[LVAS] Observer's Challenge for July and August

[Fred Rayworth]

MONTHLY OBSERVER’S CHALLENGE
Las Vegas Astronomical Society
 
Compiled by:
Roger Ivester, Boiling Springs, North Carolina
&
Fred Rayworth, Las Vegas, Nevada
 
July/August 2009
M-27 and M-2
 
Introduction
The purpose of the observer’s challenge is to encourage the pursuit of visual observing.  It is open to everyone that is interested, and if you are able to contribute notes, drawings, or photographs, we will be happy to include them in our monthly summary.  Observing is not only a pleasure, but an art.  With the main focus of amateur astronomy on astrophotography, many times people tend to forget how it was in the days before cameras, clock drives, and GOTO.  Astronomy depended on what was seen through the eyepiece.  Not only did it satisfy an innate curiosity, but it allowed the first astronomers to discover the beauty and the wonderment of the night sky.
Before photography, all observations depended on what the astronomer saw in the eyepiece, and how they recorded their observations.  This was done through notes and drawings and that is the tradition we are stressing in the observers challenge.  By combining our visual observations with our drawings, and sometimes, astrophotography (from those with the equipment and talent to do so), we get a unique understanding of what it is like to look through an eyepiece, and to see what is really there.  The hope is that you will read through these notes and become inspired to take more time at the eyepiece studying each object, and looking for those subtle details that you might never have noticed before.  Each new discovery increases one’s appreciation of the skies above us.  It is our firm belief that careful observing can improve your visual acuity to a much higher level that just might allow you to add inches to your telescope.  Please consider this at your next observing session, as you can learn to make details jump out.  It is also a thrill to point out details a new observer wouldn’t even know to look for in that very faint galaxy, star cluster, nebula, or planet.
 
