Schudel Family - Astronomy Log

• Who: Daniel
• Time: 22:00
• Weather: No clouds, lower 40 degrees F
• Location: RACOBS at Big Woods
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE and 12.4 Plössl
• Viewing Results
  • M45 - Crisp, clear, steady
  • M31 - Best with the 21.5mm, too dim with the 12.4mm
  • Jupiter - One cloud band was visible, four moons were lined up on one side of Jupiter
  • Eta Cassiopeiae - Split with the 12.4mm
  • M33 - The 4-star kite that bounds M33 was easily seen.  Not very much contrast between the galaxy and the background sky.  Used the 12.4mm.
  • Almach - Could not split.
  • Cassiopeia Clusters - M103, NGC 654, 663, 659, 457 and 436.  All with the 21.5mm.
  • M42 - 23:54.  Great extent and contrast with the 12.5mm.  Three stars were seen in the trapezium.  The nebula was very blue with great contrast with the background sky.
  • Finished at 0:00 on 2010/11/13.  Need a way to keep feet and toes warm.  Everything else was warm.

• Who: Daniel
• Time: 21:30
• Weather: Clear, low 60's, upper 50's
• Location: RACOBS at Big Woods
• Equipment: RAC members, not my own
• Observing Results
  • Watched the transit of Io across Jupiter at up to 240x
  • Perseus Double Cluster
  • Comet Hartley 2
  • M31
  • Numerous others, courtesy of RAC member Chris (?), 12" f/5
• Notes
  • Wear warmer clothes for this temperature range

• Who: Daniel
• Time: 21:30
• Weather: 10% clouds moving through, low to mid-80's
• Location: Farrington Boat Ramp - eastern ramp
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE and 12.4 Plössl
• Viewing Plan
  • Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune are up all night
  • The Moon doesn't rise until around 2AM the next day
  • Deep Sky Objects - M13, M27, M57, M92, NGC6826
  • Binary Stars - Albireo, 61 Cygni, Mizar/Alcor
  • More Deep Sky - M8, M11, M16, M17, M20, M22, M24, M25, M27, M55, M57, NGC6633
  • CN - IC 1396, LDN 906, M2, M15, M29, M30, M39, NGC 6939, NGC 6871, NGC 7000
  • CN - IC 1396, M2, M15, M30, NGC 6888, NGC 6946, NGC 6960, NGC 6992, NGC 7000, NGC 7009
• Viewing Results
  • Milky way from Cygnus through Sagittarius was very evident - even before my eyes were fully dark adapted.
  • Started with Albireo in order to compare the 21.5 RKE and the 12.4 Plössl.
  • M17 - A majestic, illuminated wisp
  • M16
  • M18
  • M11
  • Jupiter (22:20) - All four Galilean moons were illuminated and visible.  Nice disc with both the 21.5 RKE and 12.4 Plössl.  A single band was visible using the 12.4 Plössl.  It seemed as though I could see more, perhaps as the atmosphere steadied.
  • Uranus - Indistinguishable from a star.
  • M57 - Disc like appearance with 12.4 Plössl.  It sometimes felt as though the ring structure was visible.
  • M13 - Beautiful central core.
  • M27 - Rectangular box-like structure was evident.
  • M71 - Was faint and small with the 12.4 Plössl.
  • Brocchi's Cluster/Coathanger - Needed the lower power 21.5 to see the entire cluster.
  • M11 - Compact, but a few starts could be resolved.
  • M31/M32 - M31 appeared as a long streak, and not just a glob of stars.
  • Eta Cassiopeia - Could split the pair with the 12.4 Plössl.
  • Jupiter and Uranus - Finished the night with these two around local midnight.

