Observing Report for 03 February 2021 - no brass monkeys were harmed during the making of this report

[John Baars]

Thanks for you great report!
I was particularly interested in your observations of NGC 2392 an 2410, since I have observed them not long ago with a 6 inch telescope from the city. I like your detailed descriptions of them, it is impressive what one can see from a dark location with a 17.5 inch instrument. Please more of these descriptions of touristic city-objects! I have never seen the full splendor of Thor's Helmet with my humble equipment from the city, only a blurred illusion of a light background ; thanks for your observation!

Had to google the meaning / etymology of the brass monkeys, never heard of them. I suppose it was cold

[kt4hx]

Thanks for you great report!
I was particularly interested in your observations of NGC 2392 an 2410, since I have observed them not long ago with a 6 inch telescope from the city. I like your detailed descriptions of them, it is impressive what one can see from a dark location with a 17.5 inch instrument. Please more of these descriptions of touristic city-objects! I have never seen the full splendor of Thor's Helmet with my humble equipment from the city, only a blurred illusion of a light background ; thanks for your observation!

Had to google the meaning / etymology of the brass monkeys, never heard of them. I suppose it was cold

Thank you John, and I am glad you liked the descriptions. To be honest, I observe so many dim and similarly looking objects in terms of galaxies, that the brighter showpiece objects give me an opportunity to be more expansive with my descriptions. While most of my time is spent on more challenging targets, tossing in a few bright things gives my mind's eye a reprieve from the dim fuzzies that dominate my time and allows my more creative thoughts to surface from time to time.

I figured some would not understand the inference of my sub-title and would have to look it up. I am glad you learned of that phrase and understand its humor.

Never heard the term before, had to look it up-LOL. Thanks for sharing Alan.

Thanks Ivan and glad you also learned a new way to describe truly cold weather!

[kt4hx]

As a follow-up to this report, I wanted to illustrate the detail that I noticed in the galaxy NGC 2543 in Lynx. The below image of the galaxy is from the SDSS Data Release 14. I stated that "There seemed to be two dimmer sections on either side of the core and framed by brighter ones at the outer edges." In the below image one can see that the core is framed by two fainter dusty areas between the two arms, which (as expected) display an uptick in brightness. I was quite pleased to find that what I saw through the eyepiece was indeed legitimate structure detail and not merely a case of averted imagination!

The opportunity to witness these kinds of details is precisely why I became a serious galaxy hunter decades ago. Now with having a combination of 17.5 inches of aperture located full time at a dark location, this enhances my motivation all the more.

[Arctic]

That was a great haul of galaxies Alan--and a nice, detailed report.

Unfortunately, we are in a bit of a cold spell here. -25 F air temp last night, plus a bitter wind, so no observing other than naked eye. Did manage a few quick astro-photos with my new Nikon D750 camera and a fast lens though.

[kt4hx]

That was a great haul of galaxies Alan--and a nice, detailed report.

Unfortunately, we are in a bit of a cold spell here. -25 F air temp last night, plus a bitter wind, so no observing other than naked eye. Did manage a few quick astro-photos with my new Nikon D750 camera and a fast lens though.

Thank you Gordon. Yeah, I complain about my cold but I know there are others, like yourself, that have to deal with real significant cold. That being the case I will gladly take what I get here!

[MistrBadgr]

Your brass monkeys may not have been harmed by your observing and report writing, but I bet they were pretty cold during the process.

[MistrBadgr]

As a follow-up to this report, I wanted to illustrate the detail that I noticed in the galaxy NGC 2543 in Lynx. The below image of the galaxy is from the SDSS Data Release 14. I stated that "There seemed to be two dimmer sections on either side of the core and framed by brighter ones at the outer edges." In the below image one can see that the core is framed by two fainter dusty areas between the two arms, which (as expected) display an uptick in brightness. I was quite pleased to find that what I saw through the eyepiece was indeed legitimate structure detail and not merely a case of averted imagination!

The opportunity to witness these kinds of details is precisely why I became a serious galaxy hunter decades ago. Now with having a combination of 17.5 inches of aperture located full time at a dark location, this enhances my motivation all the more.

Cool!

Looks like it has a big "S" stamped on it! We have the "Lunar X", "Lunar V" (I think?), and now we have a "Galaxy S!"

[kt4hx]

Your brass monkeys may not have been harmed by your observing and report writing, but I bet they were pretty cold during the process.

Yeah, they were complaining a bit, but I gave them each a hand warmer to strategically place.

[10538]

Hello Alan, I’m sorry to be so late responding to your report. I have been away from the forums for a while and now trying to get caught up on things. I always enjoy the observing reports and yours are always among my favorites. You seem to glide effortlessly through the constellations to find your targets and I always feel like I’m looking through the eyepiece as you describe each object. Someone wrote that you’re a machine and I think that’s a pretty accurate description my friend. How you can observe so many objects in such cold temperatures is nothing short of amazing to me. I usually hang it up when the temperature goes below 30! I had a few good nights early this month and got back on track with the H2’s and H3’s. I finally finished up Leo! I still have a lot of work to do in Virgo and Coma. Thank you for this very informative and interesting report. Each time I read your reports it inspires me to keep pushing on and I appreciate all you do for this hobby. I hope you get some clear “warmer” nights soon!

[kt4hx]

Hello Alan, I’m sorry to be so late responding to your report. I have been away from the forums for a while and now trying to get caught up on things. I always enjoy the observing reports and yours are always among my favorites. You seem to glide effortlessly through the constellations to find your targets and I always feel like I’m looking through the eyepiece as you describe each object. Someone wrote that you’re a machine and I think that’s a pretty accurate description my friend. How you can observe so many objects in such cold temperatures is nothing short of amazing to me. I usually hang it up when the temperature goes below 30! I had a few good nights early this month and got back on track with the H2’s and H3’s. I finally finished up Leo! I still have a lot of work to do in Virgo and Coma. Thank you for this very informative and interesting report. Each time I read your reports it inspires me to keep pushing on and I appreciate all you do for this hobby. I hope you get some clear “warmer” nights soon!

Thank you so much for your kind words Ed, and its very nice to see you on here again. When you said you have a lot of work to do in Virgo and Coma, you said a lot there indeed! Those two constellations alone embody what galaxy hunting is truly about. They are chock-a-block with galaxies of magnitude 13.0 or brighter with over 400 in Virgo and over 100 in Coma. Then as one steps fainter through the 13th magnitude and dimmer the numbers grow exponentially. In the richest fields one can find that they are doing more galaxy hopping rather than star hopping, making excellent charts a must. Particularly those that accurately display galaxy size and orientation relationships. I wish you good luck with your continued galaxy hunting and hopefully we will have a cooperative spring season. I look forward to your reporting my friend.