How low can you go?

[Littleguy80]

I was really excited to get out last night. My initial plan was to have a go at viewing M7 (Ptolemy's Cluster). I got the scope out early, with tripod to maximum extension and a ladder so I could actually get up to the eyepiece. Checked I had line of sight to the lowest parts of the sky. Pics of the setup below:

I started around 9:10 pm with a slight fear that people in the houses I was facing would be reporting me as a peeping tom! It was still quite bright but the plan was to look around and just see if I could identify any stars so I would be able to navigate to M7. After some time navigating the sky freehand, I came across M8, the Lagoon. A wonderful sight at any time. Much lower down, I found the Sephdar...I think! It was definitely a red star which matches with the SkySafari description. I continued navigating around, spotted M22 and the M8 twice more. In the end I was beaten. I think it's the kind of search that's best carried out with Binoculars. 

The rest of the night, however, did not disappoint!

Iota Cas - Had a go at this on Sunday night and could only see 2 of the 3 stars. This time I could see all 3 stars. Interestingly, it was the second brighter star that I'd missed on Sunday. I hadn't appreciated how close the secondary star was to the primary. Although I was using Orthos with short eye relief. I actually found it easier to see the stars with a little more distance from the eyepiece. I wasn't using a barlow. Perhaps a feature of my eyes!

Pi Aquilae - Bit of a moon shot at 180x but tried anyway. No hint of a split that I could see. 

Saturn - Quite low in the sky by the time I got round to viewing it and the seeing wasn't great. Always worth a look though! Titan was an easy spot.

NGC7789 - Caroline's Rose. I was initially surprised by how faint this is. At high magnifications, I traced the swirls of the individual "petals" and then back down to 50x where I could take in the whole Rose. I dedicated a lot of time to this cluster and it really paid off. My favourite target of the night. I think I enjoyed it's subtlety. 

Elephant Trunk - I was intending to use Alderamin as a starting point to find NGC7008 but decided to make a diversion to the Garnet star. It has such a lovely orange/pink colour. I could see faint nebulosity so I decided to move into the Elephant trunk. My favourite feature is the triple system of Struve 2816 in the middle of the nebula. Bright white star with two pale blue companions. The UHC filter brought some more nebulosity.

Everything was damp at this point and my wife was home from work so I brought everything into dry off a little.

NGC1514 - With Mrs Littleguy safely tucked up in bed, I came back out. NGC1514 is an unique planetary nebula with a bright central star. I think it's quoted at mag 8. Nebulosity was visible around  the star with and without the UHC filter. Another nice planetary seen.

M36 - My "NeilTo" navigation system was getting a little tired at this point and I end up at M36 whilst trying to find M37. I really enjoy the twinkling effect that comes from all the fainter stars popping in and out sight with averted version in these types of clusters. Incredibly pretty. A fairly loose open cluster when compared to something like M11.

M37 - The moon was high enough to be interfering with the views by the time I found M37. I read a post recently where someone called the moon the "devil's light bulb" which really made me chuckle. Like Caroline's Rose, I was surprised by the faintness of M37. I decided to make it a priority to return to this on a moonless night for a proper look.

M45 - Time for one more target before bed. Bright and beautiful cluster. I went in for a high mag look at Alcyone and the triangle of stars next to it. 

M31 - I really didn't want to go in so over to Andromeda I went. M32 was easily visible above the bright core. M110 was just a grey fuzzy patch beneath. It was really noticeable how the core brightened with averted vision. Good object to find where your vision is strongest. I also noticed a faint peppering of light further away from the core whilst using averted vision.

With around 4 hours left until the alarm for work was due to go off, I dragged myself away from the stars. Very enjoyable night. Can't wait for the next one!

[Davesellars]

You're too late for M7 this year.  At best you only have realistically a half hour window to be able to view the ghost of this cluster.  From Oxford is was extremely tough getting to only 4 degrees Altitude.  I had the fortune to had an absolutely perfectly crystal clear night with very high transparency to finally crack it after many attempts.  Even then extinction wipes out the majority of this cluster.  It's peak altitude now comes at 9:30am which is too early as you need complete darkness.  Left another half hour it's dropped to 3 degrees and basically impossible as extinction get the last of the brighter stars.

