I went out observing after a really long time last night. It was a
combination of work, thesis, bad skies and usual crap. But.... We had a
spectacular observing session, something I really enjoyed.
First things:
We had to give a tour of our observatory for a bunch of undergrads. Then we
set up our scopes for some visual observations.
It gets dark pretty late here, like 2230 ish so we had to wait agonizingly
for the light to disappear. So we just pointed to Saturn, Mars etc. It was
just the slowest time I have spent. But 11 ishj it was quite clear to look
East, still we couldn't do West because of the twilight.
M13 - It was fabulous! One of the best M13 I have seen. I could clearly
make out the central core stars. I could nearly count the edge stars. The
bright core was still not washing out most of the core stars. It was just
incredible. I thought if I stared long enough I could calculate the angular
separation between central stars.
M92 - This was also beautiful, again the central core was almost entirely
resolved. But, this cluster is so small that it was very hard actually see
the whole globular, what we did was stare for a bit and then once the image
is imprinted in ur head, do averted vision and you can resolve core stars.
Its kind of like doing an unsharp mask, but then hey we just want great
views right?
M57 - I wanted to see this for sometime now, I lost it towards the end of
winter so I just wanted to see it again. It was beautiful! I could clearly
make out the two rings and see the small material flowing outward with
averted vision. It was still low in the East and GFK was washing out most
of the details.
M3 - This was the best globular of the night! Seriously, I haven't seen
this before, which is funny, but it was just BRILLIANT. You could clearly
make out the core stars even better than M13. It was bright almost to the
edges. That kind of glow is really eerie for a globular when you think
about it. I was just thinking about the old adage of galaxies and globulars
differentiation etc.
Sombrero: Really well outlined, I could make out the top and bottom cone
and see the dust lane. Yeah I was staring almost for a minute. It was just
magnificent.
NGC 4565- I am sure Akarsh and Amar have seen this some N-number of times
and will scoff at me for making a big deal of it, but man was this amazing!
The pleasure of DSO was really becoming apparent. I could stare and stare
and the longer I looked the more I could see. Firstly it was a nice
resolved edge on. I mean you could see the pancake shape. But as I stared
I could clearly make out the dust lane, clearly see the conical center
tapering off to where the central jet should be(I don't know if it has).
More staring revealed a small little galaxy like thing off the field. Not
sure if this had any real substance or I was hallucinating,
M57- again- this time it was a lot higher and boy did that make a
difference! You could clearly make out material coming from the center to
the edges.
By this time it was 12 am, we all had work to go to this morning(I am
slacking off reporting this!) and so we packed up and left.
Small session made really really awesome with the seeing.
-- Regards
Rakesh Nath
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in
delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." Carl Sagan
Somehow, the grad -> undergrad connection is really weak at my
university. Also, I get the impression that the observatory operators
at my university are underinformed / disinterested. UND is fortunate
to have someone as interested and well-informed as you operating the
observatory.
> M57 - I wanted to see this for sometime now, I lost it towards the end of
> winter so I just wanted to see it again. It was beautiful! I could clearly
> make out the two rings and see the small material flowing outward with
What do you mean by two rings?
> averted vision. It was still low in the East and GFK was washing out most
> of the details.
> M3* - This was the best globular of the night! Seriously, I haven't seen
> this before, which is funny, but it was just BRILLIANT. You could clearly
> make out the core stars even better than M13. It was bright almost to the
> edges. That kind of glow is really eerie for a globular when you think
> about it. I was just thinking about the old adage of galaxies and
> globulars differentiation etc.
Really? Most people like M 13 over M 3. It's probably a matter of
surface brightness. In large telescopes, under very dark skies, M 13
wins, because surface brightness is not an issue (and M 13 is better
resolved). M 3 might be more interesting from light polluted regions
since it has much higher surface brightness than M 13.
