B312,B92 B93 M24 SH2-35

[jetstream]

Another rain washed sky tonight going NELM 6.8 indicating a nice level of transparency. Scope used was the Takahashi TSA120 and the eyepiece a 42mm LVW. 2 filters were employed a Lumicon UHC and their OIII.

This scope is proving to be superb on nebulae, man it shows these dark nebs well! While cruising M24 it hit me at how dark the border of part of it was, it seems as if on the one side a long dark nebula exists and for some reason this scope pops it and others right out. On the other side B92 and B93 were in stark contrast to the rest of the structure. You know I followed M24 too far and its look changed...

I believe that I followed M24 into SH2-35 another huge chunk of emission nebulosity and it showed easily.

Having such success around M24 I tried another dark neb, this time the large and black B312 near NGC 6645 and it appeared about 2.5 deg across- too little FOV and its likely to be missed- I tried the Docter 12.5mm UWA and this happened. Careful viewing caught the edges of it though. There was nebulae everywhere! Has anyone else seen the starfield with nebulosity near M11, the Wild Duck cluster? This is another great sight that is on my list. Up at IC1318 the extent shown with the OIII is boggling- yes the OIII. A few years ago I mentioned the OIII on this one and possibly raised some eyebrows as a Hb is typically recommended. I prefer the OIII for sure here.

So much more seen and so long to figure it out!

I must say this in closing- the lights on the AZ EQ6/battery pack and keypad definitely affect my night vision, I have to figure something out.

[Pig]

Great report Gerry ? I am pleased you are enjoying the TAK. You could put the battery pack in a bag to stop any light bleed, the keypad  will be more difficult I expect unless it has any settings to allow you to lower the brightness. Maybe going wireless is an option with SkySafari as you can just select from the screen ( red screen ).

[PeterW]

The darker left hand side of M24 was clear when we saw it last week with @GavStar, as well as the dark fingers protruding into the fluffy nebulosity below M8, nonidea about B numbers.

the presence of OIII depends on the type of stars exciting the gas, good to see a filter to help people see the delights of central Cygnus.

I suggest you put a cover on the controller buttons and press the buttons “from memory” (there aren’t many).

Peter

[Stu]

Lovely stuff Gerry. It is amazing the difference ‘only’ one magnitude SQM-L increase makes. We were 20.8 the other night vs your 21.8 and you just see SO much more! Because it’s a log scale skies that dark make a huge difference.

I can understand the LED and display causing a problem with night vision. A layer or two of black tape with sort the LED. Perhaps you can get some neutral density or red film to cover the display on the controller, bit of trial and error to see how many layers you need to get it right.

Getting SkySafari up and running may also be an alternative. You can set the phone to show red on all apps plus the home screen. Perhaps still some red film still needed to bring the backlight brightness down so it doesn’t affect your vision.

Keep these reports coming Gerry

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great report. A few years back I started looking out for dark nebulae more. A wide-field instrument tends to be best for this, and I either use my excellent APM 80mm F/6 triplet with either the Nagler 31T5, or the LVW 42mm, or I just grab the big binoculars. It is great fun hunting these fairly elusive object, especially under really good skies.

[PeterW]

Be interested which instruments are best for dark nebulae, given the “average” size of Dark Nebulae? I fear the answer is “most instruments when used under vey good skies”, which isn’t much good for people in the U.K.

PEter

[jetstream]

5 hours ago, PeterW said:

Be interested which instruments are best for dark nebulae, given the “average” size of Dark Nebulae? I fear the answer is “most instruments when used under vey good skies”, which isn’t much good for people in the U.K.

PEter

I'll be honest Peter, this scope is my best yet on this stuff- but- if I get this place finished I am going to order a second TSA120 for a binoscope...

Scopes matter on this stuff as do eyepieces- if the TSA120 is hindered at all it is the low selection of eyepieces in the needed range to see these objects well. I can only imagine if I had a Nikon HW class eyepiece in the 40mm range to use in the Tak...

The 42mm LVW is very good on these objects but there is better glass out there IMHO.

[scarp15]

Very interesting read Gerry, absorbing accounts, distinguishing regions of dark and emission nebula in that vicinity of sky. Very interesting to concerning IC 1318 and your observations with an OIII filter, I cannot recall which filter I had used to observe this, probably a UHC so would like to give this a try should an opportunity arise. Quite understandably an exploration we might each like to get stuck into with our scopes / binoculars should circumstances and access gained to dark enough skies permit. Regardless, good to read your account, keep 'em coming.     

[FenlandPaul]

12 hours ago, Stu said:

 

Getting SkySafari up and running may also be an alternative. You can set the phone to show red on all apps plus the home screen. Perhaps still some red film still needed to bring the backlight brightness down so it doesn’t affect your vision.

 

@Stu Oh wow you’ve just changed my life! I had no idea about that red tint feature in iOS - genius!! Thank you so much!!!  ???

[Stu]

6 minutes ago, FenlandPaul said:

@Stu Oh wow you’ve just changed my life! I had no idea about that red tint feature in iOS - genius!! Thank you so much!!!  ???

Tee hee  Good isn’t it?

 

[PeterW]

Three little clicks and we’re ready to party! He’s good is @Stu!

Peter

[Stu]

32 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Three little clicks and we’re ready to party! He’s good is @Stu!

Peter

I do wish I could remember who to credit for teaching me this trick!! Glad it has proved useful anyway.

[nebulaeman]

Gerry:  It is wonderful to hear your joy in your astro-adventures.  My new book covers over 1000 bright and dark nebulae over the entire sky.  I have had the same adventures of realizing that Dark Nebulae help define the various Star Clouds.  It is not just the M24 Star Cloud or the Scutum Star Cloud including M11.  The key is being aware of more than just the Barnard objects.  You need the listings for Lynds, Sandqvist, Sandqvist and Lindroos, Bernes and others in terms of Dark Nebulae.  There are also many listings for some quite wonderful Bright Nebulae such as Lynds, Sharpless, van den Bergh, van den Bergh and Herbst, Cederblad, Dorschner and Gurtler, Parsamian and Petrosian, Minkowski. Magakian, Neckel and Vehrenberg, Rogers Campbell and Whiteoak as well as the Herbig-Haro list to name only some.  Just to begin with you need to gather the information that is already out there to help.  You are also on the right track that in general scope size is secondary to the eyepieces that will provide the needed field of view needed to identify objects both large and small.  Remember that you will never see elephants with a microscope!