Social Astronomy, Outreach and a little history on the side

I know it's a weird time to be writing about the topic of social outreach and having a support group for observational amateur astronomy, seeing we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, with no end point currently in sight. Observational astronomy has always been a very personal experience for me, and for most people starting out anyways. There is some sort of almost spiritual connection to the skies above. Most living and breathing human beings would be struck by the majesty of the milky-way riding high in a pitch black sky. Problem is progress and industrialization has robbed us of such awe inspiring experiences. If only more people had such an opportunity.

A brief history in time

Creating awareness comes in many forms. I grew up in the heart of a small town called Johor Bahru in peninsula Malaysia, the last place one would associate with stargazing. Granted the skies were much darker back in the early 80s. What one needs is a primer to get the ball rolling, that "spark" that lights the fire for the first time, igniting that passion. Many baby boomers were inspired by the rocket launch, and when Neil Armstrong first plants the American flag on the moon. A truly life changing event. My start was less spectacular. Not being born in that era, my starcraze was ignited after a trip to the cinema. Watching Star Wars on the big screen left an indelible mark on a very young and impressionable 5 year old. Growing up in the 70s and 80s was a very different experience compared to growing up in the current hi-tech era. As kids, we were not afraid to get our hands and feet dirty, exploring the world around us. I was one such kid. There were two things very close to my heart, and my parents fed my fascination and enthusiasm. My two favorite subjects as a child were dinosaurs and stars. I guess that natural scientific inquisitiveness was what led me to my current occupation as a neuroscientist. I spent my formative years reading up every book I could get my hands on about dinosaurs and about the night sky. I knew every dinosaur and their stats as well as I knew the constellations. Every waking moment of my young life was spent burying chicken bones and plastic dinosaur skeletons in my grandma's front yard pretending to be the famous archeologists Dr Indiana Jones, yet another big influence on my childhood aspirations. But it was stargazing that stayed with me to adulthood.

In the beginning

The early years saw me doing a ton of solo observations as I honed my star hopping and sketching skills. But being human, I also yearned to share my experiences with others. Fortunately a few of my middle school classmates also shared this feeling, and we did have occasional star gatherings, be it in my front yard where we would spread out a white tarp my dad used for painting to a cleared forested area for new housing development. Those were the days where all we had were my Celestron Cometron CO 40, my dad's 20x50 and my buddies 7x50 and 60mm terrestrial zoom telescope. We did have a lot of fun looking at the moon and planets. We even spent some time with the brighter deep sky objects like M42, M45, M8, M17, M22, M13, M6, M7 and Omega Centauri. I still fondly remember those times with Kai Chuan, Jan  Choon, Wei Yang, Ju Nien, Ganesh, Aik Choon, Basil, Kok Wah and Choon Chye. Although we never got everyone together in one session, we shared some great times sitting on our swing and using the frame to steady our binoculars or lying down on the tarp and looking overhead with the refractor. Being one to always experiment, I even took constellation portraits with my dad's Nikkormat manual camera, using a shutter release and Fujifilm ISO400. To me that was the start of social observation and public outreach, well sort of anyways.

Many years would pass before I get back into the hobby that once occupied a large chunk of my adolescence. The combination of two bright naked eye comets in 1996 Hyakutake and 1997 Hale Bopp, and the darker skies of my adopted second home in Brisbane, Australia brought about a second coming. I purchased a rather cheap Hanimex 10x50 and this served as my main piece of equipment from 1997 to 2001. Again this was a period that saw me observe solo as I rediscovered the joys of observing. Through this instrument, I spied objects too far south from my home at the equator. NGC5128 NGC4945, 47Tucana and the Carina Nebula were the staples in my frequently visited list. Astronomy took a brief hiatus from end of 1998 to early 2001 when I made a trip home to work. Observing took off in a big way when I moved back to Brisbane in 2001.

