Last night I went out and did a bit of viewing. I didn't hop around much as the skies were pretty clear, clearer than I've seen since I got the telescope, so I mainly focused on the Double Cluster (NGC 884 and NGC 869), and the Bodes Nebula (M81) which I had also gotten M82 in the shot. Since they're both very close by in my field of view, it's not too surprising. Both pictures below were edited by my girlfriend, because, well she does a much better job at that kind of thing than I could.
The Double Cluster is between Cassiopeia and Perseus and in very dark night skies can be visible with the naked eye. NGC 884 is at 7600 light-years away and NGC 869 is at 6800 light-years away. Based on their individual stars both of these clusters are relatively young (in astronomy terms), NGC 869 is about 5.6 million years old, and NGC 884 is approximately 3.2 million years old. In these two clusters there are more than 300 blue-white super-giant stars. While I was out looking at it, I decided to take a picture of it's beauty. I like to keep track of what I'm viewing with both writing and pictures. They are not in the center of the frame, but I'm not being too picky, since this is for my own documentation and not for a gallery wall. I also like to post a visual for you readers so you don't have to search Google to see what I'm talking about, and so you can also see the view that I'm seeing, although the pictures are a tad bit brighter than just looking through the telescope. As usual for any picture on my blog, click it for larger image.
Shutter Speed 8 seconds, F3.5, ISO 1600, Afocal, 32mm Eyepiece, Astromaster 114EQ with Motor Drive
My next target was a target I've never aimed for before, The Bode's Nebula. I wanted to go for Pleiades or the Orion Nebula again but they were just out of my range of view by the time I went back outside (had to go in to warm up and watch an episode of House). The Bode's Nebula, or Messier 81, or M81, or NGC 3031, depending on what you want to call it is a spiral galaxy that is about 12 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. Messier 81 was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774, because of his discovery it is often referred to as Bode's Galaxy. In 1779 it was listed in the Messier Catalogue. M81 is the largest galaxy in a group of 34 galaxies in Ursa Major. I'm not able to see all of them with my telescope. This is my picture of the Bode's Nebula (M81), and I also got M82 in the picture. Again I'm completely satisfied with my pictures because they are more for documentation. I've grown to love my 32mm eyepiece but that's a whole different story maybe for another post another day. As usual for any picture on my blog, click it for larger image.
Shutter Speed 15 seconds, F3.5, ISO 1600, Afocal, 32mm Eyepiece, Astromaster 114EQ with Motor Drive
The Double Cluster is between Cassiopeia and Perseus and in very dark night skies can be visible with the naked eye. NGC 884 is at 7600 light-years away and NGC 869 is at 6800 light-years away. Based on their individual stars both of these clusters are relatively young (in astronomy terms), NGC 869 is about 5.6 million years old, and NGC 884 is approximately 3.2 million years old. In these two clusters there are more than 300 blue-white super-giant stars. While I was out looking at it, I decided to take a picture of it's beauty. I like to keep track of what I'm viewing with both writing and pictures. They are not in the center of the frame, but I'm not being too picky, since this is for my own documentation and not for a gallery wall. I also like to post a visual for you readers so you don't have to search Google to see what I'm talking about, and so you can also see the view that I'm seeing, although the pictures are a tad bit brighter than just looking through the telescope. As usual for any picture on my blog, click it for larger image.
Shutter Speed 8 seconds, F3.5, ISO 1600, Afocal, 32mm Eyepiece, Astromaster 114EQ with Motor DriveMy next target was a target I've never aimed for before, The Bode's Nebula. I wanted to go for Pleiades or the Orion Nebula again but they were just out of my range of view by the time I went back outside (had to go in to warm up and watch an episode of House). The Bode's Nebula, or Messier 81, or M81, or NGC 3031, depending on what you want to call it is a spiral galaxy that is about 12 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. Messier 81 was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774, because of his discovery it is often referred to as Bode's Galaxy. In 1779 it was listed in the Messier Catalogue. M81 is the largest galaxy in a group of 34 galaxies in Ursa Major. I'm not able to see all of them with my telescope. This is my picture of the Bode's Nebula (M81), and I also got M82 in the picture. Again I'm completely satisfied with my pictures because they are more for documentation. I've grown to love my 32mm eyepiece but that's a whole different story maybe for another post another day. As usual for any picture on my blog, click it for larger image.
Shutter Speed 15 seconds, F3.5, ISO 1600, Afocal, 32mm Eyepiece, Astromaster 114EQ with Motor Drive
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