A good Observing Session!

Conor and i had a very good nights observing last night (27/28th) from 23.45 - 04.00 LT

The sky was nice and dark with trans 8/10 and the seeing was 10/10. The night was calm, cool, quiet however low level murk moved in later along with a heavy dew. The milkyway looked very decent with the naked eye and the Cygnus dark rift was clearily visible. Conor observed with the EAAS 10" Dob and also imaged the sky taking 30 second exposures capturing the milkway in all its glory. With the 16" i searched for comets in the W,NW,N sky close to the sun then upwards to the sky sector under the pole. I swept up M94, M63, NGC4750 and NGC4111. I spent considerable time looking for 161P/Hartley - Iras but i could not find the comet at all even though i could see a host of faint NGC galaxies in the comets locality. After 1.5 hours of searching i ended the hunt for the night due to increasing moonlight and decreasing trans.

The rising last 1/4 moon was a neat sight as it rose low in the NE in thick murk. The moon looked blood red and unusually large. Conor got a good look at it through the 10". I seen a couple of very bright slow moving satellites that mimicked novae in Delphinus and Aquila.

We decided to relocate in the pitch and do a post Southern Delta Aquarid meteor watch as the maximum was tommorow night so there should be some activity. We watched the sky from 01.41 - 04.00 and seen a total of 19 meteors.

S. Delta Aquarids = 3
Alpha capricornids = 6
Perseids = 7
Sporadics = 3

The highlight of the night was a very bright Persied that shot straight down from the radiant vertically and burning out near the NE horizon. It was a lovely silver colour with a long tail and it lasted 3 seconds (nearly a fireball)....it was very exciting to watch!

The moon and Mars where a treat in the eastern sky. We took many images of the sky in the hope of capturing a meteor but we ran out of luck and batteries lol however Conor did come close 4 times. Before dawn it was very cold and i had to jump on the spot to keep warm, something i have not had to do in a long time!
I hope tommorow night is clear as Conor and i plan to travel to the country and watch the SDA maximum in an all night session as it is our custom every year.

The milkyway images are taken by Conor.

Nice shot of the Milky way lads. And a great report Martin - you really do cover all the angles and the whole sky!

Tell me, how the heck do you find so much time to observe? Every time I turn my back, there's another post from one or both of ye. You're either mowing the lawn, on yer hols in Spain or jumpin on the spot at 2 in the morning

You must be the most dedicated visual observers in Ireland, possibly in the whole of Europe!

Keep it up and keep 'em coming - every time I see one of your posts it reminds me that I should be outside

Cheers

Dave

Dave McD

Thanks very much for the compliment Dave

What can i say lol.......we just love astronomy and nature i guess. We like to make the most of every night even if there is just small clear gaps because we want to see everything the sky has to offer and to see these then we need to be out ALOT if one wants to be rewarded with something cool.

Its more than observing...its an experience we are after...a memory to look back on. I get a very satisfying feeling keeping a watch on the sky every night as there is always the excitement that darkens brings in the hope that a major event has revealed itself for us to see. As far as time is concerned....we make time.....i make sure that observing gets number one prority in my life as it is my passion, especially with the comet hunting....that requires dedication and committment and it now has become second nature to us....its just such good fun!!!!!

I am finding it difficult to describe but i will leave it at that in the hope it has answered your question.

Thanks again Dave and clear skies to you.

Guys, Great report! It's a super time of year to be out, I love that 3rd shot taken by Conor, It seems so quiet, just looking at the wonder of the Summer Milkyway.

These damned clouds are eating up some precious time,
Keith..

Thanks Keith

Yea these clouds are really annoying. This is the cloudiest summer i have seen yet , it must be really eating into your Nova search? as it as totally messed up my own comet sweeps. I just cant get the sky coverage and on the few nights that are clear the trans is not good due to murk....but that should all change soon......fingers crossed!!

Good luck and clear skies Keith