Observing Report -- Montebello -- 22 April 2004 (Thursday)
Wednesday prelude:
Quite a few folks tried MB on Wednesday, although the weather reports
were mixed. It was cold, windy, and very damp; and a few clouds just
to complete the picture. We tried to watch an IO shadow transit, but
the seeing was bad, the wind shook the telescopes, and eyepieces dewed
up.
I think the seeing on Wednesday was perhaps the worst I have ever seen.
Jupiter would periodically fuzz out completely, then swell up (I swore
it was 2X its normal size, but I've been known to exaggerate; anyway
it seemed like it). Then a minute later, it would shrink back down,
stabilize, and there would be a glimpse of IO's shadow. Then back the
other direction. What a mess.
Finally, about the time it got completely dark, I gave up. My finder
and eyepieces were wet, the wind wasn't letting up, and the seeing
wasn't getting any better. Plus, the clouds kept coming and going. We
were all miserable to boot. Home by 10:00.
Thursday:
"What a difference a day makes!" That's what I was thinking when I
drove into the MB lot Thursday around sunset. When I got out of my
car, George Feliz said "What a difference a day makes!". I'm not
kidding. The sky was completely clear, I was almost comfortable in
shirtsleeves, there was no dew, and the wind was much less (although
not zero). An hour later, it was even better. The wind died down
completely, the sky was beautiful, and although I had to add layers, it
wasn't terribly cold. And not a trace of dew.
I observed with TOBY, my 10" f/6 CPT.
Venus -- getting to be a significant dent in this crescent.
Moon -- nice thin crescent, very pretty; I saw a big block that looked
like a huge school bus on the wall of Mare Crisium. Marek saw it too,
so you know I'm not kidding. I thought it was one of those Lunar
transporters from the movie 2001.
Jupiter -- there was a great pale spot transit. And very nice detail
in the SEB; several smaller white ovals were obvious, trailing the
pale spot.
Eugenia (45) -- tracked down this asteroid (in Cancer, not too far from
M44). It was supposed to be somewhere between mag 11.5 and 12.0. I
found it, but it was on the edge of visibility. I checked back a
little later, after the moon had set...better, but still on the edge.
The sky was a little brighter than usual, because normally mag 12 is
pretty easy at MB in a 10" scope, but on this night, I could hold it
only about 70% of the time with direct vision.
Peter McKone suggested a couple of nice doubles to tackle while we
waited for moonset.
Struve 1441 -- a nice dbl in Sextans. I think Peter said 1.5 or 1.6
arcseconds. Primary is yellow. Several magnitudes different. The
seeing is pretty good, but not great. A clean split most of the time.
When it snaps in, this is a beautiful tight double. (Used a 9mm EP.)
49 Leo -- another nice dbl. A.k.a. Struve 1450. Very similar in
separation and position angle to 1441, but less color. Again, a nice
clean split occasionally.
Iota Leo -- another one at about the same separation. All three of
these doubles are pretty easy to find, with primaries that are either
nekked eye or at least easily visible in the finder.
Finally the moon set, so I turned to a few H400 galaxies in Virgo,
using 9 & 17 mm Naglers.
NGC 4753 -- easy to find, due east of Gamma Vir. Round, slightly
elongated (roughly E/W); only a little brighter in the center. Small,
medium bright (for MB anyway).
NGC 4845 -- an easy field to find, but the galaxy is elusive, because
it is so dim. Very elongated; not any brighter in center; need to
revisit from a darker site.
NGC 4900 -- very dim, unless you count the bright, very stellar center.
Roundish, not elongated? Uniform brightness, except for the stellar
thingy in the center -- is that the core of the galaxy or a star? If
it is the core, it's one of the brighter ones I've seen. No other
detail seen.
NGC 4698 -- pretty obvious and easy to find. Small, medium bright, a
bit elongated (roughly N/S). Smack between two close field stars,
about equal magnitudes, oriented approximately the same direction as
the galaxy is elongated. Not brighter in the center.
NGC 4866 -- now here is a special one: very long and thin; elongated
roughly E/W; a pretty obvious slash of light; not brighter in the
center.
I packed it up around 1:20. A very nice night. Brighter than average
light domes, I think, but otherwise the sky was beautiful.
Bob J.
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Received on Mon Apr 26 19:34:03 2004