General Session - August 24, 2017

Constellations: Boötes, Capricornus, Cassiopeia, Corona Borealis, Delphinus, Lyra, Ursa Major
Asterism: Coathanger/Collinder 399/Brocchi's Cluster, Keystone of Hercules, Summer Triangle / DAVe, Teapot
Stars: Alcor-Mizar, Polaris
Messier Objects: M6, M13, M22, M31, M72
Meteors: (2)
Satellite: (1)

Location: Hapgood Pond, Green National Forest, Vermont
Date: 2017-08-24
Time: 9:10 PM - 10:40 PM EDT
Instrument: Visual + Binoculars 10x30 IS
Transparency: Excellent (5)
Seeing: Excellent (5)
Temperature: 16º C - 14º C

No wind or clouds. There was a wide open field not far from our campsite with a huge view of the sky. What clarity of viewing! The only down side to this campground was the trailer in the adjacent campsite that ran its generator all night.

Coathanger / Collinder 399 / Brocchi's Cluster
Time: not recorded
S&T Chart Reference: 65
I used Altair in Cygnus to locate the 10 stars of this upside-down coat hanger, a dear friend in the night skies. It feels like coming home after a long trip.		 Ursa Major + Polaris
Time: not recorded
S&T Chart Reference: 31, 32, 33, 43, F
In the open field, we could make out all 7 stars naked eye but used binoculars to see the double stars Mizar and Alcor. Could also locate Polaris using the pointer stars of UMa but it was very faint to the naked eye.

Teapot (in Sagittarius)
Time: 9:13 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 66, 67, 68, 69, I
The Teapot could be seen naked eye; however, part of it was hidden by trees.

Cassiopeia
Time: 9:17 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 1, 3, 72
Cassiopeia was so clear! We could readily locate the 7 bright stars in this constellation.

M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)
Time: not recorded
S&T Chart Reference: 3, 72
I used Cassiopeia to locate M31 no problem. With binoculars, it appeared as a dark, oval fuzzy with the brighter centre.

 Lyra
Time: 9:18 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 63
We could readily locate all 6 bright stars in this constellation, including the double stars of δ Lyrae and ε Lyrae.

Summer Triangle / DAVe
Time: 9:30 PM EDT
Deneb, Altair and Vega were easily found throughout the entire observing session.

Corona Borealis
Time: 9:55 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 53, 55
We could readily locate the 5 bright stars in this constellation that led us to the Keystone of Hercules.

Boötes 
Time: 10:08 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 42, 44, 53, 55
I could readily locate Arcturus throughout this observing session.  At this time, I found all the stars in Boötes, including the "arm extension" via naked eye. Used my binoculars to better view λ, κ and θ along with Asella Secunda (ι).

Keystone of Hercules (in Hercules)
Time: 9:55 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 52, 54
We used Corona Borealis to locate the Keystone. The 4 stars in the Keystone were observed but we did not look for the other stars in the constellation. Found the faint fuzzy M13 using the binoculars.

M13 (Hercules Cluster)
To find this, I looked 1/3 off the way from η Hercules to ζ Hercules naked eye, then found the same location using Corona Borealis to confirm. I then found the small, grey, round cluster with the binoculars.

Meteors
Time: 9:47 PM EDT
(Visual) Travelled from the Keystone down towards the horizon.

Time: 10:16 PM EDT
(Visual) Crossed from above Altair to η and ζ in the wing tip.

 

 

Satellite
Time: 10:06 PM EDT
(Binoculars) Caught sight of it in Pegasus and it travelled towards Cassiopeia. Lost sight of it in Cassiopeia when a plane flew into my FOV.

Delphinus
Time: 10:10 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 64
Once we quickly located Altair in Cygnus, we could find all 5 stars in this small constellation. They were quite clear in these skies!

Capricornus
Time: 10:20 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 66, 68, 77
We saw 2 stars in a horizontal line that through SkySafari pro were identified as Capricornus α1 and α2. How wonderful! "Orion's Underpants" were found! Using my binoculars, I was able to see the double stars in Algedi (α) and Dabih (β). From this I was able to locate naked eye: ω, θ, ε and Deneb Algiedi way over towards the north. First sighting of Capricorn on this trip! How exciting!

M22 (Globular Cluster)
Time: 10:28 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 67, 69, I
Couldn't see all of the Teapot but could see Kaus Borealis well enough to find the faint grey fuzzy M22.

M6 (Butterfly Cluster)
Time: not recorded
S&T Chart Reference: 56, 58, 67, 69, J
Just happened to notice several bright stars in V-shaped opening in the treeline. SkySafariPro confirmed it was the Butterfly Cluster.

M72 
Time: 10:30 PM EDT
S&T Chart Reference: 66, 77
When looking at Capricornus, I found a faint grey fuzzy at a parallel declination or maybe just a bit above alpha Capricornii. Come to find out later in my star maps that it was M72. New discovery!!

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Written by: Judy Black
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