Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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kt4hx United States of America
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Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Post by kt4hx »


With that tribute to a song composed in 1933, covered by many popular artists of the day and becoming a big hit for the Platters in 1958, this is the tale of an observing session that began full of promise, but faded into a cloud of smoke – more or less. A little dramatic of course, but somewhat appropriate to how things began and how things finished. Don’t get me wrong, the observing session was successful. Just not quite to the scale I had initially anticipated. My initial high hopes dissipated into a thin veil of high elevation smokiness.

However, as each day prior to the trip over came and went, the forecast conditions seemed to slip bit by bit. It went from above average transparency and average seeing to average transparency/seeing. Then it shifted a little more the day of my trip. Transparency was forecast to be average to below average, though seeing seemed to hold consistently at average. Not one to be daunted by weakening conditions, I went ahead over still full of anticipation. After all, it was still forecast to be clear. The one thing I forgot to check was the smoke forecast. I was well aware of the fires in western Canada, but didn’t really consider them at the time. I believe that was the big mistake I paid for during this outing. While the evening was still successful, it wasn’t nearly so to the degree for which I had hoped and planned. You roll the dice, you get what you get!

Anyway, I headed over to the dark site house with plans to observe the current supernova in M101, which had been brightening day by day. I also wanted to target a couple of very dim SNe in Virgo within their respective host galaxies as well. Then I planned to do some more galaxy hunting within Virgo. Sounded like a good plan, on paper.

I went out about 2145 (local) hours, between nautical and astronomical darkness. Having already worked with collimation earlier during the set up process, I checked and tweaked it again, and aligned the unity and optical finders to the main scope. The air was cooling (about 59° F or 15°C), and sitting back in my chair I looked around the sky for a while as my eyes adjusted to the darkening sky. Then about 2200 (astro dark was to come about 2217), I turned the scope toward the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in Ursa Major to begin the hunt for the supernova in M101 that has been garnering much attention over the past few days. So with that, let’s get started with what turned out to be a bit of a weird evening in terms of plans and reality.


17.5 inch f/4.5 dobsonian
Ethos 21mm (94x, 1.1° TFOV, 4.7mm exit pupil)
Ethos 13mm (152x, 0.7° TFOV, 2.9mm exit pupil)
XW 10mm (199x, 0.4° TFOV, 2.2mm exit pupil)
XW 7mm (283x, 0.2° TFOV, 1.6mm exit pupil)
XW 5mm (397x, 0.2° TFOV, 1.1mm exit pupil)


SN2023ixf (Ursa Major, supernova in galaxy, listed mag~11.9 at the time, listed type=IIn?):
Quickly acquiring Alcor and Mizar in the Dipper’s handle, I began my star hop eastward using the 8x50 RACI optical finder. Just over 5.5° east of the famous stellar duo I located the face-on grand design spiral Messier 101. Using close-up charts and images of the supernova location I had printed I oriented myself to the layout. This exploding star is located immediately SSW of the star cloud within M101 designated as NGC 5461. Using he star pattern close to the SN, I easily identified the target star. Trying to gauge its brightness, I compared it to stars within the field, and found it brighter than the listed 11.9 found here - https://www.physics.purdue.edu/brightsu ... rnova.html. I did compare it to a mag 10.32 star about 20’ southeast of the SN, and found SN2023ixf dimmer by approximately half a magnitude or perhaps just slightly more. So I would put it somewhere between 10.8 and 11.0. Observation was done at 94x and 152x. I did take a second look at it later just before midnight when I was wrapping up my evening. It was quite obvious and as long as one knows where to look, it is easy to spot. (New)

Messier 101 / NGC 5457 (Ursa Major, spiral galaxy, mag=7.9, size=28.8’x26, 9’, SBr=14.9):
After finishing with the supernova in the eastern arm of the galaxy, I studied M101 for a few minutes. I have observed this delicately beautiful object countless times over the years, including the internal structural elements that appear within the NGC catalogue. But I have to say that this time was very noticeably muted in appearance. Granted it has a very low surface brightness due to its immense angular size, it still was weaker than I had seen in some time. I suspected conditions were not quite up to the forecast, and later would come to the conclusion that some of this was an impact of the high elevation presence of smoke from the Canadian fires. Nonetheless the galaxy was seen, as was its new supernova. I did check both the SN and the galaxy out later near the end of my outing, and the galaxy was noticeably weaker than typical.

