Night 2 & 3 at Winterfest SP 2017

[Tim]

This is a continuation of the report found here:  

As a bit of background, I have had the 18" f4 David Lukehurst built Dobsonian for some time, over two years actually. When I got it there was a real issue with the primary mirror, it was badly astigmatic, a fact which takes a little while to totally pin on one aspect of a big dob, but eventually it was beyond doubt. Following the good advice from experienced dob observers at the Autumn Kelling Heath SP, I took the mirror down to an amateur mirror maker, who had to take the glass right back to spherical and refigure it. I got it back all mirrored and lovely at the last Autumn star party. Because of the issues with the mirror I had decided not to invest in any eyepieces until the mirror was sorted, although I did pick up a Paracorr 2 and a couple of Delos eyepieces, and I already had a 23mm Luminos that came with my C11 EdgeHD. Oh, and a Baader mk3 zoom.

But after proving to myself that the mirrors were sorted I added a couple of nice EP's to the collection. A 13mm Ethos from the trade stands at the star party, a 21mm Ethos from the IAS, and the 31mm Nagler from the GreenWitch closing down sale. So really, night one at the Winterfest SP was a whole load of new experiences.

But a good few years ago, at a star party in Sixpenny Handley, I was fortunate to have a look at the Veil nebula, specifically NGC 6960, through a large Obsession dob belonging to Owen Brazell. This was another pivotal moment, a view I have never forgotten. The nebula, via an OIII filter, stood out like a photograph, clear, bright wisps. Previous to this, I had no idea at all that actual observing would reveal so much detail. Adding to the great experience was the fact that my long-suffering wife Julie was present, and also got the full effect, even declaring, "YOU should get a telescope like this!"

Well, I wasn't going to forget THAT recommendation in a hurry!! Hence the eventual purchase of the 18" Dob.

But, despite getting nice views of the Veil in my own scope, it never quite matched the views through Owen's. The nebula just wasn't as bright, or as contrasty against the background. Could it be the filter? I have a Baader visual OIII filter, 10nm transmission, and both 2" and 1.25" imaging OIII filters which I have used with great success. I also bought, early on when I first got the dob, a Skywatcher UHC filter. From home, with my light polluted skies, this UHC filter seemed to make no difference to the views, and not only that, it appears to separate red and blue and produce a bi-colour ring around brighter stars.

Testing the Skywatcher UHC at Kelling was equally disappointing, hardly any real tangible improvement over unfiltered views. However, as luck would have it, I managed to acquire a 2" Lumicon UHC from ENS Optical. What a revelation!

On the first night I diligently scribbled down every object I viewed, the eyepiece used, and any filter. However, in the excitement of the new UHC filter, I just got carried away and neglected to write anything down from the second night, which was not great transparency wise, and only a few key objects on the last night.

But the sky is a different place through the Lumicon. Touring Cygnus was a whole new experience, the North American nebula NGC 7000 stood out really well, and the dense billowing clouds that make up the wall feature were easy to follow. A familiar target for my cameras, the Pelican nebula looked pretty much like it does in a short mono exposure, these objects were a real thrill, and I came back to them several times before Cygnus set just to make sure I wasn't dreaming!

Dropping down to Sadr revealed the Butterfly nebula, with its dark regions and muted star field. The Crescent nebula, which I always visit with the Baader OIII, is all but invisible without a filter, but the UHC brought different aspects of it into view compared to the OIII. If anything the UHC filter produces a brighter nebula view, and the appearance is more like the Crescent looks when we image it through a Hydrogen-alpha filter, more of a C shape, compared to the OIII view which offers a more oval-ish presentation. Looking more closely I could see a definite mix of the Ozone and Hydrogen regions that are so familiar from photographing them for hours at a time, so the UHC filter was really doing its job.

It was a shame the conditions were a bit iffy. Although the skies appeared clear, there was a lot of clagginess, and Andrew had given up on trying to find his mag 15 galaxies in his 18" f4.5 dob.  At this point we decided to trial a couple of filters against each other, as he was keen to give the Astronomik 2" H-beta filter a run, against his 1.25" Lumicon version of the same. As a prime candidate for the Hb filter, we turned to Barnard 33, the Horsehead. Fitted to a 21mm Ethos, the Astronomik did reveal the edge of the hydrogen curtain that helps to pick out the Horsehead itself, however, the iconic shape was really just a dark blob, visible, but without real definition. Admittedly the target was fairly low in the sky, and the conditions were not terrific. Andrew had forgotten to bring his 22mm Panoptic EP, so I trotted back to my dob and removed the 25mm Celestron Plossl that I use in my finder. Not ideal, but the only 1.25" eyepiece we hand to hand to test the Lumicon Hb filter. Right away there was a clear advantage to the Lumicon. Even given the restricted view compared to the Ethos, the curtain of hydrogen behind the Horsehead was considerably brighter with a more definite edge, and the Horsey itself displayed a hook shape, so familiar from the images. Case proven, the Astronomik went back into its case.

