Mercury elongation, Orionids and fall galaxies.

[Bigzmey]

10/19/19

The weather apps promised cloud-free sky for days. I drove to Anza to discover patches of high clouds lazily drifting across the sky. They did not disappear completely, but I had enough clear sky to make it work.

Mercury
I have set my scopes and was enjoying sunset colors when I noticed a bright star barely 5 degrees above horizon. I checked SkySafari 6 and it was Mercury! Apparently, I caught it a day before 25 degree eastern elongation. This shows how elusive Mercury is. I put my 8” SCT on it and even with prismatic colors have resolved gibbous phase. Pentax XW 20mm (102x). According to SS6 Venus was near Mercury, two degrees to the lower right, but hidden behind the low mountains in the west.

Orionids
Half an hour forward and the sky got dark enough for the Milky Way to appear. I was scouting the sky for targets and bright orange meteor went rather slow across a large section of sky leaving smoky trace behind. Wow! Over the evening I saw another two large bright meteors like that, but of white color; and a few smaller ones in between. Nice show ahead of October 22 maximum.

Mercury and Orionids, the session was already to a great start even before I hit the galaxies.

Aquarius
NGC 6962 and NGC 6964 – galaxies – two faint oval disks with averted vision (AV) and stellar cores. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 6967 – gal – small oval next to a bright star. 8” SCT/XW 14mm (145x).
NGC 6965 – gal – very faint spot with AV. 8” SCT/XW 14mm (145x).
NGC 7081 – gal – small AV spot above a star. 8” SCT/XW 14mm (145x).
NGC 7165 – gal – small elongated disk. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7183 – gal – narrow elongated shape. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7230 – gal – small narrow oval. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7246 – gal – elongated disk touching star. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).

NGC 7251 – gal – small very faint oval with AV, moving EP. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7284 – gal – oval disk with brighter round core. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7309 – gal – faint round disk with AV, brighter central area. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7364 – gal – small oval disk with brighter core, AV, moving EP. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7391 – gal – small round disk with brighter central area, next to a star. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7393 – gal – faint narrow disk with brighter central area. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7443 and NGC 7444 – galaxies – two faint oval disks with AV, brighter central areas. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7450 – gal – very faint round disk with AV. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).

NGC 7492 – glob – I have tried and failed for this globular cluster in the past. This time it did not take long to resolve large very faint round shape with AV. I feel that upgrading to Baader BBHS diagonal and Pentax XW EP pushed it to detectable level. 8” SCT/XWs 20mm (102x), 14mm (145x), 10mm (203x).

NGC 7526 – asterism – AP images show a group of 4 stars. I was not able to resolve them. Instead, I saw a tiny glowing patch. No surprise that Herr Herschel mistook it for a DSO. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).

NGC 7665 – gal – small spec with AV. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 7725 – gal – very faint round spot with AV. Had to sit on it for a while and shake EP to resolve. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).

Cetus
NGC 244 – gal – very faint round spot with AV. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 259 – gal – narrow elongated shape with AV. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 270 – gal – faint oval with AV, brighter core. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 271 – gal – elongated disk with AV next to a bright star, brighter central area. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 279 – gal – very faint oval with AV. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).

NGC 352 – gal – small faint narrow disk with AV, brighter central area. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 426 and NGC 430 – galaxies – two very faint AV ovals, side by side. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).
NGC 429 – gal – very faint small narrow shape with AV below NGC 426 and NGC 430. 8” SCT/XW 14mm (145x).
NGC 493 – gal – faint edge-on with AV. 8” SCT/XW 20mm (102x).

Around 23:00 the sky started to brighten. I set for a few minutes watching moonrise and then hit the slipping bag.

Woke up around 5:00, like I often do. The half Moon was up high in Gemini. Orion was next to it with his Dogs of Winter below. Chaparral stood motionless in the moon light. Not a sound, the desert asleep in the crisp autumn air. What a beautiful sight!

[10538]

Nice report and a very nice haul of galaxies Bigz! Thanks for sharing

[Bigzmey]

Nice report and a very nice haul of galaxies Bigz! Thanks for sharing

Thanks Ed!

[Don Quixote]

I have enjoyed this report Andrey, the setting and the abundant fruit of your observations.
Thank you.

[Bigzmey]

I have enjoyed this report Andrey, the setting and the abundant fruit of your observations.
Thank you.

Thanks Mark!

[bladekeeper]

Another nice haul from Anza, Andrey!

I like the description in the last sentence. Wish I had been there for that!

[Arctic]

A great report, Andrey!

[Bigzmey]

Another nice haul from Anza, Andrey!

I like the description in the last sentence. Wish I had been there for that!

A great report, Andrey!

Thanks Bryan and Gordon!

[terrynak]

Another wonderful session Andrey! I'm looking forward to the Mercury transit on Nov.11th, weather permitting.

[Bigzmey]

Another wonderful session Andrey! I'm looking forward to the Mercury transit on Nov.11th, weather permitting.

Thanks Terry! Fingers crossed.

[Juno16]

Biggest, that sounds so nice!

You sure pulled-in a fine collection of targets! What a fine night!

Great way to wake up!

Very nice report, thanks!

Jim

[Bigzmey]

Biggest, that sounds so nice!

You sure pulled-in a fine collection of targets! What a fine night!

Great way to wake up!

Very nice report, thanks!

Jim

Thanks Jim! Did you catch anything good with binos?

[Juno16]

Biggest, that sounds so nice!

You sure pulled-in a fine collection of targets! What a fine night!

Great way to wake up!

Very nice report, thanks!

Jim

Thanks Jim! Did you catch anything good with binos?

