Myself and Mike Scully decided to head to Shortt mountain for midnight
to see if we could tackle a few of the objects in the summer milkyway.
I arrived before Mike and set up my 8” and 20X80's. The wind was
very strong so I had to set up behind the car with the boot and doors
open to kill the breeze a little. First observation was of a setting
moon with lots of earth shine, I managed to have a quick look before
it slid down behind the mountain. Next up was Saturn and the beehive
in the 20X80's needless to say it was very pretty, even if the sky was
still very light behind it.
Being lazy and unwilling to take a logbook to the eyepiece, I also recorded
my observations onto mp3 as I made them, this made observing much better
and I found that I studied each object for longer, trying to spot as
much detail as possible.
The Summer triangle of Vega (top right), Deneb and Altair (bottom left)
A quick flick around the summer triangle was first on the list, M27,
M71, and M56 before a quick look at M13 for contrast.
Next was M11 and M26. M11 was stunning in binoculars and I found M26
boring at low power in the dob but when viewed at X100 was much nicer
and showed distinct shape. Had a brief look at M9 and M28 in Mike's
Dob. then continued onto M16, followed by M17 and M18. M24 and M25 followed
before moving onto M8 M20 and M21
To finish off we had a look at three globulars low in the muck in Sagittarius,
M69, M70 and M54 followed by M6 and M7 in Scorpius.
Sagittarius rises between the lights of Killarney and Castelmaine.
This was my first night looking at this region and It was stunning.
Each movement of the scope brought another excellent object into the
FOV, It would be extremely hard to pick a highlight but if I was forced
it would be the sagittarius star cloud M24, so many stars and chains
and knots, M17 the omega nebula and M6 the butterfly cluster and M16
This is one region of the sky that will be visited again and again...
OBSERVING
SESSION APRIL 28th'06
VENUE: Banna Beach
TIME: 9pm 'til 12am
Kerry astronomy club held a public observing session at our Banna Beach
location on April 28th. Instruments present were 2X10” dobs, an
8.75” dob, an 8” dob, a Skylux, an Etx 70, a pair of 25X100's,
a pair of 20X80's and lots of smaller binoculars. As the skies darkened
and a crowd of 30 or so arrived, cloud overhead prevented us from looking
for the comets. A brief look at a young
26hr old moon started the night and Jupiter low on the horizon was
the nights first telescopic target. Young and old got to see Jupiter
and its moons, Unfortunately the seeing and atmosphere were muck so
no cloud belts were easily visible./p>
Some of those to arrive early in the session.
Fast moving cloud played a major part in observing, so as gaps appeared,
Saturn, the comet, the Beehive, the Double Cluster, the Great Globular
in Hercules, and M35 were swept up. In cloudier moments the club members
explained to the public about the movement of the stars and planets,
pointed out some constellations, talked about satellites, meteors, comets
and lots of other astronomical phenomenon.
Most people who attended managed to see the Galilean moons of Jupiter,
the rings of Saturn and some DSO, such as the Double Cluster or M13.
Lots of OOOHS, AAAHS and WOWS testified to the success and enjoyment
the evening provided.
All in all a great evening. Of particular note was comet 73P fragments,
B and C. Both were very easy binocular targets that night as fragment
B was in flare up and to my mind seemed a tad brighter than fragment
C.
OBSERVING
SESSION MARCH. 3rd '06
VENUE: BANNA BEACH
TIME: 10.00pm 'til 1.30am
On the 3rd of March we had a forecast of snow but with
clear skies in between. We made a few phone calls and had just three
takers. Trevor had made the trip from Killarney and rang me from Banna
to say that it was snowing but with the odd clearance appearing.
Trevor wrapped up against the cold. Inset is the thermometer showing
-3.8
On arriving there was about 20% of the sky clear and the
snow had stopped. We set up and were rewarded with some excellent clear
(but cold) skies to observe. Most of our time was spent finding and
observing the deepsky objects in and around Canis major. The Rossette
Nebula was a particular challange and supprising large. We observed
with snow under foot until about 1:30am when the air temperature had
gone down to -3.8 degrees C.
As part of a night class that Tony Curran gave before
Christmas in Waterville we promised to hold an observing session in
the area. Overcast and unpredictable weather lead to a couple of cancellations,
but on February 20th everything lined up and four of us set off from
Tralee for what would be on of the best sessions of the winter.
An hour and twenty minutes of a drive and we were turning into the car
park of Drumid Pearse GAA grounds deep in the dark valleys of the south-west
Kerry mountains. There, a crystal clear inky black sky and about 30
people of all ages greeted us.
