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That is really sad news. I first got to know Ron in the late eighties and then, when I was running the Deep Sky Section, I got to know him really well. He was a quietly spoken, gentle and very helpful person. A very talented and largely self-taught practical engineer, optician and innovator. One of the great BAA members of his generation. I always enjoyed our Saturday evening chats at Winchester and sometimes a visit to his house the following day to see what was new. It always amused me (and others) that the first thing Ron did with any new piece of kit was to totally dismantle it in his lounge to see how it could be improved – usually replacing anything plastic with metal. I also shared an interest in 1960s British motorcycles with him. A very sad day.
Hello James, There was Handbook No.3 which was produced by Nick Hewitt in 1997. This was basically an update of Handbook No.1 but with an increased number of targets. I think the office still has copies for sale. When I was Director I updated the Messier guide (Handbook No. 2). This went through a few versions. The one you show, which I no longer seem to have a copy of, is (I think) the one compiled by Owen Brazell and updated by Nick H in 1995. I then issued a 3rd edition of it in July 2005 which was essentially the same but with some updates to the text and corrections. In 2014 I issued a 4th edition which is basically the same as the 3rd edition but with different images on the front cover. I think the office still has copies for sale. As far as I’m aware there were no other deep sky handbooks produced
Clear here (Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex) until a few seconds past maximum then intermittent. Excellent view through a variety of filters / instruments. Most pleasing view lying back on a sun lounger and viewing through 1999 eclipse shades whilst drinking coffee.
Hello James,
I agree with Owen’s list and don’t think there are any other books I’d add. Many past editions of The Deep Sky Observer (the Webb Society in-house journal) will be found to contain articles on planetaries so it’s well worth joining Webb! Also, if you use the Uranometria star atlas then the associated Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria (Willmann-Bell) gives useful short summaries of planetaries appearing in the atlas.
Hope this helps, Stewart
A frustrating night (July 17 / 18) for visual observers. Observing from 23:00UT. Comet is buried in low cloud and haze to the north and at times only the nucleus is seen naked eye. It does not improve as the comet rises. In 10x50B the first 2 degrees of the tail is seen and for a few fleeting seconds the tail extends to at least 5 degrees but then it disappears. It seems that these first couple of degrees are much brighter that the remainder. All this is most disappointing as I got the impression that in a clear sky the comet would be looking superb. When visible the tail is very broad with much detail. The tail tonight is a very good example of the benefits of averted vision, often 5 degrees seen with AV and zero with DV.
Third consecutive night that comet was visible. 2020 July 12/13 (Sunday night) it is still easy naked eye but tail seemed shorter tonight but also possibly broader. Tail more like 3 deg in 10x50s. Possibly also fainter overall but some haze in NNE so difficult to be sure. Moon seemed much more of a problem tonight (Sunday night) than on Saturday night although Milky Way still naked eye through Cygnus. Still a great sight and enjoyed showing it to a neighbour. Observed from 00:15 to 01:30UT.
Really superb view, not just of comet but of NLCs and finally brilliant Venus rising. Comet showed naked eye tail of around 5 deg at 01:25UT (not much longer in bins) and possibly even longer naked eye with AV. In 15x70s tail showed a lot of structure and, as Andrew said, looked very similar to that seen in images. Just a pity the Moon was around.
Really excellent view this morning in bins. Comet superb in strip of clear sky with dark bands of cloud above and below. Observed from home (Thorpe le Soken) through open upstairs window. 15 x 70s showed no extra detail to 10 x 50s. Tail around 2 deg at 1 o’clock position and closer to 2.5 – 3 deg with averted vision. Observed from 01:25UT to 02:04UT when brightening sky, rising comet and approaching cloud caused view to deteriorate. Suspected it naked eye for short period around 01:40UT. A decent comet at last ! you have been forgiven, Nick.
Observing visually in 15X70s and 10X50s over sea from Frinton at altitude of approx 20m above local sea level from 01:45 to 02:45UT. Capella easy but no sign of comet. As sky brightened realised there was low lying cloud / sea haze covering NE horizon for about 5 degrees up. Will travel to Chelmsford next time!
I had the same problem. Kept getting logged out. Worked ok the previous week. There appears to be something strange going on.
Just in from observing. I agree they were much brighter than predicted by Heavens Above. They took me by surprise as I hadn’t expected them. They just kept on coming. Both a fascinating and a scary view if this is the future. A brilliant night though, reasonable transparency and good seeing. And no dew.
Heavy rain most of the morning with a brief glimpse of the Sun at 10:15. Then clouded again and cloudy at first/ second contact with light rain falling. Cloud became lighter at 12:45 but unable to get clean projection (62mm Zeiss Telementor). Wind became too strong so gave up trying to project as telescope acting like a wind vane. Then used 70mm f/6.0 refractor with Baader film filter. for direct viewing. Suddenly cloud disappeared giving a nice image at 13:51. Always surprised just how small Mercury appears in transit. Watched for around 14 minutes before cloud returned. By this time Sun was moving behind trees. Considering the state of the weather this morning I feel satisfied to have at least seen part of the transit. Sorry to have missed ingress though.
Totally clear here in East Anglia (Thorpe-le-Soken) and -5 degrees C. A very dark eclipse, I thought, and the end of totality was very impressive with a slow naked eye diamond-ring effect. Also nice to see Castor and Pollux pointing at the Moon throughout the event. As the eclipse concluded Venus and Jupiter is the south-east took over. All told a brilliant morning event.
Stewart
Good Morning Xiaoli,
When you say you are “trying to find a picture” do you mean you want to image the galaxy yourself or just obtain a picture that has already been taken? For example, by a member of the BAA.
Regards,
Stewart
He was also a great enthusiast for electrostatic generators and built a very large (what else!) Wimshurst machine. I think he talked about this a Winchester once.
My observatory is 9ft 6in x 9ft 6in and I certainly wouldn’t want it any smaller. If I was building again I’d make it 10ft x 10ft. But then I’m a visual observer who needs to walk around the telescope and climb up step ladders etc. I’m pleased I made it very substantial. It is bolted to the base by studs cast into the concrete – essential when you live close to the windy east coast. It also has a damp proof membrane to protect the woodGrant, I’ve had a wooden run off roof observatory for around 12 years. The walls are tongue and groove and the roof is ply covered in roofing felt. It runs on steel angle rails with B&Q plastic wheels. The roof is ventilated around the roof line. It has been totally water proof with no condensation whatsoever – an advantage of wood – and the telescope tube never has condensation on it. The only problem is that it is so dry it gets taken over by spiders. Ladybirds also like to over winter in it. Another advantage of wood is that it’s easy to screw boards etc. to it and fix electric cables.
Messier named objects that he felt could be confused with comets when he was comet hunting. As Grant has pointed out, it is unlikely he would have confused the Milky Way with a comet. Within the Milky Way there are thousands of star clusters, emission, reflection and planetary nebulae which all have their own designations – many of them Messier numbers.
