After a long time..!

[Piero]

After a century of clouds and two colds, I finally managed to have a session out! 

I also had a chance to try my new snow trousers! Not ideal for cycling for long distances, but certainly a good thing for observing. Although it wasn't a cold night and the wind was weak, it can still be quite humid in the middle of a field. A simple pair of waterproof snow trousers can be very useful in the winter to stay warm and enjoy this hobby, particularly when away from warm cups of tea!

I finally managed to see M1 with this 60mm. It is quite challenging, but not impossible. Also very happy to test my Nagler 13mm T6 on these winter targets! I was already fully satisfied with the brightest summer targets, but with these ones in the winter, I feel it really shines! 24 Pan + 13 Nagler.. What a match! 

Anyway, here is the report.  

Piero

Date 08/12/2015

Time 21:20-23:00

Location Cambridge, UK

Altitude 12m

Temperature 8C (WSW 8 km/h)

Seeing 1 - Perfect seeing

Transparency 5 - Clear

Telescopes Tele Vue 60 F6

Eyepieces Panoptic 24, Nagler 13, Nagler 7, Nagler 3.5, PM2.5x

Filters Astronomik UHC, OIII

M81 UMa Galaxy 28x

Eyes not yet dark adapted, but oval shape was visible.

M82 UMa Galaxy 28x

Elongated shape was visible also directly.

M42 Ori CL+Neb 15x, 28x, 51x, 69x, 103x, 129x +/- UHC or OIII

To my eye and with this telescope, a UHC filter shows the best view. Very clear and extended shape well visible at 15x and 28x. The elongated bright extension near the core of the nebula near was visible at all magnification. Trapezium was distinct at 28x. I was surprised how beautiful it was at 69x (0.9mm exit pupil). Amazing target. 

M43 Ori Nebula 15x, 28x, 51x, 69x, 103x, 129x +/- UHC or OIII

De Mairan's Nebula. Nice little patch just above M42. Again, I prefer a UHC to a OIII.

NGC1977 Ori Nebula 15x, 28x, 51x, 69x, 103x, 129x +/- UHC or OIII

Running Man Nebula. Not sure why this name. It appears like a little bubble surrounding a moderately packed group of stars. Somehow a smaller and brighter version of the Rosette nebula. Averted vision showed this nebula quite clearly. Again UHC. 

NGC1980 Ori Nebula 15x, 28x, 51x, 69x, 103x, 129x +/- UHC or OIII

Small patch of nebula surrounding the star Hatsya which is a bright star located South of M42. Hatsya is not marked as a double star in Stellarium, but there is a bit darker companion next to it. It was visible already at 28x if I remember correctly. 

Sigma Ori Mlt Star 15x, 28x, 51x, 69x, 103x, 129x +/- UHC or OIII

A lovely aggregation of stars. I could count six of them in two groups. 

NGC2244 Mon CL+Neb 15x, 28x + OIII

Satellite cluster. I moved along the line from Phi (Meissa) to Alpha (Betelgeuse) Orionis which naturally points to this cluster and the Rosette Nebula.

SH2-275 Mon Neb 15x, 28x + OIII

Rosette Nebula. Just a very soft patch was slightly detectable at 15x.

M38 Aur Opn CL 28x

This cluster just jumps up at this magnification. So many stars were visible that I could barely count them. Really impressive to me. 

M36 Aur Opn CL 28x

Another beautiful cluster. Again 28x is just perfect for this telescope. 

M37 Aur Opn CL 28x

Very impressive. As for M36.

M35 Gem Opn CL 28x

As for M38. To me it was spectacular. Nagler 13 works really well here.

M45 Tau Opn CL 15x, 28x

Plejades. The panoptic showed this reflection nebula in a crystal clear way. I had the impression that there was a hint of blue nebulosity which was not there when I used the Nagler 13. Anyway, the 24 Pan gave an elegant portrait for this amazing open cluster. Just beautiful. 

Mel25 Tau Opn CL 15x, 28x

Hyades. Another lovely open cluster in Taurus with Alpha Tauris (Aldebaran) leading near the centre. A must when viewing Taurus. 

M1 Tau SN Rem 15x, 28x, 51x +/- UHC or OIII

Crab nebula. I finally managed to spot this supernova remnant. I could barely spot it at 15x without filter. It was more detectable at 28x or 51x. Pushing Zeta Tauris out of the eyepiece fov helped considerably. My OIII did not work very well on this target. Actually it made more complex the detection. Slightly better with a UHC filter, possibly because of the more band passing although this was also the case at 2mm exit pupil, which is still usually quite generous with an OIII. The nebula appeared as a grey patch without structure and with indefinite border. 

[cotterless45]

It's great to have clear skies ,

Nick.

[ronl]

Nice report, it's also nice to have clear sky's, the seeing was reasonable here, not as good as yours though,

what a difference filters make, they really bring out the detail, keep enjoying and let's hope for more clear nights.

[laudropb]

Very nice report of a very productive session. Still total cloud cover here.

[des anderson]

Nice report,we had patchy cloud until 2330,at midnight,lights off........made all the difference. Des

[ejp1684]

Thanks for posting, I had a look at most of those objects as well. Impressed by your report, must be more disciplined in my own note taking.

Had about 4 hours last night. Drove about 15 mins to a much darker site than my back garden. Seeing not brilliant, but much better away from street lights.

Saw M42 for the first time in decent conditions and it was magnificent. I stared at it for over half an hour with different eyepieces. 

Eric.

[Piero]

Thanks for posting, I had a look at most of those objects as well. Impressed by your report, must be more disciplined in my own note taking.

Had about 4 hours last night. Drove about 15 mins to a much darker site than my back garden. Seeing not brilliant, but much better away from street lights.

Saw M42 for the first time in decent conditions and it was magnificent. I stared at it for over half an hour with different eyepieces. 

Eric.

Thanks Eric.

I find taking notes really helpful particularly for learning how to catch details on objects. I reckon the best would be to write

during the observation in the same way people sketch. I still don't do this, but rather memorise them and write them down once

at home. 

M42 is a real gem to me. I look forward to seeing it with the Dobson 200mm I am going to buy soon, and 24Pan+filters!

I was hoping to see the Rosette Nebula, but I guess it was still too low above the Horizon! Never mind, next time!

Piero 

[WaveSoarer]

That's such a great report. I was out last night too in what seems like an age.