DSO’s August to September 2019

[Mike_S]

Hi,

So still on this steep learning curve. In July I found M13 great globular cluster in Hercules, M57 dumbbell nebula and M27 Crab Nebula. It’s clear skies tonight so what do you recommend I try to find? 12 inch manual dob. Bortle 6 skies. 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Mike_S

[Rob Sellent]

Congratulations on the 12" and great Messier start, Mike 😀 With that kind of aperture you should be able to accomplish a fair bit .

You probably know this already but regardless of your sky-glow conditions, if possible try to block all intrusive light from your sight and site. An observing hood/hat/towel is a great aid along with a pirate's eyepatch. I typically observe with the patch on my non-observing eye and when I need to pull away from the scope, I slide it over to my observing eye. These two items are probably the best accessories any visual observer could possess. Erecting light-blocks and shades etc is also good idea, along with flocking the inside of your tube.

Anyway, along with M13, M27 and M57, you might also want to have a go at: M2, M15, M29, M30, M39, M72, and M73. 

You might also want to have a go at: NGC: 6888 (Neb), 6939 (OC), 6946 (Gal), 6960/6992 region (Neb), 7009 (Neb).

[Captain Scarlet]

5 minutes ago, Rob Sellent said:

I typically observe with the patch on my non-observing eye ...

In light-polluted skies you should get a much better dark-sky experience if you put the eye-patch on to your observing eye 😉

[Mark at Beaufort]

Rob's comment above regarding a observing hood is good advice. Many members on SGL bought this quality observing hood from this company in Russia. I use it whilst solar observing, binocular viewing and DSO hunting especially those objects that are faint.

https://r-sky.org/en/products/observing-hood

[Rob Sellent]

6 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

In light-polluted skies you should get a much better dark-sky experience if you put the eye-patch on to your observing eye 😉

Not to mention the aid it'll give to observing black holes 😀

Edited August 24, 2019 by Rob Sellent
Forgot to add quote :-(

[Mike_S]

Great replies thank you, especially to Rob. That will keep me going over the bank holiday weekend  

[Rob Sellent]

Thanks, Mike Don't rush the list though. Take your time and just enjoy the views as you star hop around, drinking in the wonders of nature

Edited August 24, 2019 by Rob Sellent

[Mike_S]

When could I try for Andromeda? I’ve added all of your suggestions to my list. I’m marking them off with the date when I viewed them so i get an idea when to look for what. 

[Rob Sellent]

I guess it just depends what hour you begin and finish observing, Mike. I've been viewing M31, M32, M110 with a tiny 3" for the last few days but have left them to the end of my session. I've been trying to observe and identify the open clusters around Cygnus and Cassiopeia and when my brain tires, I skip down to Andromeda and spend a little while with M31 et al. We're like old friends rushing to meet each other at some 110km/s . 

[Mike_S]

I think I found Andromeda!

[Mike_S]

I found Albireo last night and was amazed!  Tried for the Veil but couldn’t bring it out even with UHC and OIII filters but they are only cheap ones. Bortle 6. 

Also found M29 but open clusters aren’t getting me as excited as some of the other objects.

[david_taurus83]

The veil needs dark skies and a low power eyepiece. I'm also bortle 6 and cant see it from home. I first seen it last year under dark skies at a star party. Was using a 200p and 25mm eyepiece with a UHC filter. Was the highlight of the night for me. Was also visible in my 3" frac but didn't pop out as much as with the 8" newt. I have an OIII filter now so hoping to see it again at a couple of upcoming star parties.