Observing session under skies of Norfolk

[Helix]

Hi all,

Just would like to share with you what I observed yesterday under the dark skies of Norfolk.

24/12/14, 16:00 - 24:00. 8 hours

Instrument: 10" dob SW

My observation log:

I looked at the moon and 3 planets: Mars, Uranus and Neptune to start with.

~ Uranus had the rare shade of cold blue colour. It was the feast for the eyes.

~ Mars did not show much details as I remember it from the last time when I observed it and even managed to sketch some patchy areas. But not this time. I am not surprise its size dropped to 4.8 arcsec.

~ Neptune looked like a white mat ball with tiny tint of blue.

NGC 1501/ Oyster nebula - Planetary nebula in Camelopardalis. Round and uniformed. The central 14.2 mag star is visible only with averted vision. Transparency was not good.

I really like PNs. They are always surprise with colours and shape. The only objects have colours are some planetary nebulas, planets and stars unless I do not know something yet

IC 289 - planetary nebula in Cassiopeia. Due to transparency this PN was visible mostly with averted vision. Deep blue colour despite of averted vision. The size is only 0.8' and mag is 13.2.

NGC 1514/Crystal Ball Nebula - planetary ~10 mag nebula in Taurus. Central star is clearly visible. This is beautiful object looks round from the first glance but after a few second of observing I started to see the irregular shape and nebulosity distribution. O III filter brings out nebulosity even better.

Abell 12 is a planetary nebula in Orion. Unique! It worth to look at. OIII filter dims μ Orionis down and allows to see the neighbouring planetary nebula. 12.4 mag.

Abell 11 - planetary but extremely difficult for 10". Only averted vision!

NGC 2022 - another planetary in Orion. Easy to spot. 12.8 mag.

PK 173 - 5.1 - planetary in Auriga. Extremely faint. O III or UHC filters did not help much. I saw it with averted vision and it is big . 2.2' with apparent mag 13.70.

NGC 1360 - PN. Cold blue in Fornax.

NGC 1535/ Cleopatra's Eye in Eridanus. PN with high surface brightness. Worth to look at. Very nice object.

Also I looked at NGC 1407 and 1400 - pair of faint face on galaxies, very condensed globular M 79, open cluster M 41, Hubble Variable nebula and my favourite NGC 2264 planetary in the rich open cluster M 46.

Favourite of my space travelling was Rosette Nebula. Shaun Reynold, famous Norfolk astroimager, inspired me to look at Rosette Nebula. It was out of this world!!!! Absolutely outstanding object.

Ethos 13 mm + OIII and I had the feeling of sitting in a spaceship looking through a window. Three dimensional effect of nebulosity around bright cluster of stars is breathtaking. Size of 1.3 degree could not fit to my eyepiece but I travelled around nebula. Better than on any pictures ever, sorry Shaun, still love your pictures

And of course

BARNARDS 33 or The Horsehead nebula.

See attached rough draft I sketched yesterday in complete darkness looking through the eyepiece but just a few stars I draw with very dim red torch at the end.

The end of my session was Jupiter itself, my fourth planet for that evening.

Clear skies and feel free to share your opinion,

Your Helix.

Ps I am opened for constructive criticism )

[Helix]

I tried to attach my 'great' sketch of The Horsehead Nebula but looks like I was not successful.

I try again then.

Sorry it is too big. Any ideas how to shrink it ?

Many thanks

[scarp15]

Interesting and comprehensive session, four planets is good going and some interesting planetary's, some for which I shall take note of. The Rosette nebula is a target I aim to try for to (also with an OIII). Would Orion have been a little too low for the HH during your observing period? Once you have resolved the format, I look forward to seeing your sketch.

[Helix]

Hello scarp 15 ,

Thank you for your reply.

Orion was enough high up at about 22-23:00 to observe The HH.

Regards,

Helix

[cotterless45]

Superb report, some lovely p/ns there,

Nick.

[Stridor]

Some great objects there; I have noted some for my next session. Typical, the skies have been crystal clear the last two nights, but one can hardly go out at Christmas with a house full of family!? Anyway. Well done on the targets you located.

[Helix]

I attached my very rough sketch made by a pen for 5 sec just to reflect what I saw in general.

