It also helps more senior in years to take stock of what we've learnt and how to pass it on enthusiastically . For knowledge has no purpose if not passed on . It's no earthly use me knowing something interesting and squirrelling it away to be forgotten later . If you can share the views with friends , family and clubs , please do so . Stargazers should be coming out of the cupboard and letting folk know that there are wonderful things up there ! Under clear skies. Nick.

I was looking through some notebooks and came across observations from 10 years ago . These were galaxies observed using a 10” Lightbridge Dob. I remember chasing galaxies as being quite easy starhops using the PSA. I recall the “whale “ and posting a couple of times to “ Tha’ she blows!”. Now , from the same garden at the edge of town I can just about get Bodes. A recent survey has indicated light pollution getting 10% worse each year over the last ten years. It is hardly worthwhile getting out my 8” Newt , except for bright planetary nebulae , planets and comets. A new 600 unit housing development is being completed a mile away. We have a ski centre with lights pointing into the sky, to track ski jumpers ? We have a new golf driving range with lights that point upwards. Presumably to track moon shots. Those who know me , will know that I’m the last to moan or complain (!) , but these skies are bleached and they’ve stolen our galaxies. Led and people lighting up their houses have stolen views that youngsters and oldsters should be free to enjoy . Anyone else notice ? Clear skies ! Nick.

Just spotted it low in Draco , phew it’s a night target ! Saves those crack of dawn sessions ! clear skies ! Nick

Wonderful ! What a stunning sight. Great to come in for a warm up when it’s been brass monkeys out there ! Clear skies ! Nick

What a stunning night ! Lovely moon crescent and a bright Venus setting . Out with the old school Vixen 102 f10. Sweet marble stars crowded the double cluster and a packed M52. Gemini , a lovely view of NGC 2392 , the Eskimo , with the central hot white dwarf on view . I had the Orion Optics 200 f6 out earlier. Found very little difference at high mag between this and the frac view . That went for the 6" frac as well. Same not much doing with Mars ( few dark patches ) and Jupiter . Beta Monocerotis gave a wonderful open triple at x92 with a 13mm Nagler , sweet combo ! Check out M50 in Monoceros , bright and sparkling ,a wonderful open cluster. " Hagrid's dragon " NGC 2301 spread wings I managed the 1.1" split on Tegmine (Zeta Cancri) with a 4.5mm TMB , just solidly still ! Still in Cancer , don't forget M44, Praesepe, a lovely sparkling cluster , just about visible by eye on moonless nights . The transparency was stunning and I managed the E star in the Trapezium (θ Orionis) with a 5.5mm Meade UWA. Orion gave an upright "37" of NGC 2169 .A lovely view of sigma (fish hook ) Orionis . Caught a very low M41 in Canis Major . Picked up Hind's Crimson star in Lepus , under Orion. Over to a rising Canes Venatici and that stunning Y, "La Superba" , dazzling orange . Cloud drifted in from the west , packed up , but up at 3.30 to view the comet ! Clear skies ! Nick.

Nice . Old school old guy , pencil and paper . 15x70 bins waited 20 minutes for eye adaptation. Seen it every ckear morning , finally a glimpse of a tail. Drew a circle using the end of the bins and a finder map . Lovely sight and worth viewing from the light sky at the edge of town , clear skies ! Nick

Easy in 15x70 bins . Very large and bright ! Worth getting out for ! Clear skies ! Nick

Just been out with 15x 70 bins , easy catch , very big and bright . Couldn’t get it in small bins , clear skies , Nick. Well worth getting up for !

Just a few hours last night before the clouds arrived . Looking at the carbon stars, UU Aurigae ( SAO 59380 ) really bright and light orange . 52 Gem. ( 79199) and 119 Tau were really bright. then I came across Lynx and 12 Lynci, ( SAO 25938) wow ! What an absolutely stunning triple , bright and breathtaking! Think that outdoes beta Monocerotis as the best triple in our northern skies. Had a look at the many clusters in Lacerta , but the town and the gibbous moon didn’t help. Back to the Terminator , Mars and the Europa transit of Jupiter . Not made easier by my son’s partner bombarding me with questions I couldn’t answer ! Ckear skies , Nick.