The second coming

My move back to the dark southern skies in Brisbane brought about a second coming. I was raring to get back into the game in a big way. Started with a 76mm alt az newtonian and quickly graduated to a 150mm. I did most of my initial observing from my apartment balcony on the third floor. But I wanted more. I was yearning to be amongst like minded people. I was also looking for a way to go deeper, to get under dark skies. The best first step was joining an online community. So much has changed since the mid 90s. Due to the explosion of the internet, the world suddenly became a much smaller place. I was no longer alone in the wide world of amateur astronomy. This online gateway led me to my first real observational astronomy mate, and lifelong friend Andrew Durick. Andrew was as passionate as they came, and he was was a human GOTO like me. In fact we were called just that, human star hopping machines. Who needs Celestron NexStar when you have a celestial database in your head. Andrew also introduced David Ridgley to me, yet another amazing  astronomer. David was more of an astrophotography enthusiast and he was the one we all envied. He had all the good stuff. Meeting Andrew and David changed the way I observed forever. The camaraderie we shared for a decade of my adult observing life would shape the way I thought of social Astronomy and Outreach forever. It was with this dynamic duo that introduced me to outback astronomy and the Southern Astronomical Society. Leyburn allowed me to really unfurl and spread my observing wings as I soared among the southern skies and collected one deep sky treasure after another, forever etched in graphite and my memory. With Andrew, David, Kevin Dixon and Ray Suckling, I had found my true astronomical posse. We shared many a story of the great aboriginal celestial emu and other assorted stories whilst staring through Outreach extraordinaire Kevin Dixons 16" home built truss scope. It was Kevin who introduced me to a plethora of new and old gems. I spent a great amount of time at the eyepiece.

The fellowship I felt was infectious. Branching out with Andrew,  I went observing with two different groups of astronomers. We would travel to the Sunshine Coast to Ron's home in the hinterlands up north, and also inland to our intermediate dark sky at Mark's place at Glenore Grove. We bonded over BBQ and beer at Ron's, whilst drinking in the views through our own scopes and through Ron's 16" truss, and over burgers and chips at Mark's shack. All fond memories. Such inspirational get togethers gave me an urge to try real outreach with laypeople with no background in stargazing. Armed with the knowledge from how introduce basic concepts from Kevin, I setup shop at local parks and also Mount Cootha. I usually had my trusty C6 with Orion 80ST. My first target group was my immediate group of friends from grad school. I usually start with bright bright solar system objects such as the moon and planet's. Jupiter and Saturn were always a hit. The first view of Saturn's rings never fails to elicit oohs and aahs and questions like is that even real? I still remember getting goosebumps the first time I spied Saturn through my small refractor. And there is a plethora of bright southern sky gems to demonstrate, such as Eta Carina and surrounds, Omega Centauri, Tarantula, the Lagoon, the Swan and 47 Tucana. I managed to successfully convert two of my friends. Both of them followed me on my wild adventures to Mark's place at Glenore Grove and also to Leyburn. My proudest moment came when John and Yixin decided to join me for Queenslands finest star party, Queensland Astrofest at Camp Duckadang. Being out under dark skies surrounded by by all manner of telescopes, and astronomers of all ages and creed is the epitome of social astronomy. These two cherished experiences would stay with me forever.

After I left uni life and grad school, I continued the tradition of social outreach, this time sharing my love for our home galaxy and the infinite universe above with my colleagues at Sullivan Nicolaides. We spent some enjoyable evenings under the stars at Robertson Park, a stones throw from our lab. Outreach with a 250mm dobsonian makes for an interesting conversation.

The third coming

The winds of change were blowing yet again. Just when I thought we were set and that I could live my life out under my dream southern skies, an opportunity I could not ignore came a knocking. It's not everyday you get an opportunity for five years of funding to pursue your dream postdoctoral research, and at UCLA no less. Needless to say we moved in a heart beat and uprooted our home to the northern hemisphere. A new sky was there for the plundering. Our move also saw the birth of our beautiful baby girl. As a result astronomy took a temporary backseat, but not for that long.

