sponsored by psychohistorian.org
Deep sky observing at Koornlandskloof, Sutherland (2009 Jan 23–29)
By Richard Ford. Published 2009 February 20.
Objects noted
M 1 (Crab Nebula), M 33 (Triangulum Galaxy), M 44 (Beehive Cluster), M 46, M 47, M 64 (Black Eye Galaxy), M 93, M 95, M 96, M 105, NGC 1851, NGC 2438, NGC 4565, NGC 4945, NGC 772.
Observations made at Koornlandskloof (50 km from Sutherland) on 25th January 2009 with a 12-inch f/5 Dobsonian (26mm, 20mm & 7mm ep).
I never had a dull moment on my trip to Sutherland (from the 23rd January – 29th January 2009). I kept up to date on what the weather was going to do, and it turned out just in the "next of the woods" for me.
After packing all my equipment I departed early in the morning for Sutherland. My luggage included warm clothes for observing, star charts, a briefcase of eyepieces and a various combination of filters. My 12-inch Dobsonian was resting on a foam mattress box in the back seat of my car, covered with a duvet blanket to keep the dust of the optics.
Overall it took me four hours to drive from Brackenfell to Koornlandskloof, the guest farm that I was going to stay that week.
After driving for two hours in the sweltering heat, I decided to stretch my legs and take a leisurely break. At Matjiesfontein I pulled off at the coffee shop to order a cheese cake and a cup of spicy moccanino.
Then I was ready to drive up to the guest farm at Sutherland. It took me almost two hours to reach my destination. I drove past Sutherland, heading for the gravel road, which was very rough and bumpy for the next 48 km. At the Bo-Visriver turn-off the road gradually became bumpier and bumpier. On the gravel road I was somewhat at wit's end, fearing that I will end up at the farm with a flat tyre.
Eventually I arrived at Koornlandskloof at 12:30 and was welcomed with surprise by Lampies and Aret Lambrechts. I was tired and exhausted after a long journey (but no damage was done to my vehicle, luggage or observing equipment). I unwrapped the telescope and found the mirror was still 100% in collimation and no dust had gathered on it. After unpacking the rest of my luggage, I set up my 12 inch telescope for observing that evening. I couldn't wait to observe! Late in the afternoon I decided to take a nap after a long and exhausting journey on the road.
Every evening just before sunset I had dinner with Lampies and Aret. On Friday evening just before dark I set up my scope in the backyard of the guest farm overlooking the Roggeveld Mountains in the background. This area has a 360 degree view which was suitable for stargazing away from the stray lights of the city. Being well-equipped with star charts and filters, I was ready to observe.
My first target for the evening was the Great Orion Nebula (M42) in Orion. This bright nebula's filamentary structure, radiating away from the four stars of the Trapezium, revealed itself as a greenish tint that was in its full glory.
The Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud revealed itself as an intricate spider-like structure which was clearly distinctive in my 20mm ultra wide-angle eyepiece. Through the 26mm super wide-field eyepiece one could explore the mysterious beauty of the clusters and emission nebulae in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The Eta Carinae Nebula took on a dramatic appearance in my scope. The Homunculus and the Keyhole Nebula were just amazing.
The famous old time favourite globular clusters, like Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae were clearly resolved into hundreds of thousands of stars and were absolutely breathtaking.
Aret made a comment that it is such a great pleasure to observe the bright nebulae, globular clusters and the open clusters that sparkle like shiny diamonds in the sky through my telescope.
It is just a wonderful experience what a difference in light gathering a large telescope can gather.
Every night I observed up to 4:00 am, except Monday evening when the weather was very windy. From 4:00 am to 11:00am, I rested after observing the sky. I was just thrilled and excited.
On Saturday at midday I met Auke, the Deep Sky Director at Jurg's coffee shop ("Halley Se Kom Eet") for lunch. I had a friendly discussion with him about the techniques of observing the night sky. When the coffee shop closed in the afternoon, I followed Auke in his car to the place where he was observing from in town. He invited me to join in an observing session with him that Saturday evening. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control. I had other guests coming to the farm to look through my telescope.
From Saturday evening to Tuesday evening, I further explored the mysterious beauty of the night sky. It was such a captivating experience for me to observe the faint fuzzies on the brink of visibility in my Dobby.
In the bright galaxies, I could make out some spiral structure e.g. M83 in Hydra and NGC 1365 in Fornax. M 33 was clearly visible in the 12-inch as a large spiral galaxy with slight diffuse arms as a galaxy that suffered from a low surface brightness, due to the fact that it has a large diameter. Upon observing M83, this large spiral galaxy's arms and spiral structure was clearly distinguishable.
