The Perfect Tonic

[Littleguy80]

For the last few weeks, I've rather lost my way with astronomy. I had an amazing trip to a dark site and had my best views to date. However, after that I struggled a bit for inspiration when I went out to observe from my garden, which is my normal place to observe. I'd look up at the sky without really knowing what I wanted to look at. The moon glow which hasn't held me back all year seemed insurmountable. It always felt like I was battling with my EQ mount around the zenith. The final straw came earlier in the week when after 20 mins observing, my Telrad fell out of it's mount and broke the battery holder inside. I must not have secured it properly.

Last night, I got home from work and replaced the battery holder with my 8 year old son. I taught him how to solder and showed him the joy of heat shrink  He absolutely loved it and put me in a good mood. After all the little people were settled in bed, I went outside and was delighted to find the skies mostly clear. The moon was still quite low so the sky was looking darker than it had done in the last couple of weeks. I decided to start with M31. It took me a really long time to get the galaxy into the eyepiece. I felt like I was having to relearn the sky and the mount all over again. M31's bright core dominated the view but I could also see M32. As I settled down and allowed time for my eyes to adjust, M110 also became visible, though only faintly.

M33 was my next target. Another very faint galaxy when viewed from garden. It's a great test of averted vision with the core always brightening noticeably when I find the right the position. An nearby open cluster, NGC 752, followed. It's a fairly large cluster with a bright triangle of stars embedded within it. With things going well, I carried onto the double star Almach. The bright blue secondary is absolutely stunning. I prefer the bright yellow primary on Albireo to the white primary on Almach but this is still a brilliant target. M34 made a great follow up to Almach. Smaller than NGC 752 but with lots of stars sitting in pairs making interesting patterns to study within the cluster.

With my confidence growing, I decided to be more ambitious and have a go at an asteroid. My chosen target, Iris, is currently in Aries and is close to the stars Sheratan and Mesarthim. It's listed in SkySafari as having a magnitude of 7.1. As soon as I looked through the eyepiece, I spotted an obvious candidate for Iris. It looked different to the stars around it. My feeling was that it was "whiter" than the background stars with a well defined shape. It stood out the way that Uranus and Neptune do when compared to stars. A little more checking with SkySafari allowed me confirm the sighting. Only the second asteroid I've ever seen!

Final target of the night was the Great Orion Nebula. It was a bit higher in the sky than in recent viewings and the difference in the quality of the view was obvious. I pushed the magnification to see if I could see the E and F stars in the trapezium but no luck on this occasion. M42 is a really amazing target, I'm always impressed with the green colour it shows. I finished the evening by trying to take a picture of M42 with my iPhone in an attempt to win a StuPod! You can see the result here:

In the end, last night was the perfect tonic to my recent astronomy blues. I got into a groove with finding targets and more importantly, enjoyed myself! My membership for the Norwich Astronomical Society also came through yesterday and all being well, I should be off to their dark site at Seething on Saturday night. Can't wait!

[alanjgreen]

Nice report Neil!

Times of doubt always come and go! For me, its usually after weeks of clouds and then it seems an effort to get outside (especially if its cold).

Sods law always ensures clear nights correspond with Full Moon (that always annoys me too), but patience is a virtue (so the wife says anyway).

One "good" night then resets all the pointers and the bad patch is soon forgotten.

Hope its clear for you on Saturday...

Alan

[Wiu-Wiu]

Time well spent! 

 

Ik always try to add an asteroid into my observations; Skysafari helps a lot, and it's often just a small effort to quickly spot one in between your deepsky obs. As they are stellarlike, a field sketch usually helps, especially when you have the chance to revisit the area the day after. The best views are offcourse when they pass an NGC, it's nice to see them "move". 

 

I spotted Iris myself this week: 

 

[Littleguy80]

40 minutes ago, alanjgreen said:

Nice report Neil!

Times of doubt always come and go! For me, its usually after weeks of clouds and then it seems an effort to get outside (especially if its cold).

Sods law always ensures clear nights correspond with Full Moon (that always annoys me too), but patience is a virtue (so the wife says anyway).

