Sunset and WIYN Viewing

As we walked to WIYN we were treated with some glowing scenes of some observatories:

John Salzer climbed a large rock to observe sunset:

John, as he contemplates the wonders of the Universe:

The view across the valley towards Baboquivari Peak as sunset approached:

Sunset!

Several of the group were able to see the "green flash" as the last of the Sun disappeared behind a distant mountain:

Inside the WIYN observatory with the 3.5-meter telescope:

The WIYN "One Degree Imager" (ODI):

This is the eyepiece that we would be using to view several objects through the 3.5-meter telescope:

A thunderstorm to the south put on a show:

Our first object would be Saturn. Here is Saturn in the sky through the observatory slit:

Mouseover or tap on image for label

And Saturn as viewed through the telescope eyepiece. (Handheld afocal astrophotograph, Nikon D7200 DSLR, f/4.5, 1/160sec, ISO 3200, FL 18mm.)

M13 globular cluster. (Handheld afocal astrophotograph, Nikon D7200 DSLR, f/3.5, 1/2sec, ISO 3200, FL 40mm.)

NGC7662, the "Blue Snowball", planetary nebula. (Handheld afocal astrophotograph, Nikon D7200 DSLR, f/3.5, 1/2sec, ISO 10000, FL 40mm.)

Telescope operations:

Stars reflected in the 3.5-meter mirror:

NGC6543, the "Cat's Eye Nebula", planetary nebula. (Handheld afocal astrophotograph, Nikon D7200 DSLR, f/3.5, 1/4sec, ISO 6400, FL 18mm.)

Other objects viewed but not photographed were NGC891 (edge-on galaxy), M27 ("Dumbbell Nebula", planetary nebula), and the "Einstein Cross". Only the foreground galaxy in "Einstein's Cross" was visible to the eye through the 3.5-meter telescope. However, most people could see a faint fuzzy disk surrounding the central bright spot. This photo on Wikipedia shows more details. Thanks John and the telescope operator for taking my request for this object.

Clouds came in just as we were trying to view our final object, the planet Uranus. A few of the group were able to view the planet.

This 10th visit to Kitt Peak to look through the 3.5m WIYN telescope was another in the continuous string of observing successes provided by IU and the WIYN staff. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to allow us this unique viewing opportunity.

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See the previous Kitt Peak visit reports, as well as reports on other observatory visits.

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