Ships and Stars

Hi all, Last Friday we had an excellent forecast, so I spent almost 6 hours DSO observing and took three single DSLR exposures of B33, M42 and M57 which came out surprisingly well I thought for rushed, slightly unfocused record shots... I loaded the Stargate 500p in the van and went to my Bortle 2 spot, somewhere between 21.91 and 21.94 SQM. I didn't arrive until 9pm, too much stuff on at home these days and it's really been frustrating, so I have to go all out when I get a shot at this. Weather was bitterly cold and damp, around -5C to -10C at 400m elevation in the Cairngorms, fortunately not a hint of wind. A heavy frost quickly formed on everything. Even my truss rods for the dob instantly stuck to the grass when I carefully laid them down. Despite this, I was assembled, collimated and aligned in about 20-25 min as I already had the coordinates and elevation written down on my cheat sheet and target list. Plus it’s a good way to stay warm moving around like a madman! The altitude runners were getting frost on them, and when I slewed up and down, it would melt under the friction and then once stopped, would instantly refreeze and stick for a split second. Needless to say, this made tracking difficult and I had to do three or four more alignments during the night and following early morning hours, but it was quick to do since the coordinates altitude etc were already entered in the synscan, I only had to point north, level and re-enter the time, then used Deneb and Castor for my two-star align. --------------------------- Observing: IC5146 - I slewed to IC 5146, Cocoon Nebula. I’ve been trying for this one all season, but was never convinced. Using an Astronomik Hb with 17.5mm Morpheus or 20mm 66deg WO binoviewer EP I hunted for the Cocoon and finally got a light patch of reflected nebulosity around several stars, but it was a tough one indeed for my novice eyes, not a great deal to look at, just some wispy traces of nebulosity that grew ever so slightly in dimension with averted vision. I still think I can get a lot more from this difficult nebula with time and a 2" Hb on the 21E or a much cheaper option, buy a 25mm TV plossl to pair with my 1.25" Hb. Quality 2" filters are eye-wateringly expensive...got lucky picking up the 2" OIII this summer. ------ NGC 6995 Western Veil - I popped in the 21E with OIII and then slewed to NGC 6995 to confirm my alignment was still on. After a brief scan and some 'ooh and ahhing' I went for the Wizard. ------ NGC 7380 - the Wizard - I picked this one up straight away, a faint band of nebulosity with wispy sweeping extensions. Not in your face, but it was clearly observable with direct vision. After defrosting my secondary with a 12v hairdryer - a reoccurring problem - I had one thing on my mind - B33 the Horsehead Nebula! ----- Orion had risen high enough and I couldn’t wait any more. I spun the dob around and steadily homed in on B33. I had been studying AP pics and knew the surrounding stars, so that took a lot of guesswork out of it. In my rush, I didn’t even pay attention to the flame nebula which flashed across the ep for a split second en route to B33. B33 - First go was with the 20mm WO eyepiece and Hb filter. After about 30 seconds of getting settled in, I picked up the famous dark notch. Woohoo! Don’t think eyes were fully 100% dark adapted, so I spent some time swapping to the 17.5mm Morpheus and relaxing a bit on B33. I also took a single 20 sec exposure pic at ISO 6400 to confirm. Nice! It became a small bit clearer with flashes of near-clarity, the back of the horse's neck was visible but I couldn't really make out much detail around the nose, so it took on more of a u-shaped protuberance. Still, I was delighted! I spent quite a bit of time looking at it, with short breaks in between. Probably getting on 45min to an hour in total. For laughs, I swapped over the UHC and picked it up again straight away, but was substantially lacking in contrast. Had I not viewed first with Hb, I would not have been confident. I found slewing back and forth at Rate 4 on the Synscan worked really well, made it jump out, well, more noticeable shall we say. ---- M42 Orion Nebula - couldn't resist. WOW is all I will say about that! See single 8 sec exposure photo below. ----- NGC 281 - After that, I went over to the Pac Man with the 21E and OIII. The Pac Man showed excellent detail and was really another enjoyable sight after the 'faint DSO olympics' chasing the Cocoon and B33. ---- M76 Little Dumbbell - a wondrous little sight with the 9mm Delite and UHC at 222x. Very nice. ---- M57 - I often use M57 to check tracking is still on. It's getting quite low in the sky now this time of year but always a welcome sight. It's a faint iridescent blue in the 20" dob by the way! ----- IC1396 Elephant Trunk/IC405 Flaming Star/NGC 7635 Bubble Nebula - I struggled with these, fatigue, freezing dob runners and frosting secondary started to take their toll, but... ------ M52 - I missed the bubble nebula by a hair but couldn't miss this one in the same neighbourhood! Another wonderful sight, absolutely brilliant little cluster of stars. ------ M31/M32/M110/M33 What can I say, big scope, excellent seeing - M31 was enormous and full of detail. I was picking up the outer belt long before the centre came into view. Even M32 and M110 just jumped right out and had lots of detail as well, I've never seen them so clearly!! M33 was also nice and clear with detail I have not picked up on before. I think I could have easily used binoviewers for all of these. ----- NGC 869 and M45 - the double cluster was another brilliant sight. Lack of a coma corrector and the shortcomings of the 36mm Baader did really show on these - must remember to bring CC the next time and if lucky, chase down a big 30-something mm Nagler or Panoptic soon on the secondhand market. The Pleiades were another joy to look at under such conditions, intense would be a good description. ------ NCG7000 - I finished off with my 12x70 binos on the NAN which showed up nicely when scanning back and forth, but by this time I was wavering on my feet and still had to take down and pack the scope and do a long drive back. -------------------- Photographs - single DSO images at ISO 6400, very light editing. This is the first time I have used the 500p or my DSLR to take pics of DSOs. Even with the dark conditions and larger aperture, I was surprised what I was getting out of a single shot - bear in mind I wasn't trying for focus too hard and the dob runners were constantly freezing up. A 20" exposure minutes before with no star trails would quickly drop to a poor 4" exposure. Next time I will work on focus and ensure altitude runners are gliding smoothly. Deicer? I hope I can get out again soon under these sorts of conditions, amazing night, but unfortunately things are looking even busier on the home front... I want to relax a bit more next time and take in more details, but observing too calmly in subzero temps is difficult, even with a ton of insulation! Clear skies all.

