I can see why John Gleason spends so much time imaging in Australia.
I remember talking to Archer Sully a couple of years ago, not too long after
I got into astronomy. I asked him if the Southern Sky was actually better
than the Northern sky or if it was just a "grass is greener on the other
side of the fence" type story. He assured me that it actually was greener on
that side of the fence (equator). Wow, I need to do an expedition to Chile
or Argentina.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Czerwinski (by way of Mark Wagner<mgwagner@No-Spam>)"
<bczerwin@No-Spam>
To: "tac" <sf-bay-tac@No-Spam>
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 10:18 PM
Subject: [TAC] Observing from the Cook Islands - Nov. 2003 (Long)
>
> Observing from the Cook Islands - Nov. 2003
>
> In my opinion, those folk with full Southern Hemisphere views truly have
> it over those of us who can, at best, watch Canopus just graze the
> southern horizon.
>
> Traveling on business, I recently spent some time on Rarotonga in the
> Cook Islands. If you ever head to the Southern Hemisphere, even if it's
> just a very short trip, by all means take binoculars with you. With me
> this trip were my Orion 8x42's and my Celestron 9x63's. I also brought
> along a tripod ... which made all the difference in the world. The one
> thing I'd forgotten to toss into my suitcase was a red observing light.
> A borrowed white-light flashlight, even when stopped-down, resulted in
> the usual dark adaptation problems.
>
> Although rain tends to follow me everywhere I travel, I was actually
> able to spend a couple of bino-only nights under relatively clear skies.
> A few months back, observing from Bolivia, Bob Jardine noted the fun he
> had running through the Astronomical League's Southern Skies Binocular
> Club list. I spent two good nights (and a portion of a third) on
> Rarotonga running through this list, eventually hitting 54 of the AL's
> 73 objects. While the AL folk note that only 7x50 binos are needed to
> observe all of the listed items, there were several objects near the SW
> and SE horizons where I definitely needed the 9x63 binos for a positive
> identification. Had the objects been higher up, yes, 7x50's would
> certainly have done the trick.
>
> You'll find my bino observations at the *bottom* of this OR.
>
> -----------------------
> Telescopic Observations
>
> The evening of Friday, 11/21/03, presented a great observing opportunity
> when I was introduced to another amateur astronomer, Gregory, a gent
> with an 8-inch Newtonian ... and a red LED light as well. Gregory moves
> (back) to New Zealand around Christmastime, so my Clear Skies/No Moon
> timing couldn't have been better.
>
> Observer: Bob Czerwinski
> Date: November 21, 2003
> Observing Time: 8:30pm to 4:30am Local Time (UT -10, or 0630-1430 22 Nov
> 2003 UT)
> Location: Rarotonga, The Cook Islands: 21°S 159°W, El.
> ~50-feet
> Moon: None. Approaching New Moon (11/23) -- Phase ~5%
> Equipment: 8" f/6 Newtonian (FL 1220mm) on a Dobsonian
> mount; Telrad
> Eyepieces: 1.25" Plossl: 25mm (49x), 10mm (122x), 6.5mm
> (188x); 2x Barlow
> Filters: A 1.25" no-name nebula filter. I started
> calling the-filter-with-no-name the Clint Eastwood filter, or just the
> Clint filter for short.
> Sky Conditions: Zenith LM not recorded; average transparency 8~9/10;
> average seeing 9/10.
> Temp/R.H.: Estimated 70~72F all night. R.H. not
> measured/recorded.
> Comments: My first telescopic observations from the Cook
> Islands.
>
> I was invited by Gregory and his wife to spend a few hours "enjoying the
> southern sky," and did just that -- for eight glorious hours. Gregory's
> 'scope was an 8-inch f/6 homebrew sonotube Newt, with both primary and
> secondary recovered from a damaged Discovery telescope. Gregory, who
> has a 22-inch in storage in New Zealand, was very familiar with the
> southern hemisphere showcase items, so we really made quite a night of
> it.
