EAA Observing Session: 13, November14/11/2024
Astronomy
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Three nights of observing in a row.

Tonight I’ll be going for all those objects in Hidden Treasures that had FOV’s larger than the RC @ f/5.3.

Conditions at 21.21 UT are getting worse. Lots of high thin cloud rolling in.

Session Data

  • Date:  13/11/2024
  • Time:  18:10 – 21:55 UT
  • Seeing: I. Excellent
  • Transparency: III. Clear with slight haze
  • Temp: 7 C,
  • Air Pressure: 1036mb
  • Humidity: 90%
  • Dew Point: 6 C
  • Wind Speed: 4mph
  • Average SQM: 16.34 magn/arcsec^2

Scope: TMB 80 f/6  Camera: ZWO ASI 183MM. Darks applied but no flats.

Scope: Altair 250mm RC f/8  Camera: ZWO ASI 183MM. No darks or Flats

All images are displayed North to the Top and East to the Left.

HT105, Trumpler 37

Now that’s a much better view of this large open cluster. Having said that, Trumpler’s diameter of this is 50 arcmin, but this cluster is so open, that I cannot see any edge that would define it as being this or any other size.

At the centre is a multiple star system Struve 2816 containing three bright main components, although I do have to zoom into the image to make out at least two, with just a hint of the third HIP106890. It’s this system that is stripping away the material of IC1396.

To the NE of the centre is another bright double of HD206482 and PPM39738 and to the NE of that HD206773 which guards a nice line of 11 stars curving partly around it.

To the NE of the centre I can make out the dark nebula Barnard 161 and to the NW of that LDN 1111 that extends beyond the frame.

To the West of the centre is the dark nebulae IC1396 that extends all the way out to the edge of the frame. At the head of IC1396 is a void containing the two stars HD 23971 and HD239710 that created this void.

Image Integration 195 sec

HT101, NGC6940

If you scan this image quickly I see the bright variable 9th mag variable FG Vul at the centre of what looks like a Stingray as seen from above. A squashed lozenge shape of stars with the wings running East/West.

The cluster is sitting within a dense and busy starfield of 16 mag and fainter stars, but it does stand out from this background. Sized at around 30 arcmin in diameter.

It would have been nice to have had a colour camera here as apparently FG Vul is a lovely bright orange

To the North West of the frame is a line of 10th mag stars forming a British Pounds sign £

Image Integration 210 sec

HT25, NGC1528

An easily see cluster against the background star field. Roughly 20 arcmin in side the arrangement of stars is like a layered cake consisting of four layers with each subsequent layer to the Northeast becoming less wide with each successive layer.

In the NW corner of the frame is a distinctive ‘sickle’ shape of stars.

Image Integration 195sec

HT93, IC4756

This ones a bit tricky to make out from the background stars. This cluster is quite large at just over 50 arcmins in diameter, so would have been better of running this scope at f/4.8, rather than f/6.

Again , I wish this was in colour as there a nice range of hot blue all the way through to Orange stars marked on the Astroplanner chart.

The two brightest stars in the field are HD172046, Magnitude: 6.7, Spectral: B8 to the NNE edge of the frame and HD172365, Magnitude: 6.4, Spectral: F8Ib-II to the SE of centre

Image Integration 180sec

L25, Messier A

Not a serious attempt to observe this feature as I’m still fiddling with settings on this scope.

At this focal length – 2000mm – this feature is too small to say anything about other than you can clearly see the ejecta heading off to the West. It stops just at the edge of Mare Fecunditatis. Interestingly is stops at what looks like the remnant of an old crater that lies between Lubbock P and Lubbock H and which appears to be unnamed.