Posts Made By: Zack Aderan

Date- 9-25-05

Location- Lafayette, CA

Equipment- XT8 Orion Classic Dob, 9mm MA Meade, 17mm Orion/Vixen Lanthanum, 8x42 Nikon Monarch binocs.

Class- 5 (4.5 LM)

Object Observed- NGC 7331 (and friends)

Only had time for a quick observation tonight, so I went with a nice bright galaxy.

NGC 7331

At first I was surprised when I saw this. All I could see was a rather bright nucleus, but I was mistaken. After a few minutes I could see very long jets extending from each end. This thing is HUGE! Here are my notes:

Small, after 3 min. of observing grows much larger. HUGE. I can see one companion that is circular.

Date- 9-29-05

Location- Lafayette, CA

Objects Observed- NGC 7814, NGC 6992

Class- 5 (4.5 LM)

Equipment- Same

Wanted to observe a lot of stuff tonight but one pesky galaxy took up all my time...

NGC 7814

Despite this galaxies high magnitude it was tough! I was pretty frustrated for about ten minutes, but was absolutely positive I was in the right field, so I just waited there just hoping it would jump out at me after a couple minutes. Here are the notes:

Tough surprisingly. After 15 minutes it eventually was coaxed out. High power didn't help too much. It kept popping in and out and was needle, then circular.

NGC 6229

I only could observe this for a little bit. Fun though. Really bright. No stars resolved.

Here are all the sketches I have made. Most of them were sketched at the very beginning of my experience so bear with me.
http://www.freewebs.com/mehball/sketches.htm
Thanks,
Zack

Date- 10-5-05
Location-Lafayette,CA
Equipment- XT8, 8x42 Binos., 17mm Lanthanum., 9mm, 25mm MA Meade, 0-111
Class/LM-5/4.5ish
Objects Observed- 2276/2300, 7640
Time- 9:00- 10:00

Heres a quick session

NGC 2276/3000
Took at least 20 min. to see. In very close proximity to eachother. One circular, one udefined/needle shaped. Very tough because of LP in that direction.

NGC 7640

Not as hard as previous because it was closer to the zenith. Took about 10 min. to see. Once seen, was rather large and uniformly bright, no irregularities.

Date- 10-8-05
Location- Lafayette, CA
LM/Class- 4.5/ 5
Objects Observed- NGC 185, NGC 127, M33 and HII regions, NGC 404
Time- 8:30- 12:00
Equipment- XT8 Orion DOB, 17mm Orion/Vixen Lanthanum, 25mm and 9mm MA Meade, 8x42 Nikon Monarch Nikon Binos., Orion O-111 filter.


This was one of my best at home sessions in awhile because I got to see a lot of nice galaxies, and I renewed my love for open clusters. It was also enjoyable because I had caught up on sleep so I could stay out fairly late. In addition to that, it finally started feeling and smelling like autumn, my favorite season (I finally had to put on gloves!)

NGC 129 (71x and 133x)


Open clusters have always bored me, with the exception of a few beauties like NGC 7789, M11, and M37. When I first put this object in the FOV, I was unimpressed, and almost moved on. I, however, forced myself to sketch it. I knew I would see much more detail if I did so, and boy was I right! At first I could only see about 20 stars with a bright triangle superimposed on them. After I had drawn that triangle, a warm fuzzy glow started appearing in the background. I popped in the 9mm EP and the fuzz immediately transformed into 40 stars. With the 17mm I eventually resolved that cloud and the cluster became amazing. I am so glad I didn’t overlook this cluster! Here are my notes:

“Bland at first but becomes amazing after a few minutes. Crescent shaped and next to bright star. Pretty elongated with lots of stars resolvable, but not the whole cluster. It is visible as a faint smudge with 6 or 7 stars resolved in binoculars.”


NGC 404 (71x, 133x)

I tried for this at least three times unsuccessfully in the last month, but gave up because it was too close to the horizon. Now that Andromeda is higher in the sky, this was easy, even bright! At first I tried to move Mirach out of the way, but that proved to be useless since 404 was so close to it. After I observed a little bit, it showed a moderately sized elongated circle. Here are my notes:

“For the first time this was easy! Large and bright, and a little bit elongated”



M33 and HII regions(71x)

This was a pretty nice object considering this is one of the objects I “fear” the most. Back when I was doing my first Messier Marathon, I had the hardest time seeing this. They had it in a 10 inch and the skies were absolutely pristine, yet I still couldn’t see much, just a faint glow with no nucleus. When I look at it now, it’s pretty obvious. Just goes to show what a year of observing can do for your eyes. The nucleus was pretty obvious in my telescope, but I wasn’t able to confirm it in my binoculars (although I thought I saw something). After a few minutes of observing a faint halo surrounded the nucleus, and an O-111 filter revealed N 604 nicely and 595 with a little difficulty. Here are my notes:

“Core was rather bright, but it was hard to pick out edges. N 604 was visible with averted unaided and pretty obvious with O-111. N 595 needed the O-111.”


NGC 185(133x, 71x)

This was the toughest of the night without a doubt. It took about 15 minutes to see, and I had to come back to it to confirm it. I’m not even sure that I saw it now that I think about it, because the atmosphere has been playing some tricks on me. When I view two close stars, I see some nebulosity surrounding them, and it doesn’t always go away with higher magnification. This is what I think happened with N 185. You tell me what you think:

“Not sure if I’m seeing it. Pretty small and irregular shape.”


EDIT- Can't figure out how to post more than one pick. I'll figure it out tomorrow and put up all the sketches and finder charts.
-Zack

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

I have an ambitous plan that I hope to complete, and it involves telescope making. My community seems to love that sleek look of a WalMart 60mm refractor, that beautiful nebula on the box, and the boistrous "900 power!" claim. However, once they get out on the field, the are always dissapointed. When I set up my 8 inch at Chabot Space and Science center, I always get to hear cries for help from well meaning parents asking what they can do to save their kids waning interest after hours of frustration with the 60mm. I want to say there's something they can do, but alas, there isn't.
I'm sick of Christmas trash scopes, and I have a plan! Why not make a 4 to 6 inch telescope on my own, and sell it for a price that could blow Orion and Celestron out of the water! I'm young, I don't need this money to survive, I just want to save locals (only the locals, not the world) from the impending doom of the stereotypical 60mm refractor. Now, can I build something for 150 dollars maximum, but still get decent images? I've seen CosmicOne's design, but is there anything custom I can make for even cheaper?
Thanks,
Zack

I will be heading to a dark sky site this February. I know some of you are partial to making lists, would any of you be up to the task of making me a list for an all-nighter?

Thanks,
Zack

I will be visiting Henry W. Coe State Park (http://www.coepark.org/) this month and had a few questions for people who have visited there:

1. How dark are the skies?
2. How are the horizon's?
3. How is the park in the day?
4. Where is the best place to observe in the park?
5. Is observing suitable from the campsites?

For people who haven't visited the park:

1. What are some semi challenging DSO's?
2. What are other good observing sites in California?


Thanks,
Zack

Definitely M17. In the eyepiece, it's beatiful. In photographs...it's disgusting.

Well heres a 4 1/4 plan and its $125...
http://www.lymax.com/cosmicone/4inchdob/

Also, I've seen mirrors finished for 70 dollars. How much could it be to construct everything else?