Weather was generally good for both nights, with the only sad thing being that a big patch of cloud rolled in on Night 2 from 10-11pm onwards.
Some of the equipment there (as far as I can remember):
The imagers:
- Astrophysics 130 Starfire on Paramount
- Takahashi 76 FCT on G8 Lomsmandy
- Borg 60 on a EQ mount
- Borg 77 on Zeq25 mount
- Borg 101 on Zeq25 mount
- Orion Eon 80 on Zeq25 mount
- Nikon Dslr with Sigma lens on Zeq25 mount
- 4inch refractor on Zeq25
- Many Vixen polaries ..like 2-3?
The visuals:
- Takahashi Mewlon 210 on Half Hitch FTX
- Vixen binoscope BT81Su on Half Hitch FTQ
- Meade 12" Lightbridge Dobsonian
- Skywatcher 8" Dobsonian
- Celestron Onyx 80 on Vixen Porta II
- Takahashi FSQ 85 on Manfrotto
- TAL100rs Achro on Astroslew Mk1
Some notable and memorable targets we observed:
6281, open cluster, Scorpius. Interesting cluster made out of 4 strings of stars resembling a doorway. The bottommost string is abit fainter than the other 3 outlines of the doorway. Very unique.
6397, globular, Ara. One of the many countless GC we scoped that night from the very large (Omega Cent, M22) to the very small (6144, 6541, 6496). This one stood out in particular as it was medium sized, and relatively bright. The core is tight and compact with faint "rays" of stars stretching outwards like a propeller.
M77, galaxy, Cetus. One dim DSO, was even fainter visually than M33 (Triangulum) in my scope.
1535, Planetary Neb. Eridanus. Also known as Cleopatra's Eye. The inner region of the nebula is brighter and surrounded by a fainter zone. Looks like a reverse of M57.
6302, Planetary Neb, Scorpius. Also known as Bug Nebula. Pretty challenging as it was so small. With UHC filter on, it enchanced it visually abit more. Looks like a small pale greenish Saturn.
253, galaxy, Sculptor. Very bright and distinct shape, looks like a vertical paintbrush or calligraphy stroke.
6802, Open cluster, Vulpecula. Faint and small cluster located at the end or tip of the Coathanger cluster.
Personally I didn't catch much meteors but from the collective wows and gasps heard throughout, there were about 40-50 (?) bright ones spotted. Looking forward to the next expedition!
Regards
Junwei