Close to 2:00am in the morning, my next target was the faint fuzzies in Leo and Virgo. There were plenty of galaxies in that vicinity of the sky to be observed. M65, M66, NGC 3628, M95, M96 and NGC 2903 distinctively showed spiral structure in the brighter regions of these galaxies. The Virgo cluster of galaxies, e.g. M87, M84, M86, M59 and M60 were obvious elliptical galaxies. These galaxies are situated 60 million light years away from earth.
By observing these faint fuzzies, one can go back in time, to when the light left these galaxies to reach our telescopes. The light that left the Virgo cluster of galaxies did so 60 million years ago, back to the time when the dinosaurs died off and became extinct on Earth. It was at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
My all-time favourite galaxy in Virgo is the Sombrero Galaxy (M104) which appeared like a Mexican hat in my 20mm ultra wide-angle eyepiece.
The Fornax galaxy cluster is situated 100 million light years away from us. Most of the bright members were visible in my scope.
It is quite mind-blowing how far our telescopes can reach out to depths of the Milky Way and the faint galaxies far in the Cosmos.
Early in the morning, by aiming my scope at the North Galactic Pole, I managed to track the Black-Eye Galaxy (M64) in my viewfinder. M64's dark outer regions were observed, and the black eye in the central structure of this galaxy was distinguishable.
The famous planetary nebulae that were well placed for observing in the southern sky for January, namely the Eskimo Nebula, Eight-Burst Nebula, the Ghost of Jupiter, Cleopatra's Eye and the Spirograph Nebula, were well overhead.
Other planetary nebulae that were observed, which ranged from 10th to 11th magnitude, were NGC 2867 and IC 2501. These nebulae appeared as small disks in my 7mm ultra wide-angle eyepiece. My 7mm ultra wide angle eyepiece brought out the fine detail in the Eskimo Nebula and the Eight-Burst Nebula. At 10:00pm, relatively early in the evening, the Crab Nebula (M1) was well-placed for observing. Some of this remnant's structure was distinctive in my 20mm ultra-wide angle eyepiece.
It became obvious to me that it was a supernovae remnant that erupted in 1054 AD. It was visible for two weeks in daylight and was seen by Chinese, Arabian and Turkish astronomers.
My favourite targets during my stay at Koornlandskloof were the bright open clusters like the Jewel Box Cluster (NGC 4755) which sparkled like colourful diamonds in my scope. It is arranged in the form of the letter "A". Other open clusters like the Pleiades (M45), M93, M47, M44 (Beehive Cluster), NGC 3293 were all enjoyed by the other guests. NGC 3532 the large open cluster in Carina was absolutely breathtaking in my 26mm super wide-field eyepiece. This bright open cluster's light was staggering in my Dobby. The Pleiades in Taurus sparkled like bright gems under a black velvet sky.
Before observing every evening, the first target on my menu was the bright evening star Venus. Its crescent phase was clearly distinguishable in my 9mm eyepiece with a 2x Barlow. Saturn's rings were coming into view just after midnight.
Aret's sister, who observed with me for a time, enjoyed observing the open clusters, globular clusters and the bright emission nebulae in my scope.
On Tuesday the 27th January, I had a day visit to SALT, along with a group of 20 other people. The presentations that the tour guide gave us focussed on the outreach of astronomy in South Africa and internationally. We drove all the way on top of the mountain to where SALT and the other telescopes are situated. The tour guide took our group to see the Radcliffe telescope as well as SALT. All the telescopes are controlled by computers and electronic devices. After our visit to SALT we returned to the farm.
On Thursday the 29th January, after enjoying my views of the southern sky, I left for Brackenfell.
Messier 33 (Triangulum Galaxy)
Date: 2009 January 25, 21:12
First Impression: Spiral Galaxy located in Triangulum.
Brightness: Faint.
Overall Shape: Well Defined with slight spiral structure.
Brightness Profile: Low Surface Brightness.
Challenge Rating: Difficult to observe in light polluted skies, dark skies requirement.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? Oval and barred spiral, diffuse arms difficult to observe.
Any Stars very near or within the galaxy? Yes, there are a few 2nd or 3rd magnitude stars.
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? No, darker regions are observed.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No, there are no areas of uneven brightness, towards the central bulge areas of even brightness are noticeable.
NGC 772
2009 January 25, 21:46
First Impression: Spiral Galaxy located in Aries.
Brightness: Faint.
Overall Shape: Well Defined.
Brightness Profile: Fairly low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark Skies requirement.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? It has a faint oval like shape. It almost has an appearance of an elliptical galaxy but it is a spiral galaxy. The galaxy's faint spiral arms are not shown because it is to faint.
Any stars near very near or within the galaxy? Yes, there are a few faint 3rd to 4th magnitude stars.
