Julien Lecomte's Blog

About a year ago, I announced on this blog that I had started designing and building an Albert Highe inspired 16″ F/4 dobsonian telescope. This project has now come to its conclusion as you can see in the photos below. I am very excited about the final result, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the journey and would recommend anyone with a strong interest in amateur astronomy to consider building their own telescope.

Were present: George Feliz, Rogelio Bernal Andreo, Paul Duncan, Peter Natscher, Jim Molinari, Jeff Weiss and myself. The conditions were extremely pleasant: warm (temps in the 50s), dry, no wind. The transparency was good (NELM 6.2 in UMi) and the seeing was good to excellent (4/5). We followed a GRS transit on Jupiter, which was showing a lot of details. The Gegenshein was seen fairly easily by several people after I pointed it out, just south of the body of Aries. I saw quite a few shooting stars throughout the evening, some of them were slow movers and pretty bright. I used my laptop and SkyTools 3 on the field for the first time fairly successfully, but noticed a few kinks I am going to have to work out. Below is my log for the night.

Log format: [designation(s)] [type] [constellation] [RA] [Dec]
[magnitude] [date and local time (PDT)]

Location: Dinosaur Point [Elevation 648 ft]
Telescope: Meade Lightbridge 12″ F/5
Eyepieces used:
- Televue Panoptic 27mm (56x – 1.2° TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 16mm type 5 (95x – 52′ TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 9mm type 6 (169x – 29′ TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 7mm type 6 (217x – 22′ TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 5mm type 6 (305x – 16′ TFOV)
(All times are PDT)

NGC 7419 OC Cep 22 54 48 +60 52 46 13.0 2010-11-02 07:50pm
Appears as a barely resolved smudge at low power (95x). At 305x, a dozen faint stars over a hazy background that seems to be composed of many more very faint stars can be spotted within 3′. A moderately bright (mag. 10.5) star lays just outside, 2′ NW. A fairly bright (mag. 8.6) star is 5′ NW.

NGC 7762 OC Cep 23 50 36 +68 06 17 2010-11-02 08:05pm
About 20′x10′ NW-SE. Composed of roughly 30 fairly faint stars over a hazy background, with many more faint stars popping in and out of view. A very bright (mag. 5.0) star is located just 20′ SW.

NGC 6997 OC Cyg 20 56 53 +44 41 53 2010-11-02 08:20pm
Roughly 30 moderately bright stars scattered within an area 8′ in diameter. Looks best at low power (Pan 27 – 1.2 degree TFOV) where the cluster appears located inside a triangle of very bright stars, surrounded by large dark areas devoid of stars contrasting with ambient nebulosity from the North America nebula (NGC 7000).

NGC 55 GX Scl 00 15 43 -39 09 33 8.5 2010-11-02 09:30pm
Observed just above the hills surrounding the Dinosaur Point parking lot, this galaxy suffers greatly from atmospheric extinction at our latitudes. About 20′x5′ WNW-ESE. The bright core measures 8′x5′ and is offset towards the W. The eastern half of the halo is much dimmer. Some mottling seen pretty easily, especially inside and around the core.

NGC 147 GX Cas 00 33 50 +48 34 25 10.6 2010-11-02 10:10pm
Diffuse moderately faint round glow, slightly brighter toward the center, about 4′ in diameter, very slightly elongated E-W (strange! the real PA is NNW-SSE!) This dwarf spheroidal galaxy is a member of the Local Group and a satellite of the Andromeda galaxy.

NGC 410 GX Psc 01 11 37 +33 12 48 12.5 2010-11-02 10:35pm
Round diffuse faint halo, about 50″ in diameter, with a moderately bright almost stellar core. In the center of a triangle formed by 3 galaxies belonging to the same group/cluster, all seen at 217x.

NGC 499 GX Psc 01 23 50 +33 31 15 13.3 2010-11-02 10:55pm
Very faint halo 40″x30″ E-W, small (~ 10″) moderately faint round core. Located in an area very rich in galaxies.

