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A Sky Watcher's Journal
3/7/2010 9:30 - 10:30 pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-03-08 06:56:54
Cold, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Castor, (Alpha Geminorum) multiple star in Gemini.
Castor

Took photos through infra-red filter only applying auto-exposure and auto-contrast then experimenting with various settings increasing the exposure times as well as the gray scale maximum limit.

Using the GIMP for processing, I combined two of the resulting images to enhance C & D and avoid over-exposing A & B:

  * Layers stacked
    - align the two images
    - eliminate over-exposed A & B from the layer with visible C & D
  * Each layer locked and rotated to "north up"
  * Image flipped to correct for Schmidt-Cass east/west inversion
  * Layers combined
  * Colors | Levels - Output Levels top slider changed downward

NOTE: An object was observed moving through the eyepiece's FOV before attaching the CCD. It traveled in a straight path from approx. SW to NE, was a constant brightness of perhaps 9th mag, and passed within 10' of Castor.
2/11/2010 3:00 - 4:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-03-01 03:07:27
Cool, clear (very light 'sky haze'), no moon. Back Yard Observatory

Observed galaxies found in the Messier catalog within Leo using the C8" Schmidt-Cass.

M65 @ 81x & 120x has an obvious, if faintish, nucleus. At 120x with averted vision, its elongated shape extends NW/SE or NNW/SSE.
  *GoTo: dist 29 Mly, dia 60 Kly, mag 9.3, dia 10.0'

M66 @ 120x has a fairly obvious nucleus and with averted vision is elongated NW/SE.
  *GoTo: dist 29 Mly, dia 50 Kly, mag 9.0, dia 8.7'

M95 @ 120x is more challenging needing averted vision to see the nucleus clearly. Its shape is not apparent and @ 81x even the nucleus is in question.
  *GoTo: dist 31 Mly, dia 70 Kly, mag 9.7, dia 7.4'

M96 @ 120x has a faintish nucleus fairly obvious with averted vision and its shape is not apparent.
  *GoTo: dist 31 Mly, dia 62 Kly, mag 9.2, dia 7.1'

M105 @ 120x has a more distinct nucleus than M95/M96, but again its shape is not apparent.
  *GoTo: dist 31 Mly, dia 35 Kly, mag 9.3, dia 4.5'
2/11/2010 1:10 - 2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-03-01 02:51:58
Cold (28°), clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory

Follow-up observation of 54 Leo, double star, with C8" Schmidt-Cass using 81x Celestron E-lux 25mm eyepiece. Primary is a blue-tinted silver while the companion is a bit less blue and at times has a slightly yellowish tint compared to the primary, but is a blueish star.

Algieba or Gamma Leonis, double star, with C8" Schmidt-Cass @ 81x shows a primary with a light goldish-yellow tint and a secondary with a more gray or silver tint.
1/30/2010 3:45 - 4:45 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-01-30 08:21:53
Cold (23°), clear, FULL moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed 54 Leonis, (Struve 1487) double star in Leo, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Estimated angle a bit less than 4 o'clock (110°) and separation estimated to be single-digit arc-seconds. The primary is blue-white while the companion is yellower... pale yellow? Perhaps a bit greenish?

  * GoTo: 4.5 mag, 6.8" separation, 110° angle

I estimate the companion to be about 6.0 mag.

  * Astro League: 4.5/6.3 mag, 6.5" separation, 110° angle
  * Hubbard Sci Atlas: 4.5/6.3 mag, 6" separation, greenish-white/blue
  * Norton Atlas: 5.0/7.0 mag, 6.3" separation, angle 108°, angle slowly increasing (1923)
  * WDS Catalog: 4.48/6.30 mag, 6.9" separation, 113° angle (2008), A1V/A2Vn spectral types

NOTES: Color perception seems to be affected by both color contrast and magnitudes. The universe teaches patience.
1/26/2010 12:30 - 1:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-01-30 06:48:21
Cold, clear, waxing gibbous moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Castor, double star in Gemini, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Struck by the blueness of both the brighter stars. Again, there is clear separation of the 5 arc-seconds even at 81x and it's evident how well my observations agree with WDS data including components C and D.
1/17-18/2010 11:40 - 1:30 am Mountain   rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-01-26 04:54:33
Cold, VERY clear, no moon. Back yard observatory.

Observed the Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) Planetary Nebula in Gemini, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 240x. A bright, nearly stellar center is surrounded by a round cloud, like a gradient fading from the center outward. With averted vision, it is estimated at less than 1 arc minute in diameter. GoTo: 0.7 arc minutes, 10.0 mag. A star of similar mag is about 2' north.

Observed Castor, double star in Gemini, at 81x and 240x to verify earlier observation. I see no 3rd mag star at 171°, but definitely see a star of that mag at 2 o'clock (approx 60°). There are two much-fainter stars, one at about 5 o'clock (approx 150°) and about 1 to 1.5 arc minutes distant. The other is between 7-8 o'clock (approx 210-240°) and about 3x the distance of the first.

The WDS (Washington Double Star) Catalog confirms that these are 3rd and 4th components of this system. The first: 70.5", 164°, 9.83 mag. The second: 183", 221°, 10.07 mag.
1/9/2010 12:00 - 1:45 am Mountain   rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-01-26 04:26:46
Cold, extremely clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Castor (Alpha Geminorum) double star, with C8" Schmidt-Cass. Primary is silver-white, secondary blue-silver. Basic star atlas lists 5" separation which is CLEAR at only 81x tonight! The atlas lists magnitudes at 2.0 and 2.8 and I estimate orientation angle at about 2 o'clock or 60°.

NOTES:

Both of the following sources appear to be in conflict with my observations
GoTo (mag 1.6, separation 1.8", angle 171°, epoch/yr ?)
Astro League (mag 1.9/2.9, separation 2.2", angle 171°, epoch/yr 2000.0)

These sources agree more closely esp when considering how the angle has changed over time.
Norton (mag 2.0/2.8, separation 3.9", angle 209°, epoch/yr 1937)
Hubbard Sci (mag 2.0/2.8, separation 5", angle ?, epoch/yr 2000?)
WDS Catalog (mag 1.93/2.97, separation 4.7", angle 58°, epoch/yr 2008)
1/9/2010 12:00 - 1:45 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2010-01-09 06:00:27
Cold (about 17°), partly cloudy to clear toward end of observing time, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

First observation of 2010!

Observed 145 Canis Majoris, double star with C8" Schmidt-Cass, and again I found strikingly beautiful contrast between the golden orange-yellow primary at mag. 5.0 and its pale turquoise-blue companion at mag. 7.0. On Nov. 26th 2009, I estimated orientation at 45°. Tonight, I estimated the orientation to be 55° to 60°, and again for reference, it's listed at 65° in my GoTo database.

Observed Adhara, (Epsilon Canis Majoris) a double star. Primary is a very bright bluish-white 1.6 magnitude star less that 20° off the southwest horizon showing a fair amount of atmospheric "twinkling" that yeilds some rainbow refraction colors. It overwhelmed its companion only 8" distant at magnitude 9.0. On Nov. 26th 2009, I could not see the companion at 81x and tonight I also attempted 120x, 162x, and 240x with the same result.
12/20/2009 1:50 - 3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 05:08:27
Cold, some thin clouds, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Eta Puppis, double star, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Both stars appear silver and so nearly the same mag. that I cannot determine which is primary. I estimate angle of orientation to be 4 o'clock / 10 o'clock being either 120° or 300°. Separation only several arc seconds. (GoTo info: 5.9 mag, 10.0", 117°)

Observed Kappa Puppis, double stars, at 81x. Both stars appear bluish-silver and are so very close in mag. (as in Eta) that I cannot determine primary. Estimated andgle of orientation is 4:30 o'clock / 10:30 o'clock being 135° / 315°. Again, separation is several arc seconds. (GoTo info: 4.6 mag, 10.0", 318°)

Observed M93, open cluster in Puppis, at 81x. My first impression is "delicate and irregular". All of the members are fainter stars so colors are indistinct. GoTo info describes this object as V-shaped with a central void and I can agree with that description. The V shape points like an arrow to the southwest. (GoTo info: 6.2 mag, 22.0' diameter) I can be certain of approx. 15' visual size, but the irregular shape somewhat blends the periphery into the surrounding field.
12/15/2009 2:00 - 2:50 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 04:44:26
Cold, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M1, (Crab Nebula) supernova remnant in Taurus, with C8" Schmidt-Cass and Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD.
Crab Nebula

Took photos through infra-red, read, green, and blue filters - each with using the following settings:

  * 2.0 second exposures combined for 300 - 400 seconds
  * Darks newly generated and applied
  * On a 0 - 65535 gray scale, minimum limit 5930, maximum limit 6446

NOTE: This image was barely visible against the background light pollution and so is a little grainy due to aggressive processing

Using the GIMP for processing, the following tools were applied:

  * Layers stacked IR, R, G, B with all but the bottom set to Mode: "screen"
  * Each layer's Opacity set to 50%, moved and rotated while zoomed to align image pixels
  * Colors | Color Balance tool applied to red, green, and blue layers for coloration,
    in some cases subtracting the appropriate color with the Shadows slider
    while increasing the Midtones and Highlights sliders
  * Colors | Brightness-Contrast tool applied (both +) multiple times to enhance detail visibility
  * Colors | Levels - Output Levels bottom slider changed multiple times to darken background
  * Filters | Enhance | Unsharp Mask applied to sharpen detail
12/14/2009 2:05 - 2:25 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 04:17:06
Cold, clear, no moon. Back Yard.

