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I initially thought I would observe Jupiter and Vesta, then spend an hour or so observing DSO's, and then observe the Moon before calling it a night after observing for a couple of hours. However as it turned out I ended up observing for six hours.
First up was Jupiter and the asteroid Vesta, which fit into the same field of view of the telescope at 35x and 70x. Jupiter was low in the sky so the seeing wasn't very good. However at I was able to make out a few of its main cloud belts as well as its four moons nearby. Vesta was visible above Jupiter, appeared to have a yellowish color to it and did not look like a star.
Next I observed a number of DSO's. Usually when I observe them I will spend time on each one using different magnifications and filters (depending upon the object) to help bring out the faintest detail. However as I had less than an hour to observe before the Moon rose I decided to observe them relatively quickly using magnifications of 35x and 70x.
M 31 (NGC 224), the Andromeda Galaxy appeared large and elongated that extended over a couple of degrees. It had a bright central region with star-like nucleus to it. There appeared to be hints of two dust lanes.
M 32 (NGC 221) - somewhat oval in shape and showed a fainter outer region, brighter inner region, and a star-like nucleus to it.
M 110 (NGC 205) - appeared elongated and longer than M 32.
The Double Cluster (NGC 869 & NGC 884) are open clusters located in the constellation of Perseus and were very pretty as always. NGC 869 appears more condensed with more stars than NGC 884, while NGC 884 was larger and has a number of red stars in it.
M 51 (NGC 5194) & NGC 5195 - Ursa Major was getting low towards the horizon as I observed M 51 and M 101 (both were around 30 degrees in elevation), so I did not expect to see much detail. However at 35x I was able to see M 51 and NGC 5195 with a hint of the connecting spiral arm between them. At 70x the spiral arm was easier to see and M 51 showed some mottling around the central region. Here is a sketch I made of M 51 when it was better placed in the sky.
M 101 (NGC 5457) - appeared large and faint with a hint of spiral arms and had a slight green tint to it. Here is a sketch I made of M 101 when it was better placed in the sky.
M 27 (NGC 6853) - appeared large and bright at 35x with a distinct green color to it. The apple core shape to the central region was prominent as are the fainter extensions on each side that give the nebula more of a football shape to it. At 70x the central portion shows some mottling with stars embedded in them, and the extensions on both sides show so variations in tone or somewhat feathered.
M 71 (NGC 6838) - at 35x this cluster appears small and condensed with a few stars resolved. At 70x the irregular shape of the cluster was better defined and more of its stars are resolved.
M 56 (NGC 6779) - this small cluster was somewhat resolved around the edges at 35x, while more stars are resolved at 70x.
M 57 (NGC 6720) - the Ring Nebula at 35x shows it characteristic shape and the darker inner portion was prominent. At 70x the ring shape appears more elongated with a star visible near the top. Off to the lower left of the nebula there was a quadruple star, with the one star having a white color while the other star had a pronounced blue color.
M 13 (NGC 6205) - the Great Hercules Cluster at 35x was somewhat resolved around the edges as well as across the front. I noticed a pronounced orange colored star (TYC 2588-2833-1) off to the top of the cluster. In contrast to the orange star the cluster appears somewhat blue. At 70x the cluster was well resolved around its edges as well as across its core with many star chains visible. I inserted a Baader binocular viewer and at 99x the cluster appeared larger with better resolution.
After observing the DSO's I got up from the observing chair and walk around for a bit to stretch my legs. Two bats swooped low over me a couple of times as they searched for mosquitoes to eat. However after the second pass they evidently decided I wasn't a mosquito and flew away.
Uranus - the Moon was getting higher in sky at this point but still behind some trees so I decided to observe Uranus, which was located in Aquarius near phi Aqr which is a bright (magnitude 4.22) orange colored star. At 35x and 70x the planet was resolved as a disk with a bluish color. I inserted the binoviewer again and gradually increased magnification to 264x. The seeing was variable but there were times when one of the polar regions appeared darker than the other polar region, and there appeared to be a lighter zone or belt near the equator on the following limb. It was more detail than I recall seeing on Uranus before. I plan to observe the planet again when the seeing is better.
While taking notes at the eyepiece I dropped my pen on the ground. I shown my red flashlight down to locate the pen and to my surprise saw a large insect walking under my seat that reminded me of a praying mantis. He stopped walking, and we regarded each other for a moment or two before he started walking again, this time under the telescope tripod. Perhaps he was off to a friends place for a midnight snack.
