The Olcott Project: Adventures with a 2" Telescope--Night 8
I am pretty far behind in my reporting on this blog. I still have one more entry to complete for the Sagittarius deep sky report with the 12". Watch for it soon.
This observation with Space Eye, our 2" 600mm refractor, took place back on Nov. 2nd, a warm and very clear night. Six objects were added to the list, including four Messier objects (all clusters) and two double stars.
Object #26--Messier 39: 31'; mag. 4.6; Br. * mag. 7; 25 *s
This large, loose open cluster in Cygnus makes for really fine viewing in our 2" glass. Easily found near Pi 2 and P Cygni, it is best viewed at 25x and 30x. Its large size fills the eyepiece with stars, both bright and dim. A nice showpiece for Space Eye.
Messier 39
http://www.celestronimages.com/data/media/5/m39.jpg
Object #27--Messier 29: 10'; mag. 6.6; Br. * mag. 9
Tiny and intriguing at 30x, this little cluster bares magnification well, showing a dozen or so stars at 60x and 75x. Not a showpiece in the 2", it is none the less a fun object to view. Located not far from Gamma, which is in a grand area of Cygnus for slow motion sweeping at low power.
Messier 29
http://www.pictorobservatory.ca/html/messier.htm
Object #28-- Sigma Cass: 5.1-8.7/3"
This is a really fine object in the 12" at 136x. Would Space Eye have even the ghost of a chance of splitting it? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. At 30x it was not split. At 60x and 75x I thought I saw something very close, very faint, and very tiny. For the first time we used our 6 mm eyepiece, giving the 2" refractor a power of 100. Split!! Very tricky, and for expert double star observers only, and in very good sky conditions.
Sigma Cass.
http://www.deepskywatch.com/images/sketches/Sigma-Cassiopea-sketch-s.jpg
Object #29--Lambda Aurigae: 5.2-8.7/104"
Three companions can be seen some distance away from the primary star. We took the brightest one as the object Olcott reports on. This is a lovely area filled with interesting star fields. Take some time and look around.
Lambda, along with 3 Messier clusters in Auriga.
Object #30--Messier 38: 15'; mag. 6.4; Br. * mag. 8; 160 *s
Large but quite faint, it resembles a sizable hazy cloud. Resolution is fair at 30x, but better at 40x. A 2" glass has to work full out on this one! It is a lovely sight, though too faint to use 60x effectively.
M38
http://i2.wp.com/www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/m38.gif
Object #31--Messier 36: 10'; mag. 6; Br. * mag. 9; 60 *s
A bright and glorious open cluster in a 2" scope; the full range of magnifications can be used effectively. 25x and 30x give fine views, but increasing to 40x and 60x is even better. While the stars are not countless, there are an impressive amount of them. Highly recommended for small scopes!
M36
We tried unsuccessfully to locate M37, and will try again another time. In the meantime we are nearly a third of the way through our project. I hope you will continue to follow our adventures, and feel free to comment on your own views with small scopes. Until next time, may you have clear skies.
Mapman Mike
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