Hi Bigz,

Even though cleardarksky reported an excellent evening for viewing, the night before was a notch better. Could only manage a 19.8 sqm compared to the 20.4 the night before.

Still though, I layed on the chaise lounge and peered around with the binos. Man, the sky was so bright! Beautiful patches of brightness and millions of stars in the plane of the Milky Way. Finally, I got a chill and had to get into the sleeping bag.
Very nice time under the bright sky and thanks for asking!

Thanks,
Jim

[kt4hx]

Sorry I'm a little late to the dance Andrey, but another fine outing from Anza for you. Lots of nice galaxy action, plus a challenging globular in NGC 7492. Congrats on pinning that difficult one down. When I observed this class 12 globular in the 10 inch at our dark site in 2013, it was a dim ghostly orb of light. It lacked central concentration as one would expect from a class 12 and was very dim with my best views coming at about 69x (ES 82 18mm).

There are a few other challenging globulars within the NGC, but the toughest one I've come up against is NGC 6749 in Aquila, another class 12. It is usually considered the most difficult in the NGC, and even with the 17.5" at our dark site it was not easy. It lies in a rich MW field and is heavily obscured. This is what I noted about it in July of 2018:


NGC 6749 (Aquila, globular cluster, mag=12.4, size=6.3’, class=12):

This visually weak cluster was initially difficult to pick up at 110x. Studying the field for a bit I could finally discern a diaphanous concentration of light with a few brighter distracting stars near its perimeter. I got a sense that it was a bit out of round, but this may have been illusory due to the proximity of the field stars drawing the eye outward. This dim concentration was easier to see as my eye relaxed and adjusted to the field. I also viewed it at 141x and 180x and while easier to discern, it most certainly could be overlooked if one were not specifically targeting it. Being a class 12 globular, its core had no concentration and thus it was quite homogenous and ghostly in appearance.

[Peter802]

Great report. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[Bigzmey]

Sorry I'm a little late to the dance Andrey, but another fine outing from Anza for you. Lots of nice galaxy action, plus a challenging globular in NGC 7492. Congrats on pinning that difficult one down. When I observed this class 12 globular in the 10 inch at our dark site in 2013, it was a dim ghostly orb of light. It lacked central concentration as one would expect from a class 12 and was very dim with my best views coming at about 69x (ES 82 18mm).

There are a few other challenging globulars within the NGC, but the toughest one I've come up against is NGC 6749 in Aquila, another class 12. It is usually considered the most difficult in the NGC, and even with the 17.5" at our dark site it was not easy. It lies in a rich MW field and is heavily obscured. This is what I noted about it in July of 2018:


NGC 6749 (Aquila, globular cluster, mag=12.4, size=6.3’, class=12):

This visually weak cluster was initially difficult to pick up at 110x. Studying the field for a bit I could finally discern a diaphanous concentration of light with a few brighter distracting stars near its perimeter. I got a sense that it was a bit out of round, but this may have been illusory due to the proximity of the field stars drawing the eye outward. This dim concentration was easier to see as my eye relaxed and adjusted to the field. I also viewed it at 141x and 180x and while easier to discern, it most certainly could be overlooked if one were not specifically targeting it. Being a class 12 globular, its core had no concentration and thus it was quite homogenous and ghostly in appearance.

Thanks Alan! I checked my logs and I already grabbed NGC6749. Low power (56x), 3.6mm exit pupil did the trick in 8" SCT.

[Bigzmey]

Great report. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Thanks Peter!

[kt4hx]

Sorry I'm a little late to the dance Andrey, but another fine outing from Anza for you. Lots of nice galaxy action, plus a challenging globular in NGC 7492. Congrats on pinning that difficult one down. When I observed this class 12 globular in the 10 inch at our dark site in 2013, it was a dim ghostly orb of light. It lacked central concentration as one would expect from a class 12 and was very dim with my best views coming at about 69x (ES 82 18mm).

There are a few other challenging globulars within the NGC, but the toughest one I've come up against is NGC 6749 in Aquila, another class 12. It is usually considered the most difficult in the NGC, and even with the 17.5" at our dark site it was not easy. It lies in a rich MW field and is heavily obscured. This is what I noted about it in July of 2018:


NGC 6749 (Aquila, globular cluster, mag=12.4, size=6.3’, class=12):

This visually weak cluster was initially difficult to pick up at 110x. Studying the field for a bit I could finally discern a diaphanous concentration of light with a few brighter distracting stars near its perimeter. I got a sense that it was a bit out of round, but this may have been illusory due to the proximity of the field stars drawing the eye outward. This dim concentration was easier to see as my eye relaxed and adjusted to the field. I also viewed it at 141x and 180x and while easier to discern, it most certainly could be overlooked if one were not specifically targeting it. Being a class 12 globular, its core had no concentration and thus it was quite homogenous and ghostly in appearance.

Thanks Alan! I checked my logs and I already grabbed NGC6749. Low power (56x), 3.6mm exit pupil did the trick in 8" SCT.

Excellent observation Andrey. I know many folks who've never gotten N6749. Then again, that is because many are frequently observing from brighter areas where they cannot achieve the required contrast to be able to pick up this very low contrast cluster. FYI, my observations were made at exit pupils of 4.0mm to 2.5mm.

[milanpicard]

Wow, good job, Biggs, you are killing the sky! wow, I have never seen smoking meteors, what sights they must have been!

[Bigzmey]

Wow, good job, Biggs, you are killing the sky! wow, I have never seen smoking meteors, what sights they must have been!

Thanks Milan! Yes, those bright meteors are amazing. They come in many colors. I saw green, white, yellow and orange. Sometimes they explode into pieces.