One "good" night then resets all the pointers and the bad patch is soon forgotten.

Hope its clear for you on Saturday...

Alan

Thanks Alan. Patience is needed in abundance for astronomy  Couldn't agree more on the effect of one good night. Doesn't take much to bring the enthusiasm back

[Littleguy80]

6 minutes ago, Wiu-Wiu said:

Time well spent! 

 

Ik always try to add an asteroid into my observations; Skysafari helps a lot, and it's often just a small effort to quickly spot one in between your deepsky obs. As they are stellarlike, a field sketch usually helps, especially when you have the chance to revisit the area the day after. The best views are offcourse when they pass an NGC, it's nice to see them "move". 

 

I spotted Iris myself this week: 

 

Fab sketch! I saw the asteroid, Florence, earlier in the year. That was really impressive with the speed that it was moving. I'll definitely be putting more effort into asteroid hunting in the future

[MartinFlower]

I always found Fentimans to be the perfect tonic. With the right gin of course !

[domstar]

Nice report. I've never seen an asteroid (or M33). Now I want to take a look.

I agree about the moon glow. I didn't use to think about it at all, just wondered where most of the stars had gone. Now I check with clearoutside and maybe just look at the moon if it's out or get outside before it's due to rise.

[David Levi]

That's a good report Neil.

It's also good to know that I am not the only person who suffers from post dark sky motivation syndrome. The first session out in the back garden after a dark sky observing trip is always difficult. I look up and think that with so few stars on display it's hardly worth getting the telescope out but as you have reported you do get over it once you get to the eyepiece.

 

[Littleguy80]

24 minutes ago, domstar said:

Nice report. I've never seen an asteroid (or M33). Now I want to take a look.

I agree about the moon glow. I didn't use to think about it at all, just wondered where most of the stars had gone. Now I check with clearoutside and maybe just look at the moon if it's out or get outside before it's due to rise.

It's odd because I used to see plenty when the moon was up. I maybe didn't see things at their best but it was still fun. Not sure why I've talked myself out of looking now  I am hoping to get some binoculars for Christmas so maybe that'll encourage me to go hunting on those nights when the moon is up

[Littleguy80]

1 minute ago, David Levi said:

That's a good report Neil.

It's also good to know that I am not the only person who suffers from post dark sky motivation syndrome. The first session out in the back garden after a dark sky observing trip is always difficult. I look up and think that with so few stars on display it's hardly worth getting the telescope out but as you have reported you do get over it once you get to the eyepiece.

 

Thanks David. I remember looking up at the Pleiades when I got home and being taken aback by how much dimmer they looked compared to the dark site. I think you're right though, the best answer is just out and making the most of the sky's you have

[Astro Imp]

Another good report Neil.

It's interesting to see your comment about M42 being green. I've observed this iconic DSO many times and only once seen it as green, otherwise it's been shades of grey. Still a great target especially trying to split the trapezium.

BTW I'd just seen you triumphed in STUPOD before reading your report, well done.

[Littleguy80]

7 minutes ago, Astro Imp said:

Another good report Neil.

It's interesting to see your comment about M42 being green. I've observed this iconic DSO many times and only once seen it as green, otherwise it's been shades of grey. Still a great target especially trying to split the trapezium.

BTW I'd just seen you triumphed in STUPOD before reading your report, well done.

Thank you, Alan. I looked at M42 a few times recently and each time I've noticed a green tinge to it. It's most noticeable at lower mag (38x) and with no filter. I loose the colour once add a filter or go to high magnification. 

I was very pleased with my STUPOD win. I've coveted the title of "STUPOD Winner" for some time now!

[Astro Imp]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

 I've coveted the title of "STUPOD Winner" for some time now!

Everything comes to him/her who waits 

[alan potts]

Nice report Neil, I think many of us go through patches,I know I do then something happens to rekindle the fire. If I taught Daniel how to solder I think the TV would be in bit in no time.

Alan

[Littleguy80]

31 minutes ago, alan potts said:

Nice report Neil, I think many of us go through patches,I know I do then something happens to rekindle the fire. If I taught Daniel how to solder I think the TV would be in bit in no time.

