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(IAAC) Re: IAAC - The Internet Amateur Astronomer's Catalogue
Your post mentioned that you had recieved no observation forms.
Perhaps I will be the first.
Observer: Gary Pike
your skills: - expert
Date and UT of observation: (17th May, 1993, 6:00 UT)
Location: Ft. Davis, Texas
Site classification: rural
Limiting magnitude (not recorded in my notes)
Seeing 1
moon up - no
Instrument: 10", f4.5
Magnification: 44 to 238x
Filters used: none
Object: Omega Centauri
Category: globular cluster
Constellation: Centaurus
Object diameter: 36.3"
RA/DE: 13:26.8/-47.29
Description:
Omega Centauri was a soft glow in the 8x50 finder and at 44x it
was a large glow. At 79x, it was a large glow of stars that filled
half of the field of view. There were several bright stars away from
the cluster, possibly foreground stars. The globular cluster was
fuzzy with averted vision and grainy when viewed straight on. A
glance at the sky showed that it was visible to the unaided eye.
Using 128x, the cluster was a bright glow. With averted vision, the
image was grainy from the edge to the center. There were
brighter grains in the center and the inner three quarters of the
cluster was noticeably brighter than the outer quarter of the
globular. I also noticed a bow shock of stars that trailed off to the
northeast and the southeast. The bow shock had the look of a slow
boat moving gently through the water. 230x resolved the center of the
cluster. There was black between the stars where the stars didn't
touch. There are a lot of stars. A small concentrated group of stars
were visible on the preceding edge of the globular giving it a unique
appearance with the bow shock following. The bow shock was
less noticeable at 230x.