6.5 Hour galaxy fest in the forest

[Daniel-K]

Well last night the forecast was looking hit and miss with intermittent cloud and showers but with the chance of some moonless viewing for the 1st half of the night we decided to risk it and took a trip to our dark site at delamere forest.the half hour trip took us 1 hour due to some heavy traffic so we arrived there at 6 and was greeted with a clear sky, but for how long?after setting up getting the coffee on the go it was time to collimate.I had to collimate 3 times over the 6 hours we were out the primary kept shifting when changing targets so i think i need to get some longer locking collimation knobs. As the light faded the conditions just got better the sky was so clam. Jupiter was blazing away and @ x222 was really steady and the GRS was very easy to see looking  very red.  at around 18:52 there was a huge fireball under the bowl of the plough it was bright green and blue with the out edges a bright orange lasted around a second. it was worth being there just to see that! M42 was the next target and a chance to give my new Orion Ultra block filter ago, combined with the 28mm MV this is a great combination. This was the first time i had seen Orion go around in a full circle and the twists in the the structure of the nebula itself! by far the best i have ever seen. i go into detail on all the galaxy's we bagged last night but hears a list  we had a scan around the bowl as well and its so hard to identify anything around their so this list is once we located and identified. there was probably another 20 or so we couldn't identify . we had a few run ins with bikers and joggers around 8ish spoiling or dark adaption with their  MEGA BRIGHT LED LIGHTS but we never knew that a Thursday night the forest has this bike night on until they came over and asked us what we was doing and we got to show them a few things  and  got a contact for Galloway. started to pack up around 12:40 and by 1 it had started raining just as we got the last bit of kit in the car! this was the first proper night with the 14" since i got it in october and boy oh boy was it worth the wait the only thing now is i want some more clear sky

1. 2841 ( really bright core )
2. 3310
3. 3982
4. 3998
5. 2903 ( huge )
6. 3675
7. 3665 (v.faint mag 13.5)
8. 3949
9. 4157
10. 4490 & 4485 (cracking pair together)
11. leo triplet
12. 5585
13. m101
14. 4244 ( really wide and thin )
15. 4395
16. 4565
17. 4494
18. 4314
19. 4274
20. 4245
21. 4278
22. 4251
23. m99 (no sn)
24. m98
25. 3226
26. 3227
27. 3193
28. 3190
29. 3162
30. 3608
31. 3607
32. 3626
33. 4147( small glob back end of leo)

[Bart]

Excellent. I'm jealous. On a good night in Leo and UM with good aperture, they come out of the woodwork. Fair dues to you. If you got a 13.5 the skies must be dark.

Barry

[Daniel-K]

Excellent. I'm jealous. On a good night in Leo and UM with good aperture, they come out of the woodwork. Fair dues to you. If you got a 13.5 the skies must be dark.

Barry

Thanks Bart.I reckon we just got lucky with the sky quality, one of those rare magical nights we only seem to get when either your ill or busy at work to go out   its nights like that, that make the wait worth it

[kerrylewis]

Great report Daniel. I've just got the same scope and I'm still feeling may way a bit with it after less than a week. I was out last night too and Jupiter and the Orion neb looked great.

Mars and Saturn not so good this morning with average seeing. 

I find that the collimation goes out too. Those coking screws seem to be hardly long enough. Do you ahem to adjust the secondary much? I am using laser collimator and i find it keeps shifting from that central spot. However it doesn't take long to adjust.

I also struggle with the finder but Ive added my Telrad now with an extra base and I'm sure that will make things easier. 

Kerry 

[Bart]

Thanks Bart.I reckon we just got lucky with the sky quality, one of those rare magical nights we only seem to get when either your ill or busy at work to go out   its nights like that, that make the wait worth it

No, you're right Daniel. I've had a number of those nights when all goes well, sky clear, freedom to stay around late, some nice coffee, some furtive cigarettes when I'm not supposed to. You come in and think 'Now that's what all that expensive gear is all about', not just browsing astro shops and forums! - Obviously, all due respect to astro shops and forums, you know what I mean. They are fabulous nights! Glad you had one of them last night.

