Orion Nebula in poor conditions.

[RyanGSams]

With it being this cold over in the states and my son sleeping in bed, I took my scope out on to the porch. There was a street lamp pretty much right out side the porch, but wanted to see if i could find it. I took my binocs out first just to be sure i could possible see it. i did see it after a few minutes of searching and blocking out the light. I then hurried and set the scope outside. Used the 32mm to find the general location, moved onto the 15mm, then added a barlow to that, then hopped to a 10mm with a barlow. Under poor seeing, I managed to see the stars, and barely see the smudge that is the Orion Nebula. I can't say it wasn't a bad experience. I did see it and double checked the starts once i pulled the scope back in. I am now warming up. I was out there for no more than 10 minutes. One night this winter I will make it out there and for a lot longer and dress warmer. Can't wait to get a better look at it with better conditions and in a darker sky.  

Clear Skies,

Ryan

[Swedeman2013]

Make sure your scope and eyepieces have cooled down a LOT in winter, or your views will look foggy. How big is your scope? You may find as I did that a Barlow can disappoint , especially with nebulae, zooming in with a 10mm and Barlow will kill your views. I've got an 8" Dob and m42 is sweet through a decent 20 mm plossl. I live in Canada and I leave my scope in an outdoor porch ( covered), otherwise it would take hours to cool down and most likely frost up.

[RyanGSams]

Make sure your scope and eyepieces have cooled down a LOT in winter, or your views will look foggy. How big is your scope? You may find as I did that a Barlow can disappoint , especially with nebulae, zooming in with a 10mm and Barlow will kill your views. I've got an 8" Dob and m42 is sweet through a decent 20 mm plossl. I live in Canada and I leave my scope in an outdoor porch ( covered), otherwise it would take hours to cool down and most likely frost up.

I have the Astro master 130, which is 5.12" aperture. It did kind of look foggy, but i was still able to see stars pretty easily. I didn't have much time or patience to let it cool down. I think atmospheric conditions had something to do with my seeing as well as the street light right outside where i was looking. I am hoping next week we will have some clear skies and I can head to a darker spot to get a better look.

[Swedeman2013]

Indiana kind of mirrors our weather in Quebec so not to bore you but get everything down to outdoor temps and you'll be good to go. I had a tough time in the fall with above freezing temps. A 5 " reflector will reveal tons of , check out Pleaides ( so easy to find) and use the wider eyepiece.

[barkis]

Hi Ryan,

Allowing your opticts to come down to ambient temperature is a prime requirement. If you stay indoors whilst that time elapses, your own optics, namely your eyes, will not have dilated anywhere near enough to ready for observing Nubulae, even a bright one like M42.

Dark adaption is a must as I'm sure you are aware of, I'm no means suggesting you are not not aware of that. extraneous lighting can be a pest, and quickly destroy your eye sensitivity to faint objects, so protecting them has to be considered too, A dark sheet covering your head as you observe, can be a useful aid in preserving  your eye sensitivity,

Peripheral vision plays a big role too in faint object observation.

It's surprising how much detail starts to emerge when committing prolonged observation of an object. Quick looks are not very  productive.

M42 Is the jewel in winter skies, and needs to be consumed slowly, like fine wine.

Blimey, I'm beginning  to sound like a poet :grin: .

Best Wishes.

Ron.

[RyanGSams]

Thanks to both of you. I haven't had much time to observe for long periods due to clouds. I went out for a few minutes when the sun first came down, but clouds were coming in, so couldn't do to much. looked at Venus through my Binoculars but that's it. I am really hoping that the next weekend I am off it will be clear skies and I can go to a darker sky away from street lights.

[Swedeman2013]

Wow Barkis, so well said, I first saw M42 with my little 100 mm reflector and thought it was unreal last winter, now with a 200p Dob I can go out every night and be amazed! Youre so right about dark adaptation, once adjusted the details are much more defined as I found out this fall looking at Andromeda.

[Tonys]

I can never find quite the right words to describe how M42 appears to me through the telescope. It is sort of ghostly or eerie and has a definite three dimensional character. Beautiful for sure.

[Church]

I just saw it for the first time last night, through my 80mm refractor. I, too, was looking at it through crappy conditions... bright glare from a street lamp, fog rolling in... But it was stunning anyway! I was shocked at how much I was able to see, and how good the contrast was. Averted vision helped out a lot, too. But I was able to see it in all my eye pieces, including using a 2x barlow. 70x is the highest magnification available to me, though.

Whoever said it above was spot on: M42 is a jewel in the night sky! Even to those of us with light pollution and small telescopes!

[Beulah]

Hi Ryan,

M42 Is the jewel in winter skies, and needs to be consumed slowly, like fine wine.

Best Wishes.

Ron.

Amen to that.

[JessicaFaye]

I've had trouble seeing this beauty! Not many clear skies and when it is the moons insane brightness absolutely ruins it! I leave my scope outside covered in my shed before use or if I've had it packed away I put it out a couple of hours before viewing! I think I may get a little battery powered hair dryer at some point too just to evaporate the due for a long viewing! Great advice putting something over your head when viewing... I shall try this!!

Jessica

[Sandancer10]

I can hardly find orion, its probably me doing something wrong.

The easiest way to fine a star or object is to keep both eyes open. Look through the telescope with one eye and fix your other eye on the object and move the scope until the object comes into the FOV. I was shown how to do this by Grahame at our local Astro Club and it works every time.

Brenda

[Church]

^ Seems like that would only work if you are using a straight-through refractor, with no angle on the finder. Right? Or am I missing something?

[bomberbaz]

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/uhc-oiii-visual-filters/skywatcher-uhc-filter.html

For you guys viewing the Orion nebula can I recomend you get yourself a UHC filter if you haven't already got one. (See above link)

A lot of you are mentioning smaller sized scopes and so a 1.25 threaded would be fije and not bust your bank. You really will get a whole new perspeftive using one but I will echo the sentikents above re: make sure your eyes are dark adapted to get the best out of your time behind the eyepiece however and whatever you are viewing!

hth baz aka steve

Sent from my Samsung

[Sandancer10]

^ Seems like that would only work if you are using a straight-through refractor, with no angle on the finder. Right? Or am I missing something?

Yes your right only on a straight through ep - sorry I should have mentioned that.

[Tonys]

I can hardly find orion, its probably me doing something wrong.

The way I first found Orion was by three bright stars that all line up. In fact I'd noticed them long before I knew about Orion so they are prominent. They form Orion's belt This time of year, look for them in the south eastern sky early evening. When you have found them, look down from the left most star and you will see the stars that make his sword. The fuzzy patch that you can see here on a dark night is the Orion nebula.

[Swedeman2013]

Even in less than perfect conditions M42 is quite easy to find, even with 10x50 binoculars it's easy to spot south of Orion's Belt.

[cantab]

Yes your right only on a straight through ep - sorry I should have mentioned that.

It's a good trick with the cheap little optical finders. Just keep both eyes open and move the scope until the star/planet seen through the finder lines up with the one seen with your eye. That'll get me to a fairly bright star no problem, and then I can star hop from there with the low power EP.