17 Messier Objects and now back in the Saddle

[Mark at Beaufort]

It rained virtually all day yesterday so last night I watched an enjoyable video which ended about 11.30pm. Locking up the back of the house I could not believe the quality of the night sky.

I have not had any major observing session recently, accept for solar, so took out the Apollo 15x70 binos for a quick session.

First object M51 very easy to see then moved over to M81 and M82. M13 almost overhead so should have viewed it in a reclining chair. However, my main objects were going to be in the South. Although quite low down was able to see M4. Up to Ophiuchus and viewed M12 and M10.

I then screwed in an O-III Astronomik filter, one side, and a Lumicon UHC the other. The view of M8 and M20 was really nice so moved up and took in M17 and M16. Still with the filters I looked at M27 - so each of these objects were really enhanced by the filters.

I removed the filters to view Cr399 (Coathanger), M11, M24 star cloud and M22 which really is a fantastic Glob and could be better than M13 from a more southerly location.

Early in year I bought a UHC filter from Skies the Limit so together with the Lumicon UHC I screwed these filters back into the Binos. First object the Veil Neb. To be honest I could not really see anything around 52 Cygnus but NGC 6992 and NGC 6995 was very clear. Went up to the North American Nebula which really stood out. Tried my luck with M57 which although very small was highlighted by the filters - of course it helped that I knew it precise location.

Finally, removed the filters again and noticed whilst walking back into the house that M31 was nicely placed over the roof top so grabbed a final object.

Fantastic session with these brilliant astro binos - now looking forward to more observing sessions now that astro darkness is returning.

 

[John]

Exellent report Mark

It seemed a really dark clear night last night and DSO's were showing very well while the clouds kept off.

After a bit of scoping I dug my 11x70 binoculars out and just sat in the garden for an hour sweeping about. Very invigorating !

[Stu]

The skies do seem darker after the rain has cleared them of all the pollution, doesn't it?

Nice session Mark, great to be out there again I should think? Great results with 'just' binoculars and it seems you found similar benefit with the filters as I did when I had my 15x50is, very nice  

[Mr niall]

Lovely stuff, I still haven't found M51, I'm beginning to think this whole forum might be one big practical joke aimed specifically at me!  I'm sure it doesn't really exist!

[Stu]

20 minutes ago, Mr niall said:

Lovely stuff, I still haven't found M51, I'm beginning to think this whole forum might be one big practical joke aimed specifically at me!  I'm sure it doesn't really exist!

I thought exactly the same thing for years Mr Niall! The simple answer is dark skies. I found it very easily the first time I looked in the right conditions, it's quite small and easily gets washed out under LP.

[Pig]

Great report Mark, still no joy here in Northants for any kind of observing I am afraid ? Fingers crossed for tonight.

[steppenwolf]

Excellent report, Mark, it sounds like a cracker of a session. CR399 would have been my favourite from that lot!

[Littleguy80]

On 22/07/2017 at 10:04, Mr niall said:

Lovely stuff, I still haven't found M51, I'm beginning to think this whole forum might be one big practical joke aimed specifically at me!  I'm sure it doesn't really exist!

It's a tough one but it does exist. I last saw it in May when skies were darker. Come the end of August I would think you'll have a better shot of seeing it. M101 is the one I've tried and failed to see a few times now.  It'll come good with some dark skies though

[Littleguy80]

Very enjoyable report, Mark. I'm thinking about getting some binoculars for Christmas (it's only 5 months away afterall  ) I didn't realise you could put filters on bins either so that's a good tip

[Mark at Beaufort]

29 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Very enjoyable report, Mark. I'm thinking about getting some binoculars for Christmas (it's only 5 months away afterall  ) I didn't realise you could put filters on bins either so that's a good tip

Neil not many astro binos allow you to screw 1.25" filters direct into the eyepiece. These are the binos that I use - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios/helios-apollo-high-resolution-70mm-binoculars.html

These binos are excellent but clearly they are not cheap. However, I have been able to use UHC, O-III and H.Beta filters to view many DSO objects with success.

[Littleguy80]

7 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

These binos are excellent but clearly they are not cheap. However, I have been able to use UHC, O-III and H.Beta filters to view many DSO objects with success.

Thanks for the info, Mark. They're a little out of my price range but there's no arguing with the results. I'd have been chuffed to have a session seeing those objects with my telescope!

[Mark at Beaufort]

1 minute ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thanks for the info, Mark. They're a little out of my price range but there's no arguing with the results. I'd have been chuffed to have a session seeing those objects with my telescope!

Neil for many years I used Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binos (about £70) and they were good. In fact I took them to Yosemite and had fantastic views of Scorpio and Sagittarius a few years ago. I only bought the Apollo binos because of the extra quality but mainly to use different filters.

[Littleguy80]

44 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Neil for many years I used Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binos (about £70) and they were good. In fact I took them to Yosemite and had fantastic views of Scorpio and Sagittarius a few years ago. I only bought the Apollo binos because of the extra quality but mainly to use different filters.

