A late night with Orion, Auriga, Leo, UM etc

[Ships and Stars]

Hi all,  

With the cloud finally clearing here last night, I was itching to have a decent night with the big dob. My last really good night with it was in October, but even then the high winds forced an early retreat to binoculars. 

Since my main observing spots are now too far to reasonably drive to under lockdown LXVIII-Phase 3c or whatever it currently is, I decided upon what turned out to be something of a local hidden gem of a dark sky viewing area. I've been meaning to visit this spot for a couple of years, the main issue being tree cover. Still, it's close to home and dark at 21.86 on the LP map, so that matter was settled, and I was able to keep well within local travel restrictions for my course of daily outdoor recreation. This recreation consisted of remote car park weightlifting at night with a large primary mirror assembly, followed by some frosty night yoga, truss rod and secondary assembly stretches, etc, ending with some eyepiece neck rolls/stretches before I disassembled in reverse order. 

In all seriousness, it is a fair old workout setting this 75kg rig up, not to mention it was on partially icy ground, and breezy. Anyway...

---- The Observing ----

Once the dob was up, Orion was already low on the horizon and it was late and I was in a hurry as always, so I went bare bones, no GOTO, no dew cover, just open truss rods and mirrors, 9x50 RACI and a gentle nudge here and there to drive the scope around.

First a quick SQM-L check, 21.42, not bad at all, but given the transparency, I thought it should have been better. Looking at the lower night sky a bit closer behind the trees, I realised there was the aurora again! Argh, a mixed bag. That's the fourth time it's followed me to dark skies since October.  More about that and the impact on observing galaxies below. I tried NELM for the first time, picked a faint star in-line between Dubhe and Megrez in UMa with direct vision and checked it on stellarium this morning, mag 5.8 or 5.95 with airmass, so that seems good.

Whenever Orion is up and I'm at a dark site, the first thing I tend to do is go straight for the Flame Nebula/Horsehead. It's fair to say I have something of an obsession with IC434/B33 and the Flame NGC2024. I normally use the 25mm plossl or 17.5mm Morpheus on the HH, but after using those I popped the Hb onto the 13mm 100deg APM, and was rewarded with a rather large HH directly observable at 154x and a 3.2mm exit pupil.

Sticking with the 13mm APM for a bit longer, IC 434 was fairly easy to follow along for some distance, and the flame nebula was looking brilliant, keeping Alnitak just outside the FOV. Never thought to try the 13mm APM before, very nice!

I would rate the HH last night as perhaps my second best view ever, and the Flame was well above average, although it's been a while since I've seen them under really dark skies.

Next up was the 20mm APM and OIII for the Rosette, but first a swing past M42 which made me utter a sharp whoop, it was like a bolt of lightning this time. Crikey! Why so unusual? The filter! Ah ha, I don't normally use any filters on M42, not sure why or when I started doing that, but last night with the 20mm APM/OIII combo, it blew me away. Most of all was the circularity that just kept going past the normal extent I observe, which I only noticed because I bumped the scope. I though my eyepiece had fogged up on the edges at first, until I realised it was a huge ring of nebulosity that extended past the main body of M42 right around and formed a complete circle - this was not visible without the OIII. I don't know why or when I got into the habit of not using a filter on M42, but that is going to change. 🤣

Definitely one of my best views of M42 last night, and the first time I recall chasing all the nebulosity around that far. Simply awesome.

Next up was the Rosette, the nebulosity was much better than last time in the big scope thanks to last night's transparency. Lots of subtle edge detail, and lots of nebulosity, full stop (hint - the Rosette is equally impressive in filtered 15x70s under dark skies!).

After that it was M97 the Owl Nebula and M108 galaxy with the OIII still in place. M97 was like a little round neon bulb, shouting 'look at me!'. The eyes were discernible with averted vision, but the nebulosity was probably the brightest I can recall. Even M108 was visible with the OIII, but I removed it for a better look. Oops! What just happened, M108 has disappeared. High cloud passing though, so coffee time.

After the cloud blew over, next was IC405 Flaming Star nebula with the 20mm/OIII, another simply awesome view, can't recall it looking that well before either. Beyond the brighter northern portion, the nebulosity gradually extended downwards for a little bit along the Flying Minnow asterism or 'Auriga Ladder' as I tend to think of it.

