Tuesday morning’s off-track observing session left me a little disappointed but it hadn’t diminished my determination to nail down M44 and M67 in Cancer as well as M76 and NGC 1499 (The California Nebula) in Perseus. As Tuesday’s unsettled sky wavered in and out of clear spells and overcast gloom, I slowly felt any chance of another observing session slipping away; how wrong could I be?
Well, a lot as it so happens! As I glanced out of the window for the final time late on Tuesday night I saw that the clouds had all but drifted away and large patches of clear sky had managed to break through. Taking a chance, I waited till the constellation Cancer had cleared the roof tops and then headed out at 01:30 UT early on Wednesday morning.
Unlike my previous session I decided to use the 10×50 Bresser bins to find my quarry rather than the hefty Strathspey 25×100s. Moving out into the middle of the back yard I turned to the south east where I could see the mighty Leo rising into the sky. Moving slightly to the west of Leo I began scanning the sky for Cancer unaided. It was a little hard to make out against the orange haze being cast up by the local light pollution, but I eventually found Acubens and Al Tarf, the two stars that make up the lower portion of the constellation. Moving up from here I could just about see Asellus Borealis, and by using a little averted vision I then managed to make out Asellus Australis. This was the important part of my search as I knew finding these two stars would lead me to M44, The Beehive Cluster.
Reaching for my 10×50 bins I tracked back across my original path in the sky and star hopped my way to The Beehive. It really was a fantastic sight and well worth the effort. The cluster itself showed up as a myriad of glowing stars that traced out an almost spherical shape in the sky. A beautiful DSO and one that I’m sure I’ll get around to sketching very soon. Unfortunately a small blanket of cloud slowly drifted over Cancer forcing me to temporarily postpone my search for the smaller cluster M67.
Instead I turned my attention to Collinder 70, otherwise known as Orion’s Belt. Now, I didn’t have a clue that this was an open cluster of stars until I read one of The Rev Aaron’s posts over at Caffeinated Astronomy. This is a truly amazing Deep Sky Object on a par with the Pleiades and is really best viewed through binoculars so you can truly savor it’s delights. From here I moved up Orion to Collinder 69, the group of stars that form Orion’s head. This open cluster doesn’t offer the same WOW factor as Collinder 70, but it’s a beautiful little cluster all the same.
By this point the clouds over Cancer had been swept away eastwards and I could resume my search for the open cluster M67. Having found Acubens, the search for this Messier object was quite easy and in no time at all I was gazing upon this distant DSO. Now this open cluster was a lot smaller and a lot fainter, but was observable none the less.
By about 02:03 UT I decided to turn my attention to Perseus and that’s when something very bright exploded in the sky above me. This actually made me physically jump, but It lasted all of two to three seconds and was then gone. I never actually saw what is was, but I’m sure I heard a crackling or hissing sound that vanished with the light. My best guess is that it was a meteorite fireball, but I can’t be sure because I didn’t actually observe it (more’s the pity).
Feeling a little bewildered I returned to Perseus and began ambling over the constellation towards the location of NGC 1499. Gazing through the 10×50s just above Xi Persei I could make out a rich star field but unfortunately no nebulosity. To be honest I wasn’t expecting to see that much detail but it was still a worth while view.
M76 or The little Dumbbell Nebula as it is also affectionately known was the final stop on my short list and try as I might I couldn’t locate this DSO. It was only later on once I was back inside that I queried the exact location of M76 in Stellarium. I could have kicked myself, I was trying to find M76 around the locality of Tau Persei instead of Phi Persei!
Having no luck with M76 I ended my session by rambling over the north western sky. First up was the stunning Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC 869 and NGC 884) which I have neglected over the last month or so. From here I worked my way down to the beautiful and often over looked open cluster M34. Finally I let the binoculars land on the small and elusive M33 or The Triangulum Galaxy as it is also known. I always find that this galaxy varies in brightness, something which I have put down to it’s position in my light polluted skies.
As I prepared to call time on my session I took in an unaided view of Saturn rising from the south east into the early morning sky. After spending a few moments taking in the distant but bright point of light of this planetary marvel I turned just in time to catch of small, faint meteorite pay me a ‘flying visit’ as it glanced the handle of Ursa Major and disappeared in to the east. Bidding farewell to my fleeting astral visitor I decided to wrap things up at around 02:30 UT and head indoors to warm up.
Tags: Acubens, Al Tarf, Asellus Australis, Asellus Borealis, Bresser 10x50, Cancer, Collinder 69, Collinder 70, Fireball, Galaxies, Leo, M33, M34, M44, M67, M76, Meteorite, NGC 1499, NGC 869, NGC 884, Orion, Perseus, Phi Persei, Saturn, Stellarium, Tau Persei, The Beehive Cluster, The California Nebula, The Little Dumbbell Nebula, The Triangulum Galaxy, Triangulum, Ursa Major, Xi Persei
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The skies were clear, the seeing was good but some how my observing session early on Tuesday morning quickly became undone. I headed outside at 01:30 UT and set up the tripod and mounted the 25×100 bins. My session, I decided, was going to be split between the constellations Perseus and Cancer; the sole intention here was to grab a few Messier objects to add to the list as well as take a closer look at the double star Eta Perseii and NGC 1499 (The California Nebula).
