An icy night in Cumbria

[alanjgreen]

Date: 29/10/17 Time: 2315-0330 Scope: 20” f3.6 Dob with paracorr2

After the last month of few observing chances I had been reduced to jumping at an hour here and there in partially cloudy skies during the last week to try to get some viewing in. Last time out it was with the moon and I was on clusters and double stars that’s how meagre the observing had become!

With the promise of a clear night on the way, I made a plan of what I wanted to do. As it was going to be cold, the first plan was to not go out too soon so that I would be forced back inside too soon later in the night when the moon had left the party. I decided to aim to start outside at 2300. I nipped outside at 2130 to get the scope uncovered and get the cooling fans started...

By 2230 I was pacing around inside (I was half watching a programme on Steven Spielberg) but my mind was to go outside “before those unwanted/unplanned clouds rolled in to spoil my fun!”. I managed to distract myself and 2300 finally arrived so I got all dressed up to go outside. I had dug out my winter thermals earlier in the day so they were the first thing on tonight!

Once outside, I just needed a quick collimation using my Glatter tools and then get my heating gear out of the drawer and ready to fit to the scope. My scope has a “so far unused” Kendrick secondary heater and a “so far unused” Kendrick micro dew controller (2 ports) fitted to the UTA. I set the heater to 20% from the start hoping that would help keep the cold at bay.

Having completed a 2-star alignment to setup my Nexus push-to system, I stuffed in the Ethos21 and fitted the 4 inch eyepiece heater tape around it to keep it snug.

The pesky moon was still up (I have no obstructions from my garden so there is no getting away from the moon – if it’s up then its ON (Devils Lightbulb!). Anyway, I made a start on some of my favourite clusters (to get me in the mood as it were).

Carolines Rose – Not at its best due to the moon but still a unique sight amongst the clusters that we have on offer up there

Double Cluster – with Cassiopeia high in the sky, a trip to the Double Cluster was a must. It was lovely and bright and plenty of small colourful stars were on offer to see. Had a better view than earlier in the week when I had been fighting gaps in the clouds

Followed by Owl cluster, M103 & M52.

By now, I could sense the darkness starting to fall as the moon heading (not fast enough) down to the horizon (Hurrah!), it was time to switch targets to Nebulas…

Cave – The Cave is one of my targets to get to grips with this season and I have had quite a few visits since the summer to try to get inside it! I fitted the Astronomik O3 filter and got stuck in… The view was similar to what I had been seeing – easily traceable outline, sort of triangular in shape. No new features were seen and there was no sign of the lovely bright right angle shape that I saw on my first attempt a few months back. Perhaps the sky was not excellent and this was a sign that I would not be breaking new ground tonight? (Either way, you have to take what you can get in this game). "This isn't going to go the way you think" (thanks Luke!)

Bubble – I tried the bubble with both O3 and UHC. 21E (x100) and 13E (x150) but the bubble was not coming out to play . Best view was probably the 13E & O3 combination where the nebulosity was clear and there was hints of a circle/bubble (or was it wishful thinking?) The 13E and UHC showed more stars and more nebulosity but no hints of bubble.

 

NGC7822 & CED214 – New targets for me, I had them circled in Sky Safari as targets (I had spent the dull cloudy weeks of October created new month by month observing lists in Sky Safari focused on my main observing directions and this was one that I had added for “October”) and I was nearby so popped over for a look… These were actually nice targets and showed plenty of nebulosity with the UHC. The shapes were easily traced in the 21E and covered quite a large area of sky. Worth another visit on a night with better “seeing”.

 

Pacman – Best result of the night was with the Pacman, it was lovely and bright with the UHC and framed nicely in the 21E.

 

Heart & Soul – Another successful target(s). With the O3, they were clearly visible and tracing around them (these are large targets) was straightforward. A couple of darker patches popped out on the way around and although I have had better views, this was a good result.

 

Comet C/2017 O1 – I was now in the vicinity of the comet (I had tried earlier while the moon was receding with no success) so time for another crack. Nexus took me to the right place, nothing! Scan around and there it is – it took movement to find it but once you have it then it was easy to relocate. This really is a hard target, it’s so diffuse and appeared smaller (not as good) than it was in September when I last saw it. I tried higher magnification but it was worse so back to the 21E. Looks like we have had the best of this comet

 

Flaming Star – First time with the big dob on this one. I started with the UHC and there was plenty of nebulosity over a large region. I switched to the Astronomik Hb and saw no real difference really, maybe it was slightly better but at 2am who really knows?
By now, I was struggling with my eyepieces misting up. Yes, I did have the heater tape but all this taking it on and off to swap eyepiece or filter was taking its toll. The eyepieces were cold to the touch as I took them out of my box and I think that with the enormous size of the big Ethos that I am going to have to move to single eyepiece sessions when the real cold comes. This way I can focus on just keeping the one eyepiece warm. I tested my heater tape and it wasn’t warm to the touch so I decided to up the heat to 50% on the Kendrick controller. I am wary of putting too much heat into the secondary as I don’t want to affect the view. But trying to look through a misted eyepiece really messes with the view so no choice really. Has anybody got any tips on what settings to run the secondary/eyepiece heater on during a cold night?

