Intrument: Celestron 8-inch SCT
Mount: Vixen Super Polaris
Method: star hopping
I remembered to put some DEET on this evening. Although later on when the temperature dropped, I didn't need it.Mount: Vixen Super Polaris
Method: star hopping
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Suddenly, as it was getting dark, I realised that it would be nice to have internet access in the THO this evening. But that would require, once and for all, that I get the new Linksys N Ultra wireless router up and running (as a switch). So, I took another stab at it, and I got it going. I tested it from the Observing Pad: it worked very well. Phil tried it on his laptop just beside the THO: he was getting 5 bars and very fast response. Curiously, my access inside the THO was spotty. Huh. It's supposed to have 4 times the range... Regardless, it was better than before.
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9:26 PM. I spotted a bright satellite, low, about 20° up, heading east. Looked like the ISS. Made me realise I had not checked the flyovers report from Heavens Above.
10:52 PM. Beautiful skies, particularly overhead and to the north. There was lightning to the south, in the distance, perhaps over Orangeville, as well as to the west, sympathetic flashings.
It was warm in the THO, 71%, 18°C. Outside it was 92%, 15.0°C.
11:17 PM. Star hopping from ε (epsilon) Sagittarius (aka Kaus Australis), I found M69 (NGC 6637). Messier 69 is very small at low power. I dropped in the Meade orthoscopic 18mm and could see some detail and structure, small fine filaments of stars would pop out from time to time. Noted the nearby field star HP 90772 [ed: aka HD 170500 at magnitude 8.0, to the north-west.].
I started fiddling with Stellarium to see if I could get it to match the view in the eyepiece. Of course, I had not programmed it, like at my home computer. So I applied the Script text box change, turned on the buttons for the horizontal and vertical flips. It is still frustrating that I cannot rotate the field. Although it occurred to me that if I can change the sidereal time then I might be able to simulate field rotation. But I chose not to play with that. Needed to get back to observing.
I also did some testing with respect to limiting magnitude. I had noticed in the city during my Jupiter observing some faint field stars. The limit seemed to be about 10.58. This evening I could see stars to 11.85 magnitude.
11:45 PM. I noticed, according to Pocket Sky Atlas, that NGC 6652 was nearby in Sagittarius. I briefly took in this very small globular cluster. [ed: This is an open cluster.]
The alarm I had programmed for the next ISS flyover at 11:57 went off. I headed over to the GBO and called for Phil and the others. Millie was outside, observing from the pad. I waited for 10 minutes but didn't see anything. Millie said she had seen one "about an hour ago." It slowly dawned on me that I had set the alarm one hour late! Crap.
I noticed Dietmar and Ian D have trouble with the roll-off roof again... Fortunately, they got the GBO closed. Continuing problem with the sensors?
12:29 AM. Those storm clouds from the south moved in. They started washing out the bottom of the constellation. I decided to start moving upwards into Scutum. I found M26 (NGC 6694), a very small and compact open cluster. Along the way I bumped into the Wild Duck Cluster (M11
I checked my portable weather station set up outdoors. It was soaked. 99% humidity and 13.6°C on the grounds of the CAO. It was 20% drier and 3 degrees warmer inside the THO.
I suddenly felt very tired. The intensity of the week, or last couple of weeks, I think, was finally catching up with me. Today had been a long, energetic day. Joints creaking, I headed off to my nearby tent. It was not long at all that I was sound asleep.
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At various stages during the evening, I would forego the telescope to instead take the whole sky. The Milky Way seemed very bright this evening.
I caught a couple of Perseid meteors. One, travelling to the west, left behind a green trail.
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