Yippee! Clear Skies: The Pup at Last: 4th Jan 2022 2130-0100: nr Baltimore, Ireland

[Captain Scarlet]

It’s so good to see a whole slew of jubilant observing reports arrive, once we British-Islanders (I include Eire 😊) finally get a band of clear weather; and with a New Moon as added bonus! So here’s my report to add to the mix, over two months since I last got a scope out.

During the morning I cleaned my mirror, removing a dead spider and some stubborn pollen-splat marks. I was therefore expecting my collimation to be out. In fact, having removed and re-attached the primary mirror cell, collimation was still nearly spot on. However, in the dark, the “barlow-shadow” was barely visible, owing to the secondary having dewed up and frozen! I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to run the leads out for the hairdryer, but no such luck. A blast with it sorted the secondary out, and I was ready for alignment, on Polaris and Procyon.

This was also First Light for my new (ridiculous) birthday-boots. I’ve used Uggs for cold dry nights before but they don’t like wet ground. These were perfect! I wasn’t even wearing socks for nearly four hours in -2C.

I had a list which I started compiling in early November, and perusing it, I could see that many objects were now too winter-far-gone for any realistic hope of seeing.

M42 & Trap E & F – After initial alignment, I went straight to M42. I had my 18.2mm eyepiece in giving 100x, and the Great Orion Nebula was as mesmerizing as the first time I saw it through a 12”. The nebulosity seemed 3D: I felt I could reach in and behind the various clouds. And there the Trapezium was, four lovely little steady points. At this magnification, 100x, I could just about make out the E star, and at fleeting moments the F would appear, both extremely faint. I put in the 10mm delos for 183x, and they both leapt out. I think at this stage, having only recently blasted the hairdryer down the tube on max setting, my “local seeing” (i.e. inside the OTA itself) was also still settling down, accounting for the improving steadiness of the E and F. They were both simply “there” for me to look at. Lovely. If the seeing is this good, I thought, the Pup must be a possibility. I’d never yet seen Sirius B despite many attempts over the last 4-5 years.

Sirius and the Pup – A couple of nights previously, on a short binocular session far too windy for a scope, I’d noticed Sirius not twinkling, and through 15x56 binoculars was not a kaleidoscope. I’d wished it wasn’t so windy as seeing was clearly good. As luck would have it, it was the same this night. Sirius was still, and through the eyepiece yes, it was very bright, but more or less steady in its glare and colour. To my amazement and extreme satisfaction I could just about make out, right next to one of the diffraction spikes, a tiny sharp dot come and go. Not unlike Polaris B actually when it appeared. On checking with SS, it was in the correct place. I was delighted, and spent some time persuading myself it wasn’t mere suggestion. Later on in the session, perhaps 90 minutes later, I returned to it and the seeing had deteriorated somewhat and I couldn’t get it. I’d also had to use the hairdryer again which may have affected things. Very pleased, and now I know what to look out for, it may be easier next time. It was a little further out than I was expecting too.

Horsehead Attempt – I tried for Barnard 33 Horsehead next, having put my Panoptic 24 in (76x, 0.89 degrees FoV). This was First Light for my Hb filter, too. No joy at all, with or without the Hb. With the filter, certainly there was more hint of barely-detectable gentle mottling, but no definitive HH shape. Without the filter, the same but brighter. Although the seeing was the best I’ve had, transparency was not. The MW on good nights here slaps you in the face, and tonight it wasn’t like that, there seemed to be a gentle milky sheen going on.

Leo Triplet minus 1 – Through the bins a couple of nights ago and quite high up I was easily able to see M65 and M66, two of the Leo Triplet. Tonight, they were distinctly less impressive notwithstanding my 300mm of aperture. The difference was, I think, the poor transparency and that Leo was still low down in my worst LP-direction, and there was some extra haze going on there too. I moved on quickly.

M1 Crab Nebula – I was keen to see what this looked like through a decent aperture. It was much higher overhead than Leo so I had more hopes. It took me a while to find it, but suddenly as I was panning, this quite bright oval patch streaked across the FoV and there it was. No mistaking it, but also unfortunately no discernable structure to it. The transparency again, I think.

Glitch and Rigel – at this point my Nexus DSC decided it was pointing around 160 degrees from where it actually was, so I had to switch everything off and re-align. I chose Polaris again, and decided I wanted a star in Leo rather than Procyon as I’d used previously. I chose Rigel, that well-known Leo star. So when it slewed off past Leo and into Orion, I suddenly realized I was an idiot. Anyway, it didn’t seem to mind. I checked out Rigel B whilst there, very nice, easy split.

Mirach’s Ghost NGC 404 – one fuzzy target on my list which was doable was Mirach’s Ghost, aka NGC 404: a galaxy in close proximity to Mirach. There was no doubting through the finder where Mirach was, and as soon as I adjusted orientation to centre it, sure enough, just nearby, was a galaxy. Lovely. Tick.

M44 Beehive Cluster – I wanted to check whether I could notice any nebulosity around the stars in the Pleiades, so I instructed my Nexus to take me to M44. Which is not the Pleiades. I was clearly losing my marbles at this stage. The Beehive/Praesepe was of course where it took me, and 0.9degs is far too little FoV for an open cluster like that. However, through the APM 8x50 finder, it did actually look utterly magnificent.