After this was NGC1499, the California Nebula with the 17.5mm Morpheus and Hb - another wow. The nebulosity kept going on and on to the left of Menkib as it gradually faded, another winner. It extends much farther to the left that most charts seem to suggest. I checked Stellarium this morning and it confirmed that, covering about 7deg of sky with a fainter area comprising most of this S/SW extent. Excellent.  

After that cleared, I viewed numerous galaxies in Leo, including the Leo Triplet and the area around M105/M96/M95, but something seemed a bit off and dull. I noticed the galaxies just didn't have the punch or contrast I recall seeing on my better nights. There are a number of possible explanations - I wasn't using the dew shield and had open mirrors, so perhaps light from the Milky Way etc was reducing contrast. Plus, I was using low mag around 100x, so maybe more mag would have increased contrast, plus there was the possibility of high cloud and Leo was fairly low on the horizon at this time.  I think a lot had to do with stray light from the aurora which was still low in the background. Maybe someone knows what Nm range of the light spectrum the aurora falls within? It doesn't seem to impact filtered nebular UHC/Hb/OIII views, but it definitely seems to reduce contrast on galaxies from what I sensed last night, though the dew shield and higher mag would have helped darken skies though the EP.

One more bash on M51 and M101, but the wind picked up all the sudden and it was getting seriously late so for my wild card, I decided to try and pick up a bit of Barnard's Loop (thank you @scarp15 for the idea). Starting from Alnitak, I gradually moved left with the 20mm/OIII until I picked up a faint band of nebulosity that ran like a river from north to south. I say river because it had somewhat poorly defined edges moving into a more pronounced, deeper channel of nebulosity. It wasn't bright, but I definitely think I was onto it. I'll spend more time on this the next go. 

After I packed the dob in the car I was running on empty but got out the 15x70s and filters because it was such good conditions. I revisited the Rosette, Auriga and the California Nebula (excellent) and visited the double cluster, scanning along the Milky Way.

Next time I want to set up earlier and go for some HGC galaxies if another decent evening comes along soon, but glad I finally got a little bit of clear, dark skies.

Cheers all! 👍

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Ships and Stars

[Captain Scarlet]

Superb read, thanks. I’m seriously toying with the idea of a 20” dob.

By way of reassurance re the darkness readings: I’m at a 21.8 location in Ireland and have collected a lot of data with my sqm-l over the past year. I’ve modeled it and the model says that zenith-proximity to the MW makes a big difference. So currently, 21.8 nominal will where I am actually produce 21.4-something at zenith.

Cheers, Magnus

[Ships and Stars]

2 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

Superb read, thanks. I’m seriously toying with the idea of a 20” dob.

By way of reassurance re the darkness readings: I’m at a 21.8 location in Ireland and have collected a lot of data with my sqm-l over the past year. I’ve modeled it and the model says that zenith-proximity to the MW makes a big difference. So currently, 21.8 nominal will where I am actually produce 21.4-something at zenith.

Cheers, Magnus

Thanks Captain! The 20" is great but lugging it around takes a lot of motivation and my wife is getting less and less tolerant of my late jaunts, though I haven't made many this year. If you have 21.8 at home you are a lucky man!  It would make more sense for one of these to have a permanent home, though at my house under 20.4 I can still see quite a lot, just not as contrasty as dark sky sites. 21.8 would be a dream for me! 

I though the MW would have to make some kind of collective difference on SQM readings, that's a lot of combined starlight and nebulosity. I think there might have been a little high cloud creeping through, not easily visible, so this might have taken the edge off the galaxies a bit. Leo was pretty low though, still a few months to chase that one.

Thanks for reading my long rambling reports!

[scarp15]

Excellent report Robert and great that you have somewhere, in this restrictive period, not too far to travel to and that provides a good quality sky. The restrictions are very limiting presently. A terrific mix of subjects and descriptive filtered impression of M42, in the 20" dob. I have seen pictures of quite a fair bit of Aurora activity within the Cairngorms and that would more widely reach into your locality. The description of Barnard's Loop as somewhat like the profile of a river is very apt, with very diffuse soft edges. Try your H-beta filter next time, to lift out subtle contrast and again visit Mel Bartels site and look at his sketches to see whether you can grasp the southern arc from near Rigel, a testament to how good the transparency, dark adaption and so forth will need to be, not certain but perhaps Gerry @jetstream has encountered this feature?  

