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Date: 17 Sep 2006 11:36:23
From: Richard Adams
Subject: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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I'm filled with the heady rush of accomplishment. Woo. :o)
-He of the red-tinted eyes
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Date: 17 Sep 2006 21:53:56
From: Zebra24601
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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Willie R. Meghar wrote:
> Richard Adams <ackthpt@concentric.net> wrote:
>
> >I'm filled with the heady rush of accomplishment. Woo. :o)
> >
> >-He of the red-tinted eyes
>
> Congratulations! There can be only one first time for such things.
> If you feel so inclined, some of us would enjoy reading whatever
> details you would feel comfortable in sharing.
>
> Willie R. Meghar
> http://meghar.blogspot.com/
I also bagged Uranus myself a month or so ago. But I "cheated" in that
I had goto assistance. I "synched" on a relatively nearby Messier
object, then goto'd to Uranus, then spiral searched until the unusually
bluish green point drifted into view. Then I upped the magnification
to confirm that it had a disc.
I had read many times about the "unique" color of the planet, and I
agree. I don't think I've seen anything else with quite that same
color. It definitely stands out in an eyepiece, even before you can
resolve a disc.
I also saw Neptune and Pluto about three weeks ago but I can take no
credit for those finds. I pretty much had to take someone's word that
this was what I was looking at. Pluto is just a point of light, of
course. And Neptune was not magnified enough to resolve a disc of any
sort. And it lacked the sort of color I observed on Uranus.
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Date: 19 Sep 2006 12:51:42
From: Willie R. Meghar
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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"Zebra24601" <socrosemead@yahoo.com > wrote:
>I also bagged Uranus myself a month or so ago. But I "cheated" in that
>I had goto assistance. I "synched" on a relatively nearby Messier
>object, then goto'd to Uranus, then spiral searched until the unusually
>bluish green point drifted into view. Then I upped the magnification
>to confirm that it had a disc.
When it comes to 'getting there', some people prefer one approach over
another, some have little choice concerning the approach; and to
others the approach is irrelevant -- all that matters is getting
there.
Of course, a few people are still of the opinion that there's only one
'correct' way: Their way!
>I had read many times about the "unique" color of the planet, and I
>agree. I don't think I've seen anything else with quite that same
>color. It definitely stands out in an eyepiece, even before you can
>resolve a disc.
Indeed! The color of Uranus stands out even with binoculars.
>I also saw Neptune and Pluto about three weeks ago but I can take no
>credit for those finds. I pretty much had to take someone's word that
>this was what I was looking at. Pluto is just a point of light, of
>course. And Neptune was not magnified enough to resolve a disc of any
>sort. And it lacked the sort of color I observed on Uranus.
Depending on the color sensitivity of one's eyes and the aperture of
the telescope, color has often been noted for Neptune. IIRC, Uranus
often appears a bit bluish while Neptune tends to have a slight
greenish tint. Nevertheless, I noticed no color last night when
looking at Neptune with binoculars.
For finding and identifying Neptune and Pluto it helps immensely to
use charts that show stars up to and even a little fainter than the
brightness of the planet. Similarly, when trying to identify a
specific faint galaxy, etc. when several are visible in a medium to
high power field there's no substitute for an accurate chart.
A write up on last night's binocular observations of Uranus and
Neptune (as well as other recent observations) can be found in my
blog.
Willie R. Meghar
http://meghar.blogspot.com/
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Date: 19 Sep 2006 15:07:33
From: John Banister
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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I've been looking at both Neptune and Uranus with my 10" newt over the past
few weeks and found color in Neptune (I'd call it pale blue green) but
Uranus has generally been white. My viewing notes call it "bright white."
Going back over the whole year (2006) I find "no color" listed about 60% of
the time with "pale green" about 40%. All with the same scope and same
eyes. I wonder what makes the difference?
I plan to look again tonight.
BTW, has anyone scored any of Uranus' moons visually?
