Date- 10-9-05
Location- Lafayette, CA
LM/Class- 4.5/ 5
Objects Observed- NGC 7217, NGC 7442, NGC 7008
Time- 8:30- 10:00
Equipment- XT8 Orion DOB, 17mm Orion/Vixen Lanthanum, 25mm and 9mm MA Meade, 8x42 Nikon Monarch Nikon Binos., Orion O-111 filter.
I did a little more preparing before going out tonight and found some pretty bright objects to look at (thank you NGC/IC observing list generator). When I got outside the moon was fairly low in the sky, but I knew it would be creeping up farther and farther each day. O well, I guess that means less observing. Cygnus was flying toward its impending destination, the western horizon. I prepared to say goodbye to my favorite celestial bird because the next time I go out, it will surely be washed out by light domes in that region. Scanning the Milky Way of Cygnus is an unforgettable experience and I never get tired of it. Each time I note another patch of nebulosity or cluster that I hadn’t seen before, and it is always such a breathtaking observation. Whenever someone wants to see something beautiful, I tell them to point the binoculars at Deneb and scan left or right. They are always amazed with what they can see, and so am I. So farewell, see you next year!
NGC 7217 (133x, 71x)
When I was star hopping to this, I noticed a funny little asterism (see finder chart) that I named “The Chair”. If you draw a line from Scheat to Matar, you will see two close stars, those are the top. If you go down a little bit you will see two stars forming the actual “seat” and even farther down you will see the leg. This was all visible in one field of my 6x30 finder scope. The funny thing is, NGC 7217 is “sitting” in the chair because it forms an equilateral triangle with the two middle stars. This is just another reason why I like to star hop, I surely would’ve missed “The Chair” if I would’ve been using GOTO.
Anyway, this galaxy in Pegasus was pretty bright and medium sized. It filled half of the field at 133x in my 8 inch. It was easily sustainable with direct vision, and I could see a consistent drop in brightness from the center to the edge with averted. The core wasn’t stellar to me like most observations I read, but it was pretty bright. I noticed a bit of nebulosity next to it. That turned out to be an atmospheric illusion.
NGC 7442
This was a little tougher than 7217. It looked almost like a glob because the edges of it faded into black and it was hard to define where this galaxy really ended.
This was like 7217 “downgraded”. It was smaller, dimmer, and harder to sustain with direct vision. It was easy with averted and I could only discern two distinct levels of brightness, not really a consistent downgrade in brightness like 7217 was.
NGC 7008
I failed on this one. This has troubled me for so long. I never could really get an effect star hop going. Do you guys have one?
P.S- Still having trouble with images so I couldn't post finder charts or sketches.
Thanks,
Zack
Location- Lafayette, CA
LM/Class- 4.5/ 5
Objects Observed- NGC 7217, NGC 7442, NGC 7008
Time- 8:30- 10:00
Equipment- XT8 Orion DOB, 17mm Orion/Vixen Lanthanum, 25mm and 9mm MA Meade, 8x42 Nikon Monarch Nikon Binos., Orion O-111 filter.
I did a little more preparing before going out tonight and found some pretty bright objects to look at (thank you NGC/IC observing list generator). When I got outside the moon was fairly low in the sky, but I knew it would be creeping up farther and farther each day. O well, I guess that means less observing. Cygnus was flying toward its impending destination, the western horizon. I prepared to say goodbye to my favorite celestial bird because the next time I go out, it will surely be washed out by light domes in that region. Scanning the Milky Way of Cygnus is an unforgettable experience and I never get tired of it. Each time I note another patch of nebulosity or cluster that I hadn’t seen before, and it is always such a breathtaking observation. Whenever someone wants to see something beautiful, I tell them to point the binoculars at Deneb and scan left or right. They are always amazed with what they can see, and so am I. So farewell, see you next year!
NGC 7217 (133x, 71x)
When I was star hopping to this, I noticed a funny little asterism (see finder chart) that I named “The Chair”. If you draw a line from Scheat to Matar, you will see two close stars, those are the top. If you go down a little bit you will see two stars forming the actual “seat” and even farther down you will see the leg. This was all visible in one field of my 6x30 finder scope. The funny thing is, NGC 7217 is “sitting” in the chair because it forms an equilateral triangle with the two middle stars. This is just another reason why I like to star hop, I surely would’ve missed “The Chair” if I would’ve been using GOTO.
Anyway, this galaxy in Pegasus was pretty bright and medium sized. It filled half of the field at 133x in my 8 inch. It was easily sustainable with direct vision, and I could see a consistent drop in brightness from the center to the edge with averted. The core wasn’t stellar to me like most observations I read, but it was pretty bright. I noticed a bit of nebulosity next to it. That turned out to be an atmospheric illusion.
NGC 7442
This was a little tougher than 7217. It looked almost like a glob because the edges of it faded into black and it was hard to define where this galaxy really ended.
This was like 7217 “downgraded”. It was smaller, dimmer, and harder to sustain with direct vision. It was easy with averted and I could only discern two distinct levels of brightness, not really a consistent downgrade in brightness like 7217 was.
NGC 7008
I failed on this one. This has troubled me for so long. I never could really get an effect star hop going. Do you guys have one?
P.S- Still having trouble with images so I couldn't post finder charts or sketches.
Thanks,
Zack
http://www.freewebs.com/mehball/
