Wednesday morning (22.04.09) offered me the perfect opportunity to return to the beautiful double star Albireo in the constellation of Cygnus. I kicked things off at 02:30 BST, and spent a fair amount of time just observing the system with the 12mm plössl which easily revealed the rich amber/yellow of Albireo A and, the vivid blue/green of the smaller Albireo B.
After about twenty minutes I decided to push the magnification up, but just as I was getting ready to insert the 6mm plössl something sped across the field of view. It all happened so fast that I just didn’t really get a chance to identify exactly what it was I saw, but if I were to guess I’d say it was a meteor — perhaps a Lyrid?
Although the higher magnification of the 6mm eyepiece compromised the seeing the view was wonderful nonetheless, and at times both stars resolved clearly in the eyepiece. While Albireo A retained most of it’s yellow hue the smaller B companion suffered some colour reduction, but it’s blueish/green glow was still vaguely evident.
Despite the alluring quality of this double star system I was beginning to succumb to the cold, but I didn’t feel ready to just pack up so I turned my attention to Messier 27 in Vulpecula. I’d spent some time with this deep sky object just over a week ago with the 25×100 binoculars, and I was curious to see just what the Celestron Omni XLT could pull from it. With astronomical twilight already well on it’s way I knew it wouldn’t be the best of observation to be had, but I persevered regardless.
After swapping the 6mm plössl around for the 25mm, and fifteen minutes of careful searching I finally landed on the diaphonous planetary nebula. My previous observation through the 25×100s revealed the nebula as “an opaque almost spherical white smudge”, but the view through the refractor exposed the subtle graduations as well as the “double headed shot” that the 19th century astronomer John Herschel had described. This really was a beautiful sight, but if it wasn’t for the fact that I was frozen to the core and, extremely tired I would have liked to have spent more time observing M27. Had I stayed out observing any longer the next door neighbors may have found me clinging to my telescope in a delirious stupor — hopefully things won’t ever come to that!
I’m glad I took advantage of the clear skies that morning because the weather since then has offered up nothing, but perpetual cloud along with periodic rain. Providing things clear up over the weekend I’m planning on spending some time working on the Binocular Messier Club list by hunting down a group of globular clusters in Ophiuchus. Hopefully I’ll have some new observations to report quite soon!
Tags: Albireo, Celestron Omni XLT 120, Cygnus, Lyrids, M27, Strathspey 25x100, The Dumbbell Nebula, Vulpecula
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The weather over the last few days has actually been quite decent and Sunday morning (19.04.09) delivered the clearest skies that I have seen in a while. In fact the weather conditions were so excellent that I can’t actually remember the last time they were this good. Despite the fact that an afternoon of hard play with my one year old son had left me running on empty I still managed to muster up the energy to rig up the telescope for a short session.
I wanted to take the opportunity to have a look at Albireo with the scope, but thought I’d save that for later, and instead opted to start things off by taking in another view of Saturn. The seeing was excellent, and sky transparency was spot on, but because the planet was only +18° above the western horizon there was zero detail to be had. However the three moons: Titan, Rhea and Iapetus were again all visible, but just like the previous observation I was unable to pin down any of the other moons. With this in mind I think that I’ll drop down to the 12mm plössl, and see if the reduced power makes any difference in resolving the other satellites the next time around.
With the time hitting 02:34 UT (03:34 BST) I decided to leave Saturn behind, and head out into galactic space to track down the double star Albireo. The last time I looked at this celestial gem was way back in November with the 25×100 binoculars, but this time around I was visually knocked off my feet. The view was absolutely gorgeous through the 12mm eyepiece, and the colours of both stars were unbelievably vivid. My only regret is that I didn’t produce a sketch, but I’ll definitely be returning to Albireo very soon to do just that!
I clung to this beautiful double star for almost an hour, but I finally gave in to the cold, and my tiredness at 03:24 UT (04:24 BST) just as nautical twilight was arcing across the eastern skyline. As I spent the next half hour breaking down the gear I was captivated by the ghostly light, and found myself in awe of the firey red glow burning along the horizon. Certainly a great way to end a good observing session — I remember thinking that I would have to stay up this late more often when out star gazing. I’ll just make sure that I have the coffee brewing in future to stop me from keeling over.
Tags: Albireo, Celestron Omni XLT 120, Cygnus, Iapetus, Rhea, Saturn, Titan
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I was eleven years old when I was given my first telescope back in 1988: a 60mm red tube Tasco refractor on an alt-azimuth mount. It opened up a larger window to the heavens for me, and granted me some very memorable observations of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. For nearly ten years that telescope was a constant companion as I observed the night sky, but then it slowly found it’s way into the attic, and began gathering dust while I started to pursue a career as a musician, and a sound engineer.
As the time passed — I still don’t know why? — I began to feel the pull of the night sky again. It is hard to explain, but perhaps it’s the feeling of oneness that astronomy gives me — the knowledge that we are part of something uniquely special, and wholly inexplicable. Whatever the reason all I knew was that I wanted to be back out there drinking in the wonders of the universe.
To reacquaint myself with the night sky I bought myself a pair of Bresser 10×50 binoculars. Every amateur astronomer worth their salt should own a pair of binoculars — big or small they are an indispensable tool. I always looked at the glossy adverts for the large telescopes in the monthly astronomy magazines, but never felt it was the right time to be splashing out a sizable sum of money for such a serious instrument. Instead I stepped up the binocular ladder, and purchased a pair of Strathspey 25×100 binoculars — a sound astronomical investment, and one that I would advise any budding astronomer to make.