Observed Geminids, December meteor shower, naked-eye in a lawn recliner looking straight up at Castor and Pollux. I definitely saw 7 meteors and probably saw 2 more for a count of 9. With some obstructions around me, I believe I had a reasonably good FOV looking up at approx. zenith. All meteors appeared white, radiated out from the Geminid radiant near Castor, and commonly spanned about 10° of sky.
12/13/2009 1:30 - 3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 04:07:13
Observed M1, supernova remnant in Taurus, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. With averted vision, the slightly irregular-shaped puff-of-smoke becomes more obvious.

Observed M35, open cluster in Gemini, at 81x. Many bright stars. Fills the approx. 30' FOV. (GoTo info: 75 stars, 2200 LY dist, 30 LY dia, 28'/5.0 mag.)

Observed M37, open cluster in Auriga, at 81x. Bright stars in a nice field. (GoTo info: 150 stars, 4600 LY dist, 25 LY dia, 2500 suns lum, 24'/5.6 mag)

Observed M36, open cluster in Auriga, at 81x. Bright blue stars. (GoTo info: 4600 LY dist, 25 LY dia, 8000 suns lum, 12'/6.0 mag)

Observed M38, open cluster in Auriga, at 81x. This cluster is striking in its dense population of stars - with averted vision around the field, the many fainter members become very obvious! (GoTo info: hundreds of stars, 4200 LY dist, 25 LY dia, 21' / 6.4 mag)

Observed 38 Gemini, double star, at 81x and 120x. At 81x, the 7" separation was visible but better at 120x. The primary component is a bluish polished silver while its fainter companion is copper. Orientation estimated at 135°-140°. (GoTo info: 4.7 mag) WDS Catalog lists angle of orientation at 146° and spectral type F0 (white).
11/30/2009 11:15 - 11:45 pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 02:10:39
Cold, wispy clouds, nearly full moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Mintaka, (Delta Orionis) double star in Orion, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Even with the less-than-ideal conditions, while Orion was in a clearer area of the sky, the primary was a bright bluish-white (at mag. 2.2) and the companion was much dimmer and showed a deeper blue (with a hint of green?). Separation of 53" is listed in the GoTo database and I estimate orientation at 180°. There is another star in the field approx. 8'-9' from the primary at approx. 15°. Associated? I don't believe it is based on Washington Double Star Catalog info.

NOTE: My own orientation at the eyepiece was confused while viewing with the scope on the west side of the tripod! The orientation of the companion is listed by the WDS Catalog at 0° so the 15° estimate of the other star has to be in question although I may be able to add 180°. Nevertheless, I see no system memeber in the WDS listed at 8'-9' of separation.
11/26/2009 12:50 - ?? am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 01:51:18
Cold (about 32°), clear, moon-set. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M1, (Crab Nebula) supernova remnant in Taurus, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Appears to be a slightly grainy puff-of-dust-or-smoke with averted vision from my urban back yard. I don't see any advantage in viewing this object at 120x. I would estimate its size to be 5'-6'. There are 2 modestly prominent stars in the FOV: one is about 10' from center to the north (or a bit east of north) and the other about 7' southeast. At 6500 LY, distant and 10 LY across, my estimated 5'-6' size agrees well.

Observed M41, open cluster in Taurus, at 81x. This striking cluster easily fills the approx. 30' FOV with subtle variations in its stars' colors ranging from bluish to orangish-yellow.

Observed Adhara, (Epsilon Canis Majoris) a double star. Primary is a very bright greenish-blue star overwhelming its companion only 8" distant with magnitudes 1.6 and 9.0. Could not see the companion at 81x.

Observed 145 Canis Majoris, double star, and found beautiful contrast between the orange-yellow primary at mag. 5.0 and its pale turquoise-blue companion at mag. 7.0. I estimated the orientation to be 45°, and it's listed at 65° in my GoTo database. I estimated separation to be no more than 1' and it's listed at 27" in the GoTo database.
11/20/2009 approx. 3:00 - 4:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 01:18:21
Cold, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M42, Great Orion Nebula, with C8" Schmidt-Cass and Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD.
Great Orion Nebula

Took photos through infra-red, red, green, and blue filters - each with the following settings:

  * 2.8 second exposures combined for 360 seconds
  * Darks newly generated and applied
  * On a 0 - 65535 gray scale, minimum limit 6264, maximum limit 11915

Using the GIMP for processing, the following tools were applied:

  * Layers stacked IR, R, G, B with all but the bottom set to Mode: "screen"
  * Each layer's Opacity set to 50%, moved and rotated while zoomed to align image pixels
  * Colors | Color Balance tool applied to red, green, and blue layers for coloration
  * Colors | Brightness-Contrast tool applied (both +) to enhance detail visibility
  * Colors | Levels - Output Levels bottom slider changed to darken background
  * Filters | Enhance | Unsharp Mask applied to sharpen detail
11/10/2009 2:10 - 2:50 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 00:37:03
Clear, cold - waning cresent moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M1, supernova remnant in Taurus, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x and 120x. With averted vision, along with slightly moving the scope's FOV, could see this object as a smudge of light or a wisp of smoke. Better at 81x. Moderately prominent stars at 1 o'clock / approx. 10' from center and 5 o'clock / approx. 7' from center.

Observed Alcyone, brightest member of M45 (Pleiades in Taurus), at 81x and 120x. Nebulosity visible nicely with averted vision at either power. Triangle of bright, but less prominent stars to the NW of Alcyone.
10/17/2009 2:30 - 4:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-21 00:19:13
Cool, very clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M42, Great Orion Nebula, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Swirls and wisps very apparent in clouds. Trapezium is so distinct. Dark clouds running NW-SE with a large nodule protruding toward the trapezium... somewhat like wings and the head of a bird... with 3 stars in a row to the north of the head. The bright clouds form a large extension of these wings and head spreading out of the FOV and the bright "head" engulfing the trapezium and miniature "Orion's belt".

Another prominent star to the south seems to be surrounded by nebulosity.

NOTE:
  *Miniature "Orion's belt" runs approx E-W.

  *Trapezium is like a tiny "Pleiades square" with the northern star brightest - "Alcyone's cousin".
10/7/2009 2:30 - 3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-12-20 08:07:33
Cool, clear, waning gibbous moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed NGC 752, open cluster in Andromeda, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Beautiful field of fainter-magnitude stars filling the approx 30' FOV if not spilling out beyond. There is a brighter star in the southern portion that, at first, seemed to have a light orange-ish yellow tint.

Nice field of stars even in the moon light. Miniature "Pegasus Square" in the eastern part of the field. Two stars quite close together at the NW edge of the field.

9/26/2009 2:00 - 4:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-26 06:28:12
Cool (very), clear, no moon (1st quarter had set). Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M 52 - open cluster in Cassiopeia with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x. Fainter cluster with predominant star a light orangish-yellow. (NOAO photo agrees)

Observed Eta Cassiopeiae, double star, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x. Primary component silver, secondary component copper - significantly dimmer. Estimated orientation 300° (10 o'clock) and estimated separation only several arc seconds.
  * WDS: AB 323°, 13.0", mags 3.52 7.36, spec types G0V dM0
Upon closer examination, there is a significantly fainter-yet star approx. 5x-6x more separation at about 120-135° orientation. A 3rd member?
  * WDS: AE 124°, 82.6", mags 3.52 10.15
Further examination of field while reviewing WDS data. Another component? approx. 350° at 10'-11' separation (based on FOV). Yet another component? approx. 235° (about 8 o'clock) at 7'.
  * WDS: AH 355°, 684.7", mags 3.52 8.41
  * WDS: AG 258°, 418.7", mags 3.52 9.53

NOTE: Cannot verify any of the 11th or 12th magnitude components tonight, but this is a septuple system according to the WDS Catalog!
9/18/2009 11:15 pm - 2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-19 04:27:30
Cool (very), clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed 94 Aquarii (double star) with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Looks like a car in the distance with one headlight and one parking light. Primary is silver with faint amount of greenish tint. Secondary is dull gold or bronze in color. Estimated orientation 350° with estimated separation only several arc seconds.
  * WDS: AB 351deg;, 12.3", mags 5.27 6.97, spec type G5IV ?

