Meade Lightbridge 16" Observation report as of 13.1.2009

[Doc]

13.1.2009

Meade Lightbridge 16" FL1829mm F4.5

Seeing mag 4. Patchy cloud cover.

Started viewing about 18.00 hrs.

First port of call was Venus. Hanging low down towards the South West it was sight to remember. With my 12.5mm Orthoscopic giving a mag of x 146 I could clearly see the phase of the planet. With my 6mm Orthoscopic the sight was just amazing. With the 4mm Orthoscopic at x457 the turbelence of the atmosphere made seeing impossible. But this was defintly the best view of Venus to date.

After about 20 minutes of cloud cover the skies started to clear and I headed for the M35 in Gemini. At about Mag 5 it's very easy to spot and the amount of stars that appear is awesome. I counted at least 60 stars using my 32mm Tal at x57 the stars appear to be in straight lines. I also swept up NGC 2158 a cluster of about 25 stars just off M35. Apparently this is a very old cluster approximately 1 billion years old.

Continuing my sweep of the M35 area I also saw IC 2157 an open cluster of about 20 stars this didn't stand out and I wrote nothing special. Next was NGC 2129 and Basel 11b once agian rather bog standard open clusters.

After this I dropped down to Delta Gemini and placed the outer rim of my telrad on this star and hoped to find the Eskimo Nebula NGC 2392. For some reason I was unable to find it. I spent a good 20 minutes with a variety of eyepieces but could not detect it.

Next on the list was the Christmas Tree Cluster also known as the Cone Nebula NGC 2264. This was a very large and widely scattered open cluster. I could fit almost all the cluster in using my 32mm Tal. The Cone Nebula stood out very well and I could easily detect green/blue nebulosity around the cone. A very pretty nebula and cluster.

Had another 25 minute break for cloud cover but once again it lifted and I headed for the Rosetta Nebula NGC 2237. I must admit I was dissapointed with this one I expected to see at least a little nebulosity but couldn't make out any. Studied it for at least 15 minutes and best view was in the 25mm Tal at x73. Made mental note to myself to get a O111 filter to appreciate these objects.

Orion by now was getting pretty high so I thought I would try out some multiple stars. First on my list was Sigma Orion. I have never seen this multiple star system before and I was amazed. Extremely pretty 5 star system. I could not detect star B as it's only 0.2" away from A but could clearly detect A, C, D and E. All stars looked white.

Next was Delta Orion or Mintaka. Could only split AC in my 12.5 orthoscopic. AB was to difficult.

Next was Beta Orion or Rigel. This was a very hard split, this is due to the fact that Rigel is so bright at mag 0.3 and it's companion at about mag 10. I could not split in my 12.5mm orthoscopic at x146. Using the 6mm at x304 I could just make out a black seperation between the two stars.

Next was the multiple star was Iota Orion this is situated within NGC 1980 and forms the tip of the sword. With a seperation of 11.4" this was quite easy in any eyepiece.

My last multiple star was the best in the sky, it is the Trapezium system also known as Theta Orion. This was my first time that I have seen more then 4 stars. The main for ABCD stood out really well amoungst the sea of green nebulosity of the M42. In my 21mm Hyperion no additional stars could be seen but when I placed in my 12.5mm Orthoscopic at x146 I could clearly see the E star at mag 10.3. By replacing this with my 9mm Orthoscopic at x203 the C star became elongated. Using my 6mm Orthosopic at x304 the elongation becomes wider but still no definite split. My 4mm Ortho was unusable and I think is to much power for the scope.

Another break for cloud cover and it is now getting extremely cold.

Next was the M42/M43 region and all I can say is Wow. Like a green sea with a few wisps escaping. I couldn't believe how far this nebulosity extended. I could see a black hollow for the Trapezium to sit in and could make out a black divide seperating the M43 from the NGC 1975 which is home for the Running Man. Could not make any detail in the Running Man though.

Just above NGC 1975 sits NGC 1981 a bright cluster of about 20 stars. Within this cluster sits Struve 750. With a seperation of only 4.2" I easily split this using my 9mm Orthoscopic eyepiece.

It was by now 21.30 and I had to pack in soon due to an early start the next day but before I did I tried for the M78. Again no luck in detecting it. is this another nebula where a filter is essential.

Thanks.

[JohnC]

Good report Mick.

I am really looking forward to add a 16" LB to my kit.

Best regards

John

[Doc]

Cheers John.

I was considerinng ringing you but you said weekends only and I was dodging cloud cover so didn't want you to have a wasted journey. If you are up to weekdays but not till late let me know

[russ]

Excellent report Doc. Very detailed and looks like you were going for a double or multiple star night.

I had no luck with the Rosette, not even with a narrowband filter. Couldn't detect any nebulosity.

I must try some of those multiple stars.

Shame about the Eskimo. I found it is very easy to get the wrong star for hopping and then find nothing. Done this myself.

Great report

Russ

[JohnC]

No problem.

Weekends only at the mo

[Andrew*]

Wow, you've been busy! Fantastic report with lots of very interesting targets covered.

Lots of inspiration too...

WRT M78, I'm not convinced a filter would help you greatly. I might be wrong, but as M78's a reflection nebula, it emits a continuum spectrum and so any filter will dim it to some extent. While dark skies are indispensible for continuum targets, a general LP might help a teeny bit...

Andrew

[ZOG]

Another great report Doc, and a good list of targets to look for in the 12".

Keep up the good work.

[Psychobilly]

Very nice report Doc sounds like you had an interesting session

Billy...

[Doc]

Thanks everyone.

Andrew thanks for that info. Something I didn't know. No substitute for dark skies.

And I agree Rus just had another look at C du C and maybe I was a touch out in where I thought I was.

[davo]

Great! I love reading these. Also didn't realise you could detect neblosity around NGC 2264. I'll add that to my lsit.