• Who: Daniel, Vickie, Grandma and Grandpa Schudel, Karin
• Time: 22:00 EDT
• Temperature: ~76 degrees F
• Location: Leeward Court
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE
• Viewed
  • Albireo
  • Mizar/Alcor
  • M13

• Who: Daniel, Abigail - and a very large crowd for the Perseids
• Time: 20:00 - 22:00
• Temperature: mid-80's
• Location: Ebenezer Church Recreation Area
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE
• Viewing Plans
  
  • Sky View and here.
  • Planetary - Venus, Saturn, Mars
  • Deep Sky Objects - M13 (globular cluster), M27 (nebula), M57 (nebula), M92 (globular cluster), NGC6826 (nebula), M56 (globular cluster)
  • Binary Stars - Albireo (colorful blue/yellow binary), 61 Cygni, Cor Caroli, Mizar/Alcor
  • Perseid Meteor Shower - peaks night of 8/12, morning of 8/13.  Perseus (radiant of the shower) rises near to 12 midnight localtime.

• Viewing Results
  • Moon - Slender crescent
  • Venus - Abigail was the first to spot this at 19:50
  • Mars
  • Saturn - through the Astroscan and through a few other 6" scopes
  • M13
  • Albireo
  • Not a single meteor - it was too early

• Who: Daniel
• Time: 21:20 - 23:45 EDT
• Weather: mid-70's with occasional cloud cover
• Location: Farrington Boat Ramp - eastern ramp
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE
• Viewing Plans
  
  • Sky View and here.
  • Planetary - Venus, Saturn, Mars at sunset.  Jupiter, Uranus after midnight.
  • Deep Sky Objects - M13 (globular cluster), M27 (nebula), M57 (nebula), M92 (globular cluster), NGC6826 (nebula)
  • Binary Stars - Albireo (colorful blue/yellow binary), 61 Cygni, Cor Caroli, Mizar/Alcor

  • ---

    More Deep Sky - M8, M11, M16, M17, M20, M22, M24, M25, M27, M55, M57, NGC6633

• Viewing Results
  • M13
  • Cor Caroli - Low on the horizon - easily found, but could not separate.
  • Mizar/Alcor - Easy to separate.
  • Albireo - Separation was easy - but color difference was not evident.
  • M4 - Very, very faint.  FOV included Antares and Sigma Scorpii at opposite edges.
  • M80 - Nearly indistinguishable from a star.
  • Albireo/22:00 - Slight color difference is noted.
  • M57 - Too small to be recognizable
  • Satellite/22:30 - Seen in Vulpecula.  Identified as: Cosmos 2360 Rocket.
  • M27 - Very difficult to find.  The nebula had an interesting shape - definitely not round.
  • M92 - Easy to find, bright core with a diffuse outer layer.
  • M5 - Standard looking globular.
  • Epsilon Lyrae - Could not split the individual doubles.
  • M57/23:10 - Darker sky did not help.
  • Albireo/23:10 - More color is evident.
  • M56 - Unimpressive and dim.
  • 61 Cygni - Easy to find and separate.
  • Satellite/23:32 near to NGC6826 - Unidentified.
  • NGC6826 - Very difficult to find - FOV star charts with dim stars plotted helped to hop to NGC6826.  It took a lot of patience before I could make an object out.
  • 23:45 - Clouds moved in from the North.

• Messier objects with Telrad circles - http://www.atmob.org/library/member/skymaps_jsmall.html
• Digital - http://www.nightskyatlas.com/
• Paper - http://www.skymaps.com/store/cat01.html
• Greek Alphabet

• Who: Daniel, Abigail, Bennetts, Meldrums, Sousas
• Time: 20:30 EDT
• Temperature: 80 degrees F
• Location: Medoc Mountain State Park - Group Campsite Field
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE
• Viewing Plans
  • Venus, M44, Saturn, Cor Caroli (Alpha Canum Venaticorum), M81/M82, M3, Mizar/Alcor, Polaris
  • Previously Seen - M3, M44, M51, M94
  • Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught)
  • Stellar - SS Virginis, Iota Cancri, Mizar/Alcor, Polaris, Gamma Leonis, Cor Caroli (Alpha Canum Venaticorum)
  • Easy - M3, M5, M51, M64, M83, M101, M104
  • Difficult - M63, M84, M86, M87, M102, M106,  NGC4449, NGC4565, Mel 111, NGC 5566, NGC 5585, NGC 5689, NGC 5746, NGC 5813, NGC 5838, NGC 5907
• Viewing Results
  • Venus, Saturn, Arcturus, Cor Caroli, M13, M3
  • Seeing conditions were quite poor.  There was a large amount of dew and condensation.  A very bright light on the group campsite bathhouse bathed the entire field in light.  A way to temporarily shield this light is needed for next time.