I spent over an hour observing the Moon and watched as some stars drifted by the limb of the Moon, and other stars as they got close to the Moon before being occulted. Watching the Moon pass by and in front of some of the Pleiades really provided a sense of scale. I was reminded of a similar occultation that I observed of the Pleiades by the last quarter Moon on September 2nd 1988. That September was memorable also because of a very favorable opposition of Mars where it attained a size of 23.81". While this was smaller than the diameter Mars attained during the 2003 opposition when it reached 25.11", the 1988 opposition was actually better for northern hemisphere observers as it was higher in the sky so the seeing was better. Because of this I had many more observing sessions where I was able to see and record detail in my sketches in 1988 than in 2003.
Mars - after finishing observing the Moon I swung the telescope over to Mars. It showed a gibbous phase and the surface features appeared subdued due to the dust that is still in the Martian atmosphere from recent large dust storms. Some of the features that were visible on Mars included Hellas and possibly Mare Tyrrhenum and Syrtis Major. When I observed Mars on August 21st of this year it was located near the head of Taurus and across from Aldebaran seemingly giving the bull the appearance of two orange/red eyes instead of one.
Often when I am observing I will hear owls in the distance as they call out to each other. One owl will hoot a few times, and then from a different direction its mate will respond. Once they determine where the other one is and they meet the night grows quiet again. However on this night the owl that was calling out to its mate was in a nearby tree so its hoot was quite loud and it startled me. The owl called out more times and showed some variation in tone, but there was no response from the other owl. Eventually it left. Later I heard a coyote howl in the distance, and it was answered by another coyote from a different direction.
Orion and M 42 (NGC 1976) - Orion was rising in the eastern sky as I was getting ready to end the observing session. A quick look at M 42 revealed some nebulosity and three of the four stars visible in the Trapezium.
As I was getting ready to take my telescope equipment down I looked to the northern sky and noted that during the time I was observing Ursa Major, the Great Bear, had swung from the north western sky, to setting in the northern sky, and beginning to rise in the north eastern sky. I was reminded of how some Native American tribes explained the fall colors. They thought the celestial hunter caused the change in color by killing the Great Bear, and the red leaf color came from the bear's blood while the orange and yellow colors came from the fat from the campfire of the celestial hunter who was cooking the bear's meat. Even though today we have a better scientific explanation of why the leaves change colors it doesn't take away from our enjoyment of the fall colors.
During the first session with the TMB 130mm I observed Mars, Venus, and the Moon. There were some high clouds that obscured the view from time to time, and the seeing was variable, ranging from fair to good. First up was Mars, which was at magnitude -0.1 and had a diameter of 9.65". Through the binocular viewer at 292x it showed a gibbous phase, and some surface and atmospheric features. This included the North Polar Hood clouds, which appeared gray-blue in color. In the southern portion of the globe Mare Erythraeum, Protei Regio, and Solis Lacus were visible.
At 40x Venus was well resolved and was quite bright with a magnitude of -4.5. Its diameter was 34.52". There appeared to be some dusky markings along the terminator. The 33% crescent phase of Venus reminded me of an eclipse of the Sun. Through the binocular viewer at 85x the dusky markings along the terminator were more pronounced.
The Moon was a few days past full and the terminator was near Palus Somni, and there was some interesting detail visible. This included the crater walls of Hercules, which appeared to be higher than the nearby mare. The fine detail in craters including Longomontaus and Tycho was also impressive. The craters and mountains near the limb of the Moon appeared higher in elevation than the mare as well. The TMB apo refractors that I own provide high contrast views, and shows subtle differences in color, contrast, and tone. For lack of a better word, the view seems more "real" or "natural" to me. This in combination with the binocular viewer gave a pronounced 3-D look to the lunar features. The result was a feeling that I was looking at these lunar features from above the Moon rather than through a telescope. Although I had this impression before when using other telescopes since 1972, and have seen more lunar detail in larger aperture telescopes, the view does not have quite the same "natural" view to it so the feeling of looking at the Moon from orbit is not as strong or pronounced as in the TMB refractors.
For the second observing session I set up the TMB 105mm f/6.2. It was a clear night with the crescent Moon in the eastern sky. The seeing varied from fair to good.
