Cyclists were treated to views from 4 Dobsonian telescopes. We managed to dodge the clouds to get fleeting glimpses of
- planet Saturn
- double stars
- globular clusters
- 'planetary' nebula (stars that have blown off shells of gas at the end of their stellar evolutionary track)
- galaxy pair, The Whirlpool Galaxy. Shown below are sketches made by amateurs – courtesy Astronomy Sketch of the Day
Sketches more closely mimic the experience of viewing the photons coming from space, bouncing off two mirrors, and exiting the eypiece as a 'pencil' of light into your eye.
(View the original image by double clicking on it)
- Messier 4 – a loose globular cluster next to Antares in Scorpio
- Messier 13 – the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
- Messier 57 – the Ring Planetary Nebula
- Double Double star, Epsilon Lyrae – pairs of truely bound gravitational systems
- Messier 51, the Whirlpool Galaxy – two galaxies entwined…
- Saturn was solid at times due to atmospheric soup – at times razor sharp…
