My First Visit to a Dark Sky
My First Visit to a Dark Sky!
Well what an exciting night! I was looking so forward ever since joining the DRAA to get up to their dark sky location in Orono. It was the first time observing with my 10” outside of my backyard, and BOY what a difference!!!!
Ken and I made plans to head up there together and we arrived around 8:30pm. The sky looked VERY promising, with clear skies, AND little bugs. Well that all quickly changed…as the sun started going down, the clouds were moving overhead, teasing and taunting us. We were able to watch Venus and Jupiter set, but by the sun was down, and the stars were out, so were the patchy clouds. Although there were clear patches in the sky, the clouds were so bad we could not even barley identify the constellations. This was very surprising and, very disappointing, I was looking forward so much to this little adventure, and the DRAACO Clear Sky Clock was forecasting clear skies!!!
But finally at about 10:30pmEST things started to look better, and better. The night soon was very clear!
I really wanted to look at Scorpious first, as this area of the sky is blocked from my vantage point from my house.
Here is the list of objects and descriptions of my night:
Venus – Three quarter’s full, and boiling low in the atmosphere, it wasn’t really much to look at other than a bright ball of light!
Jupiter – Was starting its descent in the western sky, it was a decent view at best, but I have seen better from my backyard. I didn’t really expect much, since as I noted it was beginning to set.
AstroByte Logging System
Messier Number 8 NGC # 6523 Name / Type Lagoon Nebula
RA 18 03.8 DEC -24 23 Constellation SGR Mag 5.0 Size 60 x 35
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:45PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:45:00 AM
Personal Notes
WOW! thats how i would sum up the Lagoon nebula, it was certainly bright, and i had found it before even looking in to my scope, i was able to determine where it was with my trusty STAR WATCH and TL@O, that I spotted it right away, this made me jump for joy, and i was as happy as a kid on Christmas. I could easily see the laneway in the nebula and many stars that are contained inside it.
Messier Number 13 NGC # 6205 Name / Type Hercules Globular Cluster
RA 16 41.7 DEC 36 28 Constellation HER Mag 7.0 Size 16.6
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 10:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 2:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
Hey Herc! M13 is an amazing cluster, and certainly one of my favorites, the brightness and amount of stars makes this globular a show stopper. The stars in this cluster are so tightly packed, it is hard to resolve the stars near its core.
Messier Number 22 NGC # 6656 Name / Type Globular Cluster
RA 18 36.4 DEC -23 54 Constellation SGR Mag 6.5 Size 24
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:30PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:30:00 AM
Personal Notes
This was the second object for me tonight, a small glob of stars, however it was fairly easy to detect.
Messier Number 27 NGC # 6853 Name / Type Dumbbell Nebula PLNNB
RA 19 59.6 DEC 22 43 Constellation VUL Mag 7.5 Size 8.0 x 5.7
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
The dumbell is an interesting shape to it in my scope. It appears as 2 triangles pointed together at the tips.
Messier Number 31 NGC # Name / Type Andromeda Galaxy
RA 00 42.7 DEC 41 16 Constellation AND Mag 4.5 Size 178
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 12:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/28/2005 4:00:00 PM
Personal Notes
Well, well, well, Here she is again, the first galaxy for me ever, last year looks amazing in the 10" its so big and bright, the core barely will fit in to my 32mm EP, its certainly one of the brightest DSO's!
Messier Number 32 NGC # Name / Type Galaxy (companion to M31)
RA 00 42.7 DEC 40 52 Constellation AND Mag 10.0 Size 8 x 6
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 12:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/28/2005 4:00:00 PM
Personal Notes
My first view of M32, i never saw it before with my 114GT, but it was easily visable in my 10", not much more than a ball of light close to M31!
Messier Number 51 NGC # 5194 Name / Type Whirlpool Galaxy (Sc & Irr)
RA 13 29.9 DEC 47 12 Constellation CVN Mag 8.0 Size 11 x 7
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 12:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/28/2005 4:00:00 PM
Personal Notes
The Whirlpool is not as spectacular as the images hubble captures, so far, all I can resolve in this object is the galaxy M51 as a smudge, and it's companion as a smaller smudge, I will certainly comeback to this one once it is high overhead.
Messier Number 54 NGC # 6715 Name / Type Globular Cluster
RA 18 55.1 DEC -30 29 Constellation SGR Mag 8.5 Size 9.1
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
This was the first Messier object for me in Sagittarius, as it is not easily seen from my home, as there are many trees and light pollution in the way.M54 looked like a small globular, it was difficult to tell if i was able to resolve it's stars or not.
Messier Number 57 NGC # 6720 Name / Type Ring Nebula PLNNB
RA 18 53.6 DEC 33 02 Constellation LYR Mag 9.5 Size 1.4 x 1.0
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
The Ring! One of my all time favorites! The Ring shape is clearly visable, and looks like a puff of a smoke ring. The reason why the ring is my favorite is its shape, it actually looks like the remains of an exploding star, paused in time!
Mars was the last thing we saw that night, it appeared as a tiny orange blob in my 114GT, I sure hope this it looks better at opposition this year.
Well what an exciting night! I was looking so forward ever since joining the DRAA to get up to their dark sky location in Orono. It was the first time observing with my 10” outside of my backyard, and BOY what a difference!!!!
