Opening the Trapezium.

[Piero]

I spotted E and F with the Tak last December. E was easier but F was also feasible when the seeing was stable. Great scope!

With the TV60, I might have spotted E under very good seeing (not 100% sure though) but no trace of F.

[chiltonstar]

They can be tricky little devils, can't they! Easy on nights of excellent seeing with my 180 Mak, but I've yet to catch the G component!

Chris

[Ibbo!]

Got E with the FS102 last night but not F.

Classic airy discs with the LE's last night for a short while then the cloud spoiled it.

[Hungrymark]

I thought I got E on Sunday night with an 8" dob at x240, but couldn't be sure as I lack experience and might well have been imagining it. I don't think seeing was brilliant as I failed to split other stars that I had done the previous night. NW England location. 

[VNA]

From my backyard with my 6" achromat refractor I can see 4 of the stars and E at 1,200 meters high!

[John]

8 hours ago, VNA said:

From my backyard with my 6" apo refractor I can see 4 of the stars and E at 1,200 meters high!

My 4.7" ED doublet shows E & F from my back yard at 90 metres so, with the right eyepiece, I'm sure your 6" can do the same

 

[festoon]

On 22/11/2017 at 16:54, John said:

That is a useful chart. I can get E & F regularly with my scopes of 120mm and upwards (can't miss them in the 12" dob !) and on good nights with my 102/100 mm fracs. G should be possible with the 12" dob in principle although, as ever, reality might have other plans

Interesting piece on the Trapezium here:

https://maas.museum/observations/2010/02/23/harry-zooms-in-on-the-trapezium-the-heart-of-the-great-nebula-in-orion/

Hi John, with your FC100DL, which focal length of eyepiece did you use to try and resolve E and F on the trapezium?

[John]

18 minutes ago, festoon said:

Hi John, with your FC100DL, which focal length of eyepiece did you use to try and resolve E and F on the trapezium?

I used my 7mm and 5mm Pentax XW's so 128x and 180x. E & F are not what I'd call "easy spots" with 100m of aperture with F in particular needing careful observation and being challenging to hold for long periods with direct vision. But they can be done.

 

[festoon]

25 minutes ago, John said:

I used my 7mm and 5mm Pentax XW's so 128x and 180x. E & F are not what I'd call "easy spots" with 100m of aperture with F in particular needing careful observation and being challenging to hold for long periods with direct vision. But they can be done.

 

Thanks John, more reason to buy those XW's

[F15Rules]

1 hour ago, festoon said:

Hi John, with your FC100DL, which focal length of eyepiece did you use to try and resolve E and F on the trapezium?

Hi Festoon,

At the weekend (Saturday) I got nice, direct vision views of E and F with my FS128.

I used my Pentax zoom at c 10mm, XL 10.5 and XL7. For me on that night the 10mm area (about x100 in the FS128) worked best.

I find that sky transparency rather than seeing, is most important in catching these, whereas more usually for close doubles I find the reverse is true☺

Dave

[laowhoo]

On 1/6/2018 at 02:22, Stu said:

Tee hee, I've done that before, spent a long time struggling to glimpse something, feeling like I've got a star appearing regulating at the same point, only to check and see it is in the wrong place!! I'll get it one day!

Exciting to see tinges of pink in M42. I've heard of other colours being see in much larger dobs in the US, but if the conditions are right, and you have good eyes then it is likely to be possible. I even suspect having the moon around can help as it keeps your cones stimulated and makes it easier to detect colour. Nice one.

 

Only ever seen green, and actually seem to see more than with the UHC filter, but we'll be putting our new prism on this first, and first thing, thx to a recommendation by Merlin.

[Stu]

1 minute ago, laowhoo said:

 

Only ever seen green, and actually seem to see more than with the UHC filter, but we'll be putting our new prism on this first, and first thing, thx to a recommendation by Merlin.

I recall seeing something about prisms, what what are you expecting from it?

[laowhoo]

 

I have NO idea, but it was at a thread about the efficacy of various filters for various objects. And oddly, I've never actually held a prism if you can believe it. Dunno whether we'll be seeing an image or just spectra, but reckon the nebula is as good a test as any. Also thought the kids would get a kick at outreach.

[mikeDnight]

On 06/01/2018 at 09:38, John said:

I managed Trap E & F with my Tak 100 last night. Good stuff although lots of light cloud patches made it a bit "GO / NO GO"

Switched to the Vixen ED102SS later for stunning lunar views.

Takahashi FC! Takahashi FC!! ⚽⚽⚽ 

Sorry! I apologize for the childish, Neanderthal chant, but I just couldn't help myself! 

[mikeDnight]

E & F in Tak FC100DC 

[Stu]

29 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

E & F in Tak FC100DC 

You did well there Mike, that's not far off how it looked in Gavstar's 160mm Fluorite triplet.

[John]

Nice sketch Mike

Try as I might, I can't see that sqiggle shaped nebula and faint star to the bottom left of the Trap though  

[F15Rules]

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Takahashi FC! Takahashi FC!! ⚽⚽⚽ 

Sorry! I apologize for the childish, Neanderthal chant, but I just couldn't help myself! 

What's a "Takahashi FC"? Have I missed something??

Dave

[Timebandit]

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Takahashi FC! Takahashi FC!! ⚽⚽⚽ 

Sorry! I apologize for the childish, Neanderthal chant, but I just couldn't help myself! 

 

 

That's very Taky Mike ?

 

 

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

E & F in Tak FC100DC 

 

3 hours ago, John said:

Nice sketch Mike

Try as I might, I can't see that sqiggle shaped nebula and faint star to the bottom left of the Trap though  

 

 

I think that's one of those faint fuzzys types where more aperture is required ??

 

 

[Hungrymark]

 So I've tried the trapezium out a couple of times over the last few weeks and I just can't get E (confidently - I may have succeeded last night but wouldn't bet the pennies in my pocket on it) or F. The scope is a Skywatcher 200p, through a 10mm stock EP, both on its own and 2x Barlowed. The issue I think is that from my back garden Orion requires viewing at quite a low altitude directly over my house, and I suspect the heat rising is affecting the seeing in that direction. Does that sound likely? As a comparison, Castor is no probs (over houses, but higher in the sky), and I could just split Rigel, which is obviously closer to my house than the nebula. It's bugging me, so any tips appreciated!

[Stu]

57 minutes ago, Hungrymark said:

 So I've tried the trapezium out a couple of times over the last few weeks and I just can't get E (confidently - I may have succeeded last night but wouldn't bet the pennies in my pocket on it) or F. The scope is a Skywatcher 200p, through a 10mm stock EP, both on its own and 2x Barlowed. The issue I think is that from my back garden Orion requires viewing at quite a low altitude directly over my house, and I suspect the heat rising is affecting the seeing in that direction. Does that sound likely? As a comparison, Castor is no probs (over houses, but higher in the sky), and I could just split Rigel, which is obviously closer to my house than the nebula. It's bugging me, so any tips appreciated!

Yes, observing over the house will likely cause you poor seeing. Any way you can put the scope somewhere so you look either side of it? I get two chances most nights when Orion passes the gaps either side of my house and the seeing definitely improves then. Cooling and collimation are the other two to get right.

[Arcturus D]

With my 8" dobs the E and F stars are visible from 130x onwards. The E star is a lot easier that the F star. I found both to be heavily dependent on seeing, e.g. disappearing and re-appearing during 90 second manual drifts. Both stars are very small and because of this easy to miss, despite sometimes looking larger on star charts.