SN2023ijd (Virgo, supernova in galaxy, listed mag~15.6 at the time, listed type=II):
This very dim supernova is located in the galaxy NGC 4568 in Virgo. The galaxy is well known as part of the famous “Siamese Twins” interactive pair. My star hop took me from Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis) to 33 Vir to Rho Vir then to 20 Vir. I lid northeasterly just over a degree from the last star to easily scoop up the host galaxy. Studying NGC 4568 closely using 152x up to 397x, the supernova, located toward the southwestern end of the galaxy, was very difficult. I was not picking up anything at 152x and 199x. I could occasionally see the glint of a weak stellar core just up from where the two galaxies were connected, but nothing toward the southwestern end of the galactic disk. Going to 283x, I had a very fleeting suspicion of a stellar presence in the appropriate location within the disk, but it was too erratic to be certain. Going up to 397x, I studied the southwestern section of the galaxy intently for a while. As seeing shifted slightly from time to time, I was able to discern a very weak wink of a stellar presence at the appropriate location within the galaxy. I ran back through my magnifications two more times to insure I was seeing what I thought I had, which confirmed to me that it was seen. Not easy, but it was finally conquered! (New)

NGC 4568 (Virgo, spiral galaxy, mag=10.8, size=4.6’x2.2’, SBr=13.1):
NGC 4567 (Virgo, spiral galaxy, mag=11.3, size=3.1’x2.2’, SBr=13.1):

Though I’ve observed this famous interacting duo a few times, I still gave them a quick study after finally confirming the presence of the supernova within NGC 4568. Known famously as the Siamese Twins or Butterfly galaxies, they are certainly co-joined and give the visual appearance of a somewhat bright upside down checkmark. The pair was mostly homogeneous in appearance, with NGC 4567 displaying an obvious stellar core. I have seen them stronger to the eye, hinting at the way things were going to progress this evening.

SN2023gfo (Virgo, supernova in galaxy, listed mag~15.1 at the time, listed type=II):
My final supernova of the evening was this Type II found in the galaxy NGC 4995. I easily performed my ~5° star hop to the northwest from brilliant Spica to locate the host galaxy, almost 3.5’ SSE of the variable star KY Virginis (V 8.02 to V 8.35). Easily spotted at 152x, I studied the area immediately southwest of the galactic disk center. I was unable to pick up anything concrete at 152x or 199x. Then at 283x, I was catching a fleeting glimpse of a stellar presence off-set from the center of the disk toward the southwest. This was easily confirmed at 397x. This SN gave the illusory impression of an off-center stellar core. (New)

NGC 4995 (Virgo, barred spiral galaxy, mag=11.4, size=2.4’x1.7’, SBr=12.1):
The host galaxy of SN2023gfo was one that I’d observed almost three years ago from the same location using the same scope. It was a bit more subdued this time as compared to the previous observation due to the weaker conditions. This time it was just subtly bright to the eye, a small oval disk oriented east-west. It remained smoothly illuminated at all magnifications.

