[AZ-Observing] Re: A beautiful night in the Arizona desert
- From: "Matt Luttinen" <mluttinen@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 15:45:21 -0700
Steve and everybody,
I wholeheartedly concur with Steve's evaluation of last night. I have =
been
(back) into astronomy for about three years now, and last night rates as =
the
finest night I have experienced at a desert site to date. It was easily =
an
8/8 night, if not better.
As we juggled binoculars and telescopes through the evening, I became
acutely aware of a thought (way of life?) I have already tacetly =
endorsed:
the compleat astronomer needs *lots* of instruments of all sizes to =
truly
appreciate the endless variety of objects visible in the night sky. Uh, =
and
*lots* of money for which to buy them . . . Or make them . . .
Highlights for me include:
Numerous Barnard dark Nebulae (B92, 93 and others) in and around
Sagittarius--never have I seen them so "punchy" and obvious in every
instrument, from the 8x42s to the 12" Newt;
Momentarily but repeatedly splitting Struve 2292 at 0.9 arcsec sep in =
the
12" at 170x;
The Lagoon and Trifid in multiple instruments at multiple powers with =
and
without filters; (It is really interesting to view this region at 8x, =
30x,
and 110x round-robin for an extended period. This technique really
emphasizes these objects "in context" as "ornaments" of the Milky Way);
The last view, naked-eye, of the summer Milky Way directly overhead at
3:40am as we got ready to head home. The galactic bulge was so wide I =
could
see with direct vision the billowing "extension" (halo?) covering =
eastern
Scorpius all the way past Antares. Overall, the dark lane(s) cutting =
through
the profile of the MW were completely silhouetted from behind by =
starclouds
as I scanned northward. The "offramp" and other dark appendages were
enclosed by diffuse starlight and showed high levels of intricate =
detail.
Only at Deneb did the dark lane merge with the darkness surrounding the
disk.=20
All-in-all, an outstanding evening was had at a great desert location!
Matt
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