Click to Enlarge

Aug 22’nds skywatch at Dumdama lake caught another jewel in the sky which is not readily seen in small telescope. The picture above was intentioned to capture M13. However a little known spiral galaxy NGC 6207 was also captured in the image by sheer luck. (See the fuzzy blob in the Crosshairs)

Astrophotographers should try to get better exposures considering that it is increadibly easy to find in the night sky

After much debate, six AAA members left late in the afternoon to test out the skies at Dumdama Lake.

Chandan, Raghu, Rajiv, Sneh, Vidur and me parked at the final turn on the dirt path leading upto the lake. Our equipment consisted of the planetarium’ s trusty Nikon 20×120 binocs and Celestron 102mm NexStar GoTo Refractor.

The observations started with good skies but clouds hovered from atleast one direction always threatening to play spoilsport. However, without wasting time, we took a quick tour of the Ophiuchus, Scorpio and Sagittarius regions. The Milky Way was spectacular and we had good views of the Globulars M4, M10, M12, M19, M62, M80, M22 and M28. The open clusters M6, M7, M17, M18, M20, M21, M23 and M25 were clearly visible. The Milky Way Patch M24 was also splendid. The Nebulae M8 and M20 were stunning.

We captured an outstanding colour image of the Trifid Nebula on a Canon 450D mounted prime focus on the NexStar (www.aaadelhi. org).

Then, we shifted our focus to the Zenith and were able to view some summer triangle objects. Watch out for our stunning image of the Ring Nebula (www.aaadelhi. org).

Then we shifted our focus to the West where we were able to capture the bright Northern Globular M13 in the Keystone of Hercules. Thereafter, we captured a stunning image (www.aaadelhi. org) of the Andromeda Galaxy flanked by its companion galaxies M32 AND M110.

After this, our luck ran out (in more ways than one) and we packed up for the night.

All views on (www.aaadelhi. org)

BTW, we were visited by some curious and drunk villagers and the Punjabi Pop singer MIKA SINGH and his friends who were spellbound by the stunning view of Jupiter.

‘Til next time, clear skies…

Vishnu

See Photos | Gallery 1 | Gallery 2

AAAD had a great observation at damdama lake the report will be up within 24hrs

Image Courtesy: Vidur Parkash

This is a GIF animation of the diamond ring formation during the 22nd July total solar eclipse as seen from Assi Ghat in Varanasi.

The monsoon is almost over and so is the moon in its wanning phase giving an opportunity to observe the glory of night sky. The sky is getting clearer and the stars are shining brighter than before. Its time to unpack your telescopes and head to a good dark site this time Amateur Astronomers Association chose the famous Dumdama lake on the road to hotel saras besides the lake . The new moon on the August 20, provides a great opportunity to witness the starry skies and therefore an observation has been scheduled on Saturday, August 22nd at Dumdama.

Details:
Date of observation: August 22, 2009
Day: Saturday
Observation Time: 1900hrs onwards
venue: Damdama lake, Sohna, Haryana, near hotel Saras

Please feel free to join us at Dumdama

Essential things to carry during an observation

1.Carry your own dinner and snacks (bring some extra so you can share with others)

2. though it is summer temperature near a lake can reach 20* C(68*F)so carry warm clothing

3. Carry chocolates: they are very helpful as they keep you awake and give you energy

4. VERY IMPORTANT!! always carry a torch covered with red cellophane sheet, any light source(torches etc) without a cellophane sheet is strictly prohibited .

5. Carry your equipment with you

6. cover you camera flash with black tape so no light comes out and always keep the flash on off mode

7. We are not providing any transport so you will have to come on your own

if you wish to join us please feel free to do so
for further details contact:

Raghu Kalra
raghukalra@gmail.com
09990224091

Vidur
vidur_itm@yahoo.com
09810257114

note:
AAAD is not responsible if the observation is canceled because of cloudy conditions though we will put information on this website if observation is cancelled so check this page before leaving for Damdama

also feel free to join SPACE ( www.stepl.org )Team at nuh on the same night

Aperture: f/4.5
Shutter speed: 344.5 second exposure
ISO speed: 800

An Iridium flare seen during the Perseids meteor Shower seen in Michigan. This image was taken by my colleague from Michigan Tech Jill Witt. “I didn’t actually catch any Perseids on camera. This is a satellite. We did see quite a few, though. We went up on the mine tailing piles and had a great view..until the moon came up. It was a nice night… a couple of Coronas and good conversation!” said Jill

Credit & Copyright: S. Kohle & B. Koch (Astron. I., U. Bonn)

Astronomers Be Alert

The Perseids, peak this August on 11 to 12th with ZHRs probably a little low due to the last quarter moon mean around 10-15 per hr. At around 0900 UTC, Aug 12th, there might be a spike in activity with rates climbing to around 100 per hr, but that is a bit too optimistic.

As a part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 activities, The Amateur Astronomers Association Delhi in association with the Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi will be conducting a public skywatch from the picturesque front lawns of The Teen Murti House on Saturday August 8th 2009 from 7 pm to 11 pm IST. This will be the first in a series of monthly skywatches which will be held on the first
Saturday of every month.

We would like to extend our invitation to you, to come and enjoy the evening with Moon, stars, & planets. AAAD members will be present to help acquaint the public in star gazing. Astronomy enthusiasts are also invited to bring their own telescopes and observing gear to the event.

ALSO…SHOWING

WHAT: Public Skywatch
WHEN: Saturday, Aug 08 2009. 7-11 pm
WHERE: Teen Murti House Front Lawns
COST: None, Everyone’s Invited

If you plan to attend, please do READ ON…

• Make sure you come in shoes, we donot recommend chappals, floaters because there may be insects around
• Night time temperature can drop to 21 deg C these days, Be prepared if you think that is too cold
• Bring your own food, we recommend you keep some snacks like biscuits, chips, pretzels etc with you to keep that metabolism going
• DONT LITTER,… please, your’e grown up

YOU CAN RSVP HERE