An hour with an 8 inch newt

[John]

A surprise clearing of the skies pursuaded me to pop my 8 inch newtonian out. The DIY ventilation I've performed on the mirror cell worked and the scope cooled down quite quickly.

I'm still getting used to this scope (Orion Optics F/6) which I use on the Skytee II mount so I stuck to the "usual suspects", mostly.

My tour included:

Messier 81 and 82 - quite bright and very nicely framed with the 24mm Panoptic eyepiece.

Messier 97 (Owl nebula) - I could just about detect this without a filter but a UHC made it pop out and the O-III made it pop out even more !.

Orion cleared the roof tops so Messier 42 and 43 were obligatory. Stunning views of these and I had fun playing with UHC, O-III and H-Beta filters seeing how different parts of the nebula were enhanced with each filter vs no filter. As well as the sprawling mass of M42, M43 next door was sporting it's dark rift cutting the nebulosity into two unequal portions. Also picked out the E & F Trapezium stars by applying a little more magnification.

The Flame Nebula was very indistinct plus the neighbours security light was popping on occasionally so I didn't bother trying to see the Horsehead. The reflection nebula Messier 78 above Orions Belt was fairly easy to pick out as a misty patch with those 2 dim stars staring out of it. Filters not really much use on that one.

Then up to Taurus to have a look at Messier 1 (Crab nebula). Quite decently bright with the 8 inch aperture and the UHC and O-III's added some contrast and a touch of texture to this famous super nova remnant.

From the birthplace of stars to the scene of a stars violent death with one sweep of the alt-azimuth mount !

Over to Gemini now and the great open cluster of Messier 35 with the much fainter, much older and much more distant cluster NGC 2158 glowing softly through the outer reaches of the extensive M35.

Cloud cover was starting to creep across my clear sky but I remembered that Comet C/2019 L3 Atlas was in the next door constellation Lynx so I checked it's position in Stellarium and had a look for that. It was actually brighter than I expected and quite easy to find as a fuzzy spot with a much brighter core. And finally I moved the scope just a degree and a half to have a look at the faint and very distant globular cluster NGC 2419, AKA, the "Intergalactic Tramp". I'm fascinated by these very distant and ancient star clusters - NGC 2419 is further from our galactic core than the Magellanic Clouds are - around 250,000 light years away !

Clouded over now so the scope is back in. Great little session though and I'm enjoying the balance of aperture and ease of setup and use that the 8 inch F/6 newtonian has brought to my scope "fleet". I'm intending to use it for outreach sessions with the Bristol AS when we can next run one so it's good to get to know the setup better

Oh, and I just used 2 eyepieces this evening - the 24mm Panoptic and the 7.2mm - 21.5mm zoom. They seemed to cover all the bases that I needed to tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by John

[RobertI]

Lovely read John. You really made the most of your session, sounds like a good night for DSOs. Those distant globs are indeed fascinating.

Those 8” newts are just so versatile. I use my 150PL on the Skytee and it works really nicely. Did you observe standing or did you get it low enough to sit? 

Edited December 4, 2021 by RobertI

[John]

15 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Lovely read John. You really made the most of your session, sounds like a good night for DSOs. Those distant globs are indeed fascinating.

Those 8” newts are just so versatile. I use my 150PL on the Skytee and it works really nicely. Did you observe standing or did you get it low enough to sit? 

Thanks Rob

I like to stand while observing and the eyepiece height is fine for that. Probably about the same height as your 150PL is.

 

[Sunshine]

Nice session you had, I think its great you only used the two eyepieces as I find myself fumbling eyepieces in the dark so much.

[Kon]

Very nice report and a great little session you had.

[faulksy]

1 hour ago, John said:

A surprise clearing of the skies pursuaded me to pop my 8 inch newtonian out. The DIY ventilation I've performed on the mirror cell worked and the scope cooled down quite quickly.

I'm still getting used to this scope (Orion Optics F/6) which I use on the Skytee II mount so I stuck to the "usual suspects", mostly.

My tour included:

Messier 81 and 82 - quite bright and very nicely framed with the 24mm Panoptic eyepiece.

Messier 97 (Owl nebula) - I could just about detect this without a filter but a UHC made it pop out and the O-III made it pop out even more !.

Orion cleared the roof tops so Messier 42 and 43 were obligatory. Stunning views of these and I had fun playing with UHC, O-III and H-Beta filters seeing how different parts of the nebula were enhanced with each filter vs no filter. As well as the sprawling mass of M42, M43 next door was sporting it's dark rift cutting the nebulosity into two unequal portions. Also picked out the E & F Trapezium stars by applying a little more magnification.

