Posts Made By: Dave Mitsky

The weather didn't cooperate on Thursday but I had a look at the pair with my 15x70 binocular this morning. The two were separated by almost a degree and were quite a sight to greet early risers.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/02nov_venusjupiter.htm

http://www.jackstargazer.com/scripts0SG0443.html

Dave Mitsky

Inge,

I would characterize the Merope Nebula as being dificult. I've only seen it a handful of times and only from very dark sites under excellent conditions.

NGC 1514 certainly is an interesting planetary nebula. It's one that visit often. As it turns out I observed it on Saturday night using the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain. Nebulosity was visible without an Orion UltraBlock but was greatly enhanced when the filter was employed.

Dave Mitsky

I certainly did enjoy it. Here's my report:

I first beheld Sunday night's spectacular display of the aurora borealis shortly after 8:00 pm EST (01:00 UT, 2004/11/8) from northern Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Rays, sheets, and curtains were visible in the north and northwest but local light pollution diminished their impact somewhat.

A second and more intense wave of auroral activity commenced around 11:15 pm EST (04:15 UT) and continued for more than an hour. By that time I had traveled to the ASH Naylor Observatory, which is near Lewisberry. When the celestial fireworks subsided I began observing with the ASH 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain, spending time on binary stars, open clusters, emission and planetary nebulae, and Saturn.

At about 2:45 am EST (07:45 UT) on Monday morning a third auroral display began. This was the most spectacular of the three periods that I witnessed. At least six rays stretched from the horizon to near the zenith from the north through the northwest. The most prominent ray was in the northwest and extended upwards to Perseus. These may have been the brightest auroral rays that I've ever seen. As far as color was concerned, I saw white and muted green and red hues.

Dave Mitsky

The smallest aperture that I've seen Leo I through was a 14.5" Starmaster Dob. I've logged Leo II with a 25" ATM Dob but it was more difficult to see than Leo I through the same scope.

Dave Mitsky

There's an excellent article on M33 and the various HII regions and globular clusters that can be seen with amateur instruments in the December 2004 Sky & Telescope. I've had some great views of M33 through large apertures (up to 32") and have seen a number of the extragalactic objects mentioned.

Dave Mitsky

A 70 degree AFOV 40mm University Optics MK-70 should work quite well with your f/15 classical Cassegrain.

Dave Mitsky

And here's another.

Dave Mitsky

Here's a prime focus shot through my Orion ST80.

Dave Mitsky

Here's the planetary duo at sunrise.

I had a look at C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) from the ASH Naylor Observatory on Friday night prior to moonrise using a 5" f/5 achromat at magnifications up to 63x and a 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at 162, 202, 259, and 381x. At 381x the pseudonucleus was bright and quite prominent and the coma had a rather peculiar, irregular shape. A hint of a tail could be seen.

Dave Mitsky