[AZ-Observing] Anderson Mesa Observing - February 24/25, 2006
- From: Jeremy Perez <jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2006 22:03:50 -0700
I enjoyed an excellent observing trip to Anderson Mesa last Friday =20
Night/Saturday Morning (Feb. 24/25, 2006). When I arrived at the =20
observing site, the sun had been down for about a half hour and it =20
was a waning twilight that lit the gravel turnaround we use. Bill =20
Ferris was already there, and almost finished setting up his 18" =20
scope. I had my typical moment of indecision as I decided where to =20
set up my scope (a 6" f/8 newtonian). Several nearby ponderosas need =20
to be factored into the observing equation.
My first target, C/2005 E2 McNaught, turned out to be conveniently =20
behind one of those looming trees. Further examination showed that =20
viewing it would involve moving the scope out into the brush, or onto =20=
the entry road and redoing my polar alignment, and it just wasn't =20
worth it. So I let it slip away. I spent time considering the large, =20
dark nebulae between Taurus and Orion. I did some waffling about =20
making a naked eye sketch, before turning my attention to Perseus and =20=
attempting to locate Barnard 5 telescopically. I could just detect =20
some mottling and gaps in the faint Milky Way starlight, but it was =20
hard to get a fix on the boundaries of that shadowy critter. So I =20
tanked that observation too.
With three observations skipped, I cruised over to the vicinity of =20
M37. About 1.5 degrees west of M37 lies the dark nebula, Barnard 34. =20
This one was much easier to spot than the blots in Perseus. The =20
initial impression I got of this nebula was a soft hole in the middle =20=
of the field. I was using my 32mm Pl=F6ssl for a magnification of =20
37.5X, a TFOV of 88', and exit pupil of 4 mm. I estimated the =20
diameter of the nebula at about 1/4-1/3 of the diameter of the field =20
stop--so about 22'-30' across. As I was getting a feel for the =20
boundaries of this fuzzy shadow, Bill walked by to see what was up. =20
He took a look and we discussed some of the features. Such as one of =20
the stars that was nestled in the middle of the nebula. He also noted =20=
an impression of a fan-like structure sweeping away to the eastern =20
side of the view. I hadn't picked up on that, but as I settled in for =20=
another long, extended look, sure enough, there was some structure in =20=
the area. The sketch and observation can be found here:
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000540.html
Around this time, Dave Saunders, showed up and started setting up his =20=
super-tall 18" scope. ...Eighteen inches to the left of me...Eighteen =20=
inches to the right...etc. etc. =3D)
My next stop was NGC 2244/Sh 2-275, the Rosette Nebula. What a =20
beauty. Without a filter, a subtle brightening indicated the presence =20=
of the nebula surrounding the open cluster. With the Orion Ultrablock =20=
filter in place, roughly circular petals of nebulosity revealed =20
themselves. The sketch and observation can be found here:
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000541.html
At this point, inspired by an article in a recent Sky & Telescope =20
issue, I took time to test out some diopter flippers for naked-eye =20
observing. My new optometrist was gracious enough to let me borrow =20
them. I have very good daytime distance vision, but these things made =20=
an amazing difference at night. For me, flaring around bright stars =20
dropped by about 80%, and fainter, hinted-at stars came into sharp =20
focus. I was finally able to make out some mag 6 stars in Ursa Minor =20
easily, and according to my charts, I spotted one star that was mag. =20
6.8. I was never able to grasp how dark and crisp the sky was this =20
way before. After seeing what a -.75 diopter difference did for my =20
night vision, I'm going to be ordering a pair of stargazing glasses =20
right away.
Bill had pulled up a view of M100 in his 18" Obsession, with =20
Supernova 2006X making an appearance. It was an easy catch in his =20
scope. I wanted to give it a shot in my 6" reflector, so I moved to =20
that next. After a bit of a struggle starhopping to the right spot, I =20=
finally got a view of M100's slightly mottled disc. Locating the =20
supernova was as difficult as I figured it would be. A pinprick of =20
light occasionally flickered in the right location, but at one point, =20=
I had 3-4 seconds of steadier flickering that made me feel pretty =20
good about spotting it. The sketch and observation can be found here:
[url=3Dhttp://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000542.html]M100 =20=
and SN 2006X[/url]
About 1 AM, Bill packed up and headed home. After that, I grabbed a =20
sketch of M109 (http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/=20
000543.html), and then took a look at a shadow transit of Io across =20
Jupiter. Io had a nicely saturated orange color to it. Dave offered =20
me a look through his scope at the tidally stretched tail and knots =20
of galaxies NGC 4676A and B (the Mice), and then a look at planetary =20
nebula NGC 3242. I believe he had the magnification cranked somewhere =20=
around 375 X. It was a fantastic sight. Dave likens it to the CBS =20
Eye, and I think that's a great description. Outside its main =20
boundaries, I was also able to see some faint filamentary threads =20
stringing away from its blueish core. What an amazing sight.
Dave finally packed up and left around 4 AM. I settled down for a =20
naked eye sketch of the rising Ophiuchus Milky Way and Scorpius with =20
the Pipe Nebula featuring prominently. I did this one as white pencil =20=
on black paper...at least that's what I intended to do. I should put =20
it this way: white pencils and yellow pencils look pretty much the =20
same under red light. So it was a yellow Milky Way when I looked at =20
it under the light of day. Those diopter flippers really came in =20
handy during that observation. The sketch and observation notes can =20
be found here:
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000544.html
I took a moment to look for the dark nebula Barnard 86 in Sagittarius =20=
and found it easily next to open cluster NGC 6520. There wasn't time =20
for a sketch though. As the eastern edge of Sagittarius finally =20
lifted over the trees, I prepared to look for comet C/2006 A1 =20
Pojmanski. As I walked around the observing area, I realized I was =20
going to have to move the scope about 30 yards up to the entry road =20
to catch it above the trees before dawn got too bright. Staying out =20
all night to catch this beauty was definitely worth it. =20
Telescopically, the softly glowing pearl of the coma was bright and =20
strongly condensed. Against the brightening sky, I made out 20' of a =20
southwest-pointing tail. The coma stood up well to high =20
magnification, and at 240X displayed some asymmetry. Be sure to catch =20=
this one if you can stand early morning observing! The observing =20
report and sketches can be found here:
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000539.html
And that was it. I packed everything up, started the car, and =20
finished my notes inside with the toasty heater running. It was a =20
fantastic observing night, and something I hope to do again soon, if =20
I can manage to catch up on the lost sleep.
Jeremy Perez
Flagstaff, AZ
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus=
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