>
> This also was the night of the Super Bowl of Rugby: The Rugby World Cup
> 2003, with Australia and England playing the final match for the
> championship. The match started at 11:00pm local time, so while the
> rest of the island whooped it up (England eventually won the match,
> 20-17, in the final minute of extra time), we had the skies to
> ourselves.
>
> My first view of the evening was actually Orion's Trapezium, just to
> check the seeing. The E & F stars were easy and steady at 188x; the
> seeing was very good. The optics on the 'scope were excellent,
> collimation right on the money. Clouds would pass through various areas
> of the sky from time to time, but we experienced no rain at all and
> nothing interfered with the observing. Looking to the north, however,
> everything just seemed so ... wrong! I always have a difficult time
> watching Orion stand on his head.
>
> SSOs...
>
> Gregory had a thing for comets, so off we went to find a couple of
> them...
>
> C/2003 T3 (Tabur) - I had a hard time believing we were beginning a
> night of southern sky observing with a shallow-sky object, but that's
> what we did. T3 was somewhat tough to spot, just inside Microscopium on
> the border of Telescopium, Indus and Sagittarius. 3-deg. from 3rd mag
> Alpha Indi, but only 15-arcmins from 5th mag Nu Microscopi. A 12th
> magnitude object; barely there. Never revisited, so I don't know how
> fast it was moving.
>
> C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) - In the southern portion of Hydrus, Q4 was virtually
> due south, about 30-degrees above the southern horizon, just under a
> degree from 5th mag Mu Hydri. Brighter than C/2003 T3, maybe 11th mag.
> Small core, no tail. The coolest thing about this comet (to me) was its
> position in declination: about -80-deg. As with T3, never revisited, so
> I don't know how fast it was traversing Hydrus.
>
> C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) - I wasn't going to list this comet, but Gregory was
> really interested in trying to spot this item. We located T7 twice
> (first me, then Gregory) in Perseus without any difficulty, the two
> sitings about an hour and a half apart. Probably somewhere between 9th
> and 10th magnitude, moving at about 2-arcmins/hour.
>
> On to the Very Good Stuff: DSOs...
>
> When Gregory asked me what I wanted to see, I basically said I wanted to
> bag as many southern-sky objects as I could in the time allotted.
> Gregory just laughed, said he understood, but still mentioned something
> about quality versus quantity. Still, he was obviously in a position to
> let me have a go at it. Gregory had some great southern sky lists,
> finder charts, Uranometria, etc., so I knew I was in good shape.
>
> Listed below are most of my telescopic observations, probably 80-percent
> of them. Yes, I still have some notes to clean up. Be warned: Most of
> these observations were just of the "slam, bam..." variety, and my notes
> reflect such. But with limited time available, well, you just have to
> do what you just have to do. Although the listing below doesn't reflect
> the observing order, looking to the south, I primarily worked from west
> to east.
>
> *Dorado*
>
> Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) / NGC 1903 - This dwarf galaxy in Dorado is
> absolutely magnificent in in binos, but a wonder to cruise with a nice
> 'scope. So much to see! The LMC contains bright HII regions and other
> diffuse nebula, planetary nebula, open clusters, globs, etc., and I
> logged quite a number of NGC items here. N*ked-eye, both the LMC and
> SMC look like portions of the Milky Way that have somehow drifted away.
>
> 30 Dor / NGC 2070 - (The Tarantula Nebula) - M42, move over! This is a
> gigantic H-II region in Dor, easily visible to the n*ked-eye.
> Incredible dark lanes swirl through the nebula, with a rich cluster of
> stars in the center. Magnificent to behold.
>
> NGC 2074, 2085-2086, 2078 - Three small side-by-side swaths of nebula in
> Dorado, definitely helped by the Clint filter, associated with an OC.
>
> NGC 1966 - A fairly bright patch of nebulosity in Dorado associated with
> an OC.
>
> NGC 1929 - Another Dorado cluster/nebula combo.
>
> NGC 1763 - A large, bright nebulous/OC region in Dorado. Depending on
> whom you believe, there were either two or three separate nebulous
> patches to be seen. (I suspected a divide between two of them, but
> Gregory didn't see it that way.)
>
> NGC 1549 - 10th mag galaxy in Dorado. Small and round.