Observing went back to the basics again for the first two years in Los Angeles. I flew solo from my light drenched university apartment playground. My observing gear was limited to what I could carry down two flights of stairs. Needless to say my observations were limited to bright objects. My first dark sky encounter happened when my baby went home for her first birthday and I was due to fly back a month later. I made the trek to Mount Pinos, and was once again among the like-minded. But real social astronomy was still out of reach. Turns out the astronomers I met on the mountain were more of the solo variety. But another twist to my story was just around the corner. Whilst walking down to Westwood Boulevard, I bumped into someone who would become a good friend and great observing buddy Terry Nakazono, doing outreach of all things. Turns out Terry was really passionate about sidewalk astronomy and outreach. He would be there every first quarter moon with his Orion 80ST, allowing curious passersbys views of la luna. His enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself being drawn into his world. This is the first time I was really able to commune with the laypeople, people of whom I have no affiliation with. I found this to be very liberating. Terry became my observing buddy and we shared some astounding observing sessions at Mount Pinos, and Solstice Canyon in Malibu.

After my five years was up at UCLA, we uprooted and moved yet again to Northern California for work. The cycle began yet again. I quickly found a new observing and imaging site. However I have yet to find an observing partner. But I think I might have found one in my best friend Janice.

Parting thoughts

It's poetic justice that as I pen this piece, I am reading a revised version of The Light Hearted Astronomer by Ken Fulton. In the updated portion, Ken interviews his old friend Delgarno and they have a discussion about social outreach and the state of amateur astronomy, and how they think astronomy is dying. My personal experience shows a similar trend of the aging of our astronomy community. Social outreach has never been more critical to the survival of our hobby. So as a fellow amateur, I implore you to use whatever opportunity to reach out to the younger generation to spread the word. Outreach is possible in this current pandemic. Talk to your friends and family online. See if they have optical equipment. Walk them through the night sky. In this age of connectivity, apps like Whatsapp and FaceTime, coupled with a stargazing app, it is possible to conduct an online session.

Orion Skyscanner an indepth review

Orion telescopes have been around for a long time, and I have been a fan for as long as I have been looking up. They have also been synonymous with dobsonian telescopes and pushing the design envelope. From their current giant 16 inch go to truss scope, to their tiny 76mm tabletop Funscope, they have a scope for everyone. Dobsonian newtonians has truly revolutionized observing. If sir Isaac Newton made an affordable alternative to refractors, it was Franciscan monk John Dobson that brought large aperture light buckets to the masses. That said, the dobsonian revolution also made well manufactured small and medium sized scopes readily accessible to beginners, and advanced astronomers looking for a quick grab and go. And this brings me to the topic of this review, Orion telescopes burgundy colored Skyscanner tabletop scope.

Firstly a disclaimer. I don't work for Orion, nor do I own stocks in the company. This is a totally unbiased review of a scope I have owned and used for about 7 years. I will start the review with how Orion packs and ships the scope. The scope comes fully assembled right out of the box. Speaking of packaging, the scope comes double boxed in very sturdy corrugated cardboard carton. The optical tube and furniture quality wooden dobsonian mount are separated and held in place by moulded Styrofoam. The accessories that come with the scope are all neatly wrapped in plastic bags and housed in their own white boxes which was further protected in a long rectangular box. This box was wedged in cutouts in the top and bottom Styrofoam holding it very securely. Nothing was rattling when I picked up and shook the box. The scope came with a well written illustrated instruction manual, a laminated color moon guide, two Orion E Series eyepieces, a 20mm and 10mm and a Orion EzFinder I with plastic mounting shoe.

Accessories

As mentioned in the previous paragraph the scope comes completely furnished with a nice and detailed Orion moon map, an EzFinder II red dot finder, with plastic stalk, a CD with a beginners version of the night sky, and two Orion E Series fully coated (nice blueish reflection) 20mm and 10mm 3 element Kellner eyepieces. The great thing about this is that the beginner has everything you need need to start observing. You don't really need anything else, well other than a Barlow lens for a more magnified view of solar system objects. The red dot finders are the best invention for astronomers since sliced bread. They are so intuitive to align and use. I have had friends use it first time out with no issues. Definitely a big step up from those 5x24 of yore. The two eyepieces also perform exceptionally well in such a fast scope. At 400mm focal length, you get 20x with the 20mm and 40x with the 10mm. And these 3 element eyepieces definitely throw up brighter images than my multi element eyepieces. The only minor issues I have are aberrations in the edges of the FOV and that Orion chose 10 mm for their second eyepiece. A Barlowed 20mm could give us a 10mm.

