Observations 6th May 2021

Hello everyone,

Thankfully, Met Éireann got it right with yesterday's forecast: Just after 23:30pm Irish Summer Time (IST) the skies cleared. 

I had my f/5 250mm Newtonian Reflector on a Dobsonian Base set up and ready to go from approximately 00:15am IST. 

With Vega positioned perfectly in the Eastern sky I used it to align my 10X50 finder scope with the the main scope. Vega sparkled beautifully at 39X.

From Vega I decided to go after M57. Only a week ago I observed it from the Sugar Loaf car park where it looked incredible. While I could see it, and it displayed its ring shape clearly it failed to show the 3-dimensional structure I saw last weekend...nothing like a dark sky to make DSO pop!

Following Aubrey's message earlier in the day I had to go after the 'double-double'. To see all four stars I had to push the magnification to 208X, and I used the 2X Barlow too. 

​​​Next constellation was Cygnus the Swan. Albireo was my first object at 39X, followed by Messier 39. This loose Open Cluster is very nice indeed with several bright stars. Before leaving Cygnus I slewed the scope along the neck of the Swan and I stumbled across a most beautiful array of stars. What struck me about the image through the eyepiece was two double stars next to each other. They looked like the eyes of two animals looking at me through a bush at night. I've yet to follow up on them, but I'll report back later when I do. 

The final constellation of the night was Hercules. I observed both Globular clusters: M13 and M92. I appreciate that many prefer M13 over M92, however I find the latter the more striking. I find the more concentrated and brighter core of M92 more appealing. At 39X it was a a mere smudge, but at 208X I could resolve many of the outer stars from my Bortle 8 backgarden. As for the Great Globular Cluster, I was surprised how much I liked it. Some of you might recall that I viewed it through Ben's 16"NF last week, and it was mind blowing, so I was sure I was going to be underwhelmed this week. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the image at 208X. Many of the stars were resolved, and I could identify some of its arms. 

As I finished up for the night I decided that I was going to try and locate some more Globular Clusters in Ophiuchus next night out. 

I finished up at 01:52 ISM and ahead of Jupiter and Saturn returning to the night sky next month I bought a new eyepiece. I went with TS Optics Eyepiece UWAN 4mm 82° 1,25"., therefore will that mean we're in for some cloudy nights? 

BTW, I did try to observe BU 1442, but couldn't seem to establish where it is located. So any pointers are appreciated. 

Many thanks for reading, and all comments and feedback are welcomed. 

Darren. 

​

Hi Darren. 

I will return to you later. 
But you will find BU 1442 2.5 degrees west of 26 Bootis. 
26 Bootis' magnitude is 5.9. 
Sorry! But I forget what computer program you are using. 

Very best regards from Aubrey. 

As ever you have given us a great report again, Darren. 
M 13 and M 92 are super globular star clusters of course. 
Tonight at church we sang a line in a Christian song which said "hands that flung stars into space". 
And one of our elders chatted to me about it afterwards. 
The song is called "The servant King" by Graham Kendrick. 
I'm sure it's on YouTube. 
The song is perfectly apt for these 2 brilliant globular clusters.

208X is a fairly high magnification for Epsilon Lyrae. 
Maybe some time you might try something lower. 
My WO 158 mm scope repeatedly splits them both at 112X. 
And even 100X ought to be sufficient. 
I did get clean separations of both at 100X way back in the late 1970's when I as a teenager. 
Who would have thought I would still adore doubles so many years later?   

Let's hope for a sunny Thursday morning for the partial solar eclipse. 

Clear skies from Aubrey. 
 

Howdy Aubrey,

Very many thanks for your message. Ah, 'The Servant King', I know it well, and sang it many times. I never thought to associate it with M13 and M92 though, but from now on when I do sing it I always remember your post.

Speaking of stars, I found out what those two doubles are called: HIP+99002, and HD 227634 /
TYC2683-3586-1. Have you observed them before?

Next night I'm out I'll be sure to revisit Epsilon Lyrae and try to split it at a lower magnification. 

And thanks for the reminder about the the partial solar eclipse. 

Clear skies to you Aubrey,
Darren.
 

Hello, Darren. 
I am completely stunned you know "The Servant King"!
I too have been singing and playing it on both piano and organ for many years. 
The song is saying that Jesus Christ was Creator of the universe before He became the Saviour of His people. 
(Sorry if I'm annoying those of us who are not Christians.)

But sincerest apologies regarding your double star designations, Darren. 
They don't seem to come up on www.stelledoppie.it at all.  
Later on I will try and figure them out on Guide 9.1 DVD. 
I'm going out now. 

We must start a separate posting in regards to Thursday morning's partial solar eclipse. 
John Flannery is having a Zoom meeting on Tuesday which is tomorrow.

Talk to you soon, Darren!

Aubrey.  
 

Hi Aubrey,

Very many thanks for your message. Some beautiful Christian songs out there alright. More about that another time. For now, I'm hoping for clear skies on Thursday. Sorry I couldn't make it to tonight's Zoom meeting, but it is my wife's birthday. I hope it went well though. 

All the best, 

Darren.