Trapezium Trials & Tribulations

[Sunshine]

I rarely observe in the winter, only on those occasional nights where the temperatures hovers near zero, i can deal with that, tonight was such a night. The sky was clear here in southern Ontario, it was a treat considering the constant blanket of featureless grey cloud we've been subjected to for weeks on end, a quick look outside revealed stars which shimmered quite a bit, not the best for seeing but, pretty to the naked eye. So there i found myself, shovelling a mound of snow off my back porch to expose a patch where i could put my Mak down and let it cool, i left the scope outside, then, back in the house for a bite to eat.

An hour later i made myself comfy, pulling up a chair to the eyepiece and made a point to explore Orion which stood over me in the southern sky. My first target was (as you can guess) M42, this would be the second time i have pointed my Mak at M42, the first was hurried, leaving me with no time to truly explore and enjoy this target. Tonight, i was determined to challenge myself and, the scope, concentrating on the trapezium and its little treasures. After an hour outside, a star test revealed tube currents, the difference in temperature between inside and out was working against me, i should have left the scope in my cold storage long before taking it outside.  With my 3 new eyepieces, a 24mm TV panoptic, an 18mm APM, and my 14mm ES 82, (i have one more but i left it inside) a 9mm Celestron Xcel LX which i will soon replace with a 10mm Delos, i took aim at the trapezium and gave it the old college try.

The pesky tube current made focusing to a point difficult at first so i left the scope alone for a bit longer (20 min) then had another peek, this time the scope seemed to have balanced itself nicely. In went the 24mm, M42 was glorious against a jet black background, the contrast really helps accentuate nebulosity. It was hard to tear my eye away from the eyepiece, as i looked longer and my eye adapted, more and more structure would come into view, as though i was watching a painter at work, revealing more with every brush stroke. Once i was done marvelling at the image in a 24mm, i decided to have a go at the Trapezium, i wanted to resolve what i could considering seeing was not the greatest. In went the 18mm which gave me 100X on the dot considering the scope has a focal length of 18km lol, A,B,C, and D stars were almost pinpoints, shimmering but beautiful to see, at this magnification i could not make out E and F stars yet. In went the 14mm ES, as we all know, higher power combined with adverse seeing makes for a bad combination but, on occasion, for seconds at a time, the atmosphere would allow me a clear pocket of air and, the stars would suddenly appear like pinpricks.

In just such an instant, those two E and F stars would jump out, i made a mental note of their positions then referenced them to a chart to make sure i was seeing them where they should be. Turning the focuser ever so slightly i managed to improve the image to where i could steadily and easily see E and F stars. It's amazing what the slightest turn of the focuser can reveal, i realize now that i want a crayford style focuser for this Mak, one with  10:1 fine focus. If anyone can recommend a lightweight model i could fit to my SW 150 Mak, i would appreciate it. by now the cold was starting to work its way through my layers and, making the mount difficult to move smoothly, the knobs were resisting quite a bit, but i was satisfied with my effort, i tried to resolve more stars, I and G, H1 and 2 were beyond the scopes capability but,  being a stubborn nut like i am, i tried till my eyes crossed lol. 

 

[domstar]

Great write up. I spent a long time on the Orion Nebula last night. The Trapezium wasn't sharp for me but the nebula was spectacular without the moon around. Chilly, though.

[Stu]

Good stuff Sunshine, nice to get out after a long run of cloud. Fine focusers make such a difference, I agree! A very small tweak can just pull those faint stars into a tighter point which makes them easier to see. Anything fainter than E & F needs a much bigger scope and the best skies as far as I know, but even so getting the six clearly in view is a great experience.

[Paz]

Great report, you are right about focussing being so critical. I always have a fine focuser when using my Maksutov, either a dual speed focuser or a diagonal with a focusing eyepiece holder. I find as important as a fine focuser is a solid mount so that the image doesn't shake while your trying to focus.

[alan potts]

Nice report there, I have tried G and H with my 18 inch many times now without any luck. I feel with it being a Dob, albeit a very good one, the need to nudge on powers of x300 plus does not help being able to locate two very difficult targets. I saw E and F the night before last with my M/N 190mm, fairly easily, though condition are everything, split the Pup too.

[Guest]

On 23/02/2019 at 07:05, Sunshine said:

as though i was watching a painter at work, revealing more with every brush stroke. 

Lovely description. 

I had a similar experience with M42 recently,  difficult to express the beauty in words sometimes.