Good Night Observing Ending with a Nice Meteor
Well, conditions were not awful tonight, or I just wanted to be out I suppose. I spent time trying to find M33 and even with a narrowband filter I'm either going to need help or I need to get to a darker sight than my house (which is about 6.3 limiting magnitude for me). I also took a gamble and though I found the location for M74, I could not get it. I thought that with averted vision I could possibly see it, but that just might be me doing the Little Engine That Could (I think I can . . . ). I then went over and bagged M77 and took about an hour to record observations and sketch it at 21mm, observed it with my 13mm Stratus and then focused and sketched at 9mm. After M77 I went to M44 and then to M67. I sketched both using the 21mm Stratus. By this time though I had tried on two items, and bagged 3 with sketches and observations, my dob was frosting over pretty good, as was the rest of my equipment and though I had hoped to spend sometime sketching M42, and bagging three more Messier objects tonight, alas, that will have to wait. I decided to pack it in and my son and I took in the dob and then after we had everything but my stool and my observing table, when I saw coming out of the west and heading east a very bright orange meteor (time was approx. 12:10a.m. on December 31, 2008). I'm not the best at estimating but it was between the size of Venus and Jupiter as it came in and had a tail going back at least 10 degrees (estimate using my fist). It flew over my house and then broke apart just to the east of my home. My son was pretty stoked as it was his first meteor that close and that bright. Guess I need to show him a comet one day. Just in case anyone can't tell my goal is to complete the Messier badge for next year's award and I'm doing pretty good with 45 items bagged. I also do hit some of the more interesting NCG's and will probably try to get the Hershel 400 after that. It will take me longer as I usually spend 45 minutes to over an hour per item as I record my observation, make sketches or whatever else. Nice to have a good night. I need to look into making a dew heater for my dob's I guess. I saw one over at Sky and Telescope that didn't seem to much to make. Anyone have experience with that or recommend another one that I can make (or purchase if the CFO/CEO of the house approves the amount)?
Terrific report Jay, well done. Don't beat yourself up for not finding M33. It has a low surface brightness and I've only ever detected the nucleus and brightest nebuar region (NGC 595) from my house. For the spiral arms, you'll need an exceptional night. Filters generally don't help with galaxies, which emit a broadband spectrum. They work much better on nebular targets that emit a narrowband spectrum. You may be able to see individual stars to 6.3, but an extended object like M33 (it's really a large galaxy under a truly dark sky) will give you trouble on nights with turbulence, even though it's transparent. On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 12:51 AM, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Well, conditions were not awful tonight, or I just wanted to be out I suppose. I spent time trying to find M33 and even with a narrowband filter I'm either going to need help or I need to get to a darker sight than my house (which is about 6.3 limiting magnitude for me).
Jay, M33 is usually easier to see with binoculars. Try picking it out with binoculars first and then maybe you will see it in the telescope. Lightly wiggling the telescope and averted vision will also help. Dave -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:44 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Good Night Observing Ending with a Nice Meteor Terrific report Jay, well done. Don't beat yourself up for not finding M33. It has a low surface brightness and I've only ever detected the nucleus and brightest nebuar region (NGC 595) from my house. For the spiral arms, you'll need an exceptional night. Filters generally don't help with galaxies, which emit a broadband spectrum. They work much better on nebular targets that emit a narrowband spectrum. You may be able to see individual stars to 6.3, but an extended object like M33 (it's really a large galaxy under a truly dark sky) will give you trouble on nights with turbulence, even though it's transparent. On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 12:51 AM, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Well, conditions were not awful tonight, or I just wanted to be out I suppose. I spent time trying to find M33 and even with a narrowband filter I'm either going to need help or I need to get to a darker sight than my house (which is about 6.3 limiting magnitude for me).
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
You will find that M33 is easier to see in binoculars and if you can see 6.3 mag stars visually you should be able to see it in 10 X 50 or larger binoculars. I can readily see it in my 15 x 50 binoculars even when I can only see about mag 5 stars visually. -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:44 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Good Night Observing Ending with a Nice Meteor Terrific report Jay, well done. Don't beat yourself up for not finding M33. It has a low surface brightness and I've only ever detected the nucleus and brightest nebuar region (NGC 595) from my house. For the spiral arms, you'll need an exceptional night. Filters generally don't help with galaxies, which emit a broadband spectrum. They work much better on nebular targets that emit a narrowband spectrum. You may be able to see individual stars to 6.3, but an extended object like M33 (it's really a large galaxy under a truly dark sky) will give you trouble on nights with turbulence, even though it's transparent. On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 12:51 AM, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Well, conditions were not awful tonight, or I just wanted to be out I suppose. I spent time trying to find M33 and even with a narrowband filter I'm either going to need help or I need to get to a darker sight than my house (which is about 6.3 limiting magnitude for me).
