Located but not Logged: Constellations: Andromeda, Aquarius, Aquila, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Capricornus, Cassiopeia, Delphinus, Equuleus, Sagitta Asterisms: Big Dipper, Teapot
Location: SCO Date: 2019-10-28/29 Time: 7:00 PM - 1:45 AM ADT Instrument: Binocular 10x42 IS Transparency: Very Good (4) Seeing: Very Good (4)
Time
SQM
Temperature
7:00 PM
18.53
4º C
7:30 PM
20.98
4º C
10:44 PM
21.14
1º C
11:58 PM
21.18
-2º C
Jerry and I were together at SCO. He was imaging the Bubble Nebula and I was there for General Observing. There was no cloud or wind and the humidity was low. It became much cooler as the night progressed but the skies also became darker.
Summer Triangle Time: 7:05 PM Equipment: Visual Identified the Summer Triangle very quickly. Vega was located, then Altair near the zenith, then followed a while later with Deneb. These three stars were certainly visible until at least midnight (after that, my attention was elsewhere). Its as interesting to note that this was still high in the sky as the Winter Circle was rising in the SE (could not see Procyon and Sirius).
Milky Way, Cygnus Time: 7:15 PM Equipment: Visual S&T Chart: 62 The Milky Way started to make its presence known. Hints of the dark lane and its adjacent star fields were just starting to form. Seeing the Teapot gave a clue as to where it began in the southern skies. Looking up, there were clues as to where it lay, shading and light sections were barely discernible but so awe inspiring. The start of another glorious night under the strs with Jerry!
I then looked at the Sagittarius Star Cloud in the Milky Way by finding the two stars ζ Sputum and β Sputum. Knowing their location, I was then able to find M11 (Wild Duck Cluster) - the fuzzy ball at the end of the golf club.
I looked more closely at the stars of Cygnus. Easily found were Deneb, Sadr, Albireo, ι Cygni, ζ Cygni, ν Cygni and δ Cygni. The "Northern Cross" was easily seen, even the blueness of Albireo could be discovered naked eye.
Jupiter Time: 7:20PM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars The very bright Jupiter was found visually. Using the binoculars, could easily see 3 of the moons, two quite clearly but not the one in the SW. After checking with SkySafariPro, I realized the reason the one in the SW appeared blurred or elongated was because Ganymede and Callisto were so close it appeared as one.
Scorpius, Ophiuchus Time: 7:25PM Equipment: Visual S&T Chart: 54, 56, 58 Noticed that Antares and other stars of Scorpius were already below the horizon/trees in the SW. Quickly identified Ophiuchus's "base" stars - Sabik, ζ Oph, and Yes Prior. Once they were found, the rest of the constellation was easily seen. The part known as Serpens Caput couldn't be seen due to the angle of the constellation and the tree line, but Serpens Cauda's stars were readily found.
Satellite Time: 7:30 PM: Equipment: Visual, Binoculars A bright consistent object caught my eye as it travelled from Mirach in Andromeda in the East to where it disappeared just past ψ Capricornus. Used binoculars to determine if it was the ISS; I assumed it was.
The Teapot & Saturn
Teapot, Saturn, M8, M20, M21, M22, M28 Time: 7:35 PM - 7:51 PM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars S&T Chart: 69 a) Using the Teapot spout, found M8 (Lagoon Nebula) with my binoculars. The line of bright stars in a nebulous oval gave it away. Also had M20 (the Triffid) in the same FOV; it appeared as a round fuzzy with some central brightness. The open cluster M21 was easily seen in the same FOV as M20. It appeared to have numerous stars centrally and was quite open as a cluster, almost indiscernible from the star field around it. b) Using the lid (Kaus Borealis) as the start point visually/naked eye. Used my binoculars to locate that star, went 30° to a Y-shaped star formation then found the round fuzzy of globular cluster M22. Its core was bright compared to its edges. I then used the lid star and looked up to the right to find the small grey fuzzy M28. c) Having found other Messier objects around the Teapot, I also located M23. The open cluster was quite bright.
Then noticed Saturn (not as bright as Jupiter) and reflected beautifully in the mirror-like pond in front of the Observatory. The Teapot was beginning to sink below the SW horizon, making Ptolomy's Cluster impossible to observe. Saturn was right above Nunki in the Teapot's handle.
Perseus, Melotte 20 Time: 8:05 PM S&T Chart: 2, 13 Perseus was quite high in the sky throughout the whole session so had time to view it. Using Naked eye, I could find the 4 stars with which to compare Algol for magnitude (Adid Australis, Adid Borealis, Misam and Andromeda's Almach). I did a second comparison at 11:55 PM and at 12:51 AM (no record).
Mirfak was easily seen naked eye so then used my binoculars to get a closer view of it and Melotte 20. So many gloriously bright stars, making it one of my favourite open clusters. Unfortunately, the sky was getting poorer as fog began to encroach on our view.
Lyra Time: 10:01 PM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars S&T Chart: 63 I paid closer attention to Lyra that at this time looked like it was lying on its side. Used Vega to locate Epsilon1 and Epsilon2 that were one above the other. Delta1 and Delta2 were also observed; although side by side, the former was smaller and just slightly higher.
Lyra
Meteor Time:10:05 PM Equipment: Visual A meteor shot across the southern sky. It crossed the top of Capricornus but inside the upper "bowl", travelling from Deneb Algedi to Algedi.