My very first DSO test images. Taken on an alt az, no eq or platform. All single exposures, no stacking or filters, just popped camera on focuser and did a rough focus. Taken on a Stargate 500p dob/Nikon D810 under 21.92 SQM skies. Horsehead was a 20 sec exposure at ISO 6400, M42 was 8 sec at ISO 6400 and M57 was 5 sec at ISO 6400 I think. I started with the HH, mainly to confirm that I was indeed lined up on this very faint dark nebula when I observed it visually (finally! woo hoo!). I didn't work on focus but think they came out better than expected. My altitude runners on the dob started freezing causing alt tracking to stick, or I would have tried some more. I'll definitely do this again with a coma corrector and better focus/scope better balanced and dob runners sliding smoothly. If I get a good run of photos, I'll try some stacking. Andromeda and its companion galaxies would have been brilliant, it was so clear Friday night they jumped right out.

I always leave something behind! One time it was weights, before that it was my steps, left coma corrector at home last night, but can easily live without that for visual. Left a hammer and nice adjustable spanner at one site, now I spend a few minutes with a torch scanning the ground before I leave a site now. Still sounds like you had a great evening!

Ah, I'd have to keep some booze around! Maybe even a still😀 I do maintain a strict 'no booze whilst on the dob ladder policy' which is why I'm looking for a step up platform instead.

