kanadalainen's Messier logs

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Kanadalainen
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kanadalainen's Messier logs

#1

Post by Kanadalainen »


Hello all my TSS friends,

After some time spent in procrastination, I present my collected Messier logs! :observatory:

Many (most) occurred from 2017 to 2018. These were really good times spent seeking help from my astro friends, first met and collaborated with on the "old site" (Astronomy Forums).

Its a lot of fun discovering these old files and reading them. My first Messier was M3, found sometime in February of 2017 from my Bortle 8 backyard. I recall freezing my hands off and then not being terribly impressed with this low contrast DSO (thanks to the conditions). :)

These will be presented as my notes were recorded exactly.

Thanks to the admin for the impetus to go back and grab these materials!!

Enclosed is my first thirty Messier observations, verbatim.


+++++++++++++++++

The following is my compilation of my first 30 Messiers. Although I have been a member since February 2017, I began observing ~ end of April of this year. A steep learning curve but lots of help from those here.

I'll put these into wiki ASAP.
Salut! 8-)

Ian (Kanadalainen)


1,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M3 or NGC 5272
Date: 04/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 13mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Difficult to see and find, but found with the use of Stellarium on my MacBook and Telrad.
Comment: Dim, but mind-blowing and impressive. My first Messier.

2,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M53 or NGC 5024
Date: 04/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 13mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This Messier was quite faint, given the poor contrast conditions.
Comment: I spent some time allowing my eye to relax, and the object became more obvious with time.

3,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M81 or NGC 3031
Date: 05/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Antares Plossl and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 32mm and 13mm, respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This Messier was quite faint, given the poor contrast conditions.
Comment: I spent some time allowing my eye to relax, and the object became more obvious with time.

4,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M82 or Cigar galaxy or NGC 3034
Date: 05 and 06 /May/2017 and 02/June/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bottle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Antares Plossl, Orion plossl and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 32mm, 25mm and 13mm, respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This Messier was even more difficult than M81, I managed to resolve it at low power.
Comment: I learned how to use averted vision. One of the more difficult Messiers for me to view, probably due to light pollution. One view that left me with the sense that I could do better.
On June 2:A few months ago I found M81 but conditions were too chilly for me to spend much time seeing M82 with my untrained eyes. Tonight I could lounge in relative ease and really take care to nail it down, and so that was a matter of unfinished business. In contrast to Albireo's hood, there was not much to see in this part of the sky with the RACI. I used my Star Chart app in the iPhone to get a rough pointer, and then I stepped from Phecda to Dubhe, and slightly beyond. With the ES82 18 mm (kind of a mini-pineapple, rapidly growing fond of this EP), I found both galaxies.

5,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M13 or NGC 6207
Date: 06/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Orion plossl and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 25mm and 7mm, respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Hercules rose to a viewable spot by 10 pm. With the 7mm the site was super impressive, grainy and huge globular cluster.
Comment: One of the most impressive DSO’s, and it lived up to its billing.

6,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M51 or NGC
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Used the push to feature to approximate location and then found it, with some sweeps. Reasonably dark sky allowed for very good view of this galaxy.
Comment: After 3 separate searches I finally found it.

7,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M104 or the Sombrero galaxy
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing, cold, windy (6 or 7*C)
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A fulsome galaxy, large nucleus, inclined disc, plump belly. Reasonably dark sky allowed for very good view of this galaxy.
Comment: Not difficult to find. I began to freeze in the wind, left the observation post and warmed up in the truck.

8,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M44 or NGC 2632
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing, cold, windy (6 or 7*C)
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: the beehive cluster, two or three dozen visible stars, of varying brightness. My fourth cluster bagged.
Comment:

9,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M67 globular cluster
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing, cold, windy (6 or 7*C)
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Very pretty and large cluster of about 100 visible stars - 5th glob captured.
Comment: Very tired, very cold by the end of the night. Happy with captures, of four Messiers.

10,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M92 globular cluster or NGC 6341
Date: 17/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, cold
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Antares Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: not as sprawling, blatant or bourgeois as the comparative riches of neighbouring M13, but make no mistake, this is a very fine glob. Stellarium refers to it as "an intermediate rich concentration of stars."
Comment: Very tired, very cold by the end of the night. Happy with captures, of four Messiers.

11,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M29 open cluster
Date: 2/June/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, warm
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Antares Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 9.7
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Cooled the dob, started with Albireo, grabbed the ES 82 18 mm for its second light and then set out straight on to M29. What is the appeal of this little open cluster? I don't really know but the breathtaking backdrop of dim stars is very encouraging. Sadr was in proximity and I used it to try to orient by seeing it in the edge of the RACI's FOV. M29 is so beautifully arranged - kind of a poor man's Pleiades - and I viewed it for about 20 min.
Comment: I could pick out about 15 stars with some different and more powerful eyepieces.

12,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M10 open cluster
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: in Ophiuchus - easy to resolve stars in this impressive glob. I really enjoy globs! They are not as coy as galaxies. This one was delightful.
Comment: I will pick another evening to visit M12.

13,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M60 or NGC 4649 , elliptical galaxy
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This is a moment of some portent, I think its a good omen. Oval shaped and ephemeral. Moving on... to the chain.
Comment: Happy have located this difficult (for me) Messier.

14,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M84, part of Markarian’s chain
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: M84 - I see you!!! Haha.. I found this Messier to my great delight in low power, using my push-to scope feature. When all else fails, push on to push-to. Dim and fuzzy, the seeing improved with time, and I also noted other galaxies nearby in Markarian's chain.
Comment: I am so excited to have finally found this galaxy which led me to Markarian’s chain.

15,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M86, part of Markarian’s chain
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: M86 - in close proximity to M84, this galaxy reveals herself as one of the brighter of the chain. 18 mm ES82 for all of these with occasional switching to 13 mm Nagler.
Comment: In the middle of the chain.

16,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M88, part of Markarian’s chain
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Further down the chain, almost detached from the group.
Comment: In the middle of the chain.


17,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M91
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Oval shaped, easy to find.
Comment:


18,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M90
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: "Up" and another oval galaxy.
Comment:

19,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M87
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: More rounded than most galaxies with a discernible core.
Comment:

20,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M89
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Another rounded galaxy and easy to spot.
Comment:

21,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M57 or NGC 6720
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing, warm 20*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: In very low power, I found Otto Struve 525 (colourful) and near that I brought the little smokey donut of M57 into the wide field. Honing in on this with the 11mm EP was very rewarding. I looked at this for a good 30 minutes, a thrill as it is a NEW Messier for me. The ring was surprisingly smokey in appearance, I hadn’t know what to expect, but that is my impression. The ring really is marked with a more powerful eyepiece.
Comment: Fun to find it at low power, like locating a hidden treasure, and in the transparency of that evening it was easy to get lost.

22,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M27 or NGC6853
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: In Vulpecula, The Dumbbell or Applecore nebula. I had to find Altair in the triangle, and then find a group of four stars to the north of Altair, and slightly to the east. I spent a lot of time getting lost and wandering around. Finally, I just bumbled into it, after many sweeps south of gamma Saggita. To my eyes it definitely resembled an apple core.
Comment: Very distinctive and “weird”, almost awkward looking up there.

23,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M56 or NGC6779
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A nice little glob in Lyra. I was an old hand now in Lyra, having just viewed M57… so I swept the sky between Albireo and Sulafat, and this time used a bit of help from the dob’s computer to locate the glob.
Comment: This cluster is that of many resolvable individual stars, giving it a grainy or loose assembled appearance. I can’t tell you why but I like globs.

24,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M31 – Andromeda galaxy or NGC 224
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Yes. That’s correct. I have never viewed Andromeda before, even through binoculars. All I had with me were some cheap Bushnells, but they did the job. I scanned over in the east, for the Great Square, and further north, and below Cassiopeia. Going back, just for fun, I located what I thought was Alpheratz and slid north. By the gods, there it was! Massive and hulking and pushing out beyond my field of vision.
Comment:Compared to Markarian’s chain this was a piece of cake.

