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My second Observation Session - 3rd August


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Date: 3rd August 2009

Time: 2230 ~ 0030

Site: Back Garden

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Site Notes:

The site was very bright - there were 2 streetlamps within a 10m radius as well as a very well-lit main road and numerous residences with the odd light on. Additionally, a massive part of the sky was blocked by houses and walls. On a positive note, there was no dew!

Observations:

I was able to get a clear view of Vega, and also located its constellation - Lyra - my very first constellation! I could also make out the 4 stars that comprise the 'body' of Hercules. I was hoping to view M13 - the Great Cluster in Hercules - but conditions made this impossible. I also viewed a star near the Western Horizon which I believe to be Arcturus.

Towards the end of the session the Moon finally came into view. And what a view it was! It was spectacular through my 10mm eyepiece (magnification 65x) and very dramatic as dark clouds were moving across the Moon as I was observing. The contrast between the dark clouds and bright Moon was amazing and made me wish I could have taken a photograph. I also tried to increase magnification by switching to a 6mm EP (which would produce c.108x magnification) but alas the clouds foiled my efforts.

Comments:

A much more productive session despite the poor conditions. I used the session as a 'practice run' so that I could get accustomed to setting the scope up correctly. I balanced the scope and aligned the red dot finder, although I am still finding the latter tricky to use. I was able to get the scope polar aligned, and also used the RA drive to track Vega. Unfortunately it was out of my field of view within 10 seconds or so - I think I need to look at the manual some more!

I was delighted to be able to recognise stars and constellations unaided and the brief glimpse I snatched of the Moon was superb. Again I find myself wishing for clear skies so that I can use my new found skills at a dark site!

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Well done. The more you learn the more you want to know. I think its a good idea to keep reinforcing what you find out rather than rushing on to something else and forgetting it. One night you might try sitting outside and just watching the stars come out. Vega (Lyra) and Arcturus (Bootes) are always the first. Then you see the Summer Triangle form - Vega (Lyra), Deneb (Cygnus the Swan aka Northern Cross) and to the South, Altair (Acquilla the Eagle). Next you see the swan form around Deneb (almost overhead), the Plough in Ursa Major (pointing to Polaris) and so on. Using a star chart it is much easier to identify stars when there are not so many of them visible. Enjoy.

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Thanks for the tip, Mike. It's a great idea, I'll have to follow your advice I think! The trouble is I'm not sure my wife is quite as keen on my new hobby as I am and I don't want to end up in the dog house for spending more time with the stars than her! :)

At the moment I'm limiting myself to the area around the Summer Triangle and trying to branch out from there. I find it easier as I can always fall back to Deneb, Altair or Vega for a point of reference. Plus there are some very interesting objects nearby such as the Ring Nebula and the Great Cluster in Hercules. So much to see...

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Another thing to bear in mind is that the sky is ever-changing. Just as the Sun, due to the Earth's daily rotation, arcs across the sky from east to west by day so do the stars etc. at night. In fact they move 15 degrees of arc every hour. Those around the Pole Star (Polaris) such as Ursa Major, Cepheus, Cassiopiea, Draco etc appear to revolve around Polaris in an anti-clockwise direction at the same rate. So all night long stars are setting in the West and new ones rising in the East.

There is a more subtle but nevertheless important change caused by the Earth orbiting the Sun every 365 and a bit days. This means that stars rise about 4 minutes earlier each night and so are one degree higher in the sky towards the west. So every night the Summer Triangle moves more towards the west and in a few months will not be visible. Centre stage in the winter months will be the constellations of Orion, Canis Major, Gemini, Taurus, Leo etc with lots of new sights to behold. Don't worry though as there is a winter triangle - but more about that later.

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I had a little look at Stellarium following your comment and can see exactly what you mean regarding new stars appearing as others dip down below the horizon.

Although I was initially worried that my friendly Summer Triangle would not be around all year (I suppose them name should have given that away - doh) I hope that by then I'll be familiar with other areas of the sky, or at the very least be able to use the bright stars in Orion as my new anchor point!

Thanks again for the help and tips everyone! One last thing, should I be making these updates in the blog section of the site or is it okay to continue to post them here?

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