Astronomy

Observing Log for

Session Details


Observatory Field, Durham

54.7679, -1.58724

100m

Notes

The conditions were fairly good. The sky was reasonably cloud free though it was hazy, half-moon quite bright. Session ended around midnight after the last flare and a fleeting visit from a satellite that was spinning very fast. Attempts to find M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) were made but to no avail. Celestron 114 - It's first Obs night. Appeared relatively easy to set up in the dark. Didn't align the equatorial mount, but finderscope was aligned. Precision adjustment very useful, fairly easy to use.

Equipment

Tags

Observations

Jupiter

Jupiter, sitting nicely to the bottom right of the Moon. Possible to see two dark equatorial bands using a 9mm lens(~126x mag). All four moons visible.

The Moon

Lots of detail observed along the terminator.

Iridium Flares

Three observed in total, magnitudes -4, -6, and -0. Not quite as impressive as the -7 we saw but flares nonetheless.

Ursa Major Double Star - Mizar and Alcor

An optical double star in Ursa major - visible with the naked eye. Telescope revealed Mizar's companion star. Mizar is actually part of a true multiple star system.

Images