On January 30th, I had planned to go observing out in the West Desert. However clouds came in and ended that opportunity. So I had no appointments on New Years Eve, so I checked with my wonderful wife, and since we don't really celebrate New Years Eve, she told me to "Go and enjoy the time with the sky." It is wonderful to be married to my wife of 36 1/2 years who understands and allows me to engage in my hobby. We have learned it is a give and take. The only thing was I had to be ready to be home to do things for New Years Day which we had planned with our family.
So I loaded up my Subaru Ascent with the 17.5, my eyepieces, collimation tools, finder and Telrad and at the last minute I included my Thousand Oaks Dew Heater and strips. I have had my Thousand Oaks Dew controller and strips for well over 10 years and it is going strong. Besides the controller, I have a strip for my eyepiece, Telrad, Finderscope and Secondary Mirror.
I drove out and got out there as the Sun was setting. This is a new site. It is about 1.25 miles west of the place on this blog I and locals called Pit n Pole. Pit n Pole has become a garbage dump where people shooting take old electronics and other items and fail to clean up after themselves. That is perhaps another discussion but I will squirrel here. It really bothers me, not that there are more people who are living here now; nor that there are more people going out to enjoy the BLM using side by sides and four wheels or shooting. What bothers me is not cleaning up after yourself afterwards. We need to work on leaving no trace behind.
Anyway, this location I have called Top View, because it sits on a little knoll and has a great view in all directions. Pit n Pole is on an ancient lake bed and as such it is low in altitude, and temperatures are very cold there and dew comes on quick and heavy. It is one reason I had looked for a new site which led me to the Forest Road 006 out on the Wasatch Forest Land south of Vernon, Utah in the West Desert.
Well, I still wanted a closer site for nights like this, when I didn't want to make the hour and a half drive to my spot on Forest Road 006 but still want a dark sky and to perhaps only be an hour out. This location fits the bill and I call it Top View because of the view in all directions from the top of the knoll it is on. Here are some pictures of the site:
To get there you drive out past Five Mile Pass, and head out on the Pony Express Road. From there you wait for a certain series of signs and turn off there. This is the road heading up to the knoll (you can kind of of see it off to the right in the top of picture). I like this site because even in the winter, the road is graveled and easy to get through.
Here is my Ascent parked, before I unloaded, parked at the top of the Knoll.
Sunset looking west from Top View.
Sunset, looking northwest.
Top View looking west-southwest.
Looking south from TopView
Top View looking south to southwest. Those are the Sheeprock Mountains in the distant. Forest Road 006 is right by them and gives you an idea of how much further west Forest Road 006 is. You can also see the gradual decline from the top of the knoll if you were to start walking off.
After getting set up and collimating the 17.5 and aligning the Telrad and Finderscope, I reviewed the plan for that evening. I wanted to get a start on the Abell's I had down and also get in some Hickson Galaxy Groups. In addition I wanted to give a chance at a few old favorites.
As night fell I got started. I looked at M42, which in the 17.5 and the 22mm T4 Nagler was wonderful as always. I took a peak at M31 and M101 and 32, M33 and then M15.
After this it was time to go to work. Here is my evening:
PN's and Abell's:
Abell 20 which was easily seen without a filter but the OIII enhanced it a lot. Nice and round.
Abell 24 faint, located rather easily and OIII filter helped. Needed averted vision. Forms a triangle with two stars.
Abell 22 faint but easily identified. OIII again helped, next to a mag 12 star I believe.
Abell 19 OIII needed on this one. Very faint but OIII shows a glow around the visible central star. Needed averted vision on this one.
Abell 14 Probably the hardest of the night and not sure if I can confirm. Seems to be a faint glow with OIII and averted vision. Could not hint at it with direct vision. I will try again another good evening to confirm.
Abell 12 Very close to Mu Orionis which impacts the view of the PN. Showed ring shape and ring structure hinted at with averted vision.
Abell 11 Not a PN, seems to be a galaxy and I could not detect this night. I'll pass on this one.
Abell 10 Bright and round, easily seen and OIII enhanced but I preferred the UHC filter on this one.
I also took a look at NGC 2392 the Eskimo for fun; NGC 1514.
Hickson Galaxies:
Hickson 7: Saw all 4 galaxies
Hickson 21: easiest of all I observed, all galaxies easily seen with 10mm Pentax.
