#154 My Astronomy Library; Messier 2

 I have a moderately large library of astronomy books, but I'm only going to mention the books I use regularly in my observing programs.  In the old days I had three books: Norton's Star Atlas, Olcott's Field Guide, and Menzel's Field Guide.  I still make use of the first two in my Space Eye project.  Using a 2" refractor occasionally alongside a 12" reflector is pretty weird, I know.  But I get a kick at what the Vixen scope can do.  Norton and Olcott both include double star tests for 2" scopes.  I will continue to use the 2" refractor off and on, depending on time available.  A few nights ago I had another look at M11, and it was a pleasing view in its own way.  I tried to locate oc 6709 in Aquila but was unsuccessful.  That is one of my favourite small clusters.

Turning now to my main observing library, I mostly use Uranometria (1 volume edition) for all my observing work, alongside its companion volume, The Uranometria Deep Sky Field Guide.  Both volumes are essential to my observing program.  Supplementary books are The Night Sky Observer's Guide (2 volumes) by Kepple and Sanner, along with Atlas of Star Clusters (2 volumes) by Mike Swan, published by the Webb Deep Sky Society.  For lunar work I use Atlas of the Moon by A. Rukl, published by Astronomy back in the day.  I also use The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H A Rey, children's classic that is still very useful today, especially when talking about constellations with groups or individuals unfamiliar with the night sky.

 

I also have a whole host of books I use to use a lot but seldom refer to now, such as Burham's 3 volume Celestial Handbook, Observing Handbook of Deep-Sky Objects by Luginbuhl and Skiff, and the on-going series Annals of the Deep Sky by Kanipe and Webb.  However, I stopped purchasing these books when they published Cassiopeia and left out my favourite open cluster, oc 7789.  How this could have been left out I don't know, but it made me stop buying their books.

 

In future columns I will discuss some of these books in detail, and why I think they are essential tools.  I will also list my favourite and most useful websites.  My list is small but vital to my program.

 

Time to move on.  Messier 2 is one of 29 globular clusters in the full list of 110 objects.  Here are its stats:  Messier 2, gc 7089: 16', Vis. mag. 6.6, Br. star mag. 13.  Here is my first report: "Though I've been using a telescope since 1969, I first saw M 2 on August 29th, 1994.  Skies were near perfect and the temperature was around 13 C.  It was swept up in the finder of my Edmund 8" reflector, and at 36x in the main viewfinder the globular cluster was very large and bright.  A very few outer stars were resolving.  At 59x it was very granular.  A bright star was noted just preceding the intense core.  72x gave very minimal resolution, with the outer areas showing quite large.  At 118x the very brightest members began to resolve.  169x showed a tiny swarm of stars resolving around the now irregularly-shaped bright core.  There was an ovalness to the very center.  200x gave fair resolution to the very rim of the core.  Resolution improved with 254x, with core now quite magnificent and crossed with stars.  This is an object not to be missed with an 8" scope."

 

1994 sketch using my Edmund 8" scope. 

 

Next came a view of M 2 using my 12" Orion Dob.  It occurred on September 2nd, 2024.  I remarked that it was night of rare transparency, with excellent conditions and a temp around 50 F.  Here are my notes: "This is the kind of showpiece that a 12" aperture was made for!.  First viewed in 1994 with the 8", tonight I began at 107x and full aperture.  The cluster is compact but still a good size, with a large and bright central area.  there is already good resolution, especially in the outer regions.  120x provides a stunning view, with some resolution to the core.  At 166x the resolution of stars becomes spellbinding, especially near and now in the bright core.  231x and 333x provide the best views, and M 2 resembles an amateur astronomer's stellar fantasy come true!  The core is bright and tightly packed with stars.  Streams and lines of stars resolve across the entire object.  M 2 is a wonder in a 12" Dob!"

