FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Observing with number 1 36 inch on Kitt Peak

["Steve Coe" <stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy folks;
 

I am going to provide you 'all with a passage from my book on nebulae.  The
purpose of this is to find anyone else who might have been at Kitt Peak with
us that night and may have better notes than mine.  If so, please contact me
and let me know if I can use your information.  I honestly don't remember
who else attended on 16 June 1984.  Yes, I know that is a long time ago and
I am much older than I was then, don't start.

 

Thanks;

Steve Coe

 

Over 20 years ago the Saguaro Astronomy Club helped the staff at Kitt Peak
Observatory pass legislation in Arizona that limited outdoor lighting.
Sorry to say that those laws are rarely enforced in the Phoenix area.
Regardless, as a reward for our help we were provided 2 hours of observing
time on a 36 inch f/7.5 telescope.  A more eager group of observers never
existed, including the student telescope operator; he had never had a chance
to just observe with the telescope.  We realized that the field of view
would be small, so we choose objects to observe that would fit, the Ring was
first on the list.  The old 25mm Kellner eyepiece that was used every night
to get the photometer aligned on target was a mess, but even then we knew it
was going to be a great view.  We replaced the old eyepiece with my brand
new 16mm Research Grade Erfle.  That put the scope at 427X and the Ring
Nebula was at its best.  The annular structure was a medium green color and
the central star was held steady about 40% of the time.  The nebulosity
within the Ring shape was easy and really became enhanced with averted
vision.  In moments of good seeing there were thin fingers of nebulosity
that pointed inward toward the central star.  The ring shape is about one
third of the field of view in this telescope.  We called it the "Giant Green
Donut".  It was a memorable night if there ever was one.

 

 

 


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