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Quick Report On Some Easy Targets & The Power of GoTo

cloudsweeper

By cloudsweeper
in Observing - Reports

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cloudsweeper

cloudsweeper

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Looked out at 3am - still, mild, clear - so set off for the garden to cries of "You're mad!"

Set the 8SE up, pointing skyward, and had a coffee/watched TV for 30 mins. to let it cool.  (Worked - no lack of sharpness.)

Aligned on Arcturus and Cor Caroli, the latter being a quadruple system but visual double, mismatched, easily split of course, with a separation of 19".

M3 glob in CVn - just a patch at x56, but resolved somewhat at x113 and more, a lovely, dense spectacle.  GoTo was spot on with this, as it usually is.

M53 glob in Com - smaller, fuzzier, not as clear - again used nearby star/s to aid focusing.

M51/NGC 5195 galaxies in CVn - Whirlpool Galaxy (face-on spiral) with irregular companion - two close, fuzzy patches, bright at the centres, and I sat on a stool to enjoy the view a while - failed to see any spiral structure, maybe because the Moon (3rd qu.) was lurking low in the SE.

The laptop then froze, and I kicked the tripod (accidentally!), so went for one last view before retiring.  First, a re-alignment on Dubhe (just one star this time) then:

M81/82 galaxies in UMa - another spiral and irregular, not connected, but same FOV - and the simple alignment worked a treat for a nearby target, at least - the Cigar's distinctive shape stood in stark comparison to that of Bode's round appearance with a brighter centre.

Just over an hour outside - easy targets, but they never cease to delight.  And GoTo never ceases to impress!

Doug.

 

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cloudsweeper

cloudsweeper

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4 minutes ago, Demonperformer said:

What a pleasant way to spend an hour, Doug (except kicking the tripod!). For visual, the 8SE is a superbly easy instrument - a little effort getting the alignment spot on makes the goto a delight to use.

 

Yes, thanks DP - doing a 2-star is quick and easy (especially with the GPS Module), but after the "kick" I was feeling hacked off with myself so did a 1-star, and it still worked well.  Must slow down and contain my enthusiasm!

Doug.

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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1 hour ago, cloudsweeper said:

Just over an hour outside - easy targets, but they never cease to delight.  And GoTo never ceases to impress!

Nice report Doug.

Last night I also used my GOTO to do some quick visual observing with my C14 and new ES 68deg 40mm eyepiece. I had just aborted an imaging session on M93 (open cluster in Puppis) using my 4" scope as it had got down to ~5 degrees altitude and was in the murk. I was going to pack up then thought why not do some observing with the C14 with all those Leo/Virgo galaxies to see. I've never really done a lot of galaxy visual observing as my previous home in Surrey was too light polluted, but hey I now have ~21SQM skies, so....

Well I know that many serious observers like to star hop to find targets, but that's not for me - at least not last night.

I started with the Leo triplet, M65, M66 getting both of those in the same FOV which was a lovely sight, then NGC3628 much fainter, but it's 'hamburger' shape was clearly seen. Next I slewed to the other Leo triplet M95, M96, M105, each easily seen. On a roll I thought let's tick of the bunch of Messiers in the Virgo bowl, so in no particular order I worked my way through M49, M58, M59, M60, M84, M85, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M98, M99 and M100. I was using GOTO with my eye at the eyepiece as I moved between targets seeing several other faint fuzzies on the way, no doubt a variety of NGC and IC targets that I didn't try to identify.

Next I dropped down to M104 (Sombrero), which was a fine sight with it's bulbous shape and dust lane well seen.

Realising that Hercules was now rising in the NE, I thought I'd turn my attention to possibly my favourite visual DSO target M13, which I not seen previously with my new 40mm ES. Always a lovely site, it looked great, better with my 12mm TV Nagler, but I'll save that for later in the year.

Finally back to M104 for another look, then I shut everything down and closed the observatory.

What was meant as just a quick visual session to try out my new eyepiece, turning into something of a mini Messier marathon lasting maybe an hour os so and was a lot of fun, ticking off some 23 targets, 22 being galaxies most of which I'd never seen visually previously. I will have to do more of this visual observing on those nights when passing clouds make imaging impossible, but when those sucker holes allow periods of clear sky for visual observing.

GOTO rules....!!

Cheers, Geof

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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17 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Geof @geoflewis - you did well there!  I've considered the ES 40/68 (1250g??) but reckon the ES 30/82 is bulky enough (992g) for me!

Thanks Doug, yes the ES 40/68 would make an excellent door stop - it's huge..!! Fortunately my C14 is mounted on an even more massive AP1200, so it hardly notices it's there; certainly there didn't appear to be any balance issues with it, which I guess might be an issue with a less robust mount. So far I'm really pleased with it :icon_biggrin:. Cheers, Geof

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MarsG76

MarsG76

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Nice report of a quickie session... Why were you needing a laptop? Find objects to target? If that's the case, how do you preserve dark adaptation, laptop screens are too bright, even set to lowest brightness point... Would explain lack of detail in M51... Oh and the moon.

 

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cloudsweeper

cloudsweeper

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1 minute ago, MarsG76 said:

Nice report of a quickie session... Why were you needing a laptop? Find objects to target? If that's the case, how do you preserve dark adaptation, laptop screens are too bright, even set to lowest brightness point... Would explain lack of detail in M51... Oh and the moon.

 

I usually have Stellarium on the go to show targets (planned or otherwise) and to confirm (as far as possible and when necessary) than I am viewing what I think I am.  I have it set to night mode, plus I clip a red acetate sheet over the screen, so it shouldn't affect adaptation - no more than the red torch! 

The Moon probably didn't help matters, but I wanted to be out again and take advantage of the rare, clear sky.  Stray light from all over the place is a nuisance, but I use a deep hood at all times to keep that out.

Doug.

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