One of the most frustrating yet safisying sessions tonight!

[Cjg]

I had two targets tonight with my Tak 76, one,  M77 I found for the first time last week and M74, that I'd not seen before. 

Managed to find M77 again, and am confident that I can find it easily from here on in.  When I first found it, was convinced that it was too faint and small to be a Messier object, but confirmed tonight with a fellow observer.

M74 is tougher as it's not in the part of the sky I expected, but prepping from Harvard Pennington's Field Guide to the Messier Marathon has paid off, and tonight, before all the mist in East Anglia descended on Seething, I found the faint, fuzzy little thing; viewing it in my 15mm Panoptic and then 7mm Nagler. The satisfaction in finding these elusive objects in my 3" Frac is immense.

The frustration was that despite sitting and looking through my friends 20" dob, whilst she patiently explained the stars below Alnitak and the location of the Horsehead nebula, I saw just a patch of darkness. 

My kit is drying out, but that's another 4 hrs, so 14 hrs observing this month.

Chris

[scarp15]

24 minutes ago, Cjg said:

The satisfaction in finding these elusive objects in my 3" Frac is immense.

 

Absolutely, good one Chris and it reminds me of some of Piero's past reports and what was patiently achieved with a TV60, determination gets you there.

[jetstream]

Great report Chris!

I think you may be hard pressed to keep up with your friend (me too lol!). Once you see the HH it will amaze you that you didn't see it before. Everyone dark adapts differently and to a different extent over time, you might need a hair more time possibly- dark adapted the sky should look grey, not black, even in very dark skies. Do you warm up the eyes on objects like the Flaming Star etc? Alnitak can wreck the views easily and everyone needs a bit different exit pupil- I'm curious what size you tried in the 20".

VG catches in the 76mm and we look forward to more reports.

[Cjg]

Thank you Ian and Gerry.

Piero's reports are superb, it's amazing just what he's managing to see with his TV 60, am hoping that one day he'll be able to visit us at Seething so we can share some views, one of our members has a TV 85, and another a TV101, so a "Frac Corner" to compare views and targets.

Gerry, I have no chance of keeping up with Tatyana ?, last night wasn't the best of nights; the mist and freezing fog made everything just impossible, but perhaps one day, when it's a little drier and our skies less "milky" I'll catch a glimpse. That particular horse might not be dead, but it's very elusive! 

Best,

Chris

[domstar]

I found M77 last night for the first time. 70/700 refractor. Third time of asking but I found it twice. It took me a while to decide if it really existed. Wonderful-47million light years away.

 

[Helix]

5 hours ago, jetstream said:

I'm curious what size you tried in the 20".

I think she used XW 30 mm Pentax and Hβ Astronomik which gives her EP 8.5 ?, FOV 1.15?, x60 in FL 1802 of 510 mm of aperture with f 3.53 ??

And I am sure she advised her friend to keep Alnitak out of field of view to see that ?????????????

 

????

[Helix]

5 hours ago, Cjg said:

last night wasn't the best of nights; the mist and freezing fog made everything just impossible, but perhaps one day, when it's a little drier and our skies less "milky" I'll catch a glimpse. That particular horse might not be dead, but it's very elusive! 

 I could not see even the road on my way back due to thick fog but you, Chris, have not hesitated to give a go to the HH. I am sure with your observing skills and persistence you will see it pretty soon. I do not know how you could manage to find M74 with its low surface brightness at that kind of weather conditions.

So heads up...✨

[jetstream]

12 hours ago, Helix said:

I think she used XW 30 mm Pentax and Hβ Astronomik which gives her EP 8.5 ?, FOV 1.15?, x60 in FL 1802 of 510 mm of aperture with f 3.53 ??

And I am sure she advised her friend to keep Alnitak out of field of view to see that ?????????????

 

????

I think that we all need to fine tune whats works for us as individuals and it might be rewarding for Chris to try an eyepiece in the 20mm-25mm range and possibly a TV plossl. Actually with the long fl (same as my 15" pretty much) the 21E or 20ES 100 would work well FOV wise.

In the 15", under excellent conditions I can see the HH no filter with an exit pupil in the 4.3mm-6.25mm range. Do you have a 20mm eyepiece for Chris to try Tatyana?

[Cjg]

7 hours ago, jetstream said:

In the 15", under excellent conditions I can see the HH no filter with an exit pupil in the 4.3mm-6.25mm range. Do you have a 20mm eyepiece for Chris to try Tatyana?

Hi Gerry,

I've a 20mm TV plossl, but think the skies will need to be clearer than they have been of late.  Tatyana has been very patient with me, if I am going to see the HH with more than "averted imagination" it will probably be in her 20" dob, if at all. 

@Helix the forecast for Monday evening is looking good, if you're about?

Best wishes for the New Year.

Chris

7 hours ago, jetstream said:

I think that we all need to fine tune whats works for us as individuals and it might be rewarding for Chris to try an eyepiece in the 20mm-25mm range and possibly a TV plossl. Actually with the long fl (same as my 15" pretty much) the 21E or 20ES 100 would work well FOV wise.

In the 15", under excellent conditions I can see the HH no filter with an exit pupil in the 4.3mm-6.25mm range. Do you have a 20mm eyepiece for Chris to try Tatyana?

 

[scarp15]

The TV 20mm plossl responds favourably to the HH so yes definitely as Gerry has said, give that a go Chris and as you say, the forecast for Monday night is looking good, here too, good luck if can get out.

[Helix]

14 hours ago, jetstream said:

I think that we all need to fine tune whats works for us as individuals and it might be rewarding for Chris to try an eyepiece in the 20mm-25mm range and possibly a TV plossl. Actually with the long fl (same as my 15" pretty much) the 21E or 20ES 100 would work well FOV wise.

 

4 hours ago, scarp15 said:

The TV 20mm plossl responds favourably to the HH so yes definitely as Gerry has said, give that a go Chris and as you say, the forecast for Monday night is looking good, here too, good luck if can get out.

Hi Gerry and Iain,

Thanks for advice ?. We should try Chris' 20 mm  Plossl.

 

We already tried 20 mm Pentax and 24 Panoptic, though, on my both scopes: 10 and 20" dobs. It gives me around 5 EP. We also used 2 different filters: Hβ and UHC. Chris can see IC 343 now which I think is progress. I am sure he will see Barnards 33, too. The weather lately was not good and Orion is still down and not high enough to observe HH. Here in England we have humid around 95% at the moment. Chris is a keen observer and manages to find pretty faint stuff in his 3" tak so I have not got any doubts he will see and that one?.

 

When he will see it you will definately hear the cry of excitement even in Newcastle and Canada ?

[Helix]

7 hours ago, Cjg said:

@Helix the forecast for Monday evening is looking good, if you're about?

Not sure yet but definately will send you PM ?

[scarp15]

58 minutes ago, Helix said:

 

When he will see it you will definately hear the cry of excitement even in Newcastle and Canada ?

If this happens to be on Monday night, I hope to be out to, I will keep my ear pricked

If conditions are good enough I am going to attempt to tackle the northern portion of Barnards Loop, taking along my 76mm frac.   

[scarp15]

On 12/31/2016 at 08:10, Cjg said:

 

@Helix the forecast for Monday evening is looking good, if you're about?

Best wishes for the New Year.

Chris

 

The forecast for Norfolk looks to be excellent for tonight (more variable here), hope you are both able to get out.

[Cjg]

Thank you @scarp15 the skies yesterday were magnificent at Seething, once the moon had set, probably the best for a long while.

Was minus 1.8° but felt much much colder in the breeze. I had to pack up by midnight, it was so cold.