I didn't know space was so cool!

[Littleguy80]

A few weeks a go I was on  a camping trip on the Norfolk coast. Those of you familiar with Kelling will know how good the skies can be on the Norfolk coast. On the first night, my family and two other families we were camping with walked down to the beach after dark. I'd brought my binoculars as there was no room for the dob in the car. As we sat on the beach, I pointed out the Milky Way, planets and some of the more obvious constellations. While we looked up a meteor streaked across the sky leaving a trail in it's wake. There was a collective gasp from our group. The children were full of questions and enjoyed looking through the binoculars. As we walked back to the tents, my daughter's friend commented "I didn't know space was so cool!!". The next morning, his mother asked if I could take him out again for some more stargazing. That night, one of the other dads and I took some of the older children into the dunes. I handed over the binoculars and talked each of them through finding Andromeda. I told them of the future collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda which filled them with questions. The double cluster was very clearly naked eye so that was the next target for them. At times we just sat back and talked about the cosmos and what may or may not be out there. I took a look at the dark nebulae which make up Barnard's E through the binoculars as we spoke. A brilliant orange/red moon rose up from the sea. After awhile, I spotted the Pleiades, which everyone enjoyed through the binoculars. Stargazing gave us all some memorable moments.

Last night, my daughter's friend and his father came over for a look through my dob. On this occasion, I think the dad got the most out of it. My daughter and her friend have just started high school and were more keen on comparing notes on their respective new schools. Having said that, there were many gasps as we crept up the magnification on the Moon. Saturn sat just below Moon and so that was the next target. The "wooooow. I can see the rings" is always good to hear. Not much detail could be seen on Mars but I was able to point out one of the polar ice caps. With the sky getting darker, we moved onto some deep sky objects. The Owl cluster, NGC 457, is always a winner with children. Andromeda also impressed and I was able to point out M32 too. We go onto a bit of a roll and observed M57, Albireo, M13, the double cluster and finished on M81/M82. Each object produced it's own little set of questions from our guests. I felt quite accomplished showing them around the sky finding everything manually without needing to refer to an atlas. It's amazing how quickly you can build up knowledge of the sky.

After our guests left and my household duties were taken care of, I headed outside for a little session of my own. Mars revealed a bit of surface detail with one darker region, though I saw better detail the night before. I moved onto another planet for my next observation, Neptune. I have an ambition to see Triton and spent a significant amount of time, trying to find the right magnification to reveal the tiny moon. On this occasion, it was not to be but this was my most serious attempt so far to see it. I'll give the dob a thorough collimation before my next attempt. I still very much enjoyed the pale disc of Neptune that was on display though.

I added an OIII filter and went off in search of a new planetary nebulae, NGC6781 in Aquila. I believe this is also known as the Ghost of the Moon. It's quite a large planetary with lots of nebulosity on display. It didn't strike me as obviously looking like the moon. Perhaps darker skies would have revealed more detail and a greater likeness to explain the name. As the OIII filter was in, I moved up to M27. This was really stunning. The nebula presenting as a circle with a brighter "apple core" section. I recently treated myself to an ES82 30mm which now went into the focuser for a trip to Cygnus. The Crescent nebulae showed one brighter section and extended out further with averted version. The Veil was the target at the forefront of my mind when I purchased the ES82 and as I the Eastern Veil came into view, I was not disappointed. The 2 degree TFOV framed that section of the nebula perfectly and the Astronomik OIII really made it pop out. Without doubt, one of my best viewings of the Veil. Pickering's triangle was observable but not obvious unlike the Western Veil which also showed well though not quite as impressive as the Eastern section. The North American Nebulae was another treat with the ES82. It really is a big target.

M33 was next to be viewed. I was absolutely thrilled when I realised that I could see NGC604 in direct vision. I managed to see it in my old 130mm scope but it was a real struggle compared to the view I now had. The nebula became even more obvious when using averted vision by focusing on the mag 11 star above it. I think this was the highlight of the session for me. There's something about seeing a nebula in another galaxy that's just awe inspiring. I added my H-Beta filter now and with the ES82 30mm back in the focuser, I went in search of my first viewing of the California nebulae. With the star Menkib in the eyepiece, I was initially disappointed... I couldn't see anything. Then slowly as I moved the scope slowly around, my eye started to pick up the nebulae. There was definitely one brighter section that was close to Menkib. That seemed to be the most obvious section to me. I picked up some more fainter nebulosity but not larger amounts. It was a good first observation. Darker skies and repeated visits will reveal more.