Under the stars

I am not going to reiterate everything I have blogged in the past as I have logged countless of enjoyable hours under perfect and not so perfect skies with this brilliant little scope. I will put links to those blogs below. I am instead going to summarize my favorite setup and object's in the scope.

I usually have the scope mounted on my heavy-duty Orion Paragon HD F2 photo tripod and my eyepiece of choice for this scope is my 13T6 Nagler. I know the eyepiece cost more than double the scope, but this eyepiece brings out the best in this fast parabolic scope. I also use my 6mm TV Radian quite a bit for smaller objects such as planetary nebulae, globular clusters and planet's. Bear in mind that for the best views, it's best to keep the magnification under 100x.

Here is a summary of my favorite objects

• M42. The best Northern hemispheres premiere emission nebula looks great in any scope. Best views in the 10mm. At 40x the nebula is framed perfectly. Under dark skies M42 appears vivid green with heaps of extended nebulosity. 
• M45 Pleiades. Due to its size, this one appears best in wide angle scopes such as this. Framed best with the 20mm.
• M27. Dumbbell nebula. My second most favorite planetary. Bright apple core even under red zone skies. 
• M57. Ring nebula. My favorite planetary, it's ring visage is best seen at 40x. As its such a compact object, it takes magnification very well. 
• M31. Andromeda galaxy. This huge galaxy  goes on and on under dark skies. The core appear bright and both satellite galaxies are visible under dark skies. The brighter of the two, M32 is seen as a nebulous knot of light. NGC205 is more diffused and best seen under darker skies. 
• M6 and M7. The butterfly and ptolomy cluster. Although lower in the sky, these two brilliant clusters fills up the FOVof of the 20mm. Must sees. 
• M8. Lagoon nebula. Best seen from dark skies where the full extent of its nebulosity is visible. M8 and M20 can fit into the 20mm FOV. M8 easily shows its dark lanes that gives it the lagoon moniker. It's embedded star cluster looks best at 20x.
• M20. Trifid nebula. It's tri lobed structure bisected by dark lanes are best framed in the 10mm under dark skies. 
• M22. Best globular in the northern sky. Resolution evident even at 20x, the globular looks grainy at this magnification. Stars resolved across its face at 40x. 
• M17. Swan nebula. The second best emission nebula in the northern sky, this one shows its shape well at 40x with subtle mottling in its body under dark skies. 
• M11. Wild duck cluster. Best seen at 40x as a triangular wedge of light with one standout bright star. this cluster is sprinkled with stars. Cluster still appears nebulous due to unresolved cluster members. 
• M13. Hercules globular. Touted as the best northern globular it shows less resolution than M22. At 40x it appears partially resolved with a sprinkling of stars at its periphery. Resolution is possible at higher magnification. 
• M104 Sombrero Galaxy. Best views in the 10mm as a short stubby sliver of light with a fat center. The dust lane is doable with more magnification. 
• M81 and M82. Bodes and Starburst galaxy. Both visible together in the same FOV as a bright elongated oval and a spindle of light. To see mottling in M82s spindle requires more power. 
• M51. Whirlpool galaxy. Shows both its components at 40x as a large and small nebulous haze. 
• Perseus double cluster. The finest open cluster pair in the northern sky. Fills the 20 x FOV with sparkling suns. 

Summary

This scope checks all the boxes as the ultimate beginner scope, and as a great grab and go travel scope. There's nothing you really need to buy other than what's already provided. And it is cheap enough that if you bang it around, you can buy another. My initial gripe about the primary mirror not having collimation screws were unfounded. The scope has fallen on concrete and grass numerous times and I am pleased to say that collimation is still spot on.

The transition back to visual. It has happened. Saratoga Gap 1st October 2016

Blast from the past post. Had this sitting in my draft tray. Finally finished it off. Here it is.

