Once again we had quite a successful observing session on Tuesday 22nd
November. Somewhere between 25 and 30 members braved the cold through
the course of the evening and were rewarded with stunning views of our
universe.
On hand were 10" and 8" dobs, a meade etx70 a vast range of binoculars
in all apertures from 40mm up to 80mm. The evenings kicked off with
some constellation learning. First up was the great square of Pegasus
followed by Paddy giving us a guided tour of the night sky with a laser
pointer. The fainter constellations of the Zodiac, such as Aries, Pisces
and Aquarius were next on the list. The Summer triangle and the great
and little bear were also pointed out. As the night wore on, the winter
favourites rose higher in the sky and I think most people that turned
up will have learnt a number of new constellations.
Throughout the night the scopes and binoculars were turned on the old
reliables, such as the Great Orion Nebula, (the maternity ward) the
Pleiades, The Hyades, The gaggle of Messier clusters in Auriga, M41
in Gemini, and the Double Cluster. A good deal of time was also spent
explaining the geography of our Galaxy and why we can see the Milky
Way. To contrast with the Open Clusters, we also took in a number of
Globular Clusters such as M13 early in the evening followed by M2 and
M15. As if that was not enough, Galaxies were next in the eyepiece,
M31 and 32 followed by M81 and M82. These were well received and were
greeted with a number of "OOO's" and "AAAHS".
Mars was briefly observed but with the moon out of the way, the majority
of the evening was spent on the deep sky targets. During the evening
we were also lucky to catch a number of bright shooting stars with visible
trails. As the night wore on we were treated to a spectacular orange
rising moon, which seemed to appear as if by magic on the NE horizon.
The night was wrapped up with some views of a shimmering moon and a
fuzzy Saturn as, fog, dew and the atmosphere began to get the upper
hand.
All in all an excellent evening and a great start to the winters observing.
Lets hope for more of the same.
Observing session, Nov. 19th.
It was late when the weather showed promised but we said that we would
take any opportunity that came so we headed to the Short Mountain accompanied
by a rising last quarter Moon. There was some high cloud and together
with the bright Moon it meant that deepsky objects were not going to
be spectacular. However we had a good night picking out the constellations
and examining Mars in close-up. There were just seven of us there, a
consequence of the short notice and the night of the week.
Lunar/Martian
observing session, Oct 13th
On Thursday 13th October Kerry Astronomy Club held a
Lunar and Martian observing session. We all met on Short mountain outside
Tralee at 9pm. There were a number of telescopes present along with
a few pairs of binoculars. Among the scopes were a 8.75” and 10”
dob, a Meade etx 70 and a pair of 70mm Skylux's. There was some low
lying cloud and a bright moon that hampered conditions a little for
the deep sky targets but did not dampen our spirits or the enjoyment
of the night sky.
The first target was the moon and this proved particularly impressive,
if a little bright. We had quite a few new members along to their first
observing session and the moon never fails to please. Highlights included
the Gassendi Crater, Mare Humorum, The Bay of Rainbows and the Jura
Mountains. Gassendi was particularly prominent with the terminator running
through the centre highlighting the central mountain. Its walls could
also be seen extending into the darkness beyond the terminator.
Next up was a look at Mars, but it was down too low and the atmosphere
was too unsteady to warrant serious study. The next few hours were spent
explaining the use of a planisphere and pointing out constellations
to some of the newer members and how we use these to find interesting
objects in the night sky. We looked at Ursa Major/Minor, Cassiopeia,
Perseus, Auriga, The Summer Triangle and its stars/constellations and
Hercules.
Following our tour of the constellations, it was time to have a look
at some of the more notable objects on view. We used binoculars to look
at, The Pleiades, The Double Cluster, The Perseus Cluster, The Andromeda
galaxy, The Coathanger cluster, and Alcor and and Mizar. The scopes
were then turned to some of the same objects to illustrate what can
be seen with each scope and the differences between the scopes and binoculars.
The scopes were also turned towards The Ring Nebula, M13, the E.T. Cluster
and Albireo. Despite the fact that there was a particularly bright moon,
most of the objects were very impressive and served to illustrate what
is accessible with the naked eye or a modest pair of binoculars.
Lined up on Mars with the Pleiades to its right (see Gallery
page for more images)
As the night wore on, the temperature dropped, the clouds cleared,
the wind slackened and the atmosphere steadied allowing us at last to
turn our attention to Mars. All scopes were trained on mars and detail
was visible even in the 70mm scopes. Particularly evident was a dark
grey section with a lighter pinkish area below it. The dark grey section
is known as Syrtis Major and the lighter pink region is made up of four
regions called Moab,Eden, Arabia and Aeria.
A thoroughly enjoyable night and hopefully the first of many over the
next few months
Summer observing session, June 10/11th.
After a couple of sunny days (that were all followed by foggy nights),
late on the Friday night we decided to have a go for an observing session.
As it is near our midsummer, the sky never reaches "astronomical
twilight" levels so we were able to see the twilight on the due
north horizon at about 1:38 BST. From Kerry the sun is only 14 degrees
below the horizon at Solar midnight. We decided on the Banna observing
site over the "Short Mountain" due to the higher risk of fog
on the hills.
Despite this there was plenty of objects to see. Initially, at 11 PM
we saw Venus low in the north-western sky and a young Moon with nice
Earth-shine a little higher and to the left.
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Click an image for larger versions
Saturn should have been visible too, but a patch of persistent cloud
kept us from having probably our last view of it for this apparition.
