ETX-125 OBSERVATIONS FOR DECEMBER 2004.
I had been able to piece together five viewing sessions for this month. All sessions were conducted from my rear garden in Bury, Lancashire, England (11 miles from Manchester, moderate light pollution). All times are in UT, coincident with local time.
Eyepieces used throughout all sessions were:
Low power = 40mm Meade Series 4000 Super Plossl (48x)
Standard power = 26 mm Meade Series 4000 Super Plossl (73x)
High power = above plus 2x Meade barlow (146x), or 11mm TeleVue Plossl (173x)
Maximum power = 11 mmTeleVue Plossl plus 2x Meade barlow (345x).
Standard power was used throughout all sessions unless otherwise noted, generally for viewing planets or double stars.
Session 1, December 11-12, 2004
Conditions: clear break, but some haze and mist, 2 deg C, limiting mag 4.6, seeing 8
This break in the clouds was a minor bonus, as the Met Office’s forecasts were for long-term overcast conditions with no clue as to when it would end.
My main targets for tonight were to be Orion and Lepus, but in the end I managed a survey of Monoceros plus parts of Canis Major as well.
ORION, HIS ‘BUNNY’ AND THE UNICORN
21:50 Two-star aligned the ETX on Aldebaran and Alpheratz (Alpha Andromedae)
22:00 I began the session with a warm-up viewing of the top targets in Orion, namely M42, M43, the Trapezium, Rigel, Mintaka, and Sigma.
22:20 Aiming the ETX south, I proceeded on my tour of Lepus, a fairly prominent group, but overshadowed my mighty Orion to the north. Iota was a wide double, but with a faint companion. Kappa was less ill-matched, but high power was required to see its yellow and bluish components. I then tried to find the Mira-type variable R Lep, aka Hind’s Crimson Star, but could not see any red star in the field. R must have been near its minimum.
22.35 I waited for the rest of Lepus to clear roofs, so I looked at the three Messier clusters in Auriga. I also took a first-time look at the small tight cluster NGC 1907 south of M38, but could only see a couple of faint lights set in a background glow.
22:50 Time to head south for more targets in Lepus. S476 was a fine all-white double, and h3750 was a tighter yellowish and bluish pair seen at high power. I could also see the Spirograph Nebula IC 418, although it appeared only stellar. Another interesting object was the feeble open cluster NGC 2017, doubling up as the multiple star h3780. I could see four stars, with the northernmost one reddish in colour.
23:05 Another scout around Orion, to look at some unsung open clusters.
NGC 1662 was wedge-shaped with a ‘Cassiopeia’-like asterism in its centre.
NGC 1981 was a bright coronet-shaped grouping in the midst of the Orion Nebula complex.
NGC 2186 was a faint glow surrounding the middle star of another ‘Cassiopeia’-like asterism.
NGC 2194 was an unresolved amorphous glow.
I also took another look at the ‘37’ cluster (NGC 2169), and the doubles of Zeta, Iota and Lambda.
23:25 I completed my survey of Lepus with the wide double h3752, revealed to be triple at high power. I also picked up the distant globular of M79 nearby. My last Lepus target was Gamma, which only revealed two of its stars, as the third was too faint to penetrate the ground haze.
23:35 I slewed north-east to continue with an extended tour of Monoceros. In addition to the grand triple of Beta and the clusters of M50 and NGC 2244, I picked up the following targets:
NGC 2232 was a small but bright ‘Lyra-shaped’ group of about ten stars around star 10 Mon.
NGC 2251 and 2335 were both glows with about half-a-dozen stars within.
NGC 2301 was a striking triangular group of about 30 stars resembling a bird flying westward.
NGC 2343 was a small V-shaped ‘mini-Hyades’, complete with 8th-mag orange ‘Aldebaran’.
NGC 2353 was a cruciform group of a dozen stars with a double near its centre.
