Morning session at Anza with Space X Falcon 9 launch.

[Bigzmey]

10/21/2023

Location: Anza desert site, Bortle 4.0.

Equipment: Celestron 9.25” Edge HD SCT on SkyTee 2 manual AltAz mount.

EPs:
Pentax XW 10mm, 70 deg (235x, 1.0mm exit pupil, 0.30 deg TFV)
Pentax XW 14mm, 70 deg (168x, 1.4mm exit pupil, 0.42 deg TFV)
Pentax XW 20mm, 70 deg (118x, 2.0 mm exit pupil, 0.6 deg TFV)

Last Friday the Moon was setting around 23:00. To capitalize on dark time and to catch some winter sky targets I have opted for morning session. I have set the camp, deployed scopes, had dinner watching sunset and went to sleep soon after that.

Woke up around 00:20, refreshed and ready for action. Somehow my morning sessions end up been extra special and this one was no exception.

WINTER MILKY WAY
California rainy season typically keeps me away from the desert from November to April. As such I don’t have as many opportunities to enjoy winter as summer Milky Way. Also, being fainter, winter Milky Way requires darker skies. This Saturday morning, I was to a good surprise. Not only the winter Milky Way was visible, but it was also stretching uninterrupted from Cygnus setting in the west to Gemini rising in the east. Considering it fainter nature and light domes spoiling the sky near horizon on a typical night, it was little short of miracle. Above the head asterisms of Cassiopea and Perseus were lost in the rich star fields of the Milky Way.

I have spent a good half hour just seating and enjoying the view and was also rewarded with extra bright and slow meteor (likely Orionid). It was leisurely traveling from Orion, east to west, living a trail, and managed to cover most of the sky before it got exhausted.

00:55. ASTEROIDS
As my list of observed asteroids grows, I have to wait longer for the new ones to get within visibility window. On this morning out of ~70 visible asteroids with magnitude at or above 13 only 4 were new to me.

(127) Johanna – mag 12.4 asteroid in Aris (118x).
(204) Kallisto – mag 12.9 asteroid in Pisces (118x).
(374) Burgundia – mag 12.8 asteroid in Pisces (118x).
(78) Diana – mag 12.7 asteroid in Cancer (118x).

01:28. SPACE X FALCON 9 LAUNCH
I was looking up, getting my bearings for the next asteroid, and suddenly noticed the rocket trail. We saw a few launches in the past, but typically they would happen around sunset and move towards the ocean. This one happened past midnight, was going from north-west to south-east, and went horizon to horizon. Also, right after the rocket disappeared beyond the mountain, I saw orange pillar of fire slowly coming down in the south. I figured it should be the reusable first stage. Surely enough the timing matched perfectly with the online report.

https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-7-5

The rest of the night was devoted to hunting galaxies.

02:04. ERIDANUS GALAXIES

NGC 1081 (mag 13.3, size 1.6' x 36", SB 13.0) - narrow lens, detected with AV by moving EP (118x).
NGC 1089 (mag 13.5, size 54" x 48", SB 12.9) – small faint oval with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 1098 (mag 12.6, size 1.7' x 1.3', SB 13.2) – wide oval with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 1099 (mag 13.1, size 1.9' x 36", SB 13.0) – faint narrow oval (118x, 168x).
NGC 1100 (mag 13.0, size 1.7' x 48", SB 13.1) – faint glow with AV (168x).

NGC 1098, 1099 and 1100 were within the same 0.6 deg FOV.

NGC 1103 (mag 12.9, size 2.2' x 36", SB 12.9) – relatively bright narrow lens with star shining through it (118x, 168x).
IC 1853 (mag 13.7, size 1.1' x 24", SB 12.6) – FAIL.
NGC 1108 (mag 13.9, size 48" x 24", SB 12.4) – very faint small spot (168x).
NGC 1110 (mag 13.9, size2.9' x 30", SB 14.0) – FAIL.

For the last several years I have been working on the Herschel 2,500 list. Those who pursue historical catalogs (Messier, AL’s Herschel 400, etc.) know that the targets are not spread evenly through the year. H2,500 is no exception. I am down to about 270, but they are all within early spring constellations. I had a late start this year due to the wet spring, so managed to log only about 30 targets of the list.

I was waiting eagerly all summer and finally those spring constellation are swinging back, albeit you must catch them early morning. So, while observing in Eridanus I kept watching eastern sky and finally decided that Lynx has risen high enough to give it a try.

02:52. LYNX GALAXIES

NGC 2552 (mag 12.1, size 3.5’ x 2.3’, SB 14.2) – I have attempted late spring when Lynx was setting to the west, and now FAILED again when it was rising in the east.

