Patrick's 2020 observation reports

[patrickdives]

1/22/20-On this night I only spent a few hours out after a long work day. I rolled the Obsession out from its shed while it was still daylight, collimated, and let the fan do its thing for a couple of hours. I took the wife out for dinner and went out while she graded some of her French student's work.
Orion Nebula-Wow! I can't believe the view the 21mm Ethos and the Paracorr offer of this nebula. It was absolutely stunning tonight. I probably should look at more objects but I keep coming back to it. The contrast of the gas clouds is just amazing.
NGC 2169-Open cluster in Orion. I also viewed this with the 21mm. I'm still spoiled by the double clusters of NGC 884 and 869, so this one didn't appeal too much to me but I did enjoy taking a look at it.
Andromeda Galaxy-Strangely, I did not see it. Perhaps since I was out around 2000, it was just too bright out.

It was a short night but I'm glad to have been outside some.

We are having some family friends over on Saturday evening. I plan to pull some targets to search for and it should be a pretty good evening, if the weather holds.

[Juno16]

Nice night out Patrick.

I’ve never looked through a big scope like that. I would imagine that seeing the Orion Nebula with clouds and contrast would be really amazing.

Do you ever see any color?

[Bigzmey]

Nice session! For Andromeda galaxy have you tried lower power?

[bladekeeper]

Pretty darn cool, Patrick!

Best of luck for a fun Saturday also!

[prowler75]

Great session, Patrick!
Nothing wrong with getting sucked into viewing M42...especially with a 15” Obsession!
I’ve been viewing it a lot more this year myself since our new house has unobstructed views of pretty much most of the sky. Our last house I could really only view Northeast which meant M42 was only viewable through small gaps in the trees.

[NGC 1365]

Great report Patrick, thanks for sharing.

[terrynak]

Very nice report Patrick!

I need to get back out again myself, but its hard to break a routine/habit of not going outside with scope since April of last year. Easier to stay inside and read the reports of others...

[10538]

Hello Patrick! I really enjoyed your report! Some DSO’s like M42 and the Double Cluster are contagious and you just keep coming back to them. They are on a list of “old friends “ that I have to visit every chance I get. I hope the weather holds for your Saturday night session. Best of luck!

[patrickdives]

We had an amazing evening under the stars Saturday night! The weather cleared and we had our friends Patty and Cory over with their lovely 18 year old daughter Bella. I threw some steaks on the grill and lit the fire pit. Between turns at the eyepiece, we roasted some s'mores.

The night started with a view of the Orion Nebula with the Ethos 21mm in the Paracorr. As expected, it was super pretty and very clear with clean lines of the clouds. Cory, having his first look through the scope was amazed. Bella had previous experience at the school's star party and was a veteran.

The fire got nice and hot and we were soon joined by the ladies. I picked M1, plugged it into the Argo Navis, and pushed it to the appropriate spot. The Crab Nebula was just visible and we used both the Nagler 31mm and Ethos 21mm to compare the views. At 55X, it was a bit more visible. I went back to the Orion Nebula and switched between 31mm and 21mm, again, and we compared the view. For the Orion Nebula, the 21 mm provided the nicest view. Cory has been dreaming of seeing the Pleiades through a telescope for the past 30 years. I never knew this, so I spent extra time letting him view it. We switched back and forth between the two eyepieces for it for full affect. I've really been enjoying the Double Cluster NGC 869 and it was a favorite of the evening. The Pinwheel Galaxy was faint but we spotted it with the 31mm. Several open clusters were visible and we observed them. I was so busy running the scope that I didn't record the names. I have a problem with doing so when I'm hosting. We saw M81 and M82 as the final targets of the night and they thought it was really cool to see two galaxies at once. My only regret was not seeing a globular cluster but we will another night.

We wrapped our session at 2300. Carrie (wife) suggested that I keep the scope up for another observation this evening. Once more I was reminded that I married a gem of a wife.

[patrickdives]

Nice night out Patrick.

I’ve never looked through a big scope like that. I would imagine that seeing the Orion Nebula with clouds and contrast would be really amazing.

Do you ever see any color?

Hey Jim! Thanks for your question and comment. The Obsession has really blessed me with some amazing views of the Orion Nebula. It can get very sharp and I have observed what appears to be a green type hue. It never fails to disappoint me. A fun story, I proposed to my wife Carrie while distracting her with her observation of M42.

[patrickdives]

Nice session! For Andromeda galaxy have you tried lower power?

Hello! I generally use 55-82X when I observe it. When I view it from darker skies, like at my Dad's an hour away, I may bump up the magnification.

[patrickdives]

Observation report 1/26/20
Location: Home, Williamsburg, Virginia
My 11 year old stepson joined me for quite a few Messier observations. It was funny hearing him say, "it's not that cold!" I think he was trying to convince himself.

