22nd July 2012 - Warming Up For The New Season

[Double Kick Drum]

Clear skies at last!

It's been a while since my last report but hopefully weather armageddon has now past us by and we can get out there doing what we do best.

Due to early morning commitments, this was only a short binocular session but still satisfying none the less.

I started with a quick check on Ursa Minor and yes, all stars were present and correct. The sky had moved substantially since my last session so I took a little time to familiarise myself with some old friends. M27 (the Dumbbell nebula) stood out quite well in Vulpecula, as did M29 and M39 in Cygnus. Overhead, the Milky Way appeared reasonably clear and it was very enjoyable just sweeping through the rich star fields.

To the North-East, Casseopeia was beginning to rise. NGC 663 and M52 were both very obvious in the 15x70s. I couldn't see M32, once I had moved round to Andromeda but M31 filled a substantial part of my field of view. I have only ever seen the Andromeda companions in a scope. I wonder if anyone has managed them with a pair of binoculars.

I then moved round to the Southern skies to test the sky out for future reference. In Scutum, M11 (the Wild Duck cluster) looked very nice but I couldn't find M26. To be fair, I didn't spend long looking.... there was Sagittarius (or at least the Northern half of it) just popping his head over the low-ish tree line.

M22 was impressive, despite it being so low in the sky. Sadly, I wasn't sure if I could make out M28. Anything further South is impossible due to viewing restriction.

M24 was not as clear as I had previously seen it but it is a fine starfield and tolerant of a bit of light thrown up by Medway, which is three miles to the South of me. North in a line from M24, I could find three fuzzies. First was the open cluster M18. I believe this has 20 - 25 members but the binoculars revealed just a very small fuzzy circle. Just North from there was a larger and easier fuzzy area to view. I look forward to getting M17 (the Omega nebula) in my scope sight. Further North again is M16 (the Eagle nebula) though obviously it was just the associated cluster that I could see.

Nice to start the season with three new finds. I look forward to spending a little more time with Sagittarius. It is my favourite constellation.

__________________________________________________ ______

Observing Session: Sunday 22nd July 2012, 23:30 hrs to 00:05 hrs BST

VLM at Zenith: 5.4

New - Revisited - Failed

[keeplookingup]

it IS really nice to find new things

[JamesF]

Looks like you had a busy night

I feel sure M32 should be visible using decent bins, but one of the things that caught me out when viewing M31's companions with limited aperture is that they're a lot further out than you expect. All the images show them quite close to M31, but if you only have enough aperture to see the core of M31 that's completely the wrong impression to have.

James

[KevUU]

"only a short binocular session"? Sounds like a much more committed session than mine!

Thanks for the post, you've given me some thoughts for next time. Unfortunately Sagittarius is a no-go for me, M11 was as low as I can see past trees to the south at the moment

[rory]

wey hey, back in buisness eh ! . for a short session you got through a fair chunk of stuff . ive not seen m22 due to its position. congrats on the new finds. i had a bash at some of the objects in your report, i'll post a brief report later.

clear skies ....

[Double Kick Drum]

Hmmm. I have just looked at a photo of M18 and am now less convinced that is what I saw, though I can't think what else it could be.

Strange, because the CdC map backs up what I saw in terms of relative size to M17 and relative position.

[rory]

think you probably did have m18 in your sights. reading notes i saw little more than a smiley face asterism and little else. not as bold as the others in the area.

[username]

NIce report. I like the colour scheme too. Looking up some of your targets has made me realise that I missed some oppurtunities in the areas I was looking the other night like M27 and M39. That's why these reports are useful to all of us. It made me miss my binoculars which I left in the UK too. I'll be visiting in Bideford in August and can pick them up on the way though. I think it's pretty dark there.

[JamesF]

Bideford itself is probably lit up like a christmas tree, especially in August. It should be fairly easy to find somewhre fairly dark nearby though.

James

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice report! Congrats on a great haul!

[username]

Bideford itself is probably lit up like a christmas tree, especially in August. It should be fairly easy to find somewhre fairly dark nearby though.

James

Thanks. It will be Bideford Bay so hopefully not too shabby to the west. Fingers crossed