Hello Group

I have just downloaded a list of the Herschel 400 objects and have to admit I
don't know what two of the columns represent. They are Ga Lo & Ga La.

Some help please.

Dick

Hey Dick,

Galactic longitude and galactic latitude.

Check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_coordinate_system

Larry

--- In rascstoon@yahoogroups.com, "Dick Kirk" <dickandmarion@...> wrote:
>
> Hello Group
>
> I have just downloaded a list of the Herschel 400 objects and have to admit I
don't know what two of the columns represent. They are Ga Lo & Ga La.
>
> Some help please.
>
> Dick
>

I don't remember seeing those columns there before, but my guess is that
they refer to the galactic longitude and latitude of the object.  For
example NGC 4559 and 4565 have Ga La of 86 degrees, and they are within
degrees of the North Galactic Pole in Coma Berenices.

Tenho

On 18/05/2012 13:41, Dick Kirk wrote:
> Hello Group
>
> I have just downloaded a list of the Herschel 400 objects and have to admit I
don't know what two of the columns represent. They are Ga Lo& Ga La.
>
> Some help please.
>
> Dick
>

Hi,  Dick's question today regarding the Herschel 400 got me thinking about
declination.  A quick scan of the Herschel list shows the worst case scenario
for us to be around -31, but a scan of the Messier list is a different story. 
M6 -32; M7 -34; M54 -30; M55 -30; M69 -32 and M70 -32.

Please correct me if I am wrong but, if I am at 52 degrees north, then the
lowest declination I can see is -38 and that would be at the horizon.  The
question is, is it possible to see all of the Messier objects from Sleaford or
should I be planning on going south to catch the objects in Sagittarius and
Scorpius?

Best Regards
Jim

 

Hi, Dick's question today regarding the Herschel 400 got me thinking about declination. A quick scan of the Herschel list shows the worst case scenario for us to be around -31, but a scan of the Messier list is a different story. M6 -32; M7 -34; M54 -30; M55 -30; M69 -32 and M70 -32.

Please correct me if I am wrong but, if I am at 52 degrees north, then the lowest declination I can see is -38 and that would be at the horizon. The question is, is it possible to see all of the Messier objects from Sleaford or should I be planning on going south to catch the objects in Sagittarius and Scorpius?

Best Regards
Jim

Hey Jim,

The short answer is you're right about the -38 deg. declination and they can all
be seen from Sleaford.

Longer answer, some of the objects are blocked by the trees on the south side of
the yard and require a little more effort. They can be seen from the road to
either side of the yard with binoculars. M6 and M7 are large open clusters that
look great in binoculars anyway. I've seen M83 (-29 52') from Sleaford by
setting up on the observing knoll and waiting for it to move between the trees.
The rest of the more southerly objects (M62/M54/M55/M70/M69) benefit from a
clear southern horizon and are best viewed from SSSP :)

Maybe we'll see you at Sleaford tomorrow, forecast is at least hopeful for
Saturday and Sunday. I'll post tomorrow around noon "weather" or not the
Observers Group is a go.

Cheers,

Larry


--- In rascstoon@yahoogroups.com, "Jim Goodridge" <djgoodridge@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,  Dick's question today regarding the Herschel 400 got me thinking about
declination.  A quick scan of the Herschel list shows the worst case scenario
for us to be around -31, but a scan of the Messier list is a different story. 
M6 -32; M7 -34; M54 -30; M55 -30; M69 -32 and M70 -32.
>
> Please correct me if I am wrong but, if I am at 52 degrees north, then the
lowest declination I can see is -38 and that would be at the horizon.  The
question is, is it possible to see all of the Messier objects from Sleaford or
should I be planning on going south to catch the objects in Sagittarius and
Scorpius?
>
> Best Regards
> Jim
>

It is looking like an average+ night so I will be there.

Dick

The weather gurus are predicting clearing skies this evening. Sunset is around
21:00 and I should be out by then.

Larry

 

The weather gurus are predicting clearing skies this evening. Sunset is around 21:00 and I should be out by then.

Larry

 

Larry, you will likely be there before me so please be careful if you drive between the slide-out and the shelter as I may have dropped my leg brace/accessory tray in that area. It is black and 10” or so in diameter.

 

See you about 2100.

 

Dick

 

From: Larry Scott

Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 1:59 PM

To: rascstoon@yahoogroups.com

Subject: [rascstoon] Going to Sleaford 19-May-2012

 

 

The weather gurus are predicting clearing skies this evening. Sunset is around 21:00 and I should be out by then.

Larry

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
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----- Original Message -----

From: Colin C.

