Home Forums RAC Main Forum General Discussion Observing tonight?

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  • #10487
    Luka B
    Participant

      If the CSC is more accurate than yesterday (what was up with that, just crazy wrong) , I hope to go too. I may do a half-marathon rather than a full one though.

      #10488
      Captain Kirk
      Participant

        I will attend if the sky cooperates.

        Kirk

        #10489
        Dean Johnson
        Participant

          Hello again. I was blessed with a short day at work, we still have clear skies and a fair forecast, so I will be heading to Eagle Bluff shortly after 6 p.m.

          Meet me at our usual spot (last lightpole in the parking lot to the east), and remember that since we're going after the Messier Objects, most of them are fairly bright. After all, Monsieur Messier was able to get them with a 3 inch refractor from the middle of Paris. If the Sky Gods permit, we should be able to bag 50, maybe more! ;D

          #10490
          Dean Johnson
          Participant

            I'm running ahead of schedule and am heading for Eagle Bluff. Let's go kick some Messier butt! 😀

            #10491
            Dean Johnson
            Participant

              We did all right. We got 73 by two thirty a.m., then Luka and I had to head home. Captain Kirk was still there when we left. AGNFA. Too tired to post more. More tomorrow.

              #10492
              Captain Kirk
              Participant

                I stayed a bit longer, but didn't find much else at the Bluff.  I rounded out my night with some 8×42 binocular observations from Gamehaven around 4:45 a.m: M8, M20, M21, M22, M28, M24, M7 and perhaps others (M18,M23,M25).  I also made unsuccessful attempts at M54, M70, and M69 which were well clear of the horizon but low enough to be obscured by atmosphere and sky glow.

                Just now I went looking for a few more Messiers in Cygnus and Sagitta from my backyard, only to find them washed out in the light of day.

                #10493
                Randy H
                Participant

                  [quote author=Dean Johnson link=topic=233.msg2919#msg2919 date=1238229410]
                  We did all right. We got 73 by two thirty a.m., then Luka and I had to head home. Captain Kirk was still there when we left. AGNFA. Too tired to post more. More tomorrow.
                  [/quote]

                  Wow! Good job guys!

                  #10494
                  Rick Murray
                  Participant

                    I was unable to get away to Eagle Buff, but I did get out for a short time last night. In recent weeks I have been visiting the available early evening Ms, so I saught out some nebula I've ignored most of the winter. The Eskimo nebula in Gemini was my favorite. Skies were relatively good last night. I also visited the Rosette, Crab, Owl, M42-43-78 in Orion, M76 in Persius, and finaly Saturn. By then I was cold.
                    I'm sad  🙁 I couldn't be there last night. I was going to go tonight, but it looks like the cloud cover will not clear down at Eagle Bluff until very late. So, I'll just have to settle for my deck again.

                    Happy Hunting

                    Rick

                    #10495
                    Dean Johnson
                    Participant

                      Hello astronomy fans! I was hopeful that we'd get in a good night at Eagle Bluff, and suprisingly with all the rotten weather lately, last night turned out pretty good.

                      Mike Rowlands from the LCAAS was the first one there, followed closely by Jeff Newland. We set up and spotted a cresent Moon in the twilight, but what we were really looking for at that time was the ISS/shuttle due to come over at 7:58. We spotted it low to the North at about 8:04. 8)

                      Luka and Captain Kirk got there shortly thereafter and we started in on the Messier Objects at 8:35 p.m. Luka, Jeff, Kirk and I all had 8" aperature scopes and Mike was the Aperture King with his 12" Dob. 😉

                      The Messier Objects we got were: M31, M32, M103, M81-M82, M79, M65-M66-NGC 3628, M76, M33, M93, M52, M34, M1, M45, NGC 7789 (just because), M37, M36, M78, M36, M46-M47, M35, M50, M97, M108, M48, M106, M53, M42-M43 (Mike nailed the E-star in the Trapezium), M64, M94, M63, M104, M3, M101, M51, M58-M59-M60, M89-M90-M91-M88, M95-M96-M105, M86-M84, M44, M67, M98, Saturn break, M98, M100, M13, M49, M61, M92, M68, M109, M5. (We started at 8:35 p.m. and these objects were one right after another in a steady progression until 12:05 a.m. At this point we were running out of readily available targets and our pace slowed. It took us from 12:15 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. to get:) M102 NGC 5866, M40, M57, M83, M12, M10, M56, M80, M107, M4, and M27.

                      During the course of the night, we looked at a few other objects and the ones I remember were NGC 5053 by M53, splitting Gamma Virginis, Luka having fun with the Rosette Nebula (love those filters!) and others, but I can't remember them all.  ???