• Who: Daniel, Allen D., Mark S.
• Time: 22:30 EDT
• Temperature: 80 degrees F
• Location: Medoc Mountain State Park - Five Acre Field
• Equipment: Allen's 20" f/5 Obsession
• Viewing Results
  • Very impressive!
  • M57 - Ring Nebula
  • NGC 6543 - Cats Eye - I could see the central star
  • M20 - Triffid Nebula
  • M8 - Lagoon Nebula
  • Veil Nebula (NGC6960, 6992, 6995) with an OIII filter - was very impressive and very large.  52 Cygni, near NGC6960, was an electric blue due to the OIII filter.
  • Flashing Nebula - can't find any references to this name
  • A few globulars that I lost track of

• Who: Daniel, Vickie, Abigail, Adah, and the Krebs Family
• Time: 20:30 EDT
• Temperature: 80 degrees F
• Location: Krebs'
• Equipment: Astroscan with 21.5mm RKE
• Viewing Plans
  
  • Sky view - star clusters on / off
  • Venus, M44, Saturn, Cor Caroli (Alpha Canum Venaticorum), M81/M82, M3, Mizar/Alcor, Polaris
  • Previously Seen - M3, M44, M51, M94
    
  • New and Reasonable - M53, M64, M83, M104, NGC 3242
    
  • New and Challenging - M63, M65, M66, M84, M86, M87, M95, M96, M97, M105, M106, M108, M109, NGC 3115, NGC 3628, NGC 4449, NGC 4565
  • Stellar - SS Virginis, Iota Cancri, Mizar/Alcor, Polaris, Gamma Leonis, Cor Caroli (Alpha Canum Venaticorum)
• Viewed
  • Venus

Definitions

• Lights - Frames that include the subject matter.
  
• Offset/Bias frame - A calibration image taken with little to no exposure time.  Corrects for the noise inherent in the CCD.  Can be taken anytime and are considered viable for long periods of time.
  
• Dark frame - A calibration image taken with the same exposure time as the "Lights" frames.  Corrects for thermal and electro-luminescent noise that accumulates over long exposures.  Should be taken near to the same time as the lights so that temperature conditions are nearly identical.
• Flat frame - A calibration image taken of a uniformly bright, white screen.  Corrects for optical problems with the CCD and telescope.  Note that the focus point used on the subject must used when taking the flat frame.
• Cosmetic file - A file specific to IRIS that identifies hot, or warm, pixels on the CCD.  Derived from the dark frame.
  

Hints

• Take several (7-9) exposures of each of the calibration frames.  Then use IRIS to combine them.
• 2:1- lights to darks

GUI Procedures for IRIS

• Preprocessing->"Make an offset..." - Save the resulting master offset image.
  
• Preprocessing->"Make a dark..." - Save the resulting master dark image.
  
• Preprocessing->"Make a flat-field..." - Save the resulting master flat-field image.
• Load the master dark image and run "find_hot cosm X".  Vary X until 100-200 hot pixels are identified.  Result is in cosm.lst.
• Preprocessing->"Automatic preprocessing(1)..." or Preprocessing->"Automatic preprocessing(2)..."

CLI Procedures for IRIS

The above has been adapted from http://astro.ai-software.com/articles/dslr_iris/dslr_iris.html and http://www.saratogaskies.com/articles/cookbook/index.html