I began by observing M 42, and at 47x the four stars in the Trapezium were resolved. The central portion of the nebula had showed some variation in tone or mottling and had a slight green-blue color to it. Some nebulosity was visible extending up from the bat wings along the bottom of the nebula.
Saturn was very pretty to see again as always. One of the first things that struck me about Saturn was how much narrower the rings were than the last time I observed the planet, so it did not seem as bright. Through the binocular viewer at 158x shadow of the rings on the globe was pronounced and the Equatorial Zone was visible. On one side of the planet Titan was visible while on the other side Rhea was visible.
At 22x the crescent Moon and M 44 the Beehive Cluster looked very pretty near each other. I inserted the binocular viewer and with steady seeing conditions slowly increased the magnification to 277x. As with the TMB 130mm, I was impressed by the natural view of the lunar features and the pronounced 3-D look to them.
While observing I thought about my friend Thomas Back and how I appreciated the fine telescopes and eyepieces that he designed. The last email I received from him was about a week before he passed away. He had been ill for a while but during our last email exchange there was no indication that his condition had worsened. It is a reminder that we should appreciate the people in our lives, such as friends, family, and loved ones, for we never know what the future holds. Still there is a perspective that astronomy can provide to our lives, even during sad times. I was driving past a farmland one morning and the gibbous Moon was setting behind a hill. On the hill there were some trees that had just started to show some fall color, a farm house, and in the foreground some cows were gazing on the grass. The scene showed the connection between the Earth and the nourishment it provides for physical and spiritual life, the Moon, and the larger universe to which we all belong.
It was a mostly clear sky with a limiting magnitude around 5.0 but high clouds drifted in from time to time. The seeing for Mars was quite variable, ranging from poor to fair to good. I spent some time studying Mars and during brief periods when the seeing settled down I made a rough sketch of the features that were visible. This included in the Southern Hemisphere Syrtis Major, Mare Serpentis, Mare Tyrrhenum, and Hellas which appeared bright. In the Northern Hemisphere the North Polar Hood clouds appeared gray in color. While observing the Red planet I used a Baader binocular viewer with TMB Super Monocentric eyepieces and the Baader Moon and Skyglow filter which enhances both surface and atmospheric detail.
I observed M 42 with the TMB 105mm f/6.2 at 22x. The central region appeared mottled with a pronounced blue color to it, and the four stars of the Trapezium were visible. Also the nebula extended up from the bat wings and on past the central region and the detail reminded me of some photographs I have seen of M 42. M 45 looked pretty also at 22x.
By far the prettiest view of the night was of Venus and Saturn, which were nicely resolved and easily fit into the same field of the TMB 105mm f/6.2 at 16x and 22x. Venus was strikingly white with a magnitude -4.5, almost 43% full, and a diameter of 28.16". Saturn's color was more subdued and much dimmer at magnitude 0.8 and had an equatorial diameter of 16.71". Nearby Titan and Rhea were visible. I last viewed these two planets through the same telescope last June when they were also within a few degrees of each other in the western sky after sunset. However back then my main concern was trying to avoid swarms of mosquitoes. This time my main concern was staying warm.
On Saturday night October 27th I observed the comet again before the clouds rolled in this time with a TMB 105mm f/6.2. Even with the smaller aperture the comet appeared larger and the inner coma, pseudo-nucleus, and outer coma appeared light yellow.
The sky was clear Sunday night/Monday morning October 28th-29th so I observed the comet with the TMB 175mm for several hours and made a couple of sketches. The comet appeared noticeably larger through this telescope than when I observed it last Thursday. Also, while the color of the pseudo-nucleus and inner coma still appeared light yellow, the outer coma appeared green at low power and blue-green at higher power. In addition at low power the outside edge of the outer coma did appear to have somewhat of an annular look to it but this was not as noticeable at higher power. The outer coma showed some variation in tone. There were two stars visible in the outer coma. By comparison the pseudo-nucleus appeared more diffuse.
I was curious if I could see more clearly the fainter envelope or halo around the outer coma that I noticed last Thursday night. The envelope or halo on the right hand side of the coma had a smooth round appearance to it and reminded me of a parabolic hood. I was able to trace it as it arced around the top and bottom of the comet. However as I studied the halo as it came around the bottom of the coma and up towards the left-hand side it no longer appeared smooth and round. Rather my eye kept detecting what looked like striations of lighter material coming off of the outer coma.