[Ships and Stars]

37 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

 Try your H-beta filter next time, to lift out subtle contrast and again visit Mel Bartels site and look at his sketches to see whether you can grasp the southern arc from near Rigel, a testament to how good the transparency, dark adaption and so forth will need to be, not certain but perhaps Gerry @jetstream has encountered this feature?  

Thanks Iain, I was pretty frustrated with the weather and LP from home so was happy to get out a little. Barnard's Loop was a last minute idea, this site has a fairly limited view of much of the lower sky but Orion was still just above the horizon. Bartels has a ton of information, I didn't think about using an Hb filter on the loop, but last night I was able to see both the HH and California nebula with the nebustar as well, although contrast was lower. Odd conditions I thought, anything nebulous was unusually bright it seemed, but galaxies or unfiltered views were the opposite of what I last recall. Probably a combination of things. Hope you are doing well there and perhaps getting a few more clear nights than we are here 'up the coast' haha. Cheers 

PS thanks for reading through this, it's a long winded report, even by my standards!

Edited January 12, 2021 by Ships and Stars

[jetstream]

4 hours ago, Ships and Stars said:

I didn't think about using an Hb filter on the loop

Excellent report Robert.

The Hb is a preferred filter on Barnards Loop but I actually prefer a UHC myself and don't have much luck with the OIII on it. I'm not sayings its impossible to see it with one but I think there might be better options.

For reference I can see the brighter portions of the Loop with no filter.

I think you may have caught and followed an edge of Barnards Loop. With a 20" scope  seeing both "sides" at once is probably impossible. This object is a worthwhile pursuit- keep up the good work!

4 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Gerry @jetstream has encountered this feature? 

Yes I have traced the loop all the way around with a few lower sections getting patchy.  But, I think Robert has a new challenge coming...

@Ships and Stars have you see the Witchead nebula? This will challenge you possibly or maybe youve seen it already? and of course the Meissa up top is always a panning feature when in the neighbourhood.

 

[Ships and Stars]

7 hours ago, jetstream said:

Excellent report Robert.

The Hb is a preferred filter on Barnards Loop but I actually prefer a UHC myself and don't have much luck with the OIII on it. I'm not sayings its impossible to see it with one but I think there might be better options.

For reference I can see the brighter portions of the Loop with no filter.

I think you may have caught and followed an edge of Barnards Loop. With a 20" scope  seeing both "sides" at once is probably impossible. This object is a worthwhile pursuit- keep up the good work!

Yes I have traced the loop all the way around with a few lower sections getting patchy.  But, I think Robert has a new challenge coming...

@Ships and Stars have you see the Witchead nebula? This will challenge you possibly or maybe youve seen it already? and of course the Meissa up top is always a panning feature when in the neighbourhood.

 

Thanks for the information Gerry, I'm thinking about getting a filter wheel if I have enough focus travel, but would like to upgrade or repair the focuser on the 500p anyway, it has a rough spot right where I normally reach focus which is kind of annoying. Might just need a little internal clean and re-grease. 

The filter wheel would help confirm observations when chasing some of the fainter objects. I read somewhere Barnard's Loop is an emissions nebula, ionised by the stars within M42 apparently. I only have one 2" filter at the moment, the Astronomik OIII, but would love to get my hands on both a 2" TV Hb and Nebustar. Not cheap, but I can't stop now   I only have those in 1.25" which makes comparisons tricky. I suppose I could just as easily swap between the 17.5 Morpheus with Hb/Nebustar and 20mm APM/OIII to make quick comparisons.

I wasn't able to see right across the width of the loop in the 20mm, too small a FOV, but came into a strip of faint but increasing nebulosity which gradually came and went as I panned left with the scope. Maybe 1.5 to 2x the FOV of the 20mm in the 500p, so that's 1.5 to 2 degrees of sky according to Stellarium/Ocular view/DSS overlay. That's a pretty handy tool. 

I see on the DSS overlay that the star cluster NGC2112 lies within one of the brighter portions of the loop, so the next time I can get out to a decent site I'll chase it up and play around there with different filters. 

