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M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) (Galaxy, in Virgo, Est. RaDec 12h 40m, -11.37)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 150
I was on another object, walked away, and came back to this beautiful sight. My friend moved my scope to M104. Dark dust lane "shadow" was easily seen @ 104X and then at higher power. Rather bright and large. Just like in the photo's, almost edge on with a rather large central core. Theory supports a super black hole in the core of this galaxy.
M57 (Ring Nebula) (Planetary Nebula, in Lyra, Est. RaDec 18h 54m, 33.02)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 149
This was a rather easy find. M57 is positioned in a rather star poor area of the sky. At first sight I noticed the colors. It looked like I was looking at a prisim, full of color, but mostly greenish. This is a beautiful object because it sits in nearly pure dark skies by itself. The ring was easy to observe. No effort needed to see the central area, even at 104X. A very nice object
NGC3898 (Galaxy, in Ursa Major, Est. RaDec 11hr 47m, 56.00)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 150-mm other Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 148
This was a strange one. I took a photo of Ursa Major (2 min. using 800 ASA Fuji Super G film) and when I got it developed and went to my Skt Atlas 2000.0 to pinpoint the stars, I picked up two strange blobs of light. After checking another sky atlas, I realized that I picked up two very faint galaxies on film. NGC 3898 and NGC 3888 were a complete surpirse. The sky gods were very kind to me that night.
M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) (Galaxy, in Canes Venatici, Est. RaDec 13h 30m, 47.12)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 147
What a sight. This large galaxy gumped out under the cool clear skies at @ 104X. I could easily easily see the spiral arms even under low power. It's comapion, NGC 5195 was also easily visable under these beautiful skies. The two were rather bright due to the great seeing. Two beautiful objects.
NGC4565 (Galaxy, in Coma Berenices, Est. RaDec 12h 36m, 25.59m)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 25-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 146
A beautiful, huge edge on galaxy. Through the 25" and the 10" SCT, I could EASILY pick out the dark dust lanes in the galaxy. The galaxy took up the entire field of the Neglar eyepiece. A first time observation of this great galaxy for me. I will never forget it and can't wait to see it again. This is a must see under medium power in clear, dark skies. Blown away
M16 (Eagle Nebula) (Open Cluster, in Serpens, Est. RaDec 18h 19m, -13.47)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 25-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 145
The Eagle Nebula. Observed for only a short time, but was very beautiful. For some reason, I could not find it easily. A friend finally found it in the 25 and was blown away. Nebulas filter use is unknown. At medium power, the nebula is a strange shape. Was able to easily see the dark dust lane in the central region. A beautiful object.
M17 (Omega Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Sagittarius, Est. RaDec 18h 21m, -16.11)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 25-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 144
The Swan was my next target at Mt. Pinos. Again, I used the O-III filter and a low power. Throught the 25" and the 10" SCT, it looked as if I were on top of the nebula. Very bright but void of any color. I obsered it for @ 20 min. and picked out a lot of detal. This nebula was picked up in my 50mm exposure of the Sagittarius constelation. Very nice.
M20 (Trifid Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Sagittarius, Est. RaDec 18h 02m, -23.02)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 25-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 143
Trifed Nebula. An utter beauty. Again, using the O-III filter, this object jumps out. Easily observe the dark dust lanes in the central area of the nebula. Again, this nebula was observable to the naked eye. Could easily split the double star.
M8 (Lagoon Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Sagittarius, Est. RaDec 18h 04m, -24.20)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 25-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mt. Pinos, California, US
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Jun 7 10:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 142
Beautiful object under incredable skies. I have not seen such clear skies in 15 years. The O-III filter made the Lagoon Nebula jump out in the 10" as well as the 25" scopes. Very bright and large. I could actually abserve it with the naked eye, no problem. Very beautiful and large. The first object of many, many hours of observing to come.
M66 (Galaxy, in Leo, Est. RaDec 11h20.2m +13.01)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, California, US
Light pollution: severe Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Sat Apr 12 17:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 119
Both M66 and M65 were in my field of view. This was my first look at two galaxies in the same field. M66 & M65 were in a small but noticable star field of 15-30 stars that seperated them. This star field was small and only noticable around the galaxies. Both were a fuzzy patch with little feature under the conditions fo the sky. However, I could tell the difference by the magnitude and angular tilt and seperation. Both were easy to find due to the lack of any other activity in the field of view. This was a fun object to observe and can't wait to visit again under better sky conditions.
M53 (Globular Cluster, in Coma Berenices, Est. RaDec 13h12.9m +18.10)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, California, US
Light pollution: severe Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Fri Apr 11 17:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 118
Another nice globular that was easy to spot. It looks like the little brother of M3. The field is large but slightly less concentrated than M3 with more stars towards the edges. Star hopping may be difficult in poor conditions for lack of any bright reference stars nearby. I used setting circles and landed right on top if it. Very nice object.
M3 (Globular Cluster, in Canes Venatici, Est. RaDec 13h42.2m +28.23)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, California, US
Light pollution: severe Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Fri Apr 11 16:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 117
Very large. Easy to spot even under poor conditions. Used 24.5mm SWA at f/10 for 104X. The field is VERY large and concentrated at the middle. Total field is @ 10 minutes of arc.
M47 (Open Cluster, in Puppis, Est. RaDec 07h34m, -14.23)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Rancho Palos Verdes, California, US
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Mar 10 16:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 97
Beautiful Open Cluster in Puppis. Very bright, rich field. About 40-50 stars set on the backdrop of the Milkyway. Very nice!
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion, Est. RaDec 05 35.4, -05.23)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Rancho Palos Verdes, California, US
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Mar 10 16:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 96
Can't resist a view. The seeing in Palos Verdes was great. This object jumped out of the night sky. At 104X, the object more than filled the field. Pale green in color. Noticed that one of the nebula arms extended very far. The dark central region gave great contrast to the beautiful glow. Always a grand view!!
M79 (Globular Cluster in Lepus)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Feb 10 06:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 62
Nice object in 10". Spotted first with 7X20 bino and 4.5" refractor. Compact field. Used line from Alpha through Beta to object. Nice view!!
M35 (Open Cluster in Gemini, Est. RaDec 06h08.8m 24.20N)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Feb 10 05:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 67
Nice, large open cluster Used 104X and filled the entire field. A very nice object. Always fun to observe. NGC 2158 was a faint patch at 167X.
M46 (Open Cluster in Puppis, Est. RaDec 07h41.9m -14.49)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Feb 10 04:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 66
Very large. 104X took up all of eyepiece. Would recommend 60X. Nice full field. Only about 5 stars stuck out in the field. However, this cluster has a few hundred stars. This is a big cluster. I did not detect planetary nebula 2438 due to only fair seeing.
M41 (Open Cluster in Canis Major, Est. RaDec 06h47.0m -20.45)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Feb 10 04:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 65
Easy view. My setting circles were right on!! Used 24.5 SWA at 2500mm. See 20-30 brightest stars and many more faint stars. Nice circular cluster. Espin star has a red glow!!
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