OR: Eastern Sierra in five parts

[Akarsh Simha]

Just finished part one of five: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part1.html

Regards

Akarsh

[Dan Smiley]

Akarsh someone should follow you and do a film feature it's pretty amazing what you do. great OR look forward to the rest

[Akarsh Simha]

On Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 9:29 AM 'Dan Smiley' via The Astronomy Connection (TAC) <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Akarsh someone should follow you and do a film feature it's pretty amazing what you do. great OR look forward to the rest

Dan that's a very generous compliment, thank you. I do think that what we as amateur astronomers do is unique and it makes a lot of sense to attempt to convey some of the fun of this hobby through video. Many YouTubers have done this very successfully including Will Young (DeepSkyDude), who's a friend. The rest are mostly astrophotographers. So I did start a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@deepskyadventures -- but I realized two things:

(1) recording good video footage is another hobby and not visual observing -- it takes up effort and it anyway doesn't convey what you experience with your eyes as well as an OR or a sketch does

(2) editing video is a pain. I have plenty of footage (including some that I recorded this run), but I would much rather write ORs, make observing lists, or work on my telescope than editing video. I keep telling myself that I'll give it a shot, but it hasn't happened yet. The barrier has reduced now that I can do it on my laptop (which single-boots Linux) because KDEnlive worked for me last time: I can't seem to get my old MacMini up and running; I know how to deal with Linux much better (despite my employment history)

I will, in due course, bring up some footage of a more recent observing trip. Right now, there's only video of the time that Tarun and I went to the Warners in 2023. I have some footage from Death Valley runs in 2024, and also some from this year, including the making of the 28-inch rocker box to work on.

Regarding (1), there is one visual observer I'm acquainted with who does videos observing reports, and that's Karl a.k.a. GalaxyMan:

https://www.youtube.com/user/GalaxyLog4565

His videos are certainly popular and he does very good sketches. I met him at NEAF earlier this year through Josh Wright.

I would rather like to make videos that capture the "surroundings" of visual observing because I feel pretty satisfied in sharing the experience of the deep-sky through writing and sketches, similar to what DeepSkyDude does for star parties.

Regards

Akarsh

On Friday, September 26, 2025 at 1:59:25 AM UTC-7 akars...@gmail.com wrote:

Just finished part one of five: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part1.html

Regards

Akarsh

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[Akarsh Simha]

Part 2: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part2.html

Clear Skies

Akarsh

[Ted Hauter]

Outstanding -

USA needs to purchase Baja. South California.  What they always wanted...

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[Howard Banich]

Great stuff Akarsh, I'm looking forward to your next installments!

Howard

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[Rod Brown]

My favorite quote: "Deep-sky observing is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." :-)

[Ted Hauter]

The definition of sanity...

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[Rod Brown]

Exactly. So by the transitive property of aphorisms….

On Sep 27, 2025, at 8:55 AM, Ted Hauter <thgo...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Richard Navarrete]

Another awesome OR. You could make a nice ‘zine from this trip.

I’ve observed 93 of the Hickson’s. I think the other 7 (20, 24,26,27,28,29, and 43) are beyond my aging eyes and 18” scope. 

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Akarsh Simha]

Thank you for the feedback folks. Rod, I will admit I was proud when I came up with that quote. I also used it in the "Insanity" tab of the Calstar observing lists you are familiar with. It's interesting how variable sky conditions are and how dependent the views of threshold deep-sky features are on them.

Richard, that is a fantastic score on the Hicksons. Really. I remember wrestling with some tough Hicksons like HCG 17 which are not in your omitted list. Also surprising is the absence of HCG 50. I'll get there some day. I'm now at 72 out of 100 Hickson groups. For Hickson 50, I used the "phone a friend" lifeline and looked at it with Jimi's 48-inch.

Regards

Akarsh

[Akarsh Simha]

Here is Part 3: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part3.html

Regards

Akarsh

[Richard Navarrete]

Thanks, Akarsh. I saw at least one member of the Hickson’s I count as observed. I certainly haven’t seen every member. There were plenty of ‘did not see’ descriptions .

I cheated on Hickson 50. A group of us had hints of it in Paul Alsing’s 25” Obsession at GSSP a while back.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Howard Banich]

I love your sense of adventure Akarsh - driving to a new observing site by yourself takes a not inconsiderable amount of bravery. I’m not sure how I would have reacted to your mystery beast!