Although a few galaxies were easily visible, it wasn't the best night for observing in Leo, probably due to a number of factors. I forgot to mention the LP dome from Aberdeen in the distance was directly below Leo, which was only about 25 deg above the horizon when I was looking around the triplet etc, so that's probably the main factor, M108 up in UMa was actually decent. On the other hand that night, anything nebulous, emissions, reflection or dark, seemed superb, don't recall having many nights like that in my short time observing. 

I did actually pan around Rigel briefly towards the Witchhead but it was only about 20deg up and I didn't stay there long, just one or two quick sweeps, so that's on the list. I'm not familiar with the neighbourhood immediately around Meissa, that's another one to look at.

It's frustrating only having two or three nights like this a year and having to be in a huge rush on top of it. If I could only get a few nights like this a month and relax a bit, it would make a massive difference for confidence on relocating faint objects. If only! I'm still hoping to see ANY of the HGCs this winter/spring, but not holding my breath.

I'm working on finding a home for the 500p someplace close but dark so I have a semi-permanent observatory, that would really allow me to make the most of good nights here but that could be a challenge. Thinking large estate or similar.

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Ships and Stars

[domstar]

An excellent report. There have been very few opportunities here since October and reports like this really keep up my enthusiasm.

[scarp15]

3 hours ago, domstar said:

An excellent report. There have been very few opportunities here since October and reports like this really keep up my enthusiasm.

Cannot agree more with this sentiment!

Such as your chart illustrates, begin at the small grouping of reflection nebulae, that include M78 and drift across for NGC 2112. This northern section is the brighter region. My first encounter of this, with the 14" dob was as though I'd drifted into a faint veil or curtain, as background stars were blocked out, arriving at the other end, at the cluster. Experimenting with a larger exit pupil in conjunction with a wide field of view assists in clarification. The 'river' profile, following the curve had become possible with the 14" dob, yet was conveyed as a more wholesome structure, with a wide field refractor as both sides can be just defined. A considerable portion of the curvature of this immense structure is possible to drift along, although the southern section remained invisible. 

As always, having the time, being in the right circumstances, is challenging enough most years, this year nigh on impossible. Yet will still be there I suppose in the circle of things and is frankly trivial in the exceptional situation of this winter. At least this report has given ground to talk about it, so that's OK.

[Ships and Stars]

3 hours ago, domstar said:

An excellent report. There have been very few opportunities here since October and reports like this really keep up my enthusiasm.

Thanks Domstar, I don't have many chances between the weather and family commitments to observe DSOs, and it just seems to become more and more difficult lately. Getting out to this local spot under excellent conditions was a real psychological boost for me, even if I didn't get to see many new objects. Not a complaint in comparison to what many others in the UK have to contend with in the way of light pollution and travel restrictions. 

I suspect we will be in lockdown here in mainland Scotland until beginning of April. The guidance on driving to a particular spot for recreation/exercise is not exactly clear based on what I have read, and I have re-read it closely several times.

Scotgov website says to stay within 5 miles of the boundary of my local authority area which is all of Aberdeenshire (huge), but stay as close as possible to home. 

The forecast is not looking great for the next week so I won't be doing a repeat anytime soon I guess... 

[Ships and Stars]

16 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Cannot agree more with this sentiment!

Such as your chart illustrates, begin at the small grouping of reflection nebulae, that include M78 and drift across for NGC 2112. This northern section is the brighter region. My first encounter of this, with the 14" dob was as though I'd drifted into a faint veil or curtain, as background stars were blocked out, arriving at the other end, at the cluster. Experimenting with a larger exit pupil in conjunction with a wide field of view assists in clarification. The 'river' profile, following the curve had become possible with the 14" dob, yet was conveyed as a more wholesome structure, with a wide field refractor as both sides can be just defined. A considerable portion of the curvature of this immense structure is possible to drift along, although the southern section remained invisible. 

As always, having the time, being in the right circumstances, is challenging enough most years, this year nigh on impossible. Yet will still be there I suppose in the circle of things and is frankly trivial in the exceptional situation of this winter. At least this report has given ground to talk about it, so that's OK.