The Flame Nebula was very indistinct plus the neighbours security light was popping on occasionally so I didn't bother trying to see the Horsehead. The reflection nebula Messier 78 above Orions Belt was fairly easy to pick out as a misty patch with those 2 dim stars staring out of it. Filters not really much use on that one.

Then up to Taurus to have a look at Messier 1 (Crab nebula). Quite decently bright with the 8 inch aperture and the UHC and O-III's added some contrast and a touch of texture to this famous super nova remnant.

From the birthplace of stars to the scene of a stars violent death with one sweep of the alt-azimuth mount !

Over to Gemini now and the great open cluster of Messier 35 with the much fainter, much older and much more distant cluster NGC 2158 glowing softly through the outer reaches of the extensive M35.

Cloud cover was starting to creep across my clear sky but I remembered that Comet C/2019 L3 Atlas was in the next door constellation Lynx so I checked it's position in Stellarium and had a look for that. It was actually brighter than I expected and quite easy to find as a fuzzy spot with a much brighter core. And finally I moved the scope just a degree and a half to have a look at the faint and very distant globular cluster NGC 2419, AKA, the "Intergalactic Tramp". I'm fascinated by these very distant and ancient star clusters - NGC 2419 is further from our galactic core than the Magellanic Clouds are - around 250,000 light years away !

Clouded over now so the scope is back in. Great little session though and I'm enjoying the balance of aperture and ease of setup and use that the 8 inch F/6 newtonian has brought to my scope "fleet". I'm intending to use it for outreach sessions with the Bristol AS when we can next run one so it's good to get to know the setup better

Oh, and I just used 2 eyepieces this evening - the 24mm Panoptic and the 7.2mm - 21.5mm zoom. They seemed to cover all the bases that I needed to tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

what a lovely report john. 8" is were it happens

what dob  are you looking through on your avatar john ?

[niallk]

Smashing report John!

I must look up NGC2419 👍

Edit: very interesting indeed

https://www.universetoday.com/120628/ngc-2419-wayward-globular-or-the-milky-ways-own/amp/

Edited December 4, 2021 by niallk

[John]

24 minutes ago, faulksy said:

what a lovely report john. 8" is were it happens

what dob  are you looking through on your avatar john ?

Thanks Mike

The scope in the avatar is the Bristol AS JMI NGT 18 inch - it's actually on a horseshoe eq mount. When new, it looked like this. The one we have is in decent working order but is getting on a bit now !

 

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by John

[wookie1965]

A great nights viewing there oh I so wish I had not sold my 8" I really was stupid I miss it for viewings like this maybe I will buy another or perhaps a bigger dob hmmm have to think about this.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Excellent report John. The 8" is a perfect size for quick grab and go. Your Orion scope looks very good on the SkyTee .

[Dave scutt]

Great report John. 

I've only seen the owl nebula with the UHC filter I've now got a O-III filter and it's ment to be clear tonight can't wait to get the dob out at last🤞.

Dave 

[John]

1 hour ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Excellent report John. The 8" is a perfect size for quick grab and go. Your Orion scope looks very good on the SkyTee .

Thanks Mark

I've added a Rigel Quikfinder beside the 50mm RACI optical since that photo was taken so I replicate the finder arrangement that I have on my 12 inch dob. It works very well for me.

Even though the 8 inch is a decade old, I think it was hardly used at all since new by the previous owner so the mirror coatings are immaculate and seem very bright. It's one of OO's decent mirrors as well

[Epick Crom]

Great report John! Your 8inch sure is delivering the goods. Clear skies!

[Captain Scarlet]

Great read John. I currently have two 8” newts, neither of them here where I live! One for sale though. I hanker after my Orion, the ease of set up and the covering of all bases. Just need to get my house sold.

A quick question: d’you reckon you’d be able for the Horsehead in an 8” under perfect conditions?

And M35 stolen and added to my own next list, together with Comet C/2019 L3 Atlas.

[John]

42 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

A quick question: d’you reckon you’d be able for the Horsehead in an 8” under perfect conditions?

 

From here, unlikely I would say. On the very, very best nights here I have only just been able to glimpse the HH nebula with my 12 inch dobsonain, using an H-Beta filter.

Under a truly dark sky though, maybe. It has been seen with a 4 inch scope I've read.

This does not mean to say that I won't try now and again though !

Edited December 6, 2021 by John