 

I followed up on October 2nd of 2024 with Space Eye, my 2" Vixen refractor.  This is truly a superior instrument for its size.  Here are my notes: "This globular cluster looked fantastic in the 2"!  It was very bright and a few of the nearby stars also appear in the field.  The cluster shows a large, bright core and a good size surrounding fainter haze.  I was happily surprised at its brightness!  It wasn't difficult to locate, despite not using the instrument since November 2016."  Why look at it with such a small aperture?  Think of Messier and why he made the list.  Does M 2 appear comet-like in a small refractor?  It sure does.

 

https://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/current/cgi/titlepage.pl 

 

See you next time.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

#153: Musings and Messier 1

It has not been a great year for observing.  I have only been out four times so far in 2026.  We are currently amidst a wicked heat wave, with wild fire smoke drowning out the skies.  It's been cloudy a lot of the time, and I really did poorly on spring galaxies this year.  Most of my remaining work requires spring skies.  I have nearly completed all summer work with the 12" Dob, with only a bit more of Corona B. remaining.  A few nights ago I managed to finish up work in Ophiuchus, tracking down all of the NGC and IC objects (my main goal), as well as over 200 double stars and something like 37 deep sky objects from other catalogues.

 

Summer observing brings with it warmer temps, but also a lot of bugs.  I was kept amused a few nights ago by swarms of fireflies.  When they flash in front of your mirror it is quite the experience.  As far as mosquitoes go, they are usually the worst pests.  However, since I have been using a Thermacell device, the problem has disappeared!  I place the small on the ground a few feet away from where I usually stand at the eyepiece, and where I won't trip over it.  It works like magic!  No more using stinky Off (and still having them buzz around my ears).  My last night out it was 80 F when I began observing at 10:30 pm EDT.  That is usually prime mosquito hunting time.  When I left the site at around 2 am it was 74 F.  Not a single bite, or even a pesky buzz in the ear.  However, next day I always have to wash the front end of the car, which is usually loaded with bug kill from the drive there and home.

 

I am still committed to old fashioned at the eyepiece observing.  I am probably one of the last of my kind.  I drive 50 minutes to my secret observing site, far enough away from the lights of Detroit/Windsor to be bothered by the lights of Cleveland to my south.  There are only two traffic lights, so it is a pretty relaxing drive on county roads.  I can still pull in very faint objects, however, so it is worth the drive.  From my suburban home I can just make out the Milky Way from my driveway on a clear night, overhead only.  From my dark site I can see it pretty much from horizon to horizon.  So that's 100 minutes of driving for a night of observing.  My 12" Dob stays set up in my VW Taos for the two weeks per month that I use it.  That means that I merely have to plop down the stand, drop in the assembled scope, align the mirror (60 seconds) and the finderscope and I'm good to go.  Ten minutes set up upon arrival and about twelve minutes to pack up following last viewed object.

 

I am going to revive my Messier object list review beginning now.  I have never bothered to track down all the objects on the list and write about them.  I have seen most, but not all, of the objects on the list.  Maybe this project will help me finally finish them off (I have been observing with a scope since 1969).

 

Messier 1: The Crab Nebula (this is a repost from my 2020 blog here)

 

Approximately 7500 years ago, a star exploded in the direction of the constellationTaurus. Seen and recorded over a thousand years ago by the Chinese in 1054 A.D., the remnant from this supernova was the first astronomical object to be identified as such. The Earl of Rosse drew the object in 1840, observing it with his 36” telescope. His drawing was said to resemble a crab, and thus the nickname. This is one of the most studied objects in the sky, and provides for some fascinating on-line reading. Stunning photos reveal the object in breathtaking detail. What is highly unusual about M 1 is that on very detailed professional photos, significant changes can be noted in less than a month. Even so, I still like to view it in a small scope. In a really dark sky it can be seen with binoculars, though my views have been only through telescopes. And it continues to expand, being significantly larger now in photos than when I first began the hobby.