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? No, darker regions are observed.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No, there are areas of even brightness, towards the central disk. Although I have observed areas of even brightness.
Messier 1 (Crab Nebula)
2009 January 25, 22:00
First Impression: Supernova Remnant.
Brightness: Fairly Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined and slight oval with slight irregularities on the sides of this nebula.
Brightness Profile: Moderately uniform low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark Skies requirement.
What is the structure of this supernovae remnant? This supernova remnant shows some detail as a supernova remnant, which is orally defined. By making careful observations of this remnant, one can make out irregularities on the sides of this remnant.
Does this supernova remnant resolve into stars? No, It is situated in a star rich area of 3rd to 5th magnitude stars.
Messier 93
2009 January 25, 22:15
First Impression: Open Cluster located in Puppis.
Brightness: Extremely Bright.
Overall Shape: Irregular and slightly compact with bright companions close to the centre. It has many stars grouped towards the outskirts of this cluster.
Brightness Profile: High surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies requirement, spectacular sight in dark skies.
Relation to the surrounding field stars: The cluster is not separated but slightly Compact.
How many stars are there? Over 30 stars within a fixed diameter.
Range Of brightness: Most of the stars in this cluster are within 1st and 2nd magnitude. The stars basically are nearly the same brightness as each other.
How are the stars concentrated? They are strongly concentrated slightly towards each other.
Obvious empty spaces/ starless patches? In this cluster there are some starless patches towards the central outskirts.
Are there clumps/ chains of stars? Yes, towards the centre chains of stars are slightly concentrated.
Glow of unresolved stars/ nebulosity? No.
Obvious prominent stars? No.
Any striking double stars resolved? No.
Any stars have a particular colour? No.
Messier 47
2009 January 25, 22:32
First Impression: Open cluster located in Puppis.
Brightness: Very Bright.
Overall Shape: Irregular and well grouped as a very large open cluster. By making use of my 20mm ultra wide angle eyepiece this cluster is bedridden with plenty of bright stars that it almost fills the field of view of this cluster.
Brightness Profile: High surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies requirement, city skies observed.
Relation to the surrounding field stars: Well detached
How many stars are there? 55 stars within a fixed diameter.
Range of brightness: Bright and faint stars mixed.
How are the stars concentrated? Slightly concentrated.
Obvious empty spaces/ starless patches? On the outskirts of this cluster there are slightly starless patches.
Are there clumps/ chains of stars? Yes, the whole central cluster.
Glow of unresolved stars/ nebulosity? No.
Obvious prominent stars? Yes, prominent individual stars of 1st magnitude are noted.
Any striking double stars resolved? No.
Any stars have a particular colour? Yes, they have a whitish colour to yellow white.
Messier 46
2009 January 25, 22:55
First Impression: Open Cluster located in Puppis.
Brightness: Very Bright.
Overall Shape: Irregular and well grouped as a very large open cluster. By observing this open cluster in my 7mm ultra wide angle eyepiece this cluster fills the whole field of view of plenty of bright stars.
Brightness Profile: High surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies.
Relation to the surrounding field stars: This cluster is not separated.
How many stars are there? 150 individual stars.
Range of brightness: Most of the stars in this cluster are nearly the same brightness as each other.
How are the stars concentrated? They are strongly concentrated towards each other.
Obvious empty spaces/ starless patches? There are no starless patches.
Are there clumps/ chains of stars? Yes.
Glow of unresolved stars/ nebulosity? Yes, there is a slight glow of nebulosity around some of the bright stars of this cluster.
Obvious prominent stars? No.
Any striking double stars resolved? No.
Any stars have a particular colour? No.
NGC 2438
2009 January 25, 23:22
First Impression: Planetary nebula located in Puppis.
Brightness: Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined and slightly oval.
Brightness Profile: High surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies.
Is a disk seen? Yes, a tiny faint disk is observed at 214 magnification.
What colour is the nebula? Greenish
Is there a central star? No.
Messier 44 (Beehive Cluster)
2009 January 25, 23:48
First Impression: Open Cluster located in Cancer.
Brightness: Extremely Bright.
Overall Shape: Irregular.
Brightness Profile: High surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies.
Relation to the surrounding field stars: This cluster is well separated because the bright individual stars are well separated from each other in the form of a beehive.
How many stars are there? 220 individual stars.
Range of brightness: Most of the stars in this cluster are nearly the same brightness as each other.
How are the stars concentrated? Not at all.
Obvious empty spaces/ starless patches? Yes, there are plenty of starless patches.
Are there clumps/ chains of stars? No.
Glow of unresolved stars/ nebulosity? No.