I would start at Kaus Australis for the star hop.  This is pretty bright at mag 1.85 and only a little higher in Alt than M7 - If you cannot see this naked eye there's no point in continuing...  Once you've got the scope on Kaus Australis move West about 5 degrees - so good if you have a finder-scope of approx 5 degrees you can use to get Kaus Australis on the Eastern edge of the finderscope and then move half the distance again.  unlikely you'll see any stars between that an M7 an unlikely you'll see M7 in the finder.  Don't use low power - it will be useless. You need to maximise contrast of the view so medium to high power is required.  You should be able to see at least the mag 5.5(ish) stars in this cluster but extinction will mean they are closer to mag 10 or 11 in the view.

You may need to come further South...

Great report though!  Really enjoyed reading it and a good mix of objects and good notes!

 

 

[Littleguy80]

2 minutes ago, Davesellars said:

You're too late for M7 this year.

Thanks Dave, great tips! I was looking at SkySafari and it looked like it should be there but very low so I knew the odds weren't in my favour! That part of the sky is probably the worst for light pollution from my garden. Sounds like a holiday somewhere further south is in order next summer  

[David Levi]

I looked at the globular cluster NGC 6638 in Sagittarius ( -25°, just east of the star Kaus Borealis) last night for the second time in a week and the first time from my back garden. This is the lowest object that I have observed from home. The atmosphere tends to be a bit murky down there in the city so the views aren't ideal when I do try to observe objects that low in the sky. No step ladder required for this object but might need one if I try for M7 next year.

[Littleguy80]

4 minutes ago, David Levi said:

I looked at the globular cluster NGC 6638 in Sagittarius

I saw M28 a couple of weeks ago and must have gone right past this one! I'll look out for it next time

[David Levi]

4 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

I saw M28 a couple of weeks ago and must have gone right past this one!

NGC 6638 isn't that bright. I bumped into it by accident and used it to confirm that I had Kaus Borealis in my sights on the way to locating M8, the Lagoon Nebula.

[Littleguy80]

Just now, David Levi said:

NGC 6638 isn't that bright. I bumped into it by accident and used it to confirm that I had Kaus Borealis in my sights on the way to locating M8, the Lagoon Nebula.

I did the same with M28 for the same reason  The Lagoon has become a real favourite this summer

[cloudsweeper]

Nice report of a good session, Neil!

Doug.

[Stu]

The lengths we will go to eh Neil?

I have a record of observing M7 on 25th August..... I did have the advantage of a southerly sea horizon from Dorset though, and even then it was just a few degrees above the horizon.

One thing, could you not rotate the scope in its rings so the eyepiece is in a more comfortable (and lower) position? Might not need the ladder then.

I remember feeling the same when I had my 12" f6 scope on an AltAz mount on a pillar. It felt like the eyepiece was about 8 feet off the ground, and I was above fence height like you, feeling rather silly!  

[Littleguy80]

4 minutes ago, Stu said:

One thing, could you not rotate the scope in its rings so the eyepiece is in a more comfortable (and lower) position? Might not need the ladder then.

Cheers Stu and great suggestion. I don't know why I didn't think of that! 

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Cheers Stu and great suggestion. I don't know why I didn't think of that! 

Often the way, some things are only obvious after some smarty pants has pointed it out! Happens to me all the time  

[John]

I've managed to split Antares in Scorpus but I find refractors make it easier to get "on to" low objects. Much easier than my dob, as you might expect.

I don't know what the lowest object that I've managed to observe is though

 

[Paz]

Nice report. I've only ever done the low objects in Sagittarius on holiday in places like Corwall and Jersey.

[Beulah]

Nice report - sounds like LP wasn't top much of a problem in acquiring the lower targets.

My previous garden observing spot afforded views right down to NGC6624, as it was directly south through a broad valley...

[Beulah]

10 hours ago, Paz said:

Nice report. I've only ever done the low objects in Sagittarius on holiday in places like Corwall and Jersey.

Cornwall's proper dark with low horizons to boot!!

