NGC 6781 in Aquila

[Bart]

What a beautiful night. Sky cleared about 10.30 and a little breeze picked up initially. Tried out my new 7mm Nagler that arrived today, secondhand. Nice EP. Anyway after trying a few of the usual northerly objects, I tried a bit of hunting some tricky galaxies. Got the globs in Delphinius. One if them is a bit tricky. Went over to Aquila and tried for the planetary nebula NGC 6781. To my amazement I got it first go and was surprised how clear it was. Also surprised its not better known as it was quite striking and easier than the mag 11.6 would suggest

Great night but as working a bit early tomorrow, have reluctantly put the kit away.

Ps very impressed with the used 7mm Nagler T6

Also impressed with the Pentax 8.5 XF. Good contrast in them both

Very enjoyable night. Damn that working malarkey!!!!!

Barry

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice catch. NGC 6781 is very nice. Many of the objects on the brightest planetaries list are very high in surface brightness, so hold up well even in my XW10/XF8.5 (at F/10, that is!). The only problem can be that they look stellar, and can really only be distinguished using UHC filters (or gratings to show the spectra). There are quite a few more in Aquila that can be picked out with some patience.