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My Winter Target....

estwing

By estwing
in Observing - Discussion

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estwing

estwing

Posted
Posted

...thought I'd just write a few lines on what my main target for the coming winter, last year it was B33 the horse head neb and on a early December night near Bala with faulksy I bagged it. Well this time its an even harder challenge the cone nebula which sits on top of a Christmas tree..(how seasonal!). NGC 2264 lies in the northern region of Monoceros, left of Betelgeuse in Orion and below Alhena in Gemini. Now before I go any further i'll just say this, if you are under LP skies then you'll find this almost impossible....to give yourself every chance to bag this you will need pristine black skies with no moon, good seeing and good transparency, eyes dark adapted with the aid of a hood or cover over your head...you will need time at the eyepiece..and by that I mean get comfy, relax and wrap up warm!. Perhaps now you see why this is a toughie for the observer!.

To add insult this target needs a telescope of 10" or over, along with a UHC filter which could make all the difference!...good luck and clear skies! http://www.skyhound.com/observing/archives/jan/NGC_2264.html

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faulksy

faulksy

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sounds like a walk in the park cal, with my new dob :hiding:

sounds like a good challenge calv.

my challenge is to start over again, as up to now everything looks so much different. but looking foward to m42 and the omega, then anything else, must bag the centre star as well :headbang:

this is going to be a brilliant season , great friends an a great dob, once i get it collimated properly

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Paz

Paz

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I've had a look at this in Uranometria and it doesn't even get it's own entry in the deep sky field guide! It's referred to as a "dark nebula feature" of the bright nebula NCG2264. It looks to be only about 10' long and less than 5' wide if I'm looking at the right bit of the map. That plus being dim and low contrast will be interesting! Good luck!

 

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scarp15

scarp15

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Good luck with the Cone, interesting to hear how you get on with a very difficult subject.

Besides the Winter highlights, there are lots of fascinating targets to revisit. The Monkey Head Nebula NGC 2174, emmision nebula in Orion. first time I sighted this, which I think was four winters ago in my then Skywatcher 12" flextube and using a Lumicon OIII filter at low power. 

Then the unmissable Rosette Nebula NGC 2237 in Monoceros

The enigmatic Thors Helmet NGC 22359 in Canis Major, which also responds well to either UHC or OIII filter.

Quite often in these discussions where nebula is the primary subject, PeterW will chime in and say Jellyfish....well I would like to have another go at the Jellyfish, supernova remnant sharpless 248 in Gemini.

I would also like to have another attempt at The Seagull nebula, IC 2177 between Monoceros and Canis Major and probably requiring a H-beta filter.

Winter will not be complete without the Flame and Horsehead nebula (the later as always particularly elusive and difficult)

I believe that northern aspects of Barnards Loop are viable in very good conditions and so I will have a go.

I have an ongoing, 'rolling' list of subject matter more specifically but not exclusively nebula targets, in draft form so a work in progress. It is always interesting to try and include subject matter from the sharpless catalogue of which there is a bountiful supply. 

Orion, Auriga, Gemini etc etc, lets hope that the dreadful EL Nino keeps well out of the way.

 

Forgot to include The California Nebula, a large emission nebula in Perseus and a target that I can reliably use my H-beta filter with.

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estwing

estwing

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3 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Good luck with the Cone, interesting to hear how you get on with a very difficult subject.

Besides the Winter highlights, there are lots of fascinating targets to revisit. The Monkey Head Nebula NGC 2174, emmision nebula in Orion. first time I sighted this, which I think was four winters ago in my then Skywatcher 12" flextube and using a Lumicon OIII filter at low power. 

Then the unmissable Rosette Nebula NGC 2237 in Monoceros

The enigmatic Thors Helmet NGC 22359 in Canis Major, which also responds well to either UHC or OIII filter.

Quite often in these discussions where nebula is the primary subject, PeterW will chime in and says Jellyfish....well I would like to have another go at the Jellyfish, supernova remnant sharpless 248 in Gemini.

I would also like to have another attempt at The Seagull nebula, IC 2177 between Monoceros and Canis Major and probably requiring a H-beta filter.

