An hour with the Veil

[Kon]

Last night I managed 1hrs observation before the moon rose. I was inspired by @jetstreamreport on the Veil and I decided to stick with one target and try take it all in. Cygnus was almost at zenith and having the Dob does not allow for much manoeuvre. I observed with my ES 68 degree 24mm and the OIII filter. I had seen the Veil several times over the summer and I have always been drawn to the Western and Eastern filaments ignoring the rest. Last night I thought I will go through the whole area carefully and try observe more of the other nebulosity around. I started at the Western. Seeing was excellent last night and I could make intricate filaments of nebulosity almost twisting around like a ribbon. Following it down (Dob view) it became thinner and thinner almost like a piece of string; averted vision brought more of the thin part at the end. Moving upwards,  the ribbon like structure opened up and became a more diffuse nebulosity with delicate features. I then moved to the Eastern Veil, and again bright complex structure could be observed; I could make the NGC6995 and IC1340 with nice fine features as in the pic below (credit to Wikipedia). I took a look at Pickering's triangle and Fleming Wisp; the nebulosity was well defined and I could make very defined filaments as others have described running from bottom to top. Finally, I found the NGC6979/6974  and some weak/diffuse nebulosity running along as well .  Overall I loved this session since I was glued to my EP without worrying to hope on more targets. What I found fascinating is that in previous viewing much of these nebula felt diffuse but taking the time to observe it revealed dinner structures; it could be that seeing was very good last night (we had rain a few hours earlier).  It was a very enjoyable 1hr. I would love to have another go at it on the next new moon.

 

[John]

Great report on a target that really rewards prolonged scrutiny

"....taking the time to observe...." - such a good idea, for all types of target !

[Dave scutt]

Do you see any colour when looking at the Western veil with the 0III filter .

I was using the uhc filter last night and it was just grey 

[Kon]

43 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

Do you see any colour when looking at the Western veil with the 0III filter .

I was using the uhc filter last night and it was just grey 

Yes greyish.

[wookie1965]

My good friend told me about this I have seen it twice it was amazing, put NGC 6992 in goto and let it get there now put NGC 6995 this time when you hit go keep watching through the eyepiece the mount traces the loop before your eyes.

First time I did this it was like seeing Saturn for the first time thrilling.

Sounds like you had an amazing time taking it all in, just wish I could get out been cloudy and raining here for over two weeks and forecast is terrible.

Great report I have wrote down all the different objects no sure if I will be able to catch it all but you never know thanks.

[Epick Crom]

Great report Kon. I'm super jealous of your stunning observations of the Veil nebula! For us in the southern hemisphere it is at a low altitude and hard to see at all 😭. Sounds like you had a great time. Clear skies!

[Beulah]

In a dark sky the filaments of this nebula appears to shimmer....it can also be seen without an OIII filter if you know where to look (Meaning find it with the filter,  then remove it).

[Kon]

1 hour ago, Beulah said:

In a dark sky the filaments of this nebula appears to shimmer

I can see it without my filter when it is dark (mostly the western and eastern) but as a newbie can you elaborate on 'shimmer' please, ie what I am expected t see? Is that for the whole nebula or specific parts of it?

Edited September 29, 2021 by Kon

[Beulah]

1 hour ago, Kon said:

I can see it without my filter when it is dark (mostly the western and eastern) but as a newbie can you elaborate on 'shimmer' please, ie what I am expected t see? Is that for the whole nebula or specific parts of it?

I guess it's more of a trick of the eye; switching between averted and direct vision seems to make the filaments appear to be gossamer-like; specifically in NGC6960. The Veil Nebula Complex is a fascinating object to study!

[jetstream]

29 minutes ago, Beulah said:

switching between averted and direct vision seems to make the filaments appear to be gossamer-like

I do this all the time as well and it also makes the Pleiades "bubble" come alive. Its great technique.

[Kon]

1 hour ago, Beulah said:

I guess it's more of a trick of the eye; switching between averted and direct vision seems to make the filaments appear to be gossamer-like; specifically in NGC6960. The Veil Nebula Complex is a fascinating object to study!

 

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

I do this all the time as well and it also makes the Pleiades "bubble" come alive. Its great technique.

I will give that a try next time. Thanks for the tips!

