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
Posted in Astro Art, Observing | No Comments »
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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