Jump to content

Narrowband

4 Hour Visual, Fantastic !


Aussie Dave

Recommended Posts

G'day all. Last night after days of cloud and rain it all cleared. The night air was cool clear and still. I'm not an expert at astonomy, I never will be and I don't know all the technical stuff or specific things up there that I saw last night but I've never seen so many nebular, star clusters (mainly open) in all my visual times put together.

For the first time I took my small pair of binoculars out with me (BNU5's) and what a difference it makes. It helps so much to find those faint fuzzies, then dialing in with the finderscope and then the scope. I suggest anyone to do this with your binoculars to help you out and you'll find heaps more to view and quickly. I used my favorite scope atm SkyWatcher Pro 150.

I started off on Orions nebular then scanned the Milky Way. There's the main, larger nebular in the Milky Way that's easy to find with many open star clusters along it as well. Away from the Milky Way is a nice cloudy patch of sky that can easily be seen with the naked eye so that was next. I wasn't really sure what I was looking at but it seemed to have many neular within it, maybe 4 or 5 with some joining? I've always looked in that area in the past but last night was the best viewing ever.

There was also a couple of other faint fuzzies that I found further away from the Milky Way but I can't really decribe what they were apart from them being nebular of some sort and a couplke more larger open star clusters here and there.

Scanning the sky looking up just by sight giving the eyes a rest, one shooting star, then back on the binoculars I tracked 2 satalites, one going one way for about 1 minute and the other going the other way a short time after for about 45 seconds while searching for other targets with the binoculars.

I was getting tired and cold by this time and there was a couple of much smaller targets I just couldn't get through the scope no matter how hard I tried, low in the South/South East sky above the neighbors trees. Those will be for another night.

To top the night off I set my sights on Jupiter early morning and finished off with some single shot imaging  with the Nikon for about while which turned out ok for my second successful imaging of it, but nothing flash. Soon after that thick cloud rolled in and that was the end of the night.

A great nights viewing and I'll definitely be taking my binoculars out with me evey time now that's for sure.

Saying all this, I've yet to find the Andromeda galaxy. I'm still tring to find the square of Pegasus and the W star formation. The only visable square that stands out is the Southern Cross in the Southern hemisphere. I think my house may in the way. They say you can see Andromeda just with a pair of binoculars?? Will I notice it as a galaxy or just as an oblong fuzzy with a brighter center?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like a pretty good night of viewing. You must have some dark skies where you are. I wish I could see half of what you can see from my location. When I look at andromeda all I can see is a fuzzy looking cloud. Enjoy your viewing experiences as much as you can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great report Dave :smiley:

It's been poor here seemingly for ages but it's nice to read about other folks sessions all the same to remind us why we do this hobby !

I really do feel for yous guys in the Northern hemisphere John especially this time of year. I haven't had many good nights either but had a few more than you from what I've read. The weather has been very avaerage here with one thing or another.

Sounds like a pretty good night of viewing. You must have some dark skies where you are. I wish I could see half of what you can see from my location. When I look at andromeda all I can see is a fuzzy looking cloud. Enjoy your viewing experiences as much as you can.

Not really a dark sky area Mike our backyard, street lights not too far away on our street and the street behind us and the towns lights and highway a few km's away. What helped me out last night was no moon, makes a big difference. Gald to hear that someone has found Andromeda and can tell me what it looks like through a scope :smiley:

Maybe I've already seen it and didn't notice what it was :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first few times I saw andromeda, I wasn't sure if that was really it. I was sure my scope was off and I tried slewing all around thinking I must be just off. After I don't know how long I would just give up saying the moon was too bright or light pollution was too high. After finding the same small cloud a few times I have to admit that it is really andromeda. It was so disappointing after seeing all those great photos on line and in the magazines. I know it would never look like the photos but after seeing the great Orion Nebula and being so amazed by it, andromeda was a disappointment. I have to get to some dark skies this spring to really get the full effect and this time I'm ready with my modified canon 60d camera and I will photograph it myself. Great talking to you and I hope you can get a better look at it too. Clear skies my friend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first few times I saw andromeda, I wasn't sure if that was really it. I was sure my scope was off and I tried slewing all around thinking I must be just off. After I don't know how long I would just give up saying the moon was too bright or light pollution was too high. After finding the same small cloud a few times I have to admit that it is really andromeda. It was so disappointing after seeing all those great photos on line and in the magazines. I know it would never look like the photos but after seeing the great Orion Nebula and being so amazed by it, andromeda was a disappointment. I have to get to some dark skies this spring to really get the full effect and this time I'm ready with my modified canon 60d camera and I will photograph it myself. Great talking to you and I hope you can get a better look at it too. Clear skies my friend.

Ok thanks Mike, I won't get my hopes up then and will keep a look out for it when I have another good viewing night. At least now I know what to look for and what it will look like.

Vg report Dave, keep them coming :smiley:

Cheers Jerry. I wish I could explain a bit better with all the names of the objects I saw. It would make a lot more sense to the senior experienced members here and probably a more enjoyable read.

What I would like to know if anyone could tell me is that large faint cloudy patch off to the side of the Milky way with the handful of smaller nebular within it. I've read about that patch before and I'm sure that area has a name.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

G'day all. Last night after days of cloud and rain it all cleared.

I'm not sure how much sympathy you'll get from us in the UK. It has been clouded over for weeks! :grin:

What I would like to know if anyone could tell me is that large faint cloudy patch off to the side of the Milky way with the handful of smaller nebular within it. I've read about that patch before and I'm sure that area has a name.

