My first go at observing with my Lightwave 72 ED-R

[StargeezerTim]

I have been imaging for a couple of years and have largely ignored observing to date. I plan to devote my 72 ED-R to observing whilst imaging with a different scope and had my first half hour last night before the clouds rolled in. It didn't even get to astro twilight but I enjoyed it anyway. I tried the Iris nebula and saw nothing resembling it. I should have known really as its very feint even with a camera. I then looked at the Perseus double cluster, which was lovely, and finally looked at the great Cluster in Hercules (M13) where the most I could see was a cloud but was unable to distinguish any real form and no individual stars.

A couple of questions. Firstly, Will I be able to distinguish more details in clusters on darker nights? Secondly, I have a 1.25" UHC S filter, will this enable me to see any or more nebulosity once nights are darker?

I have eyepieces down to 8mm and a 2x and 3x  Barlow. Cheers, Tim. 

[John]

72mm is a small aperture for viewing deep sky objects (good for imaging them though, I'm told). Getting resolution of globular clusters needs more aperture really.

You should be able to see quite a few deep sky objects but making out detail in them with a small scope is really hard work especially in a Summer sky with the moon up !

A UHC-S filter will help a bit on nebulae but it's not going to be a "magic bullet" with a 7.6 cm aperture in all honesty.

The double cluster in Perseus would be a good target for your scope. Stellarium will show you where it is in the sky. Open clusters generally will be good targets for your scope so it's worth finding out where the good ones are in the sky over the coming weeks.

[ronin]

Should be reasonable on clusters and as ever the darker the sky the better. For nebula you likely do not really have the aperture required but there will be ones that you can try - search for "list of messier objects" then go to the wiki entry and then select the Type column and click on that. The objects are then grouped by type and it is fairly simple to pick out the brighter ones. Will say there are not a lot of ones that can be defined as bright.

From the same grouping you can also see the clusters. Some of the Open Clusters seems a bit questionable concerning the term "cluster".

Double stars are a fair option, go dib out a list of voloured double stars, there are a few around. And they make a pleasant time to track down and observe.

Not sure about the UHC filter, they should improve the contrast between object and background but they reduce the amount of light and there is not a lot to start with. You will likely be down into the low light mono vision area for the eyes.

Which UHC filter is it? There seems to be 2 options that vary by the wavelengths passed - either a band at the OIII end or two bands, one at the OIII end and one the Ha end.

[Louis D]

I love using my AT72ED for cruising the Milky Way starfields and for observing large binocular objects like Collinder 70 in Orion's belt or the Hyades.  It will show Jupiter's main belts and moons and Saturn's rings.  It's also decent on the moon.  Someday I'll have to try it out on large nebula like the North American and Pelican nebula.  It's not going to resolve any globular clusters due to lack of aperture.

[StargeezerTim]

2 hours ago, ronin said:

 

Which UHC filter is it? There seems to be 2 options that vary by the wavelengths passed - either a band at the OIII end or two bands, one at the OIII end and one the Ha end.

Its the Baader uhc-s filter..

 

[Moonshane]

as daft as it sounds, you might get better results imaging with the 72 and observing with the 150.

[ronin]

Also consider spending more money (sorry) and going and purchasing a Herschel wedge and continium filter. Standing outside during the day especially if warm, and it has to be sunny, to observe the sun is in some ways more pleasurable then outside at night in the cold.

[StargeezerTim]

16 hours ago, Moonshane said:

as daft as it sounds, you might get better results imaging with the 72 and observing with the 150.

Thanks... I have been imaging with it and it is pretty good, though the optics don't seem be up to a good flat field and round stars up to the edges. I will shortly be getting another scope of similar aperture just for imaging, hence my interest in either using this one for observation, or selling it if I don't want to keep it. I'll suck it and see for a month or two and compare it also with the 150pds.

 

8 hours ago, ronin said:

Also consider spending more money (sorry) and going and purchasing a Herschel wedge .

I'll refer you to Mrs Stargeezer who thinks I have already spent too much! 

[Moonshane]

My own experience suggests that satisfactory visual observing begins at 100mm. Other's will disagree though naturally.

[avtaram]

I have a WO Zenithstar 71ed which I use on an SE goto mount, its excellent on Jupiter, saturn, the Moon, open clusters, all but the tightest double stars giving sharp contrasty views. I'm always pleasanty surprised at how good the views are for such a small aperture scope. It's also great for widefield views, with the panaview 38mm it gives about 6* FOV.

Avtar

 

[Louis D]

18 hours ago, ronin said:

Also consider spending more money (sorry) and going and purchasing a Herschel wedge and continium filter. Standing outside during the day especially if warm, and it has to be sunny, to observe the sun is in some ways more pleasurable then outside at night in the cold.

Maybe in the winter, but in the summer, I find myself dripping sweat on everything while the sun bakes me.  I can't stand solar observing in the summer for more than 5 minutes at a time.  That's part of why I took up amateur astronomy in Texas, because you can do it mostly at night when the sun isn't trying to cook the life out of you.

[rockystar]

On ‎05‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 01:19, Louis D said:

Maybe in the winter, but in the summer, I find myself dripping sweat on everything while the sun bakes me.  I can't stand solar observing in the summer for more than 5 minutes at a time.  That's part of why I took up amateur astronomy in Texas, because you can do it mostly at night when the sun isn't trying to cook the life out of you.

not generally a problem in the UK

Although a Texas star party is on my bucket list for the future.