> NGC 4565- I am sure Akarsh and Amar have seen this some N-number of times
> and will scoff at me for making a big deal of it, but man was this
> amazing! The pleasure of DSO was really becoming apparent. I could stare
> and stare and the longer I looked the more I could see. Firstly it was a
> nice resolved edge on. I mean you* could see the pancake shape. But as I
> stared I could clearly make out the dust lane, clearly see the conical
> center tapering off to where the central jet should be(I don't know if it
> has). More staring revealed a small little galaxy like thing off the
> field. Not sure if this had any real substance or I was hallucinating,
So from the looks of it, it looks like you have fairly light polluted
skies (or the telescope is somewhat out of maintenance). This is a
very bright DSO, but even the brightest DSOs become difficult
challenge objects from light polluted skies. That's a lot of detail to
extract.
How dark are your skies?
> By this time it was 12 am, we all had work to go to this morning(I am
> slacking off reporting this!) and so we packed up and left.
> Small session made really really awesome with the seeing.
On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Akarsh Simha <akarshsi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Must be fun to brainwash undergrads ;-)
> Somehow, the grad -> undergrad connection is really weak at my
> university. Also, I get the impression that the observatory operators
> at my university are underinformed / disinterested. UND is fortunate
> to have someone as interested and well-informed as you operating the
> observatory.
Aw.. *gushes in pride* thanks man :)
> > M57 - I wanted to see this for sometime now, I lost it towards the
> end of
> > winter so I just wanted to see it again. It was beautiful! I could
> clearly
> > make out the two rings and see the small material flowing outward with
> What do you mean by two rings?
Oh you know the outer main ring and there is this color separation for the
inner ring. I don't know the physics behind it but I think you have
multiple rings of materials based on densities and escape velocities.
> > averted vision. It was still low in the East and GFK was washing out
> most
> > of the details.
> > M3* - This was the best globular of the night! Seriously, I haven't
> seen
> > this before, which is funny, but it was just BRILLIANT. You could
> clearly
> > make out the core stars even better than M13. It was bright almost to
> the
> > edges. That kind of glow is really eerie for a globular when you think
> > about it. I was just thinking about the old adage of galaxies and
> > globulars differentiation etc.
> So from the looks of it, it looks like you have fairly light polluted
> skies (or the telescope is somewhat out of maintenance). This is a
> very bright DSO, but even the brightest DSOs become difficult
> challenge objects from light polluted skies. That's a lot of detail to
> extract.
> How dark are your skies?
Ah yes we had light pollution in the West, it was called twilight at 11 pm
#NODAKproblems
> Nice :)
> Good start at DSO amateur stuff :-P
Grr............... Will get you for this!
-- Regards
Rakesh Nath
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in
delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." Carl Sagan
Rakesh, I have not seen this galaxy N-number of times. Infact there is no object like that. Akarsh has seen it more times than me though, courtesy him being still visually active, additionally with extra large apertures.
You have not even mentioned with which scope you were observing? And in detail how skies were.
Akarsh, M3 can get striking at times. I remember it as a twin of M5, which is resolved to core with stars sparkling. M13 gets to be average under bad conditions. Sometimes M5 (then eventually even M3) appears nearly like M22 under great conditions.
Its feels so long having last done astronomy. I resisted from posting the CCD imaging report of early May which was woefully bad, lest I resort to poetically depicting the session which did not work out.
Now the new moon is coming again and I will have a shot if the skies stay clear for sometime. I have to capture the long awaited Fireworks galaxy, Stephan's Quintet, the thin edge-on galaxy NGC 7640, some faint comets, asteroids and supernovae, and other interesting unheard-of targets in the morning sky.
Watch out for some new pictures in the coming week.
--- On Wed, 6/13/12, Rakesh Nath <rakn...@gmail.com> wrote:
M3 - This was the best globular of the night! Seriously, I haven't seen this before, which is funny, but it was just BRILLIANT. You could clearly make out the core stars even better than M13. It was bright almost to the edges.
