Observations May 25-26

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John Donne United States of America
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Observations May 25-26

#1

Post by John Donne »


20230525_200644.jpg
May 25-26, 2023
9PM-3AM
Penfield Illinois
40,18,12 N
87,56,48 W

Explore Scientific AR 152 f6.5
Atlas Pro AZ/EQ-G in AZ Mode

Sky condition
Clear of clouds
Average Seeing and Transparency

Moon Mag 8.8, 35% illuminated, waxing 6 days

So much for the data…

I have not used this Atlas mount prior to this outing. I practiced with it in my driveway during the day to make sure I could…it is almost too have for me these days.

In the beginning I spent a lot of time on the Moon, only intermittently attempting objects from the catalogue. It wasn’t until about Midnight that the Moon had diminished enough to afford satisfactory views in the southern sky, although the Northeast began to give up some OK views about 10:30PM.

The following list is not in the order observed.

M57, NGC6720, mag 8.8

The ring nebula was a satisfactory view with good resolution of a lovely turquoise ring around a darker center. I resolved no central star.

M 13 mag 5.7

The Hercules Cluster. This has been an often visited Globular Cluster and it did not disappoint me tonight. Lots of star sparkle and granulation.

I was able to catch a number of faint, dusty galaxies as well.

M96 and M95 in the same view.
M105 was an averted vision sighting. Very faint dusty slash.

M104.

By midnight M104, mag 8.2, gave me a decent view with a well defined slice of core and what seemed to be a dusty glow irradiating from this slice.

M3, NGC 5273 mag 6.2

This is a great Globular Cluster to view. It revealed an expansive, dense cloud of stars with a lot of sparkle and granulation at the core.

M100, NGC 4321
This Spiral Galaxy is in Coma Bernices. It was a very faint ball with what seemed to me as a tiny star in front of it.

M87, NGC 4486 mag 8.7

This elliptical Galaxy in Virgo was another faint ball with a brighter, dense core.

M86 Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo mag 8.8

A dim ball with a hard core.

I was in the midst of a dense field of galaxies in this location, Markarian’s Chain, but I only list a few here.

M88, NGC 4501 Mag 9.5

This Spiral Galaxy in Coma Bernices revealed very dim with three little stars around it.

M61 NGC 4303 Mag 9.6 in Virgo

Another Spiral Galaxy. This faint galaxy revealed visible by averted vision.

M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy, mag 8 in Canes Venatici

This view at about 1 AM was a highlight of the evening. I stayed on M51 for 15 or 20 minutes. The moon had set some time before and I wanted to let my eyes relax. I was able to see the spirals of this two interacting galaxies, NGC 5194 and NGC 5195. In the refractor view NGC 5195 was to the left and NGC 5194 to the right. This may be the best visual view I have ever had on this beauty.

I have not recorded all of my successful observations of the evening here, but I had the pleasure of viewing 26 objects before I called to game.
I was getting cold.

It was a good time.

Peace and strength to all.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
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helicon United States of America
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#2

Post by helicon »


Certainly a great night of observing through your AR 152. 26 objects is a lot, and thanks for the quality descriptions Mark. I've always enjoyed the view of the Whirlpool through my similar 6" scope, and the different orientation one gets compared with a Newtonian system. Congrats on earning today's VROD!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#3

Post by kt4hx »


Very fine observing session Mark, wit lots of excellent objects. Sounds like your scope/drive combination worked great for you during the evening. I find it interesting that you saw some color in M57, something I've never been able to do. Then again, my nighttime visual color acuity is not so good. The mag 15.3 central star is a tough one for sure. The gauzy appearance inside the ring as we look down the chute doesn't help either. Your VROD is very well deserved my friend. :icon-smile:
Alan

Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#4

Post by Butterfly Maiden »


A great session Mark and congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD award for your effort.
Vanessa

Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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John Donne United States of America
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#5

Post by John Donne »


@helicon Thank you Michael. The AR 152 does a good job. And the atlas mount handled it with ease.

@kt4hx Thank you Alan. I have observed M57 before with this color. The gauzy center showed no color. The color I see is not brilliant or of high saturation. It is quite low in saturation , almost transient.
It is remarkable to me when color is revealed.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#6

Post by Bigzmey »


Great session and report Mark. Nice to see you back to observing. Congrats on the VROD!
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: Observations May 25-26

#7

Post by Lady Fraktor »


A very nice session Mark, all the best.
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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Re: Observations May 25-26

#8

Post by Unitron48 »


Great session, John...and very nice reporting! Some nice captures with your 6 inch frac. Congrats on your VROD!!

Dave
Unitron (60mm, 102mm), Brandon 94
Stellarvue SVX127D
http://www.unitronhistory.com

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#9

Post by John Baars »


Great session, John.
Thanks for your report.
Congratulations on the VROD!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
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John Donne United States of America
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Re: Observations May 25-26

#10

Post by John Donne »


Thank you all for the compliment of VROD.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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