25,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M32 or NGC 221
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Elliptical galaxy.
Comment: Side-kick to andromeda (1).

26,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M110 or NGC 205
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Elliptical galaxy.
Comment: Side-kick #2 to andromeda.

27,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M63 or sunflower galaxy - NGC 5055
Date: 31/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2-3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: South of Alkaid, this was a beautiful galaxy, although I couldn’t distinguish the spiral arms.
Comment:

28,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M92 or NGC 6341
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Scanned the approximate locale with 18mm low power, I found M92 immediately, a very impressive globular cluster. You can put me in the corner of the class with all the other glob lovers. M92 is substantial and this evening, a real eye-popper. With the 11mm ES82 the glob took on the appearance of M13’s bag of tricks – eg, a bag of diamonds.
Comment: #28 in my list.

29,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M102 or NGC 5866
Date: 31/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2-3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This object was readily apparent in the sky around 2 am… the transparency had become excellent.
Comment: The Spindle galaxy – some research led me to the discrepancies and historical controversy in identification of this Messier.

30,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M101 or NGC 5457
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The pinwheel galaxy. I caught this with some extra help from my 28mm and then my 18mm EP. This appeared easily (good night for galaxies and much better than I was seeing in my usual dark site far to the south).
Comment: My 30th Messier object.
Last edited by kanadalainen; 08-02-2017 at 11:00 PM.
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
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Kanadalainen
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#2

Post by Kanadalainen »


....aaaaaaaaand here are Messier 31 to 73!!!

I hope you enjoy going through them, I found it to be a real hoot. :lol:


Ian

+++++++++++++++++++



31,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M103 or NGC 581
Date: 28/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Nagler and ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 18mm respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Back to M103… I enjoy becoming familiar with distinctive Messiers and so went back to Cassiopeia for another look. Hopped from Ruchbah and found it with the terrific Explore Scientific 18 mm (it’s a 2” ep). This time I recognized it immediately as a small fan or arrow-headed collection of stars in my FOV. With the nice steady view offered by the dob, it was easy to find stars of different colours and their pointed arrangement was very pleasing, as if some celestial hand had placed them just so.

32,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M39 or NGC 7092
Date: 28/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Nagler and ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 18mm respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: I leaned heavily on my ES 18 mm to visualize and find this new Messier. A very large and loose open cluster of stars in Cygnus. Some of them bore distinct colouration, with a number of blue. Due to LP I could not see it without my scope or binos. This was easily seen with my binos, after finding it with my dob. From my reading, I understand that its approaching us (our system) at 28 km/sec and is only 800 light years distant.

33,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M15 or NGC 7078
Date: 28/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Nagler and ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 18mm respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A very pretty globular cluster in Pegasus. It appears as a distinctive and densely packed “pile of diamonds” with a large number of stars discernable and resolvable. I spent about 15 minutes gazing at this one, and despite the glare of the moon. I was barely able to see it with my binos, but again, it stood out nicely with the dob. Estimated age is 13.2 billion years – one of the oldest globular clusters.

34,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M52 or NGC 7654
Date: 28/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Nagler and ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 18mm respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Running back to Saskatoon, um… Cassiopeia. Another globular cluster, very beautiful and in this case a bit more detailed than some of my other targets, due to its distance in the sky from the glare of the moon. I sought out this Messier, in consolation, after failing at M33… I wanted to see the frog “spiralism” of yore as proposed by JG on this list. Alas M33 was blocked by houses and trees. Back to M52 - Globs within heavily populated stellar backdrops like M52 are especially nice. Individual stars of blue and yellow could be discerned with higher magnification.

35,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M34 or NGC 1039
Date: 28/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Nagler and ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 18mm respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Messier 34 is an open cluster in Perseus. I moved back and forth through the sky searching for this one for a while before I decided that I actually found it. I did use my binos to help myself a bit, and voila. Two arms of stars are apparent, and I could make out about 15 stars in total. It may not be as spectacular as other open clusters, including M103.

36,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M73 or NGC 6994
Date: 29/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Naglers and ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 7mm, 13mm and 18mm respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This is a nice moment – detailing my first observed asterism (stars of different distances from earth, and moving differently relative to one another, but which appear to be grouped in a physical cluster). Little did I know, but M73 is one of the most well studied asterisms in the sky. Its only four stars so I cruised over the locale in Aquarius in low power with the 18mm EP, thought I may have seen it, checked around the vicinity, then went back to the likely suspect (round up all the likely suspects!), with a bit more power, first at 13mm and then to 7mm. M73 presents itself as Y shaped group. A fun and memorable find for me.

37,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M2 or New General Catalogue 7089
Date: 29/September/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: clear, good transparency, fair seeing due to the moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 8
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Televue Naglers
Eyepiece mm: 7mm, 13mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A pleasant surprise, from a first-time viewer of M2. A rich and easily found globular cluster in Aquarius, located near beta Aquarii. This is a great Messier, highly recommended . I read up on the history of M2, and found that this one was discovered by JD Maraldi, while observing a comet, with his buddy Jacques Cassini. In my binos it looked like a small unresolved smudge, but with the dob and some modest magnification, I was able to resolve many stars in the main cluster. I like globs as some of you know, and this Messier is gorgeous, majestic. Again, the descriptor of “ball of diamonds” comes to mind, first mentioned to me by an AF lister (Steve, IIRC). The core is very prominent, the cluster itself is tightly compressed, and forms a relatively symmetric ball in space. This Messier contains 150,000 stars, and is about 37,500 lya, and relatively old – 13 billion years.

38,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M11
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The wild duck cluster was a big pleasure to observe. My research tells me that an Admiral Smyth named it for wild ducks as the stars reminded him of their flight (which it actually does). Lots of blue stars apparent, very dense and compact cluster. I should have backed off from the 11 mm, but it was pretty spectacular at that. Within the cluster are lumps and lanes.. Fun to watch for a while.

39,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M26
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The thing with Messiers is that you never know what you’re gonna get (shades of Forest Gump). This little open cluster was satisfying to find, and record, but was not as impressive as M11. Having said that this cluster is distinguished for its lack of many stars in its nucleus. Located 5000 light years distant.

40,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M14
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A beauty of a cluster, right in there with M13. It has the sack of diamonds in a velvet black bag je n’est ce quois to it. But, nowhere near the brightness of M13. It is slightly elongate, and has a very dense core. Total luminosity is modest. Difficult to see specific stars in the centre. This is no shrinking violet of a globular cluster, but it is 30,000 light years distant, so the net effect is classy but not garish. This cluster holds several dozen variable stars.

41,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M16
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Quite an impressive nebula, one of my first! It was rewarding to visualize the cluster of stars within the nebula. I probably used too much power to see the entire nebula, but no harm done, I moved from locale to locale with nudges. I could see more than two dozen stars in all. A very impressive object and one I will revisit often, especially now that I am becoming a bit more at ease with Serpens Cauda, Scutum and Sagittarius. Again, I’m sure this will be impressive with the right tracking and a fast optics scope.

42,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M17
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: My second nebula of the evening. Conditions were favourable to see this lovely bright object. I couldn’t discern much color, but the shape and outline was readily apparent. Three distinct blobs of nebulous light. I really enjoy this part of the sky, and this one is in close proximity to M16. Visual magnitude of 6. Discovered by de Cheseaux and Messier, with Messier coming a close second.

43,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M18
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Busy neighborhood. This Messier is close to M17 and M16. A smallish open cluster of stars in an irregular group. Blue stars dominate, and so this is a young cluster. 4900 ly distant.