I also picked up the easy yellowish pair of Epsilon, and then turned the ETX to the Christmas Tree cluster of NGC 2264. The brightest star in it, 15 Mon, was revealed as double at high power, with four fainter members further away from the main pair. The triple Zeta and the open cluster NGC 2506 had to wait, as they were too far to the east and had yet to come into view from the garden.
00:05 I slewed the ETX south again to look at various targets in Canis Major, now coming into view. After revisiting M41, I took a look at four multiples. Nu-1 was yellow and blue, and Mu was orange and blue, better seen at high power – not easy due to low altitude. 17 CMa was a fascinating grouping, appearing triple with a fourth star to the south, shaped like a pennant, with a reddish star at the ‘tip’ of the pennant. Burnham 324 has been described as triple, but I could see it only as a double aligned east-west, with another double to the south, aligned north-south in the same field. (Low altitude prevented high power)
00:25 Cloud patches creeping up from the south, Sirius dimming fast. I think it’s all over for this part of the sky tonight. I slewed the ETX to Gemini, trying to look for the Eskimo Nebula, but the clouds were gathering quickly northward and blotting out all fainter objects. I thus took a last look at Castor, and salvaged a view of Saturn. The thickening cloud provided a useful filter, as I could see cloud banding on the planet plus glimpses of Cassini’s Division at 173x. This state of affairs only lasted a few minutes, as Saturn finally faded from view.
00:40 Parked the ETX. The sky had changed from almost totally clear to overcast in twenty minutes.
Session 2, December 17, 2004
Conditions: clear break, 2 deg C, limiting mag 4.8, seeing 8
The Met Office had forecast a clear night, but sadly it did not turn out that way, with another rapid rush of cloud and a weak rain shower ending the session after only about an hour.
21.55 Aligned scope on Aldebaran and Alpheratz.
22.00 I took a look at some previously unseen doubles in the southern and western parts of the sky, courtesy of the Eagle Creek Observatory list. The best ones were:
Andromeda: STF 1 (wide, red/orange); STF 3010 (wide, red/orange); STF 3042 (yellow/reddish, high power needed). Whilst in the area, I revisited Gamma.
Aries: STF 175 (white pair); STF 224 (yellow pair). Revisited Gamma.
Triangulum: STF 197 (yellow / bluish), STF 246 (yellow / bluish), STF 219 (‘triple’:blue pair with yellow star 3’ SW). Revisited Iota.
22.30 Aimed at Cassiopeia, but a band of low cloud rapidly obscured the group. I chased clear sky around the Pleiades, and found doubles STF 450 (S of Alcyone) and BU 536 (WNW of Alcyone).
22.45 Taurus was now obscured, so I took some glimpses of Rigel, M42, the Trapezium and Sigma Orionis before they too vanished.
23.00 HELP ! The sky to the north was clearing again, but I felt the dreaded RAIN in the air and on my face ! I had no choice but to park the ETX and bring it home.
23.05 I took a naked-eye look at the partly-obscured sky and noticed something odd about Perseus, as it appeared to have only one really bright star. I checked my Sky & Telescope, and sure enough, Algol was only half an hour from minimum brightness.
23.10 The feeble shower had gone away, but now the sky was totally obscured, and set to remain so for the rest of the night. A disappointing end to a session that promised more.
Session 3, December 19-20, 2004
Conditions: clear break, but some haze and mist, 0 deg C, limiting mag 4.7 (Moon 8 days old), seeing 7-8
HEAVENLY SIGHTS AND HEAVENLY TWINS
This was to prove to be another enjoyable session, starting with a re-visit of ‘old friends’, but ending with an in-depth look at another of winter’s grandest groups – Gemini, the Twins.
20:45 Rough-aligned the ETX for a Moon-viewing session.
The terminator highlight was the tip of Mt Pico and a neighbouring mountain – both looked stellar. Other striking features were the Alpine Valley and the Ptolemaeus trio.
21:30 Aligned the ETX on Aldebaran and Alpheratz.