The sketch done in complete darkness and only some stars and shade drawn with dim red torch.

It does not intend to be a proper sketch just an idea what I saw.

The Horsehead Nebula is challenging object but it can be seen even with 10 " dob.

But I heard that some people saw it with 6" and I believe it.

Regards,

Helix

[PeterW]

Congrats on the find, I found it as well last night. Similarly the rosette was great. Have a go with the monkey head in Gemini. I ought to make a note of where the P/N are, I usually think of them as too small to worry about.

Good session!

PErerW

[Helix]

Hi Peter,

What aperture did you observe The HH with? Is it Newtonian?

Many thanks to all who left positive message on my topic

[Paul73]

Great session. There are a few in there that I need to hunt out. You are certainly making every one of those 10 inches work hard.

Paul

[scarp15]

Good 'thumb nail' sketch Helix, provides a little more ammunition, in terms of visual reference for those of us in pursuit of the HH.

[PeterW]

8", with an intensifier and strong filtration. Local light pollution not good.

The HH is in line with the star below Anitak... Good guidepost.

PeterW

[Helix]

Peter,

Well done. 8" is extreme for The HH, especially in London area.

So as far I understand you observed with Newtonian scope. Did not you? I am asking because I am studying this subject at the moment. Just would like to see if it possible to see The HH through the long focal length telescopes, which I doubt at the moment.

Thanks.

[Special K]

Hi Helix, that's a great report of some tough targets. My opinion is only that you clearly know how to find your way around up there! You must have some nice dark patches of sky out in Norfolk. Look forward to more of your exploits.

Kevin

[jetstream]

Peter,

Well done. 8" is extreme for The HH, especially in London area.

So as far I understand you observed with Newtonian scope. Did not you? I am asking because I am studying this subject at the moment. Just would like to see if it possible to see The HH through the long focal length telescopes, which I doubt at the moment.

Thanks.

Congrats for the find Helix, I have been pursuing the HH for a bit now. I am wondering when I should look-what NELM would be minimum? I need all the help I can get...

[Helix]

Hi Gerry,

Thank you. I do not want to set any rules because I saw The HH only 3 times. 2 times last winter, in February, and 1 time 24/12/14. By the way I would say that you probably need 4.5 - 5 NELM at least. 4-5 mag stars are in the Ursa Minor which I use as starting point to assess the skies condition. Also I check how many stars I can see in trapezium.

Not sure if I could help

Regards,

Helix

[Helix]

Hi again Gerry:),

I am not sure if you looked at the topic 'Horsehead visually?' But I placed there my way how to find The HH. I have 10" dob.

1) I isolated the field of view. I removed ζ Orionis ( the star) from the field of you because it is very bright.

2) I found 'dividing line' between the 'bright' area and the dark area( it is not bright at all, it is a bit lighter than other side)

3) when I could see the dividing line then I scanned the 'brighter' area along the line for the dark patch or Barnards 33( the 'brighter' area because the Horsehead itself is the cloud of thick dust on the background of 'thin' layer of gas and dust - simplified version how to explain it )

4) I took time for letting my brain and eyes to focus and decipher the picture I see ( nothing to do with imagination ). About 1 to 2 minutes. And here we are! I saw even to what direction it was heading.

Saying I ve seen Barnards 33, I set the rules for myself:

1) dark site

2) very good to excellent transparency and seeing

3) dark adapted eyes (30-40 minutes) and do not look at any bright objects like open clusters or globular cluster, bright stars 30 minutes prior observing Barnards 33. Just DSO with highest possible magnitude to prepare my eyes.

4) Hβ filter works well only with eyepieces 4-7 mm exit pupil according to company recommendation ( simple math formula, very easy to calculate for you particular scope). I bought Hβ filter and 24 mm Panoptic, I also used 20 mm SW Pentax + Hβ Lumicon filter.

5) good eyesight ( my observing eye is only 90% out of 100%).

6) patience

I am not sure if I am helpful.

It is just my experience.

Kind regards,

Helix

[Guest]

I was interested in your report of colour in IC 289 using averted vision. When you use avetred vision this uses the rods in your eye which are not colour sensitive. NGC 1360 also is not know to show colour as it is too large. I wonder if your filter is giving you some false positves.