NGC 513 GX And 01 25 06 +33 51 36 13.2 2010-11-02 11:05pm
Moderately faint diffuse glow, about 30″x20″ E-W, slightly and gradually brighter toward the center.

NGC 821 GX Ari 02 08 58 +11 03 04 11.7 2010-11-02 11:50pm
Diffuse round glow (size not noted?), moderately faint, slightly and gradually brighter toward the center, moderately bright stellar nucleus. A fairly bright (mag. 9.2) is 1′ NNW. A moderately bright (mag. 12.9) star is 2′ S.

NGC 1012 GX Ari 02 39 56 +30 12 04 13.1 2010-11-02 12:00am
Faint halo 1.5′x30″ NNE-SSW. Moderately faint core 30″x10″. A superimposed star is located 15″ SE of the core.

Attendance at this year’s CalStar was surprisingly low compared to last year. I setup in the “dark enforced area”, right next to Mark Johnston whom I must thank for helping me get out of a bad battery situation…

The skies were roughly similar on Friday and Saturday night. I estimated the NELM was around 6.5 while seeing was average to slightly better than average after midnight. Friday night was very dewy, and Saturday night was a little breezy at times. Temps were in the mid 80s during the day and dropped to the low 40s by the time I went to bed (~2am)

Comet Hartley 2 was a real treat on Friday night through Mark Johnston’s William Optics 110mm triplet refractor. Outfitted with a Televue Nagler 26mm eyepiece, the comet was visible along with the double cluster in the same field of view! On Saturday night, Hartley 2 had moved and was located right near a rather bright (~ mag 6) orange star. Jupiter also put on a good show, with an Io shadow transit on Friday and a GRS transit on Saturday.

My observing list consisted of a mixed bag of rather difficult objects for a 12″ scope: a few Palomar globular clusters, a tiny proto-planetary nebula, a few local group members, and some Herschel II objects. I also spent some time observing several galaxy groups, using Alvin’s guide “Selected small galaxy groups”.

Log format: [designation(s)] [type] [constellation] [RA] [Dec] [magnitude] [date and local time (PDT)]

Location: Lake San Antonio [Elevation 1082 ft]
Telescope: Meade Lightbridge 12″ F/5
Eyepieces used:
- Televue Panoptic 27mm (56x – 1.2° TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 16mm type 5 (95x – 52′ TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 9mm type 6 (169x – 29′ TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 7mm type 6 (217x – 22′ TFOV)
- Televue Nagler 5mm type 6 (305x – 16′ TFOV)
(All times are PDT)

Galaxy groups observed on Saturday night

• NGC 6211 group: saw all 4 members, forming a chain. N6211 was seen easily, N6213 was a little harder, while M+10-24-32 and M+10-24-34 were very hard but positively detected multiple times.
• NGC 6962 group: N6962, N6964 and N6967 were seen easily, and N6961, although fainter, was fairly easily detected.
• NGC 7184 group: N7184, N7180, N7185 and N7188 seen easily within one field of view of 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′)
• NGC 7103 group: N7103 and N7104 were detected fairly easily, IC 1393 a little harder, while IC 5124 and IC 5122 were very hard but positively detected multiple times.
• NGC 7385 group: N7385 and N7386 were easily seen. N7387, N7389, N7390 and N7383 were detected fairly easily. N7384 was barely detected.

Friday, October 8, 2010

PK 080-6.1 (Cygnus Egg) PN Cyg 21 02 45 +36 44 29 13.5 2010-10-08 08:20pm
Appears as a slightly fuzzy tight double star. The components, aligned N-S, actually are the lobes of this proto-planetary nebula. The lobe to the N appears brighter.

