Observations 12 July 2023

Hello everyone,

Last night we had clear skies over South Dublin, so I decided I would do some observing. The session lasted just under an hour ending at 00:05UT+1.

My back garden faces North, and with a large portion of the Western sky free from obstruction, I decided to observe in and around Ursa Major. Starting with Alcor and Mizar it was an easy split with the 10X50 finder scope. I could see Mizar's companion at 74X with the 'Ludwig's Star' in the same FOV.

While in the vicinty I decided to see what M81 and M82 looked liked. While I did see the bright core of M81 and the pencil-shaped M82, both were very faint. I pushed the magnification to 139X on M81 hoping to improve the contrast of the object, but the difference was marginal. 

From there, I slewed the scope to Polaris. I could make out it's B star no problem, but I reckon I was off with the colorus. For example, in the book 'Turn Left at Orion' the main star is described as blue, and the secondary yellow. I saw the primary as more white-blue, and the secondary more dark yellow. 

I did try to give NGC 188 a go, but no joy! So, the next night we're at the Sugarloaf I think I'll revisit this object.

Before I finished up, I did try to use the website I mentioned in my last post - the one that acts as finder scope on a phone. Unfortunately, the sensors in my phone are not working correctly as the azimuth readings were not coming through. Not to worry as I much prefer working from a printed map anyway.

That's my lot from last night. Thanks for reading and clear skies to all.

Darren.

What a super little report, Darren. 
Thank you for taking the time to observe and reporting back to us here on our website. 
As everyone knows at this stage, Mizar was the very first double star I observed way back in 1977. 
I was a mere teenager then. 

Well done on finding the twin galaxies in Ursa Major. 
Your 10" Dobsonian is a fine scope for finding these. 

Those Polaris colours are a little strange to me. 
I see the primary as yellow-white. 
The secondary should be yellow-white too, but I see it as white. 

The open star cluster NGC 188 is in Cepheus and is seriously faint.
But you're right. A dark night at the Sugarloaf is called for most certainly.  

I'm sorry you are having trouble with your new website. 
But star maps are always good for finding new objects. 

Clear skies from Aubrey. 

Hi Aubrey,

Great to hear from you, and very many thanks for your kind words.

I checked the book again, and I made a mistake: they list the A as 'Yellow' and the B star as Blue...apologies for the confusion caused...I'm putting it down to tiredness

And yes, we ought to get back to Sugarloaf soon!

Clear skies, but when?

Darren