C14 (ngc869/884) in Perseus *courtesy of SDSS* [stephen saber/2004-2024/all contents within are free use and may be reprinted with author/website acknowledgement] saber does the stars (vol. 1) http://saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com quick and dirty pov astro-sims http://www.youtube.com/@saberzastrovidz observing list: concordiem borealis stephen saber's concordiem borealis contact via fb messenger http://www.facebook.com/saberdrumz saber does the stars vol 1&2 free flipbook https://online.anyflip.com/aqzgf/vzin/mobile/index.html ***** carly simon's eclipse in her 1973 hit song 'you're so vain' she mentions the vain guy taking his leer jet to nova scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun. that 1972 eclipse was clouded-out from that location. so either carly was kind enough not to rub it in, or the vain guy flew above the clouds to see it. just something to think about the next time anyone hears that song. ***** my astronomical horoscope (quad cities reader, august 2024) "scorpio: october 23-november 21 scorpio-born gary hug was educated as a machinist and food scientist, but for many years he worked primarily as an amateur astronomer. using a 7-foot telescope that he built in the backyard of his home, he has discovered a comet and 300 asteroids, including two that may come hazardously close to earth. extolling the joys of being an amateur, he says he enjoys 'a sense of freedom that you don't have when you're a professional.' in the coming weeks, scorpio, i encourage you to explore and experiment with the joys of tasks done out of joy rather than duty. identify the work and play that feel liberating and indulge in them lavishly." ***** lucky ned pepper: steadiest hands in the west we've all laughed or cringed at inaccurate or impossible telescope/binocular use in movies or tv. the near-omnipresent twin bino fieldstops, ellie watching a meteor shower thru a small mounted scope in contact, costner's first reaction looking thru azeem's makeshift pre-galilean scope in robin hood, ad nauseum. for me, the most impressive has been lucky ned's handheld sharpshooting talent in the 2010 remake of true grit. at one point he casually brings a thin 16" spyglass to his eye- with one hand- and from at least a half-mile immediately sights rooster cogburn perfectly centered and focused with a steadiness that would embarrass the rock of gibraltor. ned later twirls the slim tube like a drumstick as an encore. p.s., two more similar nok-fails within 8 hours of the above post. the rifleman, s1e26: mark brings a binocular to his eyes objectives-first. rather than reshoot the scene, an i-dream-of-jeannie-blink-esque edit magically flips the nok 180deg in his hands. pretty impressive adaptive optics for the old west. madison's first binocular experience in zombieland: double tap is only forgivable cuz she's just so cute. by the way, let me know if there's a central online vault for portrayed optics fails. i've got plenty more. facebook.com/saberdrumz ***** c20: north america nebula naked-eye despite the 4th mag brightness optimism, caldwell 20 (aka n.g.c. #7000) requires both very transparent and steady dark skies to reveal itself at 1x. my first naked-eye view of the fuzzy continent was one of many 'double-take' moments from repeated observing; like the first time seeing obvious red in m42, or noticing your shadow being cast by venus' light alone. ***** mercury is the closest planet to earth roughly 46% of the time. venus 37%. mars 17%. mercury is actually the overall closest to all other solar system planets. most people have been indoctrinated by all those tidy inferior-conjunctions-in-a-row school posters. but that's only one aspect of many. this information will befuddle or bewilder most civilians. ***** my first saturn-versary at the time of this post, saturn is back among the stars where i first laid glass on it as a serious observer 29 1/2 years ago- a much more visceral, celebratory milestone for me than the upcoming 30 years in by the calendar. i've felt the same pleasing deja-vu at 12 and 24 years with jupiter back in its 'original' starfield, and with other rare repeated sky events as well. if you've had similar experiences, let's just say you've come to the right blog. ***** doublestars: a few laps with porrima (video): https://youtu.be/obgptdE5xhk ***** that time i broke an a.l. obs program rule it's generally frowned upon to log targets for multiple programs at once. but hey, how many chances does a yankee get to visit the amazing skies below the equator? link: southern sky program mash-up ***** girls gone wild in taurusjust some fractured mythology to keep in mind as we view m45 until april 4th 2028, when visiting venus again turns the stately cluster into a den of iniquities.