Never went telescoping with anyone, I'm sure its good, just would feel strange to me. I'm usually knocking around the garden on my own with the cats and other noisy creatures (fairly rural where I am!!)

Barry

[Daniel-K]

Great report Daniel. I've just got the same scope and I'm still feeling may way a bit with it after less than a week. I was out last night too and Jupiter and the Orion neb looked great.

Mars and Saturn not so good this morning with average seeing. 

I find that the collimation goes out too. Those coking screws seem to be hardly long enough. Do you ahem to adjust the secondary much? I am using laser collimator and i find it keeps shifting from that central spot. However it doesn't take long to adjust.

I also struggle with the finder but Ive added my Telrad now with an extra base and I'm sure that will make things easier. 

Kerry 

Hi Kerry i saw the other day that you bought the 350p very nice purchase.i fitted bobs knobs to the secondary to make collimation during the night easier. sometimes i find the secondary moves but not by much its mainly the primary due to those stubby screws suck! im finding the telrad to be a pain TBH and am considering changing to a rigel quick finder. Temp changes on these mirrors do effect the collimation so over the night i check 3-4 times

[Daniel-K]

No, you're right Daniel. I've had a number of those nights when all goes well, sky clear, freedom to stay around late, some nice coffee, some furtive cigarettes when I'm not supposed to. You come in and think 'Now that's what all that expensive gear is all about', not just browsing astro shops and forums! - Obviously, all due respect to astro shops and forums, you know what I mean. They are fabulous nights! Glad you had one of them last night.

Never went telescoping with anyone, I'm sure its good, just would feel strange to me. I'm usually knocking around the garden on my own with the cats and other noisy creatures (fairly rural where I am!!)

Barry

 i dont mind either with or with out friends there was 3 of us last night and we all get along and have a laugh and joke. all good fun   i spend too much money when its cloudy and not enough time to use it when its clear

[Bart]

  i spend too much money when its cloudy and not enough time to use it when its clear

You can sing that! Ain't that the truth. Still, those nights are great and I think its the sense of anticipation ( - I did say anticipation, not deprivation!) that enhances the experience. Like many things in life i suppose....

[cotterless45]

Excellent report. We had a good evening here, but light pollution blasted away most of the faint stuff. Don't think that I've ever touched my secondary mirror after it's been positioned in collimation, just a nudge of the primary does it,

Nick.

[kerrylewis]

Hi Kerry i saw the other day that you bought the 350p very nice purchase.i fitted bobs knobs to the secondary to make collimation during the night easier. sometimes i find the secondary moves but not by much its mainly the primary due to those stubby screws suck! im finding the telrad to be a pain TBH and am considering changing to a rigel quick finder. Temp changes on these mirrors do effect the collimation so over the night i check 3-4 times

The scope already has Bobs Knobs (or similar) on the secondary so it is easy to adjust but, yes, I agree about the screws on the primary. I found the Telrad to be OK - but it's each to his own! I've done an overlay of the circles for my sky atlas today which I hope will help in star hopping.

[Mike73]

Glad you had a good night Dan, they've been few and far between this winter which only makes it even sweeter when things work out.

I'd quite happily trade ten nights of observing from home with moderate LP for one good night at a dark site, its those nights that are the memorable ones I think thats what large apertures are all about.

[Daniel-K]

Glad you had a good night Dan, they've been few and far between this winter which only makes it even sweeter when things work out.

I'd quite happily trade ten nights of observing from home with moderate LP for one good night at a dark site, its those nights that are the memorable ones I think thats what large apertures are all about.

oh yes totally agree Mike, if i could guarantee one night at the Lynn peninsula i would sacrifice 6 months at home. The Lynn Peninsula is where we go camping for our ultimate dark sky which above mag 7!  it was risky going because of the predicted forecast but it paid off another night to put in the Log

[Daniel-K]

The scope already has Bobs Knobs (or similar) on the secondary so it is easy to adjust but, yes, I agree about the screws on the primary. I found the Telrad to be OK - but it's each to his own! I've done an overlay of the circles for my sky atlas today which I hope will help in star hopping.

