Mercury transit hopes drowned in rain.

On Friday, November 8 2006, the planet Mercury passed directly between the planet Earth and the Sun. This was my first solar transit and I looked to this day with much anticipation. I was prepared, I had the right equipment, my trusty 8" SCT and a white light filter, I had the afternoon off and I was in a location well placed to witness about three of the five hours that Mercury would be visible against the backdrop of the Sun. But it was not meant to be. Heavy rain clouds that were supposed to clear out before noon stuck around well into the evening and ruined my chances of claiming an observation. I had to settle for a seat in front of the computer, watching the Kitt peak observatory internet broadcast of the transit, competing with like minded observers for limited bandwidth and 30 second snippets of video with narratives from famous astronomers. Just before third contact I found out that the SLOOH observatory was hosting a broadcast of the transit on their site. The SLOOH site loaded with much greater speed and I stuck it out there until Mercurys disk slipped off the bright sun into inky space.

The weather was a bust and watching the event over the internet was not immensely exciting but I did get to see part of the transit live, and I now have an 8" solar film filter in my tool box for next time. Venus will transit the sun in 2012, six years from now and only four years from a Mercury repeat performance. In the mean time I want to learn more about Planetary transits and their significance in science and astronomy, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for clear skies.

10/08/2006 0600hrs ut

Located in Davidsonville Park in MD, an almost completely clear night, just a few hours after a cold front moved in, humidity is high, temp is around 50, no wind, 1 day past full moon. Seeing is 6, trans is 7. View of sky is marred to the east by street lamps but otherwise clear of local light sources.
NGC 1976, M 42, Glare from moon washes out some of the contrast but clear Sky's and fewer street lights allow fine views of fish mouth and trapezium in proxima zoom.

NGC 1982, M 43, Appears as a "Pack man" next to M 42, one star observed.

I attempted to observe the Horse head nebula with negative results. (I didn't know at the time that this was a hopeless task with an 8 inch SCT in fairly light polluted skies with the naked eye)

NGC 0224, M 31, Even with the moon high in the sky, this famous galaxy presented me with the best views so far, an oval shaped core that blended into the back ground sky, fain cloudiness spread out in a linear fashion from the core. Continued viewing and perseverance pays off as more of M 31 is revealed to me each observing session.

NGC 0221, M 32, much cluster to the moons glare than M 31, this faint golf ball looking galaxy is still quite apparent, review of a messier guide explains that my perception of the object is typical given the conditions.

NGC 6994, M 773, Negative Observation, the glare of the moon prevented my observing this tiny cluster though I have observed it in the past.

NGC 2099, M 37, This open cluster is quite attractive tonight, many of these cluster are among my favorite to look at though I have trouble telling them apart. I would like to start sketching them in an effort to understand there nuances a little better. This cluster shows little filaments or strands of stars spreading from a center point.

NGC 2068, M 78, Negative Observation.

NGC 1904, M 79, Faint globular cluster, no stars resolved.

NGC 2437, M 46, This well formed open cluster is clear tonight with many stars resolved.

NGC 2422, M 47, Appears as a small open cluster of bright stars.

NGC 2323, M 50, Scattered but small open cluster.

NGC 2447, M 93, Faint compact open cluster.

M4 Swan, After several mornings spent attempting to capture this newly discovered comet, I met with success during the early morning hours. At first while scanning the target area I observed a very faint but clear disk. I celebrated early but the object drifted out of view while I was reaching for the camera. While attempting to re-acquire the object I came across another green object, this one was much bigger and fuzzy as described by observations on cloudy nights. I managed a few photos of swan but the quality was poor in part due to dew and a low ground fog. I have much to learn about taking astro photos but viewing my first comet since Hallie's comet in the 80's made the entire night worth while.

Saturn, Viewed this great looking planet for the first time this season, the rings have changed position since the last time this planet was viewed. After about ten minutes of observing while trying to talk a friend through locating it over the phone, I caught a quick moment of exceptional seeing and managed a quick peek at the Cassini division.

9/29/2006 2350 hrs

Located in Baseball field near home cords. Cool, clear night, no wind, low humidity, temps
45-50. Trans 7, seeing 8.
NGC 0581, M 103, Open cluster in Cassiopea, this is a pretty open cluster. 17 stars visable in a tiny dipper shaped space at low power. At high pwer with proxima zoom, there are 30-35 visable. There are three bright stars in a line across the bottom of the group.

NGC 7654, M 52, An open cluster in Cassiopea with many bright stars, two or three brighter than the rest, maybe 50 or so stars resolved. The shape of the cluster reminds me of a glass overflowing with fizzing soda.

NGC 0559, Caldwell 8. Open cluster, appears small and loose at high mag, only 5-6 stars resolved.

NGC 0205, M 110, Faint galaxy in my 8in. SCT in poor light polluted skies. At first I saw nothing but after slewing to one side and than the other, I was able to pick up on this galaxy as it driffted across the 40mm ep. This messier object lies in Andromeda.

NGC 7079, M 39, Open cluster in Cygnus, this cluster fill and expands out of the FOV of the 40mm. I counted 30 or so stars without slewing the scope. This object would really show with binos.