To make sure this wasn't an optical illusion I spent a long period of time trying magnifications from 87x to 156x using the TMB Super Monocentric eyepieces, different filters, as well as techniques I use to enhance subtle detail in deep-sky objects. This included taking long deep, slow breaths to increase the oxygen level to the brain, gently tapping the telescope tube, and moving the comet outside of the field of view and letting in drift back in while determining when there was a change in the sky background. To help reduce stray light when looking for fine detail I pulled the jacket hood up over the top and side of my head and cupped my hand around my observing eye and eyepiece.
After a while I was able to determine that some of these striations of lighter material were coming off of the bottom left hand side of the outer coma at an angle, as well as straight back from the coma. There were some of these striations of lighter material coming off on the upper right hand side but they were not at the same angle or as prominent. It appears this lighter striations were the beginning of a tail. Around the same time I was detecting these lighter striations that appeared to be beginning of a tail two other observers obtained photographs of the tail showing similar detail. I would urge all observers to look for the tail(s) as it grows more pronounced.
Through the telescope with magnifications between 16x - 54x it appeared light blue in color, and circular in shape. There were times when there appeared to be a faint inner coma which had wedge shaped material coming off from it. I hoped to make a sketch of it but haze moved in and obscured the comet. I briefly attempted to observe Mars but the seeing was not good enough to make out fine detail.
I then swung the telescope over to observe the Moon, which was past last quarter and at 39% phase. The seeing was better for the Moon so I could use higher magnification. The view was striking. This included detail visible on the Earthlit portion of the Moon, as well as the sunlit portion of the Moon, including Copernicus (Rukl map #31) and the Carpathian Mountains (Rukl map #20), which stood out in high contrast. Seeing the Moon in the morning sky before sunrise is common. We sometimes forget how impressive it can appear through a telescope.
I did not get the opportunity to photograph it but here is how the total lunar eclipse appeared back on November 8th, 2003.
During the first early morning observing session before astronomical twilight set in I used the TMB 105mm with the TMB 30mm Paragon eyepiece which provides a magnification of 22x to observe a variety of DSO's. I normally use different magnifications when observing but got set up late so decided to just use one eyepiece for a quick tour of some old favorite DSO's. It was a clear night with some haze and a limiting magnitude around 5.0 No filters were used.
First up was M31, M32, and M110. All three objects easily fit into the same field of view (FOV), with M31 taking up the entire FOV. M31 appeared elongated with a brighter central region and a stellar nucleus. Both M32 and M110 were visible nearby.
Next up was M33, which appeared large and faint with a gray color to it.
Jupiter was low in the sky and already in the trees to the southwest. Io, Ganymede, and Europa were visible nearby. On Jupiter the North and South Equatorial Belts were visible. It was pretty with the leaves on the tree limbs above and below it providing an interesting perspective of life here on Earth as well as Jupiter in the same FOV.
M13 appeared small with a noticeable concentration of stars in the center. Some stars were resolved around the edges. There was an orange star visible above M13.
M57 was resolved as a small smoke ring with the central area appearing darker.
M11 showed its distinctive shape which often reminds me of the MTV logo.
The Double Cluster was pretty with a few red stars mixed in.
The sky was clear and the seeing varied from fair to good when I observed Jupiter with the TMB 105mm a couple of weeks later when it was better placed in the sky. I used with a Baader binocular viewer with and 8mm, 7mm, and 6mm (81x - 109x) TMB Super Monocentric eyepieces and a Baader Moon and Skyglow filter which enhances atmospheric detail on Jupiter and helps to bring out fine detail.
On Jupiter The North Equatorial Belt (NEB) and South Equatorial Belt (SEB) were visible as was the Equatorial Zone and the North Polar Region (NPR) and South Polar Region (SPR). The SPR appeared medium gray in color, and the South Temperate Zone appeared white in color. The SEB was bisected in the middle by a rift and appeared gray in color. The Equatorial Zone appeared white in color.
The NEB appeared uneven and reddish brown in color, as did the North Temperate Belt. The North Tropical Zone and North Temperate Zone appeared white in color. The NPR appeared bluish-gray in color. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were visible nearby.