Observed 107 Aquarii (double star) at 81x. Both white - primary perhaps slightly blue tinted. Orientation estimated at 135°/SE and separation estimated at single-digit arc seconds.
  * WDS: 136deg;, 6.9", mags 5.65 6.46, spec types A9IV F2V

Observed Tau(1) Aquarii (double star) at 81x Primary white, secondary much dimmer so color indistinct. Estimated orientation 135°/SE and estimated separation only several arc seconds.
  * WDS: AB 126deg;, 21.0", mags 5.68 9.57, spec type A0V

Beginning at approx. 1:00 am, observed the Saturn Nebula/Caldwell 55, planetary nebula in Aquarius, about 30° off the WSW horizon. At 80x and 120x this object is obviously not stellar. At 240x, it looks like a lightly blue-tinted cotton ball. With carefull observation, there is a slightly elongated, elliptical appearance at a 2 o'clock/8 o'clock angle for the "major axis" (with north at 12 o'clock and east at 3 o'clock). With averted vision, there is a faint sense of a "line" along the "major axis". Upon further examination with averted vision, the "line" appears to extend just beyond the object in both directions.

  * NOTE: A previous observation of Caldwell 55 on 8/13/2009 is worth comparison. This object was definitely worth investigating at higher power!
9/8/2009 1:15-2:?? am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 05:29:06
Cool, mostly clear, waning gibbous moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Psi Piscium, double star in Pisces with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x and 120x. With 81x Celestron eyepiece, first look showed the northern component greenish blue and the southern component blue with a hint of violet. The 120x Orion eyepiece rendered two light blue stars with the northern only a bit more green tinted. Estimated orientation at 330deg; and separation roughly 20".

  * NOTE: While observing this object again on 9/12 at about 2am and reviewing its associated Washington Star Catalog (WDS) entry, I realized that a previous entry made on 9/22/2008 had a mistaken assumption. The third star in the photo was a third member of this system!
See:
Psi Piscium
8/28/2009 1:00-2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 05:02:23
Cool, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 30, spiral galaxy in Pegasus, with C8" Schmidt-Cass - photographing this object with Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II CCD:
  * experimented with various contrast and exposure settings
  * IR Meade filter was used
  * Darks applied for noise-to-signal ratio

C43   * Notice the background galaxy at 332 million light years!

I processed the image above with the GIMP using:
  * Brightness-Contrast
    - Brightness 64
    - Contrast 48
  * Despeckle
    - Radius 2
    - Black 7
    - White 248
  * Unsharp Mask
    - Radius 0.1
    - Amount 1.0
    - Threshold 48
  * Levels input set at 30 to darken sky and signal noise
8/27/2009 2:00-4:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 04:38:53
Cool, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 43, a galaxy in Pegasus with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x. Barely visible at the threshold of averted vision! Photographed this object with Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II CCD:
  * 2 second exposures combined for a total of 503 seconds
  * IR Meade filter was used
  * Auto-contrast was disabled with min/max values of 5993/6288 on a 0-64k scale
  * Darks applied for noise-to-signal ratio

C43

I processed the image above with the GIMP using the Brightness-Contrast, Despeckle, and Levels tools,

Observed Caldwell 30, spiral galaxy in Pegasus from approx. 2-3 am at 120x. Much more visible. Pronounced magnitude difference. Spiral galaxy in Pegasus.
8/24/2009 1:00-?? am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 04:20:09
My backyard observatory. Cool, clear, no moon.

Observed Caldwell 15 with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass using Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II CCD:

C15

I processed the image above with the GIMP using the Color Balance, Brightness-Contrast, and Levels tools to create 4 layers of IR, red, green, and blue data. Unsharp Masking was applied and layer attributes were set to "Screen". The IR layer was left black and white while the others were colored and stacked.

  * The "blink" effect was created with GIMP processing to approximate the optical illusion seen at the eyepiece. The original photo is the version with the brighter nebula.
8/22/2009 10:00-?? pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 04:10:53
Cool, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed double star Ras-Algethi (Alpha Herculis) with Matt H. Using C8" Schmidt-Cass at 80, 120, 160, and 240x, we both agreed that the primary component was a golden orange. The secondary component tended to look greenish or blue-greenish to me and blueish to violet to Matt. Separation must be only a few arc seconds and I estimate orientation to be about 110° (more than 3 o'clock and no more than 4 o'clock).
8/21/2009 9:30-?? pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 04:01:00
Cool, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed M 17, the Omega Nebula in Sagittarius. In Wikipedia, this object is listed at 5-6 thousand light years distant and 15 light years in diameter. With the C8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x, the nebulosity appears elongated in an ESE/WNW direction. Definitely more visible with averted vision. The elongated dimension is perhaps 2/3 FOV at 120x, so at 80x I get approx 30' FOV making 120x approx. 21' FOV, 2/3 of which yields 14'. (At 5K light years, an object 15 light years across will appear 10'+ in size)
8/21/2009 1:00-2:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 03:49:57
Cool, clear, moon near new. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 30 with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x and 240x. This object in Pegasus, high overhead, appears to be a galaxy with a brighter nucleus and elliptical haze around it at the higher magnification. At 81x it only appears to be a small, indistinct, non-stellar object. The elliptical "major axis" is roughly NW-SE. I cannot determine whether the foreground part of the object is the SW or NE side.

  * I found a source online listing this object as a 9.5 magnitude spiral galaxy 47 million light years distant.
8/16/2009 1:15-2:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 00:58:10
Extra cool, clear, waning crescent moon rising. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 15 (planetary "blinking" nebula in Cygnus) at 81x and 240x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. Myra, my daughter, and Ra'ad, her friend, joined me. Ra'ad agreed that the "fuzzy star" at 81x clearly became a nebulous object with brighter center at 240x. The "blinking" at 81x seemed a little less pronounced tonight. (Clearer seeing? Knew what to expect?)

Observed Albireo (double star in Cygnus) at 81x. Ra'ad said "wow" when seeing the bright color contrast.

Observed Jupiter at 120x with a medium blue filter. Both Myra and Ra'ad saw the GRS which had transited approx. 1 hour earlier. Ra'ad agreed that he could see striations and had a "sense" of variations in rotational speed and direction. Myra said that the view was "even better than before". By 2:30 am, Ganymede was occulted behind the western limb and the GRS western edge appeared close to touching the western limb. GRS very light oval appearing more centered in the South Equatorial Belt.

  * North edge of GRS seems more flush with edge of belt?
8/13/2009 2:30-3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 00:25:52
Cool, clear, last quarter moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 55, planetary nebula in Aquarius. Perhaps about 35° off the southwestern horizon. At 81x with C8" Schmidt-Cass this object was not like a point-source star, somewhat fuzzy and irregular - maybe roundish, maybe quadrilateral. At 120x, somewhat fainter haze around the periphery seems to come into view with averted vision.

NOTE: In a sparse field, there is a moderately brightish star approx. 55°-60° orientation and 8' distant.

  * Saw 3 Perseids during the night!  
8/12/2009 10:20-10:?? pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 00:14:57
Cool, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed 95 Herculis with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x and 120x. Only several arc seconds separation. Primary? silver, secondary component brass at approx. 240° orientation. Like metal lit from within. High overhead but past transit. Double star.

Observed M 92, globular cluster in Hercules. A bit smaller than M 13 but a very nice globular cluster looking like sparkling dust - better at 120x than 80x.

Observed another double star in Hercules, Rasalgethi at 120x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. Only a few arc seconds separation with estimated orientation 120°. Primary component goldish-bright brass and secondary dimmer and dullish brass.
8/12/2009 1:00-2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-15 00:00:36
Cool, clear, moon close to last quarter. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 15 in Cygnus with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 80, 120, 160, and 240x. At 81x, the object, before I familiarized myself, looked like a star having a bit of haze around it especially with averted vision. At 120x, I suspected a globular cluster. At 160x and 240x, the haze became clearer yet - tolerating magnification very well. The nucleus seemed to be unusually bright and distinct. Referencing Caldwell 15 online, I find it to be a planetary nebula with bright, concentrated center and surrounding cloud having a somewhat 2-lobed or dual-polar structure that isn't distinct tonight (considering moon light?).

NOTE: There is a star just a bit dimmer than the bright nucleus approx. 2' distant and oriented in a 210° direction from the nucleus's center.
8/10/2009 11:30-?? Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 23:49:10
* Continuation of previous entry (Tyler is asleep now):

At 11:33, Europa was clearly exiting occultation - NOTE: - striations nicely visible tonight and the darkish southern region is smaller but a bit darker than the northern region. This northern region appears to have a thin line at its south edge. At 12:24 am 8/11, Io was clearly exiting its occultation at the planet's eastern limb.