To: rascstoon@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 10:04 PM

Subject: Re: [rascstoon] Eclipse viewing this weekend - a club event

 

Does anyone have any of the film to put over a scope to view the eclipse? I will probably just use my 4.5" scope. Or even enough to fit over the lens on my camera, which is 58mm in diameter?

Thanks,

Colin

On 2012-05-16, at 10:40 AM, jeff_swick wrote:

 

Remember that we are on the hill at Diefenbaker Park for this weekends Partial Solar Eclipse.

We will need solar 'scopes and of course we have the eclipse photos to hand out.

Barb will be looking for volunteers and more details to follow.

Regards
Jeff

Last night was a good night spent with astro-buddies Norma, Bernie, Barb, Larry
and Ron. The night started out with a fiery aurora and then some fantastic
viewing and picture taking. It was probably the best night of picture taking for
me ever. I was wowed by the results of the Veil Nebula and Whirlpool Galaxy in
particular not forgetting the pictures of the aurora. The more I find out about
how to use my scope and camera, the more I have become impressed with the
capability of Go-to. All of my pictures turned out as perfect as possible due to
the ability of the scope to go to each object very accurately. Most of the
objects are not visible in live view mode on the camera and I have to rely on
the scopes' positioning accuracy. Focusing is no longer a problem after
retro-fitting a 2 speed focuser. The object is always in the prime field of view
and usually dead centre when I "sync" the scope on a nearby star. Pictures will
be posted later today.

Dick

 

Last night was a good night spent with astro-buddies Norma, Bernie, Barb, Larry and Ron. The night started out with a fiery aurora and then some fantastic viewing and picture taking. It was probably the best night of picture taking for me ever. I was wowed by the results of the Veil Nebula and Whirlpool Galaxy in particular not forgetting the pictures of the aurora. The more I find out about how to use my scope and camera, the more I have become impressed with the capability of Go-to. All of my pictures turned out as perfect as possible due to the ability of the scope to go to each object very accurately. Most of the objects are not visible in live view mode on the camera and I have to rely on the scopes' positioning accuracy. Focusing is no longer a problem after retro-fitting a 2 speed focuser. The object is always in the prime field of view and usually dead centre when I "sync" the scope on a nearby star. Pictures will be posted later today.

Dick

 

Sounds like a productive night. Thanks to Cam for letting me know about the Aurora, I was able to get out by my special spot by the Patience Lake mine and snapped some great shots. It was a gorgeous Aurora with pink and purple visible. I was out from about 11:30 until 1:30, when it disippated and got too humid and cold. So far I've just uploaded the pictures here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/astro-nuts/. I'll post on GW Astro later on.

Colin

Sent from my iPhone

On 2012-05-20, at 10:06, "Dick Kirk" <dickandmarion@...> wrote:

 

Last night was a good night spent with astro-buddies Norma, Bernie, Barb, Larry and Ron. The night started out with a fiery aurora and then some fantastic viewing and picture taking. It was probably the best night of picture taking for me ever. I was wowed by the results of the Veil Nebula and Whirlpool Galaxy in particular not forgetting the pictures of the aurora. The more I find out about how to use my scope and camera, the more I have become impressed with the capability of Go-to. All of my pictures turned out as perfect as possible due to the ability of the scope to go to each object very accurately. Most of the objects are not visible in live view mode on the camera and I have to rely on the scopes' positioning accuracy. Focusing is no longer a problem after retro-fitting a 2 speed focuser. The object is always in the prime field of view and usually dead centre when I "sync" the scope on a nearby star. Pictures will be posted later today.

Dick

Here is another gallery of the eclipse where one of my pictures has popped up.
It's of a shot I took through Bob Johnson's Coronado -
http://earthsky.org/space/gallery-partial-and-ring-eclipse-of-may-20-21

It was a great event with lots of people. I think we accurately estimated about
250 people at Diefenbaker Park.

Colin

Garry Stone and I set up four telescopes with solar filters, and 6
eclipse glasses, at the visitor's centre at Gardiner Dam on Sunday
evening.  We had 23 visitors.  It was mostly cloudy but, enough cracks
between the clouds that everyone except the last 5 were able to see and
enjoy the eclipse.

Tenho

Mike Clancy will be om the Gormley show on ckom news talk radio at 11 this
morning promoting his book
   J

A question for variable star observers. Why would AAVSO be interested in SID?
See this link for reference

http://www.aavso.org/simple-easy-build-sid-receiver

Dick

Greetings all,

EarthSky has created an article on the Aurora, and the only images they used in
the article were mine (which I am thankful for). Here is the link -
http://earthsky.org/space/what-causes-the-aurora-borealis-or-northern-lights.

Colin Chatfield