Fantastic Night!

[Yamez]

I put my scope outside at around 22:00 to cool down. I started setting it up and aligning it around 22:25. The nights plan was to test my new 17mm Baader Hyperion EP out and my new Explore Scientific UHC filter, the forecast said partly cloudy and i was really desperate to try my new equipment out so i headed out anyway. 

I put my new EP in and lined it up with Arcturus and wow, it was clear as anything, i could already tell a difference between my stock plossl eye pieces and my new Hyperion. The 68° fov is astonishing, the amount of stars and detail blew me away.

I then watched as the ISS passed straight over head and also put it in my telescope to work out the bright but obvious H shape.

Next was to line up the dumbbell nebula ready to test the UHC filter, this was around 23:50 and again it was clear as anything. I tried this with my new EP and the two together make a great combo. I could make out it's famous shape and see detail in the nebula. Next object was the Veil nebula. I have never seen this ever before and when i got it in my scope i could work out the veil and see bits of detail although still being quite faint but without the new filter i would have never been able to see this. I tried for NGC 7000 (NA Nebula) i was able to see a faint mist of where it is but the nebula is so large i would need a lower power EP than my 25 to see the whole object.

Taking a break and drinking tea i was looking up at the sky and noticed what i thought to be cloud but then to realize it wasn't moving at all. This is when i was again blown away. It was of course our milky way, this is the first time i have ever seen our own galaxy with the naked eye and it was in my own back garden in a fairly light polluted town  Of course i couldn't miss the opportunity to photograph it so i rushed inside to grab the camera. I have some nice shots which i'm going to edit tomorrow. Only problem was i couldn't get a dark frame to reduce noise reduction, my camera ran too low on battery but oh well, can't wait to get editing them.

Overall this was a fantastic night for stargazing and i hope you all have good clear nights like this one. Clear Skies!

[Charic]

Looks like you had a good session, no such joy here, still clouded over!

What scope do you use ?

[Yamez]

2 hours ago, Charic said:

Looks like you had a good session, no such joy here, still clouded over!

What scope do you use ?

I use the skywatcher explorer 130P on a synscan mount

[Stu]

Very nice session Yamez. It's always good to get the Veil, can be tricky even with a filter if there is any light pollution. You are very lucky to be able to see the MW! No chance for me from here

[alan potts]

Again a nice report! The Milky Way from here is stunning when the sky is transparent enough, this time of year with the massive daytime heat we often have haze so you don't get to see it right down to the mountains in the south. When we get a bit of wind though it clears it up nicely but at the moment it is rain that we need badly as we have no tapwater in the day.

Alan

[Special K]

Great one, Yamez!!!  MW is an uncredible sight and amazing how cloud-like it appears under dark conditions.

The 17mm Hyperion is a nice eyepiece. I bought mine as an upgrade when I had the 130P and it's a real smasher!  

[rockystar]

nice one, glad you had a good night and got to enjoy you new equipment

 

[Davesellars]

Great to hear, Yamez! Some nice observations with your new EP and filter.

M27 really seems to take on a 3D like appearance in good conditions I think with a filter it's one object that really benefits well.

Not sure with what EP you observed the veil with?  With my UHC I viewed this better with a 19mm than my 25mm (using similar aperture and focal length to you) I felt I just got that touch better contrast.  Regardless, it's something that needs really good transparency!

Well done on seeing the Milky Way!

[Size9Hex]

Lovely report. Sounds like a cracking night.

In case it's helpful... The 25mm eyepiece in the fast (f5 I think?) 130p scope is already fairly low powered. I was using similar kit (a 24mm eyepiece in a 4" f5 scope) with success on the NAN and Veil yesterday. That said, my 24mm is an 82 degree wide field and it's a very different view to the 50 degree field I get in the 25mm eyepiece I own. Not sure how wide your 25mm eyepiece is, but having a wide enough field to see the surroundings of these faint targets is important and it's worth thinking of the eyepiece field as well as the power. I also find an Oiii helps me more than a UHC on these targets, although opinions vary. The Oiii seems to show a bit more contrasty detail, while the UHC shows a bit more more extent/size on the nebulae.

[Yamez]

23 minutes ago, Size9Hex said:

Lovely report. Sounds like a cracking night.