Howard

On Sep 27, 2025, at 6:26 PM, 'Richard Navarrete' via The Astronomy Connection (TAC) <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

 Thanks, Akarsh. I saw at least one member of the Hickson’s I count as observed. I certainly haven’t seen every member. There were plenty of ‘did not see’ descriptions .

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/563942166.810532.1759022788249%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Alan Agrawal]

Great report Akarsh!  And I loved your photos.  

Ordered a Benchmark atlas - looks good.  

Best,

Alan

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[Arvind K]

Outstanding Akarsh. 

The writing style and content (location, effort, targets, experiences, pictures) are so engaging,  informative, and entertaining at the same time. 

Thank you for sharing

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[Akarsh Simha]

On Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 7:35 AM Arvind K <bas...@gmail.com> wrote:

Outstanding Akarsh. 

The writing style and content (location, effort, targets, experiences, pictures) are so engaging,  informative, and entertaining at the same time. 

Thank you for sharing

Thank you, Arvind. I have to give credit where due, I am trying my best to emulate my heroes in this hobby. When it comes to writing, reading the Barnard's Star article in S&T by Howard really changed my perspective on what it means to be a deep-sky observer. It reinforced that the motivations for our pursuit of this hobby may, for many of us, stem from an emotional desire to connect to our place in the universe; and that I would be doing a disservice if I didn't acknowledge it in my writing. As far as the targets and describing them, reading reports of and observing alongside Steve has certainly influenced how I log -- he paints a picture of what he saw with words in a way I'm still far from being able to do.

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[Akarsh Simha]

And here is Part 4: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part4.html it may be a heavy read at the end, you've been warned.

[Howard Banich]

It would be a cold heart indeed that wouldn't appreciate the final section, Akarsh. I've had many similar moments under the starry sky.

Howard

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[Paul Alsing]

Akarsh... I, too, have a solemn end to share... I was at CalStar in October, 2007, arriving on Wednesday the 10th... and received a call the next day from my brother telling me that our mom had passed away unexpectedly a few minutes earlier that morning. How strange is that, we both lost a parent while at CalStar!

\Paul

[Rod Brown]

Thanks for sharing this personal story, Akarsh. Like you and probably most of us in this hobby, I find comfort out under the stars. It is interesting how many who do not participate in it feel oppositely. “Don’t you feel small and insignificant?”is a common comment. My answer is always, “Yes! It is a good and peaceful feeling.”

Rod

On Oct 2, 2025, at 8:01 AM, Paul Alsing <pnal...@gmail.com> wrote:

Akarsh... I, too, have a solemn end to share... I was at CalStar in October, 2007, arriving on Wednesday the 10th... and received a call the next day from my brother telling me that our mom had passed away unexpectedly a few minutes earlier that morning. How strange is that, we both lost a parent while at CalStar!

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[Akarsh Simha]

Thanks Paul, Rod and Mark for sharing your thoughts and stories. I definitely love the feeling of insignificance -- I might as well accept that I am because it's a fact of nature, but as a tangible benefit, it means my worries and stresses are also insignificant!

Here is Part 5, which is mostly daytime stuff but hey I did throw in some nice observing too: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part5.html

Regards

Akarsh

[Shashi Sathya]

Hi Akarsh, Amazing series of ORs with such fine and meticulous details and sketches. Very inspiring!

TFS  

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 1:04:35 AM UTC-7 akars...@gmail.com wrote:

[Jamie Dillon, DDK]

Last time I remember a 5-part report on the TAC list, Jay Reynolds Freeman, da Deepsky Weasel, had the trip of his life (at the time anyway). He had 5 nights at the Onizuka Center on the flank of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. Here you've immortalized the eastern slope of the Sierra, Akarsh. Thanks for the care you put into these fun reports.

[Ted Hauter]

The vast Universe: 

We have nothing to worry about.

Nothing at all.

Edwin Hubble

On Fri, Oct 3, 2025, 12:55 AM Jamie Dillon, DDK <ngc1...@gmail.com> wrote:

Last time I remember a 5-part report on the TAC list, Jay Reynolds Freeman, da Deepsky Weasel, had the trip of his life (at the time anyway). He had 5 nights at the Onizuka Center on the flank of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. Here you've immortalized the eastern slope of the Sierra, Akarsh. Thanks for the care you put into these fun reports.

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[David Kirjassoff]

Thanks so much for these excellent ORs.  Rather sad that the series has ended, but I know there will be more!

