May 20, 2010 May 22, 2010
Posted by orionrising in Observing.Tags: HIP 55713, HIP 56500, Leo, mars, moon, reference point, saturn
8 comments
Clothesrack Organization of Faint Stars in Leo
Object: Stars
Site: Front Yard
Seeing: Good
Transparency: 3
Type: Deep-Sky
Constellation: Leo
Magnification: 10x
FOV: 4.8 Degrees
Observing Time: 10:40 pm – 10:58 pm
Notes: Clothesrack-style organization of four stars: two from Leo the Lion, HIP 56500, HIP 55713. Moon was out tonight too, in First Quarter. Saturn and Mars were in the sky as well, Saturn sporting a creamy-yellow hue as always. Very warm weather the past day, but it’s more comfortable now. All four stars were bluish-white. At first it was difficult to find a decent reference point for this arrangement of stars, so it got lost easily and I spent a good minute trying to find it again. I need to practice my star-hopping skills. This is part of the training that binoculars gives to a stargazer; with a telescope it is even easier to become utterly lost. With practice, even faint stars can become signposts to finding the objects you want, not just the bright stars.
Amateur Astronomy with Binoculars and a Small Telescope 