Session Name: 200324
Observer: Sam
Site: 29 Quedo (Obs)
Started: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 8:15 PM
Finished: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 11:13 PM
Seeing: 3. G – Brighter planets twinkling slightly
Transparency: 3 – Polaris + Kochab & Pherkad
Session Notes:
Goal: Comets, PN, H400
8mm Polaris/Rigel alignment: -0.338
SF light dome N to NW
ABQ light dome S to SW
East dark
Clear above obs walls
Got cold (38 F) and everything too high in sky unless want to climb share; so, call quits at 11:20 PM.
SQM-L @ 11:20 PM:
Z – 21.20
E – 21.34
S – 21.29
W – 21.36
N – 21.31
ID: C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)
Type: Comet
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 20:30; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: Sky bright (not quite past astronomical twilight). Green coma. Sketched.
ID: C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)
Type: Comet
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 22:40; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 8mm: Low in SW: most aperture obscured by obs wall. Made notation of comet motion on 8:30 PM observation sketch
ID: C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
Type: Comet
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 20:40; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: Green coma, suddenly brighter toward center. Sketched.
ID: C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
Type: Comet
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 22:55; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: Sketched motion on 8:40 PM sketch
ID: PNG149.4-09.2
Type: P Neb; Constellation: Per
Name: PK149-09.1; Mag: 12.5
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 21:00; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: pn. Field identified from chart. Large & very faint: barely brighter than background.
26mm+OIII: increases contrast, but still very faint. Right triangle of faint stars interior to pn. Large: ~1/4 – 1/3 fov. Not quite an annulus, but thicker in periphery than center. Features in the center. Cloudy, not wispy. Fixed to star field.
26mm+NPB: increases contrast – slightly better than OIII, both better than no filter, neither very good.
13mm: Centered asterism. Some evidence for cloudiness brighter than background, but still difficult.
13mm+OIII: greater contrast. wide “tendrils” threading interior. Barely brighter than background. Large: ~1/3 fov.
13mm+NPB: greater contrast & marginally better than OIII. Still barely brighter than background.
8mm: nothing
8mm+OIII: nothing
8mm+NPB: Barely brighter than background: ~2/3 or greater fov. Ethereal, but not thin wisps: long clouds. Non-uniform.
ID: PNG147.4-02.3
Type: P Neb; Constellation: Per
Name: PK147-02.1
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 21:30; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: pn is bright stellar. “Whiter” than other stars in field
26mm+OIII: centered inside large, ethereal ~annulus.
26mm+NPB: pn stands out nicely. large surrounding annulus not present.
8mm: still bright, still stellar. Hard focus: lots of twinkling, poor seeing.
8mm+OIII: pn shows disk. small, round, uniform.
8mm+NPB: stellar.
13mm: stellar
13mm+OIII: non-stellar disk.
ID: PNG158.6+00.7
Type: P Neb; Constellation: Per
Name: Sh2-216; Mag: 12.9
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 21:53; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: PNG158.6+00.7 is not known in Nexus catalog: locate by RA/Dec
26mm: identified field, but no pn
26mm+OIII: impression of concentric rings filling at least 1/2 fov. rings fixed to star field.
26mm+NPB: present, but more difficult than OIII.
13mm: sense, but not truly seen.
13mm+OIII: present, ~3/4 fov (if not larger). Impression of concentric arcs, not necessarily forming full rings.
13mm+NPB: not present.
Too large to make 8mm worthwhile.
ID: PNG204.1+04.7
Type: P Neb; Constellation: Mon
Name: SAC6209; Mag: 12.5
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 21:53; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: id fov from charts. Planetary is faint: large: 1/10-/12-1/15 fov.
26mm+OIII: marginal if any increase in contrast. Neb has main part and then pieces coming off in different directions. Roughly disk-like part with dimensions above, then thick studs coming off like compass rose, perhaps a fifth in between two.
26mm+NPB: loose compass rose, but still visible.
13mm: faint: perhaps 1/6 fov
13mm+OIII: better contrast, still faint/ethereal, roughly circular. Not uniform. ~1/6 fov.
13mm+NPB: better contrast, though not as much as OIII. Otherwise no difference in desc.
8mm: faint but present: ~1/4 fov.
8mm+OIII: not present
8mm+NPB: present, but very difficult to desc. faint. non-uniform. large (~>1/4 fov)
ID: NGC2355
Type: Open; Constellation: Gem
Name: VI-6; Mag: 9.7
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 22:55; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: oc. brightest stars as bright as field stars but mostly dimmer stars. Many, irr. well-separated from field. ~1/18-1/15 fov. streamers coming off a roughly round central piece. milikiness in central piece. Evidence milkiness in streamers. not many streamers. One long, prominent streamer ~ 1/10 fov. frames nicely.
ID: NGC2395
Type: Open; Constellation: Gem
Name: VIII-11; Mag: 8
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 22:58; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: oc. larger, irr, V-shaped with clump of fainter stars at vertex, with two long strands of brighter stars coming off as arms of V. Brighter stars guide eye, milkiness defines arms.
ID: PNG205.1+14.2
Type: P Neb; Constellation: Gem
Name: PK205+14.1; Mag: 10.2
Date: 2020-03-24 @ 22:55; Telescope: Dob; Eyepiece: 26mm Nagler Type 5; Magnification: 82x.
Observations: 26mm: pn. central * bright, easy to pick-out w/out filter, but PN not visible.
26mm+OIII: large. Round piece where central * is, flat anvil, thunderhead on-top. ~1/8 – 1/10 fov. [Afternote: Medusa neb: round part is face, anvil/thunderhead is hair.]
26mm+NPB: responds ok, but OIII is better.
13mm: Evident once know where to look. fixed to stars.
13mm+OIII: very good response. Still faint, ethereal. Circular cloud surrounding central star with cumulus thunderhead or anvil on top.
13mm+NPB: very good response: same as OIII in resp, desc.
8mm: very faint evidence for pn moves with field stars. Focus hard (seeing)
8mm+OIII: barely present
8mm+NPB: barely present, marginally better than OIII. Large ~1/4 fov. too faint, too large relative to fov to give desc. 13mm is best view.