Meade Lightbridge Observing report as of 8.11.2009

[Doc]

8.11.2009

Meade Lightbridge 16" Dob F4.5 FL1829mm

No Moon at time of observing.

Cold and damp.

First of the night was a very unusual open cluster in Perseus, it's called Ngc1444 and has a brightness of mag 6 , the cluster is dominated by one star HIP17877, the remaining 10 stars were all very dim being at least mag13 in brightness. This cluster was missed in my 28 Uwan at x65 but detected using the 16 Uwan, and is very easily overlooked at hight powers. Not very interesting but another one ticked of the list.

Next I dropped down to Auriga and a pretty large open cluster called Ngc1664, it covers 18' in size and has a magnitude of 7. Through the 28 Uwan it ressembles a kite or a box with a tail. A very pretty formation which included some very dim stars and also had a little nebulosity which may indicate some unseen background stars.

Staying in Auriga I visited a very small open cluster called Ngc1857 it's only 6' in diameter and shines at mag 7. There is one dominating star which had a Yellow/Orange appearance. Very sparse and not many stars to be seen, a little nebulosity was detected.

To keep ticking off the Auriga entries in the Herschel Catalogue I stayed in Auriga and went in search for another small open cluster namely Ngc2126. Like the previous one it's 6' in diameter but shines much dimmer at mag 10. Through the 28 Uwan one can detec maybe 6 stars but putting the 16 Uwan at x114 in the focuser a few more appeared I counted about 12 stars. I wasn't very impressed with this and couldn't really see how it made it into the Herschel 400.

Next was Ngc2281 an open cluster in Auriga which was very pretty indeed, it shines a mag 5 and is pretty large at 15'. It consisted of maybe 20 bright stars arranged in a clump surrounded by four stars arranged in a square. With the 16 Uwan at x114 inserted I could detect lots of dimmer stars within the clump.

Next was the fantastic trio of M36, 37 and 38, I love looking at these as they are similar but different in their own way. First up was M38 it is about 4,200 light-years away and has a linear diameter of around 21 light-years. The cluster has a total visual magnitude of 7.4 and contains more than 100 stars. M38 is of intermediate age at about 220 million years. What a lovely sight through the 28 Uwan, so many different size stars it was great.

Onto M36 an open cluster of about 50 stars, this cluster is around 4,100 light-years from Earth and has a diameter of about 14 light-years. At an age of only 25 million years, it is quite young and contains no red giant stars. M36 has a visual magnitude of 6.3 with the individual member stars ranging in magnitude from 9 to 14. As always I'm in utter delight when looking at these lovely clusters, the 28 Uwan giving a FOV of 1.26° really excells here and is a fantastic eyepiece.

Next the impressive M37 it contains about 150 stars, it has a diameter of about 200 light-years, making it roughly twice the size as nearby M36. At a distance of around 4,600 light-years, it is the richest and brightest of the Auriga clusters. It is also the oldest at about 300 million years. M37 is considered to be one of the finest open clusters in the heavens. Through a 16" donsonian the cluster comes alive, there are just so many stars to observe.

Next on my list is Kemble's Cascade and it's nebula. I love Ngc1502 in Camelopardalis it is a very attractive open cluster about mag 5 in brightness and consists of a clump of stars 8' in diameter. Through the 28 Uwan you see a ring of stars and within this ring a lot of dimmer stars down to mag 13. This ring leads onto a cascade of stars that seem to fall through the sky, similar in shape to a waterfall. Extremely pretty and one of the best clusters I've seen.

Onto the planetary nebula Ngc1501, through the 28Uwan I struggled to see this but when I inserted the 16 Uwan it became easier to see. At 0.9' in diameter and mag 13 it's very small and dim but the circular shape can be detected without averted vision. No central star was observed and no colour was detected. The view through the Baader O111 filter was maybe a touch better but still no structure was detected.

Up to Tombaugh 5 next a very large open cluster situated in Camelopardalis, about 14' in diameter, rich and compressed, not very bright though, composed of about 70 stars ranging from mag 9 to mag 13. Very pretty and well worth another look at some time.

Taurus was now increasing in height so I headed for two open clusters that are extremely close to on another firstly Ngc1807. A medium size cluster which consisted of about 10 stars arranged in a straight line formation, nebulosity was detected and I'm sure some background stars were there but just on the limit of my visiblilty.

A very small distance away is Ngc1817 a much better open cluster, pretty rich and circular in shape, through the 16 Uwan alot of dim stars could be detected that gave the cluster a hazy impression.

Staying in Camelopardalis I tried to find a planetary nebula called M2-2 or Pk147+4.1. Wow was this hard and I spent 25 minutes on it. According to CduC it has a surface brightness of mag 9 and a size of 0.2' in diameter. Nothing was detected through the 28Uwan , nor the 16 Uwan but when I inserted the 7 Uwan at x261 I could detect a star like object that appeared slightly non stellar. By connecting the O111 filter to the 7mm the object was significantly brighter. No detail was seen and I'm still not sure if I saw the very small nebula but it is possible I did.

It was now 22.30 and the clouds were encroaching so I packed up.

[albedo0.39]

Hi Mick - you are getting way too much practise in with those new EP's of yours.. That is an excellent report and well worth noting some of those DSO's you are bagging.

I see you now have another couple of additions to your sign off...."Hidden Treasures" - are you using the James O'Meara book or another resource ?

Nice one

Weather here is messy...(glum)

[albedo0.39]

Just downloaded James O'Meara's book - it's fantastic !

[Doc]

I got the list of Mark but it's in the hidden treasure book you have downloaded. There's only 88 visible from our latitude.

[acey]

Sounds like a great night - and well done on that obscure planetary. If it looked brighter with the OIII then you were definitely seeing it, because any star would look fainter. A method I've often seen recommended is to hold the filter above the eyepiece and move it in and out of view so that if there's a planetary in the field it will "blink" into view.

[Mikea]

Wow! You packed a lot of observing in before 10:30!! Very nicely reported with lots of useful info. I'm only a bit jealous.....