Post by Paulie pchris00 on Jan 16, 2010 16:00:12 GMT -6
So far winter 2009/2010 hasn't been kind to astronomers in Northwest Indiana. Last Wednesday night, however, was clear and transparent, although a little turbulent. And unlike the few clear nights we've had so far this winter, Wednesday night wasn't bone-chilling cold.
Jupiter had already set by the time I went to set up the telescopes, but Mars had risen, but was still rather low in the eastern sky. My first looks at the Red Planet seemed a bit hazy, but I figuered that might be due to the thick atmosphere I was looking through.
I hit up some of my usual targets, starting with the Double Cluster, Orion Nebula, M35, and M47. It was a warmer night than most this winter, but my fingers were still getting cold, so I started my car to warm up a bit and smoke a cigarette.
While sitting in the car, I thumbed through Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines, looking for other targets to observe. I decided to try M1, the Crab Nebula, which I had never seen before with my own eyes. Seeing that it was located almost directly between M35 and Aldebaran, I started at M35 (I'm REALLY liking that open cluster every time I see it), and worked my way east. It took some effort, but I located it, and was surprised how faint it was. Rather large, but oh so faint.
I'm not much of a galaxy hunter, but last November I managed to locate M81, but somehow missed M82. I gave the pair another try, and wasn't disappointed. By this time I was getting cold again, and figured it had been a rather successful observation tracking down M1 for the first time, in addition to the galactic pair, but I had to give Mars another look before packing up the telescopes.
It still wasn't as good as I was expecting, but when the air stabilized briefly, I was satisfied that I could see the ice cap. My observation session might not seem like much, but I definitely needed some telescope time to get me through the rest of this winter.
Jupiter had already set by the time I went to set up the telescopes, but Mars had risen, but was still rather low in the eastern sky. My first looks at the Red Planet seemed a bit hazy, but I figuered that might be due to the thick atmosphere I was looking through.
I hit up some of my usual targets, starting with the Double Cluster, Orion Nebula, M35, and M47. It was a warmer night than most this winter, but my fingers were still getting cold, so I started my car to warm up a bit and smoke a cigarette.
While sitting in the car, I thumbed through Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines, looking for other targets to observe. I decided to try M1, the Crab Nebula, which I had never seen before with my own eyes. Seeing that it was located almost directly between M35 and Aldebaran, I started at M35 (I'm REALLY liking that open cluster every time I see it), and worked my way east. It took some effort, but I located it, and was surprised how faint it was. Rather large, but oh so faint.
I'm not much of a galaxy hunter, but last November I managed to locate M81, but somehow missed M82. I gave the pair another try, and wasn't disappointed. By this time I was getting cold again, and figured it had been a rather successful observation tracking down M1 for the first time, in addition to the galactic pair, but I had to give Mars another look before packing up the telescopes.
It still wasn't as good as I was expecting, but when the air stabilized briefly, I was satisfied that I could see the ice cap. My observation session might not seem like much, but I definitely needed some telescope time to get me through the rest of this winter.