>
> NGC 1553 - 11th mag galaxy in Dorado. Slight oval shape.
>
> NGC 1566 - 9.5 mag galaxy in Dorado. Staring at the galaxy, slight
> extensions were barely detectable. Gregory said these were spiral arms,
> quite distinctive in his 22".
>
> NGC 1617 - 10.5 mag galaxy in Dorado. Small and oval.
>
> NGC 1672 - 10th mag galaxy in Dorado. Relatively bright, ovalish,
> distinct core.
>
> NGC 1763 - A large swath of nebulosity in Dorado. At least three
> separate patches of nebula here, perhaps a fourth (as suggested by
> Gregory), in an open cluster.
>
> NGC 1783 - Listed as an 11th mag OC in Dorado, but this sure looks like
> a glob to me. Must be a very young cluster.
>
> NGC 1818 - I'd have sworn this was a Dorado glob, not an OC! Well, then
> it must just be a very, very young OC, one that hasn't spread yet.
> Guess I'd need to know the age of the stars. Still...
>
> NGC 1866 - Another Dorado OC masquerading as a glob. Very tightly
> concentrated.
>
> NGC 2214 - An 11th mag Dorado OC, again very concentrated, resembling a
> glob.
>
> *Tucana*
>
> Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) / NGC 292 - In Tuc, a magnificent object
> for bino observing. Cool to cruise! Open clusters, diffuse nebula,
> supernova remnants, planetary nebula ... and an associated NGC globular
> cluster, NGC 121. As with the LMC, quite a few NGC items logged in and
> around this irregular dwarf.
>
> 47 Tucanae / NGC 104 - Woohoo!! A very conspicuous n*ked-eye Tuc
> globular. Absolutely spectacular! Makes M13 look like a globular
> wannabe!
>
> NGC 121 - A small 11th mag. Tuc globular, which I was told was actually
> associated with the SMC. (Is there any other NGC globular so
> associated?) I couldn't resolve any of the stars, but it was easy to
> find.
>
> Kron 3 - No, not a television station designation, but an SMC globular.
> This glob was about the same size as NGC 121, and I would have missed it
> if Gregory hadn't mentioned it and produced a finder chart. (I also
> tried for nearby Kron 7, but I couldn't locate it.) Like NGC 121,
> Gregory thought this item was actually associated with the SMC, not with
> the Milky Way. As with NGC 121, I couldn't resolve any of the stars.
>
> Lindsay 1 - This SMC glob wasn't as tough to spot in the 8" as I though
> it might be, although I required a detailed finder chart to locate it.
> Slightly larger than NGC 121, but with no significant brightening as I
> looked toward the center. Just a uniform patch of light.
>
> NGC 152 - This small Tuc glob was similar to Kron 3. No central
> brightening that I could detect.
>
> NGC 346 - A relatively bright nebulous region in Tuc with what appears
> to be an open cluster. First noted in the binos.
>
> NGC 371 - A bright nebulous region in the SMC. Like NGC 346, first
> noted in the binos.
>
> NGC 362 - A nice bright Tuc globular, definitely a showcase item.
>
> NGC 248 - All I could detect (at approx. RA 0h 45m, Dec -73d) was what
> appeared to be the core of a possible Tuc OC. When I put the Clint
> filter on this item, I detected a slight haze, so there's definitely a
> nebula component here.
>
> NGC 176 - A small, compact open cluster in Tuc.
>
> NGC 220/222/231 - Three small Tuc OC's in the same field of view. 220
> is the easiest to see, 222 more difficult and 231, well, if the finder
> chart hadn't identified it, and if I hadn't spent a few minutes
> convincing myself it was there, I'd have gone my merry way.
>
> NGC 242 - Another small Tuc OC in the same field as 220/222/231, but
> with more of a "central core" component.
>
> NGC 265 - A small Tuc glob ... and a nice change from the OC's I'd been
> chasing.
>
> NGC 269 - A small Tuc glob, right at the edge of detection. Without a
> finder chart, I'd have missed it.
>
> NGC 256 - A small, compact Tuc OC with a "V" shape to it. A slight
> shimmering, but still best at 288x.