I am also not sure Abell 11 is a planetary. It is normally regarded as one of the misclassified objects and maybe a reflection nebula.

Regards

Owen

[jetstream]

Hi Gerry,

Thank you. I do not want to set any rules because I saw The HH only 3 times. 2 times last winter, in February, and 1 time 24/12/14. By the way I would say that you probably need 4.5 - 5 NELM at least. 4-5 mag stars are in the Ursa Minor which I use as starting point to assess the skies condition. Also I check how many stars I can see in trapezium.

Not sure if I could help

Regards,

Helix

Helix, thank you for the help and I'll keep slogging away...

[Helix]

I was interested in your report of colour in IC 289 using averted vision. When you use avetred vision this uses the rods in your eye which are not colour sensitive. NGC 1360 also is not know to show colour as it is too large. I wonder if your filter is giving you some false positves.

I am also not sure Abell 11 is a planetary. It is normally regarded as one of the misclassified objects and maybe a reflection nebula.

Regards

Owen

Hi Owen,

Thank you for reading my report.

I have to agree with you about Abell 11. I think it is great when someone can correct you. This is the only way to grow in your knowledge. I misread Reiner Vogel's guide. I read PN instead of RN, I think that my red torch is too dim and, you know what, when I observed Abell 11 it looked like a planetary. I have to admit a bit peculiar 'planetary' because it has brighter round area at SE and outer irregular/broken ring. But please remember this image description based only on my memory .

By the way NGC 1360 and IC 289 were observed without any filters. I still think NGC 1360 has some tint of cold blue colour. IC 289, as I said before, it was observed MOSTLY with averted vision. I could see it with direct vision for a fraction of second but mostly with averted vision. The deep blue colour popped out from time to time. I just recorded what I saw for my own benefit to compare my observation experiences in the future.

Thanks a lot for spotting my mistake

Helix

[jetstream]

Helix, great that you are getting some good observing in, have fun and we're looking forward to more reports.

[PeterW]

From what I remember you can only see colour in objects about 5magnitudes brighter than the faintest thin you can see... Hanne only the brightest stars show colour, but more so when you add a bi telescope. For deep sky objects this means only the brightest objects and only with big scopes.

Cheers

Peter

[Helix]

From what I remember you can only see colour in objects about 5magnitudes brighter than the faintest thin you can see... Hanne only the brightest stars show colour, but more so when you add a bi telescope. For deep sky objects this means only the brightest objects and only with big scopes.

Cheers

Peter

Hi Peter,

What does it mean ' the faintest thing you can see'? Can you please clarify .

"The ability to see color in dim objects varies greatly from person to person, and surprises may occur". - See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/secrets-of-deep-sky-observing/#sthash.EdGPpBgy.dpuf

Regards,

Helix

[Helix]

Helix, great that you are getting some good observing in, have fun and we're looking forward to more reports.

  

Interesting and comprehensive session, four planets is good going and some interesting planetary's, some for which I shall take note of. The Rosette nebula is a target I aim to try for to (also with an OIII). Would Orion have been a little too low for the HH during your observing period? Once you have resolved the format, I look forward to seeing your sketch.

  

Superb report, some lovely p/ns there,

Nick.

  

Some great objects there; I have noted some for my next session. Typical, the skies have been crystal clear the last two nights, but one can hardly go out at Christmas with a house full of family!? Anyway. Well done on the targets you located.

  

Congrats on the find, I found it as well last night. Similarly the rosette was great. Have a go with the monkey head in Gemini. I ought to make a note of where the P/N are, I usually think of them as too small to worry about.

Good session!

PErerW

  

Great session. There are a few in there that I need to hunt out. You are certainly making every one of those 10 inches work hard.

Paul

  

Hi Helix, that's a great report of some tough targets. My opinion is only that you clearly know how to find your way around up there! You must have some nice dark patches of sky out in Norfolk. Look forward to more of your exploits.

Kevin

Thanks a lot to all for kind comments.

Regards,

Helix

[PeterW]

Some more vision info...

http://www.reinervogel.net/index_e.html

Peter