The first hurdle that became apparent was the position of Perseus. Riding high in the sky I realized that observing was going to be difficult. Not a problem if your a scope user, but if your using bins then be prepared for some major neck strain! I was simply left with two choices: try to observe Perseus at this position or give up - I chose the latter. Reluctantly I moved on to my next target: the constellation of Cancer.
Turning the binoculars south east I began hunting down Cancer but soon found myself sinking in the nebulous orange miasma that light pollution produces. Here I was looking for M44: The Beehive Cluster or Praesepe as it is also known. I was also set on observing M67, a condensed open cluster that can be found near the star Acubens. The only problem was that Cancer was playing hide and seek with me. I could easily make out the top of Leo as it slowly rose out of the east, but try as I might, Cancer just eluded me.
Looking on the positive side of the session, I had an impressive view of the heavens with The Pleiades, The Hyades and The Orion Nebula easily visible with the naked eye while the constellations Auriga, Taurus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Draco, Ursa Major, Leo and Orion were all on show and looking stunning. To add to this, at 02:00 UT I also managed to catch Saturn climbing over the roof tops which is always a pleasing sight, however, my 25×100 bins don’t resolve any real detail on the planet itself, so I was content just to gaze at it unaided.
By 02:45 UT I packed up and headed for the warmth of my bed. I was disappointed with my lack of success with Perseus and Cancer, but putting that aside I did enjoy the chance to be back out star gazing. The lack of observing flexibility has got me thinking about investing in a new telescope, but I’ve not decided anything firm yet. For the moment It’s really just a case of wait and see.
Tags: Acubens, Andromeda, Auriga, Cancer, Cassiopeia, Collinder 50, Draco, Eta Perseii, Leo, M42, M44, M45, M67, M76, Orion, Praesepe, Saturn, Taurus, The Beehive Cluster, The Hyades, The Orion Nebula, The Pleiades, Ursa Major
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With a thin layer of frost beginning to form on just about everything, Sunday night was probably the coldest night I’ve experienced thus far. Now you’d be forgiven for thinking that this would mean that the sky was going to be crystal clear which I suppose it was to a certain extent. There were no clouds, but the sky transparency was just a little fuzzy - am I nit picking? Probably! You think I’d had a glut of wonderful crisp starry skies with a gripe like this. Anyway, I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to get out and do some more observing and sketching - just as well as the weather has recently turned and I now have excess cloud cover.
To kick the night off I set my sights on an easy yet pleasing target: Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major. A simple optical binary which the 25×100 binoculars split more than easily.
From here I returned to an object that I had failed to observe at the beginning of October: the globular cluster Messier 56 in the constellation Lyra. It took a little bit of work to find this DSO as it is quite faint, but once I found it I was no less thrilled. First observed by Charles Messier on January 23rd 1779, the cluster lies 32,900 light years from Earth and spans an area of 84 light years.
Once I was done with M56 I turned my attention to the majestic Orion Nebula which I had tried to grab unsuccessfully during a previous session but was stopped short as a blanket of cloud ended things abruptly. With no such problems to harass me this time around I was able to sketch the nebula easily and I have to say, I think it’s the gem of the whole two hour session.
Tags: Lyra, M42, M56, Mizar, Orion, Strathspey 25x100, The Orion Nebula, Ursa Major, Weather
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The forecast at the Met Office held out - early Monday morning delivered crisp, clear skies with the odd cloud drifting overhead. I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity like this so promptly geared up to capture another and possibly better star trail image.
The target for the session was the constellation of Orion as it rose over the roof tops towards the south east. Having positioned the tripod and the camera I decided to take a few test shots to make sure that I was focused on infinity as well as frame the image as best I could considering the urban landscape (the backyard).
The final image is a result of thirty six 30 second exposures taken at 24mm using an ISO of 800 with an F/Stop of 4.5. I had originally taken forty six exposures but towards the end of shooting clouds began rolling in and spoiled the view. The exposures were put together in Startrails and post processed in Photoshop.
Orion can be seen rising at the very centre of the picture - I even managed to capture part of The Hyades in there too which can be seen at the top of the shot, again near the centre. All in all I’m pretty happy with my second star trails attempt, but would love to do longer trails, which means either taking more exposures or experimenting with longer exposures, F/Stops and ISO speeds. Certainly food for thought.
After capturing all the exposures that would make up my final star trails image, I decided to go for a wander across the sky using the Bresser 10×50 binoculars. I chanced my luck and decided to see if I could catch a glimpse of NGC 7000: The North America Nebula in Cygnus. No such luck - I’m beginning to think that the skies around Falkirk and Stenhousemuir just aren’t dark enough.