I'd definitely like to buy some land - I've been looking at planning which is of course quite strict in comparison to the wilds of Canada or Alaska. There are some cabin builders here who sell kits but they would only be classed as holiday homes and not permanent residences. The thing to buy in the Cairngorms would be a derelict cottage or roofless croft on the buildings at risk register etc, that could be converted into a permanent home, but I've heard they can be tiny money pits! I'll definitely have to sell some EPs to swing this one! Very true Scarp - I was involved with some survey work on a large estate a few years back to reforest an area with native conifers and tree species in the Cairngorms. A 'riparian planting project' it was called. I think the Cairngorm plateau is the only area in Britain classed as sub-Arctic. There is a domesticated reindeer herd above Loch Morelich I believe (at least that's where the visitors' centre is at for the herd) and another semi-wild reindeer herd roaming the Cairngorms. It's a beautiful part of the world there. Actually quite a good locations for trips into Perth or reaching the A9. The reforestation plan sounds interesting as well. Like you, an observatory is a must! I'd anchor it down well 👍

Now those sorts of clear nights here are memorable! Admittedly not a huge amount as I recall, but when we get them it's excellent, and typically very cold.

I must admit given the weather here lately, that alternative sounds like a winner!

Small world apparently! I reckon at some point in our lives we've probably driven within 100 miles of one another, haha. Sounds like the ES eyepiece has passed the torture test, that's impressive! I will keep an eye out for my dream cabin/observatory here in Scotland. I briefly looked at Cape Verde a few months back thinking I could pick up some land cheaply on Santo Antao and have my own mini La Palma-type observatory with similar seeing conditions, but reality set in once again... Cheers Gerry!

Yes, same here, I just prefer living somewhere that would probably bore the pants off most people (except Ray Mears) after about two hours. I bet it's incredible there in NW Ontario, sounds like a canoe or kayak is a must have when not wheeling out the dob! Sounds like heaven. I made two very memorable trips up and down the mighty Alaska-Canadian Highway back in the early 1990s when long stretches were still gravel (or under extensive repair). On the way up from Seattle one year, somewhere around Haines Junction, my co-pilot accidentally missed a warning sign and drove our van off a unmarked vertical drop, apparently cut into the road by night repair crews. I was sleeping in the back and was so tired from driving, my friend said I floated slowly upwards against the roof of the car under zero G and then landed with a thud when we touched down. I didn't even wake up 👍 I don't know how the van survived, but it was unharmed and still went in a straight line. Canada is just a HUGE country with some really sparsely populated areas, but you don't fully appreciate it until covering some vast distances by car. I've been across Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC and Yukon. Haven't been to Ontario or eastern Canada. I know someone from Labrador City of all places... Another friend years ago from Eyebrow, Saskatchewan (pop 119-ish) wittily remarked 'it's so flat there you can watch a dog run away for three weeks'. Still makes me laugh... I'd love to buy a small parcel of land here, but my other half is not so inclined. I should look for a hunting cabin or similar to rent or at least have access to on short notice, but my old camper van has served me well for quick escapes. Much of rural Scotland is only owned by a relatively small number of people holding large estates. The website 'Who Owns Scotland' gives some idea. Still, there are parcels or small houses that come up with some frequency. http://www.whoownsscotland.org.uk/geo/index.htm#zoom=7&lat=56.92913&lon=-4.51548&layers=B0TT I've never been in -42C, hard to imagine, but was in -30 or -35C in Arctic Norway in Feb 2016 with some excellent clothing. Even with the right gear on, it just had this definite life-threatening feel to it, no matter what you were wearing, like you'd crossed some kind of invisible physiological boundary where people shouldn't really be unless, you were a reindeer herder or Inuit. Just a gentle breeze felt like razors nicking bare skin when I took my gloves off for a few seconds to take some photos. I agree, I think my best night sky view eve was in Scotland was after some snow in January this year. It sharply dipped to -15C around midnight for a few hours, but rose back up to -2C by morning. That was not far from where this land is for sale actually. The view finally prompted me to seriously take up astronomy. 👍

