Forgive me if I missed any out or listed wrongly, it has been 4 days since the trip ended.
Astrophotgraphers / Imaging setups :
Takahashi FSQ85 on Paramount MyT
Takahashi FSQ106 on Takahashi EM200
Observers / Visual setups :
Takahashi Mewlon 210 (affectionately called Melon by owner) on AP mach1
Celestron C11 SCT on AP900 mount
Celestron C8 SCT x2
Celestron 5 inch Newtonian
Takahashi FS102 with Wira’s sock
Skywatcher tripod mounted 25x100 binos (very nice view with 2 eyes)
Sumerian Alkaid 12 inch Dobsonian
Weather summary : For the first night, weather was off to a rocky start. I tried looking at Rosette nebula but it was a tough to make it out compared to previous trips. Skies got clearer after 1am with the arrival of group two and it stayed good until dawn with a nice reddish sunset.
For the second night , it started off very good with a nice cresent moon accompanying Orion . It got cloudy on and off with passing high clouds but it cleared up decently after midnight. Quite a few random meteors were seen on the 2nd night.
Objects of interest viewed in no particular order:
Thor’s Helmet, Planetary Neb, NGC 2359 in Canis Major . Wow this thing was huge at medium power. It has a very distinct bowtie like appearance thru my 20mm ep. First time looking at it with such nice detail.
Arp’s Spiral, galaxy, NGC 2857 / Arp 1 in Ursa Major . This object was faint and abit challenging. It appeared as a faintish patch in my scope, need abit of magnification to confirm it’s a galaxy as it was almost starlike on first glance. (and hey it’s the first in the list of Arp’s Altas of peculiar galaxies, got to start somewhere haha)
NGC 5566 / Arp 286, interacting galaxies in Virgo. Took awhile to starhop to this object as its near to the Bootes sector of Virgo. First time looking at it … so cute ,like a mini-me version of the more famous M51 (whirlpool) galaxy. Also the number 5566 brings back memories of the Taiwanese boy band...lol!
NGC 5897, globular cluster in Libra. Faint and large, irregularly shaped. At first glance, it can pass off/pretend to be a Planetary nebula. Pretty easy to locate.
Barnard’s Galaxy, NGC 6822, outskirts of Sagittarius. For this object, I am not 100% sure I saw anything but a friend of mine did, worth a relook next trip.
Draco's Trio , NGC 5981,5982,5985. Faint and low, i could only make out 2 of the brighter galaxies out of the three. And yes being in a faint and obscure constellation as Draco, by luck this DSO is located near Iota Draconis (Edisach)
Panstarrs C/2015 ER61, Comet, Aquarius. The nucleus is bright and visible , hints of a tail seen by a few others who came to take a look. Challenging because of the low elevation.
Other DSOs seen and revisited : Swan nebula, Eta Carina Nebula, Lagoon Nebula, Veil Nebula, M7 with its outlying NGC 6453 globular companion, 6528+6522 (double globulars separated by a mini Orion;s belt), Cat’s Paw Nebula, Prawn nebula, Antennae galaxies, Wishing Well Open cluster , Centaurus A galaxy , NGC 4945 (the galaxy that looks like a backslash) , M35, M36, M46, M47 , M63, M71 , M22, M4 , M11 (wild duck open cluster), M83, Markarian’s chain about 7-8 members of it.
And special thanks to Kelvin for taking a very nice pic of me with the Milky way overhead , as well as showing me the Blinking Planetary using his mewlon , NGC 6826 in Cygnus and also showing me how to locate Gabriella Mistral Nebula. It was so small that its easily overlooked. Thanks also to Mike's fantastic view of Jupiter , looking at the mighty planet seated down was so comfortable! The second night view of Jup thru the C11 was like a painting. And as usual Remus for being the organiser.
(Kelvin's photo)
Till the next successful 2-night mersing trip! Huat ah!
regards
Junwei