I returned to my own scope, determined to view B33 with my own equipment. Using the Lumicon UHC and 21mm Ethos it finally happened! In fact, the view was not too dissimilar to that offered by the Astronomik Hb filter, and I spent quite a while just taking the scene in, dropping on to painfully bright Alnitak and the Flame nebula every now and again. The Flame itself presented an appearance quite like an unfiltered view, the central dark lane with hints of tendrils extending into a fuzzy roundish brighter cloud.

Thoroughly impressed by the Lumicon, I located the little rectangular cluster that is NGC 2244, the Rosette, to see how it looked in the 21mm Ethos + UHC. In a word, fabulous! The views were almost photographic, the edges of the nebulosity sharp and clear. A particular feature within the central Rosette that I am particularly fond of is the dark twisting knot of thick nebulosity that I only know as the "Panther's Claw." Quite honestly, I was totally blown away by the fact that you can actually see this feature with your own eyes! Sorry to sound like such a noob, but the excitement was just too much, in fact, I called out to the guys camped opposite, Mike and Dave, who were busy imaging, to come and have a look.  At one point I brought up a picture of the region on my tablet, covered in red film and brightness turned right down, to compare what I was seeing with a photograph. Whereas the Baader OIII filter actually blocked the view of some of the small stars next to the claw feature, the Lumicon UHC revealed them well, making it easy to pinpoint specific areas of the nebula.

After a quick tour of Orion, which also profferred views to die for, I decided to head back into the warm caravan for a quick nap, hoping that conditions would improve a bit. I woke anyway just before the alarm rang at 2.30, but the skies were no better, if anything the seeing appeared worse, and I noted that the vast majority of the other observers had also turned in. A few imagers were still hard at it, but discretion being the better part of valour, I returned to my pit after setting the alarm for 5 am, as I was keen to properly view Comet 62P and some galaxies in Leo.

In fact, come to think of it, I did at some point get a good viewing of the Leo triplet, and all three galaxies were visible in the eyepiece, a visual treat, but I can't for the life of me remember which night this was. Might have even been on night one.

At any rate, come 5am the sky was clouded out, so I rolled over and caught up on some ZZZZs.

The third night turned out to be the best of the three, much better visibility, a moderate breeze keeping things dry, and steady seeing. I pre-determined not to be silly and stay out all night, as I had the 3.5 hour drive home with caravan in tow ahead, and so imposed a curfew of 2.30am.

for the first time, I really relaxed into observing. After the frantic excitement of the first night out and the new experiences via UHC filter on night two, I resolved to relax and take my time. I normally make a list of targets, and had done so, but as usual I got carried away in the moment and viewed very few of them, however here are some in Orion that I did note down: 

K 1-7 planetary nebula, this is a mag 14 midget and was invisible without my OIII filter. Found it in my 21mm but decided it didn't warrant going to higher power, especially as I had somehow knocked the bearings off the tiny wheels on my equatorial platform, and I didn't want to spoil my night vision by trying to fix it.

NGC 2022 PN, came back to this one just because, a nice bright nebula that doesn't need a filter to pick it out.

HARO 3.79 is a mag 13.9 PN (do they call these ones "stellar types"??) that is really just a grey dot in the OIII filter, and totally indistinguishable from stars without it. Not much to look at, but still, it was pleasing to find these more unusual objects, especially without the benefit of goto or even an Argo Navis system.

Abell 12. I returned to this one from night one and had a more careful look in my OIII filter and 13mm EP. Am probably going to get a photo of this one next time I mount my C11, it might even need a 2.5 X barlow to make it more obvious.

With night three offering the best skies, views to the  WSW, which are those most affected by the local town lights, were considerably better than the previous sessions, so I eagerly located NGC 7331 in Pegasus, a lovely contextual view in the 21mm eyepiece. Counting around three companion galaxies I decided to hunt down Stephan's Quintet. The night before, in Keith's 18" compact home built dob we had observed 4 of the 5, the smaller faint spiral being elusive. I checked the orientation of the quintet compared to NGC 7331, and set off in that direction. Arriving at the spot I was alarmed to note that the galaxies had multiplied and separated!

