Deep Sky Observations

13/14 Feb 2002
10-inch SCT: M77, M31, NGC 1261, NGC 1232, NGC 1566, NGC 1549, NGC 1553, M42, M43, M78.
17/18 Jan 2002
11x80 Binoculars: Mel 25, M45, NGC 1647, NGC 1746, M38, M36, M37, M35, M42, NGC 1981, OCL 473.
16 Dec 2001
10-inch SCT: M31, M32, NGC 205, M2, asteroid 1998 WT24 (not a DSO but a very impressive sight), M77, M34, NGC 869, NGC 884, M38, M45, NGC 1435.
15/16 Nov 2001
10-inch SCT: M8, M20, M22, M25, NGC 6638, M28, NGC 6818, M55, M15, M2, NGC 7009, NGC 7331, M103, M31, M32, NGC 205, NGC 7814, NGC 7611, IC 5309, NGC 7586, NGC 7612, NGC 7623, NGC 7619, NGC 7626, NGC 7631.
11x80 Binoculars: M8, M20, M22, M25, M28, M55, M15, M2, M103, M31, M32.
8x30 Binoculars: Mel 20, M31.
14/15 Nov 2001
11x80 Binoculars: M23, M22, M8, M20, M45, Mel 25, M36, M37, M38, NGC 1907, NGC 1893, M35, M1, M42, NGC 1981.
12/13 Nov 2001
11x80 Binoculars: M8, M20, M22, M25, M24, M18, M69, M70, M54, M71, H20.
11/12 Nov 2001
6-inch Refractor: M31, M32, NGC 205, Melotte 20, NGC 1499, M45, NGC 1435, M33.
10/11 Nov 2001
10-inch SCT: Palomar 7, NGC 6749, Terzan 8, NGC 6624, M69, NGC 6652, M70, M54, M55, M2, M31, M32,
NGC 205, NGC 7479, NGC 7492, M33, NGC 604, IC 142, IC 143, NGC 708, NGC 687, M77, IC 1613, NGC 1049, NGC 288, NGC 253, NGC 55.
11x80 Binoculars: M55, Melotte 20.
7 Nov 2001
10-inch SCT: PHL 1811, M52, NGC 7635.
5 Nov 2001
10-inch SCT: NGC 869, NGC 884.
7 Oct 2001
6-inch Refractor: NGC 6293, NGC 6316, NGC 6304, NGC 6355, NGC 6401, NGC 6440.
6 Oct 2001
10-inch SCT: NGC 6144, NGC 6139, NGC 6235, NGC 6284, NGC 6287.
20 Aug 2001
6-inch Refractor: M57, M56, M29, M39.
22 Jul 2001
10-inch SCT: M57
20/21 June 2001
10-inch SCT: M65, M66, NGC 3628, NGC 5466, Ruprecht 106, M4, PNG 356.5-02.3, NGC 6540, NGC 6520, B86.
18 June 2001
6-inch Refractor: M4, NGC 6114, M80, M7, M6, M8, M20, M16, M17, M24, M55, M70, M69, M22, M28, M54.

I take the opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to make the TSP 2001 the great Star Party it was. Everyone we met was extremely kind and helpful. We had the privilege to make friends with Buster & Barbara Wilson, Larry Mitchell, Stephen O'Meara, Matt Delevoryas, Bill, Jose and Susan Sancho, John Wagoner, Anne Adkins, Dave Clark, Steve Goldberg, Bob Gent, Robert Reeves, Ed Flaspoehler, Rick Singmaster, Attilla Danko, Mike Wirths, Gary Honis, Stewart and many others. One must look through their telescopes when invited! I will never forget what wonderful sights I saw through all of them...

19/20 May 2001 - Texas Star Party
Larry Mitchell's 36-inch f/5 Obsession with 16mm Nagler: M51, Palomar 6, Swan Nebula, Phobos (not a DSO but worth a note!) at 10:10 UT.

Attilla Danko's 25-inch f/5 Obsession with Galaxy enhanced mirror and 17mm Nagler: M13, M51, NGC 5128,
NGC 5139, M82, M81, M101, M97.
Mike Wirths' 18-inch Starmaster with GoTo, Zambuto mirror and 7.5mm Takahashi: NGC 3242, Copeland's Septet, M104, NGC 3115, M51.
Rick Singmaster's 24-inch f/4.2 Starmaster with GoTo, Pegasus mirror and 31mm Panoptic: Cocoon Nebula,
NGC 5053, M13, M57, M51, M3, M5, M27.
Our 6-inch f/8 Refractor with 32mm Erfle: NGC 4654, NGC 4639, NGC 4569, NGC 4552, NGC 4579,
NGC 4621, NGC 4647, NGC 4649, NGC 4564, NGC 4567, NGC 4568, NGC 4528, NGC 4503, NGC 6229,
NGC 6341, NGC 6205, NGC 6058, NGC 6913, NGC 6871, NGC 6819, NGC 6866, NGC 6287, NGC 6284,
NGC 6273, NGC 6266.

