2nd Night Out for DSOs - 24/07/12

[Sirius Bizness]

After the amazing first ever DSO observing session I had the other night I was itching to get out again. Based on the recomendations given in my last post I put together a list of objects to view prior to going out this time. First up was M11, Wild Duck cluster, not sure what to make of this. Just looked like a group of spread out stars in my 12mm EP. I didn't spend long on M11 so went for the much anticipated M27, Dumbbell Nebula...wow! I could clearly see the dumbbell shape and really liked the way it stuck out against the surrounding stars. Not quite as bright as M57 but a bit bigger.

I then went back to M13 and again I was really blown away by this object. I switched over to my 8mm BST and was pleasantly surprised by the view. The stars stayed crisp and I could see more structure. This EP is a really amazing performer for the price. I would like to try it against something else so am looking at a 7mm Pentax or 9mm Nagler. I have heard the 9mm Nagler is very good and think it will suit the globs. I decided to take a look at some other globular clusters: M56, M71 & M92. All of these globs were amazing but not quite spectacular as M13. I realised there are many more globs to observe but decided to try something different.

After being informed that a glob is not a galaxy (still learning!) I thought I would try and bag my first galaxy. M31, which I believe is the brightest, was behind the house so I tried M51. I am sure it was in the FOV as the GoTo was spot on for the globs however I could not see (detect) a thing. I guess I will have to get in a better position for M31 next time out.

After trying Alberio and Mizar the other night I wanted to go after a more challenging double. After reading some posts on SGL I had decided it had to be the Double Double Epsilon Lyrae. I am completely reliant on my GoTo at the moment so other than knowing it was somewhere near Vega I started looking through the SynScan named star catalogue. Much to my dissappointment it wasn't there. I was just about to give up when I spoted a Double Stars menu on the SynScan and sure enough Epsilon Lyrae was in there. Sticking with the 12mm I went to the double double and saw two widely split stars. I then loaded my 3.5mm Nagler EP and much to my amazement the two stars both split again. The 4 stars all fitted perfectly in the FOV and the stars looked amazing. I am really impressed with this object...it is a really interesting one to view. I now need to find a more challenging double star.

I went back and finished on M27, M57and M13 again. I definately need to look at tightening my focussers as it kept slipping which slightly detracted from the observing. If I can't get it right I am just going to take the plunge and upgrade it to something decent.

[estwing]

well done mate,keep at it this lark just gets better and better....and if you can get to a dark sky area well..

[stevetynant]

Nice one sirius really enjoyed reading, looking forward to getting back out in the dark myself after what seems an eternity.

[Double Kick Drum]

Another great report.

Galaxies for the most part are dimmer than globular clusters and may appear as very subtle hazy patches, rather than what you see in photos. These perhaps take the most practice in seeing but once you get your eye in, do become rewarding.

M51 (the Whirlpool galaxy) should be easily visible in a 120mm scope but if your sky suffers from light pollution may be lost slightly against the background sky. It has a smaller, bright companion NGC 5195. Hopefully you will be able to see this too.

M81 and M82 in Ursa Major are a nice pair of galaxies, though not as bright as M31, M32 and M110.

Galaxy season is spring really. Virgo, Leo, Ursa Major, Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici are full of quite bright galaxies. A 120mm scope should be able to see many dozens, depending on how dark your sky is in Derby.

Happy hunting!