Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Cloudy Nights - Official Forums of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu.... uh, User   You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Observing >> Deep Sky Observing Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 cdndob sage Reged: 07/28/06 Posts: 468 Loc: The Great White North First dark site trip in a while ...       #2613630 - 08/30/08 02:07 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Packed up the scope with accessories and headed out to a darker site last night, first dark site this year and long overdue. No matter how many times I see the milky way under dark skies it still amazes me to watch it pop out as your eyes adapt to the night. After unpacking the 12 inch "water-heater", that's what the GF calls it , I noticed something that wasn't there in the NE before ... skyglow. Turns out the nearby small town (population 20) got more street lights, great ... NOT! Anyway, most of my targets are not in that direction but I'll have to head further out in the future. Started off the night with Jupiter and then visiting some old friends, M31/M32/M110, M33, M11, M57, M27, double cluster and few others. Its always a real treat to see dust lanes in M31 from a darker site. Now that my eyes have gotten adapted and I'm starting to find my way around the sky again, I set out on my hit list of objects I haven't seen before. NGC7000, tried this one before with no luck but I've come prepared with a new Ultrablock filter. Had no luck naked eye with or without the filter but might have something in the finder scope with the filter. I centered it and put the filter into the scope .... yup, pretty sure I bagged it. Even though in the eyepiece you can only see parts of it the filter really defines the edges nicely, the gulf area very much so. This is also the time I had my first problem, no red light cap for the flashlight and no observing note book for notes and sketches. NGC7331 was up next which was fairly easy to find and framed up well in a 12.5mm plossl. I scanned the view for a while but couldn't pull out any other galaxies. Stephan's Quintet, this group I'm not sure about and is certainly much more difficult than 7331 itself. Without making a sketch I can't verify what I saw but it seemed to be two small slightly oval patches (very close together in the 12.5mm) that were on different angles, that's all I could make out anyways. Does this sound right? All in all a very good night observing! Steve -------------------- Post Extras:       Silicon Owl scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 11/25/05 Posts: 943 Loc: Waimea, Hawaii Re: First dark site trip in a while ... [Re: cdndob]       #2613948 - 08/30/08 05:39 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I always hate it when some new light shows up at an observing site! -------------------- Andrew Cooper Personal Website and CN Gallery Handmade 18" Dob / NS11GPS / 6" RFT / 90mm APO / TV-76 ...and a twin 10m "I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." --Sarah Williams Post Extras:       dengwer super member Reged: 02/14/06 Posts: 113 Loc: Texas Re: First dark site trip in a while ... [Re: Silicon Owl]       #2613964 - 08/30/08 05:48 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Steve, My notes show that I observed two patches of the Stephan's Quintet with 12" at dark location at 100X. Next time you're observing N.A. neb right off the east coast is the pelican. You should be able to distinguish the beak. With my 12" and Q70 38mm eyepiece (40X) and ultrablock I get a great view. David -------------------- ETX125AT Wife's ETX90RA Orion Ultra-View 10x50 Meade 12" Lightbridge Deluxe coronado PST Post Extras:       cdndob sage Reged: 07/28/06 Posts: 468 Loc: The Great White North Re: First dark site trip in a while ... [Re: dengwer]       #2615319 - 08/31/08 03:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   David, Thanks for the info, sounds like it probably was Stephan's Quintet. I did look for the pelican but it didn't seem obvious, much less brightness in that area. BTW, how's the 38mm Q70 in your 12" F/5? I've been thinking of getting a wider FOV EP than my 32mm plossl. -------------------- Post Extras:       dengwer super member Reged: 02/14/06 Posts: 113 Loc: Texas Re: First dark site trip in a while ... [Re: cdndob]       #2615444 - 08/31/08 05:07 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I really like it in my f5 scope with a 2" ultra block neb. filter for nebula viewing. It gives my about 1.75 deg. FOV. It does "OK"(coma) on clusters but I use it mainly on large nebulas ie. North Am/Pelican, Veil, dark nebula B142, and it's nice on M31 getting both companion galaxies in the FOV. David -------------------- ETX125AT Wife's ETX90RA Orion Ultra-View 10x50 Meade 12" Lightbridge Deluxe coronado PST Edited by dengwer (08/31/08 05:31 PM) Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 2 registered and 1 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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