Gathering my senses and checking the Telrad, I'd only gone well off the beaten track and landed on IC 5191. If you haven't viewed this group, I recommend it, easy to find in Lacerta with a brightish marker star 1 Lac very close. They immediately came into view in my 21mm EP, but I switched to the 13mm for better contrast and really enjoyed the view.

I wasn't going to let the quintet get away though, and went back to 7331 with the 21mm to start again. It was only then I realised that both groups were visible in the field! What a wally   Setting the centre of the view somewhere central, I spent several minutes just observing the groups, revelling in the fact that there were many billions of stars in front of my very eyes. Are there any more humbling hobbies???

At some point, Dave from over the way asked aloud "I wonder what M76 would look like in the 18"?". I wondered too and went after it. Without a filter the core region was very bright, and the looping wings were quite visible. Adding a filter, and I can't recall which one, really enhanced the outer loops. I checked to see if there was any hint of the really faint outer snags of nebulosity that I have imaged in the past ( https://www.astrobin.com/full/68875/0/ ) but I couldn't see any.

It was now time for bed. But not before jumping back onto the Rosette nebula with the UHC for one final look at the Panther's claw, or whatever it is called

As usual, before turning in for the last night of the holiday, I set off for a short walk over the heathland, away from the camp, away from the chance of any stray lights at all.  I'm not sure how long I stood there gazing heavenwards, time seems to stand still when it is just you and the universe, don't you think?

Reluctantly heading inside, glanced out of the awning for one final look at the sky, and was treated to a nice short bright meteor that appeared to drop vertically downwards, with a slight smoky trail.

If only all star parties went like this one! I hope you have enjoyed these somewhat lengthy reports, only I've been rather excited by all of this

Thanks for reading

Tim

 

[John]

Another great report Tim - your enthusiasm is just infectious

I've only experienced a few short sessions with really large apertures but the memories of those linger so having your own massive "light bucket" to play with must be really good fun !

[daz]

Now that's a report!! I was almost there with you mate!!!

Sounds like a great weekend was had!

 

[Astro Imp]

Thanks again Tim, you really make your experiences come to life.

[Stu]

Fabulous again Tim! I put off reading that until I could concentrate properly. Well worth it, thank you  

[Uplooker]

Another great report Tim. I had the good fortune to compare the views of the western Veil through a 22" and Hb filter and 21mm Ethos and my 12" and Lumicon UHC through a 26mm Nagler. The scale and brightness was certainly better in the 22 inch but I was impressed how well my setup worked out.

You certainly picked out some  brilliant targets, which I am sure will be great inspiration to others.

It so true what you are able to see from a dark site.

[alan potts]

One of the best reports I have read on SGL and that is saying something, there are some dam good report writers on here, The Veil is an object that is superb in my little 18 inch so what an extra 4 inches would make must only improve the situation. Must get the Dob out, will be losing my membership of the Mob, it hasn't been out much since I have been playing with cameras, if fact I can't recall when it was last out.

Alan

[David Levi]

Great report Tim @Uplooker A question about the Lumicon filters - Are they fairly new? I ask, as from memory there's been some discussion on the forum that Lumicon filters aren't as good as they used to be.

 

[Tim]

18 minutes ago, David Levi said:

Great report Tim @Uplooker A question about the Lumicon filters - Are they fairly new? I ask, as from memory there's been some discussion on the forum that Lumicon filters aren't as good as they used to be.

 

This true apparently, which is one of the reasons I am delighted to have picked up a new old one, if that makes sense! Am after a 2" Oiii old style too if anybody knows of one just lying around anywhere...

[Uplooker]

49 minutes ago, David Levi said:

Great report Tim @Uplooker A question about the Lumicon filters - Are they fairly new? I ask, as from memory there's been some discussion on the forum that Lumicon filters aren't as good as they used to be.

 

Hi David,

I bought my Lumicon UHC filter direct from Lumicon about 3yrs ago.

Your right there has been a lot of discussion regarding the quality of the Limicon filters produced after they were bought out by AN Other company.

I have not had the opportunity to try / compare an "old" Lumicon to a "new" one.

It would be fair to say that I will not be selling mine anytime soon.

The UHC filter is the only filter I have. I would like to get a Hb & OIII and suspect that these will be Astronomik.

Not sure how to differential old / new Lumicon's other than taking what the seller says at face value ?

[David Levi]

Thanks @Tim and @Uplooker. Apologies for confusing you both.

[Hayduke27]

Thanks for sharing, another fun to read report!