We set up the telescopes and following a quick tour of the constellations
with the laser pointer we started to show those there the sights on
view. Saturn, as always, was a big hit with some wondering if we had
cheated and put a picture slide of it into the eyepiece!
Soon after starting some of us saw a brilliant fireball. About three
times as bright as Venus at its best and quite slow (for a meteor) It
disappeared behind a piece of cloud and the whole cloud lit up. A rare
and unusual sight.
As the night wore on the younger stargazers were carried away to their
beds leaving the way free for the course members and others to sample
the other delights of the night sky. We sampled galaxies, nebulae, globulars
and the two planets on show. It was great to be able to combine an observing
session with the course to demonstrate the topics covered and the constellations
under such an excellent sky.
The milkyway to the Northwest with the Andromeda Galaxy on the middle
left and Cassiopeia at the top
The site is at least 4 miles from the nearest streetlights (about
6 of them) and there was no discernible light pollution in any direction!
The South Kerry observing site is well christened now and we hope to
be returning there soon.
OBSERVING
SESSION FEB 19th 06
VENUE: BANNA BEACH
TIME: 6.45pm 'til 0.30am
We
arrived at about 7 pm and were greeted by Mercury setting in the West.
We then got back to setting to the ‘scopes for the night to come.
With the telescopes set up and Orion high in the South we toured the
numerous deep sky objects on show and as always Saturn was an big hit
with the audience. By 8:30 all traces of twilight had well gone and
we were treated to a glorious view of the Zodiacal light.
It appeared to be brighter than the portion of the Milkyway that was
visible that night but being so large and diffuse, fading gradually
as you move away from the ecliptic, it is easily overlooked. This is
the third year in a row that we have seen this phenomenon from this
location.
..
OBSERVING
SESSION JAN 29th 06
VENUE: BANNA BEACH
TIME: 7.30pm 'til 11.20pm
Smaller than our recent observing sessions but every bit
as good. This session started off with some constellation pointing to
some beginners who have signed up for our introduction to astronomy
course. We saw and explained the Zodiacal Light. A brief tour of some
notable highlights followed including Saturn, The Pleiades, The Great
Nebula in Orion, The Andromeda Galaxy and The Double Cluster. As we
looked at these objects in Binoculars and telescopes we explained their
nature, distance and scale. The cold finally got to most around nine
or half, nine leaving just two members to brave the biting wind.
Over the course of the next two hours a huge amount of objects were
tracked down starting with a few Messier objects. M81, and 82 were targeted
and a bonus of NGC 3077 (I think) was spotted, Next up were M51 and
101, which were hiding low in the murky atmosphere. Another look at
M31, M32 and M110 followed which was a stunning sight. After gorging
on galaxies, it was time to track down some clusters and Nebulae in
the southern sky. M50, M46, M47, M48, M41, M93, M35 and NGC 2158, M67,
M78, M1 and the globular M79 were spotted and bagged.
After Messier we moved on to a number of NGC'S. First up, the rosette
cluster (2237/44), The Cone and Christmas Tree (NGC 2264), NGC 2215,
NGC2232, NGC2185. Then Mike Scully pointed out what was the highlight
for me, NGC2024 (The Flame Nebula). It was a stunning sight through
the Dob, and is definitely one of those Objects that will be revisited
again and again.
To round off the evening we had a quick look again at Saturn. Finally
admitting that we could no longer feel our fingers, we left at 11.20
PM
One of the other highlights of the night has to have been a visit from
the Local Garda, approaching with headlights on full.... “What
are them Yokes there Lads, they're not rocket launchers or anything”.
The temptation to start flashing the laser pointer around was overwhelming,
but sense prevailed and we explained that we were amateur astronomers
and would he care to look at Saturn.
We
arrived at about 7 pm and were greeted by Mercury setting in the West.
We then got back to setting to the ‘scopes for the night to come.
..
Over the course of the next two hours a huge amount of objects were
tracked down starting with a few Messier objects. M81, and 82 were targeted
and a bonus of NGC 3077 (I think) was spotted, Next up were M51 and
101, which were hiding low in the murky atmosphere. Another look at
M31, M32 and M110 followed which was a stunning sight. After gorging
on galaxies, it was time to track down some clusters and Nebulae in
the southern sky. M50, M46, M47, M48, M41, M93, M35 and NGC 2158, M67,
M78, M1 and the globular M79 were spotted and bagged.