Probably at least three or four. No seriously, we have a few decent nights in the area. I don't live a huge distance away from Glenshee, been there many times. Glenshee is on the south side of the Cairngorms, so depending on weather direction, it can be in a rain shadow or leeward side and have as many clear nights as you'd get most anywhere else in Britain (which is admittedly not many, as of late!). If weather comes from the south west or east/south east in winter, then that's a different story. It can quickly accumulate a half metre of snow or more up high. I love the winter there, we did several of the Munros near the ski centre in winter a few years back. This land is situated just south of the snow gate so you wouldn't get locked in. Still need a 4x4 and not a bad idea to carry emergency overnight gear if travelling around this area in winter. You might have 20cm of snow, but along roads like the Lecht it can easily drift to 1 or 1.5m in places for 50 or 100m stretches. Nothing is getting through that except a logging tractor, snowplough or someone on snowshoes./xc skies. I'll go for the tractor please! The road frontage along the property is about 340m od, not mega high, but plenty high enough to catch snow when it's raining in say Aberdeen. If you've ever noticed the 3m tall reflector posts situated along the roadside in places like this, that's so the plough can find the road in winter.

I was joking a bit in my initial post, but living somewhere like this would suit me perfectly. I've done a fair bit of work on estates and don't mind frequent solitude for a few days or even weeks at a time. Worked in Alaska for a while as well. A harsh Scottish Highland January is comparable to early or mid-October in Alaska, winter is just getting started. A big state obviously, there's a fair bit of climatic variation. Even simply going from Anchorage to Fairbanks it can get a lot colder. I struggle living in towns, cities are pretty much unfathomable to me these days, I go in and get out as soon as I can.

Definitely! A wonderful part of the world. Lots of Munros in that area too. I'd live there in a second.

If everyone on SGL buys lottery tickets as a syndicate - for sale - 904.88 acres in the Cairngorms National Park off the A93 near Spittal of Glenshee, rising up to a 794m ridgeline. Offers over £695,000 - not bad actually! 21.91 SQM Bortle 2, virtually no artificial brightness. https://media.onthemarket.com/properties/7918371/1209299483/document-1.pdf I'll kindly offer to live there rent-free as the estate manager, just doing my part 🤣 I'll need a new 4x4 however to ferry scopes up the slope. A Defender, Land Cruiser or perhaps even a Unimog will suffice. Alternatively, if someone has a house in London, quickly sell it at a knockdown price, buy the land and pocket half a million or so to renovate the cottage and buy a new scope or two. Ever the dreamer.... PS bring a snow shovel or three.

I read this article yesterday - sad but not surprising. Some (not all) planners/architects still don't seem to get it. The two businesses next to us are beyond ridiculous. One has just installed three 180 deg 1000 lumen unshielded LED flood lights. This is to light ONE small parking space at their rear - they shine directly into our house and needless to say, destroy any chances of astronomy. The other business, despite my written objection, has just received planning permission to install NINE of the exact same ones along the length of their building that faces us a few metres away. I convinced LP offender number one to reluctantly switch the timer off at 8pm, and that took a lot of persuasion with a hint of statutory nuisance thrown in. They acted like I stole their Christmas. The other business is a complete pain they will no doubt leave them on all night. Along with other issues from these two businesses, we will simply have to move and are planning to do so in the spring. Even if I wasn't into astronomy, they would drive me nuts, you can't see anything outside at night, it's already blinding.

That's excellent John! I'm bound to catch it this season. Just need a break in this blasted weather we're having this way!

Hi Gerry, the 200p is f5 (I think) it could possibly be 1200mm though, but the OTA looks a bit too short. I'll have to measure it and make sure. It's the older blue SW 200p Newtonian on an equally old EQ5, but provides some decent views. Perhaps the potential is there to see the HH under the right conditions? I'll take it with me the next time I get a crack at my Bortle 2 site - as soon as all our flood warnings here pass! Maybe I picked the wrong season to really get into astronomy! Hopefully Dec-Feb will shape up.