My first look came in March, 1973, using my 4.5” Tasco reflector. With fresh snow on the ground and an unshielded streetlight only a few meters away, it wasn’t the ideal first look at such an object. A much better view came from my back deck in Anderdon Township in March, 1994. I was using my trusty Edmund 8” reflector. At lower powers it reminded me somewhat of a very large and bright galaxy. The edges appeared smooth, even at 169x. Skip ahead to late November, 2016. I viewed it with the 12” Dob from Hallam, and found it impressively large, very bright, and quite elongated. The large central area is much brighter than the outer areas. Several faint stars appear to me very close, or even touching the outside edges. The south-following end is very patchy, whereas the north end tapers and fades gradually.

My Space Eye view came in October, 2015, from Hallam Observatory. I did not have high expectations of seeing M 1 with the 2” refractor, but it was located at 30x! The nebula was really faint, but quite unmistakable. It was oval, and though fairly small, averted vision really helped bring it out.

Messier 1 (NGC gn 1952): 6’ x 4’ emission nebula in Taurus.

 

https://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/current/cgi/titlepage.pl

 

Photo by Steve Mastellotto, member of RASC Windsor ON, Canada branch, using a Seestar. 

 

I would love to feature your images on these Messier pages.  Contact me if interested (click on comments).

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

#152: NGC Count Update

It's been a while.  I would write more blogs if I knew anyone was actually out there reading them.  More comments would be nice as well.  While the hit count for this blog is over 75,000, comments are few and far between.  I am still an active visual observer, still using my Orion 12" Push To and Space Eye, my 2" refractor.  I continue to chip away at the NGC list, as viewable from my location in Essex County, Ontario (42 lat. N.).  Every two years at this time I update my print list and recount how deep sky objects have been seen.  Here are the latest totals:

NGC: 3045 objects viewed and logged.

IC:      540 objects.

Other Catalogues (every other deep sky catalogue): 985.

 

My grand total of deep sky objects viewed and logged currently stands at 4590.  That does not include double stars, which I enthusiastically view but do not keep count.  I am hoping to get back to the eyepiece in March.  It has been a brutally cold and severe winter this year since mid November (my last observation) through February.  It seems that cold weather will continue on into early March.  

 

If and when I get back out there I will continue detailed work in Puppis, then continue on with Crater.  By late March I should be able to resume in Coma.  For the first time in my life I plan to tackle part of Virgo!  Aside from the major Messier I have done no official work in this constellation.  It took me 7 years to get through Leo, and it will take me at least that long to get through Coma.  Of course if I had access to more clear nights.....

 

Mapman Mike 

#151: The Golden Years: Part 1

And when were they, exactly?  Were there any golden years in my long and busy amateur astronomy life?  You betcha.  I've been rereading the first volume of my astronomy logbooks, covering 4 1/2 years of observing from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.  It makes for fascinating reading, if not always scientifically helpful.  I began with 6 x 30 binoculars, quickly graduating to a 3" plastic telescope my Uncle Jimmy had in a storage locker.  That same telescope, a toy mock-up of the 100" Hale telescope, also featured in a Gumby and Pokey cartoon.  Did anyone else have such humble beginnings?  When that scope had outlived its usefulness I purchased a K-Mart tabletop refractor of 40 mm, and a telescoping eyepiece that gave 15x to 50x.  That was actually quite a step up from the toy reflector.  But then came that golden year, the first of many for my observing hobby, and in 1971 my dad bought me a beautiful looking 4 1/2" Tasco reflector, their famous "Lunagrosso" scope, or "Big Moon."  I was now in the big leagues for sure!

The mighty mirror of my 2.9" reflecting toy telescope.  This was my first scope, and brought much joy when pointed at the moon and the Pleiades, among other astronomical objects. 

 

All kidding aside, those were among the most fun and the most frustrating years of my astronomy love affair.  For one thing I lived in Sudbury, a mid-Northern Ontario mining city that still has very brutal winters.  Cold temperatures and feet of snow made observing impossible from early November through early March.  I observed from my front yard, beneath a streetlight!  And the INCo smokestacks belched out their sulphur 24 hours a day, usually obscuring my limited amount of open skies.  Today no one would put up with some of the crap I had to wade through just to see through an eyepiece.  When a clear and unpolluted night did roll around, there were frequent aurora that would enclose the entire sky, eliminating any hope of seeing deep sky objects.  Hardly golden times for observing, no?