M-27 (July)
M-27, known as the Dumbbell Nebula is a fascinating summer object and is easily seen in almost any sized scope.  It gets its name from the distinct dumbbell shape.  It is a planetary nebula, the remnant of an exploding star.  Most of them are round and larger than a star, and because many of the smaller ones resemble planets, got the name “planetary nebula.”  They come in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes.  In fact, speaking of color, many objects in the sky are gray and devoid of color.  However, many planetaries have distinct bluish or greenish tints to them.  If you have an 8” or larger scope, you have a good chance of seeing those colors.  Some have even seen color in as small as 4” scopes.  If you do not know your way around the sky, it is well marked in the star charts found in Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines.  Just look at the summer charts, and you will see it in the “body” of Hercules.
The challenge is to see more than just the dumbbell shape or a fuzzy blob.  There are also several stars within the nebula.
In Deep Sky Wonders (S&T), Walter Scott Houston described M-27 thusly: "With my 4-inch Clark refractor a quick look reveals the planetary as two cones with their apexes in contact.  After finding the best eyepiece for the evening's sky condition, and by using averted vision, I usually see the faint nebulosity between the brighter parts of the cones.  Gentle rocking of the scope back and forth sets the planetary in motion and helps the eye capture the faintest extensions of light.  I found the end result is a full circle of light, just as one would expect of a planetary".
Roger Ivester has always enjoyed reading one of his reference books, Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Volume Two; The Stars  by the Rev.  T.W.  Webb, first edition, 1859.  Copyright 1962 by Dover publications which is the sixth edition.
Many of the object reference writings are almost poetic.  A few quotes from this book regarding the stars within the M-27 nebula include: “The minute stars in it, of which I picked out two or three with 5-1/2 in. achr, and 8-in. silvered glass, and Denning sees 7 with 10-in.  spec., are admirable test for superior telescopes.  Ingall claimed 18 with 5-1/2 in. dialyte, from keenness of vision, and Se. has drawn many more.  A star in the centre, 13 m., but on photos 11.7 mag., is probably the nucleus.”
This book was one of the primary astronomical reference sources for over a hundred years.  It was revised in 1917 by Rev.  T.E.  Espin.  I am sure all have observed M-41 just below Sirius, and have noted the beautiful orange star in the central region.  This star is known as the Espin star.
James Mullaney, The Finest Deep-Sky Objects, M-27:  In a 4-inch at 40X this planetary is large and bright, pinched near the middle.  The 13-inch at 145X displays it as a large puffy white cloud.
James Mullaney, Celestial Harvest, M-27:  Appears as a disk of faint luminous haze, with the interior intensified in the rough form of a cotton-reel or spool.  Most conspicuous of all PN's.
Mallas and Kreimer, The Messier Album  M-27:  Glowing quite greenish, M-27 is one of the few planetaries to show vivid color in a small telescope.
Tom Lorenzin, 1000+ The Amateur Astronomer's Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing:  M-27:  8M; 8' X 5' extent; two lobed; SW portion brighter; nebulosity between lobes (along SE-NW axis) enhanced greatly by N-filter; makes total shape an ellipse; much detail visible but few foreground stars visible in 8-inch.
M-2 August
M-2 is a globular cluster in Aquarius, one of the brighter Messiers, and is an easy object to see in almost any telescope.  This rich cluster is often seen as smooth and fairly round.  Many people never notice the additional feature that can be revealed with careful observation and the correct magnification.  One of the most interesting features from a visual basis is a curving dark lane crossing the NE section of this very dense cluster.  Many observers find this lane to be very difficult, regardless of the size scope.
In the Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-sky Objects, by Brian Skiff and Christian Luginbuhl:  “In 25 cm, a well-resolved mass of stars is visible at 200X, rising to a broad, bright center.  The cluster is well resolved in 30 cm, with a smooth texture due to the uniform magnitude of the stars.”
Roger has been fortunate to know both Tom Lorenzin and James Mullaney personally, and feels honored to be able to call both of these highly skilled observers and book authors, friends.  He has learned much from their writings over the past 20 years.
James Mullaney, Celestial Harvest, M-2:  Small glass shows a "granulated aspect, the precursor of resolution".  Not resolved in a 4-inch.
Tom Lorenzin, 1000+ The Amateur Astronomer's Field Guide to Deep-Sky observing, M-2:  6M; 7' diameter; bright and round; just resolved at 100X 13M and dimmer members; 11M star 2' due N of core; 5' NNW of core.
John Mallas and Evered Kreimer, The Messier Album  M-2:  4-inch Unitron Refractor.  The Mallas 4-inch refractor does not resolve the cluster, except for a few bright members across the nebulous image.  Visually, the most unusual feature is the dark curving lane that crosses the northeast corner of the cluster.  Thought first to be an illusion in the 4-inch, this feature can also be detected in the photograph by Kreimer (12.5-inch f/7 Cave reflector).
These July and August observing challenges include notes and drawings from Roger Ivester, Fred Rayworth, Jason Snyder, and just notes from Tony Labude.  Also included are photos and notes from Rob Lambert, as well as photos from Frank Barrett, Jim Gianoulakis, and Ryland Ogle.
 