Kerry the overlay of the telrad circle is the method i use and its killer once you get use to it, its how i find all my objects. i laminated mine and use it with the pocket sky atlas

[gingergeek]

Superb report, looks like you had a great night

[kerrylewis]

Kerry the overlay of the telrad circle is the method i use and its killer once you get use to it, its how i find all my objects. i laminated mine and use it with the pocket sky atlas

Just the same! I've photocopied the circles from the pocket atlas and laminated them. Also drew a circle to represent the visual finder FOV . I've mainly been a Goto man until now but relishing the hopping challenge!

[Beulah]

Well, done that's an excellent selection of objects you have observed.

[Daniel-K]

Just the same! I've photocopied the circles from the pocket atlas and laminated them. Also drew a circle to represent the visual finder FOV . I've mainly been a Goto man until now but relishing the hopping challenge!

about time you learn  some sky then Kerry

[Daniel-K]

Well, done that's an excellent selection of objects you have observed.

thanks Beulah it was a very productive night. i would have stayed longer but just coming off night shifts it caught up with me and a good job too or  the scope would have been wet

[AlexB67]

Good catch Daniel, I've seen of some of that stuff in you list, need some good weather to see more around there ( and a dark sky) .

Just the same! I've photocopied the circles from the pocket atlas and laminated them. Also drew a circle to represent the visual finder FOV . I've mainly been a Goto man until now but relishing the hopping challenge!

I woudn't worry. Do it as you enjoy it. If it makes you feel better, even the experts don't often have  a clue about the whereabouts in the sky, Pro astronomers rely on automation. Mike Merrifield will tell you he can't tell one globular cluster from the next. I remember the great Leonard Susskind had to be reminded that M31 was the nearest galaxy in one of his cosmology lectures.

We just know it because we enjoy it and  remember with manual searching, since we spend much time surfing the sky, a lot of the Pros don't.  I recall another cosmologist admitted he had only looked through a scope one or twice, yet he spends a lot of time studying galactic dynamics.  

So perhaps with GOTO you are more like a Pro and you can tell us to get out of the stone age instead of this pointless memorising game and charts blowing in the wind,  but I have to say I like it the old way 

[mdstuart]

Daniel

What an amazing post....a wide range of galaxies there. Pairs, slithers etc..Lots of my favourites in the list 2841 / 2903 and 4565.

Sounds like you are enjoying that 350p...As a fellow 14 inch dob user I can just sense the awe in your text...

I have mag 5.5 skies here and overhead I can see down to mag 14.8 stars in good seeing and galaxies to about mag 13.5. It would be interesting to see how much deeper a mag 7 sky lets you see.

I would be interested to here if you could see any detail in any of those galaxies in the dark sky such as the arms of NGC 2903.

Thanks again for posting your experience.

Mark

[Daniel-K]

Hi Mark NGC2903 it was huge in the 28MM MV EP i thought i could see one arm , i dont have alot of EP's due to just coming back to visual so the 28MM stayed in most of the night. I could see the spiral arms in M51 another galaxy i didnt list on there cause ive seen it so many times! because there was 3 of us there i didnt spend more than a few mins at the EP before the next object as we thought we were on borrowed time with the weather.we have a spot we go to at the LYNN PENINSULA in wales that is MAG 7 sky and last time we went i had a 250PX and the views through it were spectacular. did see the nice shape in M99 though i love M99 

[Lorne]

Glad you had a good night Dan, they've been few and far between this winter which only makes it even sweeter when things work out.

I'd quite happily trade ten nights of observing from home with moderate LP for one good night at a dark site, its those nights that are the memorable ones I think thats what large apertures are all about.

Totally agree, had more than a few decent nights in my few years in the hobby but the great/ memorable nights are limited to 1-2 per season. Those nights are the reward for the unending patience that we seem to have