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Rob and all,<BR>
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I also count 10 galaxies in your image of the virgo cluster. This is a first for me...and this image should be an addendum to the observers challenge. It still surprises me that so few observers realize the significance of galaxies within this small 1° fov. <BR>
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If not for Tom Lorenzin of <EM>1000+ The Amateur Astronomer's Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing,</EM> I too would have not realized that nine galaxies could be visually seen within this 1° fov. <BR>
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We were standing in a cow pasture when Tom presented this question. (Tom English, I am sure you remember standing in this pasture also...at the Guffy site, March 1993).<BR>
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Rob, as you said, most larger scopes lack the necessary field to see all. Fred Rayworth using a wide field eyepiece was able to see and sketch nine with his 16-inch Lightbridge. <BR>
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I have seen another sketch by Todd Hargis using a 16-inch reflector, but he sketched only seven galaxies at 46x. His magnification was too low to see the fainter galaxies. <BR>
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Rob, would you be so kind as to resend your images of Omega Centauri and Centaurus A from Death Valley? <BR>
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If not for your e-mail with the mallincam images of both, I would not have attempted to view 20 minutes N of my backyard. Now I have a sketch of Omega Centauri and Centaurus A complete with notes...after thinking about them for nearly 25 years. <BR>
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I realized that your Death Valley images were from a very similar latitude and this gave me hope. I never thought they would be possible from my latitude. <BR>
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I was very surprised that I could see so little detail of Centaurus A using a 12-inch reflector, but I was pleasantly pleased with the view of Omega Centauri. The greater concentration of a cluster always wins out over the more dispersed light of a galaxy. <BR>
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roger <BR>
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<BR> <BR><FONT face=Verdana size=4></FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT face=Verdana><EM><STRONG> I</STRONG> can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God. Abraham Lincoln</EM></FONT><BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR>> Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 17:44:55 -0700<BR>> From: scopegeek@gmail.com<BR>> To: lvas@lvlug.org<BR>> Subject: Re: [Lvas] Cathedral Gorge<BR>> <BR>> Fred,<BR>> <BR>> I'm sorry about this weekend. I tried to send out as accurate a weather <BR>> forecast as I could, without trying to sway members one way or the <BR>> other; just tried to let the members draw their own conclusions about <BR>> attending. I had to work into the evening on Friday and would have been <BR>> very late getting there, had I tried. I had touched base with the <BR>> Rangers during the day and posted their current conditions and the <BR>> updated forecast on the website. I also followed up with them on <BR>> Saturday with pretty much the same results. I just couldn't see driving <BR>> up there with no hope of being able to observe. Any other time I would <BR>> have been there with you.<BR>> <BR>> I'm going to try to get the word out to our members through the website <BR>> about weather forecasts for our future events. Hopefully our members <BR>> will begin to check the website as they make their plans for attending <BR>> future events.<BR>> <BR>> Because Friday and Saturday were a bust for observing, I drove down to <BR>> Joshua Tree National Park Sunday afternoon and joined up with the <BR>> Southern California Desert Video Astronomers for the last evening of <BR>> their four-day star party at Joshua Tree Lake Campground. Although it <BR>> wasn't your cup of tea, Fred, I enjoyed watching and participating in <BR>> their orchestration of a video star party. They had five large screen <BR>> projectors with switchers and audio to display the images being pulled <BR>> down by 8 video (Mallicam) observers. They had an experienced <BR>> astronomical narrator that described each object as they were displayed <BR>> on the screen. Friday and Saturday nights they had over 200 visitors. <BR>> Last night it was down to about 50. I primarily used my Orion ST120 to <BR>> provide wide-field views of the Leo Triplet, the Virgo Galaxy Cluster, <BR>> M13 with propeller, and other objects (See attached single frame images).<BR>> <BR>> Leo Triplet - Captured early in the evening - skies were still a little <BR>> bright<BR>> M81 and M82 - even the Mallincamers were impressed with this wide-field <BR>> - most of them had larger scopes with much narrower fields of view<BR>> Virgo Cluster - Counted 10 galaxies in this image - same here - the old <BR>> Mallincamers had never seen this many galaxies in the same field of view<BR>> Veil Nebula - NGC 6960 - The upper half, I believe<BR>> Veil Nebula - NGC 6995 - The lower half<BR>> My M13 image didn't come out as well as I would have liked - on the <BR>> monitor I could clearly see the propeller, but my captured image was <BR>> washed out - I'll need to turn down the brightness a bit to get the <BR>> propeller to come through like I saw it on the monitor.<BR>> <BR>> After the public star party was over, I used the rest of the night to <BR>> observe and capture our Observer's Challenge Objects for April, May, and <BR>> June. I wasn't able to get the Virgo Diamond. By the time the public <BR>> star party was over, the Diamond had already set. I've got to figure <BR>> out how to get my LX200 to help me locate the Diamond using RA and Dec. <BR>> I'll try to get it while I'm in Alabama on vacation next week or maybe <BR>> at Kaibab Lodge later in the month.<BR>> <BR>> Anyway, Fred. I'm sorry you were about the only one there. The <BR>> elements just combined against us this weekend.<BR>> <BR>> Take care.<BR>> <BR>> Rob<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Fred Rayworth wrote:<BR>> > All,<BR>> > <BR>> > Well, I finally showed up to an out of town star party and I was <BR>> > almost the only one there, and certainly the only one with a scope!<BR>> > <BR>> > Though I was a bit disappointed to see no other brave souls willing to <BR>> > drive 161 miles or so, we had a good weekend and got to test our new <BR>> > folding travel trailer. When we got there late Friday, we got rained <BR>> > on. We made a round of the park and there were no empty spaces. <BR>> > However, we forgot to fill the water tank and had to go back down to <BR>> > the water station and fill up. By the time we got back, there were two <BR>> > emtpy spaces and we pulled in. Then I discovered another water faucet <BR>> > right across from our space!<BR>> > <BR>> > Friday night, never saw a star. I heard it cleared up a bit after <BR>> > midnight, but I was asleep by then and disgusted.<BR>> > <BR>> > Saturday was stormy all day. Walked around the park and saw the <BR>> > sights. We went into Panaca just to say we did. We got back and in the <BR>> > late afternoon, the storms hit and it rained pretty hard for a couple <BR>> > of hours. Plugged in my generator to recharge the battery and <BR>> > something shorted out because of the water, and the battery only <BR>> > charged intermittently. Finally gave that up and waited for the rain <BR>> > to stop. Started a campfire and sat by it until about 10. As we were <BR>> > dousing it, I looked up and saw the big dipper. By then, I was in no <BR>> > mood to set the scope up in sandy mud, so we just went to bed. Woke up <BR>> > this morning and the sky was clear as a bell.<BR>> > <BR>> > So, that's my first official club out-of-town star party.<BR>> > <BR>> > Fred<BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> > Hotmail® goes with you. Get it on your BlackBerry or iPhone. <BR>> > <http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Mobile?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Mobile1_052009> <BR>> ><BR>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> ><BR>> > _______________________________________________<BR>> > Sent via the Lvas mailing list Lvas@lvlug.org<BR>> > Set options or unsubscribe at http://lvlug.org/mailman/listinfo/lvas<BR>> > The LVAS discussion list is hosted courtesy of LasVegas.Net<BR>> > <BR>> <BR><br /><hr />Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. <a href='http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_BR_life_in_synch_052009' target='_new'>Check it out.</a></body>
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