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Duane, NGC7006 doesn't appear to be the easiest to find, but sure you'll nab it at a dark site.
Couple of links:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/aug1/NGC_7006.html
http://seds.org/~spider/ngc/ngc.cgi?N7006Jeff
Duane and Jeff: I have a great idea. Let's get NGC 7006 next weekend at the Star B-Q!
The long term forecast looks favorable. It is going to be hot and muggy for a couple of days, then, it is supposed to get pretty nice. I pray that it happens.
I can see a big hayfield, crowded with LOTS of telescopes and astronomy fans, clear skies ALL the way down to the horizon. "Oohs!" and "Ahhs" and "WOW's" all the way thru the night.
And just maybe…. a fireball, northern lights and/or a supernova lighting up the scene! 🙂
We'll try a decent night first! ;D
As for NGC 7006, That Sucker's Going DOWN!!!! 8)
I saw a heck of a fireball last night at Gamehaven. It flared up two or three times ad is fell from just south of the bowl of the Big Dipper to the southeast.
Captain Kirk!
Go to the American Meteor Society webpage and report your fireball sigting. They are very eager for stuff like this and if you saw something like that from Rochester, there is a good possibility that other people have as well and have reported it.
There are two meteor streams, one from Aquarius and one from Capricorn that are interacting with the Earth right now. The Universe Today website mentions that the Capricorn stream has been noted for producing fireballs.
If you go to the AMS website, there is a page there that will take you through your observation step by step.
Last night was fun. The kids were interested and after they packed up, we stayed and observed some more. Rebecca got M57, M13 and M22… and I think M28 too.
I couldn't wait, I bagged NGC7006. That is a fairly tough one. I also got 6934. I'm ready to roll over these Herschel objects now!
Duane
I got out last night @ the StarBQ! Therefore, it's time to post my first observing note. 😀
I bagged M31, M32 & M110 for my first three of the Messier list. Randy, Kirk, Dean & Duane helped me see many others, including M81 & 82, M6, M7, M8, M24 w/B92 & B93, M27, NGC 6720, NGC 6514, NGC 6705, NGC 6618, NGC 5194 w/NGC 5195, Jupiter with Callisto, Ganymede, Io & Europa, Albireo, an iridium flare, the ISS AND a meteor at approximate -7 magnitude in Draco with a 2:30s duration!!
Whew. And I think I'm allowed to finally say it, it was AGNFA! 😀
Nicole, that's a mouthful of good deep sky eating for you at the StarBQ! Might want to wipe a little Io off the side of your chin! Back at home, my wife happened to see the same hanging meteor trail that we witnessed. We indeed had a potpourri of astro goodies, compliments of our host Dean and the wonderful Flatin Farm skies. Thanks Dean!
Thanks to all the wonderful people of the RAC that came down and made this such a great event. I'm very happy that you all got to see the Flatin Farm at its very best.
We had another great night of observing tonight, starting at 9 p.m and lasting until 1:30 a.m. Then the wind picked up as lightning started lighting up the sky to the southwest, so we packed up. Elvis left the field at 2 p.m. along with the other die hard astronomers that stayed for the second night, Duane, Dewey, Jerome, Joshua, Jillissa, Brandon, Captain Kirk and yours truly.
We had an unexpected treat when my sister Audreyjean came out at midnight and stayed for an hour to watch stars and visit with us. She thought that the hayfield might be planted into peas next year and not corn. If that happens, we could do this all again next year. She told us that she hopes we have a Star B-Q every year.
Godspeed and God Bless to you all.
It may have been the two most glorious nights for astronomy I've ever had. 🙂
I think they said it all. It was a glorious weekend for astronomy! I'd say more but I've already started to write it in the next newsletter and all you who didn't attend will just have to wait 😉
Duane
Here's the rundown on my notes for the second night at the Star BQ:
Jupiter showed all four moons to the east in two pairs whose alignment mimiced each other. The Great Red Spot was plainly visible and I agree with Jerome that it really looked like "The Great White Spot".
