Roaming the Deep Sky #0
A Rambling Introduction
Welcome to "Roaming the Deep Sky". This is a series of articles highlighting deep sky objects, from bright to dim, large to small, and famous to obscure. But what is the deep sky? It’s not the Leonids, it’s not a total lunar eclipse, it’s not comet s, and it’s not Jupiter. Great observing targets though these are, they are not the deep sky. The deep sky is anything that exists beyond our solar system. It is stars, it is interstellar gas and dust clouds, it is the Milky Way, and it is other galaxies. Each article examines one object or one field of view appropriate to the time of year. The preponderance of objects are relatively bright and well known, but some are less so. These articles originally appeared in Starword, the monthly newsletter of the Louisville Astronomical Society. As of July 2001 there are 14 of them. (I’ve taken a temporary break on writing them. More will appear occasionally.) We hope to eventually include them all here on the web. The articles will be somewhat different than the original print versions. For one thing, I’ll add charts to the early articles. For another, I’ll be adding hyper links. They will be fun I think. Some text will be changed and updated as well. The descriptions in the articles are drawn entirely from my own observations using my own equipment. I include info on equipment used such as telescope, eyepiece, field of view, magnification, any filters, etc. For objects, information includes type, size, magnitude, etc. Observations from another source, when used, are quoted and clearly credited. The articles aren’t 100% observational in nature, however. It’s always fun to know a little about the physical nature of the objects you’re viewing. So, I include other "tid-bits" of information.
Let me give you an idea where I’m coming from with these articles. During the three and one half years of logging my observations, from 1/31/98 through 7/14/01, I’ve made 492 log entries on 361 different objects. Over eighty six percent of these observations were done with my Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain (or C8 for short) telescope. This 203mm-aperture telescope has a focal length of 2032mm yielding an f/10 system. Over ten percent of the observations were done with my Celestron "Firstscope 80 EQ WA". This compact 80mm aperture (3.1 inch) refractor has a focal length of only 400mm for a focal ratio of f/5 resulting in very nice, low power, wide fields of view. A few percent of the observations are through 7x50 binoculars and the 9x60 finder-scope on the C8.
It is hoped that the articles will be of some help and/or interest to the observer, especially the new observer. I consider myself a moderately accomplished observer. (This is where I list my "observing credentials".) I completed the Messier list early on the morning of 5/9/99 at the late, lamented (but not too much so since we acquired the Curby site), "Doyle" dark site. I am now embarked upon the Herschel 400 list of deep sky objects. I’ve logged 166 of them as of July 2001, plus 26 on the Herschel II list. I figure, if I’m observing in an area that has some Herschel II’s close at hand, why not try for them? I’m also an "intermediate" observer in that 8 inches of aperture can only be considered a small to mid-size telescope. After some of the hints of detail that I’ve seen in "Messier" and other galaxies, I can begin to appreciate the allure of the really deep sky – and with it, really big telescopes. But, for now, I continue to enjoy the views I get with my C8. I hope you enjoy my expositions on a few of the more interesting objects for which I’ve logged observations.
Don Clouse
7/21/2001
Visitors of This Page Since 2/27/02
