Orion XT8i 10-12-2009

[pvaz]

The weather was a bit strange, there was a strong wind and sparse clouds going by fast but I was craving some observation time so I went out anyway.

Setup everything at 10pm. Trying to add speed to my session I aligned the GOTO tested on M45 and it was off, aligned again, another test and off again! Got sick after wasting 10min and just stored the damn thing. I'll have to do some calibration tests to see why it was off. The other 2 times I used it it seamed ok...

Now armed with the faithful star atlas and telrad finder I started observing!

1st stop NGC654 was a nice open cluster. With a magnitude of 6.5 and 7kly away, it was easy to spot and I could resolve around 15 stars in it.

On to its neighbor NGC663. It's a big open cluster right beside 654 and having both on the FOV makes a great sight. I could resolve at least 50 stars in 663, it's huge, having a total of over 400 stars and is at 6,8kly.

Then to NGC659. This open cluster was really small and was a bit of a challenge to find. I had to pan the area and check with an online photo for confirmation. I could resolve around 10 stars in it.

Next stop was NGC1027, this open cluster haves a mag of 6.7, it's not compact and I was able to resolve a lot of stars.

Toke a quick peek at the stunning NGC7789 that was still on my list though I had observed it already a few times.

NGC7790 is a small and compact open cluster witch make it a bit hard to find. I had to use the 15mm EP to resolve some more stars in it. It haves mag 8.5 and about 40 stars.

At that point I thought I had all Herschel 400 in Cas done, but I forgot NGC278 and will have to observe it on my next session.

Then a coffee break and on to Perseus' Herschel 400 object:

A cloud was over Perseus so I did 40 min fast peeking into the following, previously observed objects: M31,32,110,42,43,97,108 and 35 and Mars witch helped pass the time.

When Perseus got clear I went for NGC651, turns out it was M76 (Little Dumbbell) and I had already seen it. Still the same smudge, I tryed the 15mm and could see the outer shape but no inner detail.

Then the list showed another 2 NGCs that turned out to be the Double Cluster, so another quick peek and scratch off the list.

NGC1023: Finally one I had not seen yet! This was a hard to spot elliptic galaxy with a mag of 7.9.

I noticed another galaxy in the Atlas so I went for it, there ware already too many OCs for one night! I located NGC891 in between Perseus and Andromeda. With a 10.1 mag and 20Mly away this galaxy showed like a small patch of light. It had an elongated shape, no detail was seen.

Then Perseus got covered again, by now it was nearly 2am so Canis Major, Monocerus and Lepus ware up in the south. I knew I was missing some Messier objects there so I picked the telrad chart and went hunting.

The 1st stop was M79 in Leptus. It is a small globular, 41kly away, and I had some trouble making out individual stars. Had to use the 9mm for a better look, but there was some mist in that area and it didn't help much.

Then M41 in Canis Major. It's a wide and bright open cluster. With a 4.5 magnitude it's very easy to identify and it contains a lot of bright stars. I could say it's now one of my favorite open clusters. I only spend about 1 to 2 minutes on most targets in this session, but this one deserved more time so I stayed there for a while.

On to Monoceros, I started with M50 witch is also an open cluster with mag 5.7 and 3kly away. It's packed and dense and provides a great sight.

Down to the left was M47, a small and less compact open cluster with around 50 stars, mag 5.7 and 1,6kly away. I noticed a smaller open cluster above it I later found to be NGC2423.

The last target on that area was M48, yet another open cluster! With a mag of 9.5 and 1,5kly away it was harder to resolve stars in it, but I could make over 10 with the 15mm EP.

It was now 2:35am and I went in for a coffee hopping Perseus would clear. As I got in torrential rain started falling! I ran as fast as I could, picked the scope, EPs still in the rack, dropped a few caps along the way and put it to safety. Then another run for the chair, atlas, the droped caps and the aluminium accessories case.

I was all wet now and so was the gear. Everything is still uncapped and drying naturally at home... At least it was a good night and I can scratch 11 Herschel 400, 3 Caldwell and 6 Messier objects off the list!

Man, this was a lengthy report!

[Pollux]

"Man, this was a lengthy report! :D"

:eek:but well worth it:eek:

Thanks for that Paulo... very interesting reading

kindest,

Mark

[pvaz]

Thanks I'm glad you liked it.

I actually thought about cutting the report short, but then again it wouldn't be a decent report if I left out the info on the new targets I sow...

[russ]

Excellent report Paulo and very extensive. I have the same scope more or less, so will target some of those myself. Although your skies are a lot better, so i may struggle with some. You have a lot of open clusters there and they are objects I normally bypass. But perhaps time to change that.

[pvaz]

Excellent report Paulo and very extensive. I have the same scope more or less, so will target some of those myself. Although your skies are a lot better, so i may struggle with some. You have a lot of open clusters there and they are objects I normally bypass. But perhaps time to change that.

I used to do the same, but then I thought "How can I know if they are worth a look if I don't try at least once?". Some are in fact disappointing but every now and then you get a nice one. I just discovered NGC457 on my 1st day on the Herschel 400 list. It's a really good one, lot's of stars and an interesting shape.