Below are a few of the other surprises that I saw through the eyepiece last week. These were some of the best objects of the week.
The first one is The Splinter Galaxy, or NGC 5907. This is a 11th magnitude, edge on spiral galaxy in Draco. At 78x, the galaxy shows no real sign of a core, just a subtle brightening towards the center. I guess the attraction here is because of the thinness of the edge on galaxy. It really lives up to its name as the "Splinter" galaxy. Had I had more observing time or better seeing, I would have liked to come back to this object to see if any of the dark lanes were visible.
The next object is M27, the Dumbbell Nebula. This is a very nice planetary nebula in Vulpecula. It is a 7.3 magnitude PN which displays quite well in the dark skies of West Texas. At 42x, it appears as a hazy patch, somewhat squarish in shape. At 100x, you see two brighter sides joined by a bright central bar. I suspect this is what gives it it's "Dumbbell" name. This is one of the finer objects of the week.
The last showpiece object was NGC 6826, otherwise known as the "Blinking Planetary." At 100x, this PN is bluish green in color. Direct vision makes the PN appear as a fuzzy star. When viewed with indirect or averted vision the PN suddenly swells in size, resulting in the so called "blinking." It was a truly amazing thing to observe as I switched from direct to averted vision and then back. The PN seemed to pop out and back in size. Moving the power up to 139x makes the blinking effect go away and the PN remains steadily swollen. Pretty cool!
Well, that's it for TSP'11. Two and a half nights of so-so observing, 34 objects logged, some new friends made, and a farewell wish from a turkey. Not a bad way to spend a week of vacation.
Clear skies;
rw
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