Hello everyone.
On Monday night 9th July I set up my William Optics apochromatic refractor in the back garden.
Here are the highlights:
1. My 1st observation I thought I would never achieve. Sunset in Dublin was at 21.51 local time. Using my 38 mm 2" heavy eyepiece Venus and Regulus were visible about 1 degree apart. Magnitudes were -4.1 and +1..4. Both bodies were seen at 21.15 -over half an hour before sunset! Both were low and sinking fast into the northwestern sky. I've never observed Regulus before sunset in the past.
2. A stunning occurrence was happening at Jupiter. The innermost moon Io was disappearing behind the planet live at 22.39 local time. I was perfectly placed to see it at 167X.
3. Friends from Brazil then arrived and we had fun splitting Epsilon 1,2 Lyrae. 112X and 140X gave a grand sight.
4. Sheliak (Beta Lyrae) was next. All 4 stars easily visible at 40X.
5. M57 the Ring Nebula looked very good at 112X. Its doughnut hole in the middle was seen by all. And I did increase the magnification up to 167X, 225X, and lastly, 280X. It has become an old friend over the years.
6. Finally, this 2nd deep sky object I have not observed since 14 October 2000!! M56 is a very faint globular star cluster in the southern part of Lyra. Its magnitude is +8.4 and is only 5 arc minutes wide. I could just about see it at 40X. But I could see some of its stars from 167X, 225X and 280X. That latter power gave a very enjoyable experience. The magnitude 11 stars were visible alright. It is also very advantageous that Lyra is very high up in our skies. Its distance is 46,000 light years and it is 60 light years wide. I suggest you try using averted vision first to see the brighter stars. Then try direct vision at high power. I trust it will not be another 18 years before I see it again.
Thank you for reading this report.
Clear skies from Aubrey.
  