                      The action was hot and heavy and we were all busy scurrying from one scope to another in the dark parking lot. There was only one family at Eagle Bluff and they never did come and look, which is good because we were VERY busy. When I do this again, I think I'll set my scope up, but just use it for emergency and use a more mobile clip board with list to record all the action and just go around to everyone else's scope to verify targets and just gawk. 😀

                      It was enormous fun. All those guys have a lot of astronomical skill, and I was really pleasantly suprised at how adept Luka is at finding targets with how new he is to the hobby of astronomy. Mike has setting circles on his scope that he can find targets with, I had never seen that before. Jeff has this wonderful eyepiece he uses on his scope that is almost 3D, it's very cool. and what can you say about Ironman Capt. Kirk who stayed around for 10 more Messiers? He holds the RAC record for the most Messiers on a single night. ;D

                      I was really tired on the drive home, so much so that on certain stretches, I didn't recognize where I was unless I thought hard about it. 😛 I was glad to get home, but very, very glad that we had such AGNFA! 🙂

                      #10496
                      Luka B
                      Participant

                        I'm heading out to Keller right now, since it looks like a great evening.

                        Dean, you missed M87 on that list. I vividly remember seeing it. I also found NGC 2438 in M46. It stood out even better with my Lumicon filter.  We also found NGC 2158 next to M35. We found M14 towards the end there as well.

                        #10497
                        Jeff Newland
                        Participant

                          I thought about Keller, but decided to try the backyard.  I haven't been out there since October(?), November(?), earlier? 
                          Anyway, the backyard isn't too bad.  I'm in SW Roch on the edge, so nothing much south and west of me.
                          I was not out there too long.  Clouds were coming in, so came back inside.  They came earlier than I expected. 
                          I looked at the moon for awhile waiting for it to get darker.  Started looking at Saturn, I could pick out 3 moons and some banding.  Trying to get familiar with the backyard again,  🙂  Pulled in M65 and M66 in Leo and M81 and M82 in UrsaMa.  Not quite as nice as what I have been seeing in Keller and Eagle Bluff recently, but still found them.  Keeping an eye on the time as the ISS was due at 8:53 or so with a magnitude of -2.4.  It would go right overhead and should be good show.  I saw it was 8:51 and started watching.  And, yep it was a good show.  Came out below Andromeda and climbed.  Went past Capella and Gemini.  I had my 13mm in the scope.  I did get ahead of it and waiting.  As it went through, I was able to see some definition, definitely some panels visible.  I did latch onto for a bit and followed it with that eyepiece.  The ISS went across the sky, almost hit Regulus, and then it was gone.  🙂
                          I decided to see what I could see from home.  I first tried M76, Little Dumbbell.  I pointed right at it and I could see it.  Yahoo!  Not much of anything other than a little blob.  Moving my scope around and it moved with it.  Yep, M76.  I then did find M1, Crab Nebula.  Again, a definite patch of fuzz.  🙂  On the 21st when we were at Eagle Bluff, I did find NGC 2392, Eskimo Nebula, for the first time.  I finally got it nailed down where it was.  Wasn't too hard to actually see, I just had to figure out what it looked like and read directions better.    ::)  Anyway, time for a test to see if I could find it again and also find it at home.  And there it was.  Out at Eagle Bluff, found out it was more stellar than I expected, but there it was, again…  A cloud went through, pulled in some of the open clusters M37, M36, M38, M35, M41.  More looks at Saturn and the Orion Nebula, then noticed quite a few more clouds were there and decided to call it a night. 

                          #10498
                          Dean Johnson
                          Participant

                            Thanks Luka. I do remember seeing M87 and M14. With all that was going on, it's not suprising that I didn't write them down.

                            I put them in my journal. Clear skies!

                            #10499
                            Nicole Lindell
                            Participant

                              I went out last night for a bit, and around 2:00am saw a near Earth asteroid fly-by…it was amazing – must have landed somewhere near Dean's house.  Definitely AGNFA!  😀

                              #10500
                              Dean Johnson
                              Participant

                                You must have gotten ahold of some "advanced astronomical vision fluid"! ;D

                                #10501
                                Luka B
                                Participant

                                  I got out last night for a while. One of my interested but not quite committed friends joined me. I looked at the Trapezium, and the Double Cluster, which was a bit washed out by the moonlight. We did look at a few craters though, and I'm slowly beginning to get some lunar orientation. We observed Herschel, Ptolemaeus  and Alphonsus craters, and found a few others, but they were too far from the terminator to be seen very well. 

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