My observation time began at 1800 as I focused in on Venus. It was low in the sky and behind some trees but I was able to catch it as it came in and out. It was a perfect disc with an off-white color. Very bright but no features were visible.
I aligned the scope with Capella and Betelgeuse after looking at Venus for a few minutes. Everything went well and I was ready to search.
M52-It was behind the house and I made a note of it for the future.
Orion Nebula-At 1925 and throughout the evening I would take a peak at it, switching between Paracorred 21mm Ethos and 31mm Nagler. It was absolutely gorgeous this evening and the gas clouds were very sharp. I could almost (maybe) make out a green hue.
M31, M32 and M110-Tonight they did not disappoint. Even though ST3 said it would be challenging, the 31mm and Paracorr were the ticket to bring the galaxies to the party. They were bright enough to put on a good show and I enjoyed seeing them. I've not seen them this clear since early in 2019.
Pinwheel Galaxy-at 1945 I decided to check out the Pinwheel since it seemed like a good night for galaxy hunting. The low crescent Moon was keeping the sky dark. It was faint but visible. ST3 did nail the difficulty level. 31mm and Para. provided the best view.
Little Dumbbell Nebula-1955-I love this nebula. 31mm and Para provided the best view. A H-Beta filter, I had in my eyepiece box seemed to help tease the shape out. I could really see the dumbbell shape, especially with averted vision. Carrie enjoys it also and wanted to come out to take a look. With her coming out from bright light, i was correct in that her ability to see it being compromised.
M103-Open Cluster-Very bright and clear. 21mm and Para provided a great view. Stepson enjoyed it.
M70-2030-Galaxy hunting continued successfully. Very bright and the 21mm and Para provided the best view. It was very visible and bright.
M1-2040-Switched between 31 and 21 mm with Para. It was visible but no real definition could be made out. I'm still working on learning the ropes of filters and nebulae.
M38-2050-Open Cluster. Caillou thought it looked like the shape of a horse. Who am I to argue with an 11 year old? It did kind of look like a horse.
M43-2100-Another nebula! 31mm and Para provided the best view. it was very clear and enjoyable to see.
M81 and M82-Were hiding behind the trees towards the neighbors' house.
M31-2110-The last observation of the night. It was a very bright Open Cluster. I used the 31mm and Para. It reminded me of a wheel in shape. The sky was really dark and clear at this time!

Meteorites were putting on a show during the evening off and on. I saw them while observing Little Dumbbell and the Andromeda area. When the kids were out they saw several as well and it added to their excitement.

The scope is still set up so if the weather is clear, I may do some observing Monday evening.

[helicon]

Great report Patrick - sounds like a good night out there.

[patrickdives]

Great report Patrick - sounds like a good night out there.

Thanks! It's nice the weather finally cooperated and gave us some good observing the past two nights.

[patrickdives]

1/27/20
I started the evening's observation session at 1900. The forecast is calling for poor level of clouds and regular viewing. The long work day has left me super tired so it'll be a simple and quick evening. I'm excited to learn that I'm only a few Messiers away from the M70 badge.

I began with checking out M 45. Seeing is definitely not as nice as the previous two nights but I'm thankful to be outside. With so much poor weather in November and December, I'm not complaining. M45 was pretty as normal. I viewed it with the 31mm Nagler/Para at 64X. I then checked out the Orion Nebula and the nearby NGC 1980 to get a comparison of how sharp the view was compared to the previous evenings. It was a nice view but not as sharp as the other evenings. I viewed it with the 21mm Ethos/Para 94X. I was able to get nice, sharp, edges with the stars. NGC 869 was absolutely gorgeous. I was viewing it at 64X and I could make out some stars that were orange in color. I took in the view for quite a few minutes, hoping a shooting star would fly by making a gorgeous view even better but it didn't happen tonight. I can't get too greedy. The surprise of the evening was M 79. It was so far down at the horizon I never expected to see it. I was surprise to get way down at ground level and see the nice and bright glob on full display.

The Argo Navis does more things than I have learned about so far. I played with the horizon settings and magnitude settings to use it to pinpoint some NGC objects. I'm such a novice at the hobby but I don't mind as I'm learning something new every day.

[Bigzmey]

You are on a roll Patrick, keep them coming! We are having fog and clouds every night, so this moon cycle could be a bust.

[patrickdives]

Don’t you hate it when you lose a Moon cycle? My whole November and December nights were a bust.

[helicon]

There was a beautiful crescent moon shining through the low-level fog last night. Looked like something out of a poem. It does mean that the evil orb is getting more prominent, and my 10" scope with the just-cleaned primary mirror is going to have to sit it out for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately - glad that you got another session in Patrick.

[patrickdives]

There was a beautiful crescent moon shining through the low-level fog last night. Looked like something out of a poem. It does mean that the evil orb is getting more prominent, and my 10" scope with the just-cleaned primary mirror is going to have to sit it out for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately - glad that you got another session in Patrick.

The Evil Orb is gaining momentum each evening. Funny you said that about the primary. I am getting close to needing to clean mine. Maybe I'll wait until the ServoCAT arrives since everything will be taken apart.

The crescent moon was gorgeous.

[kt4hx]

Some fine sessions Patrick. Sounds like you are having fun learning the gear and sky at the same time. I agree with the greenish tint in M42. I have always seen it that way using my dobs.