Hickson 22: 3 galaxies easily seen, 1 with averted, 1 hinted at with averted
Hickson 23: 3 easily seen, 4th was a long streak, 5th not sure.
Here are my sketches and observing notes.
All are done with this info:
Location: Top View off Pony Express Road, Utah West Desert
12/31/24
Antoniadi I (this was one of the best skies I have seen in a long time. Stars were steady, a perfect night!
Dobsonian 17.5 f 4/4
Paracorr Type II
Filters: Thousand Oaks OIII and UHC
Finder eyepiece: 22mm T4 Nagler
1. Abell 10 PK 197-14.1; 7mm & 5mm Pentax XW. Easily seen without the filter. Bright round glow but no central star. OIII enhances and show suggestions of internal darkening with averted vision. I captured that well I believe in the sketch.
2. Abell 12 PK 198-06.1. 7mm & 5mm Pentax XW. Sits next to Mu Orionious a 4th mag star. round glow with the OIII with hints of internal darkness so I included that in the sketch. Hints is the key. Mu Orionious makes it hard but the OIII popped at high magnification.
3. Abell 19 PK 200+08.1. 10mm and 7mm Pentax XW. First thing is the central star on this PN is really easy to see with our without the filter. OIII pops a very faint halo around the central star that takes averted vision to hold. I think I nailed that in this sketch . . .
4. Abell 20 PK 214+02.1; 5mm, 7mm & 10mm Pentax XW; Obvious PN but very dim. Direct vision shows it. It is diffused with some internal darkening and in an off way for an Abell, impressive. Love my capture of this one.
5. Abell 22 PK 215+11.1; 10mm & 7mm Pentax XW. Oval in shape, brighter with some knots on the NE and SW side. There is a 8th mag star that interferes a little with the observation. Visible at all powers.
6. Abell 24 PK 217+14.1; 10mm 7mm & 5mm Pentax XW. Very faint disc that needs averted to see with no structure evident. Just a faint PN. Again, I think I nailed it with this sketch.
7. Hickson 7 NGC 192, 201, 197 & 196. 10mm & 14mm Pentax XW. All four galaxies were observed. NGC 201 appears large and diffused and 197 is faint but observable. NGC 196 and 192 are the brighter ones with brighter cores.
8. Hickson 21 NGC 1099, 1098, 1100, 1091 & 1092. 22mm T4 Nagler, 14mm Pentax XW. NCG 1098 is diffused with a small bright core, stellar nucleus. NGC 1099 is brightest of all the galaxies and is readily visible. NGC 1000 is faint with a brighter core region.
9. Hickson 22 NGC 189, 1199, 1192 and 1190 and 1191. 22mm Nagler T4, 26mm Nagler, 14mm & 10mm Pentax XW; NGC 1199 is the brightest galaxy though faint. It is rounded outer halo with a small nucleus. NGC 1189 is very faint and small. Low brightness needs averted vision to see. NGC 1190 is rather small, elongated and also needed averted vision. NGC 1191 is small, round and faint. NGC 1192 is small round and faint.
10. Hickson 22 NGC 1215, 1216, 1214, PGC 11673. 22mm Nagler T4, 26mm Nagler, 14mm & 10mm Pentax XW. NGC 1215 is faint, somewhat elongated well defined core and faint extensions observed on the SW and NE. NGC 1216 is very faint, small stellar nucleus with small extensions also on SW & NE end with averted vision. NGC 1214 faint and small with a bright core and nucleus. Brightest member.
11. NGC 1532 PN in Eridanus. I visited this again and resketched it and like this outcome the best so I included it. Pentax XW 10mm & 5mm with OII and UHC filters to compare. It had the outer and inner structure and the cs was easily seen.
12. NGC 2392, Planetary Nebula in Gemini. It has been a while since I sketched this and I have to say I think I nailed it, it is my favorite sketch of this item I've done. 10mm, 7mm & 5mm Pentax XW. OIII and UHC Filters, best was the OIII. Nailed the outer shell with some and got distinction between it and the inner shell with the CS. LOVED this observation!!!!
Overall I had a great night out and I really enjoyed sketching these objects. I think I did a really good job nailing them. The Abell PN sketches I am keeping to make an online catalog of the sketches. Keep looking up and now as I have a few clear nights, time for some double star and lunar observing and sketching!