Hyades Time: 10:30 PM Equipment: Visual, binoculars S&T Chart: 15 The stars were so vivid so decided to sketch the Hyades aka Melotte 25 or Caldwell 41 or Collinder 50. I put my binoculars on a tripod in the observatory and began to sketch, beginning with Aldebaran then worked my way around the Bull's head. Thoroughly enjoyed this exercise.
Aldebaran and the Hyades / Melotte 25
The Pleiades / M45
Pleaides Time: 10:40 PM Equipment: Visual, binoculars S&T Chart: 15 The Pleiades were directly above the Hyades and they were so bright I decided to sketch them. My binoculars were still on the tripod; it took about 25 minutes to sketch this. Some areas intrigued me, such as: a) the 6 stars below Alcyone and Merope b) the curve of stars below Atlas and Pleione
Cetus Time: 11:05 PM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars The was the first time Cetus was (1) above any horizon previously observed and (2) sought out and found! Wanted to find it for the ETU observation of Mira (ο Ceti).
WOW! Is Cetus ever large! Come to find out it's the 4th largest constellation in the sky, covering an area of 1231 square degrees. All of the stars drawn were seen naked eye in the E-SE of our SCO sky. At 11:05 PM, Mira looked comparable to Menkar and was brighter than α Pisces (Alrescha).
Comparative Magnification:
4.9 Mira 4.1 δ Ceti 3.8 α Pisces 2.54 Menkar
Cetus
Uranus Time: 11:15 PM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars In using my binoculars to look around the area between Cetus and Aquarius, I accidentally discovered a blue object between Mira and α Aquarii - Uranus! This blue object appeared in the star-laden patch of sky and it looked out of place/odd. It was 6° up and to the right of ξ2 in Cetus and approximately 6° due east of ο Piscium. Having located the planet in Pisces, it was very easy to see it naked eye.
Uranus (between Cetus and Pisces)
Gemini, M35 Time: 11:50 PM Equipment: Binoculars S&T Chart: 25 We stepped out into the parking lot to look E-SE. Gemini was lying on its side parallel to the horizon. Could make out Castor, Pollux, λ Gem and θ Gem but the legs were more difficult to locate. Because I was searching for M35 (Shoe Buckle Cluster), I resisted and found Propus and the adjacent stars in his foot. Using my binoculars, M35 appeared as a round grey fuzzy. The open cluster did not appear to have any area brighter than another; it was diffusely lit.
M35 (location in Gemini)
Auriga, M36, M37, M38 Time: 11:55 PM Equipment: binoculars S&T Chart: 12 In Auriga, Capella was quite bright. M36, M37 and M38 were three of my objectives and I knew they were in a line basically perpendicular to θ Aur and Elnath. They were relatively quickly located, then I set out to look at each a bit more closely. a) M36 was located above the line formed by the stars and was a very bright roundish grey shape. b) M37 appeared as round grey fuzzy about halfway between θ Aur and Elnath. It was not as bright as M36 but it did have a central brightness compared to its outer edge. c) M38 was found in the same FOV as M36. Could not see any individual bright areas or a concentrated one - just a round grey fuzzy.
Leaping Minnow Asterism Time: 11:58 PM Equipment: binoculars S&T Chart: 12 All of Auriga's stars could be seen along with hints of the Messiers and the Leaping Minnow. I used my binoculars to have a closer look at the Messiers and the Leaping Minnow. Used some time to better determine how to explain to Jerry where the Leaping Minnow was located and what he should see through the binoculars. There were 3 pairs of stars near β Tau (Elnath) - 14 Aur, 16 Aur, 17 Aur, 19 Aur; the latter three had an unnamed adjacent star. I was very happy that Dave Chapman showed me this asterism about 2 years ago.
Leaping Minnow asterism in Auriga
5 Meteors Time: 11:00 PM - Midnight Equipment: Visual Jerry and I saw 5 meteors. Four radiated out of Auriga heading towards Gemini and the Lynx. The fifth on left Cassiopeia to head towards Perseus. Around midnight, I used Deneb and ν Cygni as markers to attempt to find the North America Nebula. I saw a dark area but could not make out the shape.
Winter Circle, Orion, M42, M43 Time: 12:05 AM & 1:45 AM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars 12:05 AM - Because Capella and Aldebaran had been viewed earlier, I decided to see if the stars of the Winter Circle were all there. Not to be. Canis Major (with Sirius) and Canis Minor (with Procyon) had not yet risen above the horizon. Decided to look for Orion as part of my search for the Winter Circle. Did see all the major stars of Orion and used my binoculars to view M42 and M43. Much better view than just naked eye! 1:45 AM - As we were leaving, the Winter Circle was all there! Sirius had just come above the SE horizon! Really strange seeing both the Summer Triangle and the Winter Circle in the sky on the same night - never experienced this before.
Upper section of Orion with his shield
Kemble's Cascade Time: 12:10 AM Equipment: Visual, Binoculars S&T Chart: 11 Did not look for Kemble's Cascade until after midnight when Cassiopeia was high enough in the sky to locate this. Although actually located in Cameliopardis, Cassiopeia is used to find it. The line of stars in the Cascade were easily seen naked eye, and NGC 1502 at its end was truly bright. Melody Hamilton would be proud of my purposefully seeking out and finding one of her favourites!