21:35 I looked to the high west and began with a sweep of Cassiopeia’s best open clusters: NGC 457, NGC 663, NGC 7789, M52, M103, followed by three previously-unseen multiples. AR Cas was a fascinating quadruple system, although I was unable to resolve the main star. Another quadruple was STF 3037, but it took high power to resolve the main pair. STT 33 and STF 373 formed another ‘double-double’ pairing, with an unrelated 9th-mag star in the same field.
21:55 I then took a look at the best of Perseus, namely M34, the Double Cluster and Eta Persei. I spotted the orange / white pair of STF 519 on the northern edge of NGC 1545, and picked up the wide yellowish / bluish 57 Per in the finderscope. Another colourful wide pair was the orange and blue STF 434.
22:10 Next on the list was Taurus, taking in the Pleiades, the Crab Nebula, NGC 1647 and the Hyades. There were two easy doubles within the last-named cluster, STF 545 (orange and white) and STF 548 (yellow and orange). Other ‘bonus’ doubles missed in previous sessions were STT 72 (orange / bluish) and the intriguing ‘double-double’ of H98 or V774 Tauri. In the telescope, H98 appeared as a NW-SE aligned yellow pair with a fainter ‘ghost’ of itself to its east.
22:45 Following a comfort break and a cup of tea, I took a feelgood look at top targets in Orion (M42, Theta-1, Sigma, Iota, Rigel) before planning to observe some more obscure doubles in the group. In the meantime, I spotted a very bright meteor trail passing from near the zenith towards the south. It must have been sporadic, as it would have been too late for a Geminid. (Might it have been an Ursid ?). The best of the new doubles in Orion were:
SH 49, a wide double with a 9th mag star east
ADS 3650, a wide red / white pair
STF 838, STF 667 and STF 790, all orange / bluish, with the last two needing high power
59 Ori, white pair
STF 734, seen as double at normal power, but eastern star split at high power
23:15 Auriga revisited, featuring the three Messier objects, Theta, STT 147 and STF 872. I took a ‘first light’ look at six other pairs in the group.
STF 796 was an all-white pair best seen at high power, but I could only see a faint white star when I pointed the ETX to R Aurigae. This Mira-type variable was evidently near its minimum. BU 1055 could only be seen as double, as the closer companion was too faint and too close to the light orange primary. Four other colourful pairs were easier; the yellow and lilac 26 Aur; the orange and blue STF 978 and STF 1086; and the red / greenish STT 154.
23:40 Picked up two targets in eastern Monoceros; the white triple Zeta, wider than Beta and with fainter companions, and open cluster NGC 2506, which revealed some five faint stars in a haze. I revisited the fine triple of Beta while in the vicinity.
23:55 I was ready to embark on an extensive tour of objects in Gemini. I began with a star which was both variable and double, Eta. This was a very difficult split, requiring maximum power for detection, but I was rewarded with an orange-red primary and fleetingly-visible yellow companion to the west of it. Another double with a red primary and a faint companion was Mu, but this one was much wider, and the companion took on a bluish tone. Epsilon was again very wide with yellow components, whilst Zeta was a wide (optical ?) triple.
More satisfying at medium power were the yellow / bluish 15 Gem and the white / bluish STF 924 (20 Gem). The following four doubles were best seen at high power: 38 Gem (white and bluish), Kappa (yellowish and bluish), STF 1035 (yellowish and bluish), and Delta (yellowish and lilac).
I took another look at Castor at high power, and this time I spotted a companion star well to the south of the main bright pair, namely the red dwarf Castor C.
The final double in Gemini was the well-matched, but close, white pair of 7th-mag stars STF 1037. The ETX needed maximum power to reveal two distinct Airy disks during better seeing, oriented at about NW/SE, rather like a dimmer and tighter Zeta Aquarii. This must have been close to the limit for the ETX-125, at 1.1” separation, especially under British seeing conditions.
I also took a quick look at the Mira-type variable R Geminorum, and I clearly saw a red star a third of the way down on the north/south side of a west-pointing equilateral triangle of 8th-9th magnitude stars. I reckon it was about mag 7.5, just away from maximum.