***** toes fetish that's transits, occultations, eclipses, and shadows. fans can enjoy some quick and dirty astro simulations of these events viewed from other locations in the solar system at http://www.youtube.com/@saberzastrovidz ***** snl skit: more caldwell! (er, cowbell) nasa/hubble's 2020 canonization of c-numbers as primary identifiers was certainly cause for celebration among the growing army of gen c-ers. all that's left is to update the starmap ids in the next printings (or epoch). to this end i've started an email writing campaign to all the publishers, and encourage other caldwell fans to do the same. to get a head start i've also bought 100 copies of both SA2000 and the Pocket Sky Atlas, whited-out the old ngcs, replaced them with the proper caldwell ids, and am reselling them as used at a discount. let me know if you run across any saberized collector's editions. ***** pass them a napkin sir patrick was obviously a humble deepsky expert as well as a moon guy. consider that he created the caldwell catalogue on a napkin at dinner one night- from memory. 109 objects, constellations, mags, radecs, etc. ask one of the wannabe forum fuzzy 'experts' to attempt the same and all you'll get are sour grapes and tears. sir patrick wasn't just a dso enthusiast, he was a freaking ninja. ***** messier marathons are about to get a lot easier well, eventually anyway. we're currently near the farthest northern point of earth's circle of precession. in about 14,000 years vega will be our brightest 'north star'. for an observer at 45° n, polaris will scrape the horizon and all of the southern sky will be available- like observing from the equator now. the nights that a marathon is not possible will be the minority, and our lucky descendants will also enjoy access to the entire caldwell catalogue treasures. ***** skytimes astro-interview (part one) ***** beetlejuice behaving badly as of mid-feb 2020, i give bellatrix at least a couple tenths of magnitude over betelgeuse. in the same binocular field bella is slightly more obvious at dusk, and defocusing the pair in a dark sky reveals the difference as well. also, having recovered from my initial shock at the red-orange giant’s dramatic dimming, i now just want it to finally stop teasing us and explode in a historic blaze of glory. and poor rigel. the jan brady of orion. betelgeuse gets uglied-up by a football to the face- but steals even more attention. (marsha, marsha, marsha!) enjoying the show, stephen [betelgeuse supernova simulation: https://youtu.be/hJPVuSNFxlY ] ***** |
messier-caldwell (mescal) marathon
Many people are only a 15-20 minute drive away from the most stars they have
ever seen. Center your location on the linked map. Green areas are very good.
Blue is even better. Gray/Black is as good as it gets.
Plan a short road trip to these areas on a clear, moonless night and soak in the stars.
http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/
*****
Show Me My Star
If you'd like a free photo of that honorary star named for a friend or loved one just follow
these simple instructions.
http://www.pictureofmystar.blogspot.com/
New Moon: Extreme Crescent Visibility
http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/moonwatch/nextnewmoon.html
*****
(from Earth, closest approach):
Mercury 5m10s
Venus 2m15s
Mars 4m20s
Jupiter 35m
Saturn 1h10m
Uranus 2h30m
Neptune 4h10m
(The current distance to Pluto is 4h39m)
*****
Buy the most aperture that is both affordable and portable. Portability should be easy enough that it never becomes an issue or reason not to setup or travel. Some don't think twice about regularly moving 100 lbs of equipment around while some think anything over 25 lbs is a chore. Vehicle accomodation is a consideration if one plans to travel. Which type of scope is more intuitive to use? Some people naturally take to the operation of a Dob over a Cat and vice-versa. The remaining design pros and cons tend to cancel each other out, and are usually not of crucial importance as both provide amazing views. Goto scopes also provide fine images, but a solid familiarity with the brightest stars and constellations is required to avoid alot of operational frustration.
For eyepiece needs, a 32mm Plossl, 24-8mm premium zoom, and shorty barlow will be more than enough to cover most useable powers in most scopes. At the same time I recommend collecting and enjoying as many Naglers as possible.
A Mount By Any Other Name
For not being a binocular tripod fan, I sure have enough of them.
When I'm not beating on my drumkit the cymbal stands are all available for duty as sturdy
mounts for my noks. They've occasionally been used at outreach events for multiple viewers as well.
With the cymbal stand boom arms adjusted to the vertical many can extend up to 84". Most are compatible with bino adapters, and the more robust models can easily handle my 100mm guns.
An alternate mounting choice that often gets overlooked, some music stores carry used boom stands for less than $50.
In Praise Of Shallow Ecliptics
Flat ecliptics are no fun for planet viewing or young crescent moon sightings, and often means it's pretty cold outside. But it does give me a better sense of orientation with the Solar system.
In a world where 'north' is usually associated with 'up', it just feels more natural to be looking directly across the planets' orbits with my head and feet more aligned to Sol's north and south poles.
Near the other extreme, viewing a perpendicular ecliptic means I'm standing on the Earth's side and should be falling off the limb and into space.
It's a very Earth-centric bias and one I've been reluctant to share out of shame.
For those who have not experienced this I should have warned you ahead of time not to read this as it may trigger unwarranted vertigo and uneasiness during future obs sessions. My bad.