 

Gumby also had a version of my first scope.

 

Of course it was the Apollo Lunar program that got many of us interested in the heavens in those days.  I first looked seriously at the moon (it was full) in November of 1968, but it wasn't until March 1969, several months ahead of the first manned landing, that I had my first telescopic view of the lunar surface.  It was a mind-blowing experience, to say the least.  By the end of 1971 I was a seasoned observer, though aching for a 6" or even (gasp) an 8" scope.  I had seen the fabulous Mars opposition of that summer, and was now quite adept at spotting detail on Jupiter.  I continued exploring the lunar surface, as well as keeping good sunspot activity records.  But it was the deep sky that called to me more and more.  I had seen planetary nebulae, open clusters, double stars, and though I viewed globular clusters too, I longed for a scope big enough to resolve them into stars.  I would have to wait until 1978 for that.  So 1971 was my first real "golden" year of observing.  We had a cottage far from city lights where I was able to observe in summer, though summer jobs often kept me away.  But I saw M 101 with a 4.5" reflector that summer, something that blew my mind.  Even a spiral structure was seen; that's just how dark those skies were there, even in summer when darkness didn't come till nearly midnight.

 

The 4 1/2" reflector, from a recent E-Bay image.  I sold mine to a non-observing friend.  I still see it once in a while.

 

That first volume of notes contains 80 separate observing sessions, some of those doubled as daytime ones and night.  I am no artist, but the book is filled with drawings, much of them of lunar sites, but Mars is there, too, and Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and stars.  My guide in those early days was the Norton atlas, and small field guides by Menzel and Olcott.  And so as warmer temperatures finally arrive (it has been a very cold, windy, and often cloudy winter) in my southern Canada location, I am just as excited to get out and observe again as I was in 1971.  I will take that as a good sign, despite having to drive 39 miles each way to get to a decent sky.  I know for certain that it is worth it.

 

Mapman Mike 

#150: Current Deep Sky Projects

First a short note about summer observing.  It was a very warm and humid summer, with most of the perfectly clear and dry nights centred around the full moon (of course).  I have not done a whole lot this summer, but I don't worry too much as I have already completed much of the summer sky work.  I often spend nights reviewing objects, often using the Uranometria close up charts to explore deeply.  I look forward to autumn skies, with nights that begin earlier.  I currently drive 50 minutes each way to an isolated site near some windmills, and in summer usually return with the front of the car filled with dead moths and flies.  Not so bad in the fall, but it can get very cold here at 42 degrees N Latitude.  I have a pretty clear south sky with a flat horizon, and I have had great success with low objects lately.  Now on to our regularly scheduled topic.

 

As the seasons change and Earth's orbit takes in different aspects of the night sky, astronomers are gifted with a revolving and never ending stream of deep sky objects to observe.  I usually observe by constellation, and it can take several years to complete a major project.  It took me seven seasons of spring observing to finish my work in Leo, for example.  However, having only one constellation per seasons is not enough, since as the night wears on the stars shift, and what was prominent at 9 pm is usually not so well suited at midnight.  So another prepared constellation can keep the observing program moving ahead.

 

Currently these are the constellations I am working on.  I have sheets prepared with object lists and stats, leaving room for written notes and for sketches.  Each page usually holds from 7-12 objects.  Sometimes a page can be completed easily in a few hours, but if the objects are faint galaxies, for instance, it could take several nights.  Objects I include on my lists include double stars, variables, important single stars, as well as all NGC and IC objects reachable with a 12" scope.  I also include objects from many other catalogues, as readers of this blog will have noted.  Leo had such a vast number of NGC objects that I was forced to mostly stick to that list, and even then it took years to see them all.

 

Early Summer Projects:  Ophiuchus and Hercules.  In Ophiuchus I am doing the whole deal, but since I have already done Hercules, I am concentrating on an intense double star list this time, gleaned from the incredible double star site Stelle Dopia, where astronomers can customize their own double star list.