17/18 May 2001 - Texas Star Party
Barbara Wilson's 20-inch f/4 Dobsonian with Galaxy mirror and equatorial platform: NGC 5139, Veil Nebula,
North American Nebula, Pelican Nebula, Crescent Nebula, Ink Spot, NGC 6520, Djorgovski 2, M16, M17.
Larry Mitchell's 36-inch f/5 Obsession with 16mm Nagler: NGC 5139.
Bill's 22-inch f/3.9 Starmaster with DSC: NGC 5907, NGC 5866, M101, M97.
Our 6-inch f/8 Refractor with 32mm Erfle: M4 (first light!), M8, M20, M17, M16, M24, M6, M7, NGC 2419,
NGC 4147, M68, M53, NGC 5053, M3, NGC 5466, NGC 5634, NGC 5694, NGC 5897, M5, M80, NGC 6144,
M107, M13, M12, NGC 6229, NGC 6235, M10, M62, M19, NGC 6284, NGC 6287, NGC 6293, NGC 6304,
NGC 6316, M9, M92, NGC 6342, NGC 6355, NGC 6356, NGC 6380, NGC 6401, M14, NGC 6426, NGC 6440,
NGC 6517, NGC 6522, NGC 6528, NGC 6544, NGC 6553, NGC 6569, NGC 6624, M28, M69, NGC 6638,
NGC 6642, M22, M70, NGC 6712, M54, NGC 6717, M56, M55, M71, M75, NGC 6934, M72, NGC 7006,
M15, M2, M30.

16/17 May 2001 - Texas Star Party
11x80 Binoculars: NGC 129, NGC 457, NGC 663, Mel 111, NGC 5460, NGC 6124, NGC 6231, H12, NGC 6242, NGC 6268, NGC 6281, IC 4665, NGC 6541, IC 4756, NGC 6723, NGC 6940, NGC 7243, NGC 7789.

15/16 May 2001 - McDonald Observatory
A special viewing night was arranged for 17 of us at the Texas Star Party. We had the 82-inch Otto Struve Telescope only for ourselves for the whole night. It was unforgettable! This is probably one of the few large professional telescopes that still take an eyepiece. The most used one was the 32mm, yielding us a magnification of 891x with an approximate field of view of 10 arcminutes. We had the privilege to observe visually:
Ghost of Jupiter, Gamma Leo, Double Quasar in UMa, Copeland's Septet, NGC 4089, 4091-93, 4095 & 4098, Antennae Galaxies, NGC 4361, Sombrero Galaxy, NGC 4565, Coma Galaxy Cluster, M64, M51, M3, Seyfert's Sextet, NGC 6058, NGC 6369, Minkowski's Butterfly, NGC 6543, Ring Nebula and Red Spider Nebula.

13/14 May 2001 - Texas Star Party
11x80 Binoculars: M103, M44, M67, NGC 5128, NGC 5139, M3, M5, M4, M13, M12, M10, M92, M6, M7, M23, M8, M24, M16, M18, M17, M25, M22, M11, Cr 399, M55, M27, M29, M15, M39, M2, M30, M52.

I have earned the following observing awards:
Herschel 400 - Consisting of a demanding set of 400 deep sky objects from William Herschel's catalogue of 2478, observers' skills are pushed to the limit for this longterm observing project. Herschel certificates are prized possessions among serious amateurs as an indication of the advanced level of their capabilities. It took me almost three years to complete this program, but it was worth it! I had to drive north almost one thousand miles, to a location 5 degrees South of the Equator, only to observe two objects that I was missing because they were too low over the horizon from my location. This way I could finish the Herschel 400 entirely from the Southern Hemisphere!
Southern Skies Binocular - This is a list of 73 deep sky objects below -40 degrees declination and observable with binoculars. This list is a must for those who live in the Northern Hemisphere and have a chance to travel south either on business or holidays.
Binocular Messier - I always enjoy the perspective binocular observing gives the Messier objects as I can observe the area around that object as well as the object itself. Revisiting the Messier objects with different size optics may surprise you. As an example, after being used to observing M16 with our telescopes and binoculars, I was shown it in a 20-inch Dob at the TSP and I didn't recognize it!
Urban Club - To get this Certificate one has to observe 100 deep sky objects on this list in light polluted skies. We used a 10-inch telescope for most of the objects.

Number of Herschel II objects observed to date: 63

I'm a member of Quad-A (The American Association of Amateur Astronomers) a Member Society of The Astronomical League. I am currently working towards completing the Herschel II observing program. Consisting of 400 objects catalogued by William Herschel, the Herschel II is the next level observing project after the Herschel 400 program. The Herschel II observing program is an advanced level project focused on improving observers' technical skills by taking thorough field notes and developing accurate technical object descriptions.

I want to thank John Wagoner, former president of AAAA, for having taken his precious time at the TSP to review literally hundreds of observations, and also Mike Benson for having sent the awards at such a short notice.

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