At 1:47 am 8/11, the Great Red Spot (GRS) was at transit, by 2:30 its eastern edge was leaving the meridian and by 3:15 its western edge nearly appeared to contact the planet's western limb.
8/10/2009 9:30-10:15 pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 23:41:28
Cool, clear, moonrise at 9:56 pm - waning gibbous. Back Yard Observatory.

Grandson, Tyler, and I observed M 13 high overhead before moonrise with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x and 120x. Looks like a round puff of sparkling dust with averted vision. Better at 120x.

Observed M 57 high overhead at about moonrise. At 120x Tyler commented "it really does look like a doughnut with a hole in the middle".

We then observed Jupiter low in the southeast with a medium blue filter and watched Io move behind the planet's western limb. Callisto is to the west about 10 diameters and Ganymede to the east about  8 diameters. As Io disappeared, Tyler commented something like "yeah, it really is gone".

  * Europa exits occultation 5:32 UT
  * Io exits occultation 6:24 UT
  * GRS transits 7:47 UT
8/9/2009 1:15-2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 21:47:03
Cool, clear, waning gibbous moon about 3-4 days past full.

With C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x -

Observed Neptune - beautiful turquoise blue even with moon - disk not apparent at 81x

Observed Albireo. Primary pale yellow and companion light blue - even in the moon light. Striking as always.

Saw a Perseid meteor looking a bit west of south, approx. 30° off horizon, moving north to south, approx. 10° trail - yellowish goldish.
8/3/2009 2:00-3:40 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 20:53:56
Cool, clear, no moon. Back Yard Observatory.

Observed Caldwell 47, globular cluster in Delphinus, with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 80, 120, 160, and 240x. In a sparse field, there is a moderately bright star just west of the cluster perhaps 1' or more from its center. At 81x, I was unsure whether I saw a globular cluster or a galactic nucleus. At greater magnifications, the  object becomes more apparent and, as magnification increases, with averted vision, individual stars seem to lie just at vision's threshold.
8/3/2009 12:40-?? Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 20:41:16
Back Yard Observatory - Clear, cool, waxing gibbous moon.

Waxing gibbous moon about 20° off the SW horizon. Observed Albireo (Beta Cygni) with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x. Even with the moon light, the A member is distinctly pale yellow and the B member is distinctly light blue. I estimate orientation at 30° and separation somewhere in the magnitude of 1/2' to 1'. Basic star chart collection lists separation at 35".
8/1-2/2009 11:30-12:45 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 19:13:03
Cool clear, waning gibbous moon. Back yard observatory.

Observed the Moon with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x with adjustable dual polarized filter. Objects of interest: Tycho crater, Copernicus crater, Mare Musium, Mare Humorium, Gassendi crater.

The eastern ridges of Mare Humorium and Gassendi are very nicely displayed in relief due to their proximity to the terminator. The rays of Copernicus and especially Tycho are nicely visible. I can estimate Tycho's rays at up to 700-800 miles - one extending NW to Mare Nectaris!

What is the ray-like feature extending across Mare Serenitatis starting or ending apparently at Mt. Haemus and continuing nearly to the limb?!
8/1/2009 1:45-3:00 am Mountain   rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 18:59:52
Cool clear, no moon (earlier rain). Back yard observatory.

Observed Caldwell 37 / NGC 6885, open cluster in Vulpecula, the fox. With C8" Schmidt-Cass at 81x, a bright star (20 Vulpecula) is predominant in the field surrounded by a nice collection of stars of various magnitudes - without remarkable coloration (perhaps most are close to the HR A-F color range?). The brightest star is east of center of the cluster. Another star of similar brightness is just north of the cluster at the edge of the 81x eyepiece's FOV. Object high in the sky during observation.
7/24/2009 3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 20:08:50
My backyard observatory. Cool, clear, no moon.

Observed M27 with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass using Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II CCD:
  * 5.7 second exposures combined for a total of approx. 24 minutes
  * IR, red, green, and blue Meade filters were used - each for approx. 6 minutes
  * Auto-contrast was set with min/max values of 5962/7211 on a 0-64k scale
  * Darks applied for noise-to-signal ratio
  * Scope alignment was good so that software tracking allowed for minimum drift

M27

I processed the image above with the GIMP using the Color Balance, Brightness-Contrast, and Levels tools to create 4 layers of IR, red, green, and blue data. Unsharp Masking was applied and layer attributes were set to "Screen". The IR layer was left black and white while the others were colored and stacked.
7/22/2009 3:45-4:?? am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 02:48:27
Cool clear, no moon. Back yard observatory.

Observed Jupiter with C8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x using an Orion #80A medium blue filter. Features nicely visible including a slightly darkish northern region with a thin band at the edge approximately 20° north latitude. Major dark bands just north and south of the equator visible with some striations while the southern band had a slightly dual appearance. The southern region appears a bit darker than the northern from 40°-45° south latitude to the pole. Two moons to the east at about 1 1/2 and 4 diameters from the limb and one slightly brighter moon to the west at about 2 diameters from the limb.

NOTE: This observation shows two distinct dark spots - one very close to the west limb at 4:00 and just at the edge by 4:15 - very close to the equator. Another somewhat less prominent dark spot was about 1/5 of the distance in from the east limb to the west just south of the equator. By 4:30 this spot is 40%-45% across the planet's diameter close to the meridian with a prominent  feature in the dark band south of the equator trailing - a light oval.

Tonight, the detail  within each belt/region is incredible!

This sketch has verified observed objects labeled.
Jupiter sketch  Jupiter sketch Inverted and somewhat digitized version.
7/18/2009 2:45-3:15 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 02:17:33
Cool clear, rising waning crescent moon. Back yard observatory.

Observed Epsilon Pegasi at 120x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. The A component is pale golden yellow. The B component is like a small spark in grey-violet ash - much less bright in contrast. Estimated orientation at 315° with a separation somewhere near 1 1/2 arc-minutes. Much contrast in both color and magnitude. This star is also named Enif.
7/18/2009 12:00-12:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-14 02:11:21
Cool clear, no moon. Back yard observatory.

Observed M13 at 81x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. Individual stars begin to resolve nicely with averted vision. With 120x the resolving of individual stars is much more remarkable - brighter sparks against a dimmer haze. There is the impression of a subdued filament-like pattern in the cluster - but is it the pattern of only some of the brighter stars in the cluster?
7/17/2009 12:00-1:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-07 05:56:31
Cool clear, no moon. Back yard observatory.  

Observed double star Zeta Lyrae at 81x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. A memeber pale green. B member pale violet. Orientation approx. 150° with separation estimated to be at least 1/2 arc-minute.
7/16/2009 9:45-10:15 pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-07 05:53:09
Cool clear, no moon. Back yard observatory.  

Observed double star Xi Boötis at 81x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. A component slightly tarnished silver (blue-green?). B member dull gold. Orientation approx. 305° at single-digit arc-second separation.
7/16/2009 1:00-2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-09-07 05:36:48
Cool clear, waning crescent moon 1 day past last quarter just rising. Back yard observatory.  

Observed double star 17 Cygni at 81x with C8" Schmidt-Cass. A component looks silver at 5th magnitude. B component looks copper/bronze at 9th magnitude and about 60° orientation. Listed at 26" separation and "Red-Blue" in my basic star finder (which I disagree with). Component C is approx. 5x further from A at about 125-130° orientation. C appears a little dimmer than B and its color indistinct.

Washington Double Star Catalog lists A-B orientation at 69° and separation at 26.3". A-C orientation is placed at 129° and separation at 115.7".
2/27-28/2009 11:45 -1:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-03-30 04:12:47
Cool clear, no moon. Back Yard.

Again, observed Lulin w/ 10x50 binoculars. Again moved approx 6° over the last 24 hrs. Close to Upsilon Leonis, west of Regulus. With averted vision, coma is obvious, nucleus comes in and out of vision and a faint tail seems to be at the threshold of averted vision to the east.

  * Each of the 3 Lulin observations was carefully sketched for posion against key background stars.

See this digital photo with comet positions and labels added.
Comet Lulin
2/27/2009 12:45 -1:30? am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-03-30 03:48:14
Cool, clear - no moon. Back yard.

Observed Lulin again with Bushnell 10x50 binoculars. Moved about 1 full FOV since last night's observation. Bushnell permafocus wide angle binoculars have a 393' FOV @ 1000 yds which yields a 7.5° FOV. The nucleus and coma are visible w/ averted vision. The tail may barely show extending east, but from our vantage point, it's near time for the tail's apparent direction to "flip".

NOTE: Real FOV for 10x50s closer to 6°.
2/26/2009 2:30-3:15 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2009-03-30 03:03:33
Cool and clear. No moon. Back yard.

