A fine early morning session with the 6 inch mak newtonian

[Bodkin]

I had an unexpected session under the springtime stars from about 4:30 this morning until dawn - a happy product of a little insomnia.  A very good sky here in mid Wales gave me the opportunity to give my venerable 6 inch intes newt a run on its GM8 mount.  I have owned these for 25 years this year. 

As is usual for me I went on a haphazard trip around the sky, covering as many old favourites as possible and probably not giving each object the time it deserves.  Also I do not keep a log, so here are the ones I remember.

M65,  M66 and NGC3628 - a great start, though the scope was still warm. A lovely trio well framed in my old 26mm Vixen plossl.  strong elongation on 3628 and hints of shape on the other two.

M53 - bright and mottling of stars at higher magnitude. No sign of NGC5053

M64 - large and bright core with a hint of the eye

NGC4565 - clear needle, very elongated.  A hint of the dust lane perhaps, but probably wishful thinking in the six inch despite the lovely skies

M3 - big and beautiful. Lots of resolved stars

M94 - Very bright core with a faint narrow halo

M51 - Easy to see both components.  Nice mottling of the brighter galaxy component.

M101 - Wow, so large.  It always surprises me quite how large this is in the eyepiece.  Pretty featureless, unlike in the 12 inch Stellalyra though

M106 - a favourite as it is easy to find.  Two bright extensions and with a clear fuzzy nucleus

M108 and M97 - a lovely pairing at low magnification.  One eye visible with higher magnifications (14mm pentax)

M109 - another easy to find galaxy despite its low surface brightness. A slight elongation, but no other features

M104 - Closing out with the Sombrero.  Easily visible despite the low altitude. The dust lane was nicely visible with averted vision.  A good place to finish.

 

The Intes really is a fine scope under a dark sky. A bit on the heavy side, but well-engineering for a quarter century of use.