Hole in the clouds

[jetstream]

Tonite the forecast here was pretty lousy,except for a brief break in the cloud cover a bit north of here,so I went for a drive.I focused on just a few objects including the Veil,Carolines Rose and M31.The sky was black,but the transparency was mediocre to average-but....Using the OIII,the Veil was quite stunning,revealing twisting,thin rope like structure in the brighter Veil and the Witches Broom also provided a great view .One of tonites highlights was being able to clearly,distinctly see the "triangle"-Pickerings Wisp in the same FOV as the tip of the Broom,with the 17mm Ethos.I spent a good 45 min observing all that the Veil had to give.

On to M31,the Andromeda Galaxy.The view of the galaxy was very big,bright and again revealed dust lanes,this time with a bit of mottling in the separations.The core gave a nice bright glow and the companion galaxies were excellent,esp M110.Carolines Rose revealed the structure to me that gave her the name.Now I know why some observers love this object-the 8mm Delos pulled out the stars in the "rose" pattern,filling the FOV,quite an object & I'll be visiting often.

This trip I went to a site which is one of the darkest spots near to me and it paid off,now I just have to wait for one of those nights where it all comes together,with good seeing & transparent skies.At least I had the opportunity to observe on one of my days off,I can't wait to see this stuff under optimum conditions.

[nytecam]

Nice - can you quote the NGC numbers please otherwise its a PubQuiz for me - thanks

[floppygoose]

^{Good result Gerry, I thought I spotted a hole in the cloud last week, but by the time I got my scope out it had gone.}

^Phil

[andyman]

Nice report gerry 

[jetstream]

Nice - can you quote the NGC numbers please otherwise its a PubQuiz for me - thanks

Some objects deserve and have eloquent names that I prefer and remember more easily.All those "M"  and NGC # get confusing.These objects listed were pointed out to me by astute SGL members and are exquisite.The Bridal Veil or just Veil has numerous components,including Pickerings Wisp.TheEastern Veil-NGC 6992 is the brighter of the two,NGC 6960-the Witches Broom is easily found by locating 52 Cygni.In between is Pickerings Wisp-Simeis 3-188,and is not easy to see.These objects are all the result of a supernova and are the remnants.

Carolines Rose,named after the discoverer-Caroline Herschel, is known by NGC 7789 and is beautiful, with rows of swirling stars resembling a rose as looked from above.

In my 90mm from very dark skies the Veil was small,but easily seen & nice.I just caught patches of the Wisp,very faint but there.Carolines Rose was hard for me to find for a while,but the 90 didn't reveal its glory.

Now with more aperture,dark skies and more experience,these objects have become stunning.Many thanks to John,Nick,Qualia and the others who have helped me on my path to actually "observe" these objects.

[AlexB67]

Nice to read.  I can't wait to get my new toy under the darker stuff. Tonight looks promising, but probably I'll have one more test run with it at home to get a bit more fluent with using it, and get a Telrad. Though after using the scope the first time, I was beginning to get on a little bit better with the finder scope by the end of the session.