Observed Comet Lulin (2007 N3) with Bushnell 10x50 binoculars. More than 2/3 from Saturn to Regulus. A faint tail pointing approximately east could be seen with averted vision. Coma a fuzzy object easily large enough not to be a star. Nucleus just on the verge of my vision with averted vision. Some haze @ end of session.

Sketched position carefully against key background stars.
12/13/2008 12:30-1:50 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-12-15 04:32:50
My backyard observatory. Cool and clear - moon.about 1 day past full

Observed Chi Tauri with my C8" Schmidt-Cass @ 81x. This sketch has been digitally worked and colored to represent the actual view seen at the eyepiece.
Chi Tauri

The primary star appears pale blue with a hint of green while its companion appears grayish, then indistinct, then yellowish-orange like a tiny amber in the ashes. I estimate its orientation at 20° while the Astronomical League lists it at 24°.

The Washington Double Star Catalog lists Chi Tauri specs as of 2007:
  * Orientation 24°
  * Separation 19.1"
  * Magnitudes 5.37 8.54
  * Spectral Types B9 F8
  
9/22/2008 2:00-3:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-09-22 07:36:39
My backyard observatory. Cool and a few misty clouds - waning moon.just past last quarter
Psi Piscium
Observed Psi(1) Piscium with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass using Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II CCD. North is up.

I processed the image above with the GIMP - a tweaked version of the original image to represent more closely the experience of seeing this system in the eyepiece without the pronounced size of the brighter, somewhat over-exposed binary stars. Notice the much fainter star to the right of the pair which is not a member of this system.

The colors to me are striking with the northern star just a bit greenish tinted compared to its southern companion.
9/22/2008 1:00-1:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-09-22 03:53:25
My backyard observatory. Cool and a few misty clouds - waning moon.just past last quarter

Observing with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass @ 81x, 120x, and 240x

Observed Zeta Aquarii
  - White/white; mag 4.3, 4.5; 1.8" separation!
  - Astro League's angle: 266° / estimated: 345°

NOTES: I have to call into question the Astronomical League's angle posted at http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/dblstar/dblstar2.html based on what I saw as nearly north/south and not nearly east/west. Also, I was unable to separate the stars at 81x and it was questionable at 120x, but at 240x both stars were apparent. (Orion 17mm Plossl + barlow)
9/20/2008 12:00-3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-09-21 01:48:20
My backyard observatory. Cool and clear - waning gibbous moon.

Observing with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass @ 81x

Further notes on some double stars:
  61 Cygnus
    - Light gold/light orange-gold; mag 5.2, 6.0; 28" separation
    - Astro League's angle: 146° / estimated: SE (135°)
  Enif (Epsilon Pegasi)
    - Light yellow/gray-violet; mag 2.4, 8.4 ; 142" separation
    - Astro League's angle: 320° / estimated: NW (315°)
    * My daughter, Myra, sees the companion as green-blue
  Psi(1) Piscium I'm calling this the turquoise binary!
    - greenish turquoise/turquoise; mag 5.6, 5.8; 30" separation
    - Astro League's angle: 159° / estimated: SE to SSE (135-157.5°)

* Working on sharpening up angle estimates
9/16/2008 3:10-3:40 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-09-21 01:28:24
My backyard observatory. Cool and clear - moon one night past full.

Observing with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass @ 81x

Notes on some double stars:
  Almach (Gamma Andromedae)
    - Yellow/blue; mag 2.3, 5.5; 10" separation
    - Astro League's angle: 63° / estimated: 40-45°
  Gamma Arietis
    - White/white; mag 4.8, 4.8; 8" separation
    - Astro League's angle: 0° / estimated: 5-10°
  Lambda Arietis
    - White/blue; mag 4.9, 7.7; 38" separation
    - Astro League's angle: 46° / estimated: 25-30°

* Need to sharpen up angle estimates - can be 5-20° off!
8/31/2008 1:00-2:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-08-31 17:48:38

Enif
My backyard observatory. Cool with patchy very thin clouds... no moon.

I observed double star Epsilon Pegasi, or Enif with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO CCD. The brighter primary star at magnitude 2.4 appeared light yellow while the much dimmer companion at magnitude 8.4 appeared gray-violet. These stars are visually 142" apart and north is up with east/west inversion corrected to represent actual sky orientation.

It should be noted that even when using the SkyAtlas 2000.0, the very symbol used to represent the primary star Enif encompasses nearly the entire FOV of the scope at 81x!

The open source planetarium software KStars with the latest Tycho-2 star catalog loaded and custom FOV (Field Of View) symbols added was used to assist in a positive identification of the dimmer companion. The GIMP was used for final color processing using photos taken through red, green, and blue filters.
8/28/2008 2:00-3:00 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-08-28 05:34:32
My backyard observatory. Cool and clear... no moon.

I observed double star Epsilon Pegasi, or Enif with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass and a Celestron E-lux 25mm eyepiece yielding about 81x. The brighter primary star at magnitude 2.4 appeared light yellow while the much dimmer companion at magnitude 8.4 appeared gray-violet. These stars are visually 142" apart and the direction of the dimmer companion from the primary is 315° - 320°.

Noting the direction and separation of the companion in this eyepiece's approximately 30' FOV helped to identify it!
8/12/2008 1:00-1:30 am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-08-24 22:12:36

61 Cygni
My backyard observatory. Cool and clearing... waxing gibbous moon setting.

I observed 61 Cygni once again with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass and a Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO CCD.

I captured each grey-scale image through RGB filters with these settings in the CCD software.
  * Exposure: 0.0156 seconds
  * Combine checked
  * Histogram sliders set to 5935 and 8453
  * Total image time 30 seconds

Using GIMP:
  Red Image:
  * Brightness -30
  * Levels bottom slider 8
  * Color-balance midtones/highlights Red 100
  * JPG quality 100%

  Green Image:
   * Levels bottom slider 8
   * Color-balance midtones/highlights Green 100
   * JPG quality 100%

  Blue Image:
   * Contrast +10
   * Levels middle slider 1.10
   * Color-balance midtones Blue 100

  OPEN AS LAYERS:
   * Red
      - Normal mode

   * Green
      - Levels bottom slider 6
      - Overlay mode

   * Blue
      - Brightness +30
      - Overlay mode

  COMBINE LAYERS:
   * Color-balance midtones/highlights Yellow -100
   * Color-balance midtones/highlights Yellow -100
8/5/2008 2:15-3:00am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-08-11 03:42:01
My backyard observatory. Cool and clearing after a partly-cloudy night earlier... no moon.

I observed 61 Cygni with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass and a Celestron E-lux 25mm eyepiece yielding about 81x. This binary system looks like polished gold with the slightly dimmer B member looking just a little more red-ish tinted than its companion star. The two component stars are separated by 24" and shine at magnitudes 5.21 and 6.03. Classified K5 and K7, these stars are orange main-sequence stars smaller than the sun, so their visual color seemed to well-represent actual color.

What makes this system so interesting is that it is the first system whose distance from the earth was measured other than our sun itself. A rapid proper motion suggests that these stars are not native to the Milky Way galaxy.
6/30/2008 2:15-4:00am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-07-02 05:59:46
My backyard observatory. Cool and clear with a little haze and a waning crescent moon just rising around 3am.

Jupiter and Ganymede's Shadow
Observed Jupiter while Ganymede's shadow was crossing the face of the planet. The dark spot to upper left is the shadow and the fainter spot to its right and near center is Ganymede itself!

Using my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass with a Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO CCD, I captured this image with the following settings.

CCD Software:
  -Exposure 0.0020-0.0116 seconds
  -Total time 30-120 seconds
  -Histogram upper limit 18,000-28,000
  -"Auto Contrast" UN-checked
  -"Darks" UN-checked

* The best results seemed to be when leaving upper limit at 28,000 and adjusting the exposure for each RGB filter, then combining exposures for 120 seconds.

The GIMP
  -Increased midtones of proper channel for each RGB filtered image to 100%
  -Green and blue layers were set over red with their modes set to "Overlay"
  -Unsharp masking was applied to the color image
    *Radius 0.2
    *Amount 0.91
    *Threshold 0
  -Brightness and contrast were both set to -4
  -Last, rotation and cropping

See this image for a notated Black & White tweaked to reveal other moons!
Jupiter and Ganymede's Shadow
6/7/2008 3:30-4:15am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-06-08 22:45:58
Cool and clear, no moon - my back yard observatory.

Observed M57, The Ring Nebula, with my C8 8" Schmidt-Cass first at 160x visually. Differences of brightness within the ring structure were apparent. With averted vision, strands within the nebula and the central star are just discernible.

