A Clear Night in February

I have been wanting to see comet 19P Borrelly but the weather was not cooperating in early February until the nights of 18th and 19th when the skies were beautiful, clear, and cold. I went outside, rolled off the roof of my observatory, synced my LX200 to the sky and then went back inside where it was much warmer and proceeded to find the comet and begin imaging.

I admit it is not much to look at but it shows a dim tail to the right. On the 18th the comet was 1.4 AU from the Earth or 11.3 light minutes which ever you prefer. This comet was visited by the Deep Space Spacecraft in 2001. The P in front of its name stands for Periodic. It orbits the sun each 6.8 years.

Next I imaged Messier 36, 37, and 38 in the constellation Auriga that is overhead in the Winter months.

Messier 36

Messier 37

Messier 38

After Imaging these three clusters I thought I would attempt Messier 42 and Messier 43 because the sky was so clear. I thought the image came out with a lot of beautiful subtle detail.

Messier 82, the cigar galaxy, was lower in the eastern sky above the Big Dipper. Some years ago I imaged a supernova in this galaxy that could be seen in with the unaided eye through my telescope. The supernova was a thousand times farther away than any of the other skies I could see in my telescope that night, being about 12 million light years away.

NGC 2392, a planetary nebula also known as the Eskimo nebula, was a pleasant surprise to me. The striking subtle and bright shades of blue are a wonder to look at.

Another open cluster NGC 2158 just to the right of Messier 35. When you move your scope to the right of Messier 35 you will be pleasantly surprised to see this dimmer, smaller, and condensed open cluster.

Finally I took this very deep image of Abell 426. This is a group of galaxies from 200 to 350 million light years distance from us. Nine of the brightest galaxies are labeled while there are others that are not.

As I concluded my evening of imaging I felt satisfied that I had touched the infinity of the night sky in a small way.

Comet 2021 A1 (Leonard) - December 2021

Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) has been a challenge to view because the weather here in Northern Utah has been quite cold recently. Several mornings the temperature here was 19 degrees F. In spite of the cold on the morning of December 4, 2021 I arose at 4:50 am, dressed warmly and walked out to my observatory. I noticed the sky was dark and clear. Moving the roof off my observatory I started my telescope, camera, and computer and pointed my telescope to the eastern part of the sky near the constellation Boötes using the planetarium program Cartes du Ceil. Luckily when I took my first picture the comet appeared off center to the right side of the picture just above center, which was just where I wanted it located on the frame. Then setting up a camera sequence using Nikon Back Yard software I began to expose the images I took that morning.

Below is a movie I made from taking about 50 images over the course of about an hour and a half, until the sky became too bright because of morning twilight. My instrument that morning was a 12 inch LX200 R telescope, with a NIKON D5100 DSLR camera attached. Each image taken was 30 seconds long with a one minute pause between exposures. The resulting movie was pleasing to me as it showed the movement of the comet as it glided across a short arc of the sky. The movie was made using the Windows 10 Photos App.

Finding the comet in my binoculars was also a challenge during the first part of December, it barely being visible in my 10 x 42 mm Vixen Diamondback binoculars. The first time I saw the comet, it was a faint smudge, but the comet core increased in brightness over the next several days and soon became easy to spot, but the tail continued to be quite dim. Unfortunately it will probably not be visible in this location at its brightest on December 12 as it may be cloudy that morning because of the snow storm we are experiencing tonight and the next few days. But I hope to see the comet in the western sky soon as it swings around to that part of the sky.

 

A New Way to Share the Sky at Star Parties

A telescope system for Star Party Public Outreach November 30, 2019

This past summer I have been sharing the sky in a new way at our public star parties. The telescope system described here has been improved and simplified over the past several months so that it is relatively easy to set up and use.

Basically I use a highly sensitive color camera inserted into the eyepiece holder of a 6 inch computer controlled telescope mounted on an alt-azimuth tripod. A cable from the camera connects to a laptop and then another cable from the laptop attaches to a large 23 inch monitor where the public sees a near live color image of a deep sky object. As the group views the deep sky object I am able to explain to them what they are looking at. This gives them a chance to ask any questions they may have before we move onto the next object. The telescope is controlled with software on the laptop. Everyone can see the deep sky object at the same time on the monitor so there are no lines to wait in for their turn to view the object. The diagram below shows the basic set up of this system.

 The picture below shows the actual set up of the above illustrated system in my backyard. The system is controlled by the laptop. The program that runs the telescope is called CPWI, which is a free program from Celestron that syncs the telescope accurately to the sky and then allows the telescope to be controlled from the laptop. The other software MALLINCAMSKY also runs on the laptop and controls the Mallincam Skyraider DS287/c camera. The Mallincam software window is viewed on the large monitor with an extended screen view from the laptop. The deep sky objects are then displayed on this added monitor for all to see at the same time.