NGC 7354 PN Cep 22 40 46 +61 20 51 12.9 2010-10-08 08:45pm
Easily spotted in 9mm eyepiece (169x, 29′) as a small and moderately faint uniform round disc roughly 30″ in diameter. Better seen in 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′). OIII filter works well but does not bring out any additional details. Traces of annularity glimpsed. Two moderately faint (mag. 14.8) stars are located right outside the nebula to the W and SW. A faint star (mag. 15.9) is visible to the NW.

Palomar 12 GC Cap 21 47 17 -21 11 59 11.7 2010-10-08 09:20pm
Very pale round glow, roughly 1.5′ in diameter, barely detected with 16mm eyepiece (95x, 52′), better seen with 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′). Located 2′ NW of a small rectangle triangle of moderately bright stars. Note: I sketched the field and verified later on that the position was correct.

NGC 7507 GX Scl 23 12 44 -28 28 45 11.4 2010-10-08 10:35pm
Small (~ 10″) bright round core, moderately faint halo 1.5′ in diameter. Located 20′ from dimmer NGC 7513.

NGC 7562 GX Psc 23 16 32 +06 45 02 12.6 2010-10-08 10:55pm
Small (< 10") moderately bright core, faint halo roughly 1' in diameter, both very slightly elongated E-W. Located 2' W of a moderately faint (mag. 14.3) star. Faint (mag. 15.8) star 1.5 NW. Did not see NGC 7562A and 7557 (a DSS sheet of the region would have helped in locating those)

NGC 7541 GX Psc 23 15 18 +04 35 48 12.5 2010-10-08 11:05pm
3′x1′ E-W, moderately faint, fairly uniform. Located 3′ W of a moderatelt bright (mag. 13.0) star and 4′ ENE of smaller and dimmer NGC 7537. Traces of mottling detected?

IC 10 GX Cas 00 21 01 +59 21 24 11.8 2010-10-08 11:40pm
Extremely faint glow, about 2′x1′ E-W. 2 moderately faint stars are superimposed, the brighter one to the W. A few more faint superimposed stars pop in and out of view. Knowing where to look and what to look for helps tremendously here, and I had just looked at this object in Mark Johnston’s 18″ scope prior to looking for it in my 12″ scope. Otherwise, I probably would have missed it…

MCG-3-1-15 (WLM Dwarf) GX Cet 00 02 33 -15 23 53 11.0 2010-10-09 12:00am
Extremely pale glow, 15′x5′ N-S. Moving the scope back and forth over the field helps to distinguish the object’s glow from the background sky.

NGC 24 GX Scl 00 10 31 -24 54 00 12.1 2010-10-09 12:30am
4′x1′ NE-SW. Fairly faint, uniform halo, only slightly brighter toward the center. Some mottling was suspected. A fairly bright star lays at the ENE end.

NGC 171 GX Cet 00 37 56 -19 52 20 13.0 2010-10-09 12:40am
Fairly faint, round, 1′ in diameter. Slightly brighter round core, 20″ in diameter. Forms an isoceles triangle with 2 nearby field stars of similar brightness (mag. 10.8 and 11.5) Note: NGC 171 = NGC 175 (see NGCBUGS for story)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

NGC 7785 GX Psc 23 55 54 +05 58 48 12.6 2010-10-09 10:45pm
Almost stellar bright core, faint halo 1′x45″ NW-SE. Moderately faint (mag. 14.7) star just outside the halo to the N. A few fairly bright stars visible in the same field of view of the 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′)

NGC 125 GX Psc 00 29 25 +02 54 09 13.3 2010-10-09 11:05pm
Moderately faint, round, about 30″ in diameter, gradually brighter toward the center. 2 moderately faint (mag. 10.8 and 13.1) stars located just S. Forms a nice group with NGC 126, 127 (seen with great difficulty), 128 and 130, all seen in the same field of view of the 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′)

NGC 7832 GX Psc 00 07 03 -03 39 09 14.3 2010-10-09 11:15pm
Fairly faint, 45″x30″ NE-SW, weak small core.

NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula) BN Cas 23 21 14 +61 16 22 11.0 2010-10-09 11:25pm
Faint nebulosity around SAO 20575 (mag. 8.7), about 1′x45″ E-W. With careful examination, using a 9mm eyepiece (169x, 29′) outfitted with an OIII filter, and knowing in advance what to look for, I was able to detect a faint extension to the E, arcing toward the SE. Another fairly bright star (SAO 20562, mag. 6.9), 5′ WSW, also appears fuzzy (probably just scattering)

NGC 198 GX Psc 00 39 58 +02 51 40 13.1 2010-10-10 12:00am
Round uniform glow, about 1′ in diameter. Visible in the same field of view of the 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′) as NGC 200, both galaxies being at the end of a nice galaxy chain.

IC 1613 GX Cet 01 05 29 +02 11 41 10.1 2010-10-10 12:15am
Extremely pale glow, 10′x5′ WNW-ESE, barely distinguishable from the background sky. Using a low power eyepiece (16mm, 95x, 52′) and moving back and forth over the expected position helps in convincing yourself that you’re actually seeing the darn thing!

NGC 315 GX Psc 00 58 26 +30 24 51 12.2 2010-10-10 12:30am
Fairly bright small core (~ 20″), fairly faint round halo measuring roughly 1′ in diameter. Faint star just 40″ E. Another faint star 45″ NNW. Visible in the same field of view of 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′) as NGC 311.

NGC 514 GX Psc 01 24 40 +12 58 38 12.3 2010-10-10 01:00am
Very faint uniform oval glow, 2′x1.5′ E-W. Caught a glimpse of an almost stellar core (?) Located 2′ W of a fairly bright star (HIP 6558)

NGC 660 GX Psc 01 43 38 +13 42 05 11.9 2010-10-10 01:05am
Moderately faint halo 2′x1′ NNE-SSW, brighter core 30″x15″.

NGC 665 GX Psc 01 45 32 +10 28 50 13.2 2010-10-10 01:10am
Faint halo 45″x30″ NW-SE, small (~ 15″) moderately bright round core.

NGC 718 GX Psc 01 53 49 +04 15 09 12.6 2010-10-10 01:15am
Small (~ 10″) bright round core. Moderately faint round halo 1′ in diameter showing hints of mottling.

NGC 706 GX Psc 01 52 26 +06 21 13 13.2 2010-10-10 01:20am
Very faint uniform round glow, 45″ in diameter. Located 45″ SSW of a moderately faint (mag. 16.1!) field star.

NGC 741 GX Psc 01 56 57 +05 41 06 12.3 2010-10-10 01:25am
Round, fairly faint, 30″ in diameter. Forms a very tight couple with smaller and dimmer NGC 742, just to the E, sharing a common halo with NGC 741. Galaxy IC 1751 was barely detected in the same field of view of the 7mm eyepiece (217x, 22′)

When I showed up at the entrance of the Hollister BLM access road, off of Little Panoche Rd, around 7pm, I saw Dr. Lee Hoglan, Craig Scull, Peter Nastcher, Tony Hurtado and Mark Johnston fiddling with the gate. Apparently, a land owner had added their own combo lock in addition to the existing lock, and nobody knew the combination code! As I was privately entertaining the idea of setting up my equipment on the gravel area in front of the gate, Lee decided to cut off the chain with a hack saw blade. At first, I didn’t think that it was going to work, but apparently, Lee had learned quite a few tricks while at Folsom, and managed to cut off one of the links in about 10 minutes (thank God for soft steel chains!). Using a pair of pliers, I then twisted the link and managed to open the gate. Victory!

We proceeded to setup on the large flat area in front of the observatory. It was a bit breezy early on, but the wind died down after sunset as it is often the case in that area. It was quite warm all night, and I was observing in nothing more than a pair of shorts and a thin long sleeve shirt.

