Blinking planetary?

[Manok101]

What would it look like in. 10" scope? Just a fuzzy star or do I need a special filter or what? I've spent the last few observing nights looking without success. Any help would be appreciated.

[Merlin66]

using a small prism behind the eyepiece helps to show up planetary nebulae.

The neighbourhood stars are stretched into small spectra and the planetary remains as a pinpoint image.

Once you've positively identified it you can pump up the magnification ( an OIII filter can help if you have a large scope).

[acey]

What would it look like in. 10" scope?

Depends how dark the sky is. If it's dark enough then the object is easy in small apertures, but if the sky is bright then you may need a filter to see it. If you use a filter then you probably won't be able to see the "blinking" effect. Reason is that the blink is caused when you look directly at the central star, which makes you unable to see the surrounding nebula. Latter is however visible with averted vision. Filter makes the central star dimmer, so the nebula will be seen with direct vision. I've had nice unfiltered views of it with an 8".

[The Bat]

I've seen it in an 8" and it's peculiar, the blinking effect, but fascinating. Look directly at it, and it looks like a star. Look away and you can see the nebula.

It is rather small, however. It's a bit like a fuzzy star and hard to pick out at first at low power, but you can bump it up which helps to see the effect, I've found.

Rachel

[Manok101]

My eyes move back and forth and I could swear that I saw what appeared to be a star that would wink out every so often was that it? It was fairly brighter than the surrounding group of stars