jetstream

@Littleguy80 Excellent report Neil

Over here, with a few exceptions you can camp anywhere you want on public land for 20 days in a row (Ontario). No camping near boat launches or other "easy" places that might restrict access to the launches etc. Most actual tourists stay at tourist camps- many of which are truly wild ie "outpost camps" where they drop you off from a floatplane to stay in a shack for as long as you pay for. Some Parks have a reservation system such as Rushing River, by Sioux Narrows. I'll say this- here campers respect the land and leave little behind, maybe a circle of stones from a fire ring. I'm not talking about the Parks near major cities, I'm talking about true wild campers that respect the land and water using the vast Canadian wilderness. I really dont think the "trending type camper" as referenced in the thread would last a night or two out here... Btw, in our exploring today on the sleds we came across a wolf kill and saw a few timberwolves running nearby. I suggest any trendy camper might want to try hiking across the ice to see this type of thing for themselves... the trend just might fade away. IMHO.

Great point Stu, what you mention here is the key to success IMHO. Doing so really enhances object recognition, espc for these faint nebs.Learning to "catch the edge" is a key element in seeing some things like Barnards Loop, California and a lot of them. @Grump Martian a great nebula to try in the Orion area is the Flame,next to Alnitak. No filter is needed and it will show under less than dark skies -a little but- if things are right ie narrow TFOV eyepiece. Many of us use it as the test of the sky- if it doesnt show very well, forget the HH, Barnards Loop etc. Good luck! Try finding M78- no filter- as a warm up, and the Flame.

I see it regularly- the last scope I used on it was the Heritage 130 flextube, but all my scopes show it. Although not a necessity a Hb does really help, espc when first trying to see it. Start at M78 , swing over and catch the edge- this area is the brightest of the loop IMHO. What is a necessity are dark transparent skies.IMHO.

Congrats!!! I just knew this was going to happen! Chatting with Vic the other day left no doubt in my mind about the quality of the lenses and the scope its sits in. Without any experience, evidence or anything like that I'll say that not only do I think these equal the best fracs out there but most likely will be at the top of the heap. You should see the equipment he has and the optician running it.

Great questions Neil, contrary to many beliefs using very large exit pupils can work eventhough the actual light disk (and other things) are self regulated by the eyes when doing this. Its best to try everything- I do... including using the 42mm in my f4.8/f4.1... with and without the PCII. For sure try above 7mm... even if the sec shadow shows. For me, a 6.5mm exit pupil or thereabouts is nice with an Hb, but 5mm works too. The other night the 32mm TV plossl outdid the 24mm because of the increased light disk size IMHO. This new 5.5nm will probably want 6mm+, just guessing. My motto- try everything! lol!

I'm not a beginner but feel like one everytime I try the Eridanus Loop... it might benefit some newcomers to hear about small aperture (and large ones) with respect to filters. It is a myth that tight OIII and Hb filters wont work well in small apertures. Period. I use them all the time in 90mm,120mm and 130mm scopes with great luck. The 90mm frac shows the California nebula and Barnards loop well in Hb- if- the exit pupil is large enough, in this case the 42mm LVW fits the bill. This applies to any aperture IMHO. The Veil and others show well in the 90mm/OIII etc. So, my latest attempt at the Eridanus Loop in the 24" f4.1 will now include a Baader CMOS 5.5nm Hb, much tighter than my 12nm(?) Astronomik Hb and hopefully with high transmission. I cant say is this filter will work in small apertures yet- it should but we'll see. I am fortunate to find one and it should be here next week. After years of trying this object maybe this filter will confirm suspicions of seeing it. The main things with filters are to get high transmission and tight bandwidth IMHO and a couple of brands seems to give this. Mods please move if this is in wrong section, but I do feel like a beginner when the scope is pointed at this objects area. Gerry

