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The object in question was the reflection nebula 2185. I would rate it in the bottom 3 percent of the Herschel 400 objects.
NGC 2185 is only for someone going after something like the Herschel 400. If you showed it to people at a star party, you'd be guaranteed of solitude for the rest of the night.
Hello astronomy fans! I got out tonight for a couple of hours after Lenten service got done. I was set up by 8:30 and by that time Venus was being shrouded in clouds. However, the south, east and northeast were O.K., meaning clear sky with below average seeing and transparency. But I wasn't going after Herschel 400 objects anyway, I wanted to see what Comet Lulin was up to. With the help of Sky&Telescopes chart, I found it pretty quickly, tonight it was two thirds of the way to Regulus from Saturn. (Binoculars)
As I was setting up my scope, I looked up and saw that I could see it naked eye! 8) I would estimate it about 4.5 to magnitude 5. In the Celestron the nucleus was very obvious and I could see a broad tail extending toward the NE. I wrote down the naked eye, binocular and telescopic observations and turned my attention to the starfield of 54 Leonis.
54 Leonis is on the Double Star List and its beautiful, but I was after Dwarf Planet Ceres and after checking out the starfield with the S&T chart and binoculars, had it narrowed down to two candidates that aren't shown on my Sky Atlas Delux 2000. The first one I didn't like because through my telescope it showed a strong blue-white color, too much like a star. The second one had this nice dirty yellow color that asteroids seem to favor. I'll know for sure the next time out because one of them will move and I bet its the "extra" star sitting near 70 Leonis. 😉
Saturn was beautiful at 200X. Titan to the west and one of the "amateur" moons to the east. Very elegant thin ring plane, atmosphere banding and tiny gaps between the rings and the planet. Just beautiful.
Another look at Comet Lulin and it had moved half the diameter of the Moon in about 90 minutes! That baby is hauling ass! 😮 Then about 10:30 clouds rolled in and made it a short, but Glorious Night for Astronomy!
Hello astronomy fans! Is anybody up for an Eagle Bluff session tonight? The CSC doesn't look too bad, I think we could make a go of it.
I could leave Spring Grove about 7 p.m., and be there a little before 8.
Any takers?
Hello again. A bit of a problem at Eagle Bluff. The parking lot won't be dark until 9:30 p.m. due to a dinner there, so it would be a bit of a late start.
Local observing only may be a better option, although I'd go if others would like to try it.
If I don't get any hits on this in the forum, I'll head out to the Flatin Farm hayfield.
Clear skies, Dean.
Not sure if I wanted to head to Eagle Bluff or not tonight, somewhat cool. If anyone wants to head out, but not go to Eagle Bluff, is anyone interested in heading out to Keller WMA tonight?
JeffOne thought I just had, there has been 7+ inches of snow since the last time I was at Keller. Hopefully they are still clearing the parking lot there. If I get time today, I may drive down there and have a look at it. Otherwise, if anyone else has a chance?…. If anyone wants to go there, it may be a good thing to check it out. Sometimes not that easy to find.
JeffWell I could go for either. If a group of people are going to Eagle bluff, I'd come. Otherwise Keller would be fine too. A late start works better for me either way(9:30 to 10ish). The cold is a factor though.
I checked out Keller, there is about an inch of snow there, so not too bad.
No late nights for me. I'll be heading out to Keller tonight, probably be there for a few hours and head for home about 10:00 or so. Head on out if you want, I'll be there for awhile.
JeffDirections, copied from other threads, in case anyone wants to head out:
Here are directions that Scott provided in another thread:
I drove into the parking lot at Keller today. I prefer to drive to unfamiliar locations in daylight before I try it at night. Turned out to be a good choice as one alternate route I tried turned out to be packed ice. It took me 18 minutes door-to-door; about 12 minutes from US 52. I took County 22 from Highway 52 to Salem Road (County 25) to County 15 south. They say 4 miles each leg, but I found the County 25 part to be closer to 3.5 miles. Both 22 and 15 supported speeds of 55-60 mph. The parking lot is the third turn on the left after the intersection of County 125; it is at the top of the first hill after that intersection. The horizons look fairly blocked by 8-10' tall pine trees that surround the lot. Those could be problematic in years future…To add to that, you do travel about 3.5 miles on County 25 (Salem Road) to County 15 (Garten Marketplatz sign) and turn left/south onto County 15. You then travel about 4.1 miles on County 15 to get to Keller WMA and it is on the left as Scott describes. There are no lights or signs, so you have to watch for it. There is a farm/house across the road with a yard light that is just past Keller.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. I'm leaning towards heading out Keller way myself, provided the kids go down nice and orderly tonight. I wouldn't arrive before 8 and would be gone by 10 at the latest. I'm hoping to track down Comet 144P/Kushida.
Unless something dramatically changes, I guess I'll be at Keller then. I'll try to get there as early as I can, but it might be 9 or so.
Luka, there is the possibility that if you or others wanted to head out Eagle Bluff instead, that Dean and/or others would be amenable to that. But, no one else is talking about coming out. 🙁
Also, looking at the CSC and Weather.com, they are both predicting some clouds starting to come in sometime after 10 and if that is the case, probably don't really want to go all the way out to Eagle Bluff at 9:30. 🙁
Jeff
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