44,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M23
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A very pretty cluster of about 100 stars (visible), very enjoyable to watch this and let the eyes acclimate. I get much better looks after first processing, looking away and then coming back to this object.
I counted up to 80 stars at higher power, before guesstimating the total.

45,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M24
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The small Saggitarius star cloud! Very exciting. Hard to call this a cluster, I spent at least 30 minutes on this Messier. Dark lanes and blotches, rays and arches of stars seem to punctuate this rich swarm. I think it’s the most star-packed object that I’ve viewed to date. Researched this and found out that it’s a part of an interior spiral arm of our galaxy.

46,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M72
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A small and faint glob, not an easy target. I had to come to this transparency to see it after three separate trials. I could not resolve many stars at all in this glob. Grainy, pale patch. 55,000 ly distant.

47,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M40
Date: 7/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: Rainstorm to the north (lightening), otherwise clear, very good transparency, waning moon.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This is a strange one. Why call it a Messier, it’s a double star. An optical double at that, not a true double.

48,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M5
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite
Viewing Conditions: windy, cool, a few clouds, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Near 5 Serpentis. Visible in the finder scope as a fuzzy dot. With the XT10i dob it is a very impressive glob, with hundreds of stars resolved in the 11mm EP. There isn’t much nearby to distract the view. I noticed a segment of the glob on the western edge to be a bit brighter than the rest of the object. My research tells me that it’s a very old glob (13 billion years) with many of its constituent stars in red giant phase. I was unable to find many of these (red coloured) stars.

49,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M9
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite
Viewing Conditions: windy, cool, a few clouds, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 for the entire evening
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This one took some digging. It is apparent as a glob with faint stars in indistinct clumps, with a discernable core of stars, fully resolved in the main mirror of the scope. Nevertheless M9 is faint in Ophiuchus. This glob is near the centre of the Milky way, 26,000 ly distant, absolute magnitude of – 8. The brightest individual stars were just discernable, their mag is in the neighborhood of -13.5.


50,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M12
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, windy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A sister glob to M10 in Ophiuchus. M12 is about the same size to my eye, but fainter. Its magnitude is 6.7 and is a loosely arranged cluster with a typically dense centre. It has outlier stars, some noticibly yellowish and gives one the sense that this cluster is “coming apart”. Well worth the view, and not difficult to find. Its proximity to M10 allow for window shopping between the two globs.

51,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M21
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite – 52 klicks from the edge of the city.
Viewing Conditions: great transparency and seeing… the clouds dissipated even as they approached me out of the west
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A small galactic open cluster. Charming and cute, subtle beauty. Without trying to be glib it also appears as a round-headed stick man waving “hello”. A small Messier with about 25 stars discernable under the conditions last night (55 or so stars in total). Total magnitude is 6.5. A strand of stars seems to reach out to its neighbor – M20 (which I left for another evening). A nice double resides in the centre of this Messier.

52,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M22
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite
Viewing Conditions: windy, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Beautiful, massive, mighty. This tremendous globular cluster is so much fun to view, and moments like this make me so pleased to have purchased my dobsonian. M22 is very full globular cluster, extremely fine and densely packed. My terse field notes indicate “resembles a grinning jack o’ lantern” which is the pattern of the impression that the brighter stars gave me. Perhaps that’s too demeaning for such a glorius object such as this. I spent as much time as I could shivering in the wind to try to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. After some time, I could make out colours of a number of the nearby stars and even those close to the centre. This Messier might grab M13’s spot as my favourite globular DSO.

53,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M26
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, lots of wind
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: An open cluster in Scutum. The single most interesting feature of this Messier is the miniature “big dipper” or ursa grouping of stars in the centre of the cluster. About 50 stars in this cluster – no central concentration of stars is found. Easily picked out from other stars in the near vicinity, with an apparent magnitude of 8. This messier is 5000 ly distant.


54,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M33
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite, near Morris, MB (52 km south of Winnipeg)
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, waning moon, very windy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Swinging my dob around to the east, I went after the Triangulum (pinwheel) galaxy, one of the closest to our own galaxy in a group that includes M31, for example. This is my third crack at this Messier in the past three weeks, and I was frustrated by the nasty LP in the city. So happy to view this beauty in Bortle 4 skies. The moon had already started to peek out and wash the skies at this time of the evening. Nevertheless I was able to spot spiral arms, especially with the 18 mm ES82. It took some effort to find the best view of this lovely Messier. Difficult to see any color – most of it appeared to be washed out white. A very nice Messier, certain to be visited many times in the future.

55,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M55
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, milky way visible
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A large globular cluster in Sagittarius. Loose and grainy in the 11mm EP. Apparent magnitude ~6. The distinguishing factor is that this Messier is more loosely organized than most. I had to push the scope far down to the south to pick it up.

56,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M69
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite (Morris, MB)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 7*C, windy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Globular cluster in Sagittarius – I made a point of gathering as many of these grouped Messiers as I could this deep in the southern sky. This was a challenging globular cluster – by this time of the night, I was able to mentally correct for the small systematic error made by the Orion (Intelliscope) computer on my push-to. It took about 10 min to locate this small faint glob, even with help from SkySafari 5 in my phone and the dob itself. This is a magnitude 7.6 glob. A relatively bright core is apparent.

57,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M71
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite (Morris, MB)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 7*C, windy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Globular cluster (looks like an open cluster) in Sagitta. De Cheseaux discovered this one many years before Messier included it in his catalogue. Not difficult to find this Messier, as it appears as a mag 8.2 cluster. I could see distinct stars in my dob, very loosely arranged for a glob. 13000 ly distant.

58,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M107
Date: 8/October/2017
Location: farm darksite (Morris, MB)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 7*C, windy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation:. A loose globular cluster in a rich star field in Ophiuchus. This is one of the toughest targets in Messiers catalog to my knowledge and in my limited experience “in the hunt”.. Magnitude 9, it is just visible in my FOV. With some manipulation of the focus and a relatively calm period of viewing I was able to just discern a small number of stars in this glob. Open and loose organization.


59,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M30
Date: 10/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 5*C, no wind
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A nice glob in Capricorn, magnitude 7.2 not too difficult to spot, despite not too many nearby stars to landmark this Messier. It appears to be slightly out of round, but has a nice bright, dense center. Some interesting chains of stars emanate out from the core.

60,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M75
Date: 10/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 5*C, no wind
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A faint glob in Sagittarius, with a total magnitude of 8.5. At 67,000 ly distant, it is a remote Messier, and is well beyond the galactic centre. This one was reasonably difficult to find and there was no resolution of the central stars in this glob. A small dim object, slightly mottled.

61,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M76
Date: 10/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 5*C, no wind
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Little dumbbell in Perseus. A difficult object to see, but readily observable nonetheless. This one does not have any doughnut shape to it, more of a dumbbell – if one imagines hard enough. Grey to white in appearance, I would like to someday take a long time-lapse pic of this Messier, to allow resolution of some colour. Its gratifying to find this dim gem.

62,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M45
Date: 10/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 5*C, no wind
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The Seven Sisters do make me feel “full”, even with no optical help in visualizing them. This may sound corny, but while I have seen these before, I could never be sure of their ID. This time I spotted them without the scope. I had to wait until relatively late (10:00 pm) to see them well above the horizon. At that time, I could easily see this Messier without any binos or the dob in the Eastern sky. In fact the large dob pulled the view in too tightly to appreciate the entire formation, although with the dob and the 18 mm, I could make out dozens of stars. The blueness of this cluster was apparent. I now know why Peltier mentions them so many times in his writing, beautiful. Perfect with low powered binoculars.

63,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M38
Date: 10/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, 5*C, no wind
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The starfish cluster. This is a great little cluster, with a bunch of triangles of stars highlighting this Messier. Its not difficult to see how this cluster got its name. This messier stands out easily from the background field. Stars of various magnitudes are easily visible.