NGC 4565- I am sure Akarsh and Amar have seen this some N-number of times and will scoff at me for making a big deal of it, but man was this amazing!
On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 09:43:01AM -0700, Amar wrote:
> Rakesh, I have not seen this galaxy N-number of times. Infact there is no
> object like that. Akarsh has seen it more times than me though, courtesy
> him being still visually active, additionally with extra large apertures.
I probably have never seen it with the 25" -- not really a favorite on
large telescopes. NGC 891 is a much nicer edge on, IMO.
On large telescopes, edge-ons aren't the showpieces any more... it's
the face-on's.
> Akarsh, M3 can get striking at times. I remember it as a twin of M5, which
> is resolved to core with stars sparkling. M13 gets to be average under bad
> conditions. Sometimes M5 (then eventually even M3) appears nearly like M22
> under great conditions.
Yeah, while M13 is really the king of Northern globulars, M3 wins over
M13 under light-polluted skies, probably because of higher surface
brightness.
> Its feels so long having last done astronomy. I resisted from posting the
> CCD imaging report of early May which was woefully bad, lest I resort to
> poetically depicting the session which did not work out.
It seems clear now-adays. Any plans for any time soon? Isn't today the
newmoon?
> Now the new moon is coming again and I will have a shot if the skies stay
> clear for sometime. I have to capture the long awaited Fireworks galaxy,
> Stephan's Quintet, the thin edge-on galaxy NGC 7640, some faint comets,
> asteroids and supernovae, and other interesting unheard-of targets in the
> morning sky.
Ah, looking forward to Stephan's quintet and Fireworks.
Akarsh, upcoming Tuesday 19th is the new moon.
It seems clear, yeah, but then there's a law of life which governs more than the looks of it. Murphy's Law, which can be rephrased in anyway: Skies will NOT be clear only on the day you are out for observing, they will be one day before and after. [As happened to me in the horrific incident during April - I was clouded out for whooping 12 nights at stretch, the very NEXT night on was sparkling clear!]
I will be out of internet connection for next couple of days. If successful, I will come back and post reports and images next Thursday or so.
If skies are clear anything can happen, so much can happen. I only await it staying clear for the upcoming nights, before we head into proper monsoons. I have no doubt made the best use of the CCD from having touched a CCD for the first time in my life to gathering faint object data, in a mere 4 weeks of activity! However I feel its been under-utilized, according to my expectations and energy level; there could have been more only if the skies that I lost out were clearer.
If you are free please drop by with me for CCD night or two.
--- On Sat, 6/16/12, Akarsh Simha <akarshsi...@gmail.com> wrote:
Yeah, while M13 is really the king of Northern globulars, M3 wins over
M13 under light-polluted skies, probably because of higher surface
brightness.
It seems clear now-adays. Any plans for any time soon? Isn't today the
newmoon?
Ah, looking forward to Stephan's quintet and Fireworks.
> Akarsh, upcoming Tuesday 19th is the new moon.
> It seems clear, yeah, but then there's a law of life which governs more
> than the looks of it. Murphy's Law, which can be rephrased in anyway:
> Skies will NOT be clear only on the day you are out for observing, they
> will be one day before and after. [As happened to me in the horrific
> incident during April - I was clouded out for whooping 12 nights at
> stretch, the very NEXT night on was sparkling clear!]
> I will be out of internet connection for next couple of days. If
> successful, I will come back and post reports and images next Thursday or
> so.
It might be worth a try. What are nearby observing sites? Is anyone
free for Tuesday observing?
> If skies are clear anything can happen, so much can happen. I only await
> it staying clear for the upcoming nights, before we head into proper
> monsoons. I have no doubt made the best use of the CCD from having touched
> a CCD for the first time in my life to gathering faint object data, in a
> mere 4 weeks of activity! However I feel its been under-utilized,
> according to my expectations and energy level; there could have been more
> only if the skies that I lost out were clearer.
> If you are free please drop by with me for CCD night or two.
> > Akarsh, upcoming Tuesday 19th is the new moon.