[alan potts]

I sort of feel for you all as this part of the sky is wonderful, M6 and 7 are naked eye easy here on a good clear night free of moon. I always enjoy M22, it is one of my favourites. I only have about 11 degrees on you here but it makes all the differene. I can see all of Scopius but would love to see it overhead with a scope at hand.

A really nice report as well

[Littleguy80]

2 hours ago, alan potts said:

I sort of feel for you all as this part of the sky is wonderful, M6 and 7 are naked eye easy here on a good clear night free of moon. I always enjoy M22, it is one of my favourites. I only have about 11 degrees on you here but it makes all the differene. I can see all of Scopius but would love to see it overhead with a scope at hand.

A really nice report as well

Thanks Alan. Has definitely got me thinking about heading further south for some observing at some point

[N3ptune]

That was a very interesting report to read @Littleguy80 You had better luck then me with the elephant's trunk, I looked at it a few weeks ago and saw no nebulosity. But you gave me the motivation to look at this object again and study it again!   that Caroline's rose cluster too, I have no observation notes for that cluster. Thanks for the report.  

[Littleguy80]

6 hours ago, N3ptune said:

That was a very interesting report to read @Littleguy80 You had better luck then me with the elephant's trunk, I looked at it a few weeks ago and saw no nebulosity. But you gave me the motivation to look at this object again and study it again!   that Caroline's rose cluster too, I have no observation notes for that cluster. Thanks for the report.  

It was my second look at Elephant Trunk. First time I also didn't see any nebulosity. It's pretty faint. I had a good tip from @jetstream to try and pick up an edge on large nebulas like that. It's really helped me. The contrast of black space next to the nebulosity makes it easier to get that initial spot.

Caroline's Rose has been mentioned as a favourite by a few people on here recently. It's a great target and benefits from spending a bit of time studying it

[Knighty2112]

 Nice report Neil. Well done! And an extra well done for balancing on a step ladder like that to view things! Looks a little dodgy to me, but you seem to have mastered the skill well!  Have to say I never looked much at the elephants trunk, but may give it a try again on the next good night. What magnification did you use to see it with successfully? 

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, Knighty2112 said:

 Nice report Neil. Well done! And an extra well done for balancing on a step ladder like that to view things! Looks a little dodgy to me, but you seem to have mastered the skill well!  Have to say I never looked much at the elephants trunk, but may give it a try again on the next good night. What magnification did you use to see it with successfully? 

Thanks Gus. It was a little wobbly but I managed not fall off! The Elephant Trunk nebula is a really big object so I went with my lowest, widest eyepiece which gave me 38x magnification. It's worth viewing for the Garnet star and Struve 2816 alone. 

[Knighty2112]

2 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thanks Gus. It was a little wobbly but I managed not fall off! The Elephant Trunk nebula is a really big object so I went with my lowest, widest eyepiece which gave me 38x magnification. It's worth viewing for the Garnet star and Struve 2816 alone. 

Cheers Neil for the feedback mate. I'll give it a try a soon as I can and let you know what I see!  

[Littleguy80]

16 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Cheers Neil for the feedback mate. I'll give it a try a soon as I can and let you know what I see!

No worries. Hope you like it. Clear skies  

[harrym]

From the sounds of it you were observing IC 1396, the large emission nebula containing the Garnet Star - I'm very impressed you could see any of it! The Elephant's Trunk (IC 1396A) is actually an extended globule within IC 1396, not the whole nebula - in photos it looks like a dark nebula with a brighter edge that is one of the brightest regions of IC 1396.

[Littleguy80]

5 minutes ago, harrym said:

From the sounds of it you were observing IC 1396, the large emission nebula containing the Garnet Star - I'm very impressed you could see any of it! The Elephant's Trunk (IC 1396A) is actually an extended globule within IC 1396, not the whole nebula - in photos it looks like a dark nebula with a brighter edge that is one of the brightest regions of IC 1396.

Thanks Harry. I didn't realise that the distinction between IC1396/IC1396A. It's an interesting one. I don't think I would have seen it without trying to find an edge first. It was very faint. More of a slight greying of the background than well defined nebulosity.