It had to happen sooner or later. I have always been a visual observer at heart and sometimes when life throws curveballs at you and you don't have to time to plan or think, one of the best remedies for stress is to just get out there and drink in the views of the night sky. No lists to tackle, no laptops and wires to deal with, just a clear night sky, a simple unguided scope, preferably alt az, a pair of wide field binoculars and a lounge chair. Seeing how I have been travelling so much for my new job as a field application scientist, I have not had much time, or energy left for dark sky observing (or imaging). I have been doing bits of observing here and there from my backyard (thank god for my amazing red zone yard!) with my alt az mounted C8, which is a blessing for the worn out astronomer since it is so easy to transport to my yard in one trip (my plans for that 16" truss has been put on hold for now since I barely have time to observe). Those jaunts are nice, but lately I have been having the itch to do some semi dark sky observing again, at least before the summer milky way disappears for another year. My weapon of choice was my super light weight and super easy to setup Orion Star Seeker II 130mm f/5 on the Vixen Porta Alt Az mount. This has since superceeded my Celestron C6 (6" f/5 ST newt) as my quick grab and go scope as the OTA is both shorter and lighter, plus it does not give up much in the way of light grasp (i.e not as built as the C6 soo tube is heaps lighter). Life has gotten easier with the purchase of a new Meade scope bag that holds both OTA and mount (or so they claim for their ST130 Bird Jones scope. For a fraction of the price Orion sells their scope totes for (Orion's are now a ridiculous $70+++, while the Meade was going for more than half off $30). The bag, while okay, was just passable to carry my ST Sky Seeker OTA and Vixen porta Mount. The bag would not zip up for starters. Also the bag was not as heavily padded like the Orion one. Still it made carrying the OTA and mount easier as I could sling the whole thing over my shoulders. Plus, the bad had velcro straps to secure the mount, as well as a small bag to hold the counterweights (it was designed to hold a Powerseeker 130EG after all.

So yes the trip was an easy no frills one. Threw my bag with scope and mount into the booth, a haversack that usually holds my laptop and imaging gear (this time it held my dark cloak, my Orion eyepiece bum-pack, my Orion 8x40's, and my printed star maps), and my trusty campign chair and I was off. Since the trip up to Saratoga Gap only takes 30 minutes, I was there and observing in under 40 minutes. No fussing with alignments or wires. All I had to do unfold my camping chair and mount, pop the OTA on the mount and away I went. Since it was to be a no frills trip, I started the night by just scanning the summer milky way. Sagittarius and Scorpius were already down low so I spent some time just crusing with my 8x40's. Saw a few shooting stars while at it too, soemthing that gets overlooked when you are intently looking at a brightened screen while doing exposure ;P It was a nice change of pace for sure.

Th summer milky way if just so full of treasures. Where to begin. I guess I have always been a sucker for planetary nebulae so that was my first port of call. M57 has to be my favourite planetary. For the longest time I have sought it out. I remember my first views of this in my small CO40. This scope just did not have the light gathering power to resolve it into anything other than an out of focus star. Still I was trilled to even see it. My first real view of this wonder came in 2001 when I revisited it in a 76mm long focal length newtonian reflector. The celestial doughnut finally revealed itself in all its glory. I still marvel at this celestial wonder every chance I get. The smoky ring visage is plain to see even from light polluted skies, but it is seen best at powers of 100x or more from darker skies.

From a rather smallish planetary, we now move to its neighbour, M27, the Dumbbell Planetary. This one is a great one, be it from dark skies or light polluted skies (with a UHC type filter of course). The apple core shape is the staple here, but with the help of a narrowband filer, or darker skies, the nebula resembles a rugby ball. Just for kicks, I observed this with my 8x40's binoculars. At that magnification, the Dumbbell looked like M57 without the central darkening at higher powers through the Star Seeker.

I flitted around the summer constellations a little and had a great view of the Veil Nebula through my 13T6 Nagler, which is a great eyepeiece for use with the short focal length Star Seeker OTA. With the UHC in place, I could make out some intricate detail in both the eastern and western veil. I could even make ou pickerings triangle, the  middle bit of the supernova remnant that is not observed as much as the eastern and western bits.

So overall I had a great relaxing session devoid of the stresses of sketching or imaging. Such sessions can rejuvenate the observers soul and reminds us of why we started observing in the first place. Till next time.

