I promised myself this year I'd find the time to take advantage of every clear night to get one of the scopes out. Still, the UK doesn't actually see that many nights of clear skies so may as well try to take advantage of every one!
Session 1 - 4th Jan
Targets for this year are making a good effort on the Herschel 400 however I needed a couple of sessions to get back into it for findinig the fuzzies so I elected to start with the 120ST on an Alt/Az mount.
Started at around 9pm, Orion was already in a good position. Great without any filter using a Delos 17.3mm and showing consider nebulous detail with the 10mm however using an Astronomik UHC showed almost a complete arc of the entirety of the nebula which was a good result for this
Conditions being good and reasonable darkness I headed up the Flame Nebula which I have seen before but with much large
M78 without any filter was reasonably easy with a hint of the nearby NGC2071 as well reminded me to search out much more reflection nebula this year using the 12"
M1 Crab Nebula was obvious with a small amount of detail but mainly wisp like. Will come back to this tonight with a bit of luck if the clear skies continue...
M45 - just because it's so obvious... Nice sight with the wide view of the 120ST. No nebulosity observed however.
Uranus - A tiny green / grey disc - it's been a few years since I last observed it!
M76 (little dumbbell nebula) - Slight small smudge, no filter necessary. Not a bad result as I remember this one as being a lot more diffiicult.
M31 / M32 / M110. M31 was a nice view with the Delos 17.3mm. M110 just about visible. I needed to get to this a little bit earlier on in the evening really to take advantage of it higher altitude.
M33 - failed as not really high enough and I've only had a good view of this before with larger
M97 Owl nebula easily visible without any filter although no detail and a slight hint of M108.
M81/M82 clear and good detail especially on M82 with the dark lane cutting across it.
Packed up around midnight - toes frozen (must remember to weat thick socks and boots next time!). I was happy with that to start the year and looking very much forward to getting out again with the larger
Session 2 - 5th Jan
Incredible... 2 nights in a row clear skies!!!!
After Tuesday night with the 120ST, I was itching use the 12"
On returning from the planetary afternoon session I then set up the 12"
While it was fantastically clear, there was significant humidity in the air which seemed to be affecting the transparency a touch in comparison with the previous night.
M42 with a 28mm Maxvision showed a good amount of colour - a even managed to get some pink / red as well as green.
M43 - The running man showed good structure especially with the UHC filter
Flame Nebula - After midnight, I was able to glimpse a small outline of the dark lane - but was extremely difficult! I expected a bit more, but the sky didn't seem to my eyes as dark as it can get. Proper dark adaption was near-on impossible earlier on with various lights from surrounding houses on which may have been a factor. Not entirely convinced - i may need darker skies and / or better dark adaption and patience for this to be better.
Rosette Nebula - This really stood out well with the OIII on a Delos 17.3mm I was only able to view part of the nebula at a time but it good detail observed.
M1 - nice and bright with some detail.
M31 / M32 / M110 - M110 visible but very diffuse.
M33 - Got this one tonight but very dim and needing a little help with averted vision at times. Have seen this much better which seemed to indicate the transparency was definitely not brilliant.
M51 - A little low but easy enough to see both cores but could not see much of the connection between the two.
M101 - Pfft. Could just about with averted vision make a very diffuse smudge.
M97 - Owl nebula - Was exceptional with a Delos 14mm and OIII filter able to clearly see the eyes
M108 - Quite obvious tonight with reasonable apparent size with the 14mm Delos with a touch of mottling around the core.
M81 / M82 - Being quite high up these seemed to be escaping the lack of transparency elsewhere. M82 was exceptional with the Delos 10mm showing the dark lane and shape. M81 very bright core and some visible detail outside - could not distinguish outer arms though. Nearby NGC3077 obvious small core.
M109 - Slightly tricky needing a bit of averted vision to keep it in sight - no detail apart form the core.
Getting quite late 1am ish - on to Leo as it was climbing...
M65 / M66 /
Wrapped it up at approx 1:30am quite satisfied. Literally everything covered in ice... Enjoyed the session although earlier on was battling a bit with some lights coming from neighbours (which is why I prefer to observe after 11pm when most lights have switched off by then at least.
Looking forward now to the next one and getting on with the Herschel 400 list observations which I've planned the next targets... I may have a few clear nights this week but the Moon is going to start being in the way...