Since then I have traversed my way across the solar system; through the galaxy, and beyond into the vast gulf of interstellar space. However like all astronomers I can’t help wanting to get just that little bit closer to the cosmos; in my case the Moon and the planets as well as some of the brighter deep sky objects. I’ve always had a love of refractors, and when I saw that David Hinds had an Easter special on a Celestron Omni XLT 120mm refractor mounted on a solid GEM, I couldn’t resist jumping at the chance to own one.
I have to confess that I was quite daunted by the task of setting up a telescope on an equatorial mount, but after a few practice runs I soon got the hang of it. The scope’s first light came early on Friday morning, (17.04.09) and polar aligning it proved to be easier than what I thought it would be thanks to some handy advice I received on Twitter from @craiggold who runs the excellent new blog Starmunchers . My target for the session was Saturn which gave me an excuse to use the new 6mm Celestron Omni Plössl — one of two eyepieces — that I had purchased along with the scope. The conditions were not great, and in atypical fashion the clouds rolled in just after I had set everything up. This left me wondering if my session had bought it there and then; I decided to wait the clouds out which eventually cleared partially thanks to an easterly breeze.
With some clear sky above I set about locating Saturn using the finder, and the included 25mm eyepiece which I have to say really impressed me. The view across the whole field was tack sharp, and quite contrasty with zero chromatic aberration. Even at 40x magnification Saturn’s edge on rings were clearly visible as were some of the brighter Moons, but when I popped the 6mm Plössl into the diagonal I was presented with a wonderfully crisp planetary display.
Although there was some mild chromatic aberration, and the seeing wasn’t all that great I did manage to observe a slight opening between Saturn’s rings as well as two vague ochre bands in the northern, and southern hemispheres. In orbit around the giant planet I could easily see the three moons Titan, Rhea and Iapetus, but for some reason Dione eluded me. The view was utterly hypnotic, and I spent just over an hour tracking it across the sky, but it wasn’t long before my fun was brought to an abrupt end by an armada of cumulus cloud that quickly overtook the starry sky. I can honestly say that this was the most exhilrating observing session that I’ve had in a long time. Saturn was a mesmerizing sight, and I’ll certainly be returning to this distant planet as often as I can before it fades into the summer sky. As far as the new scope is concerned I am absolutely delighted with it, and would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of upgrading to a larger instrument.
Tags: Bresser 10x50, Celestron Omni XLT 120, Iapetus, Rhea, Saturn, Strathspey 25x100, Tasco 60mm, Titan
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Lying 1200 light years away in the same arm of the Milky Way as our own yellow Sun sits the Dumbbell Nebula. Discovered in 1764 and catalogued as M27 by the French astronomer Charles Messier this deep sky object is actually a planetary nebula — the stellar debris ejected from a dying star.
It was here early on Sunday morning (12.04.09) that I turned the giant binoculars as I attempted to eke out a glimpse of this distant cosmic fatality. The atmospheric conditions were reasonably good, but due to Vulpecula’s +16° elevation the light pollution from the nearby town of Grangemouth overwhelmed the view slightly. Despite this the nebula was still visible against the hazy sky glow as an opaque almost spherical white smudge that brightened subtly when using averted vision.
The realisation that you are actually gazing upon a vast expulsion of superheated gas, and plasma spanning perhaps 1 light year is very compelling to say the least. During the 35 minutes that I spent observing M27 I began to wonder what it would be like to see this spectacle from within the nebula itself. Inspired by that thought I produced the digital render above which shows the view from the desolate surface of a fictitious dwarf planet in orbit around the hot central star. Science fact or science fiction? I’m not really sure to be honest, but it certainly would be an awe inspiring sight to see the Dumbbell Nebula in this way.
Tags: Charles Messier, M27, Milky Way, Planetary Nebula, Strathspey 25x100, The Dumbbell Nebula, Vulpecula
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Sunday (05.04.09) marked the end of MoonWatch week, which for me has been a fun event to celebrate even if the weather has not always cooperated. On this occasion the promising blue evening sky had given way to the fog like veil of cirrostratus cloud later that night, which I would have cursed at any other time if it weren’t for the hazy lunar corona that it was helping to create.
With Regulus in Leo sitting just above the Moon I decided to use the Bresser 10×50s mounted on the tripod to make a wide field observation. Trying to identify the number of lunar objects that I could see at this magnification was also quite fun. Near the southern terminator I could partially discern the Mare Nubium while to the north I could easily make out the giant ray crater Copernicus and the Mare Imbrium. The vast bay of the Sinus Iridium and the dark, lava filled crater Plato were also clearly visible in and around this area.
Looking eastwards I had no problem observing the dark stains of the brightly lit Maria — this included the Mare: Serenitatis, Vaporum, Tranquillitatis, Crisium & Foecunditatis — while the bright rays of Langrenus and the outlines of Petavius as well as Furnerius were all visible. I also managed to catch (with some added scrutiny) the smaller ray craters Manilius, Menelaus and Proclus, all of which looked like minute pin-pricks of light against the lunar surface.
By the time I had finished making a preliminary sketch the cloud cover had grown just that little bit thicker. It looked more and more likely that a blanket of stratus would begin to roll in from the west quite soon so I was happy to have made the observation when I did. All in all I have to say that this short lunar jaunt was the perfect way to end the first MoonWatch week. The second MoonWatch week won’t take place until late October, just after Jupiter SkyWatch week — both of which I’m really looking forward to. In between then and now I’m hoping to complete the Binocular Messier Club list and make some headway with the Lunar 100, which is more than enough to keep this amateur astronomer busy for some time.
[Post edited: 07.04.09]
Tags: Bresser 10x50, Copernicus, Langrenus, Leo, Lunar Corona, Manilius, Mare Crisium, Mare Foecunditatis, Mare Nubium, Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Vaporum, Menelaus, Moon, MoonWatch, Petavius, Plato, Proclus, Regulus, Sinus Iridium
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