Pandemic madness and paradigm shift

It has been a while since I blogged. So many things have transpired since I last wrote. As I type this, we are all hunkering down worldwide as we battle a pandemic. The world has not seen an event such as this since the pandemic of 1916. Definitely a dark time for humanity. But if you take into account how humans have exploited the environment and the nature, it's not surprising that nature strikes back. The natural balance has to be restored. All is not dark and gloomy through. Just a few hours ago NASA and SpaceX put two astronauts into space.

This current pandemic staycation has also altered my observing. Due to a recent illness, I have not been able to use my heavier scopes. As such I have reverted back to visual astronomy with my trusty Orion Skyscanner on my equally trusty HD F2 tripod. This setup has been awesome for quick looks, as well as longer jaunts. And the best eyepiece for this is the 13T6 Nagler.

Of late I have had a strong urge to observe solar system objects. Have been scrutinizing old Luna quite a bit during the different phases. It's funny how life circles around. This was what I loved the most starting my amateur observing career many moons ago. The sight of Lunas craters, rills and mare makes me feel like I am in lunar orbit. The views are even more immersive using the 13T6 Nagler. Needless to say I have been spending a lot of time focused on the terminator region, where sunlight turns into darkness.

Have also been following venus and her different phases, not so different than that of the moon. Just takes a much longer time to see her different phases. Now that venus season is over, it is time for the stars of summer, and the gas giants. Bring em on.

Rekindling the dark romance. Saratoga Gap rural deep sky session 20th August 2017

It has been a long while since I have posted a blog about observing. Call it apathy, call it slacking off, but I have been doing some casual visual observing from my red zone backyard with my largest scope, the C8. Nothing really major though hence the lack of blog articles. Some of this can be attributed to my busy work schedule as a Tech Support Scientist/Field Application Specialist (well till mid February of this year anyways), and an ever increasingly busy weekend schedule with my daughters activities. But I knew I wanted to reconnect with the sky in some way, maybe not as intense as all those imaging sessions many moons ago with my Celestron 102GT and my Meade DSI II one shot color. What better way to do this than to get my now seven year old daughter who has shown an ever increasing interest in everything daddy does to come along (she has been asking to come along for a while now). It also helps when her elementary school science curriculum is currently focused on planets and the solar system. The recent solar eclipse (which will be covered in the next blog article) also helped a bit with the boost of adrenaline. So yes, after a week of planning, me and my lil one finally made it up to our semi dark sky site to view the wonders of the summer milky way. Unfortunately for us, the skies have been rather hazy with dust of late, due to the warmer than usual temperatures and the heavy rains earlier this year fueling the massive grown of foilage. Rest said I have seen our home galaxy better from this site in the past. Still we got in a decent hour of stargazing.

This trip out I wanted to demonstrate to her how much more we could see under darker skies. Now she has been up here with me before, but on a much more casual basis (we drove up after dinner and did not have any observing gear). We had with us two easy to use pieces of equipment, an Orion ShoreView 8x40, which has since become "my binoculars", after our recent trip to Yosemite where she used it for wildlife spotting, and her future telescope, the bombproof Edmund Astroscan. We chose a concrete bench as our staging area and through the course of the hour, we spent time looking at the brighter "stages of stellar life" DSO's. I explained the significance of each object and the stages it represented as we brought them up at the 13T6 Nagler eyepiece.. I started off with stellar nurseries , M8 (The Lagoon Nebula), M20 (The Trifid Nebula) and M17 (The Swan Nebula). We then moved onto star clusters,  M23 and M11 (The Wild Duck Cluster), and finished off the short session with  stellar death, M57 (The Ring Nebula). In between, she lay on her back and scanned the "so many pretty stars" (her own words) regions with her 8x40's. She was even scanning the small Sagittarius Star Cloud that I pointed out to her as a detached "cloud" in the dark sky. One day we will make it out under truly dark skies akin to Mount Pinos, or better yet, Leyburn. Till then this will be our little slice of stargazing heaven. I hope to do this on a more regular basis, and will do a planetary version from our backyard this weekend.

