Observing globulars in Ophiuchus with a 4" frac

[Mark at Beaufort]

Last night 3/4 June was clear all the way to the horizon and I could see stars below - 30 dec. Although we don't get astronomical twilight in June the sky was so clear after midnight I decided to go hunting globulars with my 4" frac.

I started with a few Messier objects viewing M4 (real structure with 8mm Ethos) and then M80, M19 and M62. I never appreciated how many globs were situated in Ophiuchus which are contained within the Herschel 400 list.

A very successful few hours viewing NGC 6304, 6316, 6293, 6284, 6287 and 6235. Some were more clear than others with NGC 6304 only detected by averted vision and using my 35mm Panoptic and the Uranometria deep sky atlas to study the surrounding star field.

A very enjoyable viewing evening of DSOs with only a 4" APO frac.

Mark

[Doc]

I bet that was a fantastic night Mark.

I must get back into this, I've been suffering from the astro idleness disease, just cannot get motivated.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Thanks Mick - other than your motivation I hope you are feeling OK. Sometimes you don't want to bother setting up the astro gear but last night was so good I had to have a go despite the sky not being properly dark.

Its when you have a good few hours that your interest gets a high and you want more. I am sure when you get to salisbury you will be flying again!!

See you sometime.

Mark

[Tantalus]

Sounds like a good night Mark. I wouldn't say "only a 4" APO frac" though, from what I've read about them they're a nice piece of kit.

I know what you mean about motivation Doc - I was tired last night and didn't really want to be bothered. I knew I shouldn't miss the chance of a clear sky, so I started setting up but it felt like I was just going though the motions. Once I'd set up, I thought I may as well at least have a look even though I'd not prepared a list, and was rewarded with three first-time observations and a nice meteor... . Hope you find the magic again soon Doc.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Tantalus I take your point about 'only'. This is a brilliant telescope and the quality is superb. What please me was seeing these faint globs close to the horizon with a scope with a small aperature compared to the buckets normally used for DSOs.

Mark