9/21/2006 M-42

Location was crofton home coords. Seeing and trans were very good with exception of new even brighter street lamps on three sides. Used occasion to test out new Polar Wedge. The light and glare from the new street lamps have made observing from the porch a most un-fun experience. I spent some time observing Orions nebula to develope my note taking skills. I ended the night disgusted with myself for not monitoring the scope closely and it wound its power cord around the tripod to the breaking point.
NGC 1976 The orion nebula is a fantastic sight to behold. With the naked eye from my 2nd floor apt I can only discern a faint dim star. Thrugh the finder scope the dim star becomes a fuzzy purple spot. In an 8 inch telescope with a 40 mm ep the star explodes into a large fantastic nebula. There are two major bright spots that I identified as the trapezium and M-43. Ribbons of rey and green spread north and south with a well defined border on the west side. The nebula gently dissapates on the east side giving the impression of an eagle in flight. The trapezium clearly containes three stars but averted vision hints at more. The contrast with the background sky is terrible and most colors are washed out. The lp filter does little to help solve the problem.
NGC M-43 Viewing this small difuse nebula is a bit more challenging. The dust and gas fan out from the center point and clash with M-42.

8/12/2006 2303 hrs

Location is in a corn field near Davidsonville MD. Seeing 9 trans 8. This is a great location with a clear view of the sky and dark enough to revieal a portion of the Milky Way.
NGC 7654
NGC 0224
Jupiter and 4 moons. Nice sharp views.
Uranis first time observed.
NGC 7099
NGC 7089
NGC 7092 nice open cluster.
NGC 7078
NGC 6994
NGC 6981
NGC 6913 almost to faint to see.
NGC 6853
NGC 6838
NGC 6809
NGC 6779
NGC 6715
NGC 6720 RING NEBULA
NGC 6694
NGC 6681
NGC 6656
NGC 4725
NGC 6637
NGC 6626
NGC 6618 SWAN NEBULA
NGC 6613
NGC 6603
NGC 6543 CAT EYE NEBULA
NGC 6494
NGC 6475
NGC 6333
NGC 6341
NGC 6254
NGC 6218
NGC 6171
NGC 5866
NGC 5457
This was a fun observing session. I neglected to take notes and opted instead to zoom from one object to the next and take advantage of this dark sky site. I imaged many of the objects listed.

8/12/2006 0214 hrs "AAVSO Chi Cyg"

Location Crofton MD home coords. Temp. 65, breezy. Clear. Trans 7 seeing 6
NGC 0224 fuzzy center observed. Lp too bright to see much else.
M-45 Pleiades. A favorite open cluster this object shows well tonight.
Hyades pretty in the 50 X finder scope.
NGC 1960 nice view.
NGC 1912 first time observing this open cluster.
CHI CYG. Mira class variable star. Reported bright maximum brought this too my attention. I had no problems locating this exceptionally bright star without the scope. Took a photo using Nikon D50.
NGC 1976 happy to see this great nebula in the sky again.. 30 second photo turned out well.

8/5/2006 2215 hrs

Location is porch of 2nd floor apartment, crofton MD. Weather is clear, humid, and cool. Seeing 7 trans 6
NGC 7662 Cat eye nebula. Trans is poor compared to previous observing session but the air is still.
NGC 7089
NGC 7092
NGC 7078
NGC 7009
NGC 6994
NGC 6981
NGC 6853 photo attempts only on previous NGC's. used goto and Nikon D50. Images did not turn out well but all were confirmed. Session was a good learning experiance for astrophotography.

8/5/2006

Clear summer night around 60 degrees. Good seeing. Good transparency. Located a few miles south west of annappolis, MD.
NGC 6864 Very faint small globular cluster.
NGC 6853
M 27, Impressive planetary nebula surrounded by stars.
NGC 6838 M-71 Large but faint globular cluster.
NGC 6809 M-55 faint globular cluster.
NGC 6779 Very small globular cluster. Looks similar to a planetary nebula.
NGC 6715 only able to observe a pin prick of a vey dense globular cluster. Looks like an out of focus star.
NGC 6720 ring nebula. Last time I observed this was just a faint smudge. This time complete ring was resolved.
NGC 6694 small open cluster. Looks like a camel.
NGC 6681 very faint very small globular cluster.
NGC 6656 a pretty cluster of stars, many faintly resolved.
NGC 4725 wide open cluster that just barely fits in my 1 degree 40 mm ep.
NGC 6637 small globular cluster in base of teapot.
NGC 6626 small globular cluster
NGC 6618 swan nebula. First time observed. Nebula is faint but easily observed. Light pollution filter helped bring out some contrast.
NGC 6613 small open cluster.
NGC 6611 eagle nebula. Stars in area confirm location is right. Nebulosity is questionable but propable. Averted vision used.
NGC 4715 large open cluster.
NGC 6531 small open cluster.
NGC 6523 pretty cluster of stars with possible nebulosity.
NGC 6543 cat eye nebula.
NGC 6594 open cluster
NGC 6341 globular cluster.
NGC 6254 globular cluster, faint due to strobe from nearby radio tower.
NGC 1039 pretty open cluster.

8/4/2006 2258 hrs

M-110 center seen, very neat.
NGC 7662
NGC 7654 very pretty open cluster
NGC 7099 GC
NGC 7089 GC
NGC 7092 GC
NGC 7078 GC
NGC 6981
NGC 6913 pretty open cluster
NGC 6994 cluster of 4 stars.

8/4/2006 Galaxy night.

This was a short session with only two observations made. NGC 0891 and NGC 0224. I was pretty excited about observing these galaxys and wrote a little bit in my notes to that fact.