Brilliant balcony/disappointing darksite 8/4/18

[domstar]

On a crystal clear spring night, my wife was away through no fault of her own so I was confined to stargazing from the balcony. But what a night it was. All 5 Messier galaxies in Leo and after a lot (really) of gazing, a very averted glimpse of the Hamburger-from the balcony. I knew it was going to be a good night.

Vindermiatrix was not visible from my position so Porrima was my next port of call. The biggest advantage of being at home was the use of stellarium, so I used it to help me hop to M61 and then M49 (both new to me). M49 was especially prominent and I could even see the lost galaxy NGC 4526. After a good time spent there, I hopped over to M60 just to the right of a star-trek badge pattern of stars. Then it was on the well trodden road from M60 all the way up to M100 or even beyond. It didn't really pan out like that though. I inevitably got lost and missed a few and some galaxies were just too faint, at least with my now severely depleted reserves of tenacity. I went to bed in high spirits, unable to sleep and waiting for the next evening with a clear forecast and a returned wife.

The next day seemed a bit hazy but an afternoon of spectacular solar convinced me that conditions would be good again. I'd been researching a spot with a darker southern view and this is where I went. Let me tell you, it was horrible. Domes of scattered light all around, painfully faint Leo galaxies and disappointment. I moved on to doubles (I had company) and the stars were fuzzy ink blots. 

So the moral of the story is- transparency is king (maybe). I also think I'm starting to see the difference between transparency and seeing (not totally sure on this one) Looking at the sun is not a good guide to how easy it will be to see galaxies.

Anyway, I'll always have Sunday night. Thanks for reading.

[cloudsweeper]

Lots to be pleased about there, Dom.  I'd be glad to see anything at all lately!

Yes - transparency is vital for faint objects, and good seeing helps with finer detail.

Doug.

[Tim]

1 hour ago, domstar said:

So the moral of the story is- transparency is king (maybe). I also think I'm starting to see the difference between transparency and seeing (not totally sure on this one) Looking at the sun is not a good guide to how easy it will be to see galaxies.

The depressing thing is, once you realise this, whether observing or imaging, you realise that you can  in fact, probably count the number of really good, steady, clear, moonless nights per year, on the fingers of one hand, if you live in the UK.

We must be mad, spending our hard earned dosh on gear that only very occasionally reaches its potential!

[Littleguy80]

Brilliant report. Took me a long time to properly understand what we people meant by seeing and transparency in terms of astronomy. Those galaxies are great targets. You did really well to get the hamburger from your balcony!

[cloudsweeper]

1 hour ago, Tim said:

 

We must be mad, spending our hard earned dosh on gear that only very occasionally reaches its potential!

Mad, yes - but masters of optimism!

Doug.

[Eastman]

On ‎10‎-‎4‎-‎2018 at 18:40, domstar said:

The biggest advantage of being at home was the use of stellarium

Stellarium, My best friend!!

Great report!