Jump to content

Narrowband

A night of faint fuzzies...


m_j_lyons

Recommended Posts

Saturday night was beautiful! No clouds, light breeze, not too cold (at least at sunset). After putting the kids to bed I kissed my bride and told her not to wait up - I'm heading to my dark spot and will be back before 11pm.

New Old Failed

Once there I decided to give my eyes time to adjust to the dark so I spent about 20 minutes in M46 trying to see the planetary nebula NGC2438 - tried as I may - I never could pick it out. I tried at 25x, 75x, and 150x...no luck. A few hints but nothing I'd really say WAS the PN. I don't think the moon was helping much either...I could see my shadow from the moon's glow.

Next I decided to jump back to galaxies and spun the scope to the pair M81 and M82. These I found without issue...popped out nicely like I expected from this location. Moon washed out a little but they were very prominent in the scope at 25x (15mm).

Next over to the Leo Triplet - the skyglow from the suburbs of Sacramento was prominent in this direction (SW)...the light dome was up to about 30-40 degrees. Luckily Leo/Virgo/etc were pretty high in the sky. After jumping down from Chertan I parked on that mag 7 star in the center of the triplet and M65 and M66 were faintly visible. Having seen them before on the other side of the sky (away from the light domes) I know they my seeing was greatly diminished from LP and the moon. Knowing where NGC3628 sits allowed me to patiently wait for my averted vision to pick it out as a faint, elongated haze.

Given the mediocre viewing of the triplet I wasn't sure what to expect as I moved over to Virgo.

I started at the left upper arm of Virgo (Vinemiatrix) and started star hopping towards M59. I got lost in the stars but anchored myself in a prominent 1/2 circle asterism of stars with 33 Vir at the top. From there up to the 3 prominent mag 4.8 - 6.9 stars that hold rho Vir and 27 Vir. They pointed the way to 3 roughly mag 9 stars with M59 and M60 visible on the other side. M60 was the brighter of the pair. Making a triangle pointed back towards the mag 9 line of stars was another faint fuzzy that held the touch of fuzziness not found in a single mag 11 star...so I'm willing to say that it must have been NGC4638. I could clearly make out a few faint stars that show as mag 11 so I'm pretty confident that I was seeing 4638 with averted vision (cool!).

Next I moved over for M58 but despite numerous star hops I was unable to definitely declare a find. I'm guessing I was seeing it but not knowing it. I spent a frustratingly long amount of time trying to find this one. I then started heading towards what should be M87 and found this fuzzy. I was fairly bright...about like M59 was. It was prominent next to a mag 8 star. The more sparse patch of sky to the E of my FOV also helped pin down the ID. On the other side of that patch of darkness was another faint fuzzy - M90. I could see it decently with averted vision...but not directly. No sign of M89 - but once again I was likely looking at it but didn't know it. M90 appeared as a slightly elongated patch of light oriented along a faint double row of stars that started in the direction of M89 and stopped right about at M90.

Going further S in my FOV I picked out two even more faint fuzzies and I'm willing to put money out that they were M84 and brighter from my scope - M86. Neither showed as more than a patch of fuzz. To my NE FOV I picked out one more fuzz patch ... not the eyes...but I think NGC4473. I spent a good bit of time going around in the area and just got more frustrated that it wasn't darker (the moon was still just over my shoulder). But I guess being able to pick out mag 11 stuff occasionally with my 4.5 inch scope means conditions were pretty good.

For the record - during my journey around the Virgo Cluster I lost track of time and didn't get home till almost midnight...bet you've never done that before.

Good night overall - I'll need to get back there when Virgo is higher in the sky and the moon is not visible.

Final talley - 6 new messier objects logged...two more NGCs...and a better knowledge of the layout of the Virgo Cluster.

Heart beat skipper of the night...something running through the vegetation of the field I was nearby - must have been a group of deer - but in the dark with enough moonlight to leave shadows the imagination was more concerned about a rogue bear or a hungry coyote pack or something...what ever it was - it was making a lot of noise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice report. I was out on saturday as well viewing the virgo cluster for the first time. Its amazing how many galaxies you can see at once.

I also lost track of time and finished at 3am. Admittedly i did stat and 1am. 2 hours just slipped away in no time at all. Time certainly does go quickly when your having fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Enjoyable read and a great report. you must have had some nice conditions out there, I like how you have shown what your targets were and how you faired with them :hello2:

I too get a little shuffle in the garden from time to time whilst I'm absorbed at the scope and it still does get to me on occasion but I know its only one of the hedgehogs dropping by :rolleyes: not a chance of a bear :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.