3rd / 4th May 2013 - A Mixed Bag Of Both Bright And Dim Stuff

[Double Kick Drum]

Having barely enough time to let the ink dry on my last report, here's another from last night.

Having missed my opportunity last night, I found an angle to view Corvus through a small gap in the foliage, target:- the Antennae galaxies. This pair were reasonably easy to locate and have a high surface brightness (well, for galaxies). Unfortunately their low elevation was a big hinderence. My semi-rural skies did allow me to see the subtlest wisp with a little persistence but it is impossible to be sure what part of the Antennae that was. This presents me with a small ethical dilemma, namely what do I record in my notes. I most probably saw the brighter interacting area but could only see one 'fuzz' and was nowhere near separating the pair into identifiable elements. The brighter of the pair is NGC 4039 (Caldwell 61) and at the moment, I am going for that option with a caveat in my notes. If I had have been able to discern a heart shape or something similar, I would have entered both. Any ideas?

My next target was far less controversial. NGC 5248 (Caldwell 45) was identified by starting at Epsilon Virginis and heading just over the Bootes border. Another subtle and soft galactic radiance but easier to see than the previous object.

With a low Southeastern horizon (down to five degrees or so) I next revisited M107 which I have only ever had a fleeting glimpse at. As part of an unmistakable asterism to the South of Zeta Ophiuchi, it is easy to find but once again its poor elevation meant that I was just about able to see it using all the usual tricks.

My final challenging object was NGC 5363, a galaxy to the North of Tau Virginis. This was the easiest of the new finds in the session.

Fed up with looking at inconsequential blobs, I thought I would turn my attention to more rewarding objects. Given both were now favourable, I did a comparison of M5 in Serpens with M13 in Hercules with the 8mm X-Cel. In my opinion, M13 is the slightly more rewarding to view. I was able to resolve more stars and the Herculean glob seemed to be slightly less uniform and show hints of star chains, as opposed to a large fuzzy ball with some resolution. My only additional comment on M5 was that I though it looked very very slightly elliptical.

I finished up with Saturn in the 5mm X-Cel, which is presenting itself in a very aesthetically pleasing way at the moment. Titan and Iapetus were very obvious, Rhea (betwen Titan and the planet) could occasionally be seen directly and Tethys just about peeked through the glow with some technique (moving the planet out of the field of view worked a couple of times). Viewing the moons really highlights just how much poor conditions alter what is possible. Iapetus at magnitude 11.2 was almost a clear as Titan in the outer glow of Saturn. Rhea (at magnitude 9.8) was quite tough in denser planet glow and Tethys (at magnitude 10.3) was only just possible in similar glow, the other side of Saturn.

Keep those clear nights rolling!

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Observing Session: Friday / Saturday 2nd / 3rdMay 2013, 22:35 hrs to 00:25 hrs BST

VLM at Zenith: 5.2

New - Revisited - Failed

[cotterless45]

Stunning report as per usual. Some lovely targets, glad you enjoyed M5, even at x240 it's a bright dense core. There are amazing globulars up the moment.

Have a look at the Antennae through bigger aperture ! They are fabulously strange.

So much to see and short nights ! For which we hope

clear skies,

Nick.

[Special K]

Yes, let's kept those clear skies coming. Tonight would be good! Thanks for keeping the reports coming too.

Personally, I've been more impressed with M13 over M5 though I've not done a deliberate comparison. M3 is decidedly less spectacular and M53 even less so. Is M22 out of reach from the UK? I'm eager to check that one out and the rest of Sagittarius for that matter.

[Double Kick Drum]

Yes, let's kept those clear skies coming. Tonight would be good! Thanks for keeping the reports coming too.

Personally, I've been more impressed with M13 over M5 though I've not done a deliberate comparison. M3 is decidedly less spectacular and M53 even less so. Is M22 out of reach from the UK? I'm eager to check that one out and the rest of Sagittarius for that matter.

M22 is possible, so long as your horizon allows it. Were it not for the lack of elevation, it would outgun M13. Worth a go at the end of July or in August.

[cotterless45]

Had M22 from here in Middle Earth , so with a good horizon it would be ok further south. This area below Aquila is very rich in globular and open clusters, including Graff's IC4756. For all of which we need

Clear skies,

Nick.

[KevUU]

Thanks for another good one DKD

[andrew63]

Another good read - make the most of it as weather on the change.

andrew

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great report DKD! Some nice objects captured. I spotted the Antenna galaxies last year, as a fairly compact heart shape. Not easy at all given the low altitude of the object. Only two of the three observers present could pick it out. You really need very clear and dark skies to be able to throw enough magnification at it to see the slight dent on one side (I recall I used the 17mm at 119x). NGC 5363 i snot yet on my list. I must give it a go.