Observing report 28.03.2019 Belper

[Doc]

28.03.2019
Belper Dark site
Warm
Cloudy to start with but cleared later
19.30-00.00
Skywatcher 120ED Esprit
Selection of Clave Eyepieces

 

CANCER

 

STF1254 - 6.0/7.2 - 10" Sep - Easy split using 10mm Clave giving x84 mag - Yellow/White - Resides inside M44
S574 - 6.3/7.5 - 134" Sep - Very wide double and very easy - 20mm Clave x42 mag - White/White - Resides inside M44
S571 - 7.3/7.5/6.7 - 45"/92.7" Sep - I could detect ABCD but not E - 6mm Clave used giving x140 - Yellow/white - Resides inside M44
S570 - 7.5/9.4/9.6 - 58"/179" Sep - I could see all three components using 20mm Clave at x42 - Resides inside M4424.8" 

 

LEO

 

3 Leo - 5.7/11.1 - Hard to resolve as companion very dim but did see companion using a Clave 10mm giving x84

 

VIRGO

 

Delta Virgo - Avva - 3.42/11.79 - 192.1" Sep  - Very dim companion and a very wide split but was seen using a 10mm Clave at x84
Epsilon Virgo - Vindemiatrix - 2.83/11.9 - 272.8" Sep - Very dim companion which took some seeing but was possible with the 10mm Clave giving x84.
Zeta Virgo - Heze - 3.58/10.0 - 1.8" Sep  - Low down so I struggled but did achieve a peanut split using the 6mm Clave giving x140.

SERPENS

 

Alpha Serpens - Unukalhai - 2.63/11.8 - 57.6" Sep - Couldn't detect it's companion, It was lost within the glare or was to dim to see.
Delta Serpens - 4.11/5.16 - 4" Sep - Easily seen in the 6mm Clave at x140 - Looked like two headlamps shining in the nightsky - White/white
Beta Serpens - 3.66/9.96 - 30" Sep - Dim companion but seen in the 8mm CXlave at x105 - White/white

 

HERCULES

 

Kappa Her - Marsic - 5.0/6.21 - 26.9" Sep - Easy split in the 20mm Clave at x42
Gamma Her - 3.74/10.05 - 43.3" Sep - Easy split in 10mm Clave at x84 - White/White
Beta Her - 2.77/10.70 - 245" Sep - Very wide and easy split but the companion is dim at 10.7 seen using 16mm Clave at x52.5
Delta Her - Sarin - 3.13/8.30 - 12.7" Sep - Medium difficulty split using a 12mm Clave at x70
Zeta Her - 2.84/5.40 - 1.4" Sep - Could only do a peanut split using the 4mm Clave at x210

 

DRACO

 

Psi Draconis - Dziban - 4.57/5.59 - 29.6" Sep - Bright and easy using the 20mm Clave at x42 - Bright yellow

 

CEPHEUS

 

Kappa Cep - 4.40/8.34 - 7.2" Sep - Medium difficuty to see companion star but I could split using 8mm Clave at x105 - White/Blue

 

CANES VENACTI

 

La Surpurba - A large Carbon Star that appeared very red at 5.26 mag.

 

During this observing session I also had a look at NGC3115 the Spindle galaxy, M51, M13, M92, M57, M81/82, and tried to find M101 with no luck.

[+RonC]

Looks like you had a great night Mick ?

[philjay]

Nice one Mick, Sissy would be pleased

[BAZ]

A good night out there Mick, you are proper into this double star bothering.

[Doc]

I really enjoy double star bothering, it's very theraputic.

 

 

[+Bino-viewer]

Another enjoyable evening. Thankyou to Mick for getting the meet organised.

Transparency was not the best i thought last night, and was similar to the session we had up there 4 or 5 weeks earlier.

Things looked a bit murky through the eyepieces at times.

 

Aside from that my scope (OO VX12) continues to perform well.

The encoders that i fitted to the scope over winter were a very worthwhile investment.

Easy to use, and i can locate everything (read : assorted smudges) quickly and easily.

 

I really should make the effort to record what i see ; but i'm nowhere near as meticulous as i should be.

I always at present use the 'Tonights best' feature, in Sky Safari, and try and bag them one by one.

 

Looking at the calendar yesterday, if i was really keen and dedicated, i could have had a crack at the 'Messier marathon'

which i believe takes about 12 hours to get through. Problem was, i was frozen to the bone by midnight !! ?

 

If i had to pick a 'highlight object' from yesterday evening it would have to be Messier 5.

Its a glob i've not studied in the dob before, and despite it being a bit low down i thought 

it looked stunning ; almost an equal to M13.

And the bright star close by (i think it was Unukalhai aka Alpha Serpentis ; correct me if i'm wrong)

made it look very striking, and framed it beautifully.

 

Thanks to all my fellow astro nutters for making lasts session so enjoyable.

I do like ad hoc sessions like this, and feel its really making the most of the 

often limited opportunities we get to observe.

 

Looking forward to the next one (i'll bring my big 'North Face' winter coat next time ?)

 

 

 

 

[+Streetbob]

It sounds as though you had a productive evening. Hopefully I’ll make the next one. 

[Smithysteve]

A meticulous account of a productive evening Mick!  I always enjoy your reports, they are inspirational too! ?

Glad you had fun! ??

[Doc]

Thanks Stephen.