Meade Lightbridge Observing report as of 22.5.2010

[Doc]

22.5.2010

Meade Lightbridge 16" F4.5 FL1829mm.

71.5% illuminated moon.

Very warm.

Seeing 4.2 mag.

First object on this very warm evening was a very small planetary nebula that resides in the constellation Lyra, it's designation is Ngc 6765 and is 0.6' in diameter and shines at mag 12.2. It is incredibly hard to find and I ended up having to star hop to the correct position, once there I could see no sign of this elusive planetary through both my 28 & 16 Uwan's. I then inserted my 7 Uwan and after prolonged viewing a very dim circle that was Ngc6765 started to appear. It faded in and out of seeing and I would say it was dimmer then it's mag 12.2 predicted by CduC, no colour was detected but a circular shape was seen. I tried to find it by inserting the O111 filter but this seemed to make the viewing worse and I was unable to see the planetary with this filter.

Next was the mighty impressive M57, the Ring Nebula, is probably the finest example of a planetary nebula anywhere in the sky. It was formed when a star about the size of the Sun neared the end of its life cycle and shed its outer shell of hydrogen gas. This shell of material is illuminated by the remains of the star, known as a white dwarf, in the centre. Its age is estimated at about 5,500 years. Its distance from Earth is not very well known. Through the 7 Uwan I was bowled over by the sheer beauty of this object, it filled at least 20% of my FOV and the shape was so clearly seen, but still

no central star became appeared.

Over to Cepheus next to finish the open clusters in the Herschel Catalogue. First off was Ngc 7142 a little clump of dim stars shining at mag 9.3, I could detect at least 20 really dim stars and there seemed to be a little haze as well that might mean even more background stars that are not visible.

Next was Ngc 7160 in Cepheus, this is a delightful little cluster 7' in diameter and shining at mag 6.1, through the 28 uwan I could detect 6 bright stars encircled by many dimmer stars, very pretty cluster and one I will visit again soon.

Staying in the constellation Cepheus I went hunting for the open cluster Ngc7510, what a fantastic little cluster that resembles a triangle. If you can imagine a triangle, there is an abundance of stars converging towards two of the triangles points and dimmer stars that gather around the final point. I could see at least 20 stars making up this cluster which is 4' in size and mag 7.9 in brightness.

Another open cluster in Cepheus is Ngc7380, this is very easy to find at 25' in size and shining at mag 7.2. There are lots of members here ranging from mag 7 down to mag 13 and beyond, must have counted 40 stars. The brighter ones make up a "V" shape asterism. I could detect a slight mottling to the background as well that would seem to detect even more background stars.

Next is Trumpler 37 or IC1396 this is a very richly packed cluster at 170' in size and 3.5 mag in brightness. I lost count at the amount of stars I could see, what dominated the cluster was a mag 6 yellow star (HD: 206267) and two tight companions that made it appear as a triple star. Through the 28 Uwan I could detect so many stars, some of these very dim indeed I would estimate mag 12 at least.

Lastly in Cepheus was Ngc7023 a cluster and nebula 5.0' in size and mag 7 in brightness, I could easily detect the mag 7 central star and a few dimmer ones surrounding it but struggled to see any nebulosity through the 16 Uwan. By inserting the 7 Uwan I might have detected a slight mottling of the area south of the central star but it was very hard to be certain.

Over to the constellation Cygnus next and the Fetus Nebula Ngc 7008. I had to star hop from an asterism of two straight lines slightly above the nebula down to a star TYC 3956-1522-1 which lies just above the nebula. Through the 16 Uwan I could just detect an oval smudge that appeared to brighten slightly towards the end of the two lobes, no central star was visible but I did detect two bright stars very near one of the lobes. The O111 filter did enhance the view slightly bringing out more of the brighter lobe sections. This was still one very faint and hard to see nebula, which opened it's self up more during periods of good seeing, it's 1.4' in size and mag 13 in brightness.

Staying in Cygnus I went hunting for Ngc7044, it turned out to be a 6' diameter haze of stars that was very hard to make out from the rich field it resides in. There are many really dim members here and this was a very hard cluster to resolve.

Over to Ngc7086 next and once again a very dim cluster made up of mag 12 stars, I counted maybe 30 stars that were oblong in shape.

Staying in Cygnus I looked for another open cluster called Ngc7128 this one is very small at 3' in diameter and resembles a ring with at least 5 brighter stars surrounded by a group of extremely dim stars, a little haze was detected while viewing this open cluster.

Ngc6819 was next and this is yet another open cluster, this one shines at mag 7.3 and is situated between two bright stars. The cluster itself is very dim and I counted about 25 stars.

Staying Cygnus I found the open cluster Ngc7062, through my 16 Uwan I could see a very densly populated clump of stars maybe 7' in size and consisted of 20 stars surrounded outside the cluster by brighter stars that resembled a tank in appearence.

Thats another 9 Herschel objects, 4 hidden treasures, and 1 Caldwell object of the list.

Time was 13.45 so I called it a night.

[lunator]

Hi Mick

Very nice report

Cheers

Ian

[mdstuart]

Great report. I also noted how pretty NGC 7510 was. It is a fine compact group of stars..

I thought I might try a few globulars tonight but the moon will be brignt. I need a "moon ograph" to block out the moon like a coronagraph but for the moon..Maybe I will use the house! I worked out 70% of bright globulars have RA's between 15-20h or NGC nos from 5800 to 6900, so they are all up at this time of year!

I did enjoy your report and your ability to stay up to 13.45!

Mark

[Doc]

Cheers Ian and Mark.

How do you get on Mark with these elusive little planetaries? I know you are a galaxy man but have you ever tried for these objects.

[mdstuart]

Doc

I have tried a few. I do have one of those OIII filters which help. I tried NGC 6210 in Hercules last night. A relatively bright small circular object. Distinctly brighter when you look to the side of it which is typical of a planetary neb...

I do of course love M57!

Mark

[dobserver]

Mick I so love your reports, such detail and lashings of information.

Glad you are still able to get out there and enjoy the sky.

We've just cleaned my mirror and put new springs on, so hoping for a star test tonight.

[Moonshane]

superb report Mick.

I am in awe of those experienced of you that can find these obscure and difficult targets!!

thankfully I can find one on the list now - M57 - also one of my faves.

I think I have a dark(ish) site within 10 miles of me and am planning to get out there with my father in law to see what we can see when the moon is next dimmer.

I'll report back in due course.

[SAB]

Once again an excellent report Doc. You seem to be getting more clear nights than me, who says britian has a Rubbish climate

I observed M57 a few nights ago aswell. Was fantastic at 166x, can't remeber it being so vivid ever, even in my old 12" dob (from which I transferred the optics over into the new one).

[Doc]

superb report Mick.

I am in awe of those experienced of you that can find these obscure and difficult targets!!

thankfully I can find one on the list now - M57 - also one of my faves.

I think I have a dark(ish) site within 10 miles of me and am planning to get out there with my father in law to see what we can see when the moon is next dimmer.

I'll report back in due course.

When you look for these elusive objects Shane they are not visible, you have to get yourself to the exact location by star hopping and then observe until those rare glimpses of good seeing and then they suddenly appear for a short while and then dissappear again. You really have to tease the detail out. Your 12" dob is more then capable of seeing these objects, you just need practise.

[Moonshane]

cheers Mick

I am certainly seeing things now that I'd have missed previously so there's something happening in my eyes/head I reckon. I'll get more experience on the easier stuff and then look for some of the more tricky ones at a darker site when I get to one.

can't wait!