NGC 5119 (Virgo, lenticular galaxy, mag=12.0, size=1.3’x0.4’, SBr=13.0):
Finally moving on from the SNe, I slipped SSW from Spica just over a degree to pick up this object. At 152x, I found it slightly dim; presenting a small oval disk that displayed an intermittent stellar core at its center. A little more obvious at 199x, the stellar core continued to be in and out with shifts in seeing. (New)

NGC 5111 (Virgo, lenticular galaxy, mag=11.7, size=1.9’x1.6’, SBr=12.8):
About 44’ SSW of the previous galaxy I located this lenticular. It was about 13.5’ NNE of the double star HD 116275 (mag 7.8 & 10.5). The pair of white stars was easily split with a separation of 19.4”. The galaxy was slightly dim thick oval glow that was evenly illuminated at 152x. Viewing with 199x, it was a little more apparent, and a stellar core was glimpsed within its disk.

As an aside to this object, Uranometria also plotted a small galaxy, labeled as NGC 5110 about 7.5’ southwest of NGC 5111. Try as I might, I could not pick up any trace of this object. Making a note about this I researched it afterwards and found that this is an error. Apparently William Herschel discovered what would become NGC 5111 in 1784, and then Lewis Swift “rediscovered” it in 1886 but making a positional error. This was unfortunately added to the NGC as entry number 5110, but it is quite clear this is a duplicate of Herschel’s discovery. I also noted that Sky Tools 4 also erroneously plots NGC 5110 as a separate object. (New)

NGC 5080 (Virgo, elliptical galaxy, mag=13.6, size=1.2’x1.1’, SBr=13.6):
About 45’ northwest of NGC 5111, I located my next object. Picked up with 152x, it was a very dim and small out of round dust mote. Using 199x I also noticed a small non-stellar core brightness within its disk. Though dim, it was not difficult. However, based on past experience and the stats above, it was definitely dimmer than I would have expected. (New)


At this point I started to have some difficulties in locating additional targets. Looking at the sky I could tell something was amiss. I pondered if there was a coating of high thin clouds. The seeing remained decent, but it seemed to me that the sky was brighter than normal. I did stop to take an SQM-L reading and got a very respectable 21.38 mpsas result, but something was definitely wrong as transparency seemed to really be problematic.

So becoming more frustrated I left Virgo and headed northward in search of some other objects. Moving into southern Canes Venatici I decided to pursue some larger/brighter objects that I had missed at home under our brighter skies and failed to follow up on at the dark site – until now. Then I finished out my session pursuing some old standards to mellow my mood a bit before calling it a night. Always have some sort of backup plan at the ready.


NGC 4631 (Canes Venatici, barred spiral galaxy, mag=9.2, size=15.2’x2.8’, SBr=13.0):
I could easily see the large open cluster Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices with the naked eye and aimed the scope its way. Slowing moving from the cluster to the NNE for about 7.5°, I easily located this galaxy. Nicknamed the Whale Galaxy, it with its companion, NGC 4627 comprise the pair Arp 281. I observed this object a few years ago at home, so it was interesting to see it here with the larger scope. It was very large and bright at 152x. Its narrow envelope had a hectic appearance being mottled and uneven. Its eastern half was thicker and noticeable brighter than the western half. This is a wondrous and intriguing object visually.

NGC 4627 (Canes Venatici, elliptical galaxy, mag=12.4, size=1.7’x1.0’, SBr=12.7):
While observing the previous object I could see its small companion, informally called the “Pup”, which is the other part of the pair Arp 281. This one I was unable to pick up at home on previous attempts with the 10 inch in years past. In this case at 152x it presented a small and dim diffuse oval glow, floating just above the back of the “whale.” At 199x it was more apparent, but remained weak and homogeneous in appearance. I was finally happy to make the acquaintance of the famous “pup.” (New)