Using my Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD, the following settings yielded the image below.
  - "Dark Sub" checked to eliminate device white noise and artifacts.
  - Exposure 1.4 seconds
  - "Combine" checked
  - "Auto Contrast" UN-checked
  - Adjusted limit sliders on histogram
    * Upper = 7102
    * Lower = 5900
  - Exposure total time 150 seconds

The GIMP's "Levels" tool was used to refine brightness and contrast over all channels. Unsharp masking was applied with:
  Radius: 25.0
  Amount: 0.70
  Threshold: 1
M57
5/24/2008 2:30-4:00am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-24 06:37:29
Cool and clear, waning gibbous moon - my back yard.

Observed the binary Graffias (Beta Scorpii) with my C8 8" Schmidt-Cass at 160x this time with no filter (see second entry below). The brighter star in this system looked bluish-white and the dimmer companion was a grayish-violet which at times had a greenish tint.

These stars are 530 light years distant and visually separated by 14". Both are hot B-type stars and have magnitude values of 2.56 and 4.90. Visual separation was very clear.

With a Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD, I used the following settings combining exposures through RED, GREEN, and BLUE filters creating the image
  - Exposure 0.0078 seconds
  - "Combine" checked
  - "Auto Contrast" UN-checked
  - Adjusted upper limit slider on histogram
    * Upper = 7583
    * Leaving the lower limit at 5942
  - Exposure total time 40 seconds

The GIMP was used to process color as described in the 5/3/2008 entry.
Graffias
5/18/2008 3:00-3:45am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-21 02:15:52
Cool and clear with some haze, near full moon - my back yard.

Observed Jupiter with my C8 8" Schmidt-Cass at 160x using a single polarized filter experimentally discovering that detail was more distinct with this filter. Ganymede's Shadow was a very sharp dark spot on the planet's disk. By 3:45 local time, the shadow was nearly ready to leave the edge of the disk. Noted the following:

  * Io about 4 disk diameters to the east
  * Ganymede about 1 disk diameter west a little north of center
  * Ganymede's shadow close to the eastern edge of the disk a little north of center
  * Europa about 2 1/2 disk diameters west a little north of center
  
  - Darker northern polar region - dusky color
  - Northern equatorial belt with some faint swirling detail - light rusty color
  - Southern equatorial belt with some faint swirling detail - light rusty color

Sky and Telescope Jupiter Moons Tool
5/18/2008 1:00-3:30am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-21 01:28:55
Cool and clear with some haze, near full moon - my back yard.

Observed Graffias (Beta Scorpii) with my C8 8" Schmidt-Cass at 160x with a double polarized filter I had forgotten to remove after looking at the Moon. I'll take notes here for the sake of comparison with no-moon and non-filtered observations. The brighter star in this system looked white with a faint bit of bluish tint. The dimmer companion seemed grayish and even faintly purplish.

These stars are separated by 14", both hot B-type stars, and have magnitude values of 2.56 and 4.90. Visual separation was very clear.
5/18/2008 1:00-3:30am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-18 06:40:53
Cool and clear with some haze, near full moon - my back yard.

Observed the Moon with my C8 8" Schmidt-Cass at 160x using a double polarized filter to reduce glare. Scanned the terminator noting the beautiful stark landscape with its mountains and craters. A favorite Lunar geographic feature of mine is craters containing central peaks.

The filter which is made of two polarized filters that can be rotated to adjust degree of brightness makes for nice viewing preventing the overwhelming brightness of the Moon's light at the eyepiece.
5/11/2008 3am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-11 07:22:48
Cool and clear with some haze, no moon - my back yard.

Observed Xi Boötis, a binary system separated by approx. 7". Xi Boötis A is a G-type yellow dwarf with a magnitude varying from about 4.5-4.7 over 10 days. Xi Boötis B is a K-type orange dwarf magnitude 7. This system is 22 light years away with an orbital period of 150 years.

With my C8 Schmidt-Cass at 160x, the A star looked white and the B star looked yellowish with perhaps a hint of green.
5/3/2008 10-11:30pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-06 03:44:03
Cool and clear, no moon - my back yard.

Observed Algieba (Gamma Leonis) noting that this binary pair is separated by only approx. 4.5" and is composed of a brighter K giant star and dimmer G giant star.

  *NOTE: Looking at the previous entry, there are significant differences in hue perception by various observers, but the dimmer star seems to be always perceived as further from the red end of the spectrum than its companion!
Algieba

With my C8 Schmidt-Cass using the Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD, I used the following settings combining exposures through RED, GREEN, and BLUE filters to create this image:
  - Exposure 0.0078 seconds
  - "Combine" checked
  - "Auto Contrast" UN-checked
  - Adjusted upper limit slider on histogram
    * Upper = 17332
    * Leaving the lower limit at 5947
  - Exposure total time 60? seconds

Used the GIMP's Color Balance Tool on each RGB filtered image: Midtones AND Highlights - appropriate channel (Red, Green, or Blue) set to 100%

Lastly, an Infra-Red-filtered image rendered this sharp clear separation.
Algieba
4/27/2008 10:30pm-midmight Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-06 03:13:53
Cool and clear with no moon - my back yard.

Observed Algieba (Gamma Leonis) and Saturn with my daughter Myra. Using the C8 Schmidt-Cass at 160x, the Cassini Division, south equatorial belt, south polar region, Titan, Rhea, and Tethys were visible when viewing Saturn.
  Titan approx. 2 ring diameters to the east and a little north
  Tethys very close to the eastern edge of the ring and a little north
  Rhea very close to the eastern edge of the ring a little south

When viewing Algieba, my impression of color was white for the brighter star and silver-gray for the dimmer companion. Myra reported silver-bluish for the dimmer star and pinkish/light orangish for the brighter star. Separation @ 160x was close but crisp noting only about 4.5" of separation! Magnitude differences were easily discerned.
4/20/2008 9-11pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-06 01:38:28
Cool and clear, near full moon - my back yard.

Observed Saturn noting:
  * Titan and Rhea
  * Visually, an Orion #15 deep yellow filter seemed most helpful - not greatly
Saturn

With my C8 Schmidt-Cass using the Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD, I used the following settings combining exposures through RED, GREEN, and BLUE filters to create this image:
  - Exposure 0.0055 seconds
  - "Combine" checked
  - "Auto Contrast" UN-checked
  - Adjusted upper limit slider on histogram
    * Upper = 14082
    * Leaving the lower limit at 5938
  - Exposure total time 90 seconds

Used the GIMP's Color Balance Tool on each RGB filtered image: Midtones only - appropriate channel (Red, Green, or Blue) set to 100%

Used the GIMP's Unsharp Masking tool set to: - Radius = 0.5, Amount = 2.0, Threshold = 0

Finally, using the above unsharp masking only, a Red-filtered image rendered this detail.
Saturn Red Filtered
4/14/2008 10:30pm-1am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-06 01:11:28
Cool and clear with waxing gibbous moon even closer to Saturn than last night - my back yard.

Observed Saturn with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass at 160x noting (with a little averted vision help):
  * Cassini Division
  * Shadow of right on planet - inner edge
  * Shadow or planet on ring - eastern side opposite Titan
  * South Equatorial Belt
  * South Polar Region (grayish)
  * Very pale yellowish planet
  * Four moons (west-to-east)
    - Titan and Tethys on the west side of the planet
    - Rhea a little south and Dione a little north on the east side
  * A and B rings - near part of ring crossing in front of the planet about 1/3 distance from the north pole to the south

Note that moonlight added a challenge to night vision, but with averted vision, Tethys, Rhea, and Dione were apparent - and - some detail may have had slight contrast in the areas of the South Tropical Zone and South Temperate Belt.
4/12/2008 11pm-1am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2008-05-06 00:52:57
Cool and clear with a waxing gibbous moon - my back yard.

Observed the double star Algieba, Gamma Leonis, with 8" Celestron Schmidt-Cass at 160x. Easily separated and the magnitude difference was striking although color differences were not apparent to me - seemed whitish or very light gray.

Observed Saturn roughly 7 degrees south of Algieba in Leo and noted:
  * Cassini Division
  * Shadow of right on planet - inner edge
  * Shadow of planet on ring - eastern side opposite Titan
  * South equatorial belt
  * Titan
  * Very pale yellowish color of planet
11/18/2007 5-5:15am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-18 07:40:44
Observed Comet Holmes from my urban back yard - partly cloudy, no moon, 42 degrees, and visibility is hazy between the clouds.

With Bushnell 10x50 binoculars and using averted vision, the coma's outer edges are just brushing Mirfak. The comet's motion over the last 2 weeks is obvious as it is no longer the "elbow" of a right triangle formed with Mirfak and Delta Persei. There is a flat-ish side toward Mirfak turned slightly in the direction of Delta Persei. The coma's diameter spans around 1/6 the binocular's field of view and the inner 1/3 to 1/2 diameter is still definitely brighter.
11/11/2007 3-4am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-12 03:33:12
Observed M 42 - the Orion Nebula from my back yard - cool, no moon, partially hazy sky. The nebula itself appeared to be in a clear part of the sky.
Orion Nebula Thumbnail

With my C8 Schmidt-Cass, M 42 had obvious delicately detailed dark swirls using averted vision at 80x. There was a sense of more and more detail just beyond the threshold of vision.

