Marvin Jenkins

It’s completely cloudy so I didn’t set up so I am not happy.

M

1 hour ago, callump said:

Last night (2020-09-17) was not too bad a sky for me (SQM 20.3), but it was a rather frustrating session. Telescope alignment problems meant I had to re-do that mid-session. Some software problems. And then leaving the filter wheel on Blue for the last couple of objects.

First up here though, is NGC 7662 - the blue snowball planetary nebula - in fact it was really too bright! I tried this LRGB composite, which has a tinge of blue...
C11 on G11, f/6.3, ZWO ASI174MM mini
LRGB 2x30s each. 
Siril + Affinity Photo

M76 - this is just the Luminance frame - same equipment as above, 10 x 30s exposures. I tried a quick LRGB but the background noise was too horrible to make the image worth sharing. There is a star at the centre of the nebula, but I am not 100% sure if this is the central star, which is quoted at mag. 16.6.

 

 

Forecast for tonight is promising, so I hope I might be able to revisit last night list.

Callum

If it’s in the centre then I am taking it as the central star😁In all seriousness it looks to be about as bright as the least bright stars in the background. Is there a way you could identify any of the background stars to compare 16.6 mag?

Marv

7 hours ago, Stu said:

Make sure it’s the same colour and just put it further down the garden and she’ll never know 🤣

That's what the future obs is going to be for, not just observing but hiding all the future kit. 

I used to know a guy who replaced his carbon road bike every year like some kind of drug fix. Very expensive and asked if his Mrs was ok with it.

His reply.... As long as it is a red Specialized she never knows. Shame I can’t go from my 6 inch newt to 12 inch. Even keeping the colour the same I am sure she would notice.

Marv

9 hours ago, alacant said:

Ah, ok. I thought that as the op posted in the imaging forum and asked a question about an image he'd posted, it was about imaging. 

I fully agree that it's much easier to take the camera out of the equation and simply scan for the the nebula using an eyepiece.

I apologize for leading the post astray.

Cheers

I completely understand, EP leading to Camera is normally what happens (did with me) but jm1973 needs to find the target first to photograph it. Also it was quite an in-depth post so it covered a fair amount.👍

Marv

No such thing as another. If I get board of M31 time for the scopes to go. Really like the wide field/ mosaic. Really puts it in its place in the darkness.

M

I know Astro can get confusing and very frustrating especially when trying to get a Goto mount working just how you want it.

Firstly I have to say with all respect to replies to your original op, you seem to be trying to find the Ring Neb via an EP. This is doable with a 200p just takes some practice and a little knowledge of that bit of sky.

You are doing nothing wrong. Just take your time and don’t complicate anything. If you cannot find an object in the EP then adding cameras is probably going to add questions. If you find it, then definitely add a camera.

Try finding something like M13 a large bright glob in Hercules. See it in your finder scope first, compare it’s position to stars in the square of Hercules. A large target like that is the way to learn an object in relation to its surrounding star field.

Planetary nebula are bright so seem a great choice, but they are so small they are very hard to to find. I have had nights when I know the Goto is perfect but I have had ten minutes at the EP to realise that the center object in the fov is not just another star, but the ‘target pn’ !

Happy hunting and clear skies. Marv

On 11/09/2020 at 18:44, Martin Meredith said:

Great result Callum. I observed this one too a few nights back in LRGB. This is a 7m15 stack. The central star appears really blue -- I guess this is the result of absorption by the nebula.

I tried to orient mine to match yours but I think yours is flipped relative to mine. There's a bonus mag 16.3 galaxy in the shot at my 11 o'clock, your 4 o'clock.

Did you combine L with RGB or is it pure RGB?

Martin

I love the contrast of the blue star. Great capture both of you.

M

2 minutes ago, djdurance said:

I did a quick check of this when I got this a few weeks ago... but probably should check again in more detail to make sure! I'll do it before another try tonight. Btw, do you find that you can get the stars to be "sharp" in the polar scope? No matter what I do with the focuser it always seems a bit blurry to me.

You should be able to gain focus by rotating the eyepiece, unscrewing/screwing in. If that fails unscrew the polar scope ep and check to see it is clean. When installed they are quite greasy and mine had a decent smudge on the optic.

M

13 minutes ago, John said:

When a bright moon is in the same part of the sky as a planet, I've noticed that this can actually help with enhancing the contrast of features on the planet. 

Similar to the effect of observing a planet against a sky which still has some sunlight in it I think.

 

Thank you John. I was going to ask you about preferred times for planetary viewing in relation to the moon.

I will just have to put it down to aperture and poor seeing, mostly the atmosphere I think as moments of stillness and clarity were for a fraction every ten seconds or more.

Mostly I experience a few seconds every five so very challenging. Just hoping the clouds don’t roll in for a prolonged period, fingers crossed for October.

Marv

8 minutes ago, DaveS said:

The figures I've seen suggest that it would be about as bright as the full moon, so about 1 million times less bright than the sun. Painful to look at through a telescope but not blindingly so.

The real fun would come in the years following, when we have an expanding SNR to study close up.

But can you imagine how boring the AP thread will be. Another SNR of B..... for years.

In all seriousness the idea put about that astronomers could be blinded by B (mainly put out there by me) is far fetched. It has been pointed out to me that in the life of star we could be a million years away from B going nova.

The flip side of that is that B has been incredibly dynamic recently, so no one being a living expert it go off tonight!

The more dynamic it becomes the more astronomers will observe it, especially as there have been calls for amateurs to estimate it’s magnitude.

If the time from neutrino reception to nova is one hour or less then no matter how ridiculous some caution may be adhered to. 
Marv

Not a lot of notice then. Do you think astronomers should get a warning via social media on the grounds of health and safety?

