I really thought that my last observation of Lulin would be a one off considering the weather conditions over the last few weeks, but the sky on Monday evening through to Tuesday morning (24.02.09) was exceptional and I knew that I was going to get a second chance at this fantastic comet.
Turning my giant binoculars towards Lulin revealed that the nucleus was not as well defined as my first observation and was rather more diffuse, but bright nonetheless. The coma on the other hand appeared to be quite hazy and I couldn’t discern any colour like I had seen previously. Looking over to the left of my field of view I could just make out the extremely faint and diaphanous dust tail stretching out behind the comet if I used averted vision. On this occasion, and much to my surprise, the tail seemed slightly longer and a little fatter which left me wondering if I was seeing things. While the dust tail was tenuously observable, the ion tail still remained completely undetectable.
I stayed with Lulin for a further half hour before I set my sights on a far more diminutive target: The Black Eye Galaxy, otherwise known as Messier 64. I had tried for this faint DSO at the beginning of the month under Moon lit skies, and surprise surprise had failed to locate it (call me foolhardy). This time around I really didn’t have much of a problem pinning M64 down, and had it in my field of view within a few minutes after tracking up from α Com to HP 64312 and then sweeping about 5° west. The galaxy itself showed up as a faint but condensed blot of elongated light with a hint of what I can only describe as a misty golden centre. A delightful binocular object and like other galaxies I have seen, I found M64 to be no less absorbing.
I managed to continue observing for a further ten minutes before my binoculars began to fog up with dew, forcing me to bring things to an end. However, having had a second run at Lulin and bagging Messier 64, I really didn’t feel hard done by. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty rewarding observing session.
[image edited: 26.02.09]
Tags: C/2007 N3 Lulin, Coma Berenices, M64, Strathspey 25x100, The Black Eye Galaxy, Weather
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Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) was discovered back in July 2007 by Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory in Taiwan. Within the next few days this very same comet will make it’s closet approach to the Earth at just 0.41 astronomical units, the equivalent of 61 million kilometers. What the weather conditions will be like over Central Scotland at this time will be anyones’ guess, but I’m not going to hold out much hope for a clear sky.
However, as luck would have it, I was offered the opportunity to observe Lulin early this morning as the thick blanket of stratus that had been bearing down over Falkirk was slowly torn apart by high altitude wind shear. Finding the comet was a breeze and my Bresser 10×50 binoculars easily revealed the diffuse, ball like coma and the bright nucleus, but minus the tail or the anti tail.
After spending some time observing with the 10×50s, I decided to set up the 25×100s to see how much more detail I could pull from my light polluted skies. With direct vision the coma was still quite diffuse but I could easily discern the bright nucleus as well as a faint hint of the green hue that Lulin is emitting due to the gaseous out jetting of cyanogen and diatomic carbon. Averted vision caused the entire coma to brighten noticeably and revealed a tenuous glimpse of the dust tail trailing after the comet, but the ion tail was sadly still elusive. This really was a magnificent and thrilling sight and I took the opportunity to produce an isophote drawing which was used for reference when creating the final sketch above.
Unfortunately the clouds decided to quickly reclaim the sky and although my session only lasted around 30 minutes I am extremely glad that I got the chance to observe Lulin. I dare say that my sketch would have yielded far more detail had I made an observation from a dark sky site, but you work with what you’ve got. I’d love to spend another morning under the stars in the company of this comet, especially with better weather conditions, but the prospects of that happening look pretty slim. If you’ve not done so yet, I would highly recommend taking in a view of this stunning comet - you won’t be disappointed!
Tags: Bresser 10x50, C/2007 N3 Lulin, Strathspey 25x100, Weather
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Over the course of my previous observing sessions I have taken every opportunity to take in a view of the magnificent outer planet Saturn. A small telescope or a pair of high powered binoculars will reveal some of the moons as well as the majestic rings which are a fantastic sight to behold. Saturn can currently be found under the constellation of Leo just below the star Chertan (a simple finder chart can be downloaded from here), and at magnitude 0.93 it’s looking pretty bright. From 21:30 UT onwards Saturn is well placed for observation and is on show the whole night/morning through, not beginning to set until 06:19 UT. From my own experiences so far (using a pair of 25×100 binoculars) I have been able to observe the rings as well as two moons: Titan and Hyperion. However for a truly in-depth observation I would highly recommend a telescope with a long focal length - a 60mm refractor with a minimum focal length of 800mm will easily be up to the task.