Having no joy with Cygnus I moved on to a current favorite of mine: Auriga and the delights of M36, M37 and M38. I viewed these three open clusters through the Strathspey 25×100 binoculars a few weeks back and I wasn’t disappointed. The view through the 10×50s was no less thrilling if not more stunning. Beautiful deep sky objects and ones I’m certainly going to be observing a lot more in the future. From here I swept over to The Hyades and The Pleiades in Taurus for a quick glimpse but I just couldn’t stop myself from coming back to these two amazing open clusters again and again during the course of my morning observations.
Reluctantly I soon turned my attention to the majesty of M31: The Andromeda Galaxy. No matter how many times I see it, it is always a wondrous sight to behold, but I almost broke my neck viewing it as the constellation itself was positioned almost at the zenith. Moving down towards the constellation Triangulum I eventually found M33, making it only the second time I have seen this fantastic yet elusive galaxy. I spent quite a while in this part of the sky, sweeping backwards and forwards from M31 and M33 just drinking in the mesmerizing view.
Before long I finally surrendered and focused the binoculars on the splendor of M42: The Orion Nebula. Yes I’ve seen The Orion Nebula many,many times before, but it still never fails to make an epic impact on me. Wheeling around to Ursa Major I thought I try and hunt down M81 and M82 but eventually just began browsing around the sky aimlessly. At this point I gradually wound things up and decided to head for the warmth of the house. Unfortunately I never managed to see or capture any Orionids or Taurids, but there is always next time.
Tags: Andromeda, Auriga, Collinder 50, Cygnus, DSLR, M31, M33, M36, M37, M38, M42, M45, M81, M82, NGC 7000, Orion, Orionids, Star Trails, Taurids, Taurus, The Hyades, The Orion Nebula, The Pleiades, Triangulum, Ursa Major, Weather
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The moon was out in force last night (11.10.08) which put paid to half of my DSO search list, but more about that in a moment. I spent the first half of the evening imaging the moon. I wasn’t trying to go for a classic lunar shot per se but a more scenic image of the moon as it passed through the trees at the front of the house. I had the foresight to take a dark frame, but I think that there is still some noise in there that could be processed out. I had taken a number of pictures at F/Stops between 5.6, 8 and 11 as well as shutter speeds between 1/400 and 2 seconds. Best of a bad bunch, the overexposed image above was shot using an F/Stop of 8 at 70mm and an ISO of 400 with a shutter speed of 1/400. A lower ISO and bracketing might be the order of the day next time around. All in all, it’s still a nice image, but the thing that I like about this shot is the fact that I managed (unwittingly I might add) to capture a ‘corona’ around the moon albeit a mild one.
By early Sunday morning I turned my attention to the DSO search. First up was The North America Nebula NGC 7000, The Pelican Nebula IC 5070 and the Veil Nebula NGC 6960, 6992 and 6995 in Cygnus as well as M56 and M57 in Lyra - then I realised that I had zero chance of seeing anything in this part of the sky as the moon was now shinning low in the west.
I turned eastwards determined to carry on my DSO hunt in spite of the moon. Here I was looking for M36, M37 and M38 in the constellation Auriga. These open clusters are really something special - at 25 million years old, M36 is the youngest of the group. Lying 4,100 light years from the Earth, the stars here cover an area of around 14 light years. With a distance of up to 4,600 light years, M37 looks to be the oldest of the group with an age of 300 million years. This cluster contains over 500 stars with at least a dozen of them red giants. At around 220 million years, M38 is the second oldest of the group and lies 4,200 light years away spanning at least 25 light years. As views go, this is a fantastic part of the sky and one I’ll be returning to a lot more in the future.
Traveling south eastwards, I pointed my 25×100 binoculars at what is probably the most famous nebula in the night sky - M42/M43. Otherwise known as the Orion Nebula. This is a spectacular object to observe, and even under my light polluted sky the nebula was visible with the naked eye. Through the 25×100s M42/M43 showed up as a pale blue smear against the night. The nebula covers an area of around 24 light years and is generally considered to be the closest area of mass star formation to Earth. A really wondrous sight.
Last on my list was Collinder 50 i.e. The Hyades in Taurus. This is the nearest open cluster to Earth lying only 151 light years away and containing 300 to 400 stars that all share a commonality. This part of the sky really is best viewed through a pair of 10×50 binoculars so you can savor the cluster in it’s entirety.
By about 02:30 UT I decided to call it quits. Having spent most of Saturday daytime not feeling too well I decided that discretion really was the better part of valor.
Tags: Auriga, Bresser 10x50, Collinder 50, Cygnus, De Mairan's Nebula, DSLR, IC 5070, Lunar Corona, Lyra, M36, M37, M38, M42, M43, M56, M57, Moon, NGC 6960/6992/6995, NGC 7000, Orion, Strathspey 25x100, The Hyades, The North America Nebula, The Orion Nebula, The Pelican Nebula, The Veil Nebula
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