Thanks Iain, I didn't consider at first I might have been winding people up with reports, but thought that might have been the case after I posted the report. Good to hear it's kept a few people happy. That's why I was thinking about live stacking photos online so others could see them as the images were captured (live streaming EEVA from home), but never got that far with the weather.

By the way, that's a useful, detailed roadmap for the loop, thank you! 

I have a feeling I'll be mainly observing from home or this one local spot now until summer hits.  From home, I've been doing 8 second exposures with my DSLR on the 500p and stacking those with great results actually. I've been able to identify some really obscure, faint galaxies that way. I'll have to dig up a photo from April last year, some of the galaxies I've picked up aren't even on Stellarium, and looking through the eyepiece, there's no way I'd be able to see them no matter how dark the skies, so that's one upside to having to do astro from home.

Hoping everyone else is ok by and large in the astro community and beyond, it's been a challenging year across the board.

PS the DSLR photos below are stacked shots from my dob back in early April, 8 sec exposures, Bortle 5, no filters or fancy stuff, just a fair bit of aperture and 2000mm focal length. 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Ships and Stars

[scarp15]

I read your report, having come inside from a rather unsuccessful session in the yard and it both inspired and reminded me about how good with some effort a winter dark sky trip can be. The Bl**dy cats repeatedly triggering a neighbour opposite, outside light were forgotten. I know that lockdown restrictions are to tighten further in Scotland and probably here usually catches up, if that spot is still in the vicinity of your allowable travel area, then I look forward to more reporting this winter.  

[Ships and Stars]

24 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

I read your report, having come inside from a rather unsuccessful session in the yard and it both inspired and reminded me about how good with some effort a winter dark sky trip can be. The Bl**dy cats repeatedly triggering a neighbour opposite, outside light were forgotten. I know that lockdown restrictions are to tighten further in Scotland and probably here usually catches up, if that spot is still in the vicinity of your allowable travel area, then I look forward to more reporting this winter.  

Those are frustrating nights! The same happens here if the businesses next door forget to turn their lights off. They are actually pretty good about switching lights off now. I've had really clear nights at home totally scuppered by a couple of blazing lights next door as they are all high mounted in the vicinity of my only clear view of the sky. I don't know how well you get on with your neighbours, but they might be persuaded to turn the PIR sensor on the light down a notch, a lot of PIR lights have a sensitivity switch on the bottom. Might help? Or drug the cats for a few hours! 🤣 Better not...

They have tightened restrictions in Scotland today, but not to the extent I anticipated. It's mainly to do with click and collect, only shopping for essentials, no outdoor alcohol sales, and no entering a takeaway, they'll have to bring orders out to you now.

I suppose we are essentially back to the first lockdown requirements though.

Hang in there, hoping for some clear nights and sedated cats next door!

Edited January 13, 2021 by Ships and Stars

[scarp15]

1 hour ago, Ships and Stars said:

Those are frustrating nights! The same happens here if the businesses next door forget to turn their lights off. They are actually pretty good about switching lights off now. I've had really clear nights at home totally scuppered by a couple of blazing lights next door as they are all high mounted in the vicinity of my only clear view of the sky. I don't know how well you get on with your neighbours, but they might be persuaded to turn the PIR sensor on the light down a notch, a lot of PIR lights have a sensitivity switch on the bottom. Might help? Or drug the cats for a few hours! 🤣 Better not...

They have tightened restrictions in Scotland today, but not to the extent I anticipated. It's mainly to do with click and collect, only shopping for essentials, no outdoor alcohol sales, and no entering a takeaway, they'll have to bring orders out to you now.

I suppose we are essentially back to the first lockdown requirements though.

Hang in there, hoping for some clear nights and sedated cats next door!

Its what is termed a Tyneside flat and occupied by students opposite in the back lane, I do not know who the Landlord is but had mentioned it to one of the occupants once, may step up and take it further, yep altering the PIR sensor could be an approach I will take regard to thanks. The cats, one of them to add insult to injury even trots around to our front garden late at night to take a dump. I learnt about the takeaway matter today, speaking to a manager at an adult social care unit, they are already very heavily restricted and mentioned that at their sister home across the border now even ordering takeaways for the residents has been banned. 

