Austin

AstroChallenge contributor

Points: 5562

Observations: 74

Kudos: 48

NameAustin Riba
LocationSanta Barbara, California
TimezoneAmerica/Los_Angeles
Latitude34.4058592738
Longitude-119.696321208
Altitude10m

Beginner astronomer, constant neck-ache, Admin of Astrochallenge.com

Clear
M92

Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian
20 points

After m13, I swept around for a bit to find M92. Overshadowed by the Hercules Globular nearby, this globular is nonetheless very impressive. Lots of resolvable stars, large angular size.

Hercules Globular Cluster

Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian
30 points

I got an email from Rick saying he would be at the observatory tonight for an occultation, so I thought I'd head over with the scope for a chance to do some astrophotography and observing.

I set up the scope in the front "yard" of the dome and took a quick look at m13. Impressive as always, this was my first observation this year.

Huge globular cluster with hundreds of resolvable stars, there are even asterisms within the cluster itself that are visible.

M62

Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian
20 points

After locating M19, M62 was easy to find. A large brilliant cluster, this would be about the end of my observing for the night.

After leaving M62 I took a few minutes to scan through the galactic center in Saggitarius for the first time this year. I look forward to hunting more objects in this area.

A great night and a great session. I observed more than I thought I'd be able to, stayed warm and had great company. I could have stayed longer if only I had more sleep. Next time, I'll remember not to stay up too late with friends the weekend of a favorable moon and weather.

M19

Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian
20 points

As I scanned North -> South looking for the globular pair M19 and M62, the lack of sleep that I had put upon myself the night before began to catch up to me. At last I landed on M19, a very nice globular located just north of M62 and Scorpius below that.

Nice globular with plenty of resolvable stars.

NGC6356

Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian
10 points

I have confirmed that the additional globular cluster located near M9 is NGC6356. Seeing this globular so close to M9 was confusing and at one point had me thinking that maybe I was looking at M19 and M62 instead, but I knew I was looking in the wrong place.

Glad I got this cleared up.

InstrumentObservations
Naked eye 7
Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian 53
Orion Scenix 10x50 Binoculars 2
Mead LX200 (Cabrillo Observatory) 4
LCOGT 1Meter Scope - Sinistro 8