It has been a while. My trip back to my me night sky place..... Down under

Where do I even begin. My love affair with the night sky began more than three decades ago. As I grew from a teen into adulthood, the fire never diminished. Sure as life happened, stargazing gave way to studies, work, yada yada yada. It wasn't until I moved to Australia, my second hometown after balmy Malaysia, and the spiritual home of my astronomer soul that the flame was rekindled in a big way. Moving to good old USA did allow me to experiment with astrophotography, but I longed for simpler times. Just me, a scope and the glorious southern night sky. So imagine my excitement when my wife declared that we were going back "home". OMG.

The first thing I did was to make a list of some of my "old friends" of whom I have spent countless hours at the eyepiece of my trusty C6, sketching under dim red light. Objects like the glorious Eta Carina Nebula, the ginormous Omega Centauri, etc etc. In my haste, I purchased a lightweight Orion Tritech photo tripod, my super portable Celestron Travelscope 70 OTA, and my Orion eyepiece waist pack filled with my working eyepieces and filters.

First night out under dark red zone skies and a few days after a full moon, I set up my portable observatory in my sis in laws suburban backyard, hiding behind a wooden fence to shield my eyes from the streetlights. And then I realized that I had forgotten to pack my dielectric diagonal in my haste. Damn! Here I was, under dream, if not perfect skies, with Carina and Vela climbing higher and higher in a darkening sky, and my scope would not come to focus. I spent a frustrating half an hour "peeking" at Eta Carina and surrounds, as well as the jewel box in Crux, the southern cross, ending the first night with "fuzzy star" Omega Centauri. I had to find another way.

My first port of call was online stores. Problem is I only had slightly over a week, and taking into account shipping time, this plan wasn't going to work. Enter my favorite store Australian Geographic. I knew they carried scopes and accessories from Celestron and Skywatcher. Turns out they were having a great sale. Looking at their website, I found Celestron's 15x70s for the same price as in the US! I rushed out to the nearest Westfield and came home with my "southern sky buster". Woohoo.

Had a blast reliving the past times under dark Leyburn skies back in Queensland. Cruising the star studded fields, starting with Eta Carina (the wedged shaped nebulosity clearly visible, and the dark keyhole dark nebulosity visible), the southern Pleiades sparkling with all its glory. Waiting a little later, I marvel at the huge globular Omega Centauri, and the jewel box members sparkling like diamonds on black velvet. My thirst for southern sky treats have been quelled FOR NOW!

Here's hoping I get to make another trip "home" sometime soon.

Let the good times roll. Summer spectacles, at their best!

Time sure does fly. This is my 6^th summer in the northern hemisphere. As in Australia, this also happens to be the best time of the year to explore the summer wonders straddling the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpius, the center of our glorious milky way, as well as northern sky wonders in the summer triangle. This time of the year is also the only time the center of our home galaxy is on display, granted that it is not as high in the sky as down south. Still so many bright objects to image and observe, and so little time ;)

Best place to start is still at the heart of our galaxy. It does not matter whether you are using your naked eye, small binoculars, or a large truss tube dobsonian reflector. This is the best spot in the whole galaxy to begin your exploration of our universe. Here we find the wondrous pairing of M8, The Lagoon Nebula and M20, The Trifid Nebula. Both are amazing sights in their own right and can just be observed in a single field if you have a wide enough FOV eyepiece.

From light polluted sites, the nebulosity in M8  get overpowered by the star cluster embedded in its embryonic cocoon. A UHC type narrowband filter will bring some its majesty out from the background glow, but you get the best views of this object from dark sky sites. M8 covers an amazing amount of sky from darker skies, and the dark lane that bisects the nebula (hence the lagoon nebula moniker) stands out in stark relieve. In fact I find there is a ripple effect from the major dark lane, and you can make these “ripples” out under steady skies. Also the hourglass nebula, at the heart of the nebula is best seen at slightly higher magnifications.