In case it's helpful... The 25mm eyepiece in the fast (f5 I think?) 130p scope is already fairly low powered. I was using similar kit (a 24mm eyepiece in a 4" f5 scope) with success on the NAN and Veil yesterday. That said, my 24mm is an 82 degree wide field and it's a very different view to the 50 degree field I get in the 25mm eyepiece I own. Not sure how wide your 25mm eyepiece is, but having a wide enough field to see the surroundings of these faint targets is important and it's worth thinking of the eyepiece field as well as the power. I also find an Oiii helps me more than a UHC on these targets, although opinions vary. The Oiii seems to show a bit more contrasty detail, while the UHC shows a bit more more extent/size on the nebulae.

My stock 25mm Plossl is a 52 degree FOV, whereas my new 17mm is 68 degrees. I was able to see the veil in both but couldn't see the NA nebula with the 17 and could only just see it with the 25mm

[Yamez]

I forgot to add, i put my scope up to Andromeda using the 2" barrel of my baader hyperion. It was the best i had ever seen Andromeda and the best i had ever seen any galaxy. It was incredible.

[Size9Hex]

1 hour ago, Yamez said:

My stock 25mm Plossl is a 52 degree FOV, whereas my new 17mm is 68 degrees. I was able to see the veil in both but couldn't see the NA nebula with the 17 and could only just see it with the 25mm

Nice one! I'd say that's a cracking effort to detect the NAN in the 25mm. It'll give you about 1.9 degrees of sky, which isn't a lot for a huge target like the NAN and as you probably realised, it'll be overflowing the sides of the eyepiece which makes it harder to catch the edges of the target which is often the key to seeing it. Lower power eyepieces will open up the field a bit, but moving to wide field eyepieces (but still low power) can open it up a lot more. Anyway, I appreciate I'm offering advice when none was asked for so I hope it's not unwelcome. Keep up the good work and keep the reports coming :-)

[Yamez]

1 minute ago, Size9Hex said:

Nice one! I'd say that's a cracking effort to detect the NAN in the 25mm. It'll give you about 1.9 degrees of sky, which isn't a lot for a huge target like the NAN and as you probably realised, it'll be overflowing the sides of the eyepiece which makes it harder to catch the edges of the target which is often the key to seeing it. Lower power eyepieces will open up the field a bit, but moving to wide field eyepieces (but still low power) can open it up a lot more. Anyway, I appreciate I'm offering advice when none was asked for so I hope it's not unwelcome. Keep up the good work and keep the reports coming :-)

Any advice is always welcome and thank you. I scanned around the area to see the edges of the NAN.

[Charic]

Sometimes  I/we take take things for granted! 

I have a portion of sky above me, I can see Polaris all night long, recline or lay on my back and there it is, and around the pole swings Ursa Major and Cassiopeia , this is the only area of Sky visible to me and I get envious when folk see the Planets, especially now, as their below my obstructed horizon almost all the time, yet Jupiter  often favours, position wise as my best  target? Yet the Milky Way sits above me, just visible, but always visible, but head just out of town on a Moonless night during the darker, often Winter nights  and the Star light  from the Milky Way will cast a body shadow!

I wanted to see if I could visit the Irregular Stargazers at Regents Park, London, to see how they fare from within a city, but it just goes to show, no matter what the scope or conditions, you will see something, not everything, but something. But it's good to hear from folk who are seeing things for their  first time, I know the feeling, for me, there's always Stellarium? 

[Yamez]

1 hour ago, Charic said:

Sometimes  I/we take take things for granted! 

I have a portion of sky above me, I can see Polaris all night long, recline or lay on my back and there it is, and around the pole swings Ursa Major and Cassiopeia , this is the only area of Sky visible to me and I get envious when folk see the Planets, especially now, as their below my obstructed horizon almost all the time, yet Jupiter  often favours, position wise as my best  target? Yet the Milky Way sits above me, just visible, but always visible, but head just out of town on a Moonless night during the darker, often Winter nights  and the Star light  from the Milky Way will cast a body shadow!

I wanted to see if I could visit the Irregular Stargazers at Regents Park, London, to see how they fare from within a city, but it just goes to show, no matter what the scope or conditions, you will see something, not everything, but something. But it's good to hear from folk who are seeing things for their  first time, I know the feeling, for me, there's always Stellarium? 

For a couple of months Mars and Saturn have been lurking behind the houses and only now i am just able to see them in around a half an hour gap between the house and tree.