Astro Nut

Messier 22 (M22, NGC 6656) is one of the brightest and remarkable clusters in the sky and next to M13 this my favorite Globular Clusters. M 22 is also a great binoculars object!
At 10,400 light years, M22 is one of the nearer globular clusters. At this distance, its 32′ angular diameter, slightly larger than that of the Full Moon

This is 1 subs @ 8 sec
Scope Orion 120mm f/5.0
Camera Meade DSI-C
Mount CG5GT unguided
Stacked with MaxIm DL Essentials Edition
processed with PhotoShop 6

The weather cleared and I got to go out to the Astro Hut last night! My tracking was off and I could not find a bright enough star do to a drift alignment. So I only got this 1 picture of M11 (Wild Duck Cluster) Its pretty easy to find in Scutum and it a good bino object too. Here is a Telrad finder chart M11 PDF If you look at the chart you will see that M11 in in a target rich area of the sky. There is 12+ other Messier Objects just to the south!

This is 1 subs @ 8 sec
Scope Orion 120mm f/5.0
Camera Meade DSI-C
Mount CG5GT unguided
Stacked with MaxIm DL Essentials Edition
processed with PhotoShop 6

This is M20 the Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius

This is 11 subs @ 15 sec
Scope Starblast 4.5 imaging
Camera Meade DSI-C
Mount CG5GT unguided
Stacked with MaxIm DL Essentials Edition
processed with PhotoShop 6

This what one of the subs look like.

M13 The Great Globular
Cluster in Hercules

This is 1 15 second sub.

We had a bad storm come through yesterday.
I did not think I would get any scope time….
But I looked out around 10:30 and we had clear sky’s.
So out the the BackYard Observatory I went.

M13 is one of my favorite objects to observe.
From a dark site and a clear night you can naked eye see it
and its a wonderful binocular target!

Last night I also managed to to get a couple of subs of M5

click on thumb for a big picture
This double cluster is found in Perseus.
This drawing doesn’t even come close to capturing the sheer beauty of these two open clusters.
This is also a very good bino object!

click on thumb for a big picture
This is M22 found in Sagittarius This is one of the “EASY TO FIND GLOBULAR CLUSTERS“.
You can see it with a set of binos very easy.
From a dark site I rate this better then M13.
It is truly a spectacular globular cluster well worth the time to hunt down and study!

This drawning was done using my 10 inch DOB with a 15mm 84x

click on thumb for a big picture
I got some more scope time in last night.
It was not the best viewing but its better then nothing.
I have been looking for M10 and M12 in Ophiuchus for a couple of weeks now and last night I FOUND M10 I could not find M12 thru all of the ground haze!

M10 was discovered 1764 by Charles Messier.
and is a 7th mag globular cluster.
It is 14,300 light years away from us!

click on thumb for a big picture
Star Log 7 July 06
Once again the weather cleared up, it was a spectacular morning.
M31 the Andromeda galaxy is one of my favorite targets.
Easily found with binoculars from light polluted backyards
and is naked eye visible from a dark site
Object: NGC 224 - M31 - Andromeda Galaxy
Deepsky Catalog: NGC 2000
Date Observed: 7/7/2006 3:41:31 AM
Time Observed: 03:00UT
Object Type: Gx
Constellation: And
Magnitude: 3.5
Size: 178
Locate Method: Star Hopping
Object Rating: A
Primary Equipment Used: 10″ Dob
Power/Magnification Used: 15mm 84 pwr

click on picture for a big picture
Last night we had a bit of good weather so I got some scope time in.
Object: NGC 6779 - M56
Date Observed: 7/6/2006 8:28:39 AM
Time Observed: 01:30UT
Object Type: Gb
Constellation: Lyr
Magnitude: 8.3
Size: 7.1
Object Rating: B
Primary Equipment Used: 10″ Dob
Power/Magnification Used: PWR 84 / 15MM

From the backyard this a a VERY FF.
It is halfway between Lyra and Albireo.
I could not find it using my 32MM