A fine night for nearly anything!

[Special K]

It was quite nice overnight so I put the scope out to cool at 2am and returned to bed for another hour.  I started with λ Orionis, the striking Meissa double Σ768, easily split at 100x.  The secondary is bright enough to give the cats eyes effect, while the surrounding area provides a busy background.  ΟΣ111 proved much more difficult for some reason and recall this being a stretch in the ED80.

Moving on to the Collarbone Nebula NGC2022, this is a pleasant planetary an easy hop from λ.  With a UHC filter it's a bit shinier than without but here's the interesting feature.  With direct vision the nebulosity fades away which is no surprise but a little star reveals itself smack in the middle.  Looking at photos afterwards confirms there is a substantial star in the center of the Nebula.  I'm not sure if that's the remnant but it is a fun exercise all the same!

Continuing with planetaries, it seemed a good idea to visit the Eskimo in Gemini.  In contrast to the Collarbone the Eskimo is a much brighter Nebula and easy to spend a lot of time here switching filters and EPs and generally having a play. 

A split of the Castor system was in order.  A and B are spellbinding when you put a UHC filter on it.  The third member C nearby is a nice bonus.  

A recent post regarding Pleiades had me mindful to return to that for another look.  No reflection nebs spotted but I do think the area beyond Merope looks 'different' than other background sky. I see this effect when viewing the spot where the North American Nebula sits. With no filter the Nebula is invisible but it blocks normal background starlight. I must get into Dark Nebula's someday!

Finally I wanted to see Venus and Mars getting near conjunction but I had a little cat nap which brought me up to dawn. Venus had cleared the trees and easily visible but Mars was nowhere there be found in that light!  Hopefully I will get a chance on Oct 6th.  

Thanks for reading and clear skies. 

[Hayduke27]

I'm hoping to get out on the 5th or the 6th as well to see Venus and Mars, should be an awesome sight!  I'm getting my first nebula filter this week.  I'm excited to check them out after all of the amazing things I hear people saying about observing them.  Good report! 

[laser_jock99]

Good report.

[scarp15]

Diligent report Kevin, along with a few others, prising yourself out of bed in the small hours of the morning. Good effort with NGC 2022 in Orion and a nice reminder that the Winter constellations are coming. 

[Special K]

2 hours ago, Hayduke27 said:

I'm hoping to get out on the 5th or the 6th as well to see Venus and Mars, should be an awesome sight!  I'm getting my first nebula filter this week.  I'm excited to check them out after all of the amazing things I hear people saying about observing them.  Good report! 

Wishing you best of luck against these clouds!  

Which filter are you getting?  Neb filters are quite exciting and are a great enhancement to an eyepiece collection. 

[Hayduke27]

48 minutes ago, Special K said:

Wishing you best of luck against these clouds!  

Which filter are you getting?  Neb filters are quite exciting and are a great enhancement to an eyepiece collection. 

I got a DGM Optics NPB Nebula Filter. I will probably try to get myself a OIII down the line, but I have been spoiling myself with new EPs and whatnot lately, I need to let the dust settle   For now, I am just observing and sketching.  Eventually I may try out some astrophotography, but right now I just like to look through the EP myself.

[FenlandPaul]

Nice report, Kevin.  It takes a lot of mental resilience to get up in the middle of the night!!  The Collarbone is a lovely planetary; looking forward to seeing that again this season.

I'm interested in your UHC filter method for Castor - I've not tried that before.

Paul

 

[Special K]

Thanks @FenlandPaulbut it's easy with age to get up in the wee hours!  Reading about others' adventures this time of year as Fall brings darkness inspires me to get up and share the experience. Fortunately it's as easy as popping out the front or back door and the LP is not too strong here. 

My 6" frac is glaring on bright stars so the UHC filter tones it down big time, but not too much. I got the idea off someone here on the lounge for sure. It's really good on Venus too as it sharpens the image making it easier to see the phase. 

[Piero]

Wow! 2am! 

It was cloudy last night over here, so no observation unfortunately. 

Never used a UHC filter to decrease the glare. I find a single polarising filter works well on Venus for the reasons you stated and for showing a little bit more detail on the clouds. I've not yet observed it with the Tak, but my TV60 showed Venus really well, much better than my dob.