64,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M54
Date: 13/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: good transparency, seeing average with cloud dodging, 3*C, breezy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A small extragalactic (wow!) globular cluster in Sagittarius, magnitude +7.59, but the sky was reasonably dark and it was easily detectable in the 18 mm. I love this part of the sky, as there are so many Messiers. This little glob is yet another treasure and was apparent as a smooth smudge in the 18 mm with the 11 mm view yielding some resolution of bordering stars. The dense core of the cluster remained smooth with no further resolution of stars, perhaps just on the bleeding edge of resolution. To my eye, no colours within stars of the cluster was observable. However this did not diminish the pleasure of its observation. I found this cluster at exactly 7:50 pm, which is one of my earliest timed observations in my log book. This glob is receding at the same pace as the Sag dwarf elliptical galaxy (DEG), and so is likely part of that galaxy. 87,000 ly distant from us. In 2009, a medium mass black hole was discovered in M54’s core.

65,
User: kanadalainen
Messier Object: M20
Date: 13/October/2017
Location: Rural park, south of Winnipeg
Viewing Conditions: good transparency, seeing was fair with cloud dodging, 4*C, breezy
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm and 18 mm, used both
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The Trifid nebula, a pale blue (to my eye) emission nebula in Sagittarius. Magnitude estimates for this Messier are all over the map, varying from 6.8 to 9.0. At the time of viewing, the sky was probably not dark enough to appreciate the full nebulosity of this wonderful Messier (more on this below). Herschel coined the name and sub-divided the Messier by its dark lane divisions. My reading on this object note that it was discovered by Le Gentil ~15 years before it was noted in Messier’s catalogue.
Two for the price of one? A very interesting and striking feature of this Messier is the close proximity of M20 to M21 (upside down and backwards in my FOV) – these two objects were nicely visible in the 18 mm explore scientific eyepiece. I spent a lot of time on M20 to allow my eyes to dark adapt and attempt to improve the resolution of the nebula as the sky darkened. By 815 pm conditions had improved in the southern sky to the point that I could clearly distinguish the nebula. This is an extremely pretty Messier and I will be back to do more visual work and possibly to image this Messier when I do decide to take the plunge down the AP or video astro rabbit hole. M20 is estimated to be 5200 ly from our system. This is a young nebula, at 300,000 years old, with many embryonic and newborn stars (discovered in 2005).




66,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M109
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A barred spiral galaxy in the bear, with low surface brightness. A difficult Messier to spot, particularly if there is any residual twilight. Discovered by Mechain in 1781, Messier a few years after that, and by Herschel in 1789. This was a tough galaxy, initially just the faintest smudge in the FOV, with my “seeker” EP 18mm working well with averted vision. 84 million ly distant, receding from us fast (1200 km/sec), with three satellite galaxies that I could not detect.


67,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M108
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A barred spiral galaxy in the bear. Another difficult Messier to spot, and I spent 10 minutes searching around the projected region. I found it by jiggling my scope slightly back and forth, and then allowed my eye to acclimate to the light. Mechain found this one in 1782, and then again by Herschel in 1789 (a good year, apparently). This galaxy appears edge-on and again is a very faint Messier object. A faint bar in the early evening, but improved slightly as the evening wore on. I think the seeing was partially obscured in this part of the sky due to smoke in the atmosphere from a stubble fire a few km west of my dark site. I could not detect a central bulge to this galaxy.Chandra observatory found evidence of a black hole at its core.


68,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M106
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A bright and easily spotted galaxy in Canes Venatici. Mechain discovered this one in 1781. Magnitude 8.4 galaxy, one of the brighter galaxies to be found in this part of the sky. Faint outer halo and a very bright dense core. This one stands out well with averted vision. Spiral structure nuances were observed – a very rewarding Messier, and a great example of a spiral system. 25 million ly distant and receding at 550 km/sec. This is a Seyfert galaxy with a likely supermassive black hole at its core.

69,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M97, The Owl Nebula
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The Owl Nebula in the bear. A lovely but somewhat dim planetary nebula. Named the “Owl” for the distinctive eyes (voids), which were just barely discernable to me. I only saw this in whites and greys, unlike all the textbook shots. Discovered by Mechain in 1781, added by Messier to his catalogue the same year. Lord Rosse coined the term Owl Nebula in 1848. This was a faint object in my conditions and with my scope. I would love to see this in darker skies.

70,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M25
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Slewing around back to Sagittarius to see M25, an open cluster. This cluster is marked by the presence of spectral type M and G giants. This cluster is only 2000 ly distant. I counted around 30 bright stars in the cluster under medium power. These stars are oriented in two lanes. Mag – 6.5.

71,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M28
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: M28 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, discovered by Messier in 1764. Smaller than most of the neighbouring globs such as M22. A tight globular, easily spotted, with a dense core. I could see granularity on the outer edges and those quickly thinned out to a loose halo of stars. Total magnitude of 6.8. 18,000 ly distant.

72,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M36
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: An open cluster in Auriga. Remarkable in its placement, as if a giant celestial hand stole a patch of the milky way and glued it into open space. Upside down and backwards it did look like a pinwheel, as advertised. Hodierna, Le Gentil and Messier discovered this one independently and in that order. Total magnitude of 6.3. A concentrated patch of stars, very noticable when sweeping the sky north to south. 4100 ly distant.

73,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M37
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A remarkably tight “open cluster”, appearing to be a partially dispersed globular cluster, like M10 after partying to hard – blown up as it were.
Very pretty and very much worth the long wait as it slowly ascended in the Northern sky. Discovred by Hodierna first around 1654. Messier found it without Le Gentil’s help, kind of a rare event. This is a very rich cluster of multiple colours, with orange and red stars clearly visible. I could see about 4 or 5 red stars at high power. A great Messier.
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
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Kanadalainen
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#3

Post by Kanadalainen »


OK now - this is a real rare document.

A photocopy of my Messier 110 checklist! Circa...2018
M110 checklist Ian 2017.jpg
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#4

Post by Kanadalainen »


I'm stuck here, as I can't locate my digital file to complete the M110...

I'll keep looking and report soon.

Ian


EDIT: I found it, hiding in my old mothballed MacBook (birthdate circa 2011). 8-) 8-) 8-) :lol: :observer:

This is the document consolidating my observations of Messiers 71 to 110 (in order of their availability in the sky and as I sequentially observed them).

M7 was my last Messier, a difficult object, due to its very low position in the sky at 50* N.

Enjoy!

+++++++++++++++++++++

71,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M28 (as reported in “Stubble fires…”)
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: M28 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, discovered by Messier in 1764. Smaller than most of the neighbouring globs such as M22. A tight globular, easily spotted, with a dense core. I could see granularity on the outer edges and those quickly thinned out to a loose halo of stars. Total magnitude of 6.8. 18,000 ly distant.

72,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M36
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: An open cluster in Auriga. Remarkable in its placement, as if a giant celestial hand stole a patch of the milky way and glued it into open space. Upside down and backwards it did look like a pinwheel, as advertised. Hodierna, Le Gentil and Messier discovered this one independently and in that order. Total magnitude of 6.3. A concentrated patch of stars, very noticable when sweeping the sky north to south. 4100 ly distant.

73,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M37
Date: 16/October/2017
Location: farm at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: clear and very good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4 – milky way easily spotted
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES 82
Eyepiece mm: 11mm, 18mm, 28 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A remarkably tight “open cluster”, appearing to be a partially dispersed globular cluster, like M10 after partying to hard – blown up as it were.
Very pretty and very much worth the long wait as it slowly ascended in the Northern sky. Discovred by Hodierna first around 1654. Messier found it without Le Gentil’s help, kind of a rare event. This is a very rich cluster of multiple colours, with orange and red stars clearly visible. I could see about 4 or 5 red stars at high power. A great Messier.

