2nd Session at Olly's place: Planetaries and more

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

August 10 was my last session as Dob driver at Olly's place in Etoile St. Cyrice. I thought I would not come this day, given the bright moon and me having to leave France in two days time, but the lure of the 20" Dob was too great. Even on his wedding day Olly was a most welcoming host to me and his guest Andy .

Once Olly had collimated his Dob, I aimed it at M51, a nice object to show Andy's kids before they went to bed.

I then cruised past some globulars, which generally hold up well in moonlight. I gave M4 a try, and in the second attempt I got it. Low in the sky and not very concentrated, it was not very spectacular, but very extended, and many stars well resolved. Nearby NGC 6144 was so marginal that I did not consider it a reliable observation. I will have to see that on a darker night.

M10 was next, much easier given its higher altitude, and a nice view in the 20". I tried nearby NGC 6366, but no dice. This cluster bugs me. It is now a matter of pride to get it.

Andy joined me to view M14, smaller than M10 but a nice sight with many stars resolved. Because globulars are all very much alike, bar subtle differences, I decided to go for something different.

M81 and M82 were next. Just as Olly had been saying to Andy that I was brilliant at finding things, I had trouble getting these two objects I have seen many times before. One or two favourite staring points for star-hopping to them were just behind a tree, so I spent some time consulting my Sky Atlas 2000.0 to get them. They provide a very nice pair in Olly's 26 mm Nagler. Nearby NGC 3077 was not visible in the moonlight.

I then moved on to some planetaries.

NGC 7662, (Caldwell 22) the Blue Snowball was easily spotted, and quite brilliant in the 17mm with UHC filter. Its blue colour is striking, and very reminiscent of the Saturn Nebula, which I had spotted the day before for the first time.

NGC 6905 in Delphinus was next. It is a small planetary of quite good surface brightness, north-west of the "lozenge" of Delphinus. It was best seen in its nest of stars with the 17mm Nagler and UHC filter.

NGC 6891, also in Delphinus, but some way south of NGC 6905 is strikingly different. It is very small, almost stellar in appearance, with a very high surface brightness (probably a young planetary?). It was best seen in the 14mm Meade UWA with UHC filter. Andy and Olly both confirmed it was not a star. I looked for this object the night before, but in the poor seeing of that night, I must have overlooked it.

NGC 6781 in Aquila is much larger, and almost looks like a smaller, higher surface brightness Owl Nebula. The 22mm Nagler with UHC gave best views.

To round of the search for planetaries I went to M76 (Little Dumbbell), as Andy had seen the Ring and the Dumbbell previously. It was the best sight I have ever had of M76 (17mm + UHC).

As a break from planetaries, we gave M11 a quick look. Nice, well resolved, but the background was rather bright in the moonlight.

Back to a favourite, M13 was beautiful in the brilliant seeing this night. Being so close, and with a big scope, I had to try NGC 6207, just beside it. It showed as a little elliptical smudge, but it's another galaxy found!

M92 was the last object this session. Very nice, well resolved down to the centre, a fitting end to a great evening.

The planetaries I saw this night (and the previous session) have really triggered a new interest (the missus might say: "Oh no, not another one";)). These little objects each have their own character. I look forward to hunting down more.

It was great to visit Olly's place, and have the opportunity to see many old friends in a new light (20 inches worth:D) and of course to find many new objects. OK so I missed a few , but that is just a reason to say "I'll be back". Best of all was the way Olly made us feel welcome . I bet the first thing the kids tell their teachers when they go back to school is their view through the solar scope and the 20" dob. It has made a lasting impression on them.