>
> NGC 267 - I couldn't truly distinguish this Tuc OC from the SMC
> background, and finally gave up. If it's there, I couldn't confirm it
> in the 8", not even with averted imagination. (Gregory said it was very
> distinctive in his 22".) *However*, with the Clint filter in place,
> there was definitely some nebulosity present, so I knew I was in the
> right place. Gregory confirmed.
>
> NGC 456/460/465 - A group of Tuc open clusters with 460 in the middle.
> (I was pretty OC'd out at this point in time, ready to head from the SMC
> to the LMC, or just hunt some southern galaxies, so I didn't pop in the
> Clint filter to see if anything else might show up.)
>
> *Horologium*
>
> NGC 1261 - 8th mag. glob in Horologium. Easy to spot.
>
> NGC 1512 - 11th mag galaxy in Horologium. Very faint and very
> small. Slight elongation ... I think.
>
> *Eridanus*
>
> NGC 1433 - 10th mag galaxy in Eridanus. Elongated, bright core.
>
> NGC 1291 - 8.5 mag galaxy in Eridanus. Round with a bright core.
>
> *Musca*
>
> NGC 4372 - A large'ish glob in Musca. Relatively easy to resolve in the
> 8".
>
> NGC 4833 - A 7th mag small glob in Musca, very compact, pretty bright.
> Some resolution of stars in the 8", but with difficulty.
>
> NGC 5189 - A 10th mag planetary in Musca. Curved appearance. Stare
> long enough, and it looks like an "S." The Clint filter really helped.
>
> *Crux*
>
> NGC 4755 (Jewell Box Cluster) - This beautiful Crux cluster is densely
> packed with stars of varying colors. One slow look around and you
> definitely see where the name comes from.
>
> *Pavo*
>
> NGC 6744 - A 9th mag. galaxy in Pav. Tough to spot as it was only about
> 15-deg. above the SW horizon. All I could tell was that it was fairly
> large, round'ish, with a distinctive core.
>
> NGC 6752 - Although I had it on my observing list, I accidentally came
> across this nice Pav glob when looking for 6744; I'd put the Telrad on
> the "wrong side" of 4th mag. Lambda Pavonis. As with 6744, only about
> 15-deg. above the SSW horizon. Would have been a very nice sight higher
> up!
>
> *Reticulum*
>
> NGC 1313 - 8th mag galaxy in Reticulum. Easy to locate; looked "lumpy."
>
> *Carina*
>
> NGC 2808 - A bright, compact glob in Carina. Spotted in the binos.
> Definite resolution of stars with the 8".
>
> Mel 105 - Another OC in Carina trying to mimic a glob.
>
> NGC 3372 (Eta Carinae/Keyhole Nebula) - Wow! Even in an 8" 'scope,
> there's a lot in this area of Carina to explore. Light and dark areas
> abound. Wish I'd had more time... and more aperture.
>
> IC 2602 - The Southern Pleiades, quite beautiful, in Carina. Easy in
> binos, but also an averted vision n*ked-eye object.
>
> Mel 101 - A Carina OC, in the same field as IC 2602, but much smaller
> and fainter. Spotted in binos.
>
> NGC 3114 - An OC in Carina. Okay in binos, but very nice with the 8"
> with a low, wide-field view.
>
> NGC 3532 - A very rich OC in Carina. Very nice. Also a n*ked-eye
> object. Spotted in binos, too. A dark'ish lane cuts into the northern
> part of the cluster.
>
> *Vela*
>
> NGC 2972 - A 10th mag OC in Vela. Small, not many stars.
>
> Eight-Burst Nebula / NGC 3132 - A nice bright Vel planetary, sort of egg
> shaped.
>
> *Centaurus*
>
> NGC 3960 - A relatively bright 9th mag Centaurus OC.
>
> NGC 3766 - An OC in Centaurus, first spotted with binos. Bright and
> compact. Enjoyable to observe.
>
> NGC 5662 - An OC in Centaurus, spotted in binos.
