Sessions around Lyra and Cygnus

[KevUU]

Earlier this week I managed a couple more sessions here in the Lakes, so I thought I'd report back again - this time I have an ulterior motive though as I hit a couple of stumbling blocks

Mon 21 May

2300 still quite light, patchy cloud drifting over.

Explored Lyra, split double of Zeta Lyrae with 30mm, better at 8mm. This was my first double, and to be honest I was a bit unsure if there was any point, but it was quite fun in a way and felt oddly satisfying.

The other Lyraen doubles of Delta and Epsilon were very obvious, although Epsilon is somehow a pleasing view anyway

I started to nose around Bootes a bit (dodging cloud over Lyra), only really looked at Arcturus and then...:

0000 cloud cleared and properly dark. No LP. Wow

Back to lyra, found vague fuzziness of M57 Ring Nebula but too small to see anything but smudged faintness even at higher power (x50 and x100) [i coloured it a muddy green since I can't bring myself to fully claim such a murky find!]. Convinced myself I could make out a vague ring-iness in the shape, however small the blob was

Found Albireo (Beta Cygni) in the tail of Cygnus. Could only split the double at 8mm, but was quite pleasant at that mag

Heading up a little from there, found the smudge that must be the M56 glob, but too small and faint to see anything really but a fuzz even with x100.

Then I was too tired for anymore with the scope, lay back and nosed up naked eye for a bit trying to pick out new constellations.

Tue 22 May

Totally clear

Looked at Coma Berenices and specifically the Coma Star Cluster. Nice to see it in the sky then explore it in the scope

Couldn't split Cor Corali

Took another tour of Lyra, and looked in more detail: Delta Lyrae shows as a wide double in my chart (GoSkyWatch iPad app) but can be seen as four reasonably bright stars containing a fainter pattern of five or so more. Looks nice at x50, and I stayed with it for a while

Found a nice unidentified cluster while failing to find Albireo without using the finder... Working backwards, it seems to be in Vulpecula ('fox'), around 1 Vulpeculae I think? There's nothing much there on my chart, maybe I need to look at a better one?!

Found Albireo and split it (again, but still quite pleasing).

Thought I'd found the Omicron Cygni stars but couldn't split Omicron 1 - when I checked the finder I was a bus ride away Got in the right place then thought the split was obvious at 30mm but at 8mm realised there was a tighter split - was being misled by 30 Cygni it seems...

Lastly I settled on a bit of Milky Way near Cygnus, and with the nearly four degree FOV of the 30mm, just took in the quantity and complexity of star patterns in that one little window. Wow.

Another couple of good sessions that I'm pretty happy from. I fear the Bristol skies will be a disappointment now - especially combined with the earlier bedtimes that work requires...

Can anyone help with what sort of mag I need to split Cor Corali, or with the identity of the cluster in Vulpecula?

Thanks for reading, and clear skies

[Qualia]

Great write up, Kev and thank you for sharing it. Sounds like you had a great evening or two.

I appreciate your uncertainty in the 'point' of splitting double stars, but as you say, there is something 'oddly satisfying' in the pursuit. I try to include a splitting in each observation-evening I make and feel that it aids the general skill of star-hopping and reading star maps, helps one come to appreciate and recognise star magnitudes, can be conducted in most LP areas and often reveals a showcase of very pretty and vibrant stellar gems.

In the city, I have a similar result as you with M57 but have found that if you stick with her for 20 minutes or so, she will appear like a vague, cosmic smoke-ring.

I can't help with the NGC clusters in Vulpecula (never tried) but Cor Caroli is easily split at 40x to 50x in the city (my biggest EP is the Tal 25mm). If you're there abouts in Canes Venatici, you might also want to try for another faint fuzzy, M94, which in my LP city appears like a small cloud mixed with a bright, unfocused star in its core.

When you're back home in Bristol (a great city I have visited a number of times), you might want to consider purchasing a Telrad (if you haven't already done so). I thought it would be useless in an LP city with a smallish aperture scope, but there's nothing further from the truth. So long as you have a couple of visible stars to guide your naked eye, the Telrad maps in hand and a little determination, you can find those ellusive Messiers in a very short time.

Clear skies and maybe a peaceful summer evening or two in Ashton Court

[rory]

Nice report qualia I Enjoyed reading. Sorry, what do you observe with ? I ask because cor corali I found to be a fairly easy split, and the description of m57 got me wondering . I'm a nosey sort !

