Blue 'wisps' on Pleiades pictures.

[Claire]

Sorry for the lack of technical terms. I was out tonight as we have super clear skies and I was looking at Jupiter Pleiades etc.

It's my birthday inn2 weeks and I'm getting the celestron 15x70 binoculars as a pressure.

I looked on google and the pics I see have the pleiades with a blue wisp around them.

Is this actually what you see in higher magnification, or is it a false colour image so to speak?

Thanks

Claure

[Claire]

Sorry for spelling mistakes - I'm on my phone and I'm tired

[Helen]

The blue is nebulosity Claire, and you won't see it with the binoculars. But Pleiades is still a great sight in binos

Helen

[cotterless45]

Yep, the Pleiades is moving through this area of nebulosity. You can see it best from a dark site, it does appear blue around the stars, enjoy,

Nick.

[Capricorn]

One says you will see one says you won't ! :rolleyes:

There is this blue nebulosity but you will need a big aperture scope (and dark skies) or a good asptrophotography image for it.

It is very faint and that is the only options for collecting enough light for it to be apparent.

So what you need is both (just to be safe) get a 12" scope and a full astrophotography kit. :grin:

[Carbon Brush]

Our eyes do not show colour at low levels. We need brightness to discern colour.

So to us, with our limited budgets, most night sky objects are white/grey.

Bright stars show some colour. As do the the bright planets.

For example, unaided Mars and Betelgeuse are red.

With a small scope or binoculars, Pleiades stars are bluish with grey wisps between.

With a BIG scope, to gather lots of light, you get enough to show colour on more objects.

Then of course night vision varies with age. A young person can more easily discern colour at low levels. I will not venture on to the forbidden territory of asking your age Claire!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have actually seen the reflection nebulae (in grey, with a bit of blueish white around the stars) with a good quality 80mm refractor, at 12x and 22x magnification. This was on a very clear night high up in the Alps. Even in bins you can see them, but it requires a dark location, clear skies, and above all, binoculars that are free of glare. With my old Omegon 15x70s (Revelation and Celestron clone) I could not spot it, but with my new Helios 15x70 HD I can.

[Claire]

Ahh thank you guys! I'm almost 29 David.

It was so clear last night, I don't remember seeing as many stars here before. I was able to find the grey smudge that was Andromeda too. I've never seen it before, (not for want of trying), but I think because there is too much light pollution here normally. Not sure why last night was so clear...

Very strange feeling. I'm pretty new to all this (still learning my way around the skies), but I feel in awe of our universe seeing that other galaxy

[Claire]

I have actually seen the reflection nebulae (in grey, with a bit of blueish white around the stars) with a good quality 80mm refractor, at 12x and 22x magnification. This was on a very clear night high up in the Alps. Even in bins you can see them, but it requires a dark location, clear skies, and above all, binoculars that are free of glare. With my old Omegon 15x70s (Revelation and Celestron clone) I could not spot it, but with my new Helios 15x70 HD I can.

I really don't understand any of the telescope information apart from the magnification bit I'm hoping to get a telescope for my 30th next year (having a party and going to ask for £ towards one), so I'll have loads of questions in the run up to next Sept

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I really don't understand any of the telescope information apart from the magnification bit I'm hoping to get a telescope for my 30th next year (having a party and going to ask for £ towards one), so I'll have loads of questions in the run up to next Sept

The telescope used has a front lens diameter of just 80mm in my case, in other words you do not need a big scope for this particular target. It is however quite an expensive little scope, due to the optical quality of the lenses, The binoculars (bins) had 70mm front lenses, and 15x magnification. Glare is a problem in some optical systems, which means each point source (like a star) is surrounded by an artificial halo of light. This halo completely masks the faint light from the reflection nebula. Better quality lenses (or mirrors) do not produce this effect (or to a much smaller degree), and allow you to see fainter detail in the presence of bright objects.

Hope that helps.

[Claire]

Ah I see - that makes a lot more sense. I think I have glare problems on the bins I have at the moment, also I see a reflection of whatever I'm looking at too. I'm well overdue for a pair (these I have were my Grandad's!)

[Capricorn]

Ahh thank you guys! I'm almost 29 David.

Nope, in 5 more posts you will be 100.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nope, in 5 more posts you will be 100.

Young whippersnappers, the lot of you

[Claire]

haha 4 more now

[Ganymede12]

Are there any colour filters that will show the nebulosity in a 70mm refractor? Would the Skyliner 200P dob be able to see it?

[DirkSteele]

Are there any colour filters that will show the nebulosity in a 70mm refractor? Would the Skyliner 200P dob be able to see it?

The nebulosity associated with the Pleiades is a refrlection nebula, i.e the Nebula itself is not generating its own light as seen with an emission type such as M42, the Orion Nebula. As such no filters will aid in spotting it. Dark skies are needed.

[DirkSteele]

I should have added I have spotted it in my 4 inch Apo refractor which can take in the whole cluster in one field under dark skies.

[ArmyAirForce]

I caught it a couple of nights ago with around 15 minutes of exposure made up from 30 and 60 second frames. This is the first time I've caught the nebulosity on camera, but I've never seen it observing through the scope yet. It just fits the field of view with my Explorer 200 and Nikon D50.

[Claire]

That

I caught it a couple of nights ago with around 15 minutes of exposure made up from 30 and 60 second frames. This is the first time I've caught the nebulosity on camera, but I've never seen it observing through the scope yet. It just fits the field of view with my Explorer 200 and Nikon D50.

That's a beautiful picture. What a shame it's not really visible to see apart from on a photo. I don't quite understand the mechanics of taking several exposure photos? and them stacking them together to get a picture like this. Can anyone point me in the direction of how this works? (simplified if possible!)

C

[ollypenrice]

Ah, most of what's out there is only visible in photos, alas! Cameras can collect light over time, the eye can't. But it can look wonderful at the eyepiece. I find the Pleiades nebulosity very variable, visually. Sometimes I see it, sometimes not. Having a huge telescope is not the answer because you can no longer fit the whole cluster into the view.

As well as the blue nebulosity there is fainter gas and reddish dust through which the cluster is passing.

Olly

[Mr Q]

Are there any colour filters that will show the nebulosity in a 70mm refractor? Would the Skyliner 200P dob be able to see it?

I have seen a faint wisp of nebulosity (the brightest part) with a 10" by moving the bright star just out of view and slowly scanning across the area. This was at a very dark sky site with very transparent sky. From what Ive' heard, what I observed is the smallest size scope possible to see any nebulosity visually under very good skies. Filters? I have never used them so maybe someone else will offer their knowledge.

[RikM]

I have seen just hints of nebulosity as well. I think it really does depend on the transparency and darkness of the sky.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have seen just hints of nebulosity as well. I think it really does depend on the transparency and darkness of the sky.

Absolutely: the size of the scope is less important than the transparency of the sky, and the exit pupil used (front lens diameter divided by magnification, this essentially defines how much you have "diluted" the light from the nebula). A large exit pupil (low "dilution") is best for nebulae. Moving the stars to just outside the FOV helps cutting down glare.