74,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M42 (as reported in “Rigel, the Trapezium and M42”)
Date: 6/November/2017
Location: backyard in Winnipeg, MB
Viewing Conditions: clear and good seeing with good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Sears 6305 and Pentax binos
Telescope Model: Explorer (Towa)
Telescope Size: 60 mm
f-ratio: 15
Eyepiece model: 10 mm and 25 mm Plossl
Eyepiece mm: 10 and 25 mm
Mount: EQ
Observation: I first grabbed my Pentax binos and looked between Rigel and Alnitak, west to east and back and forth. It was easy to spot the nebulosity of M42 and just faint hints of the Trapezium. How lovely to see M42 and another nebulous blob just to the east. I had to double check on SkySafari that I was indeed looking at M42. Looking through the bing's I was unable to see any coloration to the nebula, just whites and greys. I could see a number of prominent stars when I found it in my 60mm using the 25mm Plossl. Nair al Saif and Nair al Saif B, the trapezium, and cOrionis AB couched the nebula. I am so happy to finally have documented a "formal" look at this very famous nebula. I note that a small group of W-shaped stars appears just at the top border of M42, including HR1898 and its sisters - this was an outstanding view in the 60mm. Using the 10mm Plossl still gave me a nice - if much more dim - look at M42.

Comment: The first of many observations of this Messier.



75,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M35 (as reported in “Chilling with the Crab”)
Date: 17/November/2017
Location: Farm darksite at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion Newtonian and Pentax binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Discovered by Cheseaux in 1745, this is a gorgeous Messier open cluster, and it stands alone in the sky as a thick group of stars. Easily seen with the binoculars, and hundreds of stars seen under medium and higher power with the Orion dob. NGC2158, an open cluster was also seen nearby.


76,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M43
Date: 17/November/2017
Location: farm darksite at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing and transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Part of the same nebula system as M42, separated by the obvious dark lane, upside down and backwards from the textbook photos. Is the dark lane an actual dust lane (?) – unknown, but I will research this. The nebula is so much more prominent than most, and at that I didn’t use any kind of nebula filter.

Notes: The first of many observations.

77,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M78
Date: 17/November/2017
Location: farm darksite at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing and transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: NGC 2068 reflection nebula in Orion. I needed my push to computer for this one, much smaller and less obvious than some of the Messiers described above. After searching around for a few minutes, it appeared as a bright patch with two very bright starsburied in the midst of the nebula. I could understand how Charles Messier may have mistaken this Messier for a comet! I didn’t use any filter for this nebula, I need to determine which one would help.




78,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M77
Date: 17/November/2017
Location: farm darksite at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing and transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: NGC 1068 is a barred spiral galaxy in Cetus. A so-called Seyfert galaxy with strong radio output, sourced to a supermassive black hole at its core. The contrast was such that I could see the nucleus and the faint outliers of the spiral galactic arms. Discovered by Mechain in 1780, later recognized by Lord Rosse as a spiral nebula in 1850. M77 is ~ 60 million lya. A whitish smudge resolved nicely to the spiral appearance as I fiddled with the focuser. Messier #78 for me.


79,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M74
Date: 17/November/2017
Location: farm darksite at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing and transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: NGC 628 is a spiral galaxy in Pisces. It is remarkable as it is the prototypical spiral galaxy. I found it with my push to computer after thawing it out and reestablishing the two star baseline reset with Vega and Capella. It was getting late and my scope’s OTA was really becoming frosted up – happily the EPs and the finders were still OK. This Messier was very impressive, I think because my eyes were now fully dark adapted. It was possible to see hints of the spiral arms.


80,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M1
Date: 17/November/2017
Location: farm darksite at Morris, MB
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing and transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The Crab Nebula – I used the computer to help point the scope this time. Interestingly I was able to recognize the FOV in the 18mm EP, and this time I was able to lock on to this Nebula without too much trouble. In fact it was so large and obvious, that it was a bit of a forehead smacker as to why I didn’t find it before?! No red or green colouration in my FOV, but this is a very obvious nebula of the exploded star. The fine tendril structure of the outside was also apparent. I was very pleased to finally gather these special photons from the Crab nebula.

81,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M41 (as reported in “Ice Cold Messiers and Good Dog, Happy Man”)
Date: 3/February/2018 and 6/February/2018
Location: backyard in Winnipeg, MB
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Sears 6305 and Orion Newtonian and binocs
Telescope Model: Explorer and XT10
Telescope Size: 60 mm and 10”
f-ratio: 15 and 4.7
Eyepiece model: Plossl and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 25 mm
Mount: EQ and dob
Observation: I started hopping from Sirius and found M41 without too much gnashing of teeth. It proved to be relatively easy to find and lies almost exactly south of Sirius. I could not spot it with my eyes and also it was not clear with the binos, so perhaps my seeing was declining as the night wore on. This Messier reaches back with significant mention in classical antiquity, with Aristotle having found it and naming it one of his "cloudy spots" in the sky. 12 Canis Majoris was the best marker star in close proximity and helped me to positively ID this loose cluster. My reading tells me that it's a rotating variable star with around 400 times the luminosity of the Sun. Pi Canis Majoris, 15 Canis Majoris and 17 Canis Majoris pose for a lovely wide nearby triple.


82,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M46 (as logged in “Good dog, Happy Man”)
Date: 6/February/2018
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Open cluster in Puppis. A pleasant view of this cluster was seen jumping about 12* east of Sirius. After poking around for a while, I was just barely able to discern NGC 2438 (thanks Bryan for the tip - it was fun to search), the planetary nebula in this cluster, using the dob with a number of different EPs. Its really not easy to see, darker skies would be much better I guess.


83,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M47
Date: 6/February/2018
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Open cluster in Puppis - large, bright. Located "beside" M46, using Sirius as a jump point. This is an interesting cluster with a mixture of bright and dim stars. Unable to see much with the binos, this one required the dob for a really nice view.


84,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M48
Date: 6/February/2018
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Open cluster in Hydra on the border with Monoceros - obvious and bright in the dobs FOV. Also able to be viewed in the binos, particularly as it rose in the east, as the evening wore on.


85,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M50 as reported in “Good Dog, Happy Man”
Date: 6/February/2018
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Celestron 15 x 70 binos
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: 9* northeast of Sirius, a nice bright open cluster in Monoceros, near the border with Canis Major. Lovely cluster, with a marked diversity of coloured stars, with a central heart shaped group.


86,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M79 as reported in “The Dirty (Two) Dozen”
Date: 9/February/2018
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with very good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Orion dob
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10” mirror
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: NGC 1904, a tight globular cluster at the foot of Lepus. Without too much verbal embroidering, I have chased this Messier during the past week to little avail. Found it on this evening, with perhaps better transparency tonight, and I think the key here was the use of a different EP. The 18mm ES82 is a real help, in this case. Thanks to Bryan (Bladekeeper) and Andrey (Bigzmey) for providing helpful suggestions, descriptions and equipment options. M79, a wandering glob off the beaten path, may be part of the Canis Majordwarf galaxy (SkySafari notes). It appeared as a tight core of light, and I could not readily distinguish many individual stars within the core. I had trouble seeing much of the halo, but did resolve some with averted vision and micro nudging (the scope, not my astro partners). I will continue to pursue this one because I would love to get a optimized look during great conditions, and perhaps a long exposure cell phone shot when my new "holder" arrives on the brown van. To sleep, perchance to dream.