> > It seems clear, yeah, but then there's a law of life which governs
> more
> > than the looks of it. Murphy's Law, which can be rephrased in anyway:
> > Skies will NOT be clear only on the day you are out for observing,
> they
> > will be one day before and after. [As happened to me in the horrific
> > incident during April - I was clouded out for whooping 12 nights at
> > stretch, the very NEXT night on was sparkling clear!]
> > I will be out of internet connection for next couple of days. If
> > successful, I will come back and post reports and images next
> Thursday or
> > so.
> It might be worth a try. What are nearby observing sites? Is anyone
> free for Tuesday observing?
> > If skies are clear anything can happen, so much can happen. I only
> await
> > it staying clear for the upcoming nights, before we head into proper
> > monsoons. I have no doubt made the best use of the CCD from having
> touched
> > a CCD for the first time in my life to gathering faint object data,
> in a
> > mere 4 weeks of activity! However I feel its been under-utilized,
> > according to my expectations and energy level; there could have been
> more
> > only if the skies that I lost out were clearer.
> > If you are free please drop by with me for CCD night or two.
> No 17.5"?
> Regards
> Akarsh
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "The Bangalore
> Astronomical Society" mailing list.
> To post to this group, send email to b-a-s@googlegroups.com
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> b-a-s-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups-beta.google.com/group/b-a-s?hl=en
-- Regards
Rakesh Nath
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in
delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." Carl Sagan
On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 12:54:52PM -0500, Rakesh Nath wrote:
> I really want to observe Stephen's quintet. Apparently its a real group of
> 5 galaxies that was the first compact group to be discovered.
Yeah, I haven't pointed a scope at it myself, although someone did
show me the grouping at a star party with their 16".
The Hickson catalog has some bright showpieces that are interesting,
and very feasible targets:
1. The Box (4 galaxies; I've not tried)
2. Stephen's Quintet (5 galaxies; seen through a 16")
3. Seyfert's Sextet (6 galaxies; resolved in a 25" -- was somewhat difficult)
4. Copeland Septet (7 galaxies)
5. Hickson 44 (the brightest bunch; seen through 17.5")
I need to find an Octet to complete the series. Then there's the
Nonnet in the Virgo cluster (was one of our favorites to show at every
star party in BAS). There's also the Grus Quartet.
So then we have: Grus Quartet, Stephen's Quintet, Seyfert's Sextet,
Copeland's Septet, ____, and the Nonnet in Virgo! :D
On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 1:43 PM, Akarsh Simha <akarshsi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 12:54:52PM -0500, Rakesh Nath wrote:
> > I really want to observe Stephen's quintet. Apparently its a real
> group of
> > 5 galaxies that was the first compact group to be discovered.
> Yeah, I haven't pointed a scope at it myself, although someone did
> show me the grouping at a star party with their 16".
> The Hickson catalog has some bright showpieces that are interesting,
> and very feasible targets:
> 1. The Box (4 galaxies; I've not tried)
> 2. Stephen's Quintet (5 galaxies; seen through a 16")
> 3. Seyfert's Sextet (6 galaxies; resolved in a 25" -- was somewhat
> difficult)
> 4. Copeland Septet (7 galaxies)
> 5. Hickson 44 (the brightest bunch; seen through 17.5")
> I need to find an Octet to complete the series. Then there's the
> Nonnet in the Virgo cluster (was one of our favorites to show at every
> star party in BAS). There's also the Grus Quartet.
> So then we have: Grus Quartet, Stephen's Quintet, Seyfert's Sextet,
> Copeland's Septet, ____, and the Nonnet in Virgo! :D
> Regards
> Akarsh
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "The Bangalore
> Astronomical Society" mailing list.
> To post to this group, send email to b-a-s@googlegroups.com
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> b-a-s-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups-beta.google.com/group/b-a-s?hl=en
-- Regards
Rakesh Nath
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in
delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." Carl Sagan