Observations/Drawings/Photos
 
Roger Ivester (see Rogers Pictures 003.jpg):  Observer from North Carolina
M-27, the Dumbbell nebula was easy to see through a 7 X 50 finder as a small and fairly bright, elongated glow.  When observed through a 10-inch reflector, the dumbbell was presented as two bright lobes joined in the middle.  The SW lobe was brighter with greater concentration and some subtle knots were also noted.  The texture of the Dumbbell was very uneven.
With the 10-inch, he could not see the faint extensions between the lobes as shown in many photographs, however the hourglass shape was very easy.  A magnitude 9 star could be seen just off the west edge at medium power.  When increasing the magnification to 190X, using a 12mm University Optics Konig and a 2.0X Barlow, he saw the very faint central star.  It was difficult and he could only glimpse it with averted vision during moments of steady viewing.  It was fleeting in and out and he couldn’t hold it constantly.  There were at least two other stars that would pop in and out of view, also with difficulty (see Rogers M-27 10 inch.jpg).
While observing M-27 with a friend and local observers through a 14.5-inch reflector, he saw two bright lobes and an hourglass shape with the faint extensions, presenting an almost round appearance.  The central star was very easy at 85X as well as several other stars within the nebula.
John Mallas of the Messier Album could see color with his 4-inch Unitron refractor, but Roger has not been able to see color with any of the scopes that he’s used.
When observing M-27 with either a 4-inch refractor or a 3.5-inch Maksutov-Cassegrain, the nebula was presented with a very uneven texture and some brighter knots.  The dumbbell shape appeared mostly as a rectangle, but upon careful examination with higher magnification, the two lobes were easily seen.  He couldn’t see any superimposed stars with either of the small scopes.
M-2 is a bright 6.4 magnitude globular cluster that is unresolved in the 4-inch refractor.  When using a 16mm University Optics Konig eyepiece and a 2.8X UO Klee for a magnification of 175X, the texture of the cluster became very granular, but without resolution.  The cluster was very bright and well-concentrated with a brighter middle.
A few of the brighter stars could be seen around the outer perimeter and there was the appearance of a faint halo surrounding the cluster.
The curving dark lane, as described by John Mallas in the Messier Album using a 4-inch Unitron refractor, proved to be difficult, indeed.  It required averted vision with the 4-inch at 175X and was fleeting at best.  The dark lane could not be held constantly, but during moments of steady viewing, it was an amazing sight, almost appearing surreal.  It is interesting to note that Mallas himself thought it initially to be an illusion (see Rogers M-2 4 Inch.jpg).
After countless observations of this cluster over the past 20 years, Roger has only observed the curving dark lane once, despite  using a variety of telescopes, including a 10-inch reflector.
Walter Scott Houston reported seeing M-2 with the naked eye.  He saw this cluster from Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, and Louisiana, but never mentioned seeing the dark lane with either the 4-inch Clark refractor or his 10-inch reflector.
 
Fred Rayworth (see Fred At Sawmill.jpg):  Observer from Nevada
            Fred has observed M-27 hundreds of times and has actually recorded those observations 19 times since July, 1982.  He’s most often noted a greenish tint to it, fuzzy to flaky edges, and various intensities of the dumbbell shape.  However, he’s never made note of the stars or star patterns.
            On 15 August, 2009 at Sawmill Trailhead, Nevada, despite an unpleasant experience with a park ranger, he managed to view M-27.  His equipment was a Meade 16” LightBridge, an Orion Q-70 26mm eyepiece, a Parks 2X Barlow, and a Lumicon O-3 nebula filter.  All are 2”.  He noted the dumbbell shape going one direction and a fainter oval going the other.  He saw no stars at 70X.  However, at 140X, the central star jumped out and there was a slight lumpiness to one side of the center.  The O-3 filter brought out the nebulosity at both 70X and 140X but obliterated the stars within it.  He saw three stars for sure, and as many as seven within the nebula.  A pair of pinpricks flashed in and out that may have been fainter stars also.  However, he didn’t notice the color this time, despite the altitude (7400 feet).  He did not see the devil face, and forgot to look at the star background that the nebula is set within (see Freds M-27.jpg).
            Because of the park ranger, he never got a chance to go for M-2.  However, going back over his notes, he’s never picked out the dark lane.  His most common observation, besides a soft milky glow, is a brighter foreground star within the cluster that is off to one side.
 