My bed was calling but I could resist moving the scope around front to catch Comet 21/P. I made of point of looking for this every session over the summer. I have 16 recorded observations of it with the first being on the 20th July. My only disappointment has been missing it's pass through Auriga. I was shocked when SkySafari listed it as being in Orion. Autumn really is fast approaching! I found the comet without too much trouble. A hint of a tail but I've sent it much better when it was higher in the sky. I jumped over to the Pleiades, again using the ES82 30mm. The large exit pupil helped to bring out the Merope reflection nebula. It wasn't easy but I traced on edge using a couple of fainter stars as markers. I then verified what I believed I was seeing against SkySafari to confirm the observation. My observation was a match to SkySafari so success! With my final victory, I called it a night and headed in. I had to agree with my daughter's friend.... space is cool!

[Stu]

What a very varied and interesting report Neil! Excellent to have been able to show so much to your children’s  friend and family, plus some highly successful observing of your own! Nice!

[Buzzard75]

Good report! I've never actually seen NGC457 or even attempted it. I'll have to add that one to my list.

[andrew63]

That's a great report Neil - and an honour to show others the glories of the night sky.

 

andrew

[domstar]

An inspiring read. It put me in a good mood. Now I'm off to look at the moon.

[Eastman]

2 hours ago, Littleguy80 said:

The "wooooow. I can see the rings" is always good to hear.

Great report and nice read, Always great to inspire people into this hobby.

[geoflewis]

Hi Neil, that's a great report and even better that you inspired others to look up during the trip to the coast and want for more back home with your dob. I'm pleased to note that you had great results with the Astronomik OIII as mine arrived today, so I'm eager to use it. As I reported earlier I too had a good visual session last night, but with just a UHC filter I'm sure that better views of the Veil and Crescent will be had with the OIII. I too looked at M33, but didn't know to look for NGC604, so I'll be adding that to my list of observing targets. What if any filters do you use for observing galaxies? It also sounds like I should take a peek at NGC6781 in Aquila, so thanks for mentioning that. Whilst my main interest for the past few years has been imaging, recently, since moving to Norfolk I've been re-enthused by my original love of visual observing, so I'm definitely going to try to get a better mix of both aspects.

Cheers, Geof

 

[scarp15]

Very rounded and inspired report Neil. Nothing beats sharing this with others, friends and family, particularly when they are young. My own daughter enjoyed star camps and observing colourful binary or double stars at one time (no chance now that she is nearly 18). Great that you were able to grasp the Merope nebula, this will become more apparent as M45 gains in prominence. Some further suggestions for filtered i.e. UHC planetary nebula (dark sky observing), if you haven't attempted to observe already; NGC 6842 near open cluster NGC 6834, Vulpecula. NGC 6804 (Central star gained, use high power) quite big and bright Aquila. NGC 6765 near M56. I planned on these last night but the blooming cloud just made it frustrating, also the light weight of the dob kept catching the wind, therefore settled more on familiar targets.  Also keep at The California, it too will gain in prominence. 

[geoflewis]

28 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Some further suggestions for filtered i.e. UHC planetary nebula (dark sky observing), if you haven't attempted to observe already; NGC 6842 near open cluster NGC 6834, Vulpecula. NGC 6804 (Central star gained, use high power) quite big and bright Aquila. NGC 6765 near M56.

Thanks Iain, I've added these to my target list too . Cheers, Geof

[Littleguy80]

49 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Hi Neil, that's a great report and even better that you inspired others to look up during the trip to the coast and want for more back home with your dob. I'm pleased to note that you had great results with the Astronomik OIII as mine arrived today, so I'm eager to use it. As I reported earlier I too had a good visual session last night, but with just a UHC filter I'm sure that better views of the Veil and Crescent will be had with the OIII. I too looked at M33, but didn't know to look for NGC604, so I'll be adding that to my list of observing targets. What if any filters do you use for observing galaxies? It also sounds like I should take a peek at NGC6781 in Aquila, so thanks for mentioning that. Whilst my main interest for the past few years has been imaging, recently, since moving to Norfolk I've been re-enthused by my original love of visual observing, so I'm definitely going to try to get a better mix of both aspects.