>
> NGC 4945 - A 9th mag edge-on galaxy in Centaurus. Very cool. 11th mag
> NGC 4976, very small and round, just off to the side. Gregory suspected
> mag 13.0 NGC 4945A in the field, but I couldn't see it.
>
> NGC 4976 - Spotted this Centaurus galaxy in the same field as 4945.
> Small and round, 11th mag.
>
> NGC 5286 - A small but nice glob in Centaurus. Relatively bright,
> pretty condensed. Some stars resolved in the 8".
>
> NGC 5617 - An OC in Centaurus. Pretty large, pretty rich, but
> scattered.
>
> My last two showcase items for the night were two items many of us have
> picked up from Lake San Antonio, NGC 5128 and 5139:
>
> Centarus A / NGC 5128 - A Centaurus galaxy, round'ish in appearance,
> with the dark lane fairly obvious. Needed more aperture.
>
> Omega Centauri / NGC 5139 - (What a way to end the observing session!)
> In Centaurus, the Grandpappy of all globs. Although only 20-deg. or so
> above the horizon, this immense globular cluster was still an incredible
> sight to behold!
>
>
> I certainly wish this night could have gone on, but I needed a few hours
> of sleep before heading back to the job front. This certainly was a
> night I'll never forget!
>
> ----------------------
> Binocular Observations
>
> Mounted on a tripod, most of my "focused" binocular observing was
> conducted with my Celestron 9x63 Ultima. I often used the 8x42 for
> sweeping, and then turned to the 9x63 for the detailed observations.
> Never before have I done as much bino observing as I did during this
> trip. For OC's Harvard 5 & 6, I first identified them in Gregory's 8"
> 'scope ... or I'd have missed them. I couldn't spot either during my
> two bino-only nights.
>
> For reference, before leaving California, I'd printed out a number of
> charts. Most were from MegaStar, but I also pulled down a number of
> charts from the web. Don't leave home without 'em!
>
> Pulled from the AL's Southern Skies Binocular Club Object List (Object,
> Type, Constellation), here are the AL items I logged from Rarotonga:
>
> NGC 6352 GbCl Ara - In a pretty rich area. Low to the SW, it took a
> couple of minutes to single out this item.
> NGC 6362 Gbcl Ara - Relatively easy to find. The AL listing has it at
> mag 10.7; this has got to be wrong. It's probably no dimmer than mag 8
> ... and I know I had the right object.
> NGC 6397 GbCl Ara - Nice in binos. Forms a nice triangle with two
> bright stars.
> NGC 6541 GbCl CrA - Small, but relatively bright.
> NGC 6584 GbCl Tel - A small round glow.
> NGC 6752 GbCl Pav - Very large; wonderful in binos.
> NGC 104 GbCl Tuc - Very bright. Extended glow.
> SMC Glxy Tuc - Wow! Even in binos, this is an amazing object to
> scan, especially with the 9x63's.
> NGC 362 GbCl Tuc - Bright and fuzzy. SMC in the background.
> NGC 1261 GbCl Hor - Small glob, pretty bright, near a 9th mag star.
> NGC 1851 GbCl Col - Pretty far north (-40d <heh-heh!>). Small but
> relatively bright.
> LMC Glxy Dor - Awesome!! Truly amazing! So much to see here!
> NGC 2070 BNeb Dor - Huge! Pretty nice in binos -- considering it's
> 200kly away!
> NGC 2451 OpCl Pup - Broad OC. I thought this was better in binos than
> with the 8" 'scope. Bright white stars in cluster contrast with a
> bright red foreground star. Same field with 2477.
> NGC 2477 OpCl Pup - With zeta Puppis. Condensed and bright.
> NGC 2516 OpCl Car - Nice OC, easily resolved. Easy n*ked-eye, too.
> NGC 2547 OpCl Vel - Another n*ked-eye object. Large and unconcentrated.
> NGC 2546 OpCl Pup - Nice in binos. Large, not too many stars. Dimmer
> than 2547 (seen first).
> NGC 2627 OpCl Pyx - Small and dim.
> IC 2391 OpCl Vel - N*ked-eye OC. Loose group, not many stars.