NGC 4656 (Canes Venatici, barred spiral galaxy, mag=10.5, size=15.3’x2.4’, SBr=14.2):
Just half a degree southeast of the previous pair I could easily see this galaxy, often called the “Hockey Stick” because of its peculiar hook at the northeastern end, this disturbed galaxy is very curious object in indeed. I missed this object quite some time ago in our brighter skies at home with the 10 inch, and simply never followed up on it at the dark site, until this session. Easily seen at 152x it presented a large and slender stick of light tilted northeast to southwest. Its southwestern end of the galaxy was noticeably brighter and the galactic disk dimmed as one moved northeast along its major axis. At its northeastern end was its famous hooked structure (see next object). At 199x it was more obvious and its hook more pronounced. Overall this galaxy is a really odd and curious object, and I am glad I finally remembered to follow up on my failed observation from years ago at home. It is a true showpiece when seen to advantage with aperture and darker skies. (New)

NGC 4657 (Canes Venatici, galactic star forming region, mag=12.4, size=1.3’x0.6’, SBr=11.9):
This object was originally thought to be another galaxy interacting with NGC 4656 at its northeastern tip. However, the common consensus now seems to be that the bright “hook” in the hockey stick is a very large star forming region. This disturbance is the result of an interaction between NGC 4656 and NGC 4631 at some point in the ancient past. Some sources still list it as a separate peculiar galaxy, which is incorrect. To my eye, it was a dim extension off the northeastern tip of NGC 4656, giving it the famous hooked appearance. It did seem subtly brighter than some of the northeastern half of the galaxy, but certainly not nearly as bright as the southwestern portion of the galactic disk. I have attached a DSS image of the larger field showing the field for NGCs 4631, 4627, 4656 and 4657. This is one of the most interesting pairings up there! (New)

Whale_Pup_Hockey.jpg

NGC 4395 (Canes Venatici, barred spiral galaxy, mag=10.2, size=13.2’x11.0’, SBr=15.3):
About 3.5° WNW of NGC 4631 I located the field for this extremely low surface brightness face-on barred spiral. Using 152x I picked up a very faint, ghostly glow. The galaxy’s disk was a large thick oval that seemed a little uneven in light distribution hinting at possible internal structure. However, with the failing conditions, I didn’t work with it too long. One thing I found about afterwards was that this has three diffuse nebulae/star forming regions that are listed in the NGC catalogue. They are designated as NGC 4399, 440 and 4401, and I believe that I might have been picking up very subtle indications of some of those structural elements but with conditions being poorly, I decided to put a pin in this one to revisit later when conditions were more favorable and I could study it further to draw out more visual detail. I have attached the DSS image of this one to give some perspective of the structural detail present in this beautiful galaxy and why I want to revisit it under better conditions. (New)

ngc4395_labeled.jpg

NGC 4565 (Coma Berenices, spiral galaxy, mag=9.6, size=15.8’x2.1’, SBr=13.1):
Since conditions seemed to be getting worse as the minutes ticked by and quite frankly I was getting tired, I decided to hit a few showpieces before calling it a night. First was this delightful edge-on galaxy. When viewed with larger aperture and darker skies, it can be a truly stunning object. I easily located it about 2.5° east of Melotte 111, and as it slid into view at 152x it was not disappointing. Admittedly, in the reduced transparency it was not as sharply detailed as it would be otherwise, but still, it was a wondrous sight. Its dark lane was easily visible, but its contrast against the galactic disk was not as pronounced this evening. The galaxy itself was very large visually, with a prominent central bulge. It tapered to thin tips at the ends of the major axis, and stood out prominently in the field of view. Having seen this galaxy a few times from this location with this scope, I know what it can look like, and while it was still a beautiful sight, it was noticeably degraded this evening.

Messier 64 / NGC 4826 (Coma Berenices, spiral galaxy, mag=8.5, size=10.0’x5.4’, SBr=12.6):
Almost 6.5° southeast of NGC 4565 and about 55’ northeast of the star 35 Comae (mag 4.9), I easily picked up this curiously beautiful object. Nicknamed the “Black Eye Galaxy”, the informal moniker is the result of a prominent band of obscuring dust that blocks light along one side of its bright core. Using 152x this stunning object was a large and very bright oval glow. Its disk was extremely diffuse in appearance, with a very strong stellar core embedded at the center. The curved “black eye” of dust was very obvious, however, with the faltering conditions; it was not as sharply defined as I’ve seen it previously. The galaxy is so large and bright however, that despite the poorer transparency, it still pushed through nicely. This is a real beauty!

