oldfruit Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Firstly thanks to Ron, Dave and Clare and Tobias for coming tonight. Nice to see everyone and do some Astronomy. Where to begin? Hopes were high tonight as the forcast was looking very good showing clear all night. In addition to this, tonight would be the first Moonless night to really get a feel for how suitable the Wainfleet site is. Myself and Ron were first to arrive and proceeded to set up and catch up. Dave and Clare then also joined us and later Tobias. The night started well with it being mostly clear with the odd spell of high cloud which proved to be frustrating at times. Early on we looked at some regular targets. M13, M5, M3, M51, Saturn, M57. All looked great but we were constantly dodging cloud so it was difficult to get into any sort of observing rythum. Then it clouded over with only the smallest of gaps between the clouds so time for a break and a coffee. An hour passed and again the skies started tp clear. What happeded then was one of the best observing sessions i have had for a long time! M27 big and bright and showin a lot of outer detail. M57 the same and even looked good at 200x +. The Cats Eye Nebula was a first for me tonight and it was a striking blue/turquoise but i had trouble seeing any detail in the nebula, even at high magnification. The Leo Triplet fitted well into the field of view of my 28mm Nirvana on the dob and all 3 members clearly visible. M101 showed well and there were hints of more detail than i have been able to see on occasions before tonight. M51 was showing a lot of detail tonight and using averted vision the gaps between the spiral arms were visible. This must be one of the best views i have had of M51. The Veil Nebula was high enough to observe by about 1.30AM and using a UHC filter in the 28mm Nirvana showed well and some structure within the nebula was visible. M31 was seen tonight, showing a very bright core with soft outer halo despite being so low down. I had a quick scan around the Virgo Galaxy cluster tonight. The Sombrero was first and showed quite well. Markarian`s chain was also a target for me for tonight. There are a lot of galaxies visible within the same low power field of wiew. This area of sky is just so full of galaxies! It can actually get quite confusing as every way the scope is moved reveals yet more fuzzies! By this time the Milky way was showing very brightly and almost spanned the entire sky from NW to SE so time to try and spot some objects that are in the Summer Milky Way. The Omega/ Swan nebula stood out well with a clearly defined shape and required no filter to see it clearly. The Eagle nebula looked poor though i shall return to this object again as i am sure it has more to give visually. The Wild Duck Cluster was beautiful and must surely be one of the finest clusters in the entire sky. M4 globular cluster near to Antares in the constelation of Scorpio is a strange looking Globular cluster with an apparent irregular shape. The Lagoon Nebula and Trifid Nebula were both first time views for me tonight. Despite being low they were still both bright and both showed a lot of detail, i could even make out the dark lanes in the Trifid Nebula. Ron was on a mission tonight and i would not like to hazzard a guess to how many Messiers/NGC`s he ticked off his list, but i would immagine it to be quite a few. The goto was whirring away constantly, from one object to the next and on occasion we would share the view with Ron. I am glad to say i think Ron had a particularly productive night visually. By about 2.30 am we decided to call it a night but felt we had had a great session under some very good skies. The verdict, tonight at least is that the Wainfleet Site is actuall very good and will be a welcome addition to the dark sites we have available to ELAC. We did not have any unwelcome visitors or cars turn up all the time we were there so were left undisturbed for the duration of our observing. I for one and really looking forward to our next observing session at the Wainfleet site. Clear Skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Great report Mark. Sounds like a interesting evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Fantastic night-sounds like a great site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T A WOW Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Sounds like a great new site for you. Nice report too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Good report Mark, 7 new Messiers and 10+ NGC's not seen before! The site has great potential for the future and I think that was the best sky I have seen since EMS1 last year !I think Tobias was on a knowledge overload, I seem to remember that only a couple of years ago on my first visit to Belper!! Thanks Mark Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 (edited) Was a great night, just about everything I saw was new to me! Thanks to both of you for letting me have a look through your scopes, some awesome views! I think Tobias was on a knowledge overload Going to relax this morning and let it all sink in! Edited May 5, 2013 by Tibbz2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Muppet Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Great report Mark. Thanks to you and Ron for the views from your scopes. First time seeing the Sombrero Galaxy. Pity Clare and I had to leave earlier. Hopefully see you all next week Dave and Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 When you both left I think you took the clouds with you!! Thanks!! See you next week at Gib point! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 I`m just glad everyone had a great evening, and the sky from about midnight onwards was just awesome. As you said Ron, almost comparable to EMS1 skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Sorry I couldn't join you guys but I also had a great evenings observing at Badger Farm, Asterby, another fantastic dark site. We need to have a meet there at some point as it is an alternative Star Party venue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 Sorry I couldn't join you guys but I also had a great evenings observing at Badger Farm, Asterby, another fantastic dark site. We need to have a meet there at some point as it is an alternative Star Party venue. Sounds like an interesting alternative Paul. Did you see any Badgers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 No Badgers but lots of noisy Owls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Have u heard the one about the owls playing pool? The first one missed the ball the second owl said thats two hits the first owl replied two hits to who. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ely Ellis Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Sounds like a great session you all had. What's the location of your new dark site? Wouldn't mind popping over when I'm holidaying at Skeggy. Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Hi Martin, take the A52 to Boston, past Wainfleet . When you get to Friskney turn LEFT at The Barley Mow pub on the corner. It's about 2 miles down a small road (mind the potholes!) Past a control tower then LEFT at the end of the road towards a cul-de-sac 500m along. It's about 9-10 miles South of Skegness OR alternativly visit the Gibralter Point NNR signposted from the town centre! Cheers ron Wainfleet site 53' 03' 29.94"N 0' 14' 36.27"E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 And watch out for any unexploded audanance. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 A very enjoyable report. You lot out to the east seem to be blessed with a choice of really dark sites right on your doorstep. I've been looking at some light pollution maps of your area. You are very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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