January 2013 Observation Plans

I’ve spent a bit of time adding events and some things I want to see in Jan and through 2013 to the Google Calendar and the observation plans page tonight.
I do this for my own purposes but if anybody else is interested, feel free.

Patrick Moore’s final Sky at Night

Last night I was working on my astronomy course as I’d got a coursework deadline today. I got it finished just before midnight which was good timing as it meant I could watch Patrick Moore’s final Sky at Night before bed.
It was an enjoyable and fitting tribute. It appeared that part of the show was a planned feature recorded before his death, on setting up a new telescope, where some lucky members of the public were at Patrick’s Selsey home in Selsey, Sussex. This was followed by clips that reminded me what an inspiration and an entertainer he was. Usually Sky at a night isn’t on iPlayer until all the repeats have shown. This month it is up after the first broadcast. His death, combined with this week’s BBC Stargazing Live is likely to mean this episode will pick up a lot more views than usual.
It won’t be the same without Patrick but I do hope the series continues.

Dorset Binocular Observations – Tuesday 1 January 2013

Location : Poundbury, a garden
Conditions: Clear. Mild.
Equipment: Celestron 15×70 Binoculars
Highlights: Jupiter, M45 Pleiades, M31 Andromeda Galaxy, Orion, M42 Orion Nebula

First bit of observing in ages. Weather has been poor recently – wet and cloudy. I’ve also been very busy with the whole Christmas thing. The only times there has been a clear night I’ve either been out or needing to crack on with the online Astronomy course I’ve been doing. It’s frustrating to not be out observing because of it but with coursework and deadlines the study has to take a priority.

We were staying with friends in Poundbury, Dorset for New Year. Being a “model village” designed on environmental ideals, the brainchild of Prince Charles, light pollution is well under control My friends also live on the edge of the village so the skies were quite dark, despite a waning moon a few days past full. We popped out several times during the evening for a quick look. I hadn’t taken the scope down so we were using my 15×70 Celestron binoculars. Unfortunately we had to hand hold them as the tripod clamp had been damaged in flight back from the Oman trip and I hadn’t realised.
Jupiter was up high and bright with all 4 moons visible through the bins. Mike was quite impressed with it. He hadn’t seen the moons before. Jupiter is sitting in Taurus at the moment, very close to the Hyades cluster so there were a lot of stars also visible in the same field of view. I also pointed out the Pleiades nearby, which is a nice and easy binocular object. A little later when Orion was up high over the house we were out again looking at the M42 Orion Nebula which really was glowing. I think this was the best I’ve ever seen it. Giving it a few minutes through the bins also brought out more detail. As a final treat I showed them the M31 Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light years away. This was trickier to spot as it wasn’t visible to the naked eye so needed a bit of a star hop. Both Rich and Mike found it after a few attempts. Again, with continued viewing it became more distinct and bright. I really enjoyed showing them a few interesting and rewarding objects. I think they were impressed with what they were seeing with just binoculars.