C76 (ngc6231) in Scorpius courtesy of SDSS |
cma / jan02 / psa27
C64 oc 4.1 0719-2457 (ngc2362)
C58 oc 7.2 0718-1537 (ngc2360)
gem / jan05 / psa25
C39 pn 9.9 0729+2055 (ngc2392)
mon / jan05 / psa25, 26
C50 oc 4.8 0632+0452 (ngc2244)
C49 bn -- 0632+0503 (ngc2237-9)
C46 bn 10.0 0639+0844 (ngc2261)
C54 oc 7.6 0800-1047 (ngc2506)
pup / jan08 / psa28
C71 oc 5.8 0752-3833 (ngc2477)
lyn / jan19 / psa23
C25 gc 10.4 0738+3853 (ngc2419)
cnc / jan30 / psa24
C48 gx 10.3 0910+0702 (ngc2775)
car / jan31 / psa39, 38
C96 oc 3.8 0758-6052 (ngc2516)
C90 pn 9.7 0921-5819 (ngc2867)
C92 bn 6.2 1044-5952 (ngc3372)
C102 oc 1.9 1043-6424 (ic2602)
C91 oc 3.0 1106-5840 (ngc3532)
vel / feb13 / psa39
C85 oc 2.5 0840-5304 (ic2391)
C79 gc 6.7 1018-4625 (ngc3201)
C74 pn 8.2 1008-4026 (ngc3132)
sex / feb22 / psa37
C53 gx 9.1 1005-0743 (ngc3115)
cha / mar01 / psa30
C109 pn -- 1010-8052 (ngc3195)
leo / mar01 / psa34
C40 gx 10.9 1120+1821 (ngc3626)
hya / mar15 / psa36, 46
C59 pn 8.6 1025-1838 (ngc3242)
C66 gc 10.2 1440-2632 (ngc5694)
cru / mar28 / psa49
C99 dn -- 1253-6300 (coalsack)
C98 oc 6.9 1242-6258 (ngc4609)
C94 oc 4.2 1254-6020 (ngc4755)
cen / mar30 / psa49, 48
C100 oc 4.5 1137-6302 (ic2944)
C97 oc 5.3 1136-6137 (ngc3766)
C80 gc 3.6 1327-4729 (ngc5139)
C83 gx 9.5 1306-4928 (ngc4945)
C77 gx 7.0 1326-4301 (ngc5128)
C84 gc 7.6 1346-5122 (ngc5286)
mus / mar30 / psa50
C108 gc 7.8 1226-7240 (ngc4372)
C105 gc 7.3 1300-7053 (ngc4833)
com / apr02 / psa45
C36 gx 9.8 1236+2758 (ngc4559)
C38 gx 9.6 1236+2559 (ngc4565)
C35 gx 11.4 1300+2759 (ngc4889)
cvn / apr07 / psa43
C26 gx 10.6 1218+3749 (ngc4244)
C32 gx 9.3 1242+3232 (ngc4631)
C29 gx 9.8 1311+3703 (ngc5005)
C21 gx 9.4 1228+4406 (ngc4449)
vir / apr11 / psa45
C52 gx 9.3 1249-0548 (ngc4697)
cir / apr30 / psa48
C88 oc 7.9 1506-5536 (ngc5823)
boo / may02 / psa44
C45 gx 10.2 1338+0853 (ngc5248)
nor / may19 / psa58
C89 oc 5.4 1619-5754 (ngc6087)
aps / may21 / psa60
C107 gc 9.3 1626-7212 (ngc6101)
tra / may23 / psa60
C95 oc 5.1 1604-6030 (ngc6025)
dra / may24 / psa31, 51
C3 gx 9.7 1217+6928 (ngc4236)
C6 pn 8.8 1759+6638 (ngc6543)
crv / may28 / psa36
C60 gx 11.3 1202-1852 (ngc4038)
C61 gx 13.0 1202-1853 (ngc4039)
sco / jun03 / psa58
C76 oc 2.6 1654-4148 (ngc6231)
C75 oc 5.8 1626-4040 (ngc6124)
C69 pn 12.8 1714-3706 (ngc6302)
ara / jun10 / psa58
C82 oc 5.2 1641-4846 (ngc6193)
C86 gc 5.6 1741-5340 (ngc6397)
C81 gc 8.1 1726-4825 (ngc6352)
cra / jun30 / psa69
C78 gc 6.6 1808-4342 (ngc6541)
C68 bn 9.7 1902-3657 (ngc6729)
sgr / jul07 / psa66
C57 gx 9.3 1945-1448 (ngc6822)
pav / jul15 / psa70
C93 gc 5.4 1911-5959 (ngc6752)
C101 gx 9.0 1910-6351 (ngc6744)
vul / jul25 / psa62
C37 oc 5.7 2012+2629 (ngc6885)
cyg / jul30 / psa62
C15 pn 9.8 1945+5031 (ngc6826)
C27 bn 7.5 2012+3821 (ngc6888)
C20 bn 6.0 2059+4420 (ngc7000)
C33 sn -- 2056+3143 (ngc6992/5)