 

Late Summer List:  Capricorn, Microscopium, and Aquarius.

 

Early Autumn List:  Aquarius and Cetus.  Cetus has already been a years' long project.

 

Late Autumn and Early Winter List:  Cetus and Triangulum.  Triangulum has just been added.

 

Winter and Early Spring List:  Triangulum and Camelopardolis.  Both are newly added, after my completion of Canis Major.  Puppis studies have also begun.  Sextans, Pyxis, Crater and Corvus are also prepared, when I have good skies south to the horizon.

 

Spring List:  Coma Berenices.  I am in for the long haul.

And so round and round it goes.  Next time I will provide a list of constellations that I have already thoroughly examined.  Notes for many of these can already be found elsewhere on this blog.

Mapman Mike

 

 

#149: Total Solar Eclipse 2024

It was a very successful trip to Ohio to view totality.  We were able to experience 3' 40" of totality, an experience never to be forgotten. We braved horrendous traffic both ways, not getting home until 11:20 pm.  We left home at 9:15 am that morning.  We aimed for a small town (Tiffin), but on arrival it seemed to be nothing but a circus event, with preachers bellowing, people getting married, loud music blasting from a live band, and general overcrowding.  So we returned north 10 miles to Wolf Creek Park, and found our paradise location for this important day.  First some facts.  The park was a medium sized picnic grounds, with a large open grassy area.  We had a large picnic shelter for shade, but set up our Edmund Astroscan scope (4 1/4" mirror) in the open.  We have a solar filter that fits over it at the front.  Our latitude was 41 17' N, and the longitude was 83 10' west.  We used three eyepieces giving 16x, 18x, and 25x.

Our observing site at Wolf Creek Park, Ohio.  Deb checks out sunspots.  Our grey VW Golf in behind Deb.  The scope is an old but trusty Astroscan from Edmund Scientific.

 

Another view of the scope and our viewing area.  We brought a picnic lunch and snacks.

 

We were joined by some young viewing enthusiasts.  Hayden (white jacket) had travelled from North Carolina to view the eclipse.  He is a photographer and physics student at UNCG, mostly interested in astrophysics.

Skies were mainly sunny with high wispy clouds.  It became a bit hazier during totality.  The temperature at the start was 71 F.  It dropped to 63 F during totality.  There were three sunspot groups today.  We labelled a large double one "AA".  A smaller though still large one was called "B", while a smaller group of four tiny spots we called "C".  Eclipse start time was 13:56:30  Totality began at 15:11:16, and lasted for 3' 40".  Sunspot group "AA" was eclipsed at 14:38:43, taking 1' 50" to completely vanish.  A big group!  We did not stay long after totality was complete.

The experience of viewing a total eclipse was completely mind-boggling.  The plentiful birdsong from the woods ceased suddenly, the afternoon breeze vanished, darkness was nearly total, and  very sudden.  For 3' 40" we witnessed the bright corona shooting out in all directions from behind the moon, as well as a very large solar flare in the south end.  Special glasses are not needed during totality, and would only show darkness.  We saw a twilight sky on the southeast and northwest horizons.  Light bark on tall poplar trees stood out as if luminous under black light.  We could discern light and shadow on the ground right up to the final seconds.  Then, suddenly, darkness arrived, the most mysterious kind of dim twilight one could ever imagine.  The 'diamond ring' was visible in the telescope just before totality, lasting perhaps 1-2 seconds, accompanied by two 'beads' of light.  Others saw the ring with their special glasses.  Then came the spellbinding sight of the very active solar corona, accompanied by a sizable and bright flare at the south end.  There was darkness, stillness, and a  general quiet that became almost overwhelming.  All of this was seen and experienced with all normal senses.  The telescope showed nothing until the sun reemerged.  Venus and Jupiter shone brightly through the thin hazy clouds, Venus ahead of the sun and Jupiter behind it.  But even though we were near the centre, and enjoyed a fairly long eclipse time, it was over far too quickly.  It seemed as if one minute had passed, instead of almost four.

