This evening my intent was to return to the environs of
(Equipment used)
17.5 inch
Ethos 13mm (152x, 0.7° TFOV, 2.9mm exit pupil)
XW 10mm (199x, 0.4° TFOV, 2.2mm exit pupil)
XW 7mm (283x, 0.2° TFOV, 1.6mm exit pupil)
Palomar 5 (Serpens, globular cluster, mag=11.8, size=8.9, SBr=16.1, class=5):
As with the previous evening I quickly found
Now I returned briefly to Bootes to the area just over 5.5° east of Arcturus. This is found in the Uranometria on chart 70. Doing the same star hopping I did the first night, I landed on the field 15’ northeast of mag 8.7 HD 128799, which is the apex star of a west to east triangle with two other 8th mag field stars as its base. Studying the field intently at 152x I was able to pick out this object as a dim and small rounded glow. Smoothly illuminated across its disk, it remained dim but not overly difficult at 199x.This pretty much mirrored what I had see the night before.
In the same field of view with
I now returned to Serpens to continue on with my galaxy hunt for the evening. However, I noticed that the main band of the Milky Way which was gaining elevation in the east was looking rather underwhelming. That led me to question if the transparency was going to be quite as cooperative as the forecast would have one believe. That suspicion would turn out to be more truth than fiction, unfortunately.
Not quite 1.5° southwest of 5 Serpentis I picked up this small and dim homogeneous oval using 152x. Viewed at 199x it was more apparent within the field, but remained a smooth, even disk. (New)
Moving to the southward a bit, toward the Serpens-Libra border, I located this object almost 4.5° south of 5 Serpentis and just 10’ south of mag 6.3 HD 136442. Easily located with 152x, it presented a small but subtly bright elongated oval appearing homogeneous to my eye. Using 199x it was readily apparent within the view, and remained a smooth envelope. (New)
Shifting now north of
Using the star 10 Serpentis (mag 5.2) east of
Nearly 7.5’ northeast of
Moving to the bottom edge of chart 88 in Uranometria I continued. This barred spiral was easily seen at 152x. It presented a subtly large very diffuse oval that displayed low surface brightness, appearing faint, though easily seen. Viewed at 199x it was quite apparent within the field, but remained very diffuse and homogeneous across its disk. Its low surface brightness made it appear dim despite its listed magnitude. (New)
I star hopped to the field for the compact galaxy group Hickson 76, just over 3° northwest of mag 2.6 Alpha Serpentis (Unukalhai). I had previously observed only this member with the group about eight years ago due to poor transparency at the time. Since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I’d stop by to see if I could add any other members to the log. Locating the field about half a degree south of the mag 7.96 star HD 138409 I settled in to allow my eye to relax and adjust to the dynamics of the specific field. I ran through the magnification range from 152x to 283x, using both direct and averted vision to tease out any objects that would show themselves. Initially I picked up this object fairly easily using 152x. I presented as a very small and very dim smooth oval disk. Its appearance changed little as I upped the magnification only in that it became subtly more apparent at each step.
This member of Hickson 76 was spotted with difficulty about 2’ southeast of
While at 199x, I had a very fleeting suspicion of this member of Hickson 76. As I was observing
I looked skyward after those three objects and the Milky Way was severely dampened by humidity and suspected high thin clouds. I was beginning to see some lower and not so thin clouds encroaching from the north and that was true confirmation of my suspicions. The conditions were not living up to the forecast and it was not going to get much better if at all. The Milky Way, normally quite robust and bright down to both horizons, was not at this point. There was a light poorly structured band across the sky from about 45° above the northern and southern horizons, but from that point downward it was gone. It was more akin to what I would see at home when I was still
I moved NNW to the mag 6.3 star 7 Serpentis. Just to its northeast I spotted this spiral using 152x. I was a very small and dim oval glow that was generally homogeneous in appearance. Then at 199x it was slightly more obvious in the view, but remained an even disk. (New)
I now slid eastward to mag 3.7 Beta Serpentis. Easing SSW almost 1.5° I encountered what would be my final object for the night. At 152x it was a small and dim elongated homogeneous glow. It was dimmer than I expected and a quick glance skyward told that story. Anyway, I quickly moved to 199x and it remained a small and evenly illuminated thin oval. Though more obvious within the field, it was very diffuse to the eye. (New)
Sitting back in my chair I looked upward in all directions. What I saw told the story. A great portion of the sky was now being impacted by clouds, both of the thinner and thicker varieties. The air was quite damp and I had my dew control up on full blast to keep pace. Things were not good. After the last two objects above I did try a few others but simply struck out as I had lost any significant sense of transparency. I checked the time and it was only about 0018 hours. I was not prepared to quit that early, but it was out of my hands at that point. So I made the decision to stow the gear back in the garage and head inside. After having a nice shower and relaxing a bit I did step out on the front porch to take a look. The sky seemed to be clearing of clouds for the most part, but the Milky Way, now high in the sky was pathetic. So I felt I made the right call. Get some rest before heading home in the morning. Though the evening didn’t pan out as I had hoped based on the initial forecast, it certainly wasn’t a total bust. Galaxies were hunted and observed. Oh well, that is how it goes from time to time. Thanks for reading along on this abbreviated outing, and hope you get a chance to get out under a dark sky soon.
