jetstream

It depends on the individual IMHO. I also believe that repeated dark viewing can enhance ones ability to see in the dark, no evidence just my thoughts. When discussing NELM the observers eyes are the wild card. In my own case Umi 17 is a very common star in Umi I use for NELM which Simbad gives a V mag of 6.88 and Stellarium 7.1 adjusted for airmass at my location. This takes vg skies to see at least for me and the readings needed on the SQM are in the 21.7 mag+ range with super transparency. Regardless of ones eyes, Bortle # , SQM , NELM or anything else- if the individual using his own eyes () can see the MW as bright and sharp he/she will also see DSO well through a scope. The problem is seeing the MW at its best, at least once for a point of reference IMHO.

This all points to one thing- if you cant see the Milky Way well you wont see DSO well either. Once DSO are seen from truly dark skies any former notion of them being "good" (as seen from lighter skies) is thrown into the garbage can.

Exactly my experience Stu, when I lived in town and was defining the edges of its dome.

Your chart mirrors my experience, I did more observations recently using the emerging moon as a light source, which might not be a "true" LP source. However the difference between 20.5mag and 21 is very significant and is a crossover point both in the appearance of the MW and also DSO presentation. Anything over 21 is excellent but every bit over 21 makes a big difference as well. ie the difference from 21.5 mag to 21.9 mag (my very best) is significant. In years gone by I would travel up logging roads to observe, many many miles from anything bringing the sqm-l along to check. The results from multiple locations, offering the same sky quality all said the same thing which your chart reflects IMHO. Transparency is a key factor in all this.

Where did you get the reference information for these charts? ie Bortle # to NELM?

I'm still snooping around for a 1 meter primary...

Heritage 150 with your excellent 24mm ES 68 in there...our H130 never needs the sec collimated, ever and the primary needs a minor tweek now and again. Easliy shows the Merope neb (and more) in the Pleiades and many many nebula. Mounts well on a tripod too. These scopes might surprise you.

After SQMing all over this area I now use the Milky Way appearance as a great guide. When its jagged mottled appearance with dark lanes and spurs show, this correlates with 21.8-21.9 SQM. The SQM is a super valuable tool however I truly dislike the Bortle scale.

ES eyepieces have been under rated in general IMHO, they are extremely good. They dont play second fiddle to the Nagler line up IMHO.

Thats a nice looking scope.

I sure like those baffles... is it easy to collimate if need be?

Superb image Avani! Very interesting about the chain of craters. 👍

Oddly enough and surprising to me is that I like bright DSO with the 24" more than the faint objects. Yes it does very well on faint DSO but put objects like the Veil in the eyepiece and hold on! It has shown me the actual bubble arc in the Bubble nebula, about 2/3 of it or so and can even bring out much structure in the hard Cocoon nebula.It transforms so many objects. M42 will show a terribly bright green mottled core with blue and pink near the wings. Hickson 55, the strange row of galaxies is a piece of cake separation wise and brings to life so many of the strange looking ARP galaxies. PNs are another big strength of this scope showing me things I didnt think possible. It also does well on the planets but collimation is crucial and the cell can be fussy after it bounces down my ramp, across gravel and onto the concrete pad. It is a great structure allowing manual tracking with 5mm and 7mm orthos and yes these scopes love orthos, but the structure better be up to it. Still looking for Einsteins Cross apparitions after 3 years but I did get the lensing galaxy, Huchras Lens. Just thought Id give you an idea about this scope and what it could do.

Do reflectors qualify? If so my 15" f4.8 dob is my most used and favorite scope. Easy to wheel out, easy to collimate, cools well and gives much more detail on the moon, planets and DSO than my smaller scopes. The 24" is a beast, great scope, wicked DSO views but needs a ladder and with a very narrow TFOV. A scope in the 16" range will give fantastic views of everything. Mind you I leave mine assembled, cooled and only have to wheel it out 8 feet.

Just saw this now Avani, fantastic job and the detail is stunning.

"Nebula" filters work on emission nebula and any filter will degrade the views of galaxies. Also, from personal experience, a sub par filter will also degrade the view a lot... To make OIII, UHC work properly exit pupil must be in the right range-4mm-5mm so in your case a 20mm to 25mm eyepiece, preferably 2" widefields. Of course all DSO need dark skies to see well, how dark is your sky?

Most likely a focus issue IMHO.

Yes I observe this a lot, it can be seen in big scopes but its easy to look "through it". Everything from the H130 through to the SW120ED (excellent for this) works well. Its well worth the effort IMHO.

An Hb is useful for seeing an array of underwhelming objects such as the Horse Head and the ultra elusive Cone nebula. The California responds to it nicely. It is my least used filter.

It does not affect planetary or lunar to my eyes, the NZ 3-6 is a great eyepiece. On faint PN etc I use Delos or orthos which are better for me. Some eyepieces like the 10 BCO, Delos , Docter etc offer both high transmission and great planetary detail. I like to "cherry pick" eyepieces that offer it all, eventhough the NZ 3-6 is vg in its role , same goes for my Zeiss zoom, razor sharp, high lunar/planetary contrast but lower transmission than the ones mentioned above.

It took me forever to see the HH initially in my VX10, now its much easier. Transparency is crucial as is fine tuning the exit pupil for use with the Hb, a bit too dark and away it goes. These days I have two nemesis... the Eridanus Loop and Einsteins Cross, got the lensing galaxy so far after 3 years and still hunting for the "apparitions".

Ive found ES 82 eyepieces to be sharp on the moon and planets and with vg contrast on DSO. They are the toughest EPs out there IMHO.

Gotta love it lol! Tomorrow the wind chill is forecast to be -33c to -37c depending on how this storm goes, Thunder Bay has a weather warning but we are outside it. My bay might completely freeze tonight, one of the last to freeze on Rainy. The sled is all ready to go, cant wait.

We have 3 days of -25c or so starting tonight which actually feels good, we love winter. With the mentioned boots standing for hours ice fishing is no big deal and we fish in -30c a lot of the time for lake trout. IMHO its a myth that boots cant keep you very warm when standing for hours- its not the socks its the boots. With these boots you can go out no socks...

I wear Baffin brand, something like this https://www.baffin.com/products/40000048