The Ring Nebula

[Richard Hather]

           Observing Information

DSO - M57

Date - 23/08/17

Time - 23:30

Lunar Phase - 3% Waxing Crescent (not risen)

Seeing - Good

Equipment - Skywatcher 12" dobsonian.

Eyepieces/Filter - Explore Scientific 9mm 100/Skywatcher UHC filter

Additional info - 

It was a lovely surprise when I checked the weather and amazingly it was clear at 21:00.

So I quickly setup and decided to go after a few of my favourite globs and star clusters and a quick look at Saturn.

It got to around 23:15 and I had a quick look at M57 at 75x with my 20mm then decided to up the mag with my 9mm which gave me 167x.

I could still make out a beautiful star field around the Nebula especially in the bottom right of the ep if I positioned the Nebula off centre which made it difficult to sketch but I think made it worth while.

I spent a good amount of time trying to make out the the central star with no success at 14.8 I wasn't overly optimistic about seeing if considering my location and light pollution.

I could definitely make out more of the gas at the bottom and then it seemed to disperse a little at the top of the Nebula.

This was the first time I've observed this Nebula and thought it looked more like an oval shape rather then a ring?

Overall I'm pleased with the sketch even though it was probably my most difficult to date using high power coupled with trying to get the best star field I could by getting the object of centre was a little frustrating but satisfying all the same.

Clear skies ✨????

Richard

 

[John]

Very nice report and sketch Richard

The star closest to the nebula in your sketch is magnitude 13 I believe. There are a couple close in on the other side which are mag 14.7 which I can just about see with my 12" dob. But I've only had suggestions of the central star very fleetingly and that I believe is mag 15 ?

Here is the mag chart that I've been using with the faintest that I've seen (reliably !) to date arrowed in red:

 

[Knighty2112]

Nice sketch Richard. Well done! I was observing the Ring nebula too last night with my C8 SCT. Managed to push the magnification up to 200x OK with my 10mm Delos EP which gave a pleasing view which held up well under the conditions which were good but not ideal. 

[Richard Hather]

9 minutes ago, John said:

Very nice report and sketch Richard

The star closest to the nebula in your sketch is magnitude 13 I believe. There are a couple close in on the other side which are mag 14.7 which I can just about see with my 12" dob. But I've only had suggestions of the central star very fleetingly and that I believe is mag 15 ?

Here is the mag chart that I've been using with the faintest that I've seen (reliably !) to date arrowed in red:

 

Wow that's a nice little mag chart the one bottom right of the Nebula I could see with averted vision and sometimes directly.

I do think under better conditions and darker skies the central star would reveal itself to me definitely on my list ?

[John]

I think the chart is a refractor view so N at the top and E & W reversed ?

[Richard Hather]

2 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Nice sketch Richard. Well done! I was observing the Ring nebula too last night with my C8 SCT. Managed to push the magnification up to 200x OK with my 10mm Delos EP which gave a pleasing view which held up well under the conditions which were good but not ideal. 

I would agree with you there nice conditions but not ideal I felt I could have potentially pushed the mag a bit more but it would have made the sketch even more difficult not necessarily a bad thing haha ? 

 

 

[Richard Hather]

45 minutes ago, John said:

I think the chart is a refractor view so N at the top and E & W reversed ?

So looking at it I think it would have been the 13 mag star I saw like you said, I couldn't see anymore in close proximity with the Nebula but I thought it was nice just to see that one star.