Astrocamping: A Celestial Finale

A Celestial Finale

After a night marred by clouds, the final evening of astrocamping revealed a much clearer sky. I dedicated the first half hour to observing the stars alone through my telescope. My first target was the star cluster Cr399, which I aimed for directly using the optical finder of my Dobsonian telescope. The Ring Nebula M57 and the globular cluster M3 appeared rather faint and diffuse at this early hour, as the sky was still somewhat illuminated and light clouds drifted by. To warm up, I took a brief look at the Owl Cluster NGC457 through my binoculars.

Ben Takes Over

Shortly after, Ben joined me and took command of the telescope. M13 in Hercules displayed itself brilliantly, impressing us even at high magnification. M3 in Canes Venatici also transformed into a delightful sight, no longer appearing as pale as it had earlier. Ben was on a roll, effortlessly locating Cr399 and the galaxy M31 through the binoculars. Although we struggled to find M57 initially, M13 was quickly back in focus.

We then enjoyed another look at the Owl Cluster NGC457 through the Dobsonian before turning our attention to the open star cluster M29. I noticed an interesting detail in the "Cooling Tower Cluster"; at medium magnification, I could see four stars arranged in a precise pattern within the rectangle of the "Cooling Tower."

Ben continued to impress by quickly locating M81 (Bode's Galaxy) and M82 (Cigar Galaxy), with the latter showing a distinctly visible dust lane today.

Seeking a Challenge

Eager for a more challenging target, Ben suggested we search for the "Little Dumbbell Nebula" M76, a small object that can easily be overlooked. Our next target was considerably more elusive: NGC6778 in the constellation Aquila, a planetary nebula similar to M76 but even smaller. Although Ben couldn't locate it, he did manage to find NGC 6760 in the eyepiece. At 127x magnification, it appeared almost like a planetary nebula; however, further investigation revealed it was a globular cluster. A higher magnification would have clarified this distinction! Ben then successfully tracked down the planetary nebula NGC6781 in Aquila, also known as the "Snowball Nebula."

The Last Solo Round

After bidding Ben goodnight, I spent the remainder of the night observing alone. I looked at M12 and M10 in Ophiuchus but had to stop due to encroaching clouds. I then turned my attention to the Firewheel Galaxy M101. The smaller clusters NGC654 and NGC663 were rather unremarkable, although NGC663 did feature some beautiful double stars. M52 stood out with a striking bright orange star at its edge. I also attempted to observe the "Muscle Man Cluster" (St2), but I must admit that I can never quite recognize this shape, no matter how many photos I study beforehand. To conclude the evening, I viewed several classics: h & Chi, Kemble's Cascade with the star cluster NGC1502, which I roughly aimed at and captured through the finder in the faint constellation Camelopardalis, the expansive star cluster M34 with its many double stars, and finally NGC6940.

Reflections on Astrocamping

What remains from this short getaway? It was a series of incredibly relaxing days. I met many like-minded individuals, spent more nights at the eyepiece than ever before, and I genuinely feel more refreshed than after two weeks at the beach. It was the perfect way to conclude this trip!