87,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M93 (as reported in “The Dirty (Two) Dozen”)
Date: 9/February/2018
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing with very good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 6
Telescope Name: Orion dob and Sears refractor
Telescope Model: XT10i and Explorer
Telescope Size: 10” mirror and 60mm
f-ratio: 4.7 and 15
Eyepiece model: ES68 and plossl
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm and 10mm
Mount: dobsonian and EQ
Observation: NGC 2447 an open star cluster in Puppis. I went back to Sirius, the southern hallmark, and jumped down 15* SE to Omicron 2 Canis Major, and then again almost due east about 9* to find this cluster. It stood out well enough despite the LP. I could resolve a decent sized wedge in the ES 82 18mm, and again in the Nikon 22mm, the latter having better contrast. Perhaps 40 -50 stars were apparent, fun to capture and observe. Looking at it upside down and backwards in the newt, one might imagine something avian lifting off from the water, the wedge being the body.

88,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M65 (as reported in “Galaxy 500 on the prairie”)
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: M65 is a type Sa spiral galaxy in Leo - part of the Leo triplet. I peered through the soup at Leo early on in the evening, and was able to barely make out this Messier. I wasn't going to call that a proper observation. An hour later, I revisited that part of the sky and was rewarded with M65 realizing its full potential. The striking characteristic in these three are the reasonably bright cores. Its halo was present after 15 min or so, and with averted vision.



89,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M66
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Similar to M65 in that it has a bright galactic core. Its halo was present after 15 min or so, and with averted vision.


90,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M85 (logged in “Galaxy 500 on the prairie”)
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: elliptical galaxy in Coma Berenices. Comparativeley bright core with no bars, just some halo around it. Again, I found this a difficult target, due to little evidence of a halo at the initial finding.


91,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M95
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Spiral galaxy in Leo. A very faint target, this one took some time to confirm, but again was much easier to ID after Leo gained some "altitude" out of the east. The core is bright and obvious as one becomes accustomed to the view. Some halo was apparent.


92,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M96
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Spiral galaxy in Leo. The core was the first obvious point of ID, and a halo made itself visible with averted vision and more time at the eyepiece.


93,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M98
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices. This one nearly killed me. I searched for 10 minutes initially, was unsuccessful in finding it. Again, I revisited that part of space after 45 min or so, and could just barely perceive it. Averted vision, wobbling the scope, I had to use every trick. Indistict core, is positioned edge-on, and I couldn't see much of a halo.


94,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M99
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Coma Pinwheel galaxy. This part of the sky does not give up its secrets easily. M99 is dim, with a bright core, that might be mistaken for a dim star, but for the "fuzziness".


95,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M100
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices. Easier to identify than either M98 or M99. This one has a bright core, with hints of spiral arms. Once I found the arms I spent some time using different powers to capture them.


96,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M105
Date: 23/February/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: good seeing, waxing moon; exceptional transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Elliptical galaxy in Leo - a fuzzy ball of light with a relatively bright core. I could see the halo better in comparison to M95 and M96. This part of the sky is galaxy central…


97,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M49 (as reported in “Crossroads Astro”)
Date: 16/March/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, some snow bounce, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: The first member of the Virgo cluster to be noted by Messier. This galaxy was not easy to find, perhaps because it was still early, Virgo was lazy, and I was looking through the thick soup of atmosphere near the horizon. I did note it as a round galaxy with a prominent disc of light and notable halo. The terrific transparency helped me out.


98,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M58 (as reported in “Crossroads Astro”)
Date: 16/March/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, some snow bounce, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Now, this galaxy is a pretty one. A barred spiral in Virgo. Conditions were great and I was able to see wisps and hints of the bars and spiral halo as I increased the magnification. First light on this was with my trusty 28mm ES68, but I worked my way up to 9mm and finally 7mm Nagler. Swirling spirals of this DSO kept me happy for at least 10 min. My hands, which had begun to freeze from handling the Moonlite focuser and various EPs actually warmed up. I attribute that to my elevated Heart Rate after finding this little galactic gem. Virgo is being very kind.


99,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M59 (as reported in “Crossroads Astro”)
Date: 16/March/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, some snow bounce, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: an elliptical galaxy in Virgo. M59 is located proximally to M58, just a bit south. Nondescript compared to M58, some halo present around a tight ball of light at the galactic core.


100,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M61 (as reported in “Crossroads Astro”)
Date: 16/March/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, some snow bounce, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: spiral galaxy in Virgo. This one was relatively easy to spot, and relatively large, with visible spirals and a very tight concentrated core. I took some time to dark adapt after haven mistakenly flipped my phone's Skysafari to daytime mode, so I sat and waited for 10 minutes, then the views were much nicer. Largish, with real face-on spiral pattern, another gem in Virgo.


101,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M64 (as reported in “Crossroads Astro”)
Date: 16/March/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, some snow bounce, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and ES82
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: spiral galaxy in Coma. What can I say, this is one of the nicest, most accessible DSO galaxies one can find in the late winter. A spectacular band of dust gives the nucleus its special "black eye". Prominent halo was present. I felt that perhaps this galaxy could be lumped in with M33 for accessibility.


102,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M83 (as reported in “M83 at last”)
Date: 15/April/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good seeing, very good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68 and Super Plossl and Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 40mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Spiral galaxy in Hydra. Mag: 7.09 with low surface brightness. Located south of Spica. The galaxy's relatively large core was available to me, but for the life of me I could not see much of the whorls in its arms other than the beginnings of them radiating out from the core. This is my third crack at this Messier, and its been the most challenging of the entire list. My best EP was the ES68 28mm... better than the Meade 40mm, for this Messier.

103,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M4 (as reported in “Digging Deep for M8 and other goodies”)
Date: 12/May/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good seeing, very good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Globular cluster in Scorpius. Mag +5.63. Located very close to the west of Antares. This is a bright globular cluster! I actually managed to catch it down low in the South as a tiny dot with my binoculars on a tripod. In the Newtonian it appeared as a fine globular cluster indeed. I used the 28mm ES to locate this one "free hand" by use of the guide provided in "Turn left at Orion". My comments - indicate "big and pretty", ha ha. I was able to pick out a number of individual stars around the periphery. It stands up well to M13, I found.


104,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M19 (as reported in “Digging Deep for M8 and other goodies”)
Date: 12/May/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good seeing, very good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Globular cluster in Ophiuchus. Mag +6.57. The football shaped globular cluster, down low in the South for me. That night, it rose out of the east at 11:19 pm. I let it gain some elevation off the horizon while I went after some more commonly seen DSOs like M57. It was a fine sight, definitely slightly oblong (why?); I can't help but love all these globs. A number of individual stars could be seen, although the contrast was not as great down low to the horizon in the snake holder.


105,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M8 (as reported in “Digging Deep for M8 and other goodies”)
Date: 12/May/2018
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good seeing, very good transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: The Lagoon Nebula. Mag +6.00. FINALLY, I was able to find this famous Messier. It sounds kind of silly, but this far north, you need to almost pull an all nighter to see these low southern Messiers. This one is indeed beautiful. On one side a lovely loose cluster of stars and on the other a marked nebula, centred by a few bright stars. Unique and easily as captivating (to me) as M42. This one was a real treat.


106,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M80 (as reported in “Sagittarius and Scorpius or BUST”)
Date: 12/May/2018 also logged in March of 2018, but with poor contrast.
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good seeing, very good transparency; Milky Way prominent.
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm and 18mm
Mount: dob
Observation: A rich globular cluster in Scorpius, about 4* NW of Antares, between the claws of the Scorpion. Curved strings of stars emenate from the core. It is a dense pile of diamonds, but not not nearly as obese as M13 or M3.

107,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M68 (as reported in “Hear, hear. The Eyes have it”)
Date: 7/April/2018 also logged in March of 2018, but with poor contrast.
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm, 18mm and 11mm
Mount: dob
Observation: globular cluster in Hydra. Mag 7.8. This is my only globular cluster of the evening. A nice glob, perhaps about 25% the size and density of M13. Discovered by Messier himself in 1780. Somewhat tough to find due to its southern location in the sky. Nice dense core, resolved to stars at the edge.