I have a 200p on EQ5, that would be amazing if I could bag the HH from my 21.9 site! I was really close here from home with the 20" but the LP is just a bit too much. Desperate for some clear skies now but as I mention in my other post, not holding breath, forecast is Grim with a capital 'G'. I did see a few stars last night through some clear patches, so hopefully the forecast is just wrong...

Thanks Gerry! This is perfect, first-hand information here. Good to hear you got both with the UHC! You don't want to see our weather forecast here however, I've already had two flood alerts in three days for our general area, bleh. Your report gives me hope though! Like you, I quite like the planetaries as well. Glad to hear someone is getting some action in!

I was just thinking about the SW 25mm plossl and laughed, it probably would have been perfect for the horse head if contrasty enough. I sold it with my 130pds a few weeks ago. I'm fairly happy with my EP collection at the moment, but will go for a filter slide and another plossl in the 25mm range. However, I've a 66deg 20mm Williams Optics EP from my binoviewers, that might work! SGL could host a cheapest ep and scope /Horse Head competition, with handicap ratings for different Bortle conditions! Clearly too much time on my hands at the moment, better get back to work... Thanks Gerry!

The skywatcher 130pds is really light, needs an az4 tripod/mount or similar. I had one, great little scope. A 150pds would be a step up for not much more. Depending on quite how bad his back is, a small skywatcher dobsonian would be great, either a 150px (£210) or 200px (£275). No mount needed for dobsonians, it's built in. PS the 130 Heritage John mentions is basically the same optically as the 130pds but a simpler set-up. Good views as well. I wouldn't mind having one myself.

A filter slide would be excellent to easily check different views, a lot less faffing about in the dark with tiny, expensive bits of glass! I won't rush out to buy an ultrablock then, I went with Astronomik simply so I don't have to second guess my filter if I miss something. Our weather has been unusually poor as well from some of the feedback I've been seeing, so hopefully we will all get a break soon. The Horse Head must be some rite of passage, but yes, that's a big one on my list! I've come close already from home believe it or not, but that was unusual seeing conditions and the business floodlights next door were off (that was nice!). I shall definitely report back if I locate the HH, thanks for the information as always! PS - as always, any recommendations for filter slides? I don't know a great deal about them, but I have seen some cheap ones online (something like £25) and some I believe that are for for AP only. FLO sells this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/filter-wheels/manual-5-position-filter-wheel.html Thanks again Gerry and Stu.

Thanks Gerry! I seem to pick some of the trickier ones but the app Stu posted really helps tame expectations. It's been difficult lately to get out at all, nevermind get to my Bortle 2 site (21.94 SQM, so quite good forthe faint stuff) due to family commitments. I have to really plan ahead to get the most from any session these days... What high-transmission UHC do you recommend? I have the Astronomik UHC, OIII and Hb in 1.25", but only the OIII in 2". The 2" filters are a fair bit of dough! I ony recently picked up the Hb and UHC, really haven't used them much yet. The Orion Ultrablock seems to get good reviews, though I've not tried it. Cheers!

Yes my 55mm plossl was an excellent eyepiece but had something like a 13mm exit pupil, and that was f4! You can't have it all, as they say. Good point too on the variable surface brightness. I appreciate the information - this has been very helpful Stu.

Stu - the BB Astro Designs calculator is brilliant - it gives min/max/ideal magnification and clearly tells me going from 21.5sqm to 21.9 will make a huge difference in seeing it vs not. My fav bit is where it shows what a scope half and double the aperture will show. I clearly need a 40" dob to make my life a lot easier! 👍 I like this.

Ah right, this is helpful! NAN will be a bino challenge for the 12x70 binos from a really dark site I think. 4.6deg FOV with those. I definitely was looking through the Wizard the other night with the 17.5 Baader. I did get the sense the entire FOV was filled with very faint nebulosity. I'll use my 36mm aspheric and then perhaps the 21E, both with OIII for the Wizard. Lots to learn! Many thanks, the surface brightness vs size is a key aspect of chasing these and knowing which ones I can realistically see. Cheers!