Observing Report
By Michael Amato
On December 21, 2020, there was a 15 minute gap in the clouds for my brother Anthony to photograph “The Christmas Star”. I missed this because I was in the hospital with COVID-19. After I recovered we both started viewing with our computerized 5″ MAK at Sandy Point in West Haven. We observed several galaxies including M51, NGC 5195, M81 and M82. M51 was our favorite galaxy because we were able to see the spiral effect coming out of M51’s core. M51’s companion galaxy NGC 5195’s core also was bright. M82 seemed brighter and easier to see than M81 but both looked nice in the scope. Other galaxies we viewed were M94, M100, M65, M96, M105, M108 and M109.
As for planetary nebulas, The Eskimo Nebula really showed up nice. Other planetaries were the Little Dumbbell, NGC 3242 and NGC 6543. We also observed both open and globular clusters, with M35 and M44 really impressing us. By increasing the power, I was also able to look deeply into M45, the Pleiades. Also, M46, 47 and 48 were impressive to look at. We enjoyed looking at globulars M3 and M79 but the night viewing grand finale was seeing three asteroids, Vesta, Eunomia and Amphtrite. Finally, during the day, my views of the Sun were okay with a few sunspots popping up. Our first three months of astronomy have been rewarding.
Anthony and I enjoyed the close encounter of Mars and the Pleiades during March 2-4. He took this photo of the close encounter on March 3rd.
Astronomy Links
2020 Review and the James Webb Space Telescope. This video has some amazing deep-sky images:
From National Geographic, a weekly tour what what is visible in the night sky by Andrew Fazekas:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNightSkyGuy
Features
If you have not looked at the newsletter before, check out some of the regular features. There are four useful links in the menu at the top of this page:
Calendar This is a monthly calendar that includes all the scheduled events of ASNH, other regional events of interest, plus the dates and times of noteworthy events in the night sky.
SkyMap This page has a chart of the sky as it appears over the New Haven area at the present date and time. It is constantly updated, so you can go to this page on any clear night to see what is overhead.
Space Place Read the monthly article from Space Place.
Directions This page gives directions to all the locations where regular activities of ASNH take place, including the monthly meeting, public observing sessions, and the annual Connecticut Star Party.
Other regular features can be found within these pages:
Upcoming Public Events Many ASNH events are free and open to the public. These include the monthly meetings and public observing sessions at Young’s Pond Park in Branford and Silver Sands State Park in Milford. This section gives the dates, times, and descriptions of these events.
Upcoming Events for ASNH Members These events are for ASNH members only. Some are private observing nights, and others are outreach events where volunteers are needed with the telescopes and equipment.
Night Sky Highlights This section lists some objects to observe in the sky during the next few months, whether you are using just your eyes, a pair of binoculars, or a telescope.
Gallery This section features photographs of celestial targets taken by ASNH members and others. If you have a picture you want to share with us, please submit it to newsletter@asnh.org.