> IC 2395 OpCl Vel - Small OC. Maybe 15~20 stars. Not bad for a small
> cluster.
> NGC 2659 OpCl Vel - Very small OC.
> NGC 2670 OpCl Vel - Nice, small patch of light. 30'ish stars or so.
> NGC 2808 GbCl Car - Seen n*ked-eye. Nice in binos. Pretty bright,
> extended.
> IC 2488 OpCl Vel - Difficult to resolve, more of a grainy patch of
> light.
> NGC 2910 OpCl Vel - Small bright group.
> NGC 2925 OpCl Vel - Irregular patch of light with a double-star barely
> visible.
> NGC 3114 OpCl Car - Large and scattered. Fairly bright stars, rich
> background.
> NGC 3201 GbCl Vel - A nice glob, unresolved in the binos. Bright core.
> NGC 3228 OpCl Vel - Pretty small, relatively bright. Nice in binos.
> NGC 3293 OpCl Car - Bright, compact, no resolution of stars.
> Mel 101 OpCl Car - Faint, maybe 30'ish stars.
> IC 2602 OpCl Car - Theta Car, the Southern Pleiades. Very nice, but
> doesn't compare with the Northern hemisphere's version. Detected
> n*ked-eye.
> NGC 3372 BNeb Car - N*ked-eye. Pretty large in the binos (a degree or
> more), brighter in the middle. A dozen or so stars in the nebula, and a
> dark "V" lane. This object screams for aperture.
> NGC 3532 OpCl Car - Relatively bright, large and dense. One of the
> better OC's.
> IC 2714 OpCl Car - Fairly large. Not a bad bino object.
> Mel 105 OpCl Car - Small compact group. OK for binos.
> NGC 3766 OpCl Cen - Bright and compact, but only a few stars resolved in
> the binos. Much nicer in the 8".
> NGC 4052 OpCl Cru - Small, fairly dense.
> NGC 4103 OpCl Cru - Small, 25'ish stars or so.
> NGC 4337 OpCl Cru - Pretty small; tough to actually call this one
> cluster.
> NGC 4349 OpCl Cru - Very diffuse, tough to see. Couldn't resolve any of
> the stars.
> H 5 OpCl Cru - I first had to locate Harvard 5 in the 8". Not
> impressive. Only a few stars here. Would have missed it without the 8"
> first pointing the way.
> NGC 4463 OpCl Mus - Very small OC, right on the Musca-Crux border, in an
> area of dark nebula.
> H 6 OpCl Mus - Very tough to spot. As with Harvard 5, I had to use
> the 8" to first locate this OC. How this ever made the list is beyond
> me.
> NGC 4609 OpCl Cru - The Coal Sack (or is that Coalsack?) Cluster.
> Pretty easy to find. 30~40 stars.
> Coal Sack DkNb Cru - Tough to spot n*ked-eye, but it's there. A dark
> item in the milky Way, somewhat oval'ish (I thought) in shape. Nice in
> the 9x63s.
> NGC 4755 OpCl Cru - The Jewel Box. A n*ked-eye object. Much better in
> the 8"!!
> NGC 4815 OpCl Mus - A hazy pinpoint. Looks more like a glob.
> NGC 4833 GbCl Mus - Small and compact.
> NGC 4852 OpCl Cen - A mottled patch of light, relatively bright.
> NGC 5128 Glxy Cen - Centaurus A. A fuzzy blob in the binos; I couldn't
> detect the dark lane.
> NGC 5139 GbCl Cen - Absolutely spectacular in binos!
> NGC 5286 GbCl Cen - Resembles a hazy star.
>
> Well, I just hope all my scratch-sheet observing notes matched up with
> the right objects! I logged another dozen or so non-Club items, but
> nothing spectacular.
>
> In addition...
>
> Crux: The Southern Cross is always magical to view. Just something
> about it... Wonderful to scan with binos!
>
> The "False Cross": A n*ked-eye asterism on the border of Vela and
> Carina. All 2nd mag stars. Mimics Crux.
>
> Whew!!!
>
> ...Bob...
> Bob Czerwinski
>
>
>