Using the Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD, I used the following settings to create this image:
  - Generated current "Darks" with "Auto Contrast" checked
  - Applied darks
  - Exposure 2.8 seconds
  - "Combine" checked
  - "Auto Contrast" UN-checked
  - Adjusted upper limit slider on histogram to
    * Bring out nebula detail
    * Just distinguish trapezium stars in overexposed area

Then I set the upper limit slider down just a bit more to create this image bringing out more detail in the cloud and overexposing the trapezium area.

Used the GIMP's Unsharp Masking tool set to: - Radius = 5.0, Amount = 0.50, Threshold = 0
11/9/2007  1-3:30am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-12 03:00:42
Observed Comet Holmes again from my back yard. Cold - 40 degrees - clear with no moon.
Comet Holmes Thumbnail

With the C8 Schmidt-Cass at 80x, Comet Holmes looked visually much the same as 2 nights ago (11/7). Using the Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD, I was careful to take new "Darks" for the current exposure/temperature for 60+ seconds. Then with exposure set to 2.8 seconds, "Combine" checked and "Darks" checked, I captured images for 60+ seconds. The result reveals very slightly brighter streaks in the inner coma in the direction of the tail. The CCD reveals background stars shining through the coma very distinctly. The nucleus is bright and off-center in the inner coma away from the tail. It's very apparent that this device can "see" much more than my eyes.
11/7/2007  1-3am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-08 02:57:59
Observed Comet Holmes from my urban back yard. Cold - 40 degrees - clear with no moon.
Comet Holmes Thumbnail

With my C8 Schmidt-Cass at 80x, the comet is stunning. Stars can just be seen through the coma. The outer coma has a slightly brighter border. The brighter inner coma is elongated away from the nucleus in the direction of the scant tail.   The entire object is shaped like a "Pac Man Ghost" with the flatter side in the direction the tail is forming. The comet is still high overhead near Mirfak.

A Meade DSI Pro 2 CCD image revealed the nucleus clearly along with stars showing through the coma at 2.8 sec. exposure with "Darks" applied. I couldn't eliminate some artifacts that looked like water drops and were associated with the device and not filters or telescope optics. When layering 2 images using the GIMP to set layer mode to Multiplied, the comet's motion against the stars appears as in this image.

* In the future I will make detailed notes of all CCD settings and relace the device if necessary.
11/4/2007 - 11/5/2007 11:30pm - 3am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-08 02:21:42
Observed Mars, M42, and Comet Holmes from my urban back yard - cold, clear, and no moon until 2:29 according to the U.S. Naval Observatory ephemeris.

With my C8 Schmidt-Cass, Mars was a pink-gold "BB" at 80x and 160x. At 120x, an Orion #80A medium blue filter may have helped just resolve large dark features.

The Orion Nebula - M42 was laced with dark delicate swirls and expanded beyond the field of view at 80x. Two stars close to the trapezium but much fainter were distinct and sharp.

Comet Holmes appeared slightly greenish with 10x50 Bushnell binoculars and still round with a brightish center 1/3 the diameter of the entire coma. Through the C8 at 80x the comet's nucleus could be seen! The telescope revealed an asymmetrical shape with a flatish, less distinct side of the outer edge and the nucleus slightly off-center in the inner brighter region of the coma. Holmes is high overhead at the elbow of a right triangle whose legs are formed by Mirfak and  Delta Persei. I may see a slight greenish cast.
11/3/2007-11/4/2007 9pm, 12, 3, and 5am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-08 01:59:44
Observed Comet Holmes from my urban back yard. No moon, cool and clear at 9. Some hazy clouds at 12. Clear with a rising waning crescent moon at 3 and 5.

Holmes is easily seen as an "out of focus" star with the naked eye even from my Denver suburb. Through 10x50 Bushnell binoculars, the comet's diameter was about 1/10 the field of view and appeared round with a brighter center 1/3 - 1/2 the diameter of the fainter outer coma.

My wife, Patti, was also able to easily spot the comet in the sky and look at it with the binoculars. She agreed about the round shape and brighter inner coma.

10/31/2007 10-11pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-08 01:44:37
I observed M2 from my back yard - clear and cold with no moon and a little haze.

Through my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass, this globular cluster was a distinct round hazy patch at 80x. When observed at 160x, individual stars were perceptible with averted vision and contrast was markedly better.

Although past transit, M2 is still about 40 degrees off the horizon. I would call it a "grainy cloud" or a "cloud of sand".
10/29/2007 1:30am ? Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-05 07:36:08
My urban back yard - cool and clear - waning gibbous moon
Almach Thumbnail

Observed the multiple star Almach through my Celestron Schmidt-Cass 8" using a Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II taking images through its red, green, and blue filters.

As with Albireo, I used the GIMP's Color Balance tool on each image to boost the appropriate color channel for midtones and highlights to max two times. Each image was stacked over the other as a layer with the top 2 layers' modes set to Screen.

The resulting image is not as rich in color as Albireo, but is fairly accurate in it's rendering of the gold and blue even if subtle. These stars are separated by 10".
9/13/2007 time? rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-05 00:51:48
My urban back yard - clear - no moon
Comet Holmes Thumbnail

Observed M15 through my Celestron Schmidt-Cass 8" using a Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II. This globular cluster was not far beyond transit although the time is uncertain.

  First, this original image was captured
  - Adjusted exposure by eye while watching the live feed
  - Applied "darks" to filter out CCD noise

  This enhanced image was processed with the GIMP's Unsharp Masking tool
  - Radius = 0.1
  - Amount = 5.00
  - Threshold = 20
8/23/2007 approx. 3:00am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-04 21:46:16
My urban backyard - clear
Lunar Eclipse Thumbnail

Observed a total Lunar Eclipse with 10x50 binoculars and a Sony 7.2 Mega pixel CyberShot in night mode on a tripod. The photos were a spur-of-the-moment experiment taken at intervals that were not carefully timed. As the Moon moves apparently toward the west, it actually moves eastward into the Umbra. A high line is visible across the 8th, 9th, and 10th images.

I used the GIMP's layering capability to stack the images setting the layers' modes to Addition. Then I applied a brightness value of 100 and a contrast value of 92 with the Brightness-Contrast tool to create this image representing closely what I saw in the sky.
8/11/2007 time? rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-11-01 04:21:13
My urban backyard - no moon
Albireo Thumbnail

Observed Albireo through my Celestron Schmidt-Cass 8" using a Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II taking images through its red, green, and blue filters.

I used the GIMP's Color Balance tool on each image to boost the appropriate color channel for midtones and highlights to max two times. Each image was stacked over the other as a layer with the top 2 layers' modes set to Screen.

The resulting image is fairly accurate in it's rendering of the gold and blue colors I perceive with my eye. These stars are separated by 34" with a striking contrast of both color and magnitude!
7/2/2007 6:00-6:30pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-07-02 21:16:04
My front walk - 95 degrees - much thermal turbulence - a few small hazy clouds - mostly clear - breeze

I observed the Sun with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass at 80x using a Thousand Oaks white light glass filter - neutral density 5 (reduces light about 100,000x). A sun spot with 2 distinct dark nuclei somewhat quad-angular surrounded by a somewhat pent-angular gray area. This structure is estimated to be about 1.5 x 2 earth diameters based on estimating scale from a SOHO image. There was also a much smaller dark spot very close to the larger structure. According to the SOHO image at 20:48 UT, the spots are just south of the solar equator and around a day past transit.

My grandson (6), daughter (30), and wife (not telling) also shared in this observation. They all agreed on seeing the gray area around the outside of the spot(s) and Patti, my wife, agreed that the nucleus was 2-part.
6/30/2007 12:00-2:20am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-07-01 04:38:47
My urban backyard - nearly full moon - breeze, temperature in the 60s, air nearly haze-free:
Jupiter Thumbnail

Observed Jupiter through my Celestron Schmidt-Cass 8" using a CCD for the first time - Meade Deep Sky Imager PRO II with its blue filter in place. The bundled software was installed on my ThinkPad. The planet is near transit 27 degrees off the southern horizon NE of Antares.

