A spot of darkness

[Littleguy80]

Friday night is club night for the Norwich Astronomical Society. The site at Seething is split into two sections. One end, near the clubhouse, has two domes and concrete pads which are polar aligned to observe from. Some of the pads had power too. The far end is slightly more secluded, has a better view of the southern horizon and is a little darker too. The far end is my favourite place to observe. With my dob cooling at the far end, I wandered up to see who else was observing. The other members were set up and enjoying the planets with talk of the double cluster as the skies darkened. After a bit of socialising, I wandered back to the far end as my observing plans were quite different!

I started with some casual observing while I waited for the skies to reach astronomical twilight, picking up targets like Albireo. This was my first session with a RACI finder so this was a good chance to get used to star hopping with that. The first of my summer Nebula targets was the Trifid, M20. With an H-Beta filter, the nebulous region of the Trifid is quite well defined. There are three dark lanes, which I believe is where the name comes from. I've been regularly visiting the Trifid to try and see these dark lanes. For the first time, I felt like I got hints of these dark lanes with averted vision. Not a strong observation but a step closer to my goal! You can't observe the Trifid and not view the Lagoon, M8, which is very close by. The Lagoon is a nebula that you could spend an entire session on. Different combinations of filters and magnifications give new features to observe. 133x through an OIII was my favourite of the combinations I tried. Simply stunning!

Moving further down Sagittarius from M8, passing the globular cluster, NGC6544, I reached my next target. Since last summer, I've wanted to see the open cluster NGC6520. My interest in the cluster is due to it containing Barnard 86, the ink spot nebula. NGC6520 is really dense area of stars with quite a distinctive shape. There was no mistaking it as it came into view through the eyepiece. The whole region has an almost nebula like appearance. Sitting within it is a small dark patch with is the ink spot nebula. It was a really neat thing to see. I had to reposition a couple of times as it was sitting just above the tree tops at Seething, very low in the sky. A target I definitely want to return to. 

The OIII filter went in and the journey back up Sagittarius took me to M17, the Swan. I pushed the magnification up higher than I have previously. With the darker skies this made for great viewing. I feel like the Swan shape is much less obvious at higher magnifications but there is so much more detail to be seen. I lingered for quite some time before moving onto the Eagle, M16. I've seen some great pictures of the Eagle recently. I'd forgotten that is was home of the famous 'Pillars of creation'. I can't see the pillars through the eyepiece, but I love knowing that they're there as I look through the eyepiece.

With the night reaching it's darkest point, I pointed the dob overhead to Cygnus. Using my lowest power eyepiece with the OIII filter, I started with the Crescent nebula. Dark(ish) skies were once again my friend. With  averted vision, I could trace a good amount of the Crescent. With direct vision there's only one bright section that I can see. The North American Nebula is huge and doesn't require averted vision to see the large amounts of nebulosity though averted vision does reveal more. My time with the NAN was spent tracing around the perimeter and any areas of the Pelican that I could see. I finished my tour of Cygnus with the Veil. Without doubt, this was my best view of it to date. Following the fine wisp of the Western Veil all the way up through Cyg 52 to the forked end. It was the end section that really stood out for me on this occasion. This has always just faded out on previous viewings, this time it seemed well defined. I passed across a faint Pickering's triangle. It was there with averted vision but seemed a weak observation next to the bright western section. The Eastern Veil was every bit as bright and impressive. I again felt there was better definition to the nebula. I've been observing these nebula on just about every session recently. One thing I've learnt from the many great astronomers on SGL is that repeated viewings will reveal more. I'm looking forward to seeing what else these great nebula in Cygnus reveal over the summer.

Next came two planetary nebulae, the Helix nebula and Saturn nebula. The Helix is still quite low and the sky was a little murky, however, the OIII filter revealed a large oval area of nebulosity. With averted vision the dense region around the edge was much more obvious. The Saturn nebula I think gains it name from lower power views, as I increased magnification, I struggled to see the resemblance to the ringed planet. A neat little planetary none the less.

As the sky brightened, I finished up with a couple of planets. I had my first view of Neptune of the year. Even at 300x it's very small but a small blue disc can be seen. I didn't see Triton, which is another of my observing goals, but I think I need darker skies for this. Mars was incredibly bright. at 170x with a Baader Contrast Booster, there appeared to be lighter areas on the limb where the polar ice caps are. The rest of the planet revealed very little.

Despite it being the middle of July, it was a really fantastic night of DSO observing. What a fantastic summer it's been so far!

[cotterless45]

Super report , waiting for darkness at this time of year , is well worth it ,

Nick.

[scarp15]

A fabulous session Neil, working between a diverse mix of southerly targets and then up into Cygnus, some very interesting accounts such as NGC6520 and B86. Great that you are interacting between filters, gaining variations in your observations. A good motivator when your club has arranged a meet such as that. I had settled for a couple of hours observing from my allotment and considered for the first time in a while, that commitments for dark sky trips are not too distant again. 

[Littleguy80]

10 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

A fabulous session Neil, working between a diverse mix of southerly targets and then up into Cygnus, some very interesting accounts such as NGC6520 and B86. Great that you are interacting between filters, gaining variations in your observations. A good motivator when your club has arranged a meet such as that. I had settled for a couple of hours observing from my allotment and considered for the first time in a while, that commitments for dark sky trips are not too distant again. 

Thanks Iain. It’s been really interesting to see the variation in the views with each of the filters and even unfiltered. The Lagoon in particular reveals a lot without filters. 

