M42 "Finger"

[jetstream]

Tonight is bitterly cold,-32c with the wind gusting to about 20kmh- well below -40c wind considered. Thats the bad news, the good news is the sky- super transparent and dark.

Years ago @ollypenrice posted an image in a thread about the "finger" in M42 and I hope its ok to use his image.

The 15" was pulled out of the seacan, collimated and set in the sun for a few hours to ensure no frost on the primary, and it worked. If I pull the scope out at night, the mirror can cause issues, temp dependent. The goto eyepiece for this was the Nikon HW 17mm/EIC for 14mm. Surprisingly the Finger appeared straight away with 2 very faint stars above it and one off the end, brighter. Orientation is the view through the eyepiece. It extended over from the "hook" or notch in the wing and down a bit.

Confirmed!

I should have noticed this before and I look forward to more detail tomorrow night with the 24" at f4.1. The Flaming Star was a showpiece tonight as well as the colour in M42, mottled green core with light salmon pink under the wings.

More observed but not too much. At least I lasted an hour out there observing! Those wind gusts will cut you right in half...

Edited February 8, 2021 by jetstream

[ollypenrice]

Great! I'm glad you found it and of course you're welcome to the image. I just adore it as a feature.

Olly

[John]

Great report Gerry !

I've noted that "finger" a few times this year when observing M42 with my 12 inch dob. Those "scallops" out of the adjacent arc of nebulosity are distinctive as well, when the sky is nice and transparent.

So much to explore in this nebula - whole sessions can be spent there !

[jetstream]

Ok wait a minute if I turn the image with the mentioned feature "up" its not doing this is it? 🖕

😀

It must be cold I'm surfing emojis lol!

[Littleguy80]

Excellent report, Gerry. I finally got some clear skies tonight. I couldn’t help but think of you as I sat outside observing in the snow. The Docter/Noblex with VIP showed/gave me the finger  I really felt like I was seeing M42 at a new level. I think that was more down to attention I was paying to it as opposed to the equipment I was using, although that helped of course. 

Kudos to @ollypenrice for the superb image.