I thought I’d give a recap of some of the highlights of 2015. According to my observing log I had 33 sessions in 2015 (half of them shared with family and friends).
The four sessions in January brought my Messier count to 56, and one of the highlights of the month was definitely Comet Lovejoy C2014 Q2 (“ … a fuzzy blob with a bright centre, slight greenish tint – no tail visible”). The other highlight was seeing Jupiter’s Great Red Spot for the first time (“More brown than red, but unmistakeable!”)
By February, Comet Lovejoy’s tail was clearly visible, I found two new (to me) nebulae (the Eskimo and the Cone), and had my first encounter with the Virgo galaxy supercluster, including one of my favourite sights: Markarian’s Chain (a string of galaxies in the Virgo cluster). February also saw the first globular clusters of the year (M3 and M13). My Messier count rose to 61. Another first for me was watching the shadow of Jupiter’s moon Io transit the surface of the planet. Less than a month later, we witnessed the shadow of our own Moon transiting the Earth during the solar eclipse …
I recorded only one observing session in March, but what a night! My Messier count rose to 71, mainly due to the plethora of Messier galaxies in Virgo and Coma Berenices. I can’t wait to revisit this area again this year!
Four sessions in April (Messier count now 80), and I had my first clear look at Venus (very obvious gibbous phase), the Sombrero galaxy, and I managed to track the ISS across the sky with my scope! I recorded a couple more globular clusters, and, eventually, a couple of Lyrid meteors …
In May I was back in South Wales for three nights at the twice yearly Astrocamp. The weather wasn’t great, but the company more than made up for it, and I got to see Saturn for the first time that year. The only other session in May, on the 16th, saw my Messier count rise to 91! I also had a confirmed sighting of the Needle galaxy, and got to explore the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae. The main reason for the Messier count jump was ticking off galaxies in Virgo and Coma Berenices!
A single session in June took my Messier count to 96. This time of year the more southerly Messier objects are visible from the UK, with the densely packed Milky Way in Sagittarius, Scorpius and Ophiuchus containing many open and globular star clusters, nebulae, and star clouds … it really is amazing! Saturn was still visible, albeit low in the South, and I recorded seeing clear cloud-banding on the planet, plus the Cassini division in the rings!
The highlight of my only session in July was the Blue Snowball, a planetary nebula in Andromeda; a tough find, but well worth persevering with. “Definitely blue and planet-like.”
A couple of sessions in August brought my Messier count to 98. Lots of Summer nebulae were still visible (the Veil, Eagle, Trifid, Omega and Lagoon), as were the globular clusters. Saturn was past its best for the year, but I did get to see Neptune! In my observing log I recorded seeing the Pleiades rising over Cerne’s Giant Hill as the highlight of the month. Without getting too ‘new-agey’ about it, I wrote: “Really ‘mystical’; a ghostly, hazy glow appearing over Giant Hill, then resolving into diamonds in the binoculars and scope! Beautiful herald of Winter.” August also saw the return of the Perseid meteor shower, and we had a really fun night out with friends and family scouring the skies, punctuated by the occasional exclamation of ‘Yes!’ or ‘Wow!’ …
I had three nights out in September, and began actively recording my attempts at the Caldwell catalogue, the first being C1, a dim open star cluster in Ursa Minor. The highlight that month, according to my observing log, was actually a binocular session. I lay on my back on a bench and scanned down through the Milky Way from Cassiopeia to Scutum and Sagittarius in the South. I remember it being particularly clear and sparkly, the colours of Albireo in Cygnus very obvious, and the star clusters and nebulae in Scutum and Sagittarius incredibly clear and detailed.
Five(!) outings in October brought a couple of new Caldwell objects (C23 and C28), but the highlight has to be an early morning session observing the planetary conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Venus … Jupiter’s equatorial bands and moons very clear, Venus clearly in its gibbous phase, and Mars a tiny reddish/brown orb. Stunning!
Two sessions in November coincided with the return of Orion to the night sky, and the amazing Orion Nebula (honestly, I never tire of this!).
I managed two outings in December, both social affairs. On the first I managed a couple of firsts: the Rosette and California nebulae, plus NGC 2903 (a galaxy about 30 million light years away in Leo). The final outing of 2015 was amazing: a lovely session shared with a couple of friends and our children, with a whistle stop tour of some old favourites (the Orion Nebula, Andromeda, Betelgeuse and some star clusters, including the Owl in Cassiopeia …). Later, just after midnight, I popped outside and had a scan around with my new binoculars (saw the waning gibbous Moon through the trees, and, just above it, Jupiter and a couple of its moons). A lovely evening, and a fantastic end to a wonderful year’s stargazing!
What’s up?
So, what can we look forward to in the night sky early in 2016? Jupiter’s currently clearing the eastern horizon at around 11PM (by the middle of the month it’ll be visible from 10PM). The largest planet in the solar system is always a special sight, even with moderate binoculars. The constellation of Leo is clearing the horizon by about 10PM, and, as discussed last time, there are lots of galaxies visible there. Also visible from about 10PM, due South and just below the constellation of Lepus is the globular cluster M79. It’s unusual to see globs in the Winter sky, and it’s well worth having a look for this one (do check out its Wikipedia page, too).
Happy New Year, and clear skies!
Kevin Quinn is an amateur astronomer based in Cerne Abbas, he is the proud owner of a ten-inch reflector, a case of eyepieces, and a pair of 20×80 binoculars. He tweets via @CerneAstro, blogs via theastroguy.wordpress.com, and his ebook Demystifying Astronomy – A beginner’s guide to telescopes, eyepieces and accessories for visual astronomy is widely available.
©Kevin Quinn
