Observation 1:
Location: St. Croix Observatory (SCO)
Date: 2024-09-29
Time: 9:28 PM ADT
S&T Chart Reference: 67, 69
Instrument: 10" Meade SCT
Eyepiece: SvBony 10-30mm Zoom (I used 30 mm)
Magnification: x83
Seeing: Excellent (1)
Transparency: Very Good (2)
SQM: 21.14
Temperature: 10º C
Jerry helped me realign the scope, hoping it would track better. It did.
Skies were perfectly clear when we arrived, clouded for a brief period, and then located M69 when it cleared.
| I used Kaus Australis (star in the base of the Teapot asterism) from which to slew and find this object. The cluster had a bright core and was just slightly less bright away from the core. It was not very big. There was enough time to sketch this small cluster and its nearest bright star (HD 170500) before clouds once more intervened and prevented any further sketching. |
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Constellation: Sagittarius Type: Globular Cluster Magnitude: 7.6 Distance: 28.0 kly Size: 7.1' |
Observation 2:
Location: St. Croix Observatory (SCO)
Date: 2025-09-24
Time: 9:00 PM ADT
S&T Chart Reference: 67, 69
Instrument: 10" Meade SCT
Eyepiece: TeleVue 40mm Plössl + 25mm (SvBony 30mm-10mm Zoom eyepiece FMC)
Magnification: x33, x100
Seeing: Excellent (1)
Transparency: Very Good (2)
SQM: not recorded
Temperature: not recorded
I started with the 40mm eyepiece but switched to the 25mm to get a better view.
M69 is circular and has a very bright core. Could not count the stars in the core. I could see a bright star at 11 o'clock on the border of the cluster. There was a bright star at 3 o'clock to the cluster, itself - perhaps HD 1705000 again.
Note: I aligned the scope myself this time using 2 alignment stars and 4 calibration stars. Now just have to learn polar alignment.