Buzzing with excitement!

[Kon]

I was not planning to be out tonight with cloud forecasts but there was a brief window of excellent seeing and I though I would target some nebulas before we lose astro darkness. I wanted to see a few diffuse nebulas in Cassiopeia and Cygnus. I used my 25mm EP with the OIII filter from the start. I was after the Bubble nebula near M52. I could make a very diffuse nebulosity; M52 was barely visible with the filter on but some stars were coming through. I was expecting to see a more defined nebula but I was maybe misguided from the APs (seeing that time was not that great with clouds coming in and out). I then moved to Cygnus to see the North America and Pelican nebulas. I was blown away from their size. I switched to my 32mm EP but it still did not do justice to them. Lovely diffuse nebula with defined edges (going from light grey to black for the sky). Last but not least the East and West Veil nebulas. OMG!!!! Totally blown away! I just could not believe my eyes. Absolutely stunning filaments of nebulosity. The West Veil looked amazing in my 32mm EP (I wish I had a larger FOV). I panned around to observe it in its glory. What totally made my night was the East Veil. Defined nebulosity filament that I could trace all the way. It totally resembled the AP but I could see it with my own eyes!! I know many of you have seen them several times but as a beginner I am totally mesmerised and these images will stay with me. I was told by @John and @jetstream that spending £100 on my OIII filter is worth just for the Veil. They were absolutely right! Thank you guys! I also tried the Crescent nebula. Did I see it, not sure, I was too excited from the Veil to focus; I gave up and revisited the Veil before packing everything back in.

There was a post a few days ago asking why they should buy a telescope when they can browse the internet. Well the answer is here. You can see things with your own eyes and take it all in.

This has been my best night observing nebulas as a beginner so far! If the skies stay clear this week I am definitely revisiting the Veil!! Absolutely buzzing with excitement! I do apologise if I sound childish but who cares, I loved every moment tonight!

Edited May 5, 2021 by Kon

[dave34]

Sounds like you had a great session, well done.

[jetstream]

@Kon the doors are just beginning to open for you!

Great report and eagerly waiting more, Gerry

ps the Bubble is a bit tough... but eventually you will see the nearby Lobster Claw complex and LBN...

[cotterless45]

Brilliant , the eastern veil is a must see !

careful now , .Nick.

[Stu]

Great stuff @Kon! The Veil is one of my favourites. I don’t get to see it often, living under rubbish skies, but when I get away somewhere dark in late summer I always make sure I spend time on it.

The NAN needs a big field of view to set it in context, but still nice to see the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ section clearly in a smaller fov.

Enjoy!

[RobertI]

Great report! The Veil can be amazing with an OIII. I had a great session last year viewing the Veil. I have also tried the Crescent a number of times and the best I have had is seeing part of the curve (confirmed with detailed star charts), but never the whole thing. It’s my mission for this year. 🙂

[Kon]

@jetstream I will try see a few more things in the coming days if the weather stays ok. You recommendation was spot on on the things that came into view with the OIII.

@Stu Like you said, I could make the narrow part corresponding to the Golf of Mexico in my FOV but the North America just was a great smudge in my EP. As I said I may need new EPs 🤫.

@RobertIThanks for the heads up on what to expect to see.

[John]

Great report !

The Veil is an absolute favourite of mine as well - a good O-III filter really does bring it to life in a way that no other filter can.

Such a lot of detail to see as well - truly a multi-element target and the more you study it, the more you elements can see:

[Pixies]

Well done. I've only had an Oiii filter for a few months and astro darkness has ended up here for now - before Cygnus has been high enough for me to view the Veil.

I'll need to wait until August then try it out. I'm familiar with some decent local dark sites now, so I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Nice report. 

[Kon]

1 hour ago, Pixies said:

Well done. I've only had an Oiii filter for a few months and astro darkness has ended up here for now - before Cygnus has been high enough for me to view the Veil.

I'll need to wait until August then try it out. I'm familiar with some decent local dark sites now, so I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Nice report. 

You will be for a treat if you have not seen it before.

[catburglar]

Seeing the whole of the Veil nebula from my garden a few years ago in an 80mm scope with 30mm UWA eyepiece was a breath taking moment for me. I thought I’d ‘give it a go’, but didn’t expect to succeed. However, I’ve struggled with the North America nebula- it’s barely visible in comparison to the Veil which is quite striking...don’t know if it’s my aging eyes or whether it’s the ‘empty’ middle of the Veil that means the contrast against the sky background is greater.

[Kon]

15 minutes ago, catburglar said:

Seeing the whole of the Veil nebula from my garden a few years ago in an 80mm scope with 30mm UWA eyepiece was a breath taking moment for me. I thought I’d ‘give it a go’, but didn’t expect to succeed. However, I’ve struggled with the North America nebula- it’s barely visible in comparison to the Veil which is quite striking...don’t know if it’s my aging eyes or whether it’s the ‘empty’ middle of the Veil that means the contrast against the sky background is greater.

I agree that the North America filled my FOV and I could make its edges when moving the Dob to a darker part of the sky, so i could not enjoy it in its full glory, still beautiful. I agree that the filaments of the Veil did stand out much better in the dark background. I had a similar experience with the Rosette that I could make the inner darker part of the nebula but the outer i had to pan around against the darker sky. I wonder if using an EP with bigger FOV would reveal the large diffuse nebulas  better.