Messier 13 / NGC 6205 (Hercules, globular cluster, mag=5.8, size=20.0’, SBr=12.0, class=5):
Hercules was rising nicely in the northeast and was just begging for me to pay it a visit. This stupendous globular was easily seen in the 8x50 RACI finder and at 152x in the main scope was a pure delight! The weakened transparency had minimal impact with this object. It was an exceedingly bright massive globe of stars. The stars resolved were countless, with arcs and festoons of stellar points everywhere emanating outward from its milky white core area. This is truly one object that I can say is never disappointing.

NGC 6207 (Hercules, spiral galaxy, mag=11.6, size=3.0’x1.2’, SBr=12.7):
This spiral is located just 27’ northeast of the center of M13, and can be viewed in the same field of view. Often overlooked by observers who are so enamored with (and rightly so) the great Hercules cluster, I always enjoy giving it a look. At 152x it presented a small thin lens shaped disk that was somewhat bright, with a pronounced stellar core at its center. While not as sharply prominent as I’ve seen it, this spiral was still rather impressive despite the weakened transparency.

Messier 4 / NGC 6121 (Scorpius, globular cluster, mag=5.4, size=26.0’, SBr=12.2, class=9):
My final object was a spur of the moment target. I happened to notice the head of Scorpius rising in the SSE and thought, yeah, why not! Grabbing the Pentax 10x50 binoculars, I quickly rounded up the globular and it looked decent enough. I next swung the scope down low and had to bend over a bit to aim through the Rigel Quikfinder at Antares. Moving to the 8x50 optical finder, I caught a fleeting glimpse of the cluster before moving to the eyepiece. Using 152x it was an amazing sight. Almost totally resolved, with only a modicum of diffuse glow at the very center, it was very loosely structured. Swirls and lines of stars were flowing outward in every direction in a frenetic display. I noticed a distinct line of four or five stars bisecting the center of the cluster. This object didn’t care about the conditions and put on an amazing show!


Well, that is the end of this outing. The sky was, in a word, mushy. The Milky Way through Cygnus toward the tail of Scorpius was coming up in the east by this time (about 0030 hours), was not very visible. I am used to the MW band showing up noticeably even at lower elevations, but not this evening, as it was almost invisible at first, despite the darker skies. Again - the transparency.

Later, I thought about the smoke issue from the Canadian fires, and in particular when I was driving home the morning of the 22nd. The sky just seemed icky in general, and across valleys that I saw from higher elevations there was a haziness that seemed out of place for the typical weather patterns we are experiencing. Something just seemed out of whack generally speaking, and with that revelation things started to make more sense. It was nonetheless a success, though in an awkward sort of way. Nonetheless, it beats not being able to get out at all. Thanks for reading along, and keep looking up friends!
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
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"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#2

Post by messier 111 »


you had a heck of a night.
I love reading your night reports.
thx.
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kt4hx United States of America
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Post by kt4hx »


messier 111 wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 12:03 am you had a heck of a night.
I love reading your night reports.
thx.

Thank you Jean-Yves, your kind comments are very much appreciated. Glad that you enjoy coming along with me on my observing journeys.
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Post by Butterfly Maiden »


Brilliant report again Alan.

It is a long report to get through for me first thing on an early morning.

I have glanced through it but I will read it more thoroughly later in the day when I am more awake :lol:
Vanessa

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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Post by John Donne »


Fine work Alan !
Your are inspiring me. :-)
Thank you.
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Post by Juno16 »


I very much enjoyed reading your report Alan!

Too bad the conditions were so challenging. You still managed to pull out a very nice session despite the tough conditions.

