 |
| NGC 2244, not a Messier object |
Don't know what I was thinking.
I was really wrapped up in Messier objects. I knew there was over a hundred of them. I knew there were evenings once or twice a year where amateur astronomers could see ALL the Messier objects. And there was a part of me who did not want to see them all because a small voice in my head said, "After that, what else is there?"
I did know of the New General Catalogue, but I sort of marginalized that information in a Calvin-esque rationalization thinking it was just a redo of the Messier list. Caldwell? Huh?
It really wasn't until I got the Telrad and started searching the web for charts that the whole thing hit home. The NGC has over 7800 objects listed. Caldwell has over one hundred (some of those are too far south). And this is just the stuff that's been documented. Space, and the objects within, is constantly changing and moving around. There's no such thing as some static list . These are living documents that will be edited forever.
Even more will be listed thanks to those high falutin' space telescopes that see galaxies as numerous as jellybeans in a dish. There will always be something new to see, or a new way to see something. Astronomy is like a living document.
**************************
 |
| Moon imaged with our DSLR. Stars are visible surrounding it |
Even though we live in Arizona where Daylight Saving Time is not a thing, I still find myself all setup with nothing to look at for longer periods while I wait for twilight to end this time of year. Gone are those cool winter evenings when I could dash out at 6:30 and be rewarded with full darkness. The other night I was out and straining my eyes to find Polaris in order to get polar aligned. Venus was a bright evening star and Sirius appeared fairly early, with Rigel soon to follow. I took advantage and used the new planetary camera to get a decent picture of Venus:
 |
| About as good as it gets for the Planet of Love |
But the days will continue their march towards summer, so darkness will be at a premium. No worries, A gentleman by the name of Charles Wood compiled a list he calls The Lunar 100. A rewarding enough pursuit to document the viewing of features on the moon.
But don't try to take all this on in one night, this ain't no Messier Marathon! Many lunar features are all but invisible during a full moon, with a lot of them coming much more easily into view when cast by shadows of angular sun's rays.
 |
| Lunar features cast in sharp relief from the sun's rays |
Do like my buddy at Stellar Vision says, take your time. I've got plenty of features to view and log and I started it last summer. And I'll probably jump in again next summer. And another great thing about the moon is, it's out in the daytime quite a bit. On taking your time, I found this quote from Stephen James O'Meara:
"For most of the Messier objects, I observed each for an average of six or more hours over three nights. Some of the more complex objects were observed for three hours per night for several nights. Don't expect to see all the detail... with just a glance. Challenge yourself to spend the time to really study these objects... ."
Following this would probably improve my sketching skills considerably!
Spring has sprung here, with temps edging toward 100 already. The Lyrids are approaching and might be my only shot at a meteor shower until fall. The next two take place during our monsoon, so weather may be a hindrance. Come mid-July a noticeable creep towards longer nights will begin, with the impact more apparent by August. Soon, my overnight viewing will be a mandate.
 |
| Monsoon approaches |
Comments
Post a Comment