? report 25th September

[Red Dwarfer]

Afternoon all , 

Equipment used last night was ED80 5,12,25mm BSTs and 10x50 binoculars .

There was a lot of new stuff seen for the first time last night and the most memorable was the Trapezium and Orion's Mini-Belt in M42 ... I'd heard people mention the Trapezium on SGL before and had no idea what they were on about so it was good to find out . 

Several new clusters were the Hyades in Taurus , NGC 752 near Triangulum , M34 in Perseus and the Alpha Persei cluster . 

There was a certain amount of hit and miss last night , for example , some targets were found in 10x50 binoculars but not visible in the scope : the Eskimo nebula , the Crab nebula , the Rosette nebula and that Diffuse nebula near Omicron Persei - If you can clearly see the inner stars in a nebula but not the actual nebula itself in a scope does that count as a catch - or is a faint fuzzy in binoculars enough ? OIII filter ordered from FLO . 

Some old favourites were also visited last night , M33 and the Double cluster among them ?

 

[ImmortalBee]

Nice report. 

I'd say a faint fuzzy in binoculars is enough for a catch. Personally I'd require atleast a hint of nebulosity before I said I'd found a nebula though. Enjoy your OIII filter.

 

[Astro Imp]

Nice report, Orion is a great constellation, so many objects to observe, don't just go for the obvious there is plenty more including some great doubles, some easy some more tricky.

Finding and viewing objects isn't a competition, what you define as a catch is something for the individual to decide. 

Good luck and enjoy.

[Red Dwarfer]

1 hour ago, ImmortalBee said:

Nice report. 

I'd say a faint fuzzy in binoculars is enough for a catch. Personally I'd require atleast a hint of nebulosity before I said I'd found a nebula though. Enjoy your OIII filter.

 

I agree on the binoculars point ... It's just a bit annoying when you try to " back it up " in the telescope and it's nowhere to be found ?

[Red Dwarfer]

42 minutes ago, Astro Imp said:

Nice report, Orion is a great constellation, so many objects to observe, don't just go for the obvious there is plenty more including some great doubles, some easy some more tricky.

Finding and viewing objects isn't a competition, what you define as a catch is something for the individual to decide. 

Good luck and enjoy.

I agree ... You're only ever really in competition with yourself .

I think faint in averted vision is probably the least to count as a find ... I could see a very faint something when looking for the Pinwheel galaxy the other night then , trying again , nothing there ... Some DSOs are ghosts ?

[DavidJM]

1 hour ago, Astro Imp said:

Nice report, Orion is a great constellation, so many objects to observe, don't just go for the obvious there is plenty more including some great doubles, some easy some more tricky.

Finding and viewing objects isn't a competition, what you define as a catch is something for the individual to decide. 

Good luck and enjoy.

Agree totally, I've viewed the dumbbell so many times now but still not happy, waiting to see it at a really dark location before I tick it off, might be this year, might be next, I'm not in a rush

[Knighty2112]

21 minutes ago, DavidJM said:

Agree totally, I've viewed the dumbbell so many times now but still not happy, waiting to see it at a really dark location before I tick it off, might be this year, might be next, I'm not in a rush

A UHC filter will bring it out well, even from suburban skies. I can view the Dumbbell from all my scopes, and the UHC  brings all planetary nebulas out much easier even in smaller scopes. I use an Explore Scientific 1.25” UHC, but you can get cheaper ones, although I can’t vouch they will be as good. 

[des anderson]

Well someone had a good night....and with a O111 some objects will be outstanding. Have you tried the Vale? with an O111 filter it`s amazing. Des

[Red Dwarfer]

33 minutes ago, des anderson said:

Well someone had a good night....and with a O111 some objects will be outstanding. Have you tried the Vale? with an O111 filter it`s amazing. Des

Yes and no in relation to Cygnus ... same story again , I can see the inner stars but no nebulosity yet ... That filter can't arrive a moment too soon .

[ImmortalBee]

4 hours ago, Red Dwarfer said:

I agree on the binoculars point ... It's just a bit annoying when you try to " back it up " in the telescope and it's nowhere to be found ?

As said above it's a personal choice when you decide you've found something. I tend to be pessimistic, in life and astronomy  

 

[cloudsweeper]

Well done!

Bigger objects will generally be seen better in binos, although my own preference is the widefield ST120, which gives about 4.5 degrees of field.

Any hint of nebulosity should count, I reckon, but if I only see embedded stars/cluster within, I record that and try again when conditions are more favourable.

Doug.

[Swithin StCleeve]

I tried to find the ring nebula through a 4" reflector in a heavily lit street last week, and it just wasn't there. I haven't recorded that I'd actually seen it, but I did record that I'd looked and it wasn't there. I think when you record an observation session, it's quite important to log the failures. It just makes you all the more pleased the next time, when you find it!

[Stu]

Don't forget that often the star clusters within nebulae have their own NGC designation too so you can still log an object e.g. NGC2244 in the Rosette or NGC6530 in M8.