Next on the list was Jupiter. All four moons were visible to the west
of the planet as well as the various cloud bands on the planet itself.
With the sky as dark as it was going to get and the Moon set we had
a look at some of the favourite summer Deepsky objects. M57 proved to
be easy in the bigger Dobsonians but the Dumbbell M27, which usually
stands out well was surprisingly difficult due to the residual sky brightness.
However M13 in Hercules was stunning. It was interesting to see the
difference that aperture made to its appearance. From a smoky patch
in 50mm binoculars to a swarm of individual stars in the 250mm Dobsonian
M10 and M12 in Ophiuchus were also viewed, appearing as smaller, fainter
versions of M13. To their south lay the constellation of Scorpio. There
are many targets in this area and in nearby Sagittarius but the haze
near the ground made for fruitless hunting.
We also did some hunting for the comet 9P/Tempel but failed to see
it. Maybe post impact it may be visible?
After 2 AM the wind picked up a little and everything instantly dewed
over. Cloud also materialised so we packed up. The temperature never
dropped below about 13 degrees C and it was a most pleasant nights viewing.
Lunar observing session, March 19th.
All week we were hoping for a clear night towards the end of the week
to try to have our first Lunar observing session. On Saturday morning
the skies were hazy but mostly clear of large cloud so the e-mails and
text were sent out for a session that night. We decided to hold it town
as the Short Mountain would be too exposed to the wind and for lunar
observing a dark sky is not necessary. This was just as well as a large
gorse fire near there would have ruined the seeing at least and necessitated
our evacuation at worst. We settled on the Fels Point carpark near the
Aquadome.
We set up two telescopes and with the Moon so high in the sky, the
occasional cloud did not interfere too much. At 20:15 we also saw the
ISS make a bright pass all the way from west to low in the east. In
total we had about 18 observers including a few of erectors from "Tuam
Pleasure Tents" working on the tent for Tralee's Easter Spring
fair. We had a good look at the prominent craters along the terminator
of the Moon, at Saturn that was just positioned below it and later at
Jupiter as it rose over the eastern horizon.
Click for full image
By ten o'clock we were ready to tidy up and as I left one of the tent
erectors drove out with me. He had been waiting in silence for nearly
an hour for us to finish up so that he could lock the gate! Thanks....
Observing session, March 6th.
Following a long cold spell the forecast was for a clear but very cold
night on Sunday, March the 6th. The e-mails and texts were sent out
on the Saturday for an early start at 7:30pm. This was to catch Mercury
before it set in the west at 8:06. As we drove down the road to the
observing site at Banna beach Mercury was directly in front of us promising
a good start to the night.
By the time we were setup the sky was darkening and there was just
time to catch a couple of pictures of the inner most planet before it
set.
When the sky did darken quite a crowd had gathered. We had seven telescopes
set up from 70mm to 250mm and there was about 25 to 30 people in attendance,
difficult to count in the dark.
As it is spring, (although the weather was definitely winter), the
ecliptic is at its greatest angle to the horizon in the evening in the
west after sunset. This makes it the best time to try to see the Zodiacal
Light. This is sunlight reflected off of minute grains of dust that
orbit the Sun. The precise composition and distribution of this dust
is still not totally understood but the reflected sunlight can occasionally
be seen from these latitudes. Further south, where the ecliptic is steeper,
it is a common sight.
Tonight the Zodiacal light was very obvious and brighter than the milkyway
to its north. I have tried to get pictures of this before on film but
without success. This time, armed with a digital Canon 300D I think
that I succeed in capturing it. It is a very large and gradual effect.
The rest of the night was spent on Saturn, and all the other splendours
on view, finishing off with Jupiter when it had risen enough to be worth
viewing. We caught seven or eight of the galaxies under Leo and saw
what might well be the last good view of Comet Machholz for another
119,000 years!
We all packed up by 11:15pm with frost on all the telescope tubes and
the thermometers reading minus 3 degrees C.
Observing session report from Banna January 6th.
The forecast for Sunday night was good so the texts and emails went
out for an observing session on Banna Strand. At 7:30 Tralee was totally
clouded, but a call to Paddy confirmed that all was well there. There
were six of us there and 5 telescopes from 70 to 250mm.
The sky was excellent with an LM of about 6.1 and with no moon and
the Sun well set we all saw the Zodiacal light stretched along the ecliptic
in the west. Once your eyes got used to the dark it was nearly as bright
as the milky way!
Saturn was well placed for observing and as the night progressed we
got through quite a few of the delights that were on view.
Comet Machholz was nearly directly overhead and two tails were visible
in the telescope. One long and thin (about 3 degrees) and the other
much broader and shorter.
We looked at quite a few of the Messier objects, M1 the Crab nebula,
M31, M32, M33, M35, M36, M37, M38, M41, M42, M43, M44, M45, M51, M81,
M82.
Observing session report from Killarney January 5th.
The forecast for Saturday night was for rain although it was clear
all day. But given some clear skies it was decided to go to Killarney
to check out the Aghadoe Heights observing site with a new local member
(and now our PRO) Trevor. The sky was partially clear and the clouds
came and went.
In the clear spells the western sky was excellent there but from the
Northeast to the Southeast the lights of the Hotel and the town do interfere
significantly. It would be suitable for planetary and some binocular
observing but is too bright for deepsky and meteor showers. The LM there
towards the west was about 5.8 but only about 3.5 to the east. We did
see one very bright meteor at about 10 p.m. low in the east.