108,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M62 (as reported in “Studying Scorpius between rainshowers”)
Date: 11/June/2018 also logged in March of 2018, but with poor contrast.
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm, 18mm and 11mm
Mount: dob
Observation: globular cluster in Ophiuchus. Not the easiest glob to find, just at the border between Ophiuchus and Scorpius. It is an interesting glob as it appears to be slightly unbalanced or lop-sided. I viewed it at around 11:15 pm and then again a few more times as the contrast became better and better. I have been after M62 for a long time, better seen without the light bounce of snow cover in the very early spring.

109,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M6 (as reported in “Studying Scorpius between rainshowers”)
Date: 11/June/2018 also logged in March of 2018, but with poor contrast.
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm, 18mm and 11mm
Mount: dob
Observation: open cluster of stars in Scorpius, sometimes called the butterfly cluster. I used the 28 mm to dip down low near the horizon to pull out this cluster, and it was so obvious upon discovery. I went back to it at least three times this evening to confirm. At first glance I could note about 35 stars, but a closer look with the 18mm EP revealed hundreds of stars – very rich. I can understand the nomenclature of butterfly. Near the sting of Scorpius. Really pleased to finally capture this Messier!!


110,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M7 (as reported in “Studying Scorpius between rainshowers”)
Date: 11/June/2018 also logged in March of 2018, but with poor contrast.
Location: farm darksite in Morris, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: excellent seeing, excellent transparency
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3.5
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10
Telescope Size: 10”
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES68, ES82 and matched Paracorr I
Eyepiece mm: 28mm, 18mm and 11mm
Mount: dob
Observation: Aristotle mentioned this cluster, also well known to Ptolemy. On first glance one may count about 25 or 30 stars. Looking at it with more power took that number beyond 70 stars. I could not see this Messier with my naked eye, and needed the telescope to see it properly, so close to the horizon. I found this cluster as it edged its way just over the tree tops with the 18mm about 10 minutes past midnight. I watched it rise for another 20 minutes, noting the red giant star among the blue counterparts.

Comment: I moved around between observations of M62, M6 and M7 many times and studied them until about 1 am, then packed up and drove home, tired but happy. This morning I awoke to heavy rainshowers, I’m very happy to finally get all 110 Messiers.
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#5

Post by The Happy Parrot »


Wow, there's a lot of good information on these logs Ian. You set a high bar for me.
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#6

Post by Kanadalainen »


Here is a screenshot from AF as well. :)

Not as much fun as the actual notes, but here it is. Call it a secondary reference. :D
Screen Shot 2020-04-13 at 2.31.36 PM.png
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#7

Post by Kanadalainen »


This is much more fun. A shot of Markarian's chain region, using my Canon and a 135mm lens.

I never get tired of studying this part of the sky.
Markarian heavy crop-2.png
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#8

Post by John Baars »


Kanadalainen wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:44 pm OK now - this is a real rare document.

A photocopy of my Messier 110 checklist! Circa...2018

M110 checklist Ian 2017.jpg
I recognize a document like that! I've got one myself too.
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
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#9

Post by Don Quixote »


Congratulations Ian on finding all your documentation.
I have several chicken scratch sheets similar to the one you posted here.
I suppose I should quit being a contrarian and get this list organized as well...maybe...

Anyway congratulations on your messier list.
Well done !👍
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#10

Post by helicon »


Here's my dog-eared checklist from my old spiral notebook.

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Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#11

Post by bladekeeper »


Congrats, Ian!

It's like I tell my teams when internal audit comes sniffing around. Overwhelm them with documentation! :D
Bryan
Scopes: Apertura AD12 f/5; Celestron C6-R f/8; ES AR127 f/6.4; Stellarvue SV102T f/7; iOptron MC90 f/13.3; Orion ST80A f/5; ES ED80 f/6; Celestron Premium 80 f/11.4; Celestron C80 f/11.4; Unitron Model 142 f/16; Meade NG60 f/10
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#12

Post by Kanadalainen »


bladekeeper wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:42 pm Congrats, Ian!

It's like I tell my teams when internal audit comes sniffing around. Overwhelm them with documentation! :D

:lol: :lol:

Thanks Bryan.

How are you my friend, all's well?
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
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Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#13

Post by bladekeeper »


Kanadalainen wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:03 pm
bladekeeper wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:42 pm Congrats, Ian!

It's like I tell my teams when internal audit comes sniffing around. Overwhelm them with documentation! :D

:lol: :lol:

Thanks Bryan.

How are you my friend, all's well?
All is well my friend. Back on the daily 14 hour grind. :D
Bryan
Scopes: Apertura AD12 f/5; Celestron C6-R f/8; ES AR127 f/6.4; Stellarvue SV102T f/7; iOptron MC90 f/13.3; Orion ST80A f/5; ES ED80 f/6; Celestron Premium 80 f/11.4; Celestron C80 f/11.4; Unitron Model 142 f/16; Meade NG60 f/10
Mounts: Celestron AVX; Bresser EXOS-2; ES Twilight I; ES Twilight II; iOptron Cube-G; AZ3/wood tripod; Vixen Polaris
Binoculars: Pentax PCF WP II 10×50, Bresser Corvette 10×50, Bresser Hunter 16×50 and 8×40, Garrett Gemini 12×60 LW, Gordon 10×50, Apogee 20×100

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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#14

Post by Buckethead 2.0 »


Kanadalainen wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:03 pm
bladekeeper wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:42 pm Congrats, Ian!

It's like I tell my teams when internal audit comes sniffing around. Overwhelm them with documentation! :D

:lol: :lol:

Thanks Bryan.

How are you my friend, all's well?
That's like at my old job, Bryan. The boss used to say to us "make SURE when they ask you where to find information on a product, that can tell them ' it is in the MSDS files,' and that you can tell them where it is!" My smart a** always wanted to say "what is MSDS?!?" :lol:
~Eric
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Re: kanadalainen's Messier logs

#15

Post by Buckethead 2.0 »


Kanadalainen wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:36 pm Hello all my TSS friends,

After some time spent in procrastination, I present my collected Messier logs! :observatory:

Many (most) occurred from 2017 to 2018. These were really good times spent seeking help from my astro friends, first met and collaborated with on the "old site" (Astronomy Forums).

Its a lot of fun discovering these old files and reading them. My first Messier was M3, found sometime in February of 2017 from my Bortle 8 backyard. I recall freezing my hands off and then not being terribly impressed with this low contrast DSO (thanks to the conditions). :)

These will be presented as my notes were recorded exactly.

Thanks to the admin for the impetus to go back and grab these materials!!

Enclosed is my first thirty Messier observations, verbatim.


+++++++++++++++++

The following is my compilation of my first 30 Messiers. Although I have been a member since February 2017, I began observing ~ end of April of this year. A steep learning curve but lots of help from those here.

I'll put these into wiki ASAP.
Salut! 8-)

Ian (Kanadalainen)


1,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M3 or NGC 5272
Date: 04/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 13mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Difficult to see and find, but found with the use of Stellarium on my MacBook and Telrad.
Comment: Dim, but mind-blowing and impressive. My first Messier.

2,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M53 or NGC 5024
Date: 04/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 13mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This Messier was quite faint, given the poor contrast conditions.
Comment: I spent some time allowing my eye to relax, and the object became more obvious with time.

3,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M81 or NGC 3031
Date: 05/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Antares Plossl and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 32mm and 13mm, respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This Messier was quite faint, given the poor contrast conditions.
Comment: I spent some time allowing my eye to relax, and the object became more obvious with time.