The hours of darkness pass quickly but I still feel dark sky trips are worthwhile  

[wookie1965]

Great report half the stuff I have not seen I need to go to a dark site.

[Littleguy80]

10 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Great report half the stuff I have not seen I need to go to a dark site.

Thank you. It’s well worth it making the trip to a dark site. It’s like upgrading your scope to something much bigger for the cost of some petrol/diesel!

[David Levi]

A lovely report Neil. I'll have to add NGC6520/B86 to my observing list. I was looking at the same areas of the sky as you last night. I saw Pickering's triangle for the first time. As you say, the more you look, the more you see. It was probably there for me to see last year but I didn't have the experience to know what I was looking for.

[Littleguy80]

34 minutes ago, David Levi said:

A lovely report Neil. I'll have to add NGC6520/B86 to my observing list. I was looking at the same areas of the sky as you last night. I saw Pickering's triangle for the first time. As you say, the more you look, the more you see. It was probably there for me to see last year but I didn't have the experience to know what I was looking for.

Thank you, David. I’m looking forward to seeing how clear Pickering’s is next month when astronomical darkness returns. It still amazes me that experience can allow you to see more or I guess your brain can better process what’s being seen. 

[Stu]

Great report Neil, you've obviously got some lovely skies are your disposal up there. I'm another who is intrigued by your report of NGC6520/B86. I doubt my little scope could get near it but it is one for the future. I should also try my H Beta on the Trifid to see what I get.

Thanks!

[Littleguy80]

9 minutes ago, Stu said:

Great report Neil, you've obviously got some lovely skies are your disposal up there. I'm another who is intrigued by your report of NGC6520/B86. I doubt my little scope could get near it but it is one for the future. I should also try my H Beta on the Trifid to see what I get.

Thanks!

Thank you, Stu. I’m very lucky to have a site like Seething  I feel like NGC6520/B86 should be achievable with small aperture if you can get down that low. 

[cloudsweeper]

Encouraging report Neil.  Hope to be out later for the first time in a while, having been working on a new shed (with power) for the Dob!

Doug.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thank you, Stu. I’m very lucky to have a site like Seething  I feel like NGC6520/B86 should be achievable with small aperture if you can get down that low. 

Will give it a go. There is a chance I may be going to a place called Boulder near Denver, Colorado this autumn and I will definitely take my Tak if I do. The skies are fabulous apparently and it is about 11 degrees further south.

[Littleguy80]

10 minutes ago, Stu said:

Will give it a go. There is a chance I may be going to a place called Boulder near Denver, Colorado this autumn and I will definitely take my Tak if I do. The skies are fabulous apparently and it is about 11 degrees further south.

Sounds great, Stu. Darker skies and another 11 degrees further south should make a big difference. I’m sure that will more than make up for the smaller aperture  

[scarp15]

When we do get an effective return to dark skies, Low power wide angle for Barnard E, B142 & B143, dark nebulae Aquila, will be back on the agenda. Yep that looks like a good trip lined up Stu, so much to look forward to late Summer, early Autumn.

[Littleguy80]

30 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

When we do get an effective return to dark skies, Low power wide angle for Barnard E, B142 & B143, dark nebulae Aquila, will be back on the agenda. Yep that looks like a good trip lined up Stu, so much to look forward to late Summer, early Autumn.

That looks like a great target, Iain. Is this something you’ve observed before? Any tips for a successful observation?

[Eastman]

That's a really great session Neil, you've got some nice nebulae there.

Plenty to see in the summer.

[scarp15]

Located as embedded within the density of the milky way star field, this dark nebula is considered structurally to be one of the easier of its class to observe and visually can be quite impressive. Aperture is not an issue, very good transparency and of course dark skies are necessary to see this quite large pronounced feature stand out against the background star field.  A wide field at low power is necessary, no filter required. Begin by drifting across from the star Tarazed, just north of Altair and is featured in Interstellarum.  My own encounters, well last year, I used my 8" F6 dob, 31mm e.p, transparency was very good and I did hit on it - however at the time I was not completely clued-up, having not fully researched, definitely a feature I want to explore and resolve fully this year. There are various accounts to read up such as the 'Belt of Venus' observed accounts / sketches, if you do get a chance to observe this Neil, look forward to hearing how you get on.

[Littleguy80]

12 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Located as embedded within the density of the milky way star field, this dark nebula is considered structurally to be one of the easier of its class to observe and visually can be quite impressive. Aperture is not an issue, very good transparency and of course dark skies are necessary to see this quite large pronounced feature stand out against the background star field.  A wide field at low power is necessary, no filter required. Begin by drifting across from the star Tarazed, just north of Altair and is featured in Interstellarum.  My own encounters, well last year, I used my 8" F6 dob, 31mm e.p, transparency was very good and I did hit on it - however at the time I was not completely clued-up, having not fully researched, definitely a feature I want to explore and resolve fully this year. There are various accounts to read up such as the 'Belt of Venus' observed accounts / sketches, if you do get a chance to observe this Neil, look forward to hearing how you get on.

Thank you, Iain. Great information. I will certainly be trying for this. Do you think my 20mm APM will be up to the job? 

[scarp15]

Yes possibly, binoculars to would be good for sweeping across. My subsequent attempts last year, were thwarted due to less than ideal transparency or location had become too low, therefore maybe one to persist with.   

[Littleguy80]

I found the link below to be a really interesting read on the subject of observing dark nebulae and DSO observing in general.

http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/dneb/Observing Dark Nebulae.html