6 March 2010

Observing Location	DR
Observational Period	1945-2115 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Light Haze It had been hazy this afternoon, particularly when looking toward the Sun, so I suspected that there was still some haze around tonight. The sky was not a uniform color and some stars appeared and disappeared so I think there were some light, moving clouds that we were looking through. Temperature 49° F Wind Light Breeze Wind Chill Effect ° F Humidity Low Barometric Pressure 30.06" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild becoming Chilly When I left for the session the gadget on my computer said the temperature was still 53° F. I had thought about staying in my shorts but opted to put on long pants and a long sleeve T-shirt over my short sleeve t-shirt. I wore my heavy fiber pile sweather that I have been wearing alone into the mid-30s. I could have used another layer of fiber on top or at least my foul weather jacket to trap my body heat. The temperature seemed to drop markedly just before 2100 EST. When I got home the gadget was saying that it was 47° F. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	West Marine 7x50 Raiatea binocular – Charlie Galileoscope – Charlie Plossl, 1.5° FoV, 25x 2x Barlow Galilean, ## FoV, 17x Celestron 25x50 binocular - Peter
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac

I missed a mag -7 Iridium flare, a double Iridium flare, and an ISS visible pass tonight because I didn’t get out early enough and hadn’t brought along my printouts.

My main objective for tonight was to make a NELM assessment to be submitted to GLOBE at Night. Peter and I both felt that the limiting magnitude was between 4 and 5. Peter was thinking around 4.7. We did see Pherkad Minor which is mag 5.0. Peter saw 6 Pliades and I saw at least 5. We both detected M44.

I reread the Galileoscope instructions and figured out how to use the Galilean eyepiece to make a 2x Barlow for the Plossl so my secondary objective was to try and assess the quality of the image at 50x. A lot of time was spent trying to get the Barlowed scope centered on M42. I could get it there at 25X but when I inserted the Barlow the stars were no longer in the FoV. I could move the scope around a bit and get them to pass through the FoV but with the stock tripod head it is very difficult to move the scope in small increments. A geared head would have been a big help but it doesn’t make sense to spend $100+ for a tripod and $200+ for a geared head to support a $30 telescope (or even my $50 binocular). I wasn’t able to see anything that would permit me to assess the quality of the image at 50x. This telescope will be good for looking at big things like the Moon or, if filtered, the Sun. It will be usable at low power for the planets and bright stars.. Star hopping with i twill be very difficult. Peter and I both had trouble with the uni- power gunsite. I could see the notch in the front part of it but not the post near the ocular. After I ha dit put away I thought that I might have better luck with it if I tipped my head up to look through the bottom of my bifocal eyeglasses but then probably wouldn’t be able to see the star I was aiming for.

Target M42 Constellation Ori Category DSO: DifNeb Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100306.2000 EST Size 85’x60’ Magnitude 2.9, 3 1/2 , 4 Surface Brightness 11/sq’ Visibility 6 Distance 1,600 ly Location Where is M13 graphics Cartes du Ciel graphic References The Observer’s Sky Atlas: E4 Deep Sky Observers Guide: 99-100 Comments I could see light nebulosity and after looking at the area in Peter’s binocular and having him talk me through what I was seeing I think I detected the two intermediate brightness stars of the Trapezium in the Galileoscope at 25x.

Target M34, NGC 1039 Constellation Per Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100306:2015 EST Size 35’x35’ Magnitude 5.5, 5.2 Surface Brightness 12/sq’ Visibility 5 Distance 1,500 ly Age 177.4 My Location Where is M13 graphics Cartes du Ciel graphic References The Observer’s Sky Atlas: N4 Deep Sky Observers Guide: 120 Comments I looked at this open cluster in Peter’s binocular. It took a moment before I saw it and it appeared faint.

Target ε Aur Constellation Aur Category Variable Star Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100306 EST Comments At times I thought that ε Aur was brighter than ζ Aur and at other times I felt that they were equal. Using the binocular didn’t help much as it made the stars appear farther away from each other and consequently it was harder to make the comparison.