Some spring delights.

[Kon]

Unexpectedly, the skies were clear tonight and with the moon not too bright I wanted to go after some targets that had eluded me. The first spring delight is the temperature; I was out on normal clothes, no jacket or hat/gloves/fleece. I managed to spend a good 3 hours out. Kids wanted to see the moon; it was quite nice to make the full disk with the 16% bright part. Kids in bed and then it was searching time. My first target was M78 and its accompanying NGC2071; somehow I had failed to find them in several occasions. Some nice nebulosity with some features in my 15mm EP. A few weeks ago I had failed to find NGC2261 (Hubble's Variable Nebula); having fresh eyes tonight I spotted it fairly quickly and what a delight.  A nice nebula that in my eyes resembled the tail of a comet; i could make the R Monocerotis and the nebula. I spent a good 30min observing it. I then took a quick look at the Leo triplet and Markarian's Chain in Leo (similar amazement to my report last week); a plethora of galaxies with a nudge of the telescope. I then moved to M13 in Hercules; it was the first time to be visible in not silly time. OMG!! What a beautiful sight! In the 15mm EP I could see a fuzzy picture with some scattered single stars at the edges; with the 8mm i could resolve more stars but the core was indistinguishable. I spent a good 30min observing it and even got my wife out who was also mesmerised. My last target was M57....lets leave there. I spent a good 1hr looking for it; thin clouds kept coming in/out. I found Lyra and i was hoping to star hope from Sheliak but the viewing conditions were horrible and I got very frustrated not finding it. I had a cup of tea and by the time I was out clouds had covered my N/NE horizon. I know it is a spring/ummer target and I am sure I will spot it soon.

It was a excellent night with couple of my nemesis found. Now I have a new one.

[John]

Nice report

I have the 130mm refractor out this evening. Poor transparency and seeing earlier but it got better and better as the hours passed. Really good out there now but I'm too tired to enjoy it

Following a rather prolonged galaxy session (wrong scope really) in Leo, I finished my session in Hercules with Messier 13 and the other lovely globular there, Messier 92.

Glad you enjoyed your night as well

[Pixies]

Nice report.

M57 was the first DSO I ever observed, and was my 'Saturn moment'. I'm looking forward to see it again later this spring. It's pretty easy to find and observe - so I assume it was poor transparency and the clouds you mentioned, that thwarted you. Saw in first in an 8" dob in Bortle 6 skies. There was no astronomical darkness then, either.

In a low power, it just looks like a grey fuzzy star. Perhaps not as distinct as a lot of other smaller planetary nebula. But from around 100x magnification, it's a very incongruous-looking fuzzy grey polo mint.

As for Hubble's Variable Nebula - I've not seen it yet, and perhaps it was better placed a few months ago. But the blurb says that its magnitude varies by 2 over months/years. Do we know how bright it is at this moment?

[Marki]

I love this time of year when Hercules becomes clearer and Cygnus just start to show by midnight.

I had my SW 150ED out tonight. M13 was gorgeous - low between trees to start, but once it cleared them I could start to resolve the edges nicely. Had to pack up before it got decently high though, but its great to see this at a semi-reasonable time of night. Also had a pop at M53, but not able to really get much resolution, just hints of granularity. Seeing here wasn't good enough to really push the mag much past x200 ish. Not too much luck with galaxies in Leo, but a nice view of M82 /M81, and a reasonable view of the core of M51 with a distinct hint of M51b. I think the 150ED could really pull some good stuff somewhere properly dark!

Had some fun with a few doubles too. My highlight for tonight was Iota Leonis - a mag 4 white primary with a mag 7(ish) white-yellow secondary. Just a shade under 2" separation, but the magnitude difference made it a nice challenge, but clear at 180x. More mag didn't actually seem to help with this  - again maybe my seeing conditions weren't helping. Anyway, pretty pleased to get out tonight and this double is a new one for me at least.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Marki
Got my Ms muddled up :)

[Kon]

@Pixies I love observing nebulas thus my interest last night on M57 since it rises enough on the sky now. I will probably have to wait a few more days/weeks. Regarding NGC2261, it is Mag10 according to some sites at the moment. @Johnsounds you had a great session as well; I skipped the M92 since clouds were coming in and I was after the M57.

[Kon]

@MarkiIt sounds you had an excellent night as well. I will probably have to start looking at brighter targets/clusters as the moon is starting to shine again.

[Nik271]

@Kon  congratulations on your first view of M13! It looks good in any scope and the big ones (like your 8 Inch) can resolve many stars. Just wait until its high overhead in summer then it's the best IMO. 

The Ring must still be pretty low near the horizon even after midnight. It's easy to confuse it for a star in the finder because it's small. Once spotted can take high magnifications well, so you begin to see a bit of structure to the ring and a hint of colour. Something to look forward to

[Kon]

@Nik271Yes both were low at my horizon even at midnight but I was eager to try see them.😉

[John]

M57 can be overlooked if you are using a low powered eyepiece in a small scope - it can just look like a bloated star. I often use 200x plus on it and that works a treat. I still have not convincingly seen the central star even with my 12 inch scope so I hope to do that someday. It's fun to pick out the faintest star you can see around the nebula:

With M13, as well as high powers to resolve as deep as possible, backing off the power on a transparent night brings the reward of being able to see the galaxy NGC 6207 in the same low power field of view:

 

I love these "2 for 1" deals !

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by John
M57 rather than M27 !!!

[scarp15]

Lovely report, Globular season will be in full flight by the next new moon, when hopefully coinciding with the easing of restrictions, will allow for a dark sky trip.

[Epick Crom]

Nice report Kon. You did well to nab NGC 2361! M13 must have been lovely, I haven't observed it yet, looking forward to it as well as the Ring nebula. Clear skies!