A Night Of Clusters.

[bosun21]

Out last night again but this time with my 10" Synscan dobsonian. I have been neglecting this scope somewhat in favour of the new additions of a 180 Maksutov and 120ED refractor. Once cooled and aligned with Deneb and Rasalhague I quickly slewed to the usual suspects of M13, M27 and M57. This allows me to check the accuracy and positioning of the Synscan go to and also to set focus. The sky conditions were actually fair to decent for a welcome change with the stars sharply defined and stable. Diffraction spikes were visible only on the brightest stars. I check and adjust the collimation just before each session and with the telescope in place with a Hotech laser. I couldn't resist a final check of the collimation on Vega defocused which was also bang on. One can easily become obsessed with collimation if you aren't careful, constantly chasing perfection. I decided that with the sky not being dark that clusters would be a decent target as my last outing with my frac was spent on doubles. I kicked off with M13 and M15 both globulars with the later being Mag 6.2. Both presented nice crisp views however I felt that the resolution was being negatively affected by the sky brightness and that open clusters would be better and more satisfying. Next was NGC7243 an OC in Lacerta at Mag 6.4 and M39 OC in Cygnus at Mag 4.9. Slewing upwards to Cassiopeia next and M52 then followed by a personal favourite of mine which is the Owl Cluster (NGC457) with the nice yellow/blue double (Phi Cas) on its edge. NGC's 436, 659, 663 and 654 next which are indeed a cluster of clusters all in the same small region of space. Next was Trumpler 1 after reading @Captain Scarlet's observing report highlighting this. I increased the magnification to 150x with an 8mm eyepiece to get a satisfying view. I then finished off with the double cluster in Perseus (Caldwell 14). I was considering trying to capture an image of Saturn as it appeared in the dawn sky but the thought of having to bring out my camera, cables and laptop put an end to the notion. That sort of equipment will have to wait until darkness returns I'm afraid. If anyone has read this far I would like to offer a thank you.

 

[GordonD]

Great report - thanks!

[Captain Scarlet]

Lovely read, thanks. How was Trumpler 1? Was there d’you think any possibility of splitting any of the doubles in the line of your stars? I plan to revisit it next chance I get.

M

[bosun21]

45 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

Lovely read, thanks. How was Trumpler 1? Was there d’you think any possibility of splitting any of the doubles in the line of your stars? I plan to revisit it next chance I get.

M

Yes Magnus i do like this little open cluster and its line of four stars is immediately recognisable. This was my first time observing it and that was only due to you mentioning it in one of your observing reports. At the time I wasn't even aware that there is a double(s) among its stars. I will definitely have to read up on it before revisiting it again. I did briefly read a post on CN discussing it, and it was stated that one of the four stars in line was a double but no mention of which one. I'm looking forward to a return visit to it.

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, bosun21 said:

Yes Magnus i do like this little open cluster and its line of four stars is immediately recognisable. This was my first time observing it and that was only due to you mentioning it in one of your observing reports. At the time I wasn't even aware that there is a double(s) among its stars. I will definitely have to read up on it before revisiting it again. I did briefly read a post on CN discussing it, and it was stated that one of the four stars in line was a double but no mention of which one. I'm looking forward to a return visit to it.

The six brighter stars giving the cluster its characteristic form are all 11th magnitude stars. But in the line of four at the North of the cluster, SS has the second from the West out of position, too far North and West, which is why I was confused on the night. I wonder if there’s a way to tell SS about such things.

M