Two nights in a row!

[DazC]

After nearly three weeks of not getting out under the stars, I got two nights in a row this weekend!

22/8/14.

The double double in Lyra - something I've never looked at before. I thought it was just a double star system until I ramped up the mag. Then all of a sudden, as I refocused, I realised it was a double double! Then I remembered reading about it quite a while back (I knew there was a reason I wanted to look at it)!

NGC 7380 - Open cluster best seen with 32mm ep. With LP filter not sure if I could see a faint bit of nebulosity or not.

M31 & M32 - Seen many times before, very clear views. Best with 32mm ep.

M110 - Never found this before, looked for it loads of times but never found it. Finally bagged it! I hadn't realised how far out from the core of M31 it was or how low its surface brightness is.

C/2014 E2 Jacques - Nice view with 32mm ep. Fuzzy blob among pin sharp surrounding stars. Bigger than last time I looked at it.

Ring Nebula - Best seen with 9mm ep +2x barlow + AV. Seeing not at its best plus it was just above a neighbours house, so not much time spent on this one.

Double cluster in Cassiopeia - stands out really bright, looks amazing in the 32mm ep. One of the nicest open clusters I've seen (or should I say two of).

That brought an end to that session.

23/8/14

Whirlpool galaxy - Just above neighbours house, just after sunset! No surprise then, no structure visible, just a large and a small fuzzy.

C47 - very small globular cluster. Nearly missed it with the 32mm ep. Best seen with 9mm + 2x Barlow + AV. Still a very small fuzzy ball!

M56 - Globular cluster in Lyra, seen many times before. Seeing still not great. Best with 7mm ep, 9mm +2x Barlow was a bit too much.

M71 - Globular Cluster in Sagitta. Pretty ordinery for a GC, best seen with 9mmep.

Dumbbell Nebula - very clear and bright with 32mm ep. Best views with 9mm and 7mm EPs. Tried 9mm + 2x Barlow but too much mag.

Neptune - Found with 32mm, showed definite disk, blueish in colour. 20, 9, 7, and 7mm +2x barlow just made the disk a bit bigger! No detail unsurprisingly!

Uranus - 32mm definite disk. 20 mm showed a bigger disk with a greenish hue. 9mm, bigger disk, brighter green. 7mm best view, crisp disk. 7mm + 2x barlow , too much, clear disk almost white in colour.

All in all, two good nights.

Thanks for reading.

D.C

[mjpfc]

Nice report D.C,

You can almost feel the relief.

I was out looking at some tiny clusters and nebulas in Vulpecula and Cygnus last night so I share your joy

Mick

[Stu]

Very nice DC, great to be out there isn't it!

[DRT]

I was out both nights too - very clear and as dark as it gets aroud here.

Glad to see you got some good views

[cotterless45]

Yep, we had the same two nights of stunning clarity,

Nick.

[DRT]

But now it is Bank Holiday Monday so it's time to get the umbrella out

[DazC]

But now it is Bank Holiday Monday so it's time to get the umbrella out

I'm not too disappointed about the rain. I've had a good couple of nights with the scope this weekend, and besides....there's a beer festival on just down the road!!!

Enjoy the rest of your bank holiday everyone.

D.C