Thanks again, Mark. They sound excellent for the money. It's actually Sagittarius that put me in mind of getting some binoculars. Seemed like a good way of exploring a region that has so many DSO's

[Dave In Vermont]

Having an ongoing & growing 'like' for filters as I do, I've been curious about finding a way to create an adapter to make them usable with binoculars. Ever since I first heard about this particular variety of binoculars, that is.

Hmmm...

Dave.....

[alanjgreen]

Great report Mark. I am planning a trip to Arizona next year which will coincide with new moon. I plan to be staying in monument valley (the middle on nowhere ) during new moon and I am pondering a pair of these Helios 15x70 to take with me.

I would be using a monopod.

I am hoping that sagittarius will be better placed from that more southern location and would aim to use UHC/O3 filters with these binoculars.

Do you have any recommendations on what filters you have had most success with and recommended combos of UHC with O3 or do I need to buy 2 of each type (all my filters are 2" so I need to buy second hand and make a plan of what to look out for next year)?

Any help/tips appreciated!

Alan

[Mark at Beaufort]

Alan you will love these Binos really excellent quality. I have a Son that lives in California so I took a pair of 15x70 Celestron Skymaster to view in Yosemite (Dark) the last time I went. I am going again in April so the Apollo Binos are going this time. The views that I got of Scorpio and Sagittarius with the Celestron 15x70 were mind blowing so the Apollo would increase on that quality.

As regards filters I have an Astronomic O-III, Lumicon UHC, Sky's the Limit UHC and Baader UHC-S all in 1.25". At the moment I enjoy using the O-III and a UHC together. I believe that with a 70mm objective you don't want the bandwidth to be too narrow (IMHO). I also use a Castell O-III (2") filter (on my main scopes) which I really rate which I bought from 365 Astronomy - a lot cheaper than the major brands. The bandwidth on this filter is pretty good and you can still see stars as well as the Nebula which is enhanced which I prefer. This website gives an idea of bandwidth -https://www.365astronomy.com/Castell-OIII-Deepsky-Filter-for-1.25-Inch-Eyepieces.html

All the UHC combinations work well. I don't have two O-III 1.25" filters at the moment but I am working on it.

Finally to give a better idea of bandwidth with these binos I have been using H.Beta filters to view the California Nebula. The Thousand Oaks has a tight bandwidth which makes the image a bit dark. However, on the other side I use a Sky's the Limit premium H.Beta which gives a great contrast view even though there are obtained from eBay. 

Hope this helps and if you want me to be more specific on different combinations I will gladly undertake a review and report back.

 

[alanjgreen]

Thanks for that Mark.

It sounds like I need 1xUHC and 1xO3 as an optimum solution leaving the brain to sort out a nice merge of the two and the flexibilty to pick up something from most targets. 2x UHC would give me extra flexibility if the view is too dark.

If you do get to try 2x O3 then please let me know if the view is too dark??

As Hb is more limited use I would probably class one of these as I nice to have if i had a specific emission nebula target.

The main targets will be the nebs in Sagittarius (that is quite low in my garden) and obviously anything that I can get in the southern sky to the south (thats not even visible at home). I will take sky sakari 5 with me so I can use the compass to identify target locations so this should give a semi-automatic approach to as many "big" targets as possible.

I am assuming the naked eye view will be "too starry" and confuse the hell out of me not even considering all the new constellations that I have never seen before !

Alan

[Mark at Beaufort]

Alan if you know most parts of Scorpio and Sagittarius its easy to work down. I found working down the tail of Scorpio and around to Shaula a rear delight. Because M4 was much higher the view was much better than home. Sagittarius was an absolute delight even without filters. You can also venture into Corona Australis where there is a nice Globular if I remember.

I might buy a 1.25" Castell O-III although I could hold the 2" filter to see what I get. Anyway I will let you know.

As I previously mentioned I am going over April and May next year and Paul's location is latitude 40 degrees so I am hoping to pick the constellations of Centaurus and Lupus.

[Victor Boesen]

I know it’s just over a month since someone last posted here but last night I had my semi first light with my newly acquired Helios Apollo 15x70 and my castell uhc and olll filter. I woke up at 2am because I had to pee, and it had been cloudy all day, but when I looked out it was totally clear. I am at my grandparents’ who live somewhere dark. I looked at the Orion nebulae which unfortunately was hanging right above the only light pollution in the city. What a view! I tried to find the rosette without luck.. screwed my filters in place and went back to m42... much better contrast and the background was a delicate black. The nebula filled munched more, so then I thought why not try the rosette again. BOOM! There it was. The dim circle of gas hanging around the iconic “latter of stars” as I call them. Keep in min that the nebula was very dim, however it was clear enough for me to know it was there the exact moment I looked at it.

I will post a first light later, but I just wanted to post here as well. I called it a semi first light since the viewing was done from inside with the window open....

 

Victor Boesen