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LDb
sage
Reged: 02/01/08
Posts: 344
Loc: Cleveland, Ohio
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Hello all
Thought I'd relate tonight's experience with the Virgo cluster. It wasn't the best night but the sky was decently calm at about Pickering 7 and Mag 4. So it was carpe diem.
I used my 10"LX200R-UHTC with Brandon eyepieces, generally 24mm for the galaxies (used the 8mm and 6mm for the planetary nebulae not in Virgo observed later in the evening). In all cases I used the DGM-Omega GCE filter for the galaxies and once again found that it is a great filter for this purpose. With it, galaxies popped into view, even the very low surface brightness objects. Without it -- many were difficult at best.
So here's what I saw without any ambiguity tonight:
Messier (in no particular order): 60, 59, 58, 90, 89, 87, 91, 88, 49, 61, 66, 65, 98, 99, 100, 85, 53, 86 and 84 (part of markarian's chain as well as various of the NGC objects in the chain which I did not record tonight).
Also took in M51 and M81/82 galaxies becase I like them and M3, M5, M13 globulars, as well as M57, and M27 because they are fascinating too (I use the DGM-Omega OIII filter for the planetaries an have reported on this filter in another thread).
I find once again that the Meade optics (well collimated) are actually quite good and that the Brandon eyepieces are just excellent performers for Deep Space objects.
All in all not a bad night and Virgo was a very nice place to spend a few hours.
On Edit -- an addition: Another night with Virgo
In an almost unheard of phenomenon we had a second (and even better) clear night this weekend. It was an easy Pickering 8 or 9 (very calm sky) and honest Mag 5. So out I went again between 9:00 pm and 4:00 am -- I went back to Virgo and looked up Markarian's chain -- same equipment as mentioned previously -- and here's what I saw:
M86, M84, and NGC objects: 4435, 4438, 4458, 4461, 4473, 4479, 4477, 4425, 4459, 4388
Also looked up M52, M3, M4, M5, and M92 because they're pretty.
Like always - it's amazing how hours disappear at the eyepiece. A couple of good nights here in the normally awful photon-rich environment we have in suburban Cleveland, Ohio.
Clear skies,
Howard
Edited by LDb (06/02/08 11:18 AM)
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Jeff Lee
sage
Reged: 09/17/06
Posts: 387
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I did a similar viewing about a month ago (last time it was clear:(, having O'meara's book beside me made it a very cool experience.
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Jeff Lee
C90,C5,C8, 10 x 50's
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LDb
sage
Reged: 02/01/08
Posts: 344
Loc: Cleveland, Ohio
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Quote:
I did a similar viewing about a month ago (last time it was clear:(, having O'meara's book beside me made it a very cool experience.
Hi Jeff
Definitely a cool experience to see the clusters of galaxies and get a sense of real structure in the universe with our own eyes. My Clear Sky Clock says tonight will be a really good night. I hope so -- no sleep again. 
Clear skies,
Howard
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10" LX200R-UHTC (on ScopeBuggy which is terrific)
ETX-90-RA
ATM'ed-8"f/8 and 4.25"f/10 planetary Newtonians
Brandon eyepieces: 48mm,32mm,24mm,7/8",12mm,16mm,8mm,6mm,4mm (yes-4mm; special build in 1985 from 1960 optics)
Dakin 2.4x Barlow
Vintage ep's:
Gailand 7mm WF, 16.3mm (THE Galoc), Bertele 18mm
Siebert Optics:
Black Knight BinoViewer, 0.6x-1x-2x Power Wheel, 4x-8x telecentric zoom barlow
Astro-Tech Titan WF ep's: 38mm, 32mm, 26mm, 20mm, 15mm, 10mm
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Achernar
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3720
Loc: Alabama, USA
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I observed dozens of galaxies in Virgo over the past month or so, including some of the ones to the east and south of Spica. NGC-5746 looks a lot like the far better known NGC-4565 in Coma Berenices. The galaxies NGC-5846, 5846A, 5850 and NGC-5836 make a nice quartet in the eyepiece. NGC-5701 and 5740 are both nice and easy objects in their own right. The pair NGC-5363 and 5364 show a vivid contrast, one being faint, round and face on, the other more edge on and very bright. The area around Spica and to the south is swarming with brighter galaxies too numerous to list. Every year I look at more galaxies in Virgo I've never seen before, and there's no shortage of more galaxies to look at. It's impossible to do all the brighter galaxies there justice, there's just so many of them.
Taras
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10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
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Thunderhead
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/27/05
Posts: 562
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
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Nice report! If I ever get DECENT weather ( apart from smoke, fog and haze),Virgo will be my first stop.
Quote:
Like always - it's amazing how hours disappear at the eyepiece. A couple of good nights here in the normally awful photon-rich environment we have in suburban Cleveland, Ohio.
lol time does seem to FLY when you're at the eyepiece, doesn't it? Even all nighters...it's all over too soon!
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SAB - Melbourne, Australia
GSO 10" F5 Dob with flocking & dewshield
12" (304mm) F4.6 truss dob with premium optics
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