You viewed some objects familiar to me and it was fun to read your visual descriptions. I especially like the visual aids (photos) as that is more like my method of choice.

I particularly liked your SN descriptions. Especially SN2023ixf.
I believe that you challenged me to image a SN some time ago and my friend I have all of the enthusiasm needed for this one, but the skies have not cooperated (neither has my luck).

I went against my grain a few nights ago and hurriedly set up after dark because I saw a clear sky that wasn’t supposed to be. Setting up on a whim is not my thing as I am a “plan” guy. Anyway, when I was polar aligning, I glanced up and the sky was full of clouds! So, I’m still waiting!

Thanks for the wonderful read as I sit on my back porch with my pups and a cup of coffee reading your report as the sky is beginning to glow this morning.

Take care my friend!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Post by kt4hx »


Butterfly Maiden wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 6:02 am Brilliant report again Alan.

It is a long report to get through for me first thing on an early morning.

I have glanced through it but I will read it more thoroughly later in the day when I am more awake :lol:

Thank you Vanessa. I am happy that at least my report didn't put you right back to sleep this morning! :icon-smile: I tend to be as detailed as possible in an attempt to impart to the reader what I have seen. Since I don't do imaging nor sketching, I attempt to "image" with words.

John Donne wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 10:20 am Fine work Alan !
Your are inspiring me. :-)
Thank you.

Thank you Mark. It pleases me that I might inspire you to get out under the night sky. It is a resource terribly underappreciated by the masses.

Juno16 wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 10:44 am I very much enjoyed reading your report Alan!

Too bad the conditions were so challenging. You still managed to pull out a very nice session despite the tough conditions.

You viewed some objects familiar to me and it was fun to read your visual descriptions. I especially like the visual aids (photos) as that is more like my method of choice.

I particularly liked your SN descriptions. Especially SN2023ixf.
I believe that you challenged me to image a SN some time ago and my friend I have all of the enthusiasm needed for this one, but the skies have not cooperated (neither has my luck).

I went against my grain a few nights ago and hurriedly set up after dark because I saw a clear sky that wasn’t supposed to be. Setting up on a whim is not my thing as I am a “plan” guy. Anyway, when I was polar aligning, I glanced up and the sky was full of clouds! So, I’m still waiting!

Thanks for the wonderful read as I sit on my back porch with my pups and a cup of coffee reading your report as the sky is beginning to glow this morning.

Take care my friend!

Thank you so much Jim, your kind words are always appreciated. I was happy to have you and your pups along for the journey, and I hope you are successful. Presently SN2023ixf seems to be holding around mag 10.8. Whether that is where it plateaus or if it has another brightness surge is TBD.
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#8

Post by pakarinen »


Globular clusters are taking a real hit here in the smoke. :(
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#9

Post by kt4hx »


pakarinen wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 12:45 pm Globular clusters are taking a real hit here in the smoke. :(

I have not doubt that everything is taking a hit in areas where the smoke is severe. Given our smoke is not as severe as you folks farther west and north of us, the impact wasn't as bad on the brighter objects.
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#10

Post by helicon »


Wow Alan, not one but (edit: THREE) supernovae and as usual a fabulous report well-worthy of today's VROD!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#11

Post by jrkirkham »


Excellent report! Thank you for posting it.
Rob
Telescopes: 50mm refractor, ED80 triplet, 90mm makcass, 10" dob, 8"SCT, 11"SCT
Mounts: Celestron CGX, Orion Sirius + several camera tripods
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#12

Post by Ylem »


Very nice report Alan on an amazing evening, certainly VROD worthy.
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#13

Post by kt4hx »


helicon wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 2:47 pm Wow Alan, not one but two supernovae and as usual a fabulous report well-worthy of today's VROD!

Thank you Michael, I appreciate the VROD for my efforts. Just to clarify it was three SNe that evening. It had been some time since I'd observed one, so it was nice to break that drought.

jrkirkham wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 3:36 pm Excellent report! Thank you for posting it.

