So far as hypotheses are concerned, let no one expect anything certain from astronomy, which cannot furnish it, lest he accept as the truth ideas conceived for another purpose, and depart from this study a greater fool than when he entered it.
/ Nicolaus Copernicus /



In memoriam Halton C. Arp (1927-2013).


My astronomy sketches. Hover mouse over image for the inverted look. For fainter objects, take a look at the black-on-white original, sometimes it reveals more details.


Need advice? Want to discuss an observation? Feel free to contact me at flovro gmail*com.

ÚJ! Amennyiben elérhető, a ikonra kattintva magyarul is olvashatod az észlelést.


Show me the newest sketches!
By type: open clusters [67] globular clusters [14] diffuse nebulae [3] dark nebulae [0] planetary nebulae [27] variable stars [18] binary stars [23] asterisms [2] galaxies [119] quasars [1] planets [2] minor planets [1] comets [5] Sun [0] Moon [5] other objects [8]
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By constellation:



NGC 40 (Planetary nebula)
Also known as: Bow Tie Nebula
Right ascension: 0h 14m Declination: 72° 36'
Constellation: Cepheus
Date/time: 2012.10.20 21:30 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 7' Magnification and filter(s): 469x
Seeing: 7/10 Transparency: 4/5
SQM: 21.14 m/as2 Temperature: 10°C
Humidity: high Wind: none
Sight: 3 - definite details, interesting look
Difficulty: 4 - hardly visible, dark adaptation and very dark skies needed, averted vision is required to see details
Position: 4 - hard, complex starhopping needed
Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Description:

Tiny planetary, at 71x it looks like a star with a small halo. Especially with averted vision you can see its round shape. At high magnification I discover lots of details, for example a thin, brighter arc on its Northern border, and a brighter blob next to the central star to the South, and a darker patch to the Southwest. With averted vision, the round shape transforms to a little bit of oval, elongated in the East to West direction.

What makes this observation special is that it is actually an error, because I've already observed this object about a month ago, but again, I failed to mark this object in my list of observed objects: click here for that observation. So I've sketched it again, and what's more interesting is that I have used the same magnification! Although the subjective classification is a bit different, but alltogether the two observations are quite the same.

Lessons learned: a.) the faint details I've sketched last time were also there this night, so I have a strong proof now that I can trust my senses, even if the details are extremely faint or low-contrast. b.) I'm getting older, shouldn't trust my memory anymore. :)


Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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