The last new target in Gemini was the planetary NGC 2392, the Eskimo or ‘Clown-face’ Nebula. I spotted it as a small blue-green disk close to a 9th-mag field star, and higher power revealed some faint details, but I could not see the eponymous ‘face’ or the ‘fur-lined hood’ that gave the planetary its nickname.
I ended the Gemini tour with a feelgood look at the fine open cluster M35.
00:50 I checked Sky and Telescope, and noticed a reference to a star dubbed the ‘Winter Albireo’, in Canis Major, known only by its catalogue number of h3945. I keyed in its SAO number, and there it was, just in the medium-power field. The colours were a glorious orange-yellow for the primary and cyan for the companion, remarkable given the twinkling and the low altitude. Winter Albireo, indeed !
00:55 Haze was killing low-altitude targets, and affecting the rest of the sky, so I slewed the ETX back to Gemini. Saturn was superb at 173x, with the Cassini division plainly in view, and Titan WSW and Rhea closer WSW of globe.
01:10 Parked the scope.
Session 4, December 21, 2004
Conditions: clear, minus 3 deg C, limiting mag 5.0, seeing 7
PRE-DAWN JUPITER AND SPRING DSOs
06:15 Alarm rang, and I was woken up to a clear sky with Jupiter due south. I could not let this chance pass, and I was ready in fifteen minutes to bring out the ETX for an early-morning bonus session, not just for Jupiter, but also for some tough deep-sky targets.
06:30 Aligned the ETX on Regulus and Spica. Within minutes I was searching out some tough galaxies in Virgo and Leo !
My first target was M104, the Sombrero Hat. It was bright enough for me to see the overall shape, but not the dark dust lane. This was the southernmost object in Virgo, so I decided to aim for some targets in the cluster proper. I plugged in M84, and spotted a fairly bright near-circular glow near the centre of the field. I slewed the ETX slightly to the east and spotted an elliptical glow, running about NW / SE. This was confirmed on the charts as M86.
I then tried a pair of galaxies in Leo, so I keyed in M65. There it was in the eyepiece, a fairly bright N / S aligned glow. East of it in the same field was a similar glow, confirmed as M66.
06:45 The Big Dipper was just west of the zenith, so I boldly keyed in ‘M97’ and hoped for the best. I saw a faint circular smudge just in the eyepiece field, though without its ‘eyes’ – the Owl Nebula !
06:50 After my successful view of the Owl, I noticed that the sky was beginning to brighten from the east, and so I chose only one more deep-sky object, the globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici, right on the meridian. Even in the encroaching dawn, M3 was a fine sight at high power, with several individual stars resolved in its outer reaches. I would not rank it much inferior to the great Hercules globular, M13.
06:55 The stars were fading rapidly, and I had to think of a fine spring double. I therefore took a look at Gamma Leonis, and high power showed the golden-yellow components beautifully.
07:00 I finally pointed the ETX to the original intended target of Jupiter. I could make out the two equatorial belts and the four Galilean satellites, but no Great Red Spot. Ganymede was the brightest and westernmost, with Io closer to the west of the planet. Callisto was due east and slightly tilted off the main plane, and Europa the furthest east.
Session 5, December 26-27, 2004
Conditions: clear, minus 3 deg C, limiting mag 4.0 (Full Moon), seeing 8
A SHIP’S POOP, A SMALL DOG AND A GIRAFFE UNDER MOONLIGHT.
This session was limited mainly to brighter objects, thanks to the Full Moon.
23:10 Aligned the ETX on Betelgeuse and Hamal.
23:15 Quick look at the Moon through the neutral filter – some fine detail of very rough terrain on the southern limb, with favourable libration.
23.20 I revisited favourite targets in Orion, Taurus, Perseus, Cassiopeia and Auriga.
00:00 Took another look at targets in Canis Major, namely M41, h3945 (the glorious Winter Albireo), the fine multiple of 17CMa and the Tau CMa cluster NGC 2362. The last-named showed about a dozen stars round Tau, but things might be better with the Moon gone.