[Ships and Stars]

7 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Its what is termed a Tyneside flat and occupied by students opposite in the back lane, I do not know who the Landlord is but had mentioned it to one of the occupants once, may step up and take it further, yep altering the PIR sensor could be an approach I will take regard to thanks. The cats, one of them to add insult to injury even trots around to our front garden late at night to take a dump. I learnt about the takeaway matter today, speaking to a manager at an adult social care unit, they are already very heavily restricted and mentioned that at their sister home across the border now even ordering takeaways for the residents has been banned. 

If they're students they might be ok with turning the sensitivity setting down on the motion light, probably not a big deal for them? One of them might even be into astronomy?? Long shot but who knows. If it's adjustable, it's just a small dial on the bottom, there are normally three - one to set switch on time at some point between dusk (max) and darkness (min), one for light duration when activated (usually between 15sec and 1 min) and one for sensitivity.

Alternatively, a small, discreet 1cm wide piece of duct tape could mysteriously appear along the bottom edge of the PIR sensor, that would perhaps prevent it from being activated by small furry objects passing underneath 🤣 but still activate when something human-sized passes by.

I'll get you in trouble here! Haha. 

I'm not sure what banning takeaway orders will accomplish. Hate to hear that, I'm still able to work (it's been really slow though) but for those who have to completely shut, I really don't know how people are surviving.

[faulksy]

brilliant report robert. nice to read a great report like that. cant wait for my next dark sky trip

astro crumb do a great filter slide. might be better than a wheel. moonlite do a sexy one as well

[Ships and Stars]

3 minutes ago, faulksy said:

brilliant report robert. nice to read a great report like that. cant wait for my next dark sky trip

astro crumb do a great filter slide. might be better than a wheel. moonlite do a sexy one as well

Thanks faulksy, this winter was looking like a bit of a write off altogether, at least I've had a couple of decent nights now. If I can get two or three more really good nights in by April I'll be happy. What a hobby!

I have four really good 1.25" filters but only one 2" filter, an excellent Astronomik OIII. I want to add a 2" Nebustar (love the 1.25 I have) and 2" TV Hb filter to the arsenal, but that's a few £££. I'd forgotten about slides, that would work better perhaps than a wheel. Thanks for the tip on that. 

I have a great Astronomik UHC 1.25" but it doesn't get much use. I could take the money from that and put it towards a 2" filter, might list that on abs this week. 

Will look at filter slides now, cheers

[RobertI]

Lovely report, really captured the experience of the session. I never considered that the aurora could be a hindrance to observing! 

[Epick Crom]

Great report mate! That northern view sounds great! What size telescope were you using a 20"? 

[Epick Crom]

PS, lucky man Ships and Stars to see the Northern Lights! I have always wanted to see what they look like in real life😊

[Ships and Stars]

11 hours ago, RobertI said:

Lovely report, really captured the experience of the session. I never considered that the aurora could be a hindrance to observing! 

Thanks Robert, yes the aurora is amazing on nights when it's really alive, but it can take the edge off the faint DSOs lower down in the sky. I don't know if you've seen it, but it rarely looks like what you see in photos unless you are in a prime location, they are long exposures and really brighten things up, but when it's high up or even overhead, it's a sight to behold with the naked eye and will show intense colour when it's really booming. 

11 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

Great report mate! That northern view sounds great! What size telescope were you using a 20"? 

Thanks Epick, I managed to pick up a 20" Skywatcher dob (500p) a few years back when work was really busy and I quickly sold off some other equipment from an old hobby. The original 500p owner fell ill before he could use it, but owned a small observatory with a number of other scopes and was into astronomy for many years. His son in law listed it on ebay at a good starting price. I think people were unsure if it was a scam, or the scope was just too far to collect, but I was the only bidder after emailing the seller back and forth a few times. It was my first telescope! lol, we have some dark skies around here and I do a lot of winter camping, so I just decided to go for it - definite aperture fever if there ever was!

I won it but was faced with another dilemma, how to get it home. It was a 600 mile, ten hour drive away, not mega by Australian standards, but far enough by UK standards to make things a little complicated. I was going to hire a van collect it myself, but found I was so busy with work, minus the cost of van hire and insurance/fuel, I simply hired a private courier to bring it up to Scotland after checking he was insured and the seller would disassemble it carefully. I was sweating bullets until it arrived, then quickly hid it outside under a tarp literally minutes before my wife returned home 🤣 She knew I was buying a telescope, but I didn't really stress how big, haha. She was actually ok with it! Her dream was to be an astronaut when she was little, so I guess that sentiment helped me survive the day. She's not into astro, but will pop outside for a second when there's something really cool in the EP like M42.

When I had my first light with the scope, I simply moved it randomly around the night sky going 'wow' because I didn't know where anything was except Orion. You could point it at a dark part of the sky with no visible stars, and through the eyepiece it felt like it was just packed with them, they kept going and going deeper into space. I accidently stumbled across my first nebula that night, I had no clue which one it was, but turned out to be M27 the Dumbbell Nebula. Stock 28mm LER eyepiece, no filter.

The rest was history. I was hooked.

10 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

PS, lucky man Ships and Stars to see the Northern Lights! I have always wanted to see what they look like in real life😊

If you witness a strong display, it is a very remarkable phenomenon. In Feb 2016 I got a cheap flight to Tromso, Norway up above the Arctic Circle to try and see them from one of the best spots in the northern hemisphere. I was on a very tight shoestring budget (Norway is infamously expensive as you've probably heard) and camped in a small tent for 8 nights down to -35C. Some nights I just slept in the back of the hire car (still about -25C inside). I had excellent clothing and always liked winter camping, so I was in absolute heaven. I drove all around Arctic Norway, Lyngen Alps, Alta, Kautokeino, etc and down into Northern Finland, the winter roads are packed snow, but all cars have studded snow tyres which worked amazingly well, no problems. Hardly any traffic by UK standards, especially at night. It was too cold for my cook stove to work so I ended up eating frozen lapskaus from a 1kg tin most nights and buying a hot dog and two cups of coffee from every Statoil petrol station I passed, haha. 

I settled upon an area just outside Reisa National Park in Finnmark, about as remote as you can get. A lot of Norwegians I met in Oslo had never heard of it. It was a bitterly cold inland location but largely free of cloud in comparison to coastal locations, and the aurora displays I saw there were just mind-blowing despite the near-full moon a few nights, like massive neon icicles slowly floating overhead. I'll never forget it! Tromso or Alta is the place to go, but take your coat 🤣

Here are some (sorry, a lot) pics from the Norway Aurora trip @Epick Crom and @Robertl, people say to go when there's no moon but the aurora is so strong at that latitude it doesn't make much difference!

Edited January 14, 2021 by Ships and Stars

[Epick Crom]

Nice one Ships and Stars, awesome photos! The Northern Lights look spectacular. You must have incredible views through your massive 20" dob! Thanks for your story very interesting read. Take care mate

[Ships and Stars]

25 minutes ago, Epick Crom said:

Nice one Ships and Stars, awesome photos! The Northern Lights look spectacular. You must have incredible views through your massive 20" dob! Thanks for your story very interesting read. Take care mate

Thanks for reading through all this, ha, I start typing and that's it...

I love the 20" dob, want to find a home for it outside of town on a farm or estate so I can relax a bit and really study things. 

PS your 10"dob will act like a much larger scope under really dark skies have fun!

 

[Epick Crom]

Thanks. I am yet to take my 10"dob to truly dark skies, my skies are ok but I live in the suburbs. It has already blown me away, I can imagine what you must see! I have some friends out in "whoop whoop"( aussie slang for the middle of nowhere 😊) I plan to visit them and take my dob with me soon. Enjoy your monster of a telescope!

[scarp15]

It is like reading a report within a report brilliant. For quite a few years each spring along with a group of friends we flew or got the ferry across to Norway to go hut to hut cross country or nordic ski touring, such as to Hardangervidda, Jotunheimen, Rondane regions and also inside the Arctic Circle. Some routes between huts were very long and often we would not arrive until after nightfall. On more than one occasion we would encounter the Northern Lights. We were members of the DNT; Norwegian Mountaineering Club and had a key for their hut network, best described as a posh bothy and with ample wood supply for the wood burner. Expect that having the Cairngorms mountains so close by, that I can understand the appeal for winter camping. 

You don't have to go to Scandinavia to see the Northern Lights. The first time I saw the aurora was wild camping in the Cheviots as a student, that was overhead completely unexpected and spectacular. 

Edited January 14, 2021 by scarp15