Any tips on viewing NGC7000?

[euphony]

Hi guys,

Well, as the title suggests, has anyone got any hints or tips on how to view this object? I know I'm looking at the right area (my cheating goto helps for that!), I have an OIII filter in, glare from street light blocked out, it's high up near the zenith, but I still can't make anything out of this nebula what so ever.

According to everything I have read it is mag 4, so should be visible somehow with my 11" scope, but I just can't see it. I have tried innumerable times

I have the same problem trying to view the heart and soul nebulas, I can't even see a hint of them.

Generally the light pollution where I live isn't too bad, as I can make out up to about 12.5 mag galaxies on a good seeing night. I have a plate fixed to the back of the streetlight at the side of the house by the council to stop any stray light coming into the garden and live only a few streets away from generally open countryside (Os grid ref: SK355785).

But nothing

Is anyone able to suggest anything (I'm guessing not, but it can't hurt to ask!)

Many thanks

Chris

[swamp thing]

Hi Chris

NGC7000 (the North American nebula) is a true big faint fuzzy. It's enormous with low surface brightness. Chances are your 11" SCT is looking straight through it without you even noticing. It's so big it can easily be seen by holding an O-III filter up to the unaided eye at a dark sky site.

My tip for you is forget the scope, and have a go with bins first. If you can get some big bins 15x70 or a RFT better still. The small FOV of a big SCT is of no help here.

It is not an easy target from any sky with LP

[Marc1980]

Reading a thread lastnight aparrently it can be seen with the mk1 eyeball if the conditions are dark enough.

Sent from my galaxy s3 using tapatalk 2

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I first spotted NGC 7000 with my older 15x70 bins from a very dark site in France (no filter needed). The main reason I had not seen it before is that it is many times larger than the full moon. The 4.4 deg FOV of the 15x70 just about frames it. The best view I have ever had of it was with my 80mm F/6 at 12x mag with 5.76 deg FOV and UHC filter. Stunning!! I even could see the Pelican. My C8 is totally unsuitable to observe this.

It is not the most difficult of DSOs (the California Nebula and Flaming Star Nebula were harder), but certainly a challenge.

[euphony]

Ahhh, that explains things!

That's great, many thanks for your help guys. I'll get the binoculars out tonight (weather permitting!).

I might try out of interest looking through the scope with my new F6.3 focal reducer too.

I also have an f3.3 reducer, iI might try using both at once to see what happens!

[euphony]

Is it the same situation with the heart and soul nebulas?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Ahhh, that explains things!

That's great, many thanks for your help guys. I'll get the binoculars out tonight (weather permitting!).

I might try out of interest looking through the scope with my new F6.3 focal reducer too.

I also have an f3.3 reducer, iI might try using both at once to see what happens!

Using a reducer does not extend the true FOV (that is determined by the rear aperture of the scope, along with the focal length), it just reduces image scale. The F/3.3 reducer is only useful for small ccds, not for visual.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Is it the same situation with the heart and soul nebulas?

To a certain extent, yes. I have seen the embedded cluster with the C8, but the nebulosity is much more extended. I have yet to spot that with my wide-field scope.

[euphony]

Brilliant, thank you for your extremely helpful replies

[laser_jock99]

Dark skies & low power (7 x 50) binos.

[John]

It took me years to see the NA Nebula. As suggested above I was looking straight through it with my scopes. Eventually I spotted some of it's outline with 15x70 binoculars and now I can follow some of it's shape with my 102mm F/6.4 refractor with my lowest power eyepiece and an O-III filter. That gives me a 3.9 degree true field and even thats not large enough for this object !

[euphony]

That gives me a 3.9 degree true field and even thats not large enough for this object !

Blimey!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I am hoping to give it a shot with the 31T5 and 80mm (15.5x, 5.3 deg FOV) and O-III filter some time soon. That should be better than with the 40mm Paragon at 12x and 5.76 deg FOV (exit pupil too large, really).

[bendiddley]

i've been wondering the same thing, i must have been looking straight through it too. good advise here thanks

[Moonshane]

I could fit about half of it in the field with my 6" f5 scope and 32mm plossl (about 2.2 degrees), from a dark site really impressive with the Oiii. you do need a wide field to appreciate it.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Another tip: look for dark patches first, not light. I have found that in many very diffuse nebulae, especially in crowded areas of the milky way, it is easier to spot dust lanes, etc, than spotting the edges of the nebula itself. The dark "Gulf of Mexico" is probably the feature that stands out most clearly. Once you have spotted that, the rest sort of snaps into view.

[ollypenrice]

Took me years as well. I can sense the shape of it naked eye but then I tend to lose the plot! I couldn't get it to 'click' as a shape in any optical aid. Then this year I had a great view of the Wall in the big Dob and once I'd got it I could trace out the key outlines. I've some top quality 8X42 bins coming so this will be one of the projects.

A dark site is everything, that's dead certain.

Olly