M33 galaxy – With the E13 x150, the view was great. There was a clear S shape with one half pretty distinct and the other half less so due to there being “more” galaxy on offer. I switched to the E21 but found the view less revealing although it better fitted the FOV of the eyepiece.

NGC891 galaxy – Another target from my sky safari targets list and it’s a good one. The galaxy is long and thin but there were hints of a dark lane running thorough it. I switched back to the E13 for a closer look and the dark lane was clear to see. I will be returning to this if I get another chance!

Other galaxies included NGC925 & NGC1023 which both showed nicely when the eyepiece was not misted up!

California neb – This is an old friend of mine, I had plenty of success with my C11 on this target and it really doesn’t offer much inner detail but its big and pretty easy so I had to call in on my way past. With the UHC it was great. Really big and easy to trace around the shape.
By now, my toes were getting cold but I had been waiting for Orion to come around to face the drop-side on my shed and here it was. My first attempt to get the scope on target failed as I hit the side of the shed so I had to close the roof, attach the wheelbarrow handles and reposition at the very back of the shed. Re-open roof and re-align Nexus. Sounds a lot but probably only took 10 minutes.

Flame neb – Started with the E13 and Hb filter. As this is the first time for me with the big dob I was not expecting the large FOV to make such a change to my view of this area of the sky which I have frequented many times in the past. With no diagonal, everything is upside down! With the large FOV of the Ethos than Alnitak is a real problem. With the long focal length of the C11 then the bright star could be shuffled out of the view allowing time to tease out the Flame. Now, its right in the view. I could see a small dark patch in the right place and decided not to increase the magnification as I was trying to warm one single eyepiece by this time and fight the cold in my toes.

Horsehead – My final planned target of the night. Firstly, I was really struggling with eyepiece misting and had to keep backing off to let it clear. For the Horsey you really need to be relaxed and spend time teasing it out so this was not the best start. Now there was confusion (same as the Flame), with the C11 I had a well drilled procedure for getting to the Horsey and now with everything upside down and wider FOV, I needed to re-learn how to find the Horsey location. Initially I was struggling to even see the nebula lane that runs down (now UP) from Alnitak! But as my eye settled in, here it comes. The lane was much wider than I used to get in the C11 and very easy to see. The Horsey was not “there”. I located the two “pointing” stars and drew an imaginary line from them across to an imaginary line coming from Alnitak up through the two leading stars and placed that point in my mind. The horsey would be UP from here. Concentrate, concentrate… A dark patch came in and out of view (again as this is my first time with this scope/eyepiece combination I have no idea how BIG the Horsey will appear). I am expecting smaller than the C11. Which way does the Horsey face in the dob? So many doubts in my mind as I try to identify what I am seeing… Quick look at sky safari – Horsey points towards the two “pointing” stars. Glimpses of a dark patch was as good as it got. I switched to the UHC filter and probably found the dark patch easier to see but I would say there was more “shape” to the patch with the Hb. I tried more magnification but the conditions and eyepiece misting were all against me. I pushed the Kendrick up to 75% and now I could feel the warmth coming from the eyepiece heating tape in my gloved fingers. It will be another night before I "Fullfill your destiny" (Thanks Snoke!)

M42 Orion neb – As the UHC was in the paracorr, it would be rude not to pop across to Orion Neb to finish the night (my toes were crying out for me to finish ). In with the E21 and over we go. Wow – so bright, so clear. "Something truly special" (Thanks Snoke). Now the increased FOV of the combo was really paying off. A fantastic framed view of the nebula was before me. There seemed so much more outlying nebula than I had experienced in the past. Sure the well-known basic winged shape was there but there was more behind that. I shall look forward to further visits during the winter months and an attack on the trapezium crossed my mind… Cries of “no” screamed from my fingers and toes and I finally gave in to the cold.

After closing the roof to the sounds of crushing ice on the rails, I switched on the light to see my UTA was covered in ice. I checked the secondary and it was clear.

Two things I need to work on:
1. Kendrick heating settings - I need to get more experience with the heating on my dob. Next time, I will start out with the heat set to 50% from the start and probably just stick to the E21. Any recommendations from anyone?
2. Cold fingers – A clear downside of an aluminium truss dob is that the trusses get cold to the touch. And with push-to there is a lot of touching! Using sky safari on the ipad also means gloves off to use the screen. Changing filters means gloves off and on.
On the plus side, the “eyepatch” I am using now that I am back to cyclops viewing with the dob proved a success with the additional benefit of keeping a patch of my face warm!

I am not convinced the seeing was as good as it could have been. With my glasses back on, walking back to the house there seemed plenty of smaller stars on view but the last hour had been a struggle lower down in Orion.

Hope you enjoy the report. I went to bed with my thermals still on as I was freezing cold and I still haven't bought a “hot water bottle” as I had promised myself at the end of last winter – I must get that done!

Alan

P.S. I got my tickets for The Last Jedi (couldn't resist adding a few sound bytes from the trailer) for Dec 14th. Note that new moon is on Dec 18th so don't book tickets for then!