The images below were taken with this type of setup and show what can be seen on a typical night at a star party.

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The reaction I get from these near real time images is similar to the reaction people have when they see rings of Saturn or the craters of the moon for the first time though a quality telescope. When the star party begins I check a previously prepared favorites observing list in SkySafri 6 Pro to see what objects are visible at that moment. Next I type in the object name or a catalog number in CPWI, hit go to, and the telescope slews to the object. Then I make a short exposure of the object and it soon appears on the large monitor. The camera software automatically stacks and aligns subsequent images as we view them on the monitor thus improving their quality. If someone asks a hard question about the object we are viewing and I’m not sure of the answer I check the info button on SkySafari 6 Pro on my tablet or smart phone to help answer their question. My how things have changed!

Usually I arrive 45 minutes early to the location where the star party is being held so that I have sufficient time to set up my equipment and sync it to the sky before the star party group arrives. The battery used for this set up runs the monitor for at least 2 ½ hours and more which is long enough for most star parties.

This is a fun new way to share the sky and even works well when the moon is bright or when light pollution is a factor.

The system I use consists of the following hardware and software:

·         (1) NEXSTAR EVOLUTION 6 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope set on altazimeth tripod

·         (1) 2 inch diagonal to hold the camera

·         (1) Telrad Reflex Sight to align the telescope to the finder scope

·         (1) Orion 9 x 50mm Correct-Image Right-Angle Finder Scope

·         (1) Meade f/6.3 focal reducer to widen the field of view

·         (1 )SkyRaider DS287/c color camera for taking near live images of deep sky objects

o    (1) 1 ¼ inch extender to increase focus distance for the camera

o   (1) .5X Mallincam focal reducer to further reduce field of view because of small camera chip

·         (1 ) Acer Aspire One Cloud book 14, with Wi-Fi mouse is a Windows 10 laptop with software for controlling Mallincam camera and telescope as follows:

o   MALLINCAMSKY Software for controlling Mallincam SkyRaider DS287/c color camera from the laptop

o   Celestron PWI (CPWI) Telescope Control Software for controlling the 6 inch Celestron NexStar Evolution from a laptop

·         (1 ) HP Pavilion 23bw IPS LED Backlit Monitor is used for viewing the deep sky images as they appear on the monitor

·         (1) 3’ X 8’ Fold up plastic table for holding, laptop, monitor, inverter, and telescope accessory suitcase

·         (1) Chair for operator of telescope and camera

·         (1) VMAXTANKS VMAX V35-857 12 Volt 35AH AGM Battery Marine Deep Cycle HI Performance Battery for supplying power to the monitor

·         (1) BESTEK 500W Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Converter to provide power for monitor from the battery

·         Cables used in set up include:

o   (1)  HDMI Cable to connect laptop to monitor.

o   (1)  15 foot USB extender cable connected to a (1) USB 2.0 Cable – A- Male to Mini-B cord 6 Feet connected to the laptop for controlling telescope using CWPI software

o   (1)  4 port USB Hub to connect cables to laptop

·         Smart Phone with SkySafri 6 Pro installed to provide observing list

·         A fold up stool for holding the battery off the ground.

Orion the Hunter

Sometimes when you try to improve the way your observatory works, you only make things worse for a while. Somehow my polar alignment went way off so I spent some cold nights out in the observatory trying to get that corrected. It is now much closer than it was a few weeks ago. Polar alignment must be closely aligned with the axis of the earth or the guiding software will not move the telescope correctly. Also I was trying to learn a new version of my camera control software, but that has not co-operated so I reinstalled an older version and now things are working better. To add to all this the weather has been mostly cloudy for the past few months. If it wasn't cloudy then it was exceptionally cold, dipping below 0 degrees F on several nights, and not much better the other nights. I was able to image a little in the Constellation Orion the hunter on one night. I have borrowed a few images that I took last year as well.

This is Messier 42, an emission nebula where stars are being formed. This is one of the brightest nebula in the sky and is one of my favorite deep sky objects. It is easy to locate in the middle star of Orion's belt and is clearly visible in binoculars or small telescopes. Many wonderful images have been taken of this object. To me this object looks like an eagle in flight. Can you see it?

Messier 43 is another emission nebula connected closely to Messier 42.

This is the Horsehead Nebula, a dark nebula blocking the light from the molecular emission nebula in the background. This nebula is notoriously difficult to see with a telescope even on exceptionally clear dark nights but shows up well in astro-photos.

