My Fourth Asteroid (Juno)

[cloudsweeper]

5.30 - 6.45pm Sunday.  8SE Cat with focal reducer.  Clear sky for a change.

Top target was the asteroid Juno.  Already seen Pallas, Vesta, and Ceres (in top four for size), but Juno was lurking in Aquarius, so I went for my fourth, which is the 12th in size order.

I got the target via Tau2 / 71 Aqu, and there was a helpful little triangle of stars near the asteroid.  I couldn't see it at x36, as the contrast was poor for a mag 9+ object.  So on up to x64 with the 20mm TV Plossl, and Juno came in and out of view with AV.  A very pleasing result!

The session also took in Saturn/Titan, Jupiter+4, M72 globular (faint fuzz), C55 Saturn Neb (planetary neb) - bigger and fuzzier than surrounding stars at x36, and a bigger, clear, fuzzy patch at x191 (hard to focus).  Plus M30 globular cluster, which I could only see as faint dot.

(I also tried a couple of tight doubles, but they were low, so at high mag remained too blurry to be split.)

Another short but enjoyable session, with some new targets to add to the list.

Doug.

 

[wookie1965]

Nice one Doug I am still waiting to use the 10" in anger but the sky gods are not playing fair as usual even got up at 3am this morning as it said it would be clear and I have full cloud.