In the north, the Andromeda Galaxy is a contender for the most obvious nebulous object in the sky due to the combined size and brightness. The core is visible in binos even when the light pollution is bad, and it's naked eye on a good night. From a reasonably dark site it stretches about half way across my 10x50 bino field of view. It's massive! It spills over the sides of my low power 48x eyepiece in the scope. Very bright core, with obvious elipse shaped elongation. It has two companion galaxies (M32 and M110) sitting alongside it too (M32 is easier to see than M110). It's an impressive sight. However, from Perth, it doesn't seem to rise above 16 degrees above the horizon at the moment (if you're north/south of Perth it will be better/worse). You're looking through a lot more atmosphere than those of us in the north, and it will be less impressive.

I lived in Australia briefly a number of years ago, and I recall seeing the Large Magellanic Cloud as a very obvious naked eye nebulous region seperated off from one side of the Milky Way. This might have been what you saw? Since getting more into star gazing, I would love to return to the south with binoculars/scope! I've lost count of the number of times I've read that there's a much better example of various types of object in the south!

Sky Safari (on iOS) and Stellarium (on PC) are good tools for working things out if you don't have either already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure how much sympathy you'll get from us in the UK. It has been clouded over for weeks! :grin:

In the north, the Andromeda Galaxy is a contender for the most obvious nebulous object in the sky due to the combined size and brightness. The core is visible in binos even when the light pollution is bad, and it's naked eye on a good night. From a reasonably dark site it stretches about half way across my 10x50 bino field of view. It's massive! It spills over the sides of my low power 48x eyepiece in the scope. Very bright core, with obvious elipse shaped elongation. It has two companion galaxies (M32 and M110) sitting alongside it too (M32 is easier to see than M110). It's an impressive sight. However, from Perth, it doesn't seem to rise above 16 degrees above the horizon at the moment (if you're north/south of Perth it will be better/worse). You're looking through a lot more atmosphere than those of us in the north, and it will be less impressive.

I lived in Australia briefly a number of years ago, and I recall seeing the Large Magellanic Cloud as a very obvious naked eye nebulous region seperated off from one side of the Milky Way. This might have been what you saw? Since getting more into star gazing, I would love to return to the south with binoculars/scope! I've lost count of the number of times I've read that there's a much better example of various types of object in the south!

Sky Safari (on iOS) and Stellarium (on PC) are good tools for working things out if you don't have either already.

lol

Yep I'd say it was the large Magellanic Cloud Paul. In the past I've had cheaper smaller scopes and I guess they weren't up to the job of seeing what was in there. The other night was great with te SW Pro.

As for our neighboring galaxy Andromeda, I don't have clear sight of the horizon in any direction here and if it's as big as you say it is, if I had seen it I would definitely recognise it. So I guess I haven't seen it yet.

Could you tell me what direction roughly it's in Paul if you remember? I may have to drag the kitchen table out and setup on that :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could you tell me what direction roughly it's in Paul if you remember? I may have to drag the kitchen table out and setup on that :laugh:

Hope it's a good sturdy table! :-)

Directly north around 8pm is your best bet right now. I used Sky Safari to look it up. Worth getting a copy (or Stellarium). They're incredibly useful for working out what's what.

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to obs from Australia at least once before I croak lol! You had a very nice session Dave :smiley:

Heaps of space left on the big island for one more I think Gerry. Anywhere in south Asia will be cheaper but they have bad air polution, they burn everything and a lot of vehicles pump out smoke like chimney stacks.

Hope it's a good sturdy table! :-)

Directly north around 8pm is your best bet right now. I used Sky Safari to look it up. Worth getting a copy (or Stellarium). They're incredibly useful for working out what's what.

Good luck!

I have the latest Stellarium Paul, haven't installed it yet, have used it in the past and works well. It's easier just to ask, cheers :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I reckon you are dead right about it being the Large Magellanic Cloud, plenty of nebulae around this galaxy which would easily be visible.

4b585c810462034723bcde9740c4d227.jpg

For the square of Pegasus and Andromeda, try looking north earlier in the evening, around 8 or 9pm. It sets soon after midnight so best to catch it early. Not sure where you are, I set my SkySafari location to Alice Springs so I was central [emoji6]

609a439c699be6cc4af109440236ff94.jpg

Lovely report, your skies sound amazing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice one Stu, ta.

Yes definitely The Large Magellanic Cloud for sure, that's it!

I doubt Andromeda is visable then from where we are, Mandurah Western Australia. It's in the south west corner of WA. I'd need to drive a couple of hours away to a dark site with no obstructions. The fence and the back neighbors house is in the way, their house is on a higher block than ours. I'll have a quick search with my 20x50 bino's from 8pm. I'd say it's a no go.

Hopefully it will be higher in the sky in the New Year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just checked for Perth and it's about 16 degrees above the horizon to the North at 8.30pm. That's probably the best balance between darkness and altitude at the moment.

Thanks Stu but yeah, still not visable here. I need it to be roughly 25+ degrees in the backyard. Or I could climb up on the roof :tongue:

That looks like a nice app you have there.

Dave, if I go someday it will be to visit Aus & NZ, regardless of the price- I always wanted to see your country and the snow of NZ!

I've heard NZ is good Gerry. The only problem with Australia is you have to travel hundreds of km's to see anything unless you're into the touristy stuff around the cities. Best thing to do is hire a nice car and go where you want, when you want. it's the best way to travel I think, that's if you have the adventurist gene. But be warned, don't forget your credit card. It's not the cheapest place to do anything any more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Stu but yeah, still not visable here. I need it to be roughly 25+ degrees in the backyard. Or I could climb up on the roof :tongue:

That looks like a nice app you have there.

Shame, it doesn't look like it gets any higher where you are, I think it's about as good as it gets now, better than other times of year.

The app is SkySafari on iOS, it's great [emoji106]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.