  First image
  - Auto exposure (1 second) and auto contrast both active
  - Planet's disk over-exposed, Galilean moons captured very clearly

  Following images
  - Exposures from under .0100 to over .0400 seconds tested
  - Galilean moons faint
  - Planet's bands showing distinctly varying shades
    * Northern polar region medium shading
    * Northern central region very light
    * Narrow southern central band darkest
    * Southern polar region medium shading

  Manipulated image
  - Image rotated with planet's north pole up, east left
  - Galilean moons from first image at 60% brightness
  - Left-to-right moons are Ganymede, Io, Callisto, Europa
  - Planet's disk from following reduced exposure
  - Blue tint added representing the blue filter My urban backyard - nearly full moon - breeze, temperature in the 60s, air nearly haze-free:

  Enhanced image
  - Applied the GIMP's Unsharp Masking tool
  - Radius = 5.0, Amount = 1.00, Threshold = 0

What was most striking - the difference between my impressions of Jupiter's features and what the CCD saw. Where I thought I saw a similar shading for the north central and southern polar regions visually using the previously-mentioned Orion #80A medium-blue eyepiece filter, the CCD revealed the northern central region as the brightest feature and the southern polar region as medium shaded.
6/19-20/2007 11:05-12:40am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-21 00:31:29
My urban backyard - waxing crescent moon about 5 degrees off the horizon at 11:30pm - little haze:

My wife, Patti, and I observed Jupiter through my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x w/ Orion #80A medium-blue filter.
  - Northern region moderately shaded
  - Northern-central band appeared double
  - Southern-central band darkest feature
  - Slight shading in the southern region
  - A small "knot" may have been discerned in the dark southern-central band

The air seems a little clearer of haze than usual. Jupiter is 28 degrees off the horizon, NE of Antares in the southern sky close to transit. Patti commented "wow" tonight - clearest view of this planet so far with this scope! Observed 11:05-11:40.

Observed M4 with 80x and 160x from 11:45-11:55. This globular cluster's center was faint but better with averted vision. Round shape not really discernible. Some brighter stars in field stood out.

Boötes double stars 11:55-12:40
  * Epsilon Boötis at 160x a difficult separation - brighter star gold - companion unsure - 3" separation
  * Xi Boötis at 160x is nicely separated - less difference in magnitude - brighter star off-white, companion dull gold - separation 7"
  * Kappa Boötis at 160x is well separated at 13" - brighter star silver, companion gray
6/17/2007 3:04-3:50am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-17 20:00:31
My urban backyard - no moon, some haze:

I observed Jupiter from 3:10-3:35am with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x with an Orion #58 green and Orion #80A medium blue filter. Haze & low elevation - 15 degrees off the horizon - caused general features to be barely distinguished. The narrow, darkest central-southern band was briefly discernible but most of the time, the darker central and northern polar regions were only faintly in contrast with the lighter regions. The medium-blue filter was best.

I observed M57, planetary nebula in Lyra, from 3:40-3:50am using 80x, 120x, 160x, and 240x. The darker center was easily visible at all magnifications – best using averted vision – and the object was more striking with each increase in power. The brighter outer ring seemed to perhaps display some variations in brightness.  M57 was high overhead where seeing was significantly better with less haze and more contrast.
6/11/2007 1:45-2:45am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 20:59:44
My urban backyard - no moon, patchy clouds, some haze:

I observed Jupiter with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass at 120x using an Orion #80A medium blue filter, then an Orion #58 green filter. Jupiter is about 23 degrees above the horizon, NE of Antares. I can see some variations in shading in the central area shown in my sketch. The southern border of the darker central region appears as a very narrow band and is the darkest feature. Tonight I have to say that the green filter seemed to enhance contrast variations of details a bit better than the medium blue.
5/26/2007 2:30-3:30am Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 20:52:48
My urban backyard - Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass:

I observed Jupiter again using the Orion medium blue filter with similar observations as found in the previous entry regarding the bands or belts.

The air quality was such that the edge of Jupiter's disk showed evidence of some atmospheric shimmer or "boiling". Thermal? - Inherent to the planet's low altitude off the horizon? (About 26 degrees)
5/??/2007 2:00-3:00am (approx) rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 20:45:39
My urban backyard - Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass:

Observed Jupiter with an Orion #80A medium blue filter. At 80x or 120x, what are simply "rusty" stripes or bands when unfiltered just begin to show uneven edges or some variations in the darkness - or perhaps the saturation of the "rust" color. This color appears more gray through this filter.
5/12/2007 6:00pm Mountain (approx) rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 20:22:32
My urban front yard Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass:

Observed the sun with a new solar filter. A group of 3 small sun spots and what I think may have been a 4th which was even smaller. Reference the SOHO image for 2007/05/12 16:00. There were intermittent clouds, but considering how low in the sky the sun's disk was, the sun spots could be seen quite well. I estimate the more prominent 3 sun spots to be comparable to the earth in size!
3/??/2007 time? rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 20:00:37
My urban backyard, Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass:

I believe I saw the mag 10.9 component of Meissa (Lambda Orionis), but I want to verify this. I believe that the 29" separation makes this mag 10.9 star an easier visual target than Theta's mag 10.3 component.

I'm observing Sigma Orionis again, the mag 10.3 component separated by 11" from the mag 4.0 component is easier than Theta's mag 10.2 F component separated by approx 3" from the mag 5.1 C component.
3/??/2007 8:00-10:00pm Mountain (approx) rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 19:52:26
From my urban backyard with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass - near new moon, some very thin clouds early in session:

Found the E member of Theta Orionis at mag 10.3. As I recall, As I recall, 120x or 160x was best rather than either 80x or 240x. The F member was apparently too close to C and the proximity to the brighter star is what I believe prevented its detection from my light-polluted backyard.
2/10/2007 9:30-10:30pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 19:45:11
From my urban backyard with Celstron 8" Schmidt-Cass - crisp cold air, no moon, nearly no turbulance:

M42 - Again observed swirl patterns even with the light pollution.

Sigma Orionis - all 4 members are visible at 80x. With a Barlow at 160x, my hasty sketch represents the view.
11/28/2006 NOTES: rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 19:34:21
Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass:

I kept the hand control and the battery pack in my office. I suspect the hand control being cold may have caused recent odd behavior when aligning, calibrating, and slewing. The scope was right on target functioning correctly.

Now the hand control, DEC cable, and battery pack are inside during cold weather.

AC adapter to be tested.
11/28/2006 12:00-1:00am (approx) rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 19:27:34
From my urban backyard with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass - cool, clear, maybe some haze?:

M42 - again swirls easily distinguished at 80x.

Rigel - could not separate companion at 160x.

Mintaka (Delta Orionis) was very widely separated at 53". My color impressions: Mintaka a bright blue-white and its companion greenish or grayish, but unsure about "lilac" mentioned by an observer in comments I'm reading.
11/19/2006 time? rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 19:22:07
From my urban backyard with Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass - cool, clear, no moon:

M42 showed clear swirl patterns esp. w/ averted vision. The trapezium was easily, widely separated - all at 80x.

Saturn at 160x showed the planet's shadow on the ring and the ring's shadow on the planet. A light tan band was visible above the ring. Tital and other moon yet to confirm.
10/24/2006 10:30-11:00pm Mountain rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 19:10:22
From my urban back yard, Almaak (or Almach) was clearly separated at 80x in my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass and the colors looked gold and green-blue. The dimmer companion sometimes appeared blue - sometimes green. An Orion eyepiece at 120x seemed to contrast the colors a bit better. The star was even more striking at 160x w/ Celestron eyepiece and Barlow, and even though some crispness was lost, the separation and color contrast at 240x w/ the Orion eyepiece and a Barlow was best.

NGC 7789 showed crisp, fine, low-magnitude stars against a rich background. With averted vision, many many dim yet crisp and contrasting stars were revealed.

M103 even at 80x seems too apparently large a structure to appreciate. Perhaps actually better with 10x50 binoculars?
10/24/2006 rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 18:59:11
Some objects already observed while learning my new Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cass from my urban Aurora, Colorado backyard:

Planets:
  Uranus
  Neptune
  Jupiter

Messier:
  M27 (Dumbbell Nebula)
  M57 (Ring Nebula)
  M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)
  M34 (Open Cluster)
  M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster)

Multiple Stars:
  Cygnus
    Albireo
    16
    17
    61

  Misc.
    Gamma Delphini
    Struve 2725
Officially beginning my star log rburton rick.burton@datapathways.com 2007-06-11 18:43:07
I fell in love with astronomy at an early age under dark skies in South Dakota beginning my hobby in earnest with an Edmond 4" Newtonian telescope - not even having a clock drive! Over time I have used an 8" home-built (purchased) Newtonian (also no clock drive), an Edmund Astroscan 4" reflector, and a Celestron C90 (90mm) WITH a clock drive!

Having recently purchased a Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope mounted on a German equatorial tripod with GoTo, I have finally come to appreciate keeping a star log or star diary if you will. Some of the early entries being transcribed here will be less-than-complete, but I am now putting an effort into consistent content and style - and also to get more serious about this adventure!

Soon I will embark on the CCD astrophotography experience as well.

Finally, my compliments to the friendly knowledgeable staff at S&S Optika here in the Denver area. http://www.sandsoptika.com (Thanks Cathy and Stephanie!)

  -Rick
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