Thank you Rob, I appreciate you taking the time to read of my field efforts.

Ylem wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 3:49 pm Very nice report Alan on an amazing evening, certainly VROD worthy.

Thank you Jeff. Despite the squirrelly conditions, it was still quite successful.
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#14

Post by helicon »


kt4hx wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 5:46 pm
helicon wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 2:47 pm Wow Alan, not one but two supernovae and as usual a fabulous report well-worthy of today's VROD!

Thank you Michael, I appreciate the VROD for my efforts. Just to clarify it was three SNe that evening. It had been some time since I'd observed one, so it was nice to break that drought.


Edited...note that you recorded THREE!, not 2
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#15

Post by Bigzmey »


Great supernova session, Alan! Glad that you have persevered despite smoky conditions. Mag 11 SN in M101! I am getting super excited just reading about it. :D Unfortunately, it has been raining for last few nights here, and week a head forecast is solid shut. :angry:
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#16

Post by kt4hx »


Bigzmey wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 6:45 pm Great supernova session, Alan! Glad that you have persevered despite smoky conditions. Mag 11 SN in M101! I am getting super excited just reading about it. :D Unfortunately, it has been raining for last few nights here, and week a head forecast is solid shut. :angry:

Thank you Andrey. What I am reading is that the SN has peaked, but should be visible for a while yet. So hopefully you will get a chance before it fades into obscurity. This one seemed to catch a lot of folks by surprise, which given their nature, is not too surprising. We are long overdue a nice one in our own galaxy, and hopefully that will happen in my lifetime. :icon-smile:
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#17

Post by John Baars »


Great report!
Nice descriptions, very readable!
Truly a VROD winner! Congratulations!!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#18

Post by Bigzmey »


kt4hx wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 9:00 pm
Bigzmey wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 6:45 pm Great supernova session, Alan! Glad that you have persevered despite smoky conditions. Mag 11 SN in M101! I am getting super excited just reading about it. :D Unfortunately, it has been raining for last few nights here, and week a head forecast is solid shut. :angry:

Thank you Andrey. What I am reading is that the SN has peaked, but should be visible for a while yet. So hopefully you will get a chance before it fades into obscurity. This one seemed to catch a lot of folks by surprise, which given their nature, is not too surprising. We are long overdue a nice one in our own galaxy, and hopefully that will happen in my lifetime. :icon-smile:
I don't know about one in our galaxy Alan. If that would happen close enough to Earth we would be in troubles.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#19

Post by Unitron48 »


Sweet, Alan! Congrats on the SN capture...and the VROD!

Dave
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http://www.unitronhistory.com

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Re: Observing Report for 21 May 2023 – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

#20

Post by helicon »


Bigzmey wrote: Thu May 25, 2023 5:09 pm
kt4hx wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 9:00 pm
Bigzmey wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 6:45 pm Great supernova session, Alan! Glad that you have persevered despite smoky conditions. Mag 11 SN in M101! I am getting super excited just reading about it. :D Unfortunately, it has been raining for last few nights here, and week a head forecast is solid shut. :angry:

Thank you Andrey. What I am reading is that the SN has peaked, but should be visible for a while yet. So hopefully you will get a chance before it fades into obscurity. This one seemed to catch a lot of folks by surprise, which given their nature, is not too surprising. We are long overdue a nice one in our own galaxy, and hopefully that will happen in my lifetime. :icon-smile:
I don't know about one in our galaxy Alan. If that would happen close enough to Earth we would be in troubles.
I read somewhere that we would be safe so long as said SN is 50 or more light years away. That's not exactly very far in the cosmic scale of things. Who knows, but it could have happened 50 years ago and we would not know it. I suppose we would evaluate stars within this range to determine candidates, but AFAIK there would not be very many with the right (or wrong) characteristics.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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