From my notebooks and not in order at all . Some favourite and often exotic stars. "La Superba " Y CanesV. SAO 044317 a dramatic red star. "Hind's Crimson" R Lep. SAO 150058 , variable , but on a high you can see why it's called the vampire star by some. Tegmine , Zeta Cancri , SAO 097645, wonder if challenging triple . “Winter Albireos, “ i Cancri RA08.46.7 Dec. +28 46'at 30.7" separation. HJ 3945 Canis Major ,SAO 173349 at 26.8" “The Garnet star “ Cepheus SAO 033693 Wonderful colour . Mira ( of the variables) ο Ceti SAO 129825, check out the science of this amazing star . Iota Cassiopeiae, SAO 012298, lovely bright triple Beta Monocerotis SAO 133317, a stunning triple “The Blaze Star “!T Corona Borealis RA 15h59.5m Dec +25 55' Kruger 60 , Cepheus RA 22h28.6m Dec +57 47' very close orbit , varies visibly. “Methuselah Star”, Libra SAO 159459 probably our oldest star formed after the BB. It stands pretty much alone , but what age ! “Barnard's star “,Ophuichus. Ra 17h57m48s Dec +04 41' fast, 10.3" per annum. “Plaskett's Star “V640 Monocerotis,Ra 06h37.4m Dec +06 08' massive spectroscopic binary . X100 sol mass. Luyten's star . Canis Minor, (GJ273) red dwarf (+9.9) “Piazzas flying double “ SAO 070919 beautiful wide pair .orange /orange. look like trapeze artists ! Groombridge 34 , Andromeda.Ra 00h15.5m +43 44' . 2.3" split for our nearest binaries. R Aquari .Ra 23h09m Dec-22 27' symbiotic white dwarf and red giant minute separation. “Rams eyes” .Mesartim γ Αquari SAO 092680 wide near matching double. That’ll keep you busy for a bit ! I also added a list of carbon stars , mostly variable ,so you won't know until you see some gorgeous colours . Better seen in smaller apertures . Clear skies ! Nick.

A few that have given enormous pleasure to seasoned and new observers . As usual , greatly enhanced by moonless nights . My biggest surprise was Graff’s , really unfair and impossible to chose a favourite. Although Hagrid’s Dragon is up there . I have omitted the Owl cluster , NGC 457 and “Caroline’s cluster “ NGC 7789 , so used to seeing them ! Enjoy and add your own ! Clear skies ! Nick.

Crescent moon sinking and the glow of light pollution illuminating possibly off the Bortle scale sky ! Gripped , sorted and set up . Mars ! Just focus at x180 , 5.5 mm old school Meade UWA in the Vixen 102 f10. Sat there and let the views come . A large ice cap , then darker marking like planetary underpants. An aperture mask cut down the glare .... Jupiter , the moons different sizes , a few bands . Wobbling like jelly as above the hot air of the town . Still an inspiring sight . Uranus , a green disc .Neptune had gone behind houses . Some decent targets , Auriga ..NGC 2099 , "the winter M11" certainly looked that way . M38, 36 and the fine M37 followed. Gemini ... NGC 2392 , a stunning view of the "Esquimo" . X180 showed the central hot star and a bit of the hood detail . ( cracker joke , "what's the slogan of the Eskimo lottery ?" You got to be Inuit to win it !") M35 , a stunning sparkling view , what a gem up from Propus. Taurus...nothing doing with Hind's variable nebula , NGC 1555. But a view of the blinking NGC 1514 , "Crystal ball" Orion ..NGC 1662 , the "Klingon cluster" , comparable to the "Jedi cluster " NGC 2355 in Gemini . Lot of imagination and take more water with it ! Lynx..NGC 2419 and the elusive " Intergalactic Wanderer " our most distant globular . Go down the end of the fishhook , you might see a sparkle . Needs bigger aperture , a prayer and averted vision. Orion ... NGC 2169 , the "37" upside down cluster . Can't ignore M42, the Trapezium and searching for the faint companion to sigma Orionis . Cancer ..M67 , overlooked but lovely . Leading down to Tegmine ( Zeta Cancri ) and that hard split of this triple . Easy at bigger aperture . Monoceros ...beta Mon. A beautiful bright stunning triple .(SAO 133317) into NGC 2244 and the Xmad tree of NGC 2264. Job done ! Clouds were coming in , bit of a dodge around session to get Bode's and a look at M31. Cassiopeia was over in the west , lovely view of the marbleous double cluster and some detail to Carolines rose , NGC 7789. A difficult evening as 600 houses have been built nearby and no consideration to light pollution. Hope you all had a great Xmad and all the very best for an exciting clear skies New Year ! Nick.

Some health issues have kept me from lifting , as requested by a few fans , I’m back again ! Don’t know if anyone has noticed , but the rise in energy prices has limited stupid lights being left on at night . Quite surprised to get the Veil , brightest part NGC 6995 from town . Jupiter was just superb with the moon shadow transit and the grs , how faint the southern belt appears . I used an old generic dark moon filter and closed the C6r aperture down to 100mm. Focussed and waited for the views. Kicked around with a few planetary nebulae and some really good seeing higher up . Hopefully the glow from wasteful lighting will continue to diminish leading to clear Skies ! Nick. I keep a record of observing in a ring bound A4 notebook which may be of small interest .