Cheers, Geof

 

Thanks Geof. The Astronomik OIII is excellent and will give you fantastic views of the Veil in particular! I’m not sure if you’ve seen the article below. It’s been quite widely shared on here but if not it’s full of inspiration to get the most of your filters

https://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/filter-performance-comparisons-for-some-common-nebulae/

I’ve never found any filters to make much difference with galaxies. The filters that are advertised as galaxy filters seem to be rebranded light pollution filters. Dark skies are what’s required so you’re in the right place! You can use a UHC filter to enhance NGC604 in M33 though. 

I’m glad you’re getting back into visual observing  

[Littleguy80]

47 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Very rounded and inspired report Neil. Nothing beats sharing this with others, friends and family, particularly when they are young. My own daughter enjoyed star camps and observing colourful binary or double stars at one time (no chance now that she is nearly 18). Great that you were able to grasp the Merope nebula, this will become more apparent as M45 gains in prominence. Some further suggestions for filtered i.e. UHC planetary nebula (dark sky observing), if you haven't attempted to observe already; NGC 6842 near open cluster NGC 6834, Vulpecula. NGC 6804 (Central star gained, use high power) quite big and bright Aquila. NGC 6765 near M56. I planned on these last night but the blooming cloud just made it frustrating, also the light weight of the dob kept catching the wind, therefore settled more on familiar targets.  Also keep at The California, it too will gain in prominence. 

Thank you, Iain. It’s been awhile since I posted a report. Maybe your daughter will come back to astronomy later in life. My Dad and I used to go fishing together when I was a child. That stopped in my late teens but I will go with him now  

Thank you for all the great suggestions. I’ll get to researching them for my next session. 

[Stu]

3 hours ago, Buzzard75 said:

Good report! I've never actually seen NGC457 or even attempted it. I'll have to add that one to my list.

Give it a go, it’s a cracker

 

[geoflewis]

34 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thanks Geof. The Astronomik OIII is excellent and will give you fantastic views of the Veil in particular! I’m not sure if you’ve seen the article below. It’s been quite widely shared on here but if not it’s full of inspiration to get the most of your filters

https://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/filter-performance-comparisons-for-some-common-nebulae/

I’ve never found any filters to make much difference with galaxies. The filters that are advertised as galaxy filters seem to be rebranded light pollution filters. Dark skies are what’s required so you’re in the right place! You can use a UHC filter to enhance NGC604 in M33 though. 

I’m glad you’re getting back into visual observing  

Thanks Neil,

I did find the excellent linked report earlier this year and it was instumental in me choosing the UHC as my first 2" filter, but from what I learned at Kelling Heath last week from experienced observers, my choice of the ES filter might not have been the best decision, as I'm told the bandwidth is too great. Still it's given me some great views that I never got with no filter so now by adding the Astronomik OIII to my tool kit, I should have a lot of fun comparing and contrasting the views. I had forgotten, but subsequently recalled then found my original Lumicon 1.25" OIII, so that has given me an insight as to the improved views of the Veil in particular.

Geof

[Littleguy80]

12 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Thanks Neil,

I did find the excellent linked report earlier this year and it was instumental in me choosing the UHC as my first 2" filter, but from what I learned at Kelling Heath last week from experienced observers, my choice of the ES filter, might not have been the best decision, as I'm told the bandwidth is too great. Still it's given me some great views that I never got with no filter so now by adding the Astronomik OIII to my tool kit, I should have a lot of fun comparing and contrasting the views. I had forgotten, but subsequently recalled then found my original Lumicon 1.25" OIII, so that has given me an insight as to the improved views of the Veil in particular.

Geof

I think ES UHC filter is still supposed to be good but maybe not quite as good as the Astronomik. I find myself using the OIII more than the UHC overall so I think you’ll be fine with the filters you have. The original Lumicon OIII’s are considered to be the best. Hold onto that one!

[geoflewis]

2 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

The original Lumicon OIII’s are considered to be the best. Hold onto that one!

Yep, it works nicely for very wide field views of the Veil with my cheaper 1.25" eyepieces and the 4" APO, but of course the light gathering power of the C14 is what I want to use more.....