We were accompanied at our site by three young friends, who remained with us during most of the event, including totality.  They were happy to use the Astroscan, and we were happy that one of them, Hayden, was a photographer and physics student.  All of the shots of the sun on this page were taken by Hayden Atchison.  Through the telescope eyepiece he used his iPhone; for totality shots he used his main camera.  I took the daylight ground shots.

There is no doubt that the eclipse was also a hugely spiritual experience.  We have had many such experiences in our lifetime, but this one was greatly intensified because of its brevity.  Imagine taking the time to listen to all of the Mahler symphonies.  Now condense that experience down to 3 minutes and 40 seconds.  Imagine carefully studying all of the paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and condensing all those special moments of revelation and delight into 3' 40".  Our climb to the summit of Wheeler Peak in New Mexico took an entire day, but still energizes our spirits years later.  Again, condense that emotional, physical, and spiritual event into 3' 40".  Then you might have something of the effect (and affect) of viewing a total eclipse in the woodlands of Ohio.  It also gave us a tiny sense of just what the Sun actually is--a vast nuclear furnace of a scale that goes well beyond our comprehension.

This event happens to be my 999th logged astronomical event!  I began by studying the moon with binoculars in November 1968, and am still an active amateur astronomer.  It is also the last entry in my 13th volume of detailed notes recording my observations of the past 56 years.  A lucky volume, indeed.

Here are a few of Hayden's photos.

 

Shot through the eyepiece with an iPhone. The two largest sunspot groups show up well here.

 

The 'B' sunspot group is about to be eclipsed.

Approaching totality.  The sun's horns were actually very sharply focused in the telescope.

 

Many people saw a 99% eclipse only, including Toronto.  Even when only 1% of the sun is exposed, it throws the same amount of light as 400 full moons!  We could see shadows right up until totality.  While a 99% eclipse is very impressive in its own way, it is more than 99% less than viewing a total one.

 

A beautiful shot of totality by Hayden!  A jet trail comes between the eclipse and Venus.  The solar flare can be seen at the south end.  It was very prominent visually.

 

Totality 2024.  All images of the sun, above, were taken by Hayden Atchison, a physics student at UNCG.

 

If you were in the path of totality this year and managed to see the eclipse, drop me a line with your impressions.  I would love to hear about them.

Mapman Mike 

#148: NGC List Update

 It has been a long time since I actually counted my personally observed and logged NGC list.  When I acquired the 12" scope back in 2013 I decided to try and view as many of the list available to my location (42 N Lat.).  It turns out that more than half of the 7800+ objects are viewable from where I am.  Obviously I will not get through more than 4000 of them.  Will I?  To reach a reasonably dark sky I now have to drive 38 miles from home.  So nearly 80 miles round trip.  Readers can imagine how happy I am when I get out there only to find that the forecast doesn't pan out, and it is cloudy.  It happens, and is all part of the game.  Try to outwit the sky conditions, and predict when I might get some work done.  I consider 10 objects, including double stars, to be a minimally decent enough night, or 5 deep sky objects.  I always aspire to 20 or more, which makes the drive worthwhile.  Nearly two hours of driving to get in 3 hours of observing.  Though often I could stay longer, my eyes usually tire after 3 hours.

This February 2024 has been the warmest in my astronomy career.  I managed to get out four times and do some great deep sky and double star work.  When that last session was complete I finally tallied my object list.  I do not maintain a count of the hundreds and hundreds of double stars I have seen, but I do of deep sky objects.  Here is my life total to date:

NGC objects:  2779 (!!!).

IC objects:  416.

Objects from other catalogues:  817.

Total deep sky list:  4012.

 

All objects are indexed, and I can find any object in my notes quickly and easily.  The ones I have seen are also underlined in red in my Uranometria atlas.

And a major milestone is rapidly approaching.  To date I have logged 989 observing sessions!  With luck and clear skies, I will reach my 1000th observation session sometime this spring!  I plan on baking a cake for that occasion.  What will I do on my 1000th observation?  Carry on with the great work.

Mapman Mike