Constellations: Boötes, Centaurus, Scorpius
Asterism: Great Diamond/Diamond of Virgo, Spring Triangle, Teapot
Stars: Alnasi, Antares, Arcturus, Cor Caroli, Denebola, Deschuba (δ Scorpii), Graffias (β Scorpii), Kaus Borealis, Kaus Media, Menkant (θ Centaurus), Nunki, η Scorpii, Spica, Vindemiatrix
Messier Objects: M7 (Ptolemy Cluster), M8 (Lagoon Nebula), M20 (Trifid Nebula), M21, M22
Planets: Mars, Venus
Moon: Cleomedes, Gang of 4 (Langrenus, Vendelinus, Petavius, Furnerius), Geminus, Mare Crisium
Identified, not Observed :
Canis Venatici, Leo, Virgo
Location: Site 15 on Big Muise Island, Kejimkujik National Park, NS
Date: 2023-06-21
Time: 9:00 PM - 11:30 PM ADT
Equipment: Visual, 10x42 IS Binoculars
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded
| Time | SQM | Temp |
| 10:45 PM | 21.46 | 17° C |
Dave and I were in our camp chairs with binoculars at one end of the beach while Jerry was at the other end setting up his camera gear. There was a light breeze - enough to keep the mosquitoes away!
Moon, Venus, Mars
Time: 9:19 PM
Equipment: Visual, Binoculars
The Moon and Venus were up fairly high in the skies. Visible were Mare Crisium, Gang of 4 (Langrenus, Vendelinus, Petavius, Furnerius), Cleomedes, and Geminus. Earthshine was evident on the lunar surface.
Venus was 8 o'clock to the lowest part of the crescent Moon. Marrs was at 10 o'clock to Venus and higher than the top of the crescent Moon.
Boötes
Time: 9:30 PM
Equipment: Visual
S&T Chart: 42, 44, 53, 55
Arcturus shone brightly and was easily spotted. I looked for and found the kite-shape of this constellation but did not identify the individual stars.
Scorpius, Centaurus
Time: 10:19 PM
Equipment: Visual
S&T Chart: 56, 58
The reddish Antares was twinkling in the southern horizon. Could readily find Graffias (β Scorpii), Dschubba (δ Scorpii), and η Scorpii. At this point, I did not search for other stars within the constellation. It was at this point of the evening that Dave excitedly pointed out Menkant (θ Centauri) just above the horizon. Menkant is part of the shoulder of the Centaur. What surprised us is that Centaurus is considered a "southern" constellation so to see it here was a wonderful surprise.
Spring Triangle, Great Diamond/Diamond of Virgo
Time: 10:25 PM
Equipment: Visual
Dave pointed out two asterisms. Arcturus (α Boötis), Spica (α Virginis) and Denebola (β Leonis) comprise the Spring Triangle. Interestingly, Vindemiatrix (ε Virginis) is the central star in that triangle of constellations. Denebola (β Leonis), Arcturus (α Boötis), Spica (α Virginis) and Cor Caroli (α Canum Venaticorum) comprise the Great Diamond. Two asterisms in one part of our observable skies! Who knew?
10:45 PM - 11:30 PM
It was during this time that for some reason I stopped recording times of observations, so here's the list.
Teapot
M22 / NGC 6566
M8 / NGC 6523 / Lagoon Nebula
M20 / NGC 6514 / Trifid Nebula
M21 / NGC 6531 / Webb's Cross
M7 / NGC 6475 / Ptolemy Cluster
Equipment: Visual, Binoculars
S&T Chart: 67, 69
The Teapot asterism was above the horizon about 10° and its base was almost perfectly parallel to the horizon. All 8 stars were easily seen.
I used binoculars to find M22 by starting at Kaus Borealis (the Teapot lid star) and moving at bout a 45° angle to find a small group of stars that were Y-shaped, then moved a little further out to find the small grey fuzz of M22.
I then used the stars forming the spout - Kaus Media (δ Sagittarii) and Alnasl (γ2 Sagittarii) - to find M8, M20 and M21. Just viewed them long enough to recognize the binocular-view shape and star composition. Did not sketch.
I then went to the base of the Teapot and used the line from Nunki (star in the Teapot handle) to Alnasl (star in the spout) to continue outward to find M7. I was not disappointed! The Ptolemy Cluster is a glorious open cluster - bright and many stars.