[Steve Gottlieb]

From part I:

To avoid confusion, I wanted to mention that the dim SNR is CTB 1 (not CTA 1), which comes from this 1960 catalog of 110 radio sources (Cas A is #110).  It’s also Abell 85 - a misclassified planetary nebula. The CTB acronym stands for "Caltech Observatory list B” and I have no idea about what’s in “list A”.

I had to look up my notes on Arp 325 = VV 167 in my 24” for comparison and I was just able to resolve 3 members.  Of course, in Lowrey’s 48-inch, all the faint galaxies in the chain are resolved, along with a 6th galaxy just off the southwest side.

24" (8/15/12): at 282x, Arp 325 is a faint chain (very comparable to HCG 55) that appeared as a very faint elongated glow, roughly 45"x10".  Although clumpy, it was difficult to resolve individual members.  At 375x the individual components were still difficult to resolve although with careful viewing three components (each ~6" in diameter) could be identified.

At the north end an extremely faint glow (2MASX J22062085-2104074 was often glimpsed.  NED identifies this galaxy as Arp 325 NED2.  A similar "knot" 30" SE could just be resolved within the glow.  This member is Arp 325 NED4 = PGC 68036 and it was possibly merged with NED3.  Finally Arp 325 NED5 = LEDA 3099339 was only occasionally glimpsed at the south end, just outside the main glow.  A mag 16 star is very close (~30") southwest of the chain.  Arp 325 is situated 1.5' S of a mag 11 star and the individual components are probably from mag 16-18.

Steve

On Sep 26, 2025, at 1:59 AM, Akarsh Simha <akars...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just finished part one of five: https://adventuresindeepspace.com/OR__202509_EasternSierra_Part1.html

Regards
Akarsh

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[Steve Gottlieb]

Fantastic report, Akarsh. Your wildlife freakout reminding me of a near encounter with a real mountain lion (it was in nearby bushes making noises) in the Sierra foothills many years ago. I was with a fairly large group so wasn’t too nervous, but I can imagine how frightening it would be by yourself.

A few comparison descriptions with my 18” and 24” scopes (skipping the rest of the objects).

Steve

II Zw 92 in 24-inch at 220x and 375x; I immediately picked up the central (host) galaxy of this PRG as a very faint, round glow, only ~8" diameter.  Occasionally the (blue) polar ring component was seen as extremely faint and thin extensions SW-NE, increasing the dimensions to ~20"x8".  Located 9' SW of mag 7.9 HD 198153 and 18' SE of the bright pair NGC 6962/6964.

Lion Nebula (Sh 2-132) in 18": marginally visible at 73x (31 Nagler) without a filter as a weak background enhancement in a rich Milky Way field, although it was difficult to confirm with certainty.  Excellent contrast gain, though, with an OIII filter.  This huge HII region appeared roughly 20'x15', elongated in an E-W direction.  On the west side, Sh 2-132 encompasses a bright trapezoid of mag 8 and 9 stars (several other mag 11 stars are nearby).  The surface brightness appeared highest just E and SE of this group of stars.  The east end tapers down towards mag 8.8 SAO 34340.

The Lion Nebula is fantastic, by the way, with Night Vision (H-alpha) with lots of structure.

HCG 96 in 24-inch at 385x:
A: fairly bright, round, 0.8' diameter, sharply concentrated with a small, very bright core.

B: moderately bright, elongated 4:3 or 5:4 SSW-NNE, ~35" diameter, well concentrated with a small, very bright core.
C: fairly faint, very small, round, 15" diameter
D: extremely faint and small, round, 6" diameter, only pops with averted.

NGC 147 Hodge III (extragalactic glob) in 24-inch at 450x and 500x; Hodge III only occasionally popped but was verified at the same position using a detailed finder chart. I first identified two mag 13 stars at 1' separation oriented N-S, which are situated 5' SSE of the center of NGC 147.  These stars are just outside the halo of the galaxy.  A mag 14.7 star is 1' further NW, forming an obtuse isosceles triangle with the two mag 13 stars.  Hodge III is 41" N of the mag 14.7 star and nearly forms the 4th vertex of a parallelogram with these three stars.

[Ted Hauter]

Yes, leave the optics to the refractor crowd. Deep sky is like H-alpha dolar How do I know? The 90mm Coronado Filters removed can NOT focus white light views through a baader film in the slightest the lenes are so bad, must be like 2 wave ;) 

H-a views of course great but not excellent as through my NP 101.