I used Epsilon Lyra for a check on the transparency and seeing. (Good, but not as great as Friday night).
We had an ISS pass overhead from SW to NE at 10:24 p.m.
I viewed M8, M22 and M13 with Kirk through "Elvis" and Brandon and I checked out the Veil Nebula in Cygnus using my Celestron G8 with the Ultra High Contrast filter. (Very good results)
Collectively we saw 14 meteors bright enough to journal and several other faint ones. The early ones were Delta Aquarids or Capricornids, but the later ones seemed to have a radiant that would have been consistant with being Perseid meterors. Could they have been early Perseids?
We also had my sister AJ stop out for about an hour and both that night and at breakfast at her house the next morning, she told me that she hopes we do this every year. 🙂
It was AGNFA. What a weekend!
Yep, Perseids can start pretty early. I saw two Perseids tonight, clearly radiating from Perseus.
Duane
After my outreach (see separate topic), I did go out and observe for a little while. I was going to skip that and I put the scope in the house. I brought out the garbage a little later and it just seemed like the stars where really popping out, more than usual. I could see the teapot right after leaving the house. A lot of times, I can't do that. I decided to head to the backyard for a bit and just looked around at a few things I've already seen. Getting them set in my mind. 🙂
I did find a couple new Messiers for me. Should have picked them up at Flatin on Friday, but didn't do that. Anyway, pulled in M11, Wild Duck cluster, and it's neighbor, another open cluster, M26. Both in Scutum.Jeff
Jeff, you are the MAN!
After your post about the ISS in the forum, I had to get out there. We had a small rain squall go thru Spring Grove about 7 p.m. and I wondered if it was worth going out there. By 8 p.m., it was getting pretty clear, so my wonderful helpful son Matthew helped me load up. (I wish he'd observe as much as he helps me pack up!) I got out there and had everything set and had the Celestron G8 tracking Jupiter. I kept looking for the ISS when lo and behold, it was already past the zenith and heading right for Jupiter! I tried getting my binocs on it, and then realized that "hey, just look thru the scope". I did and waited about ten seconds to see the ISS pass just northeast of the planet in the same FOV! It was not as big as the angular diameter of Jupiter, but the ISS was big enough that I could see the solar panels!!
WAY COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8)
After that, I observed and drew the Mare Humboltianum basin for my Lunar II program, and turned back to Jupiter to see Io start to pass in front of the planet. Io was passing in front of Jupiter's disc right where the N. equatorial belt is, so I could see the "white wart" effect that Duane and I saw about a month ago. As I watched it, Io kept going across on the same latitude and I could actually see the moon against the planet's disc, something I had never seen before.
I started having dew problems then, and put the OTA in the van with the heater on while I used the binoculars to look at Antares and M4. But then clouds were interfering, the binocs were dewing up and I packed up.
As I packed up, I could hear "meowing" to the west of me. Could it have been Herschel the Cat? I don't know for sure because I never got a visual. I do know that if Herschel would have rubbed up against me in the dark, I'd have $%^&^ a brick! 😮
Off and on thru the brief two hours that I was there, I thought about all the wonderful people and scopes that made the Flatin Farm hayfield such a happening place last weekend. If any of you need to come on down to a great southern sky exposure to get some hard to find objects, you are always welcome.
Good job Dean. We got some rain about 6:00, a good little shower, downpour. We were out walking at the time and got soaked. Who knew, it rains in Southern Minnesota! 😮
Pretty sure it was the solar panels I was seeing when I was following it. It turned out to be somewhat easier to follow than I expected, so I did that instead of waiting for it. Figured if it got real close to Jupiter, I would see it, but never did.I did see there were two moons on each side and one was very close, Io I guess. I was looking at it and then figured it would probably go behind. I didn't bother to look things up, but now after reading your post, I realize I was looking at it upside down. If I would have thought of that last night, I might have left the scope out to see if I could pick it up when it crossed.
Jeff
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