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