M45 Pleiades after brain-glitch2 – This time I went to the proper Pleiades, and sure enough there was quite a lot of haze around the brighter stars. And I still couldn’t decide whether it was dew or nebulosity. I’ve probably had 4 goes over the years having the same experience and uncertainty. I recall @Stu saying the same thing just yesterday, and it chimed! I removed the eyepiece and gave it a hairdry, similarly for the secondary, and the Paracorr2, and I also tried a different eyepiece straight from the warmer case. The “nebulosity” was there around the brighter stars throughout, so I will, on balance, this time, award myself “Nebulosity” rather than “Dew” 😊 .

Pan 24 with & without Coma Corrector – finally, I decided to do the last thing on my list which was compare views of a cluster through my Panoptic 24mm with and without the coma corrector attached. I recall I undertook to do this during a conversation a few weeks ago. This eyepiece gives me 66x/1.03degs without CC or 76x/0.89degs with. I found coma was definitely noticeable without the corrector, although I could make it disappear by changing the angle of my head: I wear glasses, and I’ve found that changing the angle of my head/the glasses just a little can “collimate” what I’m looking directly at by looking through my glasses at a different angle. I tried this on “unfocussed donuts” too, and I can make them symmetrical at any part of the image by a small tilt of the head. Heaven only knows what other aberrations I introduce though. I’ll have to experiment some more.

Just as I decided to finish, fog and clouds started to obscure the whole sky, so my timing was perfect. And as I type this, 2 days post, the sky is clear but the wind is back: 40mph gusts.

Cheers, Magnus

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Captain Magenta
pics added

[Saganite]

Great report Magnus , great session ,.......love the boots !!.......

[Nicola Fletcher]

Fantastic report Magnus - I think we were all starved for a night out!! I have no idea how you managed without socks - I had two pairs, then a pair of Smartwool socks and North Face snow boots, and was still cold

Really enjoyed your description of the Pup - brilliant to see it at last.

[Alan White]

Wonderful Magnus.
Indeed nice boots, look nice an toasty.

 

[Stu]

Well done on the Pup sir. Still one I haven’t got. The boots look great. I was doing likewise in my Artic Muck boots last night, no socks for some reason and was warm as toast.

I’m beginning to convince myself that I do see nebulosity in M45. I too was ‘dew less’ but I’m never quite sure!

I trust the brain has cleared itself of those cold weather glitches! Hopefully a warming reset with a glass of something nice will have done the trick.

I need to get a decent sized scope out next time the skies clear. All these reports of ‘E and F being easy’ are making me jealous! Perhaps I’ll get the 8” f8 out soon.

Thanks for the report, an excellent read.

[wookie1965]

Fantastic read Magnus and some great objects there I've seen the pup once I thought I may get it when I split Rigel which is supposed to be a indicator to the seeing and transparency. 

The Leo trio still eludes me as does M51 from home. 

[MalcolmM]

Really enjoyed reading that report @Captain Magenta. Send some of your clear sky up North for me please  I also have made the M44/45 error a number of times and it always leads to a momentary  feeling of panic of being utterly lost, quickly followed by blaming your equipment, then finally realising your stupidity! You'd think with it being one of the most well known and conspicuous objects in the sky ... I bet they never had trouble finding the Pleiades in the old days before hi-tech 

Malcolm

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, Nicola Fletcher said:

... I have no idea how you managed without socks ...

haha the photo does the boots no justice at all! they are far more crazy than they look, they're lined with what looks like a removable foil-looking thermal liner too! Impossibl;e to drive in them I reckon

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Well done on the Pup sir.

...

Perhaps I’ll get the 8” f8 out soon.

Thank you.

With your new skies not having got your 8" out yet surely is some sort of crime?

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

Fantastic read Magnus and some great objects there I've seen the pup once I thought I may get it when I split Rigel which is supposed to be a indicator to the seeing and transparency.

Thanks. I think Rigel is too easy a test for "pup prep". Based on my very limited experience I'd say Trapezium F being in plain view is a better guide, though I have seen that too a few times now and only the Pup this once, despite trying every time.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Captain Magenta

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

Thank you.

With your new skies not having got your 8" out yet surely is some sort of crime?

Absolutely! Guilty as charged Yer ‘onour! I blame disorganisation making it tricky to get to. Must try harder!

[JeremyS]

Super report Magnus and congratulations on the pesky Pup 👍🏻

[Zermelo]

Congratulations Magnus. I just hope that 2022 carries on the way it has started (in the skies, at any rate).

Can new boots have "first light", or is it more a case of "first mud"?

[Stardaze]

Great report and congratulations on the pup. I had my similar boots on too that night and could barely walk in them, let alone driving in them 😲

I keep forgetting about the crab, must add it to a list for next time.

[Whistlin Bob]

Really good report and congratulations on the pup 👍

I have spent quite a lot of time with optical fluid and hairdryers trying to clean the nebulosity off the Pleiades 🤦‍♂️ I was only really convinced when I realised you can actually see the granularity in some of the brighter stuff, especially if you wobble your scope a little. Once you get your eye in you can see fainter stuff extending well beyond the cluster- especially if your scope is gently moving.

[Stardaze]

The nebulosity does mimic similar to when your EP is starting to dew up, I’ve found that too and almost reached for the dryer. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Stardaze

[niallk]

Great report @Captain Magenta!  Those boots look the biz alright 👍 

Nice one on the Pup - I've never had any success seeing it!

One of these days I might take the plunge on a Hb and try for the HH, but I rarely see the Flame well - those really transparent nights are few and far between- but oh what a difference they do make when they do come along!

Great read,

-Niall

Edited January 9, 2022 by niallk