Rob Lambert:  Observer from Nevada
Rob observed M-27 with the assistance of his Mallincam Color Hyper Plus video camera.  He used 14, and 28 second integrations to explore the nebula.  At 14 seconds (see Robs M-27 14 Seconds.jpg), he saw more color within the nebula – primarily bluish green from the center out toward the periphery where the gas and dust became pink or red as it became more dense.  At 28 seconds (see Robs M-27 28 Seconds.jpg), he lost most of the color but was able to see more of the nebula's structure.  Rather than the dumbbell shape typically seen at the eyepiece, he discerned more of a rugby ball shaped shell, with nebulosity unevenly distributed across it.  The portions of the nebula that obviously give the nebula its nickname were distinctly visible but mottled, indicating varying density of gas and dust throughout the nebula.  The dumbbell portions of the nebula formed the more dense middle or fat part of the rugby ball shape, while the ends of the rugby ball were much less dense in nebulosity.  There was noticeable symmetry in both the dumbbell lobes and in the lighter ends of the rugby ball.
There were a number of stars visible either in front of or shining through the nebula from behind.  He counted at least 36 brighter stars (probably foregrounds stars) and 24 lesser stars (probably background stars) within the visible boundary of the nebula.  There were several straight-line chains of three or more stars spread across the nebula running both parallel and perpendicular to the brighter lobes.  He discerned the triangular devil face in the southwest lobe, which was opposite the brightest lobe.  His 14 and 28 second images are oriented with North down and West to the left (images from an SCT are flipped vertically and horizontally).  Two dark holes (eye sockets) were distinctly visible in the nebula, just under the downward curved shell that seems to make up the devil's down-turned horns.  Two stars seemed to be eyes shining out of these two eye sockets.  Two chains of three stars, running toward the northeast, gave the impression that the devil was crying.  There was a spot of elongated darkening of the shell between the last two stars in these chains, which gave the appearance of the face having a mouth.
There was a bright star on the edge of the northeastern lobe from which there appeared to be a stream of matter, and a chain of four stars extending slightly to the northeast from the bright star in the nebula.  The central star was distinctly visible slightly off-center from a dark area that was almost dead-center within the nebula.  In the live image on the CRT, he could just make out what he thought was the companion to the white dwarf central star, just northwest of it.  On the images provided, the companion would be located at about 8:30 relative to the central star.  It was not obvious in the captured images.
This nebula really impresses first-time visitors/observers, especially when they begin to understand that what they are seeing is one of the phases in the life cycle of a star similar to our own Sun.
In observing M-2 for this month's challenge, he used his Mallincam at integration settings of 2, 7, 14, and 28 seconds.  The 56 second integration/exposure washed out too much of the globular's core to be useful.  At each of these integration settings, he was able to locate the curving dark lane described in the challenge.  As can be seen in all of the images, the dark lane is just over half-way between the brighter star on the northeast (left) edge of the cluster and the core.  In his images, it looks like a parenthesis "(" left of the core, that curves back toward it.
Remember, that an SCT's images are flipped horizontally and vertically.  North is to the bottom left corner of the image, and East is toward the upper left corner.  In the 7 and 14 second images (see Robs M-2 7 Seconds.jpg and Robs M-2 14 Seconds.jpg) , there is a smaller dark lane that resembles a reversed letter "C" between the dark lane and the core.  At longer integrations/exposures, the smaller dark lane gets washed out (see Robs M-2 2 Seconds.jpg and Robs M-2 28 Seconds.jpg).
These particular images give the impression that the cluster is moving toward the east like a comet, trailing stars in several chains out to the west.  Many of the stars in these chains and many others around the outer periphery of the cluster can be individually resolved and are red or yellow in color.  He didn't have the opportunity to reduce the focal length to increase the magnification of the cluster.  He hopes to observe it again on his next outing, at higher magnification so he can better identify the red and yellow giants that occupy the outer regions.  At some time in the future, he also hopes to identify the variable star mentioned in the challenge.  He didn't have an opportunity to view the cluster over a two week period and identify the variable star.
Although not as large and as spectacular as the Hercules Cluster, M-2 is interesting in its own right, with its dark lanes, chains of stars, and colorful stars.  Look for updates to this observation in the near future.
 