After collimating, we looked at Venus, Saturn and the Moon, which were all pretty low over the western horizon, and noticed that the seeing was quite good! Antares’ companion was readily visible in my 12″ scope. Always a good sign!

In the middle of the night, Peter noticed that his scope was out of collimation. We later found out that it was due to the support of his secondary mirror getting loose. This incident prompted me to check my own collimation since I, too, was starting to see more coma than I am used to. Indeed, my collimation was a little off, and after adjusting the mirrors, everything became crisper. I don’t know what caused that shift on my scope, but I decided not to worry about it for now.

After midnight, the seeing went from good to spectacular. Peter was showing off Jupiter through his 24″ StarMaster telescope armed with a binoviewer and a neutral density filter. This was the best view of Jupiter I have ever had. A lot of very fine details could be seen within the bands. The satellites were seen as tiny little discs of varying diameters and colors, making it easy to identify them. The GRS was crossing Jupiter’s meridian, followed by a long thin dark band (maybe signaling the reapparition of the SEB?)

Lyra’s double-double was showing a very clean split, and Peter suggested to try 72 Peg, which members are separated by only 0.5″. Sure enough, using my 12″ scope, two tiny Airy discs touching each other were intermittently visible.

The transparency was good but not great. Jupiter was showing a tiny halo, and my NELM estimate was around 6.6, which is slightly below what the site is capable of. Nevertheless, M33 was fairly easily visible using averted vision, which I consider a good test for darkness and transparency.

As far as my observing log, this was not a night for the record books. I only logged the following 5 (new to me) objects:

M1-92 (Minkowski’s Footprint) PN Cyg 19 36 46 +29 34 28 11.0 2010-08-14 09:35pm
Appears as a fairly bright fuzzy star at 305x, confirmed at 610x. It seemed extremely slightly elongated WNW-ESE with tiny faint extensions in the same direction (?) Forms a small triangle with two field stars of relatively comparable brightness. I did not try using a narrow band filter since I knew in advance that it would not help.

HP 1 (Haute-Provence 1) GC Oph 17 31 47 -29 59 26 12.5 2010-08-14 10:15pm
Very pale round glow 45″ in diameter. Confirmed the location with Mark Johnston’s 18″ StarMaster telescope. In that scope, a tiny (10″) core, only very slightly brighter than the surrounding glow, was suspected (?)

Djorgovski 2 GC Sgr 18 02 31 -27 49 34 9.9 2010-08-14 11:00pm
Faint round glow 1.5′ in diameter located 20′ W of the famous ink spot (B86) and its neighboring open cluster NGC 6520. Positioned in the center of a keystone shaped asterism formed by 4 fairly bright stars. Another small (unnamed?) dark nebula is located 5′ WNW. A very faint superimposed star was detected at the northern end of the cluster, and another one was also seen intermittently at the western end. Not sure whether these belong to the cluster or are simply field stars.

NGC 6412 (Arp 38) GX Dra 17 29 16 +75 42 06 12.4 2010-08-14 11:15pm
Bright stellar nucleus surrounded by a diffuse featureless halo measuring 1.5′ in diameter. A faint smudge was spotted 10′ NW (?)

NGC 6621 (Arp 81) GX Dra 18 12 54 +68 22 15 13.3 2010-08-15 12:05am
Faint diffuse glow 1.5′x30″ elongated NW-SE containing two small condensations. The slightly larger and brighter one to the NW is the core of galaxy NGC 6621, while the other one is the core of its companion galaxy NGC 6622. A faint (mag. 15.3) star is located just 30″ E of the core of NGC 6622.

I also tried to look at a number of tough objects, including Djorgovski 1 and the Aquarius Dwarf, but was not able to see them.

I finished the night with a quick look at a couple of galaxy groups in Pegasus using one of Alvin’s observing guides. I also looked at some of my favorites, including Stephan’s quintet, the Deer Lick group and M33.