Messier 78 is a reflection nebula

Visit to Lowell Observatory where Pluto was discovered

My wife, daughter and I stopped at Lowell Observatory on the way home from a trip to southern Arizona. The day was cold with threatening weather. We signed up for the tour around the observatory grounds. I especially wanted to visit the telescope through which Clyde Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet, Pluto.

This is a statue to honor the discoverer of Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh. He was only a young man when he joined the Lowell observatory staff. He had the right stuff to be able to concentrate on the task of looking for Planet X. Over a extended period of time he took images through a fine quality 13 inch Astrograph telescope. He would take pictures of the sky near the ecliptic each clear night. Later he would take images of the same area  and then compare those images using a blinking compactor to see if anything had moved. Eventually he discovered a star that moved the correct amount to indicate it was a planet beyond the planet Neptune. This discovery was made on February 18, 1930

After leaving the main visitor center you walk toward the Saturn building (notice the rings around the base of the dome).

On the steps of the Saturn building you will see a sign that reads "PLUTO TOUR STARTS HERE". At the designated time a tour guide showed up took us inside of the Saturn building where displays show the history of Lowell Observatory

Here is the pathway that leads to the observatory where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. There are markers along the way that shows the comparative distance of each planet in the solar system.

Here is observatory at the end of walkway, which houses the observatory 13 inch Astrograph that was used to discover Pluto.

Here is the 13 inch Astrograph telescope used to discover Pluto. We were able to walk around it to look at it. The guide removed the back plate and allowed us to look through the tube where we could see the 13 inch lens at the top end of the telescope. He also allowed me to turn the scope a little on it's axis and look through the finder scope.

Here is the telescope from the other side, where you can see the sturdy mount that allowed the telescope to take beautiful long exposures of the sky.

Total eclipse of the moon, Serpens Cauda, and Ophiuchus

Special Note: There will be a total eclipse of the moon on Sunday evening September 27, 2015 beginning 7:09 pm and lasting until 9:23 pm mountain daylight time. It will be easily visible in the eastern sky. This is a colorful and beautiful phenomenon that you may enjoy observing. Here is a table  of when it will be visible from a newsletter of the Cache Valley Astronomical Association. If you attempt to image it, I would be glad to post it in a future post if you send me a copy.

September is often a great time to enjoy observing, and this September has been no exception. Here in northern Utah we have had an exceptional spell of clear warm nights, with no moon risings until very late in the night. This week I decided to image in the constellation Serpens Cauda (serpents tail) and bordering to the west of it Ophiuchus (a man holding a snake). Serpens Cauda has the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope. Ophiuchus is rich with Globular Clusters. Ophiuchus is now quite low in the west so some of the images are not as sharp as they would have been a few months ago. It is situated off the right side of the Milky way, in the lower area of the sky.

Messier 16 is referred to as the Eagle Nebula, a beautiful Emission nebula located in the Milky way in the constellation Serpen Cauda. This is the material that stars are made of.

Messier 9 is a distant globular cluster in the constellation of Ophiuchus

Messier 19 is a grand globular cluster in Ophiuchus.

NGC 6284 is another more distant globular in Ophiuchus

NGC 6287, another globular cluster

NGC 6304 another globular, probably not resolved here very well because it was quite low when I imaged it.

Messier 9, discovered by Chares Messier who compiled a list of objects he found when searching for comets.

NGC 6356, another globular in Ophiuchus.

NGC 6366, is a very loose globular cluster in Ophichus

NGC 6369 is a nice small Planetary nebula, with a barely visible white dwarf in the middle, the result of a giant star shedding it's outer layers in a spectacular explosion.

Messier 14, another spectacular globular cluster discovered by Charles Messier.

NGC 6401, another small globular in the constellation Ophiuchus.

Finally, NGC 6633, a large open star cluster with not to many members.

Sagittarius the Archer

Summer is passing quickly, so I thought I would take advantage of looking at the deep sky eye candy in the constellation Sagittarius before it disappears in the west this fall. This constellations has some of the most interesting objects to image. It is located low in the south as the sun sets and darkness deepens.

Messier 17, called the Omega Nebula or the swan nebula, is a large glowing cloud of gas, where new stars are built.

Messier 8 is an emission nebula, glowing from some of the stars embedded within the cloud of gas.

Messier 20, called the Trifid Nebula is striking because of the prominent dark lanes which are thick clouds in front of the red glowing gases.















Messier 22, is a large globular cluster of suns. There are many of these large congregations of stars orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. The largest appear so because they are generally closer to us. This cluster is estimated to be about 11,000 light years distant.

Messier 28 is another globular cluster, though it appears much smaller. This globular is about 18,000 light years from earth.

Messier 21 is a open star cluster, one of many in this part of our galaxy.