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Saturday Night Viewing at DuPuis Nature Preserve
January 24, 2004
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Fred Lehman
This was the first DuPuis session of the new year, and it turned out to be
a good one. The skies were dark and clear, the temperature was seasonable,
and the wind was nonexistent. We set up our scopes at the old site just
inside of Gate 5. The temperature dropped rapidly after sunset, and dew
started forming almost immediately. Most of us were suffering from
eyepiece fogging by 10 PM, and we all departed for home before
Midnight.
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- Object: Comet 2002 T7 Linear
- Coordinates: 0h 29m, +18° 40'
- Time: 8:07 pm ~ 8:49 pm
- Telescope: 14" LX200GPS @ f/3.3
- Camera: Starlight Xpress MX7C
- Resolution: 780x580 @ 1.44 arcseconds per pixel
- Exposure: 39 x 1 minute, unguided
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- Object: M42 with M43 on top
- Telescope: 14" LX200GPS @ f/3.3
- Camera: Starlight Xpress MX7C
- Resolution: 780x580 @ 1.44 arcseconds per pixel
- Exposure: 32 x 30 seconds, unguided
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- Object: M81 in Ursa Major
- Telescope: 14" LX200GPS @ f/3.3
- Camera: Starlight Xpress MX7C
- Resolution: 780x580 @ 1.44 arcseconds per pixel
- Exposure: 8 x 1 minute, unguided
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- Object: M77 in Cetus
- Telescope: 14" LX200GPS @ f/3.3
- Camera: Starlight Xpress MX7C
- Resolution: 780x580 @ 1.44 arcseconds per pixel
- Exposure: 11 x 2 minutes, unguided
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Jim Mayes
Dan arrived to open the gate for the assembled astronomers at about 5:45.
We found the area was not mowed but as the vegetable matter wasn't too
high, this did not present a problem. Fred thought the ground a bit soft,
not good for imaging, transmits vibrations too well. Also, lots of sand
spurs.
The night was clear and dark and cold. I brought my recently acquired 10"
Dob. This is the first time since Chiefland that the scope has seen clear
skies. (The subject of this instrument and its effect on clouds has been
documented in a previous report). It has a Rigel Quickfinder. Now there
are people that can find anything in the sky with one of these. I am not
one of them. I spent what seemed like an hour to find NGC253, the Sculptor
Galaxy. Now this is an item I can usually find with a 50mm finder scope
faster than the "go to's". Also the galaxy I found while looking for
NGC1232 did not look at all like the image that Fred took that inspired
me to find it. A peek in Bob's go-to confirmed I found the wrong fuzzy.
(OK, sometimes I knock go-to's but they can be handy to have around you
occasionally). Investigation found that I located NGC1332, a bright edge
on, not the low surface brightness, face on spiral NGC1232. Later I
finally found NGC1232. I did manage to find NGC2244, the Rosette Nebula
and Hubble's Variable Nebula, NGC2261. I looked at eye candy too. The slim
crescent Moon, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the ringed
thing to mention a few. I ordered a 9X50 finder from Orion today.
I did say it was cold. Even Fred put on what looked like a sweat suit. He
said it was to keep the ambient light from reflecting off his white skin
and affecting people's night vision. I do not believe this. I think he
was cold. Also the dew started to be a problem after 10. The last of us
left a bit before midnight.
Fred's [tongue in cheek] Rebuttal:
I am at somewhat of a loss to explain this vicious attempt to besmirch my
good name. I was not cold, and any slanderous statement to the contrary is completely without merit. As
proof that I am totally impervious to low temperatures, I offer this
picture of me taken in the dead of winter at the crest of Berthoud Pass,
11,307 feet up in the Colorado Rockies, adorned in my signature garb of
a pair shorts and an Aloha shirt. If you look closely, you will note
that I am not even wearing socks. Just prior to posing for this picture,
I had been mischievously stomping about in the snow
without shoes, making Sasquatch-like footprints to confound the skiers and tourists who would
pass by this area later in the day. My feet are size 12 double D, and my
tracks easily pass for those of Bigfoot.
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