After some rainy weather, the forecast had promised a clear night. The cold removed the moisture from the air, and the evening was very clear, with almost no colour in the sunset. I headed to my dark place with another member of the local astronomy club, Mattias. I had my equatorially mounted C8 and my high quality 15x70 binocular, and Mattias had his fork mounted C8 and a piggy-backed 76mm APO.
When we reached the place, the Moon was setting over the water. The ashen light was clearly visible; the face of the Moon turned red only when it touched the sea. The air was very clear! We looked at M42 with a binoviewer. It was even better than last Friday. I could see six stars in Trapezium steadily at 100x, the seeing was excellent. The small APO with a nebula filter showed the Running man clearly. I looked at the Flame nebula which was pretty bright and showed considerable detail, and stowed away the binoviewer until later.
I started to go through my observing plan and looked at NGC 1999 (a small nebula around a star), 2022 (a beautiful, small and round planetary nebula) and 2158, the tiny neighbour of M35 that showed 15 stars against a beautiful nebulous background. At that moment two police vehicles arrived carrying four curious policemen. We showed them some interesting things; 'my' policeman got to see a bright planetary nebula IC 418 in Lepus (with an explaination that it was a result of a monstrous explosion) and an open cluster NGC 2169 where he recognised a '37' shape. We discussed prices of astronomy equipment and they drove away.
I proceeded to open clusters 2017 and 2129 and to the Eskimo nebula which looked better than I had ever seen. Seeing was so good that I could see a diffraction ring around the central star, and two concentric shells at 160x and 230x. Another highlight was Hubble's variable nebula that looked like a small comet with a star for a head - much better than any photo!
It was getting late and Mattias, who had a flight to Brussels to catch in the morning started to pack his equipment. I mounted my 15x70 binocular and looked at the dwarf sattellites of M31, NGC 185 and 147. This time I could see both galaxies clearly. 147 was more difficult, larger and more elongated than 185, I could only see it at times - but unmistakably. M33 was bright. I didn't spend much time with it and went to M44. The field was filled with brilliant stars, with two 'asses' at the edges of FOV. Cornucopia-shaped M67 was tight, but bright and well-resolved. M31 showed its satellites brightly and the first dust lane (abrupt edge of light, some darkness, and some tenuous light again). We looked at M81 and M82. M81 was bright with a bright central part, and M82 was bright and mottled. M51 and its companion looked like two small discs of light with bright cores. I started to recognize that the Northern skies might have some advantage over the South when it comes to galaxies, even in spite of the Magellanic clouds. (I have yet to see them to pronounce the final judgement though.)
Saturn was high at that point and I took out the binoviewer again. Meanwhile Mattias pointed the binocular at M45 and started to laugh loudly. He told me he saw nebulosity. I didn't believe and looked myself. My jaw dropped: I could see Merope nebula 'hanging down' from the bright star, and Maia nebula like a wide brush stroke. I could not see any streaks in the nebulosity, it was tenuous and infinitely delicate, but it was there! We tried California nebula, and after some staring I could see it too, across the whole field of view. This 15x70 binocluar is a marvel, it provides bright, almost wide-field-photographic views!!
We finished the session by looking at Saturn in the binoviewer at 150x. The air was very steady, with occasional waves running across the image. Cassini division was seen all along the rings, and a beautiful beige belt was seen on the globe. The eyepieces started to fog, and we packed our gear.
Dmitri
When we reached the place, the Moon was setting over the water. The ashen light was clearly visible; the face of the Moon turned red only when it touched the sea. The air was very clear! We looked at M42 with a binoviewer. It was even better than last Friday. I could see six stars in Trapezium steadily at 100x, the seeing was excellent. The small APO with a nebula filter showed the Running man clearly. I looked at the Flame nebula which was pretty bright and showed considerable detail, and stowed away the binoviewer until later.
I started to go through my observing plan and looked at NGC 1999 (a small nebula around a star), 2022 (a beautiful, small and round planetary nebula) and 2158, the tiny neighbour of M35 that showed 15 stars against a beautiful nebulous background. At that moment two police vehicles arrived carrying four curious policemen. We showed them some interesting things; 'my' policeman got to see a bright planetary nebula IC 418 in Lepus (with an explaination that it was a result of a monstrous explosion) and an open cluster NGC 2169 where he recognised a '37' shape. We discussed prices of astronomy equipment and they drove away.
I proceeded to open clusters 2017 and 2129 and to the Eskimo nebula which looked better than I had ever seen. Seeing was so good that I could see a diffraction ring around the central star, and two concentric shells at 160x and 230x. Another highlight was Hubble's variable nebula that looked like a small comet with a star for a head - much better than any photo!
It was getting late and Mattias, who had a flight to Brussels to catch in the morning started to pack his equipment. I mounted my 15x70 binocular and looked at the dwarf sattellites of M31, NGC 185 and 147. This time I could see both galaxies clearly. 147 was more difficult, larger and more elongated than 185, I could only see it at times - but unmistakably. M33 was bright. I didn't spend much time with it and went to M44. The field was filled with brilliant stars, with two 'asses' at the edges of FOV. Cornucopia-shaped M67 was tight, but bright and well-resolved. M31 showed its satellites brightly and the first dust lane (abrupt edge of light, some darkness, and some tenuous light again). We looked at M81 and M82. M81 was bright with a bright central part, and M82 was bright and mottled. M51 and its companion looked like two small discs of light with bright cores. I started to recognize that the Northern skies might have some advantage over the South when it comes to galaxies, even in spite of the Magellanic clouds. (I have yet to see them to pronounce the final judgement though.)
Saturn was high at that point and I took out the binoviewer again. Meanwhile Mattias pointed the binocular at M45 and started to laugh loudly. He told me he saw nebulosity. I didn't believe and looked myself. My jaw dropped: I could see Merope nebula 'hanging down' from the bright star, and Maia nebula like a wide brush stroke. I could not see any streaks in the nebulosity, it was tenuous and infinitely delicate, but it was there! We tried California nebula, and after some staring I could see it too, across the whole field of view. This 15x70 binocluar is a marvel, it provides bright, almost wide-field-photographic views!!
We finished the session by looking at Saturn in the binoviewer at 150x. The air was very steady, with occasional waves running across the image. Cassini division was seen all along the rings, and a beautiful beige belt was seen on the globe. The eyepieces started to fog, and we packed our gear.
Dmitri