Obvious prominent stars? No.
Any striking double stars resolved? No.
Any stars have a particular colour? Yes, a red companion and a orange companion.
NGC 1851
2009 January 26, 00:20
First Impression: Globular cluster located in Columba.
Brightness: Extremely Bright.
Overall Shape: Oval.
Brightness Profile: High surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies.
Are Individual stars seen? Yes, it is well resolved into hundreds of thousands of individual stars very close towards the centre. There are a few bright companions radiating away from the centre of this globular cluster.
How are the stars concentrated towards the nucleus? Very centrally concentrated.
Estimate the size of the nucleus vs. halo: (nucleus 10') (Halo 12.2')
Are there clumps/ chains of stars? Yes, there are slight clumps of stars, it appears as a mottled snowball. On the outskirts of this globular cluster there are prominent empty spaces.
NGC 4945
2009 January 26, 00:50
First Impression: Spiral Galaxy located in Centaurus.
Brightness: Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined.
Brightness Profile: Fairly low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies requirement.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? Elongated as a thick bright streak of light silhouetted in a bright starry background.
Any stars very near or within the galaxy? Yes, there plenty of 1st to 4th magnitude stars in the distant background.
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? No.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No.
Messier 95
2009 January 26, 01:15
First Impression: Barred Spiral Galaxy located in Leo.
Brightness: Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined.
Brightness Profile: Fairly low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies requirement, difficult to observe in light polluted skies.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? This galaxy has an oval shape with the outer regions just resolvable with a slight dust lane. The galactic nucleus has a very bright central bulge.
Any stars very near or within the galaxy? No.
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? No.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No.
Messier 96
2009 January 26, 01:45
First Impression: Spiral Galaxy located in Leo.
Brightness: Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined.
Brightness Profile: Fairly low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies requirement, difficult to observe in light polluted skies.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? This galaxy has a bright oval shape with the inner regions of the nucleus slightly brighter than M95.The nucleus of this galaxy is well uniformed with a bright central structure.
Any stars very near or within the galaxy? No.
Are there darker area within the galaxy? No.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No.
Messier 105
2009 January 26, 02:10
First Impression: Elliptical Galaxy located in Leo.
Brightness: Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined.
Brightness Profile: Fairly low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark skies requirement.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? This galaxy has an oval shape which almost looks like a flatsomed rugby ball. The central structure of this galaxy is very bright.
Any stars very near or within the galaxy? Yes, there a few faint 4th and 5th magnitude stars.
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? Yes, there are slight darker regions on the outskirts of this galaxy.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No.
Messier 64 (Black Eye Galaxy)
2009 January 26, 03:10
First Impression: Spiral Galaxy located in Coma Berenices.
Brightness: Very Bright.
Overall Shape: Well defined.
Brightness Profile: Fairly low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark Sky requirement.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? This galaxy has an oval shape with distinctive spiral structure. I have noticed a bright nucleus which resembles a black eye.
Any stars very near or within the galaxy? No
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? Yes, I have noticed darker regions on the outskirts of this galaxy. The dust lanes of this galaxy has some darker regions which is noticeable in my 20mm ultra wide angle eyepiece.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? No.
NGC 4565
2009 January 26, 04:00
First Impression: Spiral Galaxy located in Coma Berenices.
Brightness: Bright.
Overall Shape: Well Defined.
Brightness Profile: Low surface brightness.
Challenge Rating: Dark Skies.
What does the galactic nucleus look like? Very elongated which appears as a long thin streak of faint light which is spread over a large distance of this galaxy. This galaxy has a prominent dust lane and a bright central nucleus.
Any stars very near or within the galaxy? No.
Are there darker areas within the galaxy? Yes, there are slight darker regions on the outskirts of this galaxy.
Are there areas of uneven brightness? Yes, areas of uneven brightness are noticeable towards the ends of this galaxy.
The Bug Report
DOCdb is still in beta-release.
Known issues, feature requests, and updates on bug fixes, are here:
Feedback
Found a bug? Have a comment or suggestion to improve DOCdb? Please let us know!
Help!
DOCdb is a free online resource that exists to promote deep sky observing.
You could help by sharing your observations, writing an article, digitizing and proof-reading historical material, and more.
Everything on DOCdb.net is © 2004-2010 by Auke Slotegraaf, unless stated otherwise or if you can prove you have divine permission to use it. Before using material published here, please consult the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. Some material on DOCdb is copyright the individual authors. If in doubt, don't reproduce. And that goes for having children, too. Please note that the recommended browser for DOCdb is Firefox 3.x. You may also get good results with K-Meleon. Good luck if you're using IE. A successful experience with other browsers, including Opera and Safari, may vary.