kanadalainen's Messier logs
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:36 pm
Hello all my TSS friends,
After some time spent in procrastination, I present my collectedMessier logs!
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 firstMessier 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 thirtyMessier 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!
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 andTelrad .
Comment: Dim, but mind-blowing and impressive. My firstMessier .
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: ThisMessier 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: ThisMessier 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: ThisMessier 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 theRACI . 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 thedob , 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 thisMessier 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 11mmEP 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 “weirdâ€, 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 thisMessier .
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 18mmEP . 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 30thMessier object.
Last edited by kanadalainen; 08-02-2017 at 11:00 PM.
After some time spent in procrastination, I present my collected
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
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
+++++++++++++++++
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!
Ian (Kanadalainen)
1,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 04/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/
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
Comment: Dim, but mind-blowing and impressive. My first
2,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 04/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/
Telescope Name: Orion
Telescope Model: XT10i
Telescope Size: 10
f-ratio: 4.7
Eyepiece model: TV Nagler
Eyepiece mm: 13mm
Mount: dobsonian
Observation: This
Comment: I spent some time allowing my eye to relax, and the object became more obvious with time.
3,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 05/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/
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
Comment: I spent some time allowing my eye to relax, and the object became more obvious with time.
4,
User: Kanadalainen
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
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
5,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 06/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Viewing Conditions: The moon was out, very good transparency, fair seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 12/May/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm - dark site)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/
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
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/
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
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/
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
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/
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
Date: 17/May/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, cold
Light Zone/
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
Date: 2/June/2017
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (backyard)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, warm
Light Zone/
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
Comment: I could pick out about 15 stars with some different and more powerful eyepieces.
12,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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)
14,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Comment: I am so excited to have finally found this galaxy which led me to Markarian’s chain.
15,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/June/2017
Location: Morris, MB, Canada (farm)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, good (not very good) seeing, chilly @ 8*C
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing, warm 20*C
Light Zone/
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
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
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/
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 “weirdâ€, almost awkward looking up there.
23,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, excellent seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 31/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/
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
Date: 31/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/
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
30,
User: Kanadalainen
Date: 25/July/2017
Location: Manigotagan, MB (cottage)
Viewing Conditions: excellent transparency, very good seeing
Light Zone/
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
Comment: My 30th
Last edited by kanadalainen; 08-02-2017 at 11:00 PM.