Winter will not be complete without the Flame and Horsehead nebula (the later as always particularly elusive and difficult)

I believe that northern aspects of Barnards Loop are viable in very good conditions and so I will have a go.

I have an ongoing, 'rolling' list of subject matter more specifically but not exclusively nebula targets, in draft form so a work in progress. It is always interesting to try and include subject matter from the sharpless catalogue of which there is a bountiful supply. 

Orion, Auriga, Gemini etc etc, lets hope that the dreadful EL Nino keeps well out of the way.

 

Forgot to include The California Nebula, a large emission nebula in Perseus and a target that I can reliably use my H-beta filter with.

That's a great list of just a few targets there Iain...hoping to add those to my tick list 

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Beulah

Beulah

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Haha, the Cone's an easy one, LOL.

It's so wee and so compact you'll be surprised when you see it.

It looks like a rather well formed comet with a soft, stellar head. Looks stunning set in a smattering of pin sharp stars...

Me, well just getting out there will be ambition enough! Won't be taking my dobs for remote observing as I don't have suitable transport (my kingdom for an estate) but will hopefully be doing plenty of night safaris by foot and bins...

The target that gets on my nerves the most is the Rosette Nebula. Why can't I find it after all these years?!

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Stu

Stu

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10 minutes ago, Beulah said:

The target that gets on my nerves the most is the Rosette Nebula. Why can't I find it after all these years?!

Looking through it? I've seen it in a 4" widefield frac with UHC so the edges are easier to detect.

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estwing

estwing

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Was thinking the same thing Stu....I was surprised how big it was Sam when me and Steve saw it at Elan...well I say "saw" it we actually detected one side of the cone but alas not the other fainter side to produce the cone shape ....oh and there also seems to be wispy gas everywhere in this region!!!

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scarp15

scarp15

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34 minutes ago, Beulah said:

Haha, the Cone's an easy one, LOL.

It's so wee and so compact you'll be surprised when you see it.

It looks like a rather well formed comet with a soft, stellar head. Looks stunning set in a smattering of pin sharp stars...

Me, well just getting out there will be ambition enough! Won't be taking my dobs for remote observing as I don't have suitable transport (my kingdom for an estate) but will hopefully be doing plenty of night safaris by foot and bins...

The target that gets on my nerves the most is the Rosette Nebula. Why can't I find it after all these years?!

 

Could this not be Hubble's Variable Nebula that you are describing also a fine winter object to seek out?

http://observing.skyhound.com/archives/jan/NGC_2261.html

 

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Special K

Special K

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I remember looking for the cone in the 130P......obviously I didn't stand a chance!!!  But the Christmas Tree is a nice consolation. I'm not surprised you're reading all sorts of wispiness in that region and glad you pick it up @estwing ; I envy you!

That whole area is the OB1 Monoceros Molecular Complex with some tantalising stuff like the Foxfur Nebula which I've also failed to firmly pin down.  With an 80mm frac I could identify a shelf where the nebulosity drops away from western edge. Definitely some things to try again with the big guns. 

@scarp15 that Seagull is another great one for sure!  Lots of interesting bits within and in the surrounding area!  

Thanks guys, that's my Winter list sorted out!

Mon OB1

image.jpeg

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Special K

Special K

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3 hours ago, estwing said:

The suspense is killing me Kevin!!!....

Sorry, I was out and about and didn't realize I'd stirred things up!!  I just got that image which @YKSE has kindly tracked down off the internet.  I found it and printed it off about 2 years ago. The author seems to be Roberto Mura and according to Wikipedia, it is sourced from the Perseus software. There's a downloadable demo which Should be worth a try.

http://www.perseus.it/en/ilsoftware.php

 

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alan potts

alan potts

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Posted

Very best of luck to you and Mike on the cone, I got interested in the HH on the back of your observation but even after many sessions with the Sumerian failed, at least I think I did. I am going to have a go again this year and I saw the area this morning through the window, which was a bit of a shock as it had been raining most of the night. This I was well pleased with as things are very bad here for water, no real rain for about 4 months but 84 out of 92 clear nights going back to mid June, which isn't bad.

I may well have a try for this as well but I would have to get the books out to find it, may well try it with a goto to get to know the the general area first.

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