Frank Barrett:  Observer from North Carolina
Frank generously allowed the use this photo of M-27 from his Celestial Wonders web site (see Franks M-27.jpg).  Below are his notes explaining how he obtained this outstanding image:
“This image was first light for the Ovision worm upgrade.  The image is a salvage attempt as the camera was malfunctioning and could not take usable dark frames.  Noise was removed via Photoshop's despeckle and dust/scratch removal filters.  The image is composed of 4 luminance subframes of 15 minutes each combined with the color channel from my image taken last year.”
Note: This image won 2nd Place at the 17th Annual Region Meeting of Amateur Astronomers (aka "BobFest") for the category "Deep Space, CCD."
Date: 9/13/2008, Location: Gastonia, NC.  Optics: Meade 10" LX200R at 2800mm f/11.  Exposure: L: 4 X 15 min, RGB: 12 X 5 min each.  Camera: SBIG STL-11000M.  Mount: Losmandy G11 w/Ovision worm.
 
Jim Gianoulakis (see Jim Gianoulakis.jpg):  Observer from Nevada
            Jim sent in a photo of M-27 (see Jims M-27.jpg).  He captured this one over several nights, mostly in May before the clouds descended.  It is a stack of 33 300-second exposures, dark subtracted.  Stacked with Deep Sky Stacker and processed in PhotoShop.
 
Jason Snyder:  Observer from Nevada
Jason finally got out on Friday, 31 July to observe and try M-27 again.  The weather wasn't the best, and seeing was marginal.  The skies were clear, with patchy clouds, finally clearing around 10:30 PM (L).  The temperature was 94 degrees and winds were around 7mph.
With the Las Vegas light dome, M-27 was barely visible using a 26 mm Plossl, and he could not resolve the central star.  He was able to make out a faint blue-to-gray hue of one half of the dumbbell using averted vision.  He sketched what he could (see Jasons M-27 Drawing.jpg) and managed to snap a picture of it (see Jasons M-27 Image.jpg).  The camera was a Cannon Rebel XT, through a Lumicon GEG, into an LX-200, 8" F/10 scope.  The bulb timing was approximately 18 seconds.
 
Ryland Ogle:  Observer from Las Vegas
Ryland sent in Mallincam photos of M-27 (see Rylands M-27.jpg) and M-2 (see Rylands M-2.jpg).  He used a C6 refractor for his images.  He’s still learning how to use the Mallincam, but as can be seen, he isn’t doing too bad.
 
Tony Labude: Observer from Oklahoma
As for M-27, Tony got out on the 21st and according to the clear sky clock, to a Bortle class-4 site with average transparency and seeing.  He wished he’d gone to M-2 first, but moved to M-27 instead.  He used his 8-inch F/7 and started with 55X.  He had never taken time to observe the star patterns around the nebula, but sure enough, recognized the blanket it sits upon.  He also noticed two groupings similar to the Trapezium, one to the SE and the other to the NW.  When he increased magnification to 120X, the image looked terrible, so he decreased magnification to 90X.  That was somewhat better, but he saw no central star at that power.  However, he thought he saw a star in the SE corner that might have been in the foreground.  The clear sky became increasingly overcast and he saw no overall shape but a gray fluffy pillow, and no devil face.  He still had fun, and it was the first time he’d observed M-27 in years.
 
References
(Submitted by Roger Ivester)
Sky and Telescope Magazine, Deep-Sky Wonders by Walter Scott Houston, Selections and Commentary by Stephen James O’Meara, Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge Massachusetts 1999.
Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Volume Two; The Stars  by the Rev.  T.W.  Webb, first edition, 1859.  Copyright 1962 by Dover publications which is the sixth edition.
James Mullaney, The Finest Deep-Sky Objects
James Mullaney, Celestial Harvest
Mallas and Kreimer, The Messier Album
Tom Lorenzin, 1000+ The Amateur Astronomer's Field Guide to Deep-Sky observing
Brian Skiff and Christian Luginbuhl, Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-sky Objects
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