[Mike73]

Great write up Kev.

Gotta admit that I've never really looked into double stars but sure sounds interesting.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice report. My 80mm shows the ring quite clearly as a ring using the 10mm Radian (48x). It is most striking in averted vision, but holds up well in direct vision.

[Double Kick Drum]

Nice report. My 80mm shows the ring quite clearly as a ring using the 10mm Radian (48x). It is most striking in averted vision, but holds up well in direct vision.

Agreed. M57 is tolerant of light polution and appears quite well defined (all be it, not particularly large) in my 127mm refractor. The hole should easily be possible with 100x magnification.

Thanks for sharing your observations.

[rory]

Nice report qualia I Enjoyed reading. Sorry, what do you observe with ? I ask because cor corali I found to be a fairly easy split, and the description of m57 got me wondering . I'm a nosey sort !

i meant kev sorry not qualia. and ive now spotted your sig. so forget all that.!

[KevUU]

In the city, I have a similar result as you with M57 but have found that if you stick with her for 20 minutes or so, she will appear like a vague, cosmic smoke-ring.

Nice report. My 80mm shows the ring quite clearly as a ring using the 10mm Radian (48x). It is most striking in averted vision, but holds up well in direct vision.

Agreed. M57 is tolerant of light polution and appears quite well defined (all be it, not particularly large) in my 127mm refractor. The hole should easily be possible with 100x magnification.

Thanks all! It seems I need to work on my patience with these things.

I suppose I need to get a feel for what sort of mag galaxies are worthwhile with my scope rather than ruling them out wholesale. Once the ring drifts around to my south-facing back garden I'll give it another go

[KevUU]

i meant kev sorry not qualia. and ive now spotted your sig. so forget all that.!

Heh! No problem - although I must admit I was a bit confused!

[Double Kick Drum]

Thanks all! It seems I need to work on my patience with these things.

I suppose I need to get a feel for what sort of mag galaxies are worthwhile with my scope rather than ruling them out wholesale. Once the ring drifts around to my south-facing back garden I'll give it another go

Magnitude and surface brightness should both be considered as some supposedly bright galaxies (like M101 at Mag. 7.5ish) actually have low surface brightnesses. Other galaxies which may be three magnitudes dimmer can be easier to see if they are quite condensed.

M81 and M82 are a good pair to view.

A few others worth looking for are M51 and M94 in Canes Venatici, M64 and M85 in Coma Berenices, NGC 2841 in Ursa Major and M84, M86 and M87 in Virgo. You may have to be quick with some of these as Virgo will fade quickly into the summer.

Happy hunting!

[KevUU]

Magnitude and surface brightness should both be considered as some supposedly bright galaxies (like M101 at Mag. 7.5ish) actually have low surface brightnesses. Other galaxies which may be three magnitudes dimmer can be easier to see if they are quite condensed.

There's always something else to think about isn't there? My 'chart' only has mag so maybe I need a better reference, maybe Sky Atlas or something.

Although I may try to stick with what I have and keep just enjoying exploring the new stuff for the rest of my first year, then have a more considered think in the new year

M81 and M82 are a good pair to view.

A few others worth looking for are M51 and M94 in Canes Venatici, M64 and M85 in Coma Berenices, NGC 2841 in Ursa Major and M84, M86 and M87 in Virgo. You may have to be quick with some of these as Virgo will fade quickly into the summer.

Thanks! Added to my hotlist

Thanks for the help

[KevUU]

Found a nice unidentified cluster while failing to find Albireo without using the finder... Working backwards, it seems to be in Vulpecula ('fox'), around 1 Vulpeculae I think? There's nothing much there on my chart, maybe I need to look at a better one?!

Hmmm. A little wikipedia investigation suggests it may have been the Coathanger (Collinder 399 / Brocchi's cluster), which does seem to be more like where I remember seeing it.

I'll take another look at somepoint to confirm. But does this sound feasible to those in the know?

On the question of charts: for now I'm happy with my app as an in-the-field reference, it covers upto 6.5 mag and all Messier and Caldwell objects; but maybe I should consider a more detailed reference indoors for these occasions. What do other people use?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Coat Hanger is a nice, well spread out cluster of fairly bright stars. If your mystery cluster had a prominent straight line of half a dozen bright stars with an appendage halfway pointing north, it should be the Coat Hanger.