While not nearly as “stunning” as the Lagoon, The Trifid Nebula is also an easy’ish object to observe even in binoculars. With my 8x42 lightweight binoculars, the fuzz surrounding the stars is clearly evident. This fuzz is resolved into a tri lobed structure bisected by dark lanes even in my 76mm Newtonian at lower magnifications under dark skies. In my 6” f/5 newtonian, I can make out a small island in the middle surrounding the double star at the heart of the nebula. What makes this object interesting is that it actually composed of three different classes of nebulae. The many “body” of the nebula is emission in nature, bisected by dark fingers of dark nebulae. There is also a reflection component to this object that is only visible if you observe from dark skies without the use of a narrowband filter. From light polluted sites, try using an 8” scope. At 100x magnification, with a UHC type filter in place, I can make out the central island, as well as the dark lanes with a little bit of averted vision.

Also in this area of the sky are two more “outstanding” summer nebulas, M17, The Swan or Omega Nebula and M16, The Eagle or Little Ghost Nebula. While further apart, if your scope can go under 20x magnification, you may just be able to fit these two in a single field of view. Both benefit best from dark skies. M17 shows its outer “bubble” of nebulosity from dark skies, surrounding its inner graceful swan shape. From light polluted skies, with an 8” scope, with a UHC type filter, this object comes alive. But to really see detail, there is no substitute for dark skies. Under such skies, dark lanes crisscross the body of the swan, and I get the feathery texture effect down the back of the swan. Also the dark nebula in the neck region is fairly obvious.

Like The Swan, M16 looks best under dark skies as well, but this one suffers more under light polluted skies. Under such skies, I use the same combo in my 8”, but can only make out the “shape” of the eagle with averted vision. From darker skies, I tend to see what Stephen O’Meara sees, a little kid under some white sheets with their hands sticking out to the sides. This effect is more obvious when I screw in my UHC filter. From light polluted skies, for most part all I can make out is some misshapen fuzz surrounding the star cluster without a UHC type filter.

Summer is also an excellent time to view globular clusters, and there are heaps of them abound since the center of our galaxy is in full display. The best part about globular clusters is that they all have individual characters, provided you have enough aperture to break them up. The minimum aperture required for a good view of globulars in my opinion is a scope 6” and larger. At this aperture you start to resolve some of the smaller globs, as well as fully resolve some of the bigger and brighter ones. The best globulars, in my opinion are M4 in Scorpius, M22 and M55 in Sagittarius , M13 in Hercules and M5 in Serpens. I chose these five as they are easy to resolve in scopes as small as 76mm.

M4 is known as the cat’s eye globular for a reason. There is a small bar of stars crossing the width of the globular that is readily resolvable in small scopes. This globular has the most character in small scopes (well there are other’s that are nice, but they are mostly southern globulars and are not visible from northern latitudes) since it has that unique feature. Also the overall branch magnitude of its constituent stars are higher, making it more resolvable.

Seeing how I moved from the southern hemisphere, I refer to M22 and M55 as poor man’s Omega Centauri. Now I am sure you have all heard of Omega Centauri and how brilliant and resolvable this huge southern globular is. M22 and M55 are close in visual appearance. Both are fairly loose globulars, appearing more like open clusters at very high magnification in larger scopes. M22 also appears oval in shape, much like its larger cousin due to its fast rotational speed. Both globulars are a joy from dark skies, even in scopes as small as 76mm. I see good resolution in both. But for a good view I would suggest using at least a 130mm scope.

M13 in Hercules is a weird one. Hailed the best of the north, and yet not the best in my humble opinion. I reserve that throne for M5 in Serpens (that is discounting M22 since atmospheric extinction removes that splendor for most of the folks living further north). M13 has a tight core, similar to 47 Tucana in the south (although I feel M5 is more the poor man’s 47 Tuc not M13!). There is very little resolution (well there is at the periphery) in small scopes (76mm-114mm). The globular only starts to get interesting, and at magnifications about 100x I might add in scopes 6” and larger. In those scopes, you get resolution down to the blurry core (although for the best and most consistent views, you need at least an 8” scope). In the 8” scope, I can make out the propeller effect in the globular. In this regard, M5 is better, showing more resolution in the smaller scopes than M13.

And there you have it, the summers best all wrapped up in a single blog entry. I hope to do more visual observing in the coming months, at least until Orion and friends show up early winter to revisit some of my imaging targets. Till then enjoy.