[Lvas] This Weekend

Sun Jun 21 17:29:48 PDT 2009

Rob,

Comparing notes has always been fun and interesting. It was good to here that you too was able to see the "inward" lanes more prominently than the outer lane. I could not however see the latter with my 10-inch. It is my opinion that with better transparency I may have been able to see all three of the dark lanes....but can't be sure. 

As I mentioned in an earlier e-mail, this has proved to be a very difficult object for me. 

I have been unable to see any red/orange or blue stars in M-13, all appear white. The Mallincam image was very worthy image as it presented both the propeller and star colors. 

Jay mentioned that he was looking for dark lanes in all clusters. I have found myself as of the past ten or more years doing the same thing. The second thing I look for is variations of star colors. I love to observe M-41, just to see the famous Espin star.  

M-37 in Auriga is an excellent example of a cluster with dark lanes. A casual look will only show a very rich and beautiful cluster but upon careful examination you will easily see a dark lane slicing right through the middle. 

There is also a prominent orange star at magnitude 9.2 in the central region of this Messier object...very seldom seen by most observers. 

I have also found some interesting object's that I would like to present at a latter time for September through December, if no other objects are brought forth. 

The September object goes back 17 years this August 29th. I made a note to look for the central star in the Helix Nebula in Aquarius. There are also at least nine other stars as seen by Skiff/Luginbuhl using a 12-inch reflector. 

We had an observing session at a dark site three miles west of Boiling Springs on that night in 1992. We had a 16-inch Meade DS-16, an 8-inch Meade 8800 series, an orange tube C-8, a 14.5-inch Dobsonian, a 13-inch Coulter, and my 10-inch reflector. We had nine people attending. The Helix was the first object observed. My notes were less thorough than my notes of current. My final entry was, review at next session. In my prolific quest to see more objects I have been unable to go back. Hopefully this will be the year.    

If anyone has an object for careful study that you feel would be worthy of the "observers challenge" please let it be known.  

An interesting note: That August night in 1992, Tom English who has taught me much about astronomy was there and also my cycling mentor. His name was Charlie Rhoden and he was the North Carolina Road Racing State Champion for five years and also the state time trial champion for the same period in the Masters Division. 

