FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Hints, allegations, and Sunday night observing.....

["Thad Robosson" <starstarcracker@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hey All, 

Rather late in the afternoon on Sunday, I got a call from Chuck Akers asking if 
I were willing to head out observing.
Feeling rather ill-willed toward Ma Nature for all the stress she had caused us 
astronomy types for this past Friday and Saturday, I decided to see if she'd 
make it up to Chuck and I.  Packing went smoothly, as there was no need for all 
the usual overnight items, and we were on the road by 6pm.

We headed to an undisclosed location North of Flat Iron where we met up with VP 
Dick Cheney, and set up in the fading twilight.  The moon was obvious, but did 
not really distract us until it got lower to the horizon where it danced in our 
peripheral vision until after 10pm.

The nice thing about such spontaneity is the freedom it gives in what to 
observe.  I have several different lists in my Astro box always ready to be 
pulled out.  Tonite I was relaxed enough to focus on my H400.  Picking 
constellations that were conveniently placed for viewing, I chose Corvus and 
Bootes.  Both had only a few objects, but that allowed me time to do some 
well-focused astro-sketches.  

NGC 4027 appeared to have some spiral structure, but not balanced, as one arm 
was more "swept" and brighter than the other.

NGC 4038 was a nice view!  Both galaxies exhibited the profile we've all seen 
in photos, (minus the "tails") and some structure to boot!  4038 (the "comma" 
shaped one?) had a strange "hollow" core.

NGC 4361 is an interesting planetary, masquarading as a galaxy impersonator.  
The central star was washed just enough to give the appearance of a bright 
galactic "Nuculus".  (A Bush-ism adapted for astronomical use...)  Mottling is 
observable, but getting the specifics on paper eluded me somewhat.  Some 
artistic liscense was utulized....
The use of a Sirius Optics Neb1 filter helped the contrast a bit, but at the 
expense of the mottling.  Averted vision nearly always wins out....

NGC 5557 was not spectacular, but a quick trip away is NGC 5529, which IS 
interesting.  A VERY flat galaxy, incredibly elongated.  It was very similar in 
appearance to a faint meteor trail.  Averted really lengthened this little 
streak of light.  

NGC 5466 Is what I consider a strange cross between an open cluster and a 
globular.  It was dense for an open cluster, but somewhat loose for a globular. 
 Not really round either.  A brighter chain of stars eminates from one end 
while a small bunch of similar brightness stars swims in the shallow end of 
this cosmic pool.

Later in the evening, I began a "Best of" tour, including M13, wonderful as 
always, and giving away it's "propeller" very nicely.  M51 was a gorgeous 
sight, with lots and lots of structure, peeks at the fainter outer arms, and a 
nearly complete bridge to it's smaller friend.  M57 was, well, hollow as usual. 
 Bumping up the power until 380x, the walls became less uniform, and started to 
show some of the structure.  The center was milky and obviously not as dark as 
the outer areas, and while I stared and stared, I could just only maybe make 
out some hints and allegations of the central star.  Never did hold it steady, 
and the glimpses were so fast that I was not able to say for sure.  Have to 
check that challenge off my list some other time.  Omega Cent.....what else is 
there to say?  Even low on the top of the nearby hill, the thing still looks 
like an explosion at a star factory, but with a hint of purposefulness behind 
the mayhem that lies within.

All in all, I have to say that sometimes the best nights are the ones you don't 
have any expectations for.  Nearly everything cooperated for us...the wind died 
after sundown, the light dome was to our SE and not a nuisance.  My body was 
effectively fooled into thinking it wasn't tired.  Even the moon went along 
with the operation and set right on time.  Seeing started about a 5 and went up 
to a 7, transparency was pretty steady at a 7.  We packed it up around 1am, and 
made the hour's drive back to the comfort of our respective homes.

Thad




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