[Froeng]

23 hours ago, Kon said:

Last night I managed 1hrs observation before the moon rose. I was inspired by @jetstreamreport on the Veil and I decided to stick with one target and try take it all in. Cygnus was almost at zenith and having the Dob does not allow for much manoeuvre. I observed with my ES 68 degree 24mm and the OIII filter. I had seen the Veil several times over the summer and I have always been drawn to the Western and Eastern filaments ignoring the rest. Last night I thought I will go through the whole area carefully and try observe more of the other nebulosity around. I started at the Western. Seeing was excellent last night and I could make intricate filaments of nebulosity almost twisting around like a ribbon. Following it down (Dob view) it became thinner and thinner almost like a piece of string; averted vision brought more of the thin part at the end. Moving upwards,  the ribbon like structure opened up and became a more diffuse nebulosity with delicate features. I then moved to the Eastern Veil, and again bright complex structure could be observed; I could make the NGC6995 and IC1340 with nice fine features as in the pic below (credit to Wikipedia). I took a look at Pickering's triangle and Fleming Wisp; the nebulosity was well defined and I could make very defined filaments as others have described running from bottom to top. Finally, I found the NGC6979/6974  and some weak/diffuse nebulosity running along as well .  Overall I loved this session since I was glued to my EP without worrying to hope on more targets. What I found fascinating is that in previous viewing much of these nebula felt diffuse but taking the time to observe it revealed dinner structures; it could be that seeing was very good last night (we had rain a few hours earlier).  It was a very enjoyable 1hr. I would love to have another go at it on the next new moon.

 

Lovely report! Hoping for the sky to clear before the swan flies off…

what scope did you use and how dark is your sky?

[Froeng]

forgot to mention - inspired by jetstream’s earlier report, I also found this link last night:

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-blogs/explore-night-bob-king/explore-veil-nebula/

[Kon]

Just now, Froeng said:

Lovely report! Hoping for the sky to clear before the swan flies off…

what scope did you use and how dark is your sky?

I have an 8" Dob (Skywatcher 200P). My skies are bortle 3/4 (my East horizon has some light pollution). Good luck with the swan, it is a great seeing with and without a filter.

[Froeng]

1 minute ago, Kon said:

I have an 8" Dob (Skywatcher 200P). My skies are bortle 3/4 (my East horizon has some light pollution). Good luck with the swan, it is a great seeing with and without a filter.

This is encouraging! I can get to a bortle 4 sky with my C8. I have seen the Veil many times, but never that much detail. I MUST try harder and spend more time with it. A combination of the OIII filter and an observing cloth may help…

[Kon]

2 minutes ago, Froeng said:

This is encouraging! I can get to a bortle 4 sky with my C8. I have seen the Veil many times, but never that much detail. I MUST try harder and spend more time with it. A combination of the OIII filter and an observing cloth may help…

I think it helped that it was at zenith this time of the year and it had rained earlier that night, so transparency was really good. Looking forward to your report. You probably already know, but dark adaption is key as well; i spent a good 40min outside just looking at the Milky Way arch.

[John]

I find this guide to the various Veil features / segments useful:

https://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/Dissecting the Veil Nebula.html

I've managed to see as far as segment "H" with my 12 inch dob.

 

[jetstream]

2 hours ago, Froeng said:

A combination of the OIII filter and an observing cloth may help…

Do you have an OIII? What eyepiece to you use with your C8 for the Veil?

[Stardaze]

Definitely one of my favourites but I struggle to see much other than the eastern and western sections from here. Really hoping the weather plays ball with the upcoming new moon, I’ll try and spend some time on it, thanks for sharing.

[Froeng]

8 hours ago, jetstream said:

Do you have an OIII? What eyepiece to you use with your C8 for the Veil?

I use mainly my 2” eyepieces. I have 50mm and 30mm Vixen NLV(W) and a 40mm Celestron Axiom from around the year 2000. I also sometimes use the 30mm in combination with the Celestron telecompressor for max. Field.

i have so far not seen the wisp or the other fainter parts, but bth I didn’t think I would be able to reach these with the C8. Maybe I did not try hard enough. Recently had an observing cloth made from black black-out curtain fabric, so let’s see if this helps with dark adaption and brings out more detail. Main problem is certainly overall light pollution due to proximity to London…

Edited September 30, 2021 by Froeng

[John]

I can see Pickerings Wisp plus the East and West segments on a dark night from home with my 4 inch F/6.5 refractor and a Lumicon O-III filter. With my 31mm Nagler eyepiece I can get the whole lot in the same field of view - lovely sight

The ease of spotting the Wisp and the "bristles" extension to the Western segment with the 4 inch aperture depends on the transparency and darkness of the sky more than for the brighter sections.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by John

[jetstream]

5 hours ago, Froeng said:

40mm Celestron Axiom

perfect- and the OIII?

[Froeng]

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

perfect- and the OIII?

It is the old Lumicon OIII

[estwing]

23 hours ago, Beulah said:

In a dark sky the filaments of this nebula appears to shimmer....it can also be seen without an OIII filter if you know where to look (Meaning find it with the filter,  then remove it).

And I will be observing this again next weekend at Pencelli 😉

[jetstream]

2 hours ago, Froeng said:

It is the old Lumicon OIII

Thats what I had in the dob, they are Vg.