#41 Monthly Summary #1, February-March 2014

It continues to be a long, drawn out winter of misery, unless you happen to like very cold air and plenty of snow.  There hasn't been much in the way of astronomy observations to report on until now.  I had a session on Nov. 30th and another on Dec. 27th that needs mentioning.  So far in 2014 I have managed three sessions, all of them very cold ones. There were none in January, two in February, and one to date in March.

In late 2013 I inched along in Cetus and Cassiopeia.  I only have about 9 objects remaining in Cassiopeia.  Cetus continues to prove difficult due to poor south skies, but I may have recently come across a solution for this (a somewhat distant site looks promising).

Winter 2014 brings me back to Lepus (another poor sky area for me) and Monoceros (somewhat better, as it is higher).  I am hoping to try my new dark sky site after next full moon to locate some Lepus galaxies.  I will now report on progress within each constellation.  All observations were with the 12" Orion Intelliscope.

Cassiopeia

IC Catalogue
oc 1805  Fine cluster with some nebulosity (using filter).  Large, with many bright members.

Other Catalogues
oc Cz 9:  2 brighter stars involved with small cloud of fainter ones.
oc Cz 10:  8 stars at 200x.  More impressive asterism almost adjacent.
oc King 4:  Decent group showing about 20 stars between 100x and 200x.
oc Mrk 6:  Bright stars, okay for smaller scopes, too.
oc Tom 4:  Not many stars, and all very faint.  12" resolves well at 150x.

Cetus

NGC Catalogue
eg 64:  Glimpsed at 125x.  Ghostly, oval, and requires a very good sky.
eg 102:  Very faint oval patch at 125x, though less faint than eg 64.
eg 191:  Easily seen, big and round.  IC eg 1563 attached.
eg 7821:  A "slash" galaxy, seen clearly at 125x and 150x.  Possible stellar core.

Lepus

NGC Catalogue

gc 1904 (M 79):  The official sighting of this object, which I have viewed informally many times, was the best view I've had of it from my light-polluted back deck.  It was an outstanding night with low humidity, and I could actually see the stars in Lepus with naked eye.  Wonderful globular!  Very bright at 60x.  More stars resolved with each increase in power.  I used up to 200x to steadily resolve about 20 stars, with many more winking in and out.  I also had my best view ever of Jupiter that night, watching the red spot transit.  It was Sunday, Feb. 23rd.  It was 21 F (-9 C).

Monoceros

NGC Catalogue

oc 2251:  Attached on the north end to oc Bas 8 (see below).  Elongated, perhaps crescent-shaped cluster, seen well up to 125x.  Medium large, with brightest star a lovely and close double.

gn 2261:  Variable R was seen easily tonight.  "Hubble's Variable Nebulae" is an outstanding sight in a 12" mirror.  I saw it best with no filter.  High magnifications work well here.

IC Catalogue

gn 448:  A poor object, seen best with sky-glow filter (though it is reflection-type).  Oval haze surrounding bright star 13 Monoceros.  Nearby is 14, a good double star.  It's in a line of three, pointing towards oc Bas 8 and oc 2251.

Other  Catalogues

oc Bas 7:  Immediately following oc 2251.  A faint, curving line of stars leads to the main body.  Reminds me of a mini Hydra.  Not noticed in my milky sky until 100x.

oc Bas 8:  Lovely orange and blue double near the center, the brightest one in this large group.  I counted 35 stars at 60x.  Easy to hop between it and oc 2251, which are attached on maps.  Obviously 2251 is much further away.

oc Tr 5:  Hopelessly faint stars (below mag. 17); all that can be glimpsed here is a very faint, large patch.  Even 18" telescopes will have trouble resolving this group, which is reportedly quite rich in stars.

Mapman Mike

#39 Winter Observing In Canada

When November (2013) rolled around I had great plans for upcoming observing sessions.  Not a whole lot became of my plans.  One of the severest winters in memory struck (and continues to strike), dashing hopes of getting much of anything accomplished.  A few looks at Jupiter here, a couple of the Orion Nebula there.   Obscenely cold temperatures coupled with high winds, along with continually falling and blowing snow made even the most stalwart observer helpless and confused.  I managed two sessions in November, one in December, none in January, and two in February.  Though we had more clear nights than that, they were simply unusable.

