Two comets and a collection of other sights.

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Shelby United States of America
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Two comets and a collection of other sights.

#1

Post by Shelby »


This report is for Thursday evening, February 9th.

The conditions were very good early on, the temperature was nice, and the moisture level was not bad. Later into the session, conditions got less favorable, a few thin clouds, high moisture, and cold temperatures. I was out between around 7PM to 9PM.

I started off the evening with a look at the planet Venus. This planet is always a beautiful sight to behold with its high brightness in the sky. I zoomed in on it with the 10mm eyepiece and the Barlow set at 3x. I could see the gibbious phase of the planet, but not many details in the clouds. It was a stunning sight to see though.

My next sighting was the planet Jupiter. This planet is not as close as a few months ago, but it still shows plenty of details. Right away, I could see 3 of the galliean moons around it. One was hidden from view. I zoomed on the planet with my 10mm eyepiece and Barlow set at 3x, and I see the cloud bands on the planet very clearly. I couldn't see many other details, but it was still an impressive sight as always.

I went inside to eat and grab a jacket after this and came back out to continue my night.

My next target was a new one for me. I found the comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF). This one was not very bright, but it was still clearly visible as a faint hazy spot against the background sky. I wasn't expecting this one to be too impressive because of its low magnitude, but any new comet sighting is impressive to take in for me. This is comet number 19 for me.

After that, I moved to the nearby target of the Double Cluster in Perseus. I saw this one many times before, but it is something that never gets old to look at. It was very stunning to see as always with lots of stars clearly visible. An impressive sight for sure.

Next, I moved to another nearby target, the Little Dumbell Nebula (M76). This one was not very bright at all. It appeared as a faint hazy patch in my view. It was easy to spot it, but it didn't really show any details. A nebula is always a nice sight to find though.

Next, I attempted to find the comet C/2022 U2 (Atlas). Unfortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful. I found the spot where the comet was supposed to be, but I did not see the comet. I think it might be just a little too dim to see in my telescope. It was worth trying though.

My next target was the most impressive of my night. It was comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). This one was pretty bright in appearance against the dark background and almost overhead at the time. That made moving my telescope mount a little difficult to manage being so close to straight up. The comet was definitely a much more impressive sight to see without the moonlight I had last time interfering. I appeared as a slightly elongated large fuzzy patch in the sky with just the slightest hint of the tail visible. I still did not see the green color of the comet, but it was still a nice sight to see. I spent a good few minutes staring at this one. A very impressive sighting for sure.

My next target was the planet Mars since it was nearby the comet. I used my 10mm eyepiece and the Barlow set to 3x to zoom in on the planet, which revealed a few surface details on the planet. It was quite impressive seeing Mars like that in detail. I spent a couple minutes taking in the view before moving on. It was definitely an impressive target to look at.

My next target was the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). This one was also pretty impressive. It appeared as a bright fuzzy patch with a few details visible, but not many in the 25mm eyepiece. The two companion galaxies of M32 and M110 were also visible as much dimmer small hazy patches. This one is always an impressive target to look at.

My next target was the Pleiades star cluster (M45). This one was quite impressive to see again with many bright star visible in the 25mm eyepiece view. I could see a faint hint of nebulosity around the main stars, but not much. Still, it was an impressive sight as always. You can't go wrong with this one.

Next, I decided to look for the planet Uranus. I found it successfully. It did not show any details because it is too far away currently, but I could see the green color of the planet. It appeared as a green starlike point. Not much to see, but it was worth looking at.

Next, I turned to other side of the sky and looked at the Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer. This cluster of relatively bright yellow stars is a pretty impressive sight to see at anytime. With a good number of stars visible in the cluster, it was definitely an impressive sight to see.

Next I turned to another familiar target, the Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264) in Monoceros. This cluster of stars shaped like the object it is named after is always worth taking another look at. It is a really impressive target for sure and well worth the time to locate it.

Next, I found the nearby Hubble's Variable Nebula (NGC 2261). This nebula appeared as small dim hazy patch in the sky. Not that impressive, but any nebula is worth looking at. It didn't really show any details in either eyepiece, but it was still worth finding.

After that, I turned to comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) for one last look before heading inside for the night. I can't get enough of the view of this comet. It is quite a sight to see.

That concludes my report. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did looking at all those wonderful sights in the night sky.
My scopes: Sky-Watcher 150p (6") Classic Dobsonian (main scope), iOptron SmartStar N114 with GPS (not really used anymore)

My eyepieces: 25mm Skywatcher Plossl, 10mm Skywatcher Plossl, 25mm unknown brand, 9mm iOptron Kellner.

Filters: AstroZap Baadar Solar Film Filter for my SkyWatcher 6 inch, 6" OD Seymour Solar film filter for the N114

Camera: My smartphone

Comets: 19
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Re: Two comets and a collection of other sights.

#2

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Congratulations on the fine night of observing :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Makuser United States of America
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Re: Two comets and a collection of other sights.

#3

Post by Makuser »


Hi Shelby. A very nice observing report using your 6" Dob telescope. Lots of planets and DSO targets and a great catch of Comet C/2022 E3. Thanks for your well written and fun read report Shelby and the best of wishes for many clear night skies.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
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The Wave Catcher United States of America
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Re: Two comets and a collection of other sights.

#4

Post by The Wave Catcher »


Thank you for the great report Shelby! I envy your comet catches. I can see a lot of stuff in my Bortle 8 skies but dim, fuzzy objects are tough. I can find comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) easily but it isn’t much to look at. Luckily for me, knowing what I’m looking at provides much enjoyment.
Steve Yates

Astro-Tech AT102ED, 102 mm, F/7, ED Achromatic Refractor
Astro-Tech AT80ED, 80 mm, F/7, ED Achromatic Refractor
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: Two comets and a collection of other sights.

#5

Post by Bigzmey »


Nice session and report Shelby! Congrats on logging C/2020 V2 (ZTF) as your 19th comet. Glad that we share the same passion for the comets, no matter in what shapes and sizes. :)
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Two comets and a collection of other sights.

#6

Post by Ylem »


A nice evening Shelby, I also usually visit Venus first, it's image also usually tells me if seeing is decent :)
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


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