Physically Saturn is very similar to Jupiter - composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with trace amounts of ethane, ammonia, methane, phosphine and acetylene. What differentiates Saturn from Jupiter is it’s stunning yet mysterious system of rings. Made from fragments of ice and rock, the rings extend 4,ooo miles above the cloud decks of Saturn out to 46,250 miles. The material in these rings is made up of 99.9 percent pure water ice and range in size from dust particels to objects a few meters across. There are various theories regarding the formation of the rings - the French scientist Édouard Roche promoted the idea that the rings were the detritus of a moon torn apart by tidal forces after it strayed too close to Saturn. Others suggest that the rings are the remains of the material from which Saturn was formed or the debris from a small moon that was obliterated by a comet/asteroid impact. The formation of the rings will probably forever remain a mystery, but either way they are one of the most awe inspiring marvels in our cosmic backyard. So the next time you are out observing, take a moment to turn your binoculars or telescope on to this wonderful planet and drink in the view.
[Image editied: 18.02.09]
Tags: Chertan, Dione, Hyperion, Jupiter, Leo, Saturn, Titan
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Located between the constellations of Leo and Bootes lies the ambiguous Coma Berenices. Made up of three stars that all shine at magnitude 4: α Com, β Com and γ Com, it is a faint constellation and especially so under skies saturated with light pollution. However, while Coma Berenices may seem to be an uncomplicated and uninteresting constellation it is in fact a treasure trove of deep sky objects just waiting to be found.
It was here early on Friday morning (06.02.09) that I concentrated my hunt for two Messier objects: the globular cluster M53 and The Black Eye Galaxy M64. With the waxing gibbous Moon hanging over the north western horizon, conditions were less than cooperative. That’s not to say that the actual sky conditions were bad, on the contrary the seeing was excellent and transparency was the best I’ve seen for a few weeks, but with the setting Moon casting it’s achromatic light, deep sky observing was made all the harder.
Finding Coma Berenices was the hardest part of this observing session, but once I did it was all pretty straightforward from there on in. Aiming the 25×100s on α Com I was surprised to find that M53 (just sitting north west of the star) was clearly visible as a dense, vivid smudge against the washed out sky. I spent around fifteen minutes studying this condensed globular which was (in my opinion) far superior to the view that M92 offered a few mornings earlier. Averted vision yielded little more detail than I could already make out, perhaps because of the Moon light or perhaps because they’re was no more detail to be had. Either way, I’m looking forward to returning to this globular in darker conditions to carry out an extended observation of it.
The Black Eye Galaxy or M64 as it is better known was the next object on the agenda, but considering the conditions I was less than optimistic about grabbing a successful observation. I made a try for it regardless, but as I predicted this was one galaxy that was just out of reach, at least for the moment. Leaving M64 behind for another time I took the opportunity to take in another view of M13 in Hercules - even under a Moon lit sky this mighty globular cluster still delivers a truly fabulous sight. It really is quite something else to realise that you are gazing upon several thousand (possibly millions) of stars lying over 25,100 light years away. If that doesn’t make you dizzy with awe, I don’t know what will! With the time hitting 03:15 UT I decided to call time on my session - just as well really, as a vast bank of cirrocumulus slowly began to consume the sky as it drifted south eastwards. I’ll return to M53 and M64 later in the month (weather allowing) when the Moon rises later; I’ll also be on the lookout for the open cluster M39 in Cygnus so watch this space!
Tags: Bootes, Coma Berenices, Cygnus, Galaxies, Hercules, Leo, M13, M39, M53, M64, Moon, Strathspey 25x100, The Black Eye Galaxy
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My failed observing session on January the 29th (save for a weak observation of Saturn and Titan) left me almost empty handed. However, Wednesday the 4th of February rewarded my patience and determination with a captivating view of Messier 13 (The Hercules Globular Cluster) and Messier 92, another smaller, but exquisite globular cluster also in the constellation of Hercules.
M13 presented me with a truly magnificent sight and left me in absolutely no doubt that it is the king of globular clusters. I spent a good 15 minutes scrutinizing the field of view using direct vision which showed the cluster as an almost spherical, slightly hazy smudge with an extremely dense core. The whole cluster (including the core) brightened considerably when using averted vision where upon it also revealed a delicate hint of some very fine granularity. While M13 had thoroughly impressed me, M92 proved to be more of a polished gem than a shining diamond, but this small and almost diffuse cluster really came to life when using averted vision showing a real increase in brightness but lacking the density or texture of M13. With hindsight this DSO is probably better observed in darker conditions, but even under my light polluted skies M92 is still a wonderful globular cluster to observe. It really does boggles the mind when you realise that you are observing objects that span over 100 light years and contain several hundred thousand stars or more! Two beautiful globulars that are easily attainable with binoculars of medium and high power even under impaired skies.
Before I ended my session I took the opportunity to turn the giant binoculars towards Saturn. As usual I could easily see Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons’ but on this occasion I also managed a tenuous observation of the extremely faint outer moon Hyperion. At the time I wasn’t all that sure if I was looking at another of Saturn’s moons’ or a star, but after checking things out in Stellarium I was delighted to find that I had indeed been lucky enough to see Hyperion.
Tags: Hercules, Hyperion, M13, M92, Saturn, Strathspey 25x100, Titan
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