It's not that we don't have the clothing for it, though the one weak link in the chain continues to be good gloves.  Being able to switch an eyepiece, focus properly, turn a page from the map book or hold a pencil is impossible if fingers are properly protected.  And if they aren't, then watch out!  Here is a list of my typical winter gear for observing.

-lined pants (extremely warm!)

-snow pants overtop

-T-Max Heat* thermal base layer shirt, long sleeves.

-turtle neck sweater

-T-Max Heat* sweater, zippered high

-light jogging jacket, zippered tight

-snorkel parka, full length, synthetic down

-warm socks

- heavy over-socks, T-Max Heat*

-lined winter boots

-winter ear band

-toque

-jacket hood, if required

-two pair light gloves (dollar store), with T-Max Heat* hand warmers inside

-pair of large, very bulky, very warm winter mittens overtop double gloves.  Mitten comes off temporarily for eyepiece or other work.

*T-Max is part of Wind River brand, sold at Marks Work Warehouse in Canada

It takes quite a while to get dressed and ready to go outside!  And once dressed, you must go outside or you will faint!  Now the back deck must be prepared, too.  The home site is inundated with light pollution from nearby subdivisions and county roads.  The south sky is polluted by the lights of my hometown, Amherstburg, Ontario.  We erect tarps on two sides (south and east) to protect our eyes from oncoming traffic headlights.  A third side is protected by the garage which is attached to our house (west), and the fourth side from a large hedge (north).  Our north and west sky is polluted by lights from the Windsor/Detroit megapolis.  If it is too windy we cannot erect the tarps, and thus we cannot observe.  Our best sky is overhead and east, though we have no problems with clusters, nebula, double stars etc, in almost any direction.  Finding galaxies is a challenge.

Now it's time to set up the two telescopes.  The 12" takes about fifteen minutes from basement to deck, while the 6" requires less than five minutes.  In conclusion, serious winter observing is a huge undertaking.  I remember our first session in February of this year (2014).  We got set up, began observing, and clouds rolled in.  We waited patiently for an hour before calling things off.  In came the scopes, down came the tarps, off came the clothing.  Suddenly, it cleared up and remained clear the rest of the night!  We had no ambition to redo our setup, so we just remained indoors and in bad moods the rest of the night.

Finally, on the night of the 23rd of February, we hit the jackpot!  Clear skies, light winds, and temperatures that were tolerable if one was properly dressed (-6 C).  We were very snug in our little environment, and the observing was top notch!  I observed a number of deep sky objects and had the best look at Jupiter I ever have.  The red spot was in the very center of the planet (though north of the equator), and was so distinct and three dimensional that it just popped out at the viewer.  It was a deep orange, almost the same colour as Hind's Crimson Star in Lepus.  Detail on the equatorial belts was similarly astounding!

Lepus is my current winter constellation, and though very few of the fine galaxies within its borders can be seen from my deck, the double star viewing is amazing.  Several highlights of Lepus include M 79 (I had my finest view of it ever that night, resolving nearly 20 stars with the 12" in a very low and light polluted area of sky), Hind's Crimson Star (which I always check on during any winter session), a multiple star that also has an NGC designation (oc 2017), and double stars galore.  My favourite doubles are Kappa, a difficult object if south skies are too fluid, Gamma (lovely in very small scopes, too), ADS 4741 (a stunning triple), h 3750 and h 3752.  Also of interest in Lepus is pn IC 418.  Although it requires a large aperture and very high power (and thus a night of good seeing) to see much, observing the famous "Spirograph Nebula" is also a highlight of spending an hour or two in Lepus.  The nebula can be seen in small scopes, but it is tiny.  If a dark south sky is available, there are any number of galaxies to visit, several within range of 6" scopes.  Sadly my home sky does not permit this.

While overall winter observing this year was fraught with obstacles, even one or two good nights make the season worthwhile.  As Spring slowly begins to overpower Old Man Winter I will begin to observe in Monoceros, and then Leo.  Nights will still be cold for some time, but hopefully we will be able to make use of  them a little more often.

Mapman Mike