4,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M82 or Cigar galaxy or NGC 3034
Date: 05 and 06 /May/2017 and 02/June/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bottle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Antares Plossl, Orion plossl and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 32mm, 25mm and 13mm, respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This Messier was even more difficult than M81, I managed to resolve it at low power.
Comment: I learned how to use averted vision. One of the more difficult Messiers for me to view, probably due to light pollution. One view that left me with the sense that I could do better.
On June 2:A few months ago I found M81 but conditions were too chilly for me to spend much time seeing M82 with my untrained eyes. Tonight I could lounge in relative ease and really take care to nail it down, and so that was a matter of unfinished business. In contrast to Albireo's hood, there was not much to see in this part of the sky with the RACI. I used my Star Chart app in the iPhone to get a rough pointer, and then I stepped from Phecda to Dubhe, and slightly beyond. With the ES82 18 mm (kind of a mini-pineapple, rapidly growing fond of this EP), I found both galaxies.

5,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M13 or NGC 6207
Date: 06/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Orion plossl and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 25mm and 7mm, respectively
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Hercules rose to a viewable spot by 10 pm. With the 7mm the site was super impressive, grainy and huge globular cluster.
Comment: One of the most impressive DSO’s, and it lived up to its billing.

6,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M51 or NGC
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Used the push to feature to approximate location and then found it, with some sweeps. Reasonably dark sky allowed for very good view of this galaxy.
Comment: After 3 separate searches I finally found it.

7,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M104 or the Sombrero galaxy
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing, cold, windy (6 or 7*C)
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A fulsome galaxy, large nucleus, inclined disc, plump belly. Reasonably dark sky allowed for very good view of this galaxy.
Comment: Not difficult to find. I began to freeze in the wind, left the observation post and warmed up in the truck.

8,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M44 or NGC 2632
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing, cold, windy (6 or 7*C)
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: the beehive cluster, two or three dozen visible stars, of varying brightness. My fourth cluster bagged.
Comment:

9,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M67 globular cluster
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing, cold, windy (6 or 7*C)
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Naglers, Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 13mm and 7mm and 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Very pretty and large cluster of about 100 visible stars - 5th glob captured.
Comment: Very tired, very cold by the end of the night. Happy with captures, of four Messiers.

10,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M92 globular cluster or NGC 6341
Date: 17/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, cold
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: Antares Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 9.7mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: not as sprawling, blatant or bourgeois as the comparative riches of neighbouring M13, but make no mistake, this is a very fine glob. Stellarium refers to it as "an intermediate rich concentration of stars."
Comment: Very tired, very cold by the end of the night. Happy with captures, of four Messiers.

11,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M29 open cluster
Date: 2/June/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, warm
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 5-6
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Antares Speers WALER
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 9.7
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Cooled the dob, started with Albireo, grabbed the ES 82 18 mm for its second light and then set out straight on to M29. What is the appeal of this little open cluster? I don't really know but the breathtaking backdrop of dim stars is very encouraging. Sadr was in proximity and I used it to try to orient by seeing it in the edge of the RACI's FOV. M29 is so beautifully arranged - kind of a poor man's Pleiades - and I viewed it for about 20 min.
Comment: I could pick out about 15 stars with some different and more powerful eyepieces.

12,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M10 open cluster
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: in Ophiuchus - easy to resolve stars in this impressive glob. I really enjoy globs! They are not as coy as galaxies. This one was delightful.
Comment: I will pick another evening to visit M12.

13,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M60 or NGC 4649 , elliptical galaxy
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This is a moment of some portent, I think its a good omen. Oval shaped and ephemeral. Moving on... to the chain.
Comment: Happy have located this difficult (for me) Messier.

14,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M84, part of Markarian’s chain
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: M84 - I see you!!! Haha.. I found this Messier to my great delight in low power, using my push-to scope feature. When all else fails, push on to push-to. Dim and fuzzy, the seeing improved with time, and I also noted other galaxies nearby in Markarian's chain.
Comment: I am so excited to have finally found this galaxy which led me to Markarian’s chain.

15,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M86, part of Markarian’s chain
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: M86 - in close proximity to M84, this galaxy reveals herself as one of the brighter of the chain. 18 mm ES82 for all of these with occasional switching to 13 mm Nagler.
Comment: In the middle of the chain.

16,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M88, part of Markarian’s chain
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Further down the chain, almost detached from the group.
Comment: In the middle of the chain.


17,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M91
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Oval shaped, easy to find.
Comment:


18,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M90
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: "Up" and another oval galaxy.
Comment:

19,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M87
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: More rounded than most galaxies with a discernible core.
Comment:

20,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M89
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 3-4
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82 and Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 13 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Another rounded galaxy and easy to spot.
Comment:

21,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M57 or NGC 6720
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing, warm 20*C
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: In very low power, I found Otto Struve 525 (colourful) and near that I brought the little smokey donut of M57 into the wide field. Honing in on this with the 11mm EP was very rewarding. I looked at this for a good 30 minutes, a thrill as it is a NEW Messier for me. The ring was surprisingly smokey in appearance, I hadn’t know what to expect, but that is my impression. The ring really is marked with a more powerful eyepiece.
Comment: Fun to find it at low power, like locating a hidden treasure, and in the transparency of that evening it was easy to get lost.

22,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M27 or NGC6853
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: In Vulpecula, The Dumbbell or Applecore nebula. I had to find Altair in the triangle, and then find a group of four stars to the north of Altair, and slightly to the east. I spent a lot of time getting lost and wandering around. Finally, I just bumbled into it, after many sweeps south of gamma Saggita. To my eyes it definitely resembled an apple core.
Comment: Very distinctive and “weird”, almost awkward looking up there.

23,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M56 or NGC6779
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: A nice little glob in Lyra. I was an old hand now in Lyra, having just viewed M57… so I swept the sky between Albireo and Sulafat, and this time used a bit of help from the dob’s computer to locate the glob.
Comment: This cluster is that of many resolvable individual stars, giving it a grainy or loose assembled appearance. I can’t tell you why but I like globs.

24,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M31 – Andromeda galaxy or NGC 224
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Yes. That’s correct. I have never viewed Andromeda before, even through binoculars. All I had with me were some cheap Bushnells, but they did the job. I scanned over in the east, for the Great Square, and further north, and below Cassiopeia. Going back, just for fun, I located what I thought was Alpheratz and slid north. By the gods, there it was! Massive and hulking and pushing out beyond my field of vision.
Comment:Compared to Markarian’s chain this was a piece of cake.

25,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M32 or NGC 221
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Elliptical galaxy.
Comment: Side-kick to andromeda (1).

26,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M110 or NGC 205
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Elliptical galaxy.
Comment: Side-kick #2 to andromeda.

27,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M63 or sunflower galaxy - NGC 5055
Date: 31/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2-3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: South of Alkaid, this was a beautiful galaxy, although I couldn’t distinguish the spiral arms.
Comment:

28,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M92 or NGC 6341
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: Scanned the approximate locale with 18mm low power, I found M92 immediately, a very impressive globular cluster. You can put me in the corner of the class with all the other glob lovers. M92 is substantial and this evening, a real eye-popper. With the 11mm ES82 the glob took on the appearance of M13’s bag of tricks – eg, a bag of diamonds.
Comment: #28 in my list.

29,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M102 or NGC 5866
Date: 31/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2-3
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This object was readily apparent in the sky around 2 am… the transparency had become excellent.
Comment: The Spindle galaxy – some research led me to the discrepancies and historical controversy in identification of this Messier.

30,
User: Kanadalainen
Messier Object: M101 or NGC 5457
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/Bortle Zone: 2
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: ES82
Eyepiece mm: 18 and 11 mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: The pinwheel galaxy. I caught this with some extra help from my 28mm and then my 18mm EP. This appeared easily (good night for galaxies and much better than I was seeing in my usual dark site far to the south).
Comment: My 30th Messier object.
Last edited by kanadalainen; 08-02-2017 at 11:00 PM.
Excellent log keeping, kanadalainen! Congratulations to you.:clap: :D
~Eric
Binos: Bushnell Falcon 10x50
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