NGC 2704 (mag 13.4, size 1.0’ x 1.0’, SB 13.3) – also FAILED twice this year.
NGC 2719 (mag 13.1, size 1.3’ x 0.3’, SB 11.9) – FAILED, for the first time though.
NGC 2719A (mag 13.9, size 24" x 18", SB 11.3) – FAILED to.
NGC 2724 (mag 13.6, size 1.8' x 1.6', SB 14.5) – yet another FAIL.

OK, nobody said it would be easy, but that string was quite depressing. I was tempted to leave Lynx and try some other area but have decided to push on.

NGC 2746 (mag 13.1, size 1.6’ x 1.5’, SB 13.9) – faint disk with AV, next to star (118x).
NGC 2755 (mag 13.2, size 1.2’ x 0.8’, SB 13.0) – FAILED.
NGC 2759 (mag 13.0, size 1.0 x 0.7’, SB 12.6) – very faint AV oval (118x, 168x).
NGC 2780 (mag 13.3, size 0.9’ x 0.7’, SB 12.6) – FAILED.

I thought: OK, I can take 50% success rate. But then the rough patch was over, and I was back to smooth sailing.

NGC 2778 (mag 12.4, size 1.4’ x 1.0’, SB 12.8) – relatively bright oval with compact core (118x).
NGC 2779 (mag 15.0, size 42" x 36", SB 13.8) – very faint AV spot next to NGC 2778 (118x).
NGC 2832 (mag 11.9, size 2.3’ x 1.9’, SB 13.5) – faint oval (118x, 168x).
NGC 2839 (mag 14.2, size 54" x 54", SB 13.7) – very faint AV spot (235x).
NGC 2838 (mag 13.6, size 0.6’ x 0.6’, SB 13.2) – faint round spot (118x, 168x).

NGC 2840 (mag 13.8, size 1.0’ x 0.9’, SB 13.6) – faint AV spot next to star (168x).
NGC 2844 (mag 13.0, size 1.5’ x 0.8’, SB 13.0) – faint narrow oval next to star (168x).
NGC 2852 (mag 13.2, size 0.9’ x 0.8’, SB 12.6) – small round disk with stellar core (168x).
NGC 2853 (mag 13.3, size 1.7’ x 0.9’, SB 13.6) – faint elongated oval next to NGC 2852 (168x).

Remember NGC 2552, which I failed twice, in April and earlier this morning? In two hours, it has climbed considerably higher, so I gave it another look. Surely enough, this time I have managed to resolve very faint elongated oval with AV (118x). This gives me hope for the other galaxies I have missed this morning since Lynx was still relatively low to horizon. I will leave them for another session though.

The dawn was approaching, and I wanted to catch the single target I have left on H2,500 in Puppies.

PUPPIES
NGC 2401 (mag 12.6, size 2', SB 13.8), open cluster – gloving oval patch with a few very faint stars within (118x).

Finished the session at 05:05.

[messier 111]

thx for that nice report .

[Ylem]

Amazing report Bigz!

[Juno16]

That really sounds like a fun morning!
What a wonderful and varied list of targets!
Milky Way, asteroids, galaxies, meteor, and the SpaceX launch!
The launch must have been especially cool at 0130. A really nice treat and at a dark site!

Thanks for the great report Bigz!

[kt4hx]

As always great stuff Andrey. A nice variety of activities, culminating in your normal top notch galaxy hunt. Trying to work those Lynx galaxies while they were more on the down low was a tough call, but you still wound up doing admirably. You stuck to your guns however, and finally nailed that stubborn NGC 2552. Well done my friend and certainly a VROD performance.

[Unitron48]

Well done, Andrey! I second the VROD!!

Dave

[Thefatkitty]

Wow, nice read Andrey, you certainly had some great conditions by the sounds of it. I'm amazed at the list of targets, especially with a manual mount! Sorry to hear of the somewhat failure with the Lynx, but I'm sure you'll nail them eventually. Asteroids and a rocket launh to boot too.

Third on the VROD for sure!

Wish I could have been there; thanks for the read!

All the best,

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Jean-Yves, Jeff, Jim, Alan, Dave and Mark!

[John Baars]

Quite difficult, finding those magnitude 12+ asteroids. Good job!
Thanks for your great report. Recommended for a VROD!

[helicon]

Great report Andrey. Congratulations on earning the VROD for today as nominated by many folks!

[Bigzmey]

Thanks John and Michael!

[John Donne]

This is a very nice report Andrey !

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Mark!