Wednesday 31st October 2007

Southern Sentinel Observing Report

Wednesday 31st October 2007

Date:

31st October 2007 (Local)

Time:

20:00 - 23:00 NZDT (UT +13)

Location:

Kumeu Observatory

30 Minutes from Home

Weather:

Mild Moonless Night. No Wind. Early Cloud then Clear

Seeing:

Limiting Magnitude 5.0, transparency 3/5, seeing 3/5, 4/5 Later

Moon:

No Moon

Equipment:

13.1 Inch Dobsonian, TeleVue Paracorr & Eyepieces & Lumicon Filters

Argo Navis

Well after a long period without observing this is my second time out in two weeks.

A nice period of settled weather in the last three days and probably the last opportunity for another week.Quickly packed the car and went out early to Kumeu while the Sun was still up. Alan Kane was already there when I arrived.

Going to have another shot at the LMC tonight and just systematically log the LMC. Also a few objects not seen in a while will get another look and I plan to look at some Herschel 400 objects not yet logged.

Observations as follows;

Object	Type	Magnification	Notes
NGC 1515	Galaxy	114x	Bright elongated oval galaxy (4:1), fairly easy, despite a bit less contrast in this part of the sky.
NGC 1313	Galaxy	114x	A fairly diffuse face-on spiral galaxy with an irregular halo. Fairly easy but a bit difficult to define due to some high cloud and hazy reducing contrast. Has a hint of a spiral structure
NGC 6540	Globular Cluster	114x	Small diffuse globular cluster. Makes an equilateral triangle with two stars brighter than 11th Mag. Unresolved and fairly difficult.
NGC 6752	Globular Cluster	114x	Pavo Globular. Cloud is now disrupting the sky, so brighter objects are now the only things visible.
NGC 6302	Planetary Nebula	114x	The Box Planetary. High surface brightness is retangular in shape with an hourglass waist. Quite irregularity as well.
NGC 2074	Bright Nebula	114x	LMC Observing. NGC2074 is an open cluster with a lot of nebulosity. Has about 10 bright members. Nebulosity is perdominant throughout this whole area.
NGC 2086	Bright Nebula	114x	LMC Observing. Small patch of nebulosity near a 10th Mag star. Compact but easy.
NGC 2080	Bright Nebula	176x	LMC Observing. NGC2080 is a double nebula with a distinct brighter end(NE) and a fainter more diffuse (SW) end. Easy and about 3 arcminutes (E) from a 10th Mag star in the middle of the FOV.
N 159	Bright Nebula	114x	LMC Observing. Heinze 159. There is so much detail here, I will have to come back and log the individual patches of this object. It contains numerous NGC bright notches and needs careful observation. Best logged under the N159 designation, as it has over 10 different components.
IC 2145	Bright Nebula	114x	LMC Observing. Bright round patch of nebulosity to the E of a 10th Mag Star, and eastern most of the nebulosity in this region. Very easy.
SL 654	Unknown	114x	LMC Observing. Bright cluster in the LMC, looks to have nebulosity attached to it, but it could be just the fact that it is very much unresolved. Confirm the presence of the nebulous patch N177 next time.
NGC 1566	Galaxy	176x	Fairly bright galaxy with a strong core with a hint of spiral structure. More contast would definately coax more detail out, especially at this power.
NGC 1515	Galaxy	176x	Edge-on spiral with a strong core. About a 5:1 elongated oval.
NGC 7331	Galaxy	176x	Very conspicious 3:1 oval galaxy, with strong core. Compact and very easy in the FOV. Long time since I have viewed this object. Tried the Stephan's Quintet nearby, but there was not enough contrast to pull the galaxies out of the milky northern sky.
NGC 7217	Galaxy	176x	Small compact elliptical galaxy, not difficult, but not much detail. Herschel 400 Object observed for the first time.
NGC 752	Open Cluster	114x	Very large and bright open cluster. Really needs less power and a rich field scope. Over 150 members, scattered and bright. Herschel 400 & Hartungs Object observed for the first time.
NGC 404	Galaxy	176x	Small round galaxy with a stellar nucleus. Very close to Beta Andromedae and could be very easily overlooked despite being not difficult. Herschel 400 & Hartungs Object observed for the first time.
NGC 7727	Galaxy	114x	Round compact galaxy with a strong core. Possibly a face-on spiral. Moderately Easy. Herschel 400 Object observed for the first time.
NGC 604	Bright Nebula	114x	NGC604 was easily identified. 604 is a small, round patch of nebulosity within M33. This object is worth a revisit to see if the other nebulous patches can be identified.
M 33	Galaxy	114x	The Pinwheel. Again to large for this aperture, but the nebulosity NGC604 was easily identified. This object is worth a revisit to see if the other nebulous patches can be identified.
K3	Globular Cluster	114x	Kron 3. This object is very small unresolved globular cluster, in the SMC. Not far from 47 Tucanae.
NGC 6684	Galaxy	114x	A small oval galaxy in the same FOV as the bright star Theta Pavonis (6th Mag). Not difficult but again the brightness of Theta Pavonis reduces contrast, just as NGC404 observed earlier.

Nice to get out early and get the scope out before having a bit of a sit down.

New Quikfinder was used tonight and also I have completed the 12V wiring to the Dew Heaters and Argo Navis. Telescope performed well.

Caught up with the Heinze 159 region of the LMC and logged some new Hershel 400 objects. NGC1313 is a nice spiral and NGC7331 was good to catch up with after a long time.

Packed up and was on the road home by 11:15 PM.

Paul Kemp

13.1" f5 Reflector with Argo Navis

Auckland, New Zealand

36° 55' 09 " South, 174° 43' 30" East

-- The Southern Sentinel --