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Change of plan

Littleguy80

By Littleguy80
in Observing - Reports

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Littleguy80

Littleguy80

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A container of distilled water arrived in the post today. So with a poor looking forecast I was planning to have a go at cleaning my primary mirror. Looking outside around 8pm, things looked reasonably clear. I debated for a few minutes and then decided to go out and have a short session until the clouds arrived. I used Vega to get the finder aligned and went on to split the double double. It wasn't the cleanest split but the mirror was still cooling. I decided to go planetary and found Uranus. My eldest two children were still awake so I called inside "Who wants to see Uranus". After the usual sniggering my daughter came out and had a look. I asked her what colour she saw. To her eye it had a blue tint. Interesting how colour comes through to younger eyes. She headed back inside while I moved onto the Pleiades. The Merope nebula was nowhere to be seen on this occasion but didn't lessen my enjoyment.

With Mirach centred in the finder, I took a look through the eyepiece and was very pleased to see NGC404, Mirach's ghost. The core of the galaxy stood out quite well in the glare of the bright star. It was time to go comet hunting. At low power, 64/P Swift-Gehrels was a tough spot but became much easier at around 133x. I saw this about a month ago under dark skies and it was a much tougher spot so this comet seems to be brightening. As I was so close, I took a look at the Andromeda galaxy and it's two companion galaxies. I always find myself drawn to M110. I think it's because it's the toughest of the three galaxies though a much easier target since I got my 10" dob. The Pinwheel galaxy, M33, is another favourite. I struggle to get a good sense of the spiral arms from home but really enjoy seeing the nebula, NGC604. For a couple of easier targets, I had a look at the open cluster NGC 752 and the pretty double that is Almach. A lovely yellow and blue pairing.

I decided to challenge myself and try for the Phantom galaxy, M74. I first saw this last Friday under dark skies. Like the comet 64/P, M74 required a bit of magnification for it to be a comfortable observation. A very different view from my suburban back garden compared to the dark site but still a great result. In contrast the Messier open cluster, M34, was bright and easy. With still no sign of clouds, I moved the scope around front to try for Comet 38/P in Gemini. This target did get the better of me. It was still low in the sky so I wasn't too disheartened by this miss. The Eskimo nebula proved an excellent consolation prize. A bright central star nestled within a bright patch of nebulosity. 

Into Orion now and Collinder 69. A large open cluster with a string of bright stars through its centre. This was my jumping off point to find the planetary nebula, NGC 2022. A tough spot but becoming more prominent with a UHC filter. Fancying another challenging target, I returned to Gemini looking for a globular cluster, NGC 2419. This is known as the Intergalactic Wanderer. It took very dark skies last winter using my 130mm reflector to see this. The 10" dob got the job done from home, just needing a bit of magnification to draw the glob out. Carrying on the theme of alternating between dim and bright targets, I made an enjoyable stop at M35. With Orion now rising well, I moved the scope and centred on M42. Simply wonderful. At 60x, the 4 brightest stars of the Trapezium stood out well amongst the green tinted nebula. I increased magnification to try and see the E and F stars but this is where my night was destined to end as the clouds arrived. My quick session had lasted over two and a half hours. My still dirty primary mirror had proven that it takes more than a little a dirt to prevent it producing the goods! Brilliant evening!

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cloudsweeper

cloudsweeper

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A great session, and well reported, Neil!

My primary looks pretty mucky too, but as you say, still performs excellently, so I'll leave it alone.  When I do have a go, I've got a bottle of dehumidifier water (which has been boiled to kill off bugs) for the job.

Doug.

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Littleguy80

Littleguy80

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3 hours ago, Sunshine said:

Container of water by post? Wasn’t shipping a bit pricey? 

£15 for 5 litres off Amazon. It seems a lot but after much discussion on another thread it seemed better to have the right water than risk any damage to the mirror 

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Littleguy80

Littleguy80

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54 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

A great session, and well reported, Neil!

My primary looks pretty mucky too, but as you say, still performs excellently, so I'll leave it alone.  When I do have a go, I've got a bottle of dehumidifier water (which has been boiled to kill off bugs) for the job.

Doug.

Thank you, Doug. There’s a couple of larger spots of dirt on there that are bothering me. I’m worried that they may be doing harm to the coatings. Otherwise I’d also be leaving it alone too. 

I’ve been enjoying your reports with your dob btw. The aperture of a 10” dob really does show you so much!

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Littleguy80

Littleguy80

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11 minutes ago, Stu said:

A very satisfying long, quick session Neil ;)

Excellent range of objects observed. I had a limited session, largely spent cloud dodging but good to get out there.

Thank you, Stu. Couldn’t agree more. Just being outside and picking off what objects you can makes for a very relaxing evening. It was very mild last night too.

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

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A great report, Neil, you can't imagine how pleased I am that your Dob is giving you so much pleasure. That bright star near Mirach's Ghost was always a pain for me! I tried to get my (then) 9 year old grandson interested in proper observing and even bought him a Sky-Watcher Heritage 76 reflector that was on his birthday list but his greatest pleasure was deliberately standing in front of it while I tried to find the next object - sadly, I soon realised that it was a losing battle ? My 8 year old granddaughter on the other hand, loves the Moon though so there is still some hope! ?

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Littleguy80

Littleguy80

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4 hours ago, steppenwolf said:

A great report, Neil, you can't imagine how pleased I am that your Dob is giving you so much pleasure. That bright star near Mirach's Ghost was always a pain for me! I tried to get my (then) 9 year old grandson interested in proper observing and even bought him a Sky-Watcher Heritage 76 reflector that was on his birthday list but his greatest pleasure was deliberately standing in front of it while I tried to find the next object - sadly, I soon realised that it was a losing battle ? My 8 year old granddaughter on the other hand, loves the Moon though so there is still some hope! ?

Thanks Steve. The dob has been a great buy and I'm sure it'll give me many years of happy stargazing :D  My younger two children, ages 3 and 6, also take great delight in standing in front of the telescope when they come out. They have enjoyed looking at the Moon and Saturn though so, like you, I still have some hope for them!

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Littleguy80

Littleguy80

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4 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Nice report Neil - some great objects to view. 

I recently purchased a S/H Skywatcher 150P Newt and decided to clean the mirror - it was worth the effort.

Thank you, Mark. Good to know that the mirror clean proved worthwhile. It's definitely something I keep second guessing myself on. To clean or not to clean. I'm sure it'll be fine and I'll reap the benefits :) 

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