[AZ-Observing] Antennas report
- From: stevecoe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: SMTP <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 12:37:08 -0700
Antennas site 100 miles from central Phoenix
Jan. 27, 2014
Thick clouds had moved in around 9 o'clock and I went in the motorhome
to fix a hot meal. Then I started up the generator and watched a little
TV off the satellite. I do love "Headlines" on Jay Leno. I read a
magazine for a while and midnight rolled around. I stuck my head
outside to see if the clouds were still there. I was shocked to see
nice clear skies from horizon to horizon. I put on some warm clothes
and pulled out my 8X42 binoculars.
After a few minutes just sitting in the camp chair and enjoying the
Milky Way I started observing with the binoculars. I decided to go from
west to east and started with the Pleiades. I can see 7 stars without
the binoculars and 40 stars with the little binoculars, even this small
optical aid makes a gigantic difference. The Merope nebula is just
visible and is best with averted vision. The famous cluster takes up
the central 50% of the field of view. Moving over to the Hyades shows a
cluster that almost fills the field of view and has many bright stars
involved. The famous "V" shape of the face of the Bull is obvious even
among 30 stars.
I now moved up to Auriga and spent some time with the three famous
Messier clusters within that pentangle. M 38 is quite compressed at
this low power and I can only resolve 4 stars in the cluster. M 36 is
even more compressed and no stars are seen across the glowing face of
this cluster. M 37 is the star of the show, very bright and large. No
stars are resolved, but averted vision make it much larger.
Moving over to Gemini and M 35 is another excellent "M" cluster. I can
resolve 3 stars with direct vision and another 3 or so will pop out with
averted vision. The companion cluster, NGC 2158 is just visible with
averted vision. All four of these clusters (three in Auriga and M 35 in
Gemini) are well detached from the background Milky Way glow. There are
plenty of star chains and dark markings along Our Galaxy in this area.
By this time my neck was a little sore and I took a break to do some
meteor watching. I spotted 3 meteors and just using my eyes to view
along the Milky Way and old favorite constellations.
Picking up the binoculars again I decided to take on Orion. M 78 is a
tiny triangle that is larger and more prominent with averted vision. I
have always enjoyed the starry area around the Belt of Orion. Collinder
70 is the cluster designation and it provides a variety of star chains
in and around the Belt. Lots of fun. The Orion Nebula shows off that
famous "Bat Wing" shape and I can pick out 5 stars involved within the
nebula. Averted vision makes it larger. M 43 is just seen with the
small binoculars.
The Rosette nebula (NGC 2244) involves several NGC designations, but
the one I gave is the star cluster within it. This cluster is naked eye
as a pretty faint glow within the winter Milky Way. In the binoculars
it is seen as two parallel lines of pretty bright stars. There is a
faint glow around the cluster, but the nebulosity is never seen as a
complete ring.
Sirius and cluster M 41 form a fascinating field of view in the little
binoculars. The cluster shows 10 stars resolved involved in a fuzzy
background. It is well detached even with the brightest star in the
field.
As I look off to the western horizon I can see the next group of clouds
moving in. So it seems that I have squeezed all I can out of this
evening. By now I am getting cold, I did not put on my heaviest layers.
I can hear the furnace start up in the motorhome and I decide to call
it a night.
Clear skies to us all;
Steve Coe
PS Right now (Noon) it is truly partly cloudy, I would estimate 40%.
Here is hoping for a night that stays clear all night. We shall see.
The road grader is in action, so the road ought to be nice and smooth.
I am going to send an email in the hopes of getting the bright light to
the north turned off. Hoping for the best.
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