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I have had the good fortune to observe all this month's challenge objects. Since all of the northern and half of the southern objects are from the Messier list and have been observed countless times over the decades with various apertures and under widely varying conditions, I will abstain from posting my observations for them. However, since I've only seen the most southern objects in this month's list three times during my business trips closer to the equator, I will focus my submission on them. The following observation was from five years ago from 5° south latitude under skies that were Bortle 5 at best. I was using my ED80 refractor at the time.
NGC 6188 (Ara, bright nebula, mag=unk, size=20.0’x12.0’):
During the session two nights ago, this object was difficult and elusive. Given how bad seeing had been this evening, I was hoping transparency had picked up just a little bit and that maybe this nebula complex would be a little easier to pin down. So I slowly moved south a little more than 1° from NGC 6200 until I located the bright cluster NGC 6193. Staying at 27x for the 3.2° TFOV, I moved my eye around in all directions from the cluster. As with the previous session I was getting a sense of very subtle haziness. I inserted the Ultra Block filter and the haziness picked up just a little more. I noted some haze particularly around the brighter stars in NGC 6193, and got a sense of a little more density to the north and to the west of the cluster. I then put in the O-III filter. This time the O-III did make a noticeable difference. Though its presence still remained subtle, it was more discernible in the O-III particularly to the north and west of the cluster. The view just gave an overall impression of looking through a thin haze of dusty air. You can see, but things seem ever so slightly unclear. So it would seem my guess about the transparency was correct, and it was most definitely was more visible this time. Though granted, in the 80mm it was still a diaphanous presence.
NGC 6193 (Ara, open cluster, mag=5.2, size=15.0’, class= II3p):
At the southern end of the NGC 6188 complex, this cluster is responsible for both illuminating the reflective portions and energizing the emission portions of the nebula. At its heart is a dazzling pair of stars at magnitude 5.6 and 6.9. Using the 18mm for 27x, I saw about seven or eight stars, with the brightest of them showing some haziness around them (the nebula). At 43x, about 10 stars were seen with most being east and southeast of the dominant pair. At 71x and 102x, I counted upwards of 15 stars scattered to the eastern side of the central pair. These peripheral stars formed a “C” pattern, like Pacman trying to swallow up the bright pair. The whole time the central pair remained enveloped in a dim haze of nebulosity.
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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"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
Great report Alan and congrats on winning the VROD for July 31st, 2021!
-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
Graeme1858 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:08 am
Quality observing skills Alan! Great report.
Regards
Graeme
helicon wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:34 pm
Great report Alan and congrats on winning the VROD for July 31st, 2021!
Thank you Graeme and Michael. It seems like so long ago when I consider it being five years ago, but the fun and challenge still remain fresh in my mind.
It is a unique experience to have an opportunity to peer below our normal southern horizon to see objects that remain beyond our reach at home. Plus, seeing the sky from a new perspective. I vividly recall such sights as watching the entire length of Scorpius strung out across the sky at around 55° elevation, Leo moving across the sky entirely on his back and Orion straight overhead. I feel blessed to have the opportunities to have experienced the deep southern skies, even with small aperture.
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
Hi Alan. A great report of your observations in the southern hemisphere of our sky. As always, a fun read and informative report from you. Thanks for posting this up on here for us to enjoy Alan, and congratulations on winning the TSSVROD Award today.
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.
>)))))*>
Makuser wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:16 pm
Hi Alan. A great report of your observations in the southern hemisphere of our sky. As always, a fun read and informative report from you. Thanks for posting this up on here for us to enjoy Alan, and congratulations on winning the TSS VROD Award today.
Thank you Marshall.
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)