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[Akarsh Simha]

Thank you for your comments and for sharing your observations, Steve. As I mentioned elsewhere, I did really mean CTA1 and not CTB1. This is a lesser-known Supernova Remnant in Cepheus that Mel Bartels brought to our attention on a telescope-making forum.

I think CTB1 is a lot harder than CTA1, at least CTA1 was visible unfiltered without a lot of effort but CTB1 remains on my to-do list after a failed attempt last year.

Here's Nico Carver's image of CTA1: https://app.astrobin.com/i/p35l92

I'm pretty amazed that the II Zw 92 polar ring was visible in your 24". I bet it was tough.

--

[Steve Gottlieb]

I love reading about the galactic structure you picked up, some of which I’ve only seen in the 48-inch.  The NGC 7242 is an excellent target for 16" to 18" scopes, though I missed a couple of the extremely faint ones in my old 17.5” (notes below). 

IC 5191: First in the NGC 7242 group. Very faint, small, elongated 5:2 WSW-ENE.  Located 7.4' due west of NGC 7242 with a mag 11.5 star 1.6' ENE.

IC 5192: Extremely faint, very small, slightly elongated. IC 5191 lies 2.8' NW.

IC 1441: Extremely faint, very small, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE. A mag 11 star is 2' W. Forms a close pair with brighter NGC 7240 1.2' SE.

NGC 7240: Faint, very small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, weak concentration. Situated between a mag 11 star 3.0' NW and three mag 13 stars about 3' SE.

IV Zw 87: Notes with my 24-inch only.  Smallest and faintest member of the NGC 7242 group. Extremely to very faint, round, ~10" diameter. Located 3.7' NE of NGC 7242 and collinear with a 40" pair of mag 14.5-15 stars ~2' ESE. A similar star is 1' due west.

NGC 7242: Brightest in a group of 8 galaxies. Fairly bright, oval 3:2 SW-NE, ~0.9'x0.6', large bright core ~30" diameter.

IC 5195: Appears as a mag 16 "star" superimposed at the northeast edge of NGC 7242. Visible with averted vision part of the time. I couldn't clearly distinguish if this object appeared nonstellar.

IC 5193: Last of eight in the NGC 7242 group. Extremely faint and small, round. Forms the SE vertex of a small parallelogram with three mag 13 stars just preceding

[Steve Gottlieb]

Lots to contemplate here, but your ending was really powerful.

Here’s a few more of my observations for comparison…

Arp 3 in my old 18-inch at 175x: fairly large, roundish, low surface brightness glow, very weak concentration.  The dimensions are roughly 1.5'x1.3', though the halo is ill-defined with very weak concentration and fades into the background so the size was difficult to estimate.  Forms the southern vertex of a triangle with a mag 13 star 2.7' N and a mag 11 star 3.6' NE.

NGC 7656 in the big 48-inch at 488x and 610x: fairly faint to moderately bright, round, ~24" diameter, high surface brightness.  Surprisingly, a low surface brightness wing or loop extending to the NE was immediately noticed.  This loop is brighter along the northern edge and passes through a mag 16.7 star (or a stellar galaxy), increasing the overall length to 45" extending SW (core) to NE (loop).  A mag 16.5 star lies 1.3' W and another mag 16.5 star is 1.4' N.  2MASX J23242536-1902139, an extremely compact galaxy (V = 15.7) lies 1.9' NW.  Finally, 2MASX J23243030-1903019, an extremely faint quasi-stellar galaxy was glimpsed less than 30" NNW, although another loop in that direction wasn't seen.

NGC 772 in my current 24-inch: bright, very large, elongated 5:3 WNW-ESE, 4'x2.5'.  Strongly concentrated with a very bright oval core.  The halo is clearly asymmetric and more extensive on the NW side.  With careful viewing a long arm is visible at 200x extending from the central region towards the NW.  The arm is better separated from the main body at 450x and ends near NGC 772:[HK83] 57, a slightly brighter HII knot that appears as an extremely faint, "soft" star.

Sh 2-71 again in my 24-inch at 200x and NPB filter (I’ve taken notes on this planetary 9 times and viewed it several more!): relatively bright, elongated ~3:2 N-S, large, extending ~1.8'x1.3'.  The northern portion is clearly brighter and the south side has a lower and more irregular surface brightness.  With careful viewing, a faint extension or irregular filament extends south on the west side.  The filament increases the N-S direction to 2.2' along the west side.

Steve