Urban Astronomy Club

1
Urban Astronomy Club

• How to Observe and Manage a List of Observing
  Targets The 6 Solution

2
Urban Astronomy Club

• Making a List
• Doing a Monthly Sort
• Finding Out Whats Up Tonight?
• Understanding the Target Characteristics in
  Advance
• Star-Hopping to the 6 Solution
• Logging

3
Making a List

• From the Astronomical League Website
  http//www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/urban/urban
  .html
• From the S.E.D.S. Website http//www.seds.org/mes
  sier/xtra/similar/urban.html
• From the SkyTools Website http//www.skyhound.com
  /skytools1_lists.html

4
Doing a Monthly Sort
http//www.astro.wisc.edu/dolan/constellations/co
nstellationmonth_list.html
April Antlia Chamaeleon Crater Hydra Leo Leo
Minor Sextans Ursa Major
5
Comparing Sort to List
http//www.astro.wisc.edu/dolan/constellations/co
nstellationmonth_list.html
April Hydra Leo Ursa Major
6
Finding Out Whats Up Tonight?

• Check off every item in the printed list that
  matches the constellations monthly sort, OR
• Run SkyTools

7
Aprils Targets The 6 Solution

• Ghost of Jupiter/Eye (Hydra)
• M48 (Hydra)
• Algieba (Leo)
• M82 (Ursa Major)
• Bodes Nebula (Ursa Major)
• Mizar (Ursa Major)

8
Understanding the Target Characteristics In
Advance
Ghost of Jupiter/Eye Planetary Nebula aka NGC
3242, PN G261.032.0, PK 26132.1, ESO 568-5 RA
10h24m46.1s, Dec -1838'32" (2000) in
Hydra Galactic lon 26103', Galactic lat
3203' Magnitude 8.60 Size 25" Catalog
Data Magnitude of central star 13.3 Radial
Velocity 2 km/sec Expansion Vel 23.0
km/sec Distance 2800 ly Mean Surface Br. 15.3
Mag/arc-sec²
9
Understanding the Target Characteristics in
Advance
Comments Ring structure plus irregular disk with
traces of ring structure. Fainter spherical
envelope. Millennium Star Atlas Vol II Chart
851 Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 20 Uranometria 2000 Vol
II Chart 325 Uranometria 2nd Ed. Chart
151 Herald-Bobroff Astroatlas B-06 C-57 Apparent
Data for 2003 Apr 13 EDT at Columbia,
Maryland Apparent RA 10h24m55.5s, Apparent Dec
-1839'36" Ecliptical lon 16532', Ecliptical
lat -2627' Azimuth 18000', Altitude
3208' Zenith Distance 5752' Local Sidereal
Time 02h44m Hour Angle 00h00m Airmass
1.9 Mean Extincted magnitude 8.8
10
Star-hopping

• As Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

11
Starhopping The 3 Steps

• Naked-Eye View
• Finder Scope View
• Eyepiece Views

12
Logging Observations
Observing Log Entries for Algieba Date 2003
March 24 2057 Observer Jerry Persall Location
Columbia, Maryland Instrument Meade 5" APO
Refractor ED Object Type Multple Star
System Apparent Position RA. 10h20m09.2s Dec.
1949'34" (Leo) Magnitude 2.0 Object Altitude
64 Conditions First fine spring night. 48
degrees. Absolutely clear with occasional
clouding. Description Backyard setup adjacent
to Bluebird Observatory. Meade 5" APO Refractor
w/Meade Super Plössl 9.7mm, 118x. Close pair.
Magnificent double suns, blazing bright.
White/yellow. One of the Urban Astronomy Club
objects the only one in Leo.