Alan

Thanks Alan. I’ve shown Tyler all the different soldering kits you can buy so he’s saving his pocket money for one of those. Hopefully that’ll keep the TV safe for a little bit  

[cloudsweeper]

Glad you're enjoying yourself again Neil!  

I haven't done much with asteroids - saw Vesta a while back though.

More into doubles at present - recent posts about the relevant atlas.

After about three years, I haven't yet suffered from astro blues. Still aiming towards getting a light bucket, and going to a dark site (but not with the bucket).  Even now, I still find that different and unexpected things nearly always crop up on each session.  For example, a couple of nights ago, I got the my best ever view of Luna - never before seen such clarity, detail, nuances of shading, and - well - texture.

Keep the reports coming!

Doug.

 

[FenlandPaul]

Great report, Neil - and very honest!  I often struggle with a clash of desires when it comes to observing; I love being at the eyepiece under a clear sky, but I also love spending time with my wife inside in front of the fire with a glass of wine and I am also up very early for work, for which I don't want to be tired!  So sometimes I turn down wonderfully clear nights and then experience pangs of guilt for doing so!  But, even with ever-encroaching light domes, the skies will always be there and for me this is a hobby, not an obsession (although I'd love it to be a hobby with an Obsession!) so waiting until the next clear night is just fine.  And when that clear night comes around, even just a brief hour or so can really reignite my Astro-mojo.

Paul

[Stu]

Great report Neil. I'm similar to Paul I guess in that astronomy is just something I do when I want to, I don't worry or obsess over doing it a certain amount or not. I have been observing for over 17 years now, sometimes I go quite long periods without looking through a scope but will always 'look up' on a clear night.

I have a three year old, two teens from a previous marriage and a 1.5 hour + commute each way; I am rarely home before gone 7 so it is always challenging to find the time currently.

I have found binoculars very useful recently just for getting my 'fix', just something to get me out under a clear sky even if it is only for 15 mins or so. It is a great way of keeping your interest up and is so relaxing. Get yourself a comfy garden chair and just enjoy it.

I'm very glad you refound your enthusiasm and got back into the groove of finding targets.

Objects like M33 are always going to be tricky so perhaps try some of the higher surface brightness objects when you are at home, such as M2 and M15  (globular clusters which cut through LP better than nebulae or galaxies).

The lovely open clusters in Auriga are getting better placed now, M36, 37 and 38, plus M35 in Gemini. Plus planetary nebs too are often easier to see though take higher mag to see much. The Cat's Eye Nebula in Draco for instance.

Looking forward to your next report  

[Littleguy80]

Thank you, Paul and Stu. I think you both kind of hit on what I was feeling. My initial passion for astronomy turned to obsession. I’ve got 4 kids, eldest just turned 11 and the youngest is 2 so time is at a premium. Spending time my wife is important too. We have a date night every week where we have a meal at home, just the two of us, so we get time to talk. Finding a balance is always a challenge. I do tend to go out when it’s clear whenever I can and often I’m just too tired to properly enjoy it. 

I think this session worked well because I was relaxed and wasn’t expecting to have the opportunity to go out. Everything was a bonus. 

I’m keen on getting some binoculars as you suggested, Stu. I’ve often thought they’d be great on those cloud dodging nights or even for a quick 10 minute browse when I don’t have the time or inclination to get the scope out. 

[Stu]

39 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

I’m keen on getting some binoculars as you suggested, Stu. I’ve often thought they’d be great on those cloud dodging nights or even for a quick 10 minute browse when I don’t have the time or inclination to get the scope out. 

A good plan Neil. I'm using a pair of 8x42s at the moment, they give a lovely wide field and the exit pupil (5.25mm) seems to give a nice dark background even with a bit of LP. They are nice and compact, easy to hold.

7x50s or 10x50s might be worth considering too, heavier obviously and 10x is a little harder to hand hold steadily, but still totally doable.

[Littleguy80]

I was looking at the Opticron 10x50s that Steve Tonkin rated so highly. Only £79 through FLO. Definitely want something that’ll be good hand held