Ken and I made plans to head up there together and we arrived around 8:30pm. The sky looked VERY promising, with clear skies, AND little bugs. Well that all quickly changed…as the sun started going down, the clouds were moving overhead, teasing and taunting us. We were able to watch Venus and Jupiter set, but by the sun was down, and the stars were out, so were the patchy clouds. Although there were clear patches in the sky, the clouds were so bad we could not even barley identify the constellations. This was very surprising and, very disappointing, I was looking forward so much to this little adventure, and the DRAACO Clear Sky Clock was forecasting clear skies!!!
But finally at about 10:30pmEST things started to look better, and better. The night soon was very clear!
I really wanted to look at Scorpious first, as this area of the sky is blocked from my vantage point from my house.
Here is the list of objects and descriptions of my night:
Venus – Three quarter’s full, and boiling low in the atmosphere, it wasn’t really much to look at other than a bright ball of light!
Jupiter – Was starting its descent in the western sky, it was a decent view at best, but I have seen better from my backyard. I didn’t really expect much, since as I noted it was beginning to set.
AstroByte Logging System
Messier Number 8 NGC # 6523 Name / Type Lagoon Nebula
RA 18 03.8 DEC -24 23 Constellation SGR Mag 5.0 Size 60 x 35
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:45PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:45:00 AM
Personal Notes
WOW! thats how i would sum up the Lagoon nebula, it was certainly bright, and i had found it before even looking in to my scope, i was able to determine where it was with my trusty STAR WATCH and TL@O, that I spotted it right away, this made me jump for joy, and i was as happy as a kid on Christmas. I could easily see the laneway in the nebula and many stars that are contained inside it.
Messier Number 13 NGC # 6205 Name / Type Hercules Globular Cluster
RA 16 41.7 DEC 36 28 Constellation HER Mag 7.0 Size 16.6
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 10:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 2:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
Hey Herc! M13 is an amazing cluster, and certainly one of my favorites, the brightness and amount of stars makes this globular a show stopper. The stars in this cluster are so tightly packed, it is hard to resolve the stars near its core.
Messier Number 22 NGC # 6656 Name / Type Globular Cluster
RA 18 36.4 DEC -23 54 Constellation SGR Mag 6.5 Size 24
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:30PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:30:00 AM
Personal Notes
This was the second object for me tonight, a small glob of stars, however it was fairly easy to detect.
Messier Number 27 NGC # 6853 Name / Type Dumbbell Nebula PLNNB
RA 19 59.6 DEC 22 43 Constellation VUL Mag 7.5 Size 8.0 x 5.7
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
The dumbell is an interesting shape to it in my scope. It appears as 2 triangles pointed together at the tips.
Messier Number 31 NGC # Name / Type Andromeda Galaxy
RA 00 42.7 DEC 41 16 Constellation AND Mag 4.5 Size 178
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 12:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/28/2005 4:00:00 PM
Personal Notes
Well, well, well, Here she is again, the first galaxy for me ever, last year looks amazing in the 10" its so big and bright, the core barely will fit in to my 32mm EP, its certainly one of the brightest DSO's!
Messier Number 32 NGC # Name / Type Galaxy (companion to M31)
RA 00 42.7 DEC 40 52 Constellation AND Mag 10.0 Size 8 x 6
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 12:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/28/2005 4:00:00 PM
Personal Notes
My first view of M32, i never saw it before with my 114GT, but it was easily visable in my 10", not much more than a ball of light close to M31!
Messier Number 51 NGC # 5194 Name / Type Whirlpool Galaxy (Sc & Irr)
RA 13 29.9 DEC 47 12 Constellation CVN Mag 8.0 Size 11 x 7
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 12:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/28/2005 4:00:00 PM
Personal Notes
The Whirlpool is not as spectacular as the images hubble captures, so far, all I can resolve in this object is the galaxy M51 as a smudge, and it's companion as a smaller smudge, I will certainly comeback to this one once it is high overhead.
Messier Number 54 NGC # 6715 Name / Type Globular Cluster
RA 18 55.1 DEC -30 29 Constellation SGR Mag 8.5 Size 9.1
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
This was the first Messier object for me in Sagittarius, as it is not easily seen from my home, as there are many trees and light pollution in the way.M54 looked like a small globular, it was difficult to tell if i was able to resolve it's stars or not.
Messier Number 57 NGC # 6720 Name / Type Ring Nebula PLNNB
RA 18 53.6 DEC 33 02 Constellation LYR Mag 9.5 Size 1.4 x 1.0
Instrument Used NewStar 10" Magnifications Used 38x
Seeing Conditions Transparency 6 Seeing 6 Observing Location DRAACO
Local Date 7/28/2005 Local Time 11:00PM
UTC Time & Date 7/29/2005 3:00:00 AM
Personal Notes
The Ring! One of my all time favorites! The Ring shape is clearly visable, and looks like a puff of a smoke ring. The reason why the ring is my favorite is its shape, it actually looks like the remains of an exploding star, paused in time!
Mars was the last thing we saw that night, it appeared as a tiny orange blob in my 114GT, I sure hope this it looks better at opposition this year.
posted by MattOnTheMoon | 7/29/2005
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