[jetstream]

2 hours ago, Kon said:

I wonder if using an EP with bigger FOV would reveal the large diffuse nebulas  better.

Yes.

In our convos it came up about 2" filters and eyepieces- what size filter did you get in the end?

For me having a scope sized for use with the 21E class eyepieces, exit pupil wise is a great asset. You can achieve similar results at f6 with a  2" 30mm UFF,ES class eyepiece.

I absolutely love 100 deg EPs for this at f5 or below.

 

[jetstream]

3 hours ago, catburglar said:

However, I’ve struggled with the North America nebula-

Keep trying- what scope and eyepiece are you using? filter?

[Kon]

6 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Yes.

In our convos it came up about 2" filters and eyepieces- what size filter did you get in the end?

For me having a scope sized for use with the 21E class eyepieces, exit pupil wise is a great asset. You can achieve similar results at f6 with a  2" 30mm UFF,ES class eyepiece.

I absolutely love 100 deg EPs for this at f5 or below.

I got the 1.25" due to the cost; as a beginner i found hard to justify ~£200 for a filter when my Dob was around £300. So far I am loving it but i feel i may need to upgrade later on just to get the bigger picture. As we discussed the filter should have  a fairly good resale value if i decide to move on in the future. For now I am happy with what I am getting, and I may need to invest on a 1.25 EP with wider FOV.

[John]

One of my favourite setups for the Veil is my 4 inch F/6.5 refractor and the 31mm Nagler hand grenade with an O-III filter. That gives a 3.8 degree true field so the whole of the Veil complex fits in there. Good for the N A Nebula too.

There are other great combinations as well though

 

 

[Sunshine]

Amazing session! you left me buzzing too!

[jetstream]

17 minutes ago, Kon said:

I got the 1.25" due to the cost; as a beginner i found hard to justify ~£200 for a filter when my Dob was around £300. So far I am loving it but i feel i may need to upgrade later on just to get the bigger picture. As we discussed the filter should have  a fairly good resale value if i decide to move on in the future. For now I am happy with what I am getting, and I may need to invest on a 1.25 EP with wider FOV.

Thats the thing- we knew you would want a bigger TFOV !

Your enthusiasm and access to dark skies indicated a vg chance for early success and buying with the thought of re sale value in mind is prudent IMHO. There are a lot of big nebula out there just yearning for large TFOV!  Wait until you tie into IC1318- most say the Hb is the only answer- I love a tight UHC but also raised eyebrows when reporting good views with an OIII. Try it! The whole area is a nest of nebulosity leading to the Crescent.

1.25" eyepieces are limited to a 27mm field stop diameter regardless of the focal length or AFOV...  a 2" 30mm 82 gets you into a 43mm field stop or thereabout.

Then theres this:

10 minutes ago, John said:

One of my favourite setups for the Veil is my 4 inch F/6.5 refractor and the 31mm Nagler hand grenade with an O-III filter. That gives a 3.8 degree true field so the whole of the Veil complex fits in there. Good for the N A Nebula too.

There are other great combinations as well though

 

 

Johns knows what hes talking about- for certain objects like the NAN it is hard to beat a widefield refractor- I use one myself- a 90mm f7 with a 42mm LVW- stunning bright views of this object.

But 😀 I use a Heritage 130 with 1.25" EPs on the NAN... 650mm fl- almost twice the TFOV of your 1200mm.

In your case, maximize the views with existing equipment and plan wisely for the future... there are many reasons people like 10" f4.8 dobs... 20mm APM, 2" OIII and way you go.

Eagerly waiting reports!

[faulksy]

what a exciting report, felt like it was my first time 😀 did you see any colour ?

I see like dark purple (maroon)

you will love the cresent, looks like a big brain

Edited May 5, 2021 by faulksy

[wookie1965]

Nick (cotterless45) taught me this type in NGC 6992 look through the eyepiece all the time and type in NGC 6995 the scope will now curve around showing the Eastern Veil  its magical .

[Kon]

8 hours ago, faulksy said:

what a exciting report, felt like it was my first time 😀 did you see any colour ?

I see like dark purple (maroon)

you will love the cresent, looks like a big brain

Thanks. I saw more greyish (maybe with hints of blueish at the denser parts) but the Veil was low on my horizon. I will wait for later in the summer to revisit when it is higher. My NE-E horizon has a bit of light glow from far away.

Very excited to see the Crescent as well.

[Kon]

3 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Nick (cotterless45) taught me this type in NGC 6992 look through the eyepiece all the time and type in NGC 6995 the scope will now curve around showing the Eastern Veil  its magical .

Thanks. My Dob does not have GoTo but  I was doing a similar thing manually to see the whole Veil from West to East. 

[Kon]

@jetstreamThanks for sharing your expertise and advise. I have a feeling I need to have a word with the banker (aka wife) 🤑 every time I read your suggestions 😉. I only had my telescope for less than 6 months and it has been amazing experience.

[John]

For what it's worth I've never seen any colour in the Veil nebula but the largest aperture scope I've observed it with is 12 inches. Plus I'm 60+ now so colour perception might not be my forte now !

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, John said:

For what it's worth I've never seen any colour in the Veil nebula but the largest aperture scope I've observed it with is 12 inches. Plus I'm 60+ now so colour perception might not be my forte now !

Same here John. @faulksy may have the tiny benefit of using a 22” scope! 😉