C34 sn -- 2046+3043 (ngc6960)
C19 bn 10.0 2154+4716 (ic5146)
del / jul31 / psa64
C47 gc 8.9 2034+0724 (ngc6934)
C42 gc 10.6 2102+1611 (ngc7006)
aqr / aug25 / psa77, 76
C55 pn 8.3 2104-1122 (ngc7009)
C63 pn 6.5 2230-2048 (ngc7293)
lac / aug28 / psa73
C16 oc 6.4 2215+4953 (ngc7243)
peg / sep01 / psa74
C30 gx 9.5 2237+3425 (ngc7331)
C44 gx 11.0 2305+1219 (ngc7479)
C43 gx 10.5 0003+1609 (ngc7814)
tuc / sep17 / psa80
C106 gc 4.0 0024-7205 (ngc104)
C104 gc 6.6 0103-7051 (ngc362)
scl / sep26 / psa09
C72 gx 8.2 0015-3911 (ngc55)
C70 gx 8.1 0055-3741 (ngc300)
C65 gx 7.1 0048-2517 (ngc253)
cep / sep29 / psa73, 71
C12 gx 9.7 2035+6009 (ngc6946)
C4 bn 6.8 2102+6812 (ngc7023)
C9 bn 7.7 2259+6237 (sh2-155)
C2 pn 11.6 0013+7232 (ngc40)
C1 oc 8.1 0044+8520 (ngc188)
cas / oct09 / psa03, 01
C11 bn 7.0 2321+6112 (ngc7635)
C18 gx 9.2 0039+4820 (ngc185)
C17 gx 9.3 0033+4830 (ngc147)
C13 oc 6.4 0119+5820 (ngc457)
C10 oc 7.1 0146+6115 (ngc663)
C8 oc 9.5 0130+6318 (ngc559)
and / oct09 / psa03, 02
C22 pn 9.2 2326+4233 (ngc7662)
C28 oc 5.7 0158+3741 (ngc752)
C23 gx 9.9 0223+4221 (ngc891)
cet / oct15 / psa07
C62 gx 8.9 0047-2046 (ngc247)
C56 pn 8.0 0047-1153 (ngc246)
C51 gx 9.0 0105+0207 (ic1613)
for / nov02 / psa06
C67 gx 9.2 0246-3017 (ngc1097)
per / nov07 / psa02
C14 doc 4.3 0220+5708 (ngc869/884)
C24 gx 11.6 0320+4131 (ngc1275)
hor / nov10 / psa08
C87 gc 8.4 0312-5513 (ngc1261)
tau / nov30 / psa15
C41 oc 1.0 0427+1600 (mel25)
dor / dec17 / psa20, D
C103 bn 1.0 0539-6906 (ngc2070)
col / dec18 / psa18
C73 gc 7.3 0514-4003 (ngc1851)
aur / dec21 / psa12
C31 bn 6.0 0516+3416 (ic405)
cam / dec23 / psa11, 21
C5 gx 9.2 0347+6806 (ic342)
C7 gx 8.9 0737+6536 (ngc2403)
A.L. Caldwell Program Homepage
Caldwell Telrad Finder Charts
*****
[all contents within are free use and may be reprinted with author/website acknowledgement]
COMING SOON:
Glass At A Glance: Orion 25x100 GiantView Binocular
The Mess-Cal Marathon
The Last GoTo Convert
Lucky Ned Pepper (And The Steadiest Hands In The West)
Also see:
Saber Does The Stars
pdf (unformatted)
http://www.astroleague.org/
http://www.darksky.org/
http://www.astronomy.com/
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/
http://astronomy.fm/
http://eyesonthesky.com/Home.aspx
http://www.astromax.org/
http://www.ngcicproject.org/
http://www.messier45.com/
http://www.astronomertalk.com/index.php
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.
http://stargazerslounge.com/
http://www.galaxyzoo.org
http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/
http://www.cloudynights.com/
http://www.spaceweather.com/
http://messier.seds.org/xtra/marathon/
http://pacastronomy.50megs.com/
http://www.saguaroastro.org/
http://10minuteastronomy.wordpress.com/
http://tinyurl.com/sittinginplato1
http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/
*****