[Piero]

Super Report!!  

So many interesting targets.. I bet you had wonderful views with that large aperture to play with! 

[alanjgreen]

4 hours ago, Piero said:

Super Report!!  

So many interesting targets.. I bet you had wonderful views with that large aperture to play with! 

Thanks Piero.

AND I just got back from Carlisle with a hot water bottle so thats another tick in a box!

 

[D Wright]

Good to see another Cumbrian on here. I was on Caldbeck last night but I found that the seeing was not the best (which was dissapointing, having waited so long for a clear night). I could only see about half of the stars that I normally can. Also frustrating was that I took my imaging scope and did not image due to the poor seeing and did not have enough aperture for visual. I spent most of the night playing with my new mount, finding out what it can do and I must admit I am very impressed with it. I spent the observing session looking for things I have never seen before with much success. Too many to list. So although the session did not go how I planned, I enjoyed it.

[David Levi]

Fantastic report. Very evocative - I was there with you! Sounds like a fulfilling session.

[cloudsweeper]

Enthusiasm, good skies, big aperture - a winning formula, Alan!

Doug.

[Stu]

Fab report Alan, read it a bit quickly so will go back and absorb it properly.

One thing which might be useful would be to set your kit up in SkySafari so you can compare the field of view between the C11 and your new scope. That might better enable you to visualise how the Horsey would appear?

[alanjgreen]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

One thing which might be useful would be to set your kit up in SkySafari so you can compare the field of view between the C11 and your new scope. That might better enable you to visualise how the Horsey would appear?

Great idea! Having now done this I have discovered that I was looking in completely the wrong location (having followed the wrong Stars away from Alnitak:(

with the E21, the Horsey will be in same FOV as Alnitak  probably need to use the E13 to escape the bright star...

[Stu]

31 minutes ago, alanjgreen said:

Great idea! Having now done this I have discovered that I was looking in completely the wrong location (having followed the wrong Stars away from Alnitak:(

with the E21, the Horsey will be in same FOV as Alnitak  probably need to use the E13 to escape the bright star...

Excellent. Good luck for next time!!

[Nyctimene]

SkySafari's capability of displaying the TFOV (True Field of View) of various telescope - eyepiece configurations is an almost indispensable tool for me now, when doing star-hopping. You can easily adjust the star/DSO brightness displayed, to give you a realistic view that matches exactly with the view in your eyepiece. My star maps (a nice collection!) slowly get out of use; but I still need the precise descriptions and drawings e.g. in the Night Sky Observer's Guide.

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, Nyctimene said:

SkySafari's capability of displaying the TFOV (True Field of View) of various telescope - eyepiece configurations is an almost indispensable tool for me now, when doing star-hopping. You can easily adjust the star/DSO brightness displayed, to give you a realistic view that matches exactly with the view in your eyepiece. My star maps (a nice collection!) slowly get out of use; but I still need the precise descriptions and drawings e.g. in the Night Sky Observer's Guide.

I agree! It makes star hopping much easier and more intuitive. I do struggle with black on white maps too, and the way brighter stars are represented as larger circles restricts how much info can be included in the paper maps. I love looking at my paper atlases but don't use them when at the scope any more, sadly.

[Hayduke27]

Great report, a pleasure to read!

[mapstar]

Some wonderful targets in there. The 13E on the HH gives good views with the larger aperture. 

NGC 891 is glorious one of my faves when the skies are crisp and clear

Enjoyed the read and thanks for sharing it with the rest of us. They take some writing up.  

[estwing]

how did I miss this?!...wonderful read and a super list for a nights viewing. 891 is a bit of a wow when conditions are right and also I found out that a 20" dob and the 21 ethos are a fantastic combo. Portable hairdryers are a must at keeping that dew/mist off those ep's....clear skies

[niallk]

Great write up! 

 

[Paul73]

Great write-up. Thanks for taking the time.

On a really cold night, I pop a couple of eyepieces in my pockets to keep warm. Can't be bothered with heater tapes on the swapping bits. Although my biggish scope is crying out for a secondary heater.

The horsey is a 'must bag' target for this winter. My horsey grabbing kit is 15,20&25mm TV Plossls, Astronomik & Lumicon Hb filters and a 16" scope...... I could really use some Cumbrian skies too!

Paul

[mapstar]

2 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Great write-up. Thanks for taking the time.

On a really cold night, I pop a couple of eyepieces in my pockets to keep warm. Can't be bothered with heater tapes on the swapping bits. Although my biggish scope is crying out for a secondary heater.

The horsey is a 'must bag' target for this winter. My horsey grabbing kit is 15,20&25mm TV Plossls, Astronomik & Lumicon Hb filters and a 16" scope...... I could really use some Cumbrian skies too!

Paul

I'm sure you'll easily do it with that kit Paul. Wish I could say the skies will be kind as well but transparency is a must for the HH.

[alan potts]

A superb report, I only managed to skip through the other morning but knew I would have to come back to it, thanks for taking the time to share it.

Alan