Brief Observing report from northern california-GSSP
We recently went to the Golden State Star Party here in Northern Calfornia.
We had great company and a wonderful time. Here is my brief observing report of some of the highlights with my 24”. This was my first view of all of these objects (except arp 29), and is my first observing report.
Abell 39, planetary nebula in Hercules, an easily seen 3’ round disc without using any filters
Double Quasar in Ursa Major, easy to locate since it is close to galaxy NGC 3079, we were able to see it with direct vision as a small faint spot, but unable to split it, in part probably due to its very low position in the sky
Campbell’s Hydrogen Star - in Cygnus– seen in my 24” as well, but with better seeing in a friend’s 24” at 450X, we saw a bright central star( apparently a WR star), a dark space around it, and then a red ring around it, the red was saturated and of a beautiful tint, quite striking. Later when the seeing was less optimal, the ring was not as easily seen.
Abell 70 ( recommended by Jimi) – in Aquila, Planetary nebula in a ring shape, we could see the edge on galaxy superimposed on the planetary going from the lower left to the upper right of one section of the ring. The NPB filter improved the view of the nebula but washed out the galaxy.
Arp 29 ( also NGC 6946)– in Cepheus – Large spiral galaxy, with fat arms, appears “squashed” with little space between the arms.
Arp 117 – in Bootes, 2’ round galaxy with a bright stellar center
We looked for but were unable to see spiral galaxy IC 1296 near m57 in Lyra, in my scope or my friend's 28".