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Thanks for the observing report Jay. M33 is a tough one because it is so dim. You probably just need a darker site. That meteor sounds great! Happy New Year! Tyler _____________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+tylerallred=earthlink.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+tylerallred=earthlink.net@mailman.xmission.co m] On Behalf Of Jay Eads Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:52 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Good Night Observing Ending with a Nice Meteor Well, conditions were not awful tonight, or I just wanted to be out I suppose. I spent time trying to find M33 and even with a narrowband filter I'm either going to need help or I need to get to a darker sight than my house (which is about 6.3 limiting magnitude for me). I also took a gamble and though I found the location for M74, I could not get it. I thought that with averted vision I could possibly see it, but that just might be me doing the Little Engine That Could (I think I can . . . ). I then went over and bagged M77 and took about an hour to record observations and sketch it at 21mm, observed it with my 13mm Stratus and then focused and sketched at 9mm. After M77 I went to M44 and then to M67. I sketched both using the 21mm Stratus. By this time though I had tried on two items, and bagged 3 with sketches and observations, my dob was frosting over pretty good, as was the rest of my equipment and though I had hoped to spend sometime sketching M42, and bagging three more Messier objects tonight, alas, that will have to wait. I decided to pack it in and my son and I took in the dob and then after we had everything but my stool and my observing table, when I saw coming out of the west and heading east a very bright orange meteor (time was approx. 12:10a.m. on December 31, 2008). I'm not the best at estimating but it was between the size of Venus and Jupiter as it came in and had a tail going back at least 10 degrees (estimate using my fist). It flew over my house and then broke apart just to the east of my home. My son was pretty stoked as it was his first meteor that close and that bright. Guess I need to show him a comet one day. Just in case anyone can't tell my goal is to complete the Messier badge for next year's award and I'm doing pretty good with 45 items bagged. I also do hit some of the more interesting NCG's and will probably try to get the Hershel 400 after that. It will take me longer as I usually spend 45 minutes to over an hour per item as I record my observation, make sketches or whatever else. Nice to have a good night. I need to look into making a dew heater for my dob's I guess. I saw one over at Sky and Telescope that didn't seem to much to make. Anyone have experience with that or recommend another one that I can make (or purchase if the CFO/CEO of the house approves the amount)? _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Jay: There are a couple of 110 lists that are an easier transition than the jump the Herschel 400. http://seds.org/messier/xtra/similar/sac110bn.html This "best of the NGC" list is all visable from Utah, the southern most being Omega Centari which can be seen from Rush Valley. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/caldwell.html The Caldwell list is all sky and would require a trip down under to complete, but the first half is visable from here and worth the effort. Be aware that there are several versions of the H400. Some one Scandinavia rewrote the list to be more friendly to the northern European observer and published the ammended list under the same name. So if you google up the list you may not get the "official" one. Someone else came up with a second 400 for those who had done the first 400. DT --- On Tue, 12/30/08, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Just in case anyone can't tell my goal is to complete the Messier badge for next year's award and I'm doing pretty good with 45 items bagged. I also do hit some of the more interesting NCG's and will probably try to get the Hershel 400 after that.
Jay: Two more very important lists need to be mentioned. You may already have them. The Jay Eades to-do list can be printed out and kept with the telescope gear. As things get checked off they can be moved to another list, The Jay Eades life time list. This last one can be as simple or complex as you like. It can start with a text file that grows into a spread sheet maybe evolving into a full blown relational database. These personal lists are what we work with during blizzards and daylight, and they are the most satisfying lists of all. DT --- On Wed, 12/31/08, daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Good Night Observing Ending with a Nice Meteor To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 1:52 PM Jay:
There are a couple of 110 lists that are an easier transition than the jump the Herschel 400.
http://seds.org/messier/xtra/similar/sac110bn.html
This "best of the NGC" list is all visable from Utah, the southern most being Omega Centari which can be seen from Rush Valley.
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/caldwell.html
The Caldwell list is all sky and would require a trip down under to complete, but the first half is visable from here and worth the effort.
Be aware that there are several versions of the H400. Some one Scandinavia rewrote the list to be more friendly to the northern European observer and published the ammended list under the same name. So if you google up the list you may not get the "official" one. Someone else came up with a second 400 for those who had done the first 400.
DT
--- On Tue, 12/30/08, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Just in case anyone can't tell my goal is to complete the Messier badge for next year's award and I'm doing pretty good with 45 items bagged. I also do hit some of the more interesting NCG's and will probably try to get the Hershel 400 after that.
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participants (6)
-
Chuck Hards -
daniel turner -
Don J. Colton -
Dunn, David -
Jay Eads -
Tyler Allred