Equipment: Heep ('umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8)
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls, 2x Orion Shorty Barlow
Location: Newmarket, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0330 - 0430 UT
=======================================================
Did I get M66?
I got something, I don't know what. I decided to move Heep from my light-bathed front yard to my slightly less light-bathed back yard last night, as the snow has recently melted. I decided to test the conditions by seeing if I could get the Leo triplets or M81/82 this night. The moon wasn't going to be up until about midnight, so I figured it might be worth a shot.
I pointed in the general area and began to slew around. I don't really know where these guys are, which is kind of a problem. I figure they're about two degrees south of Leo's back leg, assuming Denebola's the tail.
So I'm slewwing around, looking for anything that's not a tiny point of light. I figured out a new way of sweeping slowly with the scope: loosen the declination lock knob, so declination moves freely. Sweep back and forth around the declination axis once or twice, then use the RA slow motion control to move the scope slightly lower (or higher) and repeat. I was patiently scanning the target area in this manner, and just about to give up, when I spied a faint (and I mean FAINT) smudge maybe one or two arc-minutes from about an eighth-magnitude star. This was with about a 1-degree FOV using my 20mm EP, giving me 45x. It was a thin line, with a slightly thicker base an thinner top, like a lopsided isoceles triangle, that ran diagonally from northwest to southeast in the FOV, with the 8-mag star just north of it. With direct vision it was invisible, and it was quite small, smaller even than the Dumbbell Nebula (but bigger than the Ring).
After checking my trusty Peterson's, I figured it had to be one of the three, because there's really nothing else within ten degrees. But was it faint! I expected something a little brighter. After all, Turn Left at Orion indicates it can be seen in a three-inch scope. This wasn't even as bright as M32. I barely saw it.
I also hunted around for M81/82, but they would have been right at the zenith then, and there's nothing remotely bright close by to guide me to them. Also got M3, which I literally nailed within ten seconds, not even using the finder (it won't show up in my crappy plastic finder anyway). It showed a mottled graininess at 90x with averted vision. Interesting that I spent all of last spring and half the summer trying to track this puppy down. Aslo checked out Jupiter and Saturn (at least I can find these guys). I notice Saturn suffers from really bad atmospheric turbulence as it approaches the western horizon, but Jupiter at 180x was rock steady, showing lots of detail.
So guys ... can you help me out? Did I see anything, or was it my imagination?
Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls, 2x Orion Shorty Barlow
Location: Newmarket, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0330 - 0430 UT
=======================================================
Did I get M66?
I got something, I don't know what. I decided to move Heep from my light-bathed front yard to my slightly less light-bathed back yard last night, as the snow has recently melted. I decided to test the conditions by seeing if I could get the Leo triplets or M81/82 this night. The moon wasn't going to be up until about midnight, so I figured it might be worth a shot.
I pointed in the general area and began to slew around. I don't really know where these guys are, which is kind of a problem. I figure they're about two degrees south of Leo's back leg, assuming Denebola's the tail.
So I'm slewwing around, looking for anything that's not a tiny point of light. I figured out a new way of sweeping slowly with the scope: loosen the declination lock knob, so declination moves freely. Sweep back and forth around the declination axis once or twice, then use the RA slow motion control to move the scope slightly lower (or higher) and repeat. I was patiently scanning the target area in this manner, and just about to give up, when I spied a faint (and I mean FAINT) smudge maybe one or two arc-minutes from about an eighth-magnitude star. This was with about a 1-degree FOV using my 20mm EP, giving me 45x. It was a thin line, with a slightly thicker base an thinner top, like a lopsided isoceles triangle, that ran diagonally from northwest to southeast in the FOV, with the 8-mag star just north of it. With direct vision it was invisible, and it was quite small, smaller even than the Dumbbell Nebula (but bigger than the Ring).
After checking my trusty Peterson's, I figured it had to be one of the three, because there's really nothing else within ten degrees. But was it faint! I expected something a little brighter. After all, Turn Left at Orion indicates it can be seen in a three-inch scope. This wasn't even as bright as M32. I barely saw it.
I also hunted around for M81/82, but they would have been right at the zenith then, and there's nothing remotely bright close by to guide me to them. Also got M3, which I literally nailed within ten seconds, not even using the finder (it won't show up in my crappy plastic finder anyway). It showed a mottled graininess at 90x with averted vision. Interesting that I spent all of last spring and half the summer trying to track this puppy down. Aslo checked out Jupiter and Saturn (at least I can find these guys). I notice Saturn suffers from really bad atmospheric turbulence as it approaches the western horizon, but Jupiter at 180x was rock steady, showing lots of detail.
So guys ... can you help me out? Did I see anything, or was it my imagination?
Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren
