Words cannot describe my night!

[Kon]

After some excellent suggestions from members of this forum I was on a mission to see some nebulas and galaxies despite the bright moon since we have bad weather prediction for the next few days. I got out around 8pm with my 8" Dob and my first target was Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) since it evaded me the other night. A bit of star hoping and there it was. A little fuzzy beauty! I had to double check that I was not imagining it.  I was so excited I got my family out (wife and 3+5 year old) to show them; even my wife got excited. My 5 year old son loved it although his favourite is M42. You could just make out the nebulosity, a little grey circle. I spent 30min or so playing with my 15 and 8mm BST EPs. The sky allowed me to use the 8mm EP and get it a bit bigger in my field of view. Then I aimed for M81/82 which i thought i saw the other night but i needed to reconfirm. Much better views tonight and easier to find based on my previous experience.  Again mind blowing seeing them. At this point i had frozen toes and hands...rookie mistake to go out with a pair of thin socks. I warmed up myself and put some doubly thick socks and a nice cup of tea. Next on my list the m33. I think i saw it with averted vision since it was washed out by the moon. Since i was in the area, i glanced M31/M110. They both showed really nicely on my 15mm EP. Feeling confident and warm, I moved to M101 and M51. I found the M51 with easiness and I could see it with averted vision; I could not make any features so i will have to revisit it. Same was M101. It was there but hardly any details. I finally went back to M42 and the nebulosity was really nice but less detailed compared to my previous viewings. I tried to see M78; maybe yes maybe no. I think i saw something with averted vision. For completeness, I had a look at the Moon and its craters, a glance over Mars and managed to spot Uranus appearing as a nice greenish/blue disk. 

 

Overall, I feel like a kid in a candy shop! Spoiled for choice. It has been yet another successful night for this beginner.  Looking forward to some darker skies after the moon. My Dob was covered in ice outside, but surprisingly EPs and RACI were absolutely fine tonight. Both telescope and myself are thawing now. 🥶

[johnfosteruk]

Brilliant report, I love it when I'm able to tempt my family with the views

 

[John]

Excellent stuff !

You did well on those fainter face on galaxies (M33 and M101) they can be hard even without the moon around.

We are getting some great reports on the forum with these clear skies (at last)

And you did manage to find some words ......

Edited January 23, 2021 by John

[geoflewis]

Lovely report @Konand just shows that you can still see some exciting stuff even with Mr Blobby in the sky.....

[callisto]

Great report....just wait till your kids see Saturn for the first time 😮

[Kon]

5 minutes ago, callisto said:

Great report....just wait till your kids see Saturn for the first time

Thank you. Actually, it is my wife who is keep asking for Saturn since we got the telescope in December. She wants to see Titan as well. To be honest we are all looking forward to it when it's better placed.

[Kon]

14 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Lovely report @Konand just shows that you can still see some exciting stuff even with Mr Blobby in the sky.....

Absolutely, and the suggestions from the other members on my post the other day were excellent!

[Captain Scarlet]

Well done for seeing those things on a Moonlit night! You’ve set yourself up for a treat I think, as now you’ve seen them under far less than ideal conditions, you have something to compare for when you observe them with no Moon around! The difference should be very noticeable.

Cheers, Magnus

[Nigella Bryant]

Lovely report, it's so exciting. Glad you are loving the hobby. 

[Ships and Stars]

Great job! M101 is hard enough for me to see with a large scope and no moon.

The skies here tonight have the best seeing I can recall since I started a few years ago. Moon was tack sharp at 300x.

[AstroNebulee]

Superb report Kon, you can feel your excitement oozing out of the report. It's amazing when you can share your viewings with your family or friends to give them a sense of how magnificent the night sky is and puts everything in perspective. Good luck with Saturn later in the year, clear skies 👍

[scarp15]

Good session, particularly considering the bright moon and good to hear that you located The Eskimo Nebula. Great that you enthused your family to come out. The moon mostly occupied my session tonight, in clear cold conditions, although M42 was sharp with an OIII filter. Later on the Beehive Cluster M44 is good to. Therefore an OIII or UHC filter will make for a good investment whether observing brighter nebulae from home or else bright and dim nebulae from a dark sky location. I too found it to be quite dry tonight with little condensation.

[RobertI]

Fantastic report, your enthusiasm shines through. Well done on seeing those objects with Luna around. 👍

[Epick Crom]

7 hours ago, Kon said:

After some excellent suggestions from members of this forum I was on a mission to see some nebulas and galaxies despite the bright moon since we have bad weather prediction for the next few days. I got out around 8pm with my 8" Dob and my first target was Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) since it evaded me the other night. A bit of star hoping and there it was. A little fuzzy beauty! I had to double check that I was not imagining it.  I was so excited I got my family out (wife and 3+5 year old) to show them; even my wife got excited. My 5 year old son loved it although his favourite is M42. You could just make out the nebulosity, a little grey circle. I spent 30min or so playing with my 15 and 8mm BST EPs. The sky allowed me to use the 8mm EP and get it a bit bigger in my field of view. Then I aimed for M81/82 which i thought i saw the other night but i needed to reconfirm. Much better views tonight and easier to find based on my previous experience.  Again mind blowing seeing them. At this point i had frozen toes and hands...rookie mistake to go out with a pair of thin socks. I warmed up myself and put some doubly thick socks and a nice cup of tea. Next on my list the m33. I think i saw it with averted vision since it was washed out by the moon. Since i was in the area, i glanced M31/M110. They both showed really nicely on my 15mm EP. Feeling confident and warm, I moved to M101 and M51. I found the M51 with easiness and I could see it with averted vision; I could not make any features so i will have to revisit it. Same was M101. It was there but hardly any details. I finally went back to M42 and the nebulosity was really nice but less detailed compared to my previous viewings. I tried to see M78; maybe yes maybe no. I think i saw something with averted vision. For completeness, I had a look at the Moon and its craters, a glance over Mars and managed to spot Uranus appearing as a nice greenish/blue disk. 

 

Overall, I feel like a kid in a candy shop! Spoiled for choice. It has been yet another successful night for this beginner.  Looking forward to some darker skies after the moon. My Dob was covered in ice outside, but surprisingly EPs and RACI were absolutely fine tonight. Both telescope and myself are thawing now. 🥶

Excellent report Kon! There is nothing else more awe inspiring than Astronomy 😊

[Sunshine]

Nice report, I enjoy reading reports from those new to the hobby, it takes me back to when my late father would pack the car with us all and head to dark skies with my first scope.

You will have countless other nights like this with your family, is there anything more precious? I think not.

[Rob]

What a nice read with my Sunday breakfast!.. and his is why we do this!.. here's to many more enjoyable observing sessions.

Thanks for sharing!

Rob

[Kon]

13 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Good session, particularly considering the bright moon and good to hear that you located The Eskimo Nebula. Great that you enthused your family to come out. The moon mostly occupied my session tonight, in clear cold conditions, although M42 was sharp with an OIII filter. Later on the Beehive Cluster M44 is good to. Therefore an OIII or UHC filter will make for a good investment whether observing brighter nebulae from home or else bright and dim nebulae from a dark sky location. I too found it to be quite dry tonight with little condensation.

I have been reading the other forum topic on filters and trying to decide if I will need it or not. I am on Bortle 4 skies. From your experience is it better to go for a UHC or OIII? Or which one might be used more often?

[Kon]

13 hours ago, RobertI said:

Fantastic report, your enthusiasm shines through. Well done on seeing those objects with Luna around.

For a 42 year old man i felt like a child last night. Considering the snow that we have today i feel lucky to have managed a session even with the moon out.

[Kon]

14 hours ago, Ships and Stars said:

Great job! M101 is hard enough for me to see with a large scope and no moon.

To be honest if i did not have stellarium to tell me something is there, i would have missed it, so i spent quite bit of time using adverted vision to find it. It was just a tiny smudge but no more than that. It needs to be reviseted. 

[scarp15]

8 minutes ago, Kon said:

I have been reading the other forum topic on filters and trying to decide if I will need it or not. I am on Bortle 4 skies. From your experience is it better to go for a UHC or OIII? Or which one might be used more often?

There are quite a few, including recent, topics on which filter, either an OIII or UHC (or both). It is widely accepted that a filter will be highly advantageous and there would be no harm if you started another thread on the subject. It is a topic that never ceases to rouse interest even though the conclusions are often largely of the same outcomes. Probably if only one or as a first, a good quality 2" OIII filter.  

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, Kon said:

I have been reading the other forum topic on filters and trying to decide if I will need it or not. I am on Bortle 4 skies. From your experience is it better to go for a UHC or OIII? Or which one might be used more often?

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

https://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/useful-filters-for-viewing-deep-sky-objects/

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/370053-one-filter-to-rule-them-all/

 

[Kon]

1 hour ago, scarp15 said:

There are quite a few, including recent, topics on which filter, either an OIII or UHC (or both). It is widely accepted that a filter will be highly advantageous and there would be no harm if you started another thread on the subject. It is a topic that never ceases to rouse interest even though the conclusions are often largely of the same outcomes. Probably if only one or as a first, a good quality 2" OIII filter.  

I agree and following the topic has been more confusing, especially for darker skies. I will see how things develop and probably post a question if I am still unsure. 

[Kon]

Than you for the links @Zermelo.

[faulksy]

awesome report kon. i could feel your enthusiasm , you did well with some of those targets, especially with the night sun out