Come to think of it, is the big B being monitored 24/7 for neutrino bursts?
Marv

With you all the way. My weather has not been bad, but frustrating for Astro. One of my main targets this year is Mars and in particular a definitive yes to seeing the polar cap.

Well done on seeing the cap and detail. I am using a six inch newt, and I know with good conditions I can get your current results. I had the same problems trying very high mag EPs with a 2x Barlow.  Did you use any filters?

My problem mainly comes from poor seeing currently, along with a lot of moon. I bet a week from now it will cloud over for a while.
 

Marvin

I did mention the neutrino aspect in my previous post. Please could someone explain why a huge burst of neutrinos would happen in the moments before a super nova.

Due to my lack of knowledge of the subject I have to deduce that a neutrino burst happens first, nova after.

The speed of light being the limiting factor if both things happened at ‘point of nova’ we would experience both at the same time here on Earth?
 

Furthermore, what is the suspected difference in time from neutrino burst to nova?
Are we talking minutes, hours or days? If the last local SN was 1600 ad and something, then am I safe to assume that the current hypothesis is exactly that, best guess? I am pretty sure no one was measuring neutrino bursts in the seventeenth century.

Marv

I know I have been a bit tongue in cheek, but this has cropped up before. There is a very long thread on here about Big B and it’s recent magnitude fluctuations.

Way above my pay grade but there is a suggestion that a huge wave of neutrinos would signal the impending Nova, and Lord knows there are people on here that understand that stuff and can explain it in a more complicated way than I.

In short, it is a joke on my part. Your chance of being blinded by Big B is incredibly small. I have seen quotes that say it is going to be so bright, that for a short period it will be like a second sun in our sky. That’s day time!

Try that with a 7mm ep and 2x Barlow and feel how your eyeballs cope. I maybe wrong, and please correct, but the last time this happened was the Crab Neb, recorded by the Chinese a thousand years ago?
 

Marv

2 hours ago, Mustang281 said:

Hi everyone, and thank you for all the replies. As anticipated, it was something incredibly simple and an oversight on my part. I wasn’t using the diagonal mirror for the eyepiece. 

It’s amazingly clear now that I have all of the required parts installed 😉

Thanks again!

Erik 

The sky is all yours now, and the family of course. Enjoy, the night sky is the best free show you can get.

Marv

Just remember when viewing the big B through a telescope from now on, to use your eye that is least preferred. If it goes pop when viewing then you won’t lose the sight in your preferred viewing eye.

If you are the kind of astronomer that lives a rock and roll lifestyle and uses a bino viewer, then the risks of the big B going nova are not to be taken lightly. 🤩

Marv

14 minutes ago, Datalord said:

I wouldn't know, I don't frequent that site.

You should. It’s good. 

I am not sure what is going on here. But I do know that the loss of someone like Rodd on this forum is a loss to me personally.

I have just started in the AP world and I need all the help and reference I can get. Loosing people like Rodd will just set me back.

Sorry Rodd, I am one of those silent thousands who never applauded never gave a heart. I am a complete beginner and think to myself I have not seen Narrow band kit let alone used any. As such I always feel I am not qualified to comment or like an image of your quality as for me it is a dream sometime in the future if ever.

In short you have a chearing chorus of us beginners who are silent, sat in the wings hoping one day to do better than you, and we will!  People like you are the shoulders I hope to stand on.
Don’t hang it up just yet. Give me a year or two to try and catch up a little then let me pick your brains, frankly I need the help.

Marv

In the original post I noticed a part sentence about mainland Europe with open skies or some such xxxxxxx.

Yes our weather is much better, but clear for Astro? Sooooo many nights where horse tails and high thin cloud ruin it all, admittedly in shorts with a glass of cold Vin Blanc.

I have had problems at ep due to the heat, dehydration instantly cured by more Vin Blanc.

Joking aside (and the odd night has Vin Blanc) I have been without a starry night for three months in my Astro diary. So being located in the UK does not give you complete blagging rights.

Marvin

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

There is an article on the current status of Betelegeuse on page 20 of the September Circular of the BAA Variable Star Section., which has just been released

Trying not to swear. Obviously not allowed to on here. Your link opened and first few pages Ian Miller!

Never knew or met the man, but I get the feeling that he was a man I would have liked to have met.

Compared to his work I am a guy blindly looking around with a spy glass.

Recently I stumbled across (probably prodded by an SGL member or more likely a friend from across the pond on CN) a link to Mantrapskies. 

Same sadness, the website said he has passed on. Please research both as there legacy lives on in their research.

I have not had a chance yet to look at Mr Millers data, but a lifetimes effort will surely be beyond my expectations.

Marvin

4 hours ago, Alan64 said:

That does beg the question as to why there never was an EQ-7.  However, the numerical designations haven't been in existence for that long.  I think Sky-Watcher started that, and at the turn of this century.

I would presume that there was just not a market for anything between 6 and 8.

7 was probably on the drawing board and got shelved before production.

Anyway, I feel I must apologize, as I have dragged the thread away from the original post, sorry Jm1973.

Marv

On 27/08/2020 at 19:31, Alan64 said:

To the OP, these are the sizes of equatorials, from the smallest to the largest...

An EQ-4 is actually closer in size to an EQ-3. 

That could very well be a 200P within your image.  I tried to enlarge the specs label, but to no avail; too blurry.  The 200P is oft combined with an EQ-5 rather...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-eq5.html

 

I always felt sorry for the EQ7. Never allowed out to play with it’s brothers and sisters. Locked away in the broom cupboard of astronomy. Dejected, worthless, an embarrassment to equatorial mounts, it holds its head in shame.

A bit like Windows 9.

M

Next clear night I am going to have a go at getting a few more single sub pn’s , could become addictive. If successful I will add to the posts.

Marv