Observing Report for 24/06/2016 (and some questions)

[BhaskarK]

So, Yesterday was my third night out with my 6" Dob and I was happy that the clouds had decided to clear in spite of the oncoming monsoons. It was also the first night when I had a particular target in mind, M57. Onward to Vega !

Centred Vega in my finder, quite easy. I had a atlas and a mobile planetarium software with me so I my second target was the double ζ1 and ζ2 Lyra. With a little downward movement I was able to get it into view. Going to ?1 and ?2 Lyra was easy as i had to adjust the azimuth only a little. This was also an opportunity for me to verify my position as I identified the formation. I was able to identify all the stars in the given image with a little averted vision.

Quite without planning I was also able to get HD174959 into view, and as I guessed it was smooth sailing from there on. Just had to centre the star to the top of my field and slowly change the azimuth. Sheliak came easily into view.  I was quite worried at that time because what I saw in the scope was actually a double (very faint companion) and my phone had no indications as such. However, Cartes du Ciel does tell me that it's a double. Phew !

All I had to do now was find Sulafat which was as easy as adjusting the altitude. Sulafat came into view. Again, I made sure that I was at a right place by using my phone.

Again, I was able to identify the elongated right angled triangle and centred on the star at the end of the shorter edge. All I had to do now was move up from that star (HD176051).

Moved up, Came back to Sheliak, no signs of M57. Tried centering between Sheliak and Sulafat, no sign of M57 still. Tried averted vision, no sign of M57. Increased magnification to see if I was wrongly identifying it as a star, no M57 still. After many such permutations, I was still unable to view M57. However now I am pretty sure I had it in my FOV at least once, the light pollution was not easy on me. 

While I was unable to actually view M57, I learned star-hopping and I feel it was the most useful night I have had till now. Enjoyed it thoroughly  

Now here are some questions,

1. I have made a cut-out for my finder using a sheet of paper and use it with my atlas. However, most of the stars are not even visible in the finder. Is it useful to make a similar cut-out for my scope with the lowest power eyepiece ?

2. How are the Chinese plossl eyepieces that are present on AliExpress ? Here are two I have chosen for purchase.

   - a 6mm plossl for planetary viewing.

   - a 32mm plossl for wide FOV and starhopping.

3. I am keeping my present eyepieces in a cardboard box with newspaper to ensure separation. Any tutorials on how to make a case ?

4. This might seem stupid but is there any way I can actually view M57 (without having to get out my house ). Reviewing my last night session I am guessing my telescope's true limiting magnitude from my house to be about 8.7 and M57 is 8.8 .

5. Any bright DSOs that are available at this time of the year ? I would really like to view some.

 

Thank you for spending time on this post.

Clear Skies !

 

[cloudsweeper]

Good report.  Lots of points raised, which will no doubt be addressed.  I would just comment on the first point by saying that the finder will not of course show many stars.  When not using GoTo, I get an approximate fix with my tablet app, then go to specific targets using the Sky Atlas.  For this, I have made a clear plastic sheet with circles of various sizes on it (5 sky-degrees diameter and lower), so I know roughly what to expect in different eyepieces.

Doug.

[rockystar]

Excellent effort, sounds like you've a good start to star hopping. It wouldn't surprise me if you had M57 and missed it, it's pretty faint under light pollution, but should be possible. it's also pretty small so easy to skip past. Keep trying, once you get it, you'll find it every time.

You can also try M13 in Hercules, lovely Globular Cluster, bigger and brighter than M57, I can (just about) see it in my finder scope.

Have a look at this post for making a case:

 

 

[Size9Hex]

Neat report! Glad you're enjoying the scope.

Your limiting magnitude doesn't sound great for a 6" scope. I guess the light pollution is bad in Jaipur! I can get mag 8 to 9 with 2" binoculars from the edge of town the UK by comparison.

Can you see deeper by using averted vision or other tricks such as tapping/jogging the scope? The movement can cause objects to suddenly pop into view.

Failing that, the Ring responds nicely to Oiii and UHC filter (Oiii generally recommended for planetary nebulae, but UHC generally thought to be more versatile). Either would block out a lot of stray light pollution while letting through the wavelengths emitted by the Ring. 

Might help, but dark skies are typically the best answer of all (although not always possible I admit).

Hope this is helpful!

[Size9Hex]

In fact, I'd also add try again on another night. Sometimes the sky is simply more or less transparent with dust or humidity and you don't always realise. 

[rockystar]

Have a look at this, a sketch done by a friend of mine very near to town, probably somewhere between NELM 4.2 & 4.5, in the middle of June when it doesn't get properly dark in these parts:

Should give you some idea of what you are looking. Also note that he's used an O-III filter to help bring out some detail as Size9Hex mentions.

 

[Richard Hather]

Hi everyone, as Lee pointed out above once you see M57 there's no mistaking it.

Theres no doubt I was up against it cloud cover light pollution and I could see even at 02:00 - 04:00 it wasn't dark enough for the best viewing conditions.

But once you have it in your sights with patience and using the right filter as Lee pointed out you can get some great detail.

I personally used my 40mm outlined in my report but for actually viewing only the object in question I would recommend a much higher magnification as long as conditions allow.

I would like to add I have a Celestron Nexstar 6SE Goto telescope so for me finding the object is never the issue, it's getting as much detail as I possibly can.

Trust me it's well worth the effort I spent easily 1h getting every detail I could out of it and I still feel it has more to give good luck and clear skies ✨??☄

[Mark S W]

You might take a look at info-quest.org/documents/PDF/BrightPlanetaryNebulae

There are PNe that go from magnitude  7.1 to 12

The brighter ones you should be able to pick up. I find an O III filter very helpful.

Globular and open clusters are always fantastic targets.

Hope this helps.

Mark