roger

    The moon and stars to govern the night.....   Psalm 136:9

> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:19:33 -0700
> From: scopegeek at gmail.com
> To: lvas at lvlug.org
> Subject: Re: [Lvas] This Weekend
> 
> Guys,
> 
> Last night was better for me here at Kaibab Lodge, but definitely not 
> anywhere near perfect. I still had to look around some clouds and it 
> was also quite breezy. I couldn't get consecutive image captures 
> because the wind was strong enough to rock the scope with the Mallincam 
> on it. After showing about 20 people some of the night sky wonders 
> earlier in the evening, I was able to view M-13. Unfortunately, since 
> it was at the zenith, I couldn't use the the LX200 with its Alt/Az 
> mount. At zenith, the optical path with extension tube and Mallincam is 
> too long to go between the arms of the scope to point straight up. So, 
> I had to use only the ST120, but reduced the focal reduction to get a 
> larger image. Next week at Great Basin, I'll take the focal reduction 
> completely off and go with the tube's normal f/5.0. Now to what I saw.
> 
> Even with the less than ideal conditions I was able to see the 
> propeller. The two blades extending into the cluster were obviously 
> more prominent, but the one extending outward was definitely there, just 
> not as long in length as the other two. My core was still somewhat 
> washed out, so next week I'll turn the gain down even more. I'm 
> somewhat embarrassed to send a representative image since with the wind 
> the focus is horrible. But, it will give you an idea of what I saw on 
> those moments when the wind let up just for a brief moment.
> 
> For the first time, I was able to observe color in the stars not 
> contained in the core. I saw yellow and blueish/purple stars that you 
> will see in the representative image. You should also notice another 
> dark lane on the lower side of the image, opposite the propeller blades 
> that extend into the core. At times, it looked like the "T" that Tele 
> Vue uses in their logo. In the image, it looks like a wide bar with a 
> significant bump left of center. I hope my images next week will show 
> this feature more clearly. There are chains of stars extending from the 
> cluster that suggest M13 may have had a more spiral structure in it's 
> past. Without any supporting research, the image suggests the cluster 
> had a counterclockwise spiral. I'm sure it's undergone significant 
> change in it's 13-billion year life.
> 
> Well, until I hopefully observe the cluster under better conditions next 
> week, I'll reserve any more observational comments until then.
> 
> Although I could see M2 and M27, I didn't attempt to capture any images 
> because of the observing conditions. The earlier evening crowd oohed 
> and ahhed at M27 as I explained what they were seeing. We could see the 
> obvious dumbbell shape, but we could also see where the nebulous cloud 
> attempts to completely the circle/sphere and we could see the central 
> star. I didn't go back to it later in the night, so I don't have any 
> detailed observations to share at this time. I'll attempt both of these 
> objects again next week.
> 
> Well, that's it for now. Talk to you guys later.
> 
> Rob
> 
> 
> 
> roger ivester wrote:
> > LVAS all,
> > 
> > I have been reading the reports of observing conditions in the Las 
> > Vegas area and have also been talking with my son concerning. I hope 
> > your observing conditions improve tonight.
> > 
> > The conditions last night here in Boiling Springs, North Carolina were 
> > very good for this season, and from my backyard.
> > 
> > On the seeing scale, is was perfect, a 10 on a scale of 10. The 
> > transparency was lacking due to all the moisture in the air. The naked 
> > eye limiting magnitude was near 5.0 as compared to a 6.00 on a good 
> > winter night.
> > 
> > I did have a problem with tube currents with my 10-inch on occasion 
> > due to the warm temperature's which hovered near 75°, even well after 
> > midnight. It would follow right along the top of the tube. I do not 
> > have a mirror cooling fan.
> > 
> > I was able to observe the cluster at 266x ... incredible resolution, 
> > but no propeller. I can see it in my mind as I write this. The cluster 
> > almost filled my fov using a 12mm UO Konig and a 2.8x UO Klee barlow 
> > for a magnification of 266x with a 0.24° field...only 14 arc minutes.
> > 
> > Individual stars were in the hundreds, all with brilliant resolution, 
> > with tentacles of stars streaming out from the edge of the cluster. 
> > 
> > I observed M-13 for well over two hours.
> > 
> > The propeller was difficult and could glimpse only on occasion at 200x 
> > using averted vision. I could only see the two lanes going into the 
> > cluster, and not the one pointing toward the side...but could not hold 
> > them constantly.
> > 
> > I would have to class the propeller as one of the "more" difficult 
> > observational items that I have encountered in over 30 years 
> > of viewing. This sentence applies mostly to my 10-inch as it was much 
> > easier through a friends 12-inch.
> > 
> > Normally it can be difficult to observe the double double in Lyra at 
> > full aperture. With the superb seeing I did not have to reduce the 
> > effective aperture by using an off-axis mask.
> > 
> > At 200x they looked like four ping-pong balls. A sight to behold.
> > 
> > I now have a sketch of M-13 and the propeller using both a 12-inch and 
> > a 10-inch.
> > 
> > No observing tonight as the clouds moved in shortly before sunset.
> > 
> > Roger
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >
> > 
> > /* *The moon and stars to govern the night..... Psalm 136:9/
> >
> >
> >
> > 
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > From: rayworth1969 at hotmail.com
> > To: lvas at lvlug.org
> > Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:56:19 -0500
> > Subject: Re: [Lvas] This Weekend
> >
> > All,
> > 
> > Well, guess we can pretty much kiss off this weekend. I held out hope, 
> > but I was just outside and not only is it partly cloudy, but the wind 
> > is howling.
> > 
> > Guess I have to wait until next month, now.
> > 
> > I hope Rob is having a better time up at the lodge.
> > 
> > Fred
> > 
> >
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> 

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