| Observer: | Tom Campbell |
| Location: | College Station, Texas (Long: 96°17'W Lat: 30°37'N) |
| Telescope: | Zhumell 12" f/5 Dobsonian |
| Eyepieces: | Explore Scientific 18mm (83x) Explore Scientific 11mm (136x) |
| Lenses: | Celestron Luminos Barlow (2.5x) |
| Weather: | The sky was mostly clear, but clouds would drift across the sky intermittently. Temperature was in the low 80s (F) and there was a slight breeze. |
Last evening, the sky was partly cloudy when I came home from work, but it looked like it was clearing off a bit. As I was listening to the six o'clock news, the weatherman (who almost never talks about astronomy) caught me off guard. He began by saying, "Those of you who love stargazing..." My ears perked up. Then he continued, "...are going to be very disappointed by tonight's sky, as clouds move in after sunset."
Sure enough, that's what happened. This has been a very disappointing year as far as observing goes. The skies only seem to be clear when the bright Moon is overhead and washing out all the fainter celestial objects.
Tonight, however, the mostly cloudy skies began clearing around sunset. In the hopes of finally getting a night out under the stars before the Moon washed everything out again, I set up Zoomy in the backyard. I've been calling my 12" Zhumell telescope the "Biggie Z" but a friend recently started referring to it as "Zoomy" and I rather like that name better.
I've been wanting to see some globular clusters in Sagittarius, but the skies have not been cooperating with me the last couple of months. By September, the constellation is already beginning to sink low in the west by the time it gets dark. To see how well I'd be able to see globular clusters in the twilight, I decided to start off with a Messier object that I don't visit very often.
| M 28 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 9:00pm CDT |
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At 341x, this cluster is easy to find but difficult to resolve. With averted vision, some stars could be picked out along the edges but the middle remained fuzzy. At times, it appeared to have a stellar core. |
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| NGC 6638 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 9:10pm CDT |
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This globular is very faint, best seen at 136x. I could detect a fuzzy patch, but with no resolution. Increasing magnification caused it to become too difficult to see. It is easy to find. There is a line of three stars near Kaus Borealis (λ Sgr) and NGC 6638 is next to the last star. |
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As I started to move further south in Sagittarius, I noticed a big bank of clouds moving through the area. They were moving fairly quickly and it looked clear on the other side of the bank so I decided to just wait it out. I leaned back in my observing chair and looked overhead. The Summer Triangle was high above, marking the locations of Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila. With my head tilted back, it gave the illusion that the clouds were remaining stationary and the stars were racing across the sky. I felt like I was in a time-lapse movie and could almost feel the Earth rotating. Neat!
After several minutes, Sagittarius began to clear up once more, so I took aim with Zoomy and continued where I left off.
| γ CrA | Corona Australis | Double Star | 9:30pm CDT |
Not only is this a new object for me, but this is the first object I've ever viewed in this southern constellation. This is a nice double at 83x. Both components appear white, with one being just slightly brighter than the other. This is very easy to find, being one of the stars in the crown. |
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| NGC 6652 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 9:45pm CDT |
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This cluster is extremely faint. I had to jiggle the telescope a few times to make sure it was really there. Using my 18mm eyepiece, It appeared as a faint fuzzy patch close to HD 171296. Nothing to write home about, but with my sky conditions tonight, it was an accomplishment just to find it. |
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| M 54 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 9:55pm CDT |
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The best view was at 341x. It appeared to be just on the verge of resolving into individual stars. It looked like a large gray ball that quickly fades from the center and with a core that was at times stellar. I've only logged M 54 once before, and that was with my 8" dob at a dark sky site. Interestingly, the views were comparable: "This cluster has a bright, stellar core. 122x offered about the best view. It has a patchwork appearance, but individual stars couldn't be resolved. It does have a nice, round shape to it. This globular seemed to beg for more aperture." |
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| M 70 | Sagittarius | Globular Cluster | 10:00pm CDT |
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This cluster is a little fainter than M54, but is also perhaps a bit larger. With the barlowed 18mm, I can see it, but am unable to resolve any individual stars. The core appeared stellar. There are two faint foreground stars near it, which helps with focusing. I also logged M 70 in my 8" dob from that same dark sky site. Here's my description of it from back then: "This globular is small and tight, but fairly bright. 188x offers about the best view tonight. With averted vision, a few stars can be resolved, but direct vision reveals only a fuzzy smudge of light with a bright core. This cluster isn't very impressive through my telescope, but it looks like it has some potential for larger scopes." I was actually able to see M 70 better through my 8" at a dark site than through my 12" in my back yard. |
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| M 15 | Pegasus | Globular Cluster | 10:20pm CDT |
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Now this is a proper globular cluster! At 341x, hundreds of pinpoint stars could be seen with a bright fuzzy core behind it. The wind had picked up a bit at this point, causing the telescope to shake a little, but when the breeze died down, the view was stunningly gorgeous. |
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| NGC 7331 | Pegasus | Spiral Galaxy | 10:45pm CDT |
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I was pleasantly surprised to be able to see this galaxy from my back yard tonight. It appeared as a flattened oval and at times a stellar core could be seen with averted vision. |
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| 41 Aqr | Aquarius | Double Star | 11:10pm CDT |
This is a nice double, appearing close but nicely separated at 136x. The brightest component was yellow-white and the companion appared white and was a couple magnitudes fainter. This one is aesthetically pleasing. |
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I wanted to keep observing, as some of the fall constellations were starting to rise that I haven't looked at for several months. But it was a work night and I promised the wife that I wouldn't stay out too late. Reluctantly, I packed my stuff away and stored it in the garage.
I stepped outside again later, right before heading to bed, and the sky was almost completely overcast. It seems that I wouldn't have been able to continue much longer tonight anyway.