Without offending anyone here, I will put out my experience with the 6mm BCO. It is a contrasty, rich colour eyepiece- that bloats the stars... I dont find it as sharp as the 10mm and I also dont believe it is just my sample. The 18mm BCO is vg, the 10mm BCO excellent and I dont use my 6mm BCO. I have used and "tested" them in a TSA120/15" high spec dob and my 24" DSO getter. With and without a paracorr in the dobs. The 10mm Barlowed is as sharp as my Docter 12.5mm UWA and has higher transmission - I tested them on UMi faint galaxy years ago. Same goes for the 10D. The BCO is not a "true" ortho- it is a Zeiss design and opens up the field to about 50 deg. Ortho purists will bounce up and down saying it is not truly orthoscopic as it does show a bit of distortion near the edge. BTW the Delos shows more, the Docter less but with different distortion.Some of my "true" orthos, 44 deg TFOV show a bit of distortion too... Gerry

You got dark skies your way? My fracs love the California neb Brnards loop etc

Sounds like you have some good EP's , not sure what might work. The 20mm APM shows a small bit if astig but it is a super DSO EP, my most used- large for my refractors tho.

👍 I sure like the 24mm ES 68- whats your primary use? The 20mm Lunt 100 is top notch too.

Can I ask what scope your using?

I vote for the 10mm BCO. Reasons include the deep rich colours it provides on Jupiter, very high transmission- on par with the best of the best, on axis sharpness that meets or exceeds extremely expensive eyepieces ie Delos/Docter and the fact that it is very affordable- ridiculously so IMHO. It also barlows very well. I'll put it to you this way- while searching for threshold objects in my 24" f4.1 I will confirm the sighting with the 10 BCO, after catching it in the 10 Delos- a superb, sharp, very high transmission eyepiece itself. The 10 BCO is a lifetime eyepiece IMHO and for this reason and those above I cast the vote for it. Gerry

I think what happens when I view the whole object is that parts of the inner nebula dance in and out of averted vision, giving the appearance of a highly dynamic, mesmerizing object.Adding some IFN to the mix and the view is surreal. I talked to an astronomer that knows Mel Bartels, years ago and he said " congratulations, you have seen the Pleiades Bubble!" This after describing my view. Bartels take on the Pleiades - btw we will all see it a bit different...

I personally dont find anything controversial with regards to diffraction and diffraction spikes. Accepting that the spider has an effect potentially as glare on a planet or whatever goes a long way to sorting out if there any additional causes of glare in our control IMHO. If a few other causes of glare, stacked together and added up in a newt the view can be a very washed out, undesirable one. An example is a 200mm f3.8 that initially caused massive glare among other things. After a bit of work it is a high contrast large DSO getter.Knowing how much glare is normal really helps- and its not much in practise IMHO. Assuming the mirror is low scatter etc etc.

Great statement Mike. This too.

Would you still talk to me if I found the Tak a new home and bought the SV?

What about me?!

Hmmm, I wonder what TSA120's are going for used these days. @Captain Scarlet please hurry up with that first light!!!

They are always there, no question. A great thread years ago down in the physics section IIRC highlighted the ability of the brain to "fill in information". It is possible and I think likely that some observers wont see them because the brain is already tuned not to see them. It wants to keep the image the way it thinks it should be IMHO. The laws of light and physics state the diffraction spikes have to be there, regardless if an individual sees them or not. Great response on this Stu, Gerry

My 15" under great seeing shows more than the image in the photo. 300x is a magic minimum for Jupiter IMHO and large aperture really brings out detail and colour. The Binotron 27's/15" have given me views that is etched right into the brain .

Rowan or DiskMount might be a good option, geeze now Magnus has me wanting a new SV140!! The TSA120 is quivering...

Excellent Stephan! This is the first key in seeing the other dark lanes in the Pleaides that are surrounded by the dancing dazzling glow that makes this object so special. Glad theres a name to that chain of stars now as it makes things so much easier to describe.

Yes they are very angry- I had a fight with them after shovelling out the seacan door enough to get the Hb and 18BCO!! I swear the 15" hit me! As I burst through the partly open door it hit me on the head with the 20mm APM 100 in the focuser! When jamming my way thru the door and into the dark can I hit the 20mm in the focuser Yes its time to get them out and I'm going to flail away on the Eridanus Loop again with the 24" if I can get hold of the "new secret weapon" lol Man are things expensive now...