Post by Bryant on Mar 19, 2007 20:48:34 GMT -6
So tonight's another dark (as far as Chicago gets at least) night in the Northern suburbs so I figured I'd try my luck with a DSO... After last observing session's finding M35 in my binoculars and scope I was up for trying something else. So, seeing as I'm not really sure what's good or not good to look at, I searched around on my computer observatory program and found M78.. seemed relatively easy to find, right in Orion! Or so I thought... I noticed that the nebula was mag 8, but I figured that since I could almost get up to mag 8 in my finderscope alone, I was feeling confident about the search...
So, I naively hit the skies and begin searching around orion's belt for the mysterious nebula. After many trips inside to check where stars were so I could compare with what I was seeing with my scope, I finally realized I'm in the right altitude. So, I proceeded to scan in azimuth, hoping to be find the little bugger at last. 15 minutes later I wasn't feeling as confident in my ability to find the nebula
Now depressed that I couldn't find my target for the night I set for the glory of winter nights: Saturn.
Tonight Saturn was quite high in the sky, which means its above the normal Chicago muck that is pervasive in the skies for many degrees above the horizon. So, I found the ringed beauty in my 25mm eyepiece and then decided I was gonna go for it and see how much mag I could get on the bugger. The wind was minimal, so I figured as long as I could focus, I would be fine. Well, I must say, I finally got up to my 6mm with a 2x barlow, and it was the most magnificent view of saturn I have ever seen. The planet crossed the field of view in a matter of 10 or so seconds, but with a little adjustment it was absolutely fantastic.
Well, that's my night in a nutshell Never knew I could see anything really at such high magnifications! It wasn't even terribly out of focus either, still easy to make out the cassini division and all that. Anyways, the real moral is that if anyone knows of some good DSOs (clusters, nebulae, maybe even galaxies) that I could try to find I'd much appreciate it It seems the mag 8 nebula is a bit out of my reach from the city skies, but I won't hesitate to give others a try!
So, I naively hit the skies and begin searching around orion's belt for the mysterious nebula. After many trips inside to check where stars were so I could compare with what I was seeing with my scope, I finally realized I'm in the right altitude. So, I proceeded to scan in azimuth, hoping to be find the little bugger at last. 15 minutes later I wasn't feeling as confident in my ability to find the nebula
Now depressed that I couldn't find my target for the night I set for the glory of winter nights: Saturn.
Tonight Saturn was quite high in the sky, which means its above the normal Chicago muck that is pervasive in the skies for many degrees above the horizon. So, I found the ringed beauty in my 25mm eyepiece and then decided I was gonna go for it and see how much mag I could get on the bugger. The wind was minimal, so I figured as long as I could focus, I would be fine. Well, I must say, I finally got up to my 6mm with a 2x barlow, and it was the most magnificent view of saturn I have ever seen. The planet crossed the field of view in a matter of 10 or so seconds, but with a little adjustment it was absolutely fantastic.
Well, that's my night in a nutshell
Never knew I could see anything really at such high magnifications! It wasn't even terribly out of focus either, still easy to make out the cassini division and all that. Anyways, the real moral is that if anyone knows of some good DSOs (clusters, nebulae, maybe even galaxies) that I could try to find I'd much appreciate it It seems the mag 8 nebula is a bit out of my reach from the city skies, but I won't hesitate to give others a try!