-John
<NoMail@thisaddress.net > wrote in message
news:f0f0h21u1m4j1ngebd5vmc0vle9jtcm6cf@4ax.com...
> "Zebra24601" <socrosemead@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Depending on the color sensitivity of one's eyes and the aperture of
> the telescope, color has often been noted for Neptune. IIRC, Uranus
> often appears a bit bluish while Neptune tends to have a slight
> greenish tint. Nevertheless, I noticed no color last night when
> looking at Neptune with binoculars.
>
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Date: 17 Sep 2006 14:29:35
From: Willie R. Meghar
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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Richard Adams <ackthpt@concentric.net > wrote:
>I'm filled with the heady rush of accomplishment. Woo. :o)
>
>-He of the red-tinted eyes
Congratulations! There can be only one first time for such things.
If you feel so inclined, some of us would enjoy reading whatever
details you would feel comfortable in sharing.
Willie R. Meghar
http://meghar.blogspot.com/
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Date: 17 Sep 2006 12:44:59
From: laura halliday
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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Richard Adams wrote:
> I'm filled with the heady rush of accomplishment. Woo. :o)
>
> -He of the red-tinted eyes
Congratulations!
With the current slim planetary pickings I spent some
quality time with Uranus (right next to Lambda Aquarii)
and Neptune (a pretty barren field near 29 Capricorni)
myself last night. While I couldn't verify it myself,
Mars and Uranus are the same apparent size at the
moment (3.6").
Other targets included M2, M11, M13, M15, M27, M57,
Albireo and Epsilon Lyrae. The Pleiades were just
clearing the trees as I was heading back in to the
house, and a streetlight was clobbering M31. No joy
on M16 or anything else in that part of the sky thanks
to clouds and trees.
Laura Halliday VE7LDH "That's a totally illegal,
Grid: CN89mg madcap scheme. I like it!"
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - H. Pearce
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Date: 19 Sep 2006 08:21:38
From: laura halliday
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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Zebra24601 wrote:
> I also bagged Uranus myself a month or so ago. But I "cheated" in that
> I had goto assistance. I "synched" on a relatively nearby Messier
> object, then goto'd to Uranus, then spiral searched until the unusually
> bluish green point drifted into view. Then I upped the magnification
> to confirm that it had a disc.
> (snip...)
What matters is seeing a new object. I'll leave the walking
uphill both ways through the snow and getting up before
going to bed schtick to others.
In my case I used an ephemeris program to get the declination
and right ascension, then used my mount's setting circles to
zero in on the locations. Uranus was obvious, but I had to
use charts in Uranometria to confirm Neptune.
Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte
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Date: 21 Sep 2006 00:47:59
From: Matu
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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Con-grats! Now it will be easier. the next time(s).
Richard Adams wrote:
> I'm filled with the heady rush of accomplishment. Woo. :o)
>
> -He of the red-tinted eyes
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Date: 21 Sep 2006 11:07:00
From: jfrancis
Subject: Re: First Time Sighting Neptune and Uranus
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laura halliday wrote:
> Richard Adams wrote:
> > I'm filled with the heady rush of accomplishment. Woo. :o)
> >
> > -He of the red-tinted eyes
>
> Congratulations!
>
> With the current slim planetary pickings I spent some
> quality time with Uranus (right next to Lambda Aquarii)
> and Neptune (a pretty barren field near 29 Capricorni)
> myself last night. While I couldn't verify it myself,
> Mars and Uranus are the same apparent size at the
> moment (3.6").
>
> Other targets included M2, M11, M13, M15, M27, M57,
> Albireo and Epsilon Lyrae. The Pleiades were just
> clearing the trees as I was heading back in to the
> house, and a streetlight was clobbering M31. No joy
> on M16 or anything else in that part of the sky thanks
> to clouds and trees.
>
> Laura Halliday VE7LDH "That's a totally illegal,
> Grid: CN89mg madcap scheme. I like it!"
> ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - H. Pearce
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