Mixed Emotions

[MalcolmM]

After a carryout and a bottle of wine and about to head for bed, my partner decided she wanted an hours peace and told me the stars were out! I put on the layers and went out and sure enough, it looked pretty dark as far as it can in suburbia. It's only after midnight I can occasionally get a glimpse/hint of the milky way.

So I took out the 100DC on a Giro Ercole, 12.5mm Tak Abbe, 16mm Nagler and Tak 28mm Erfle. I left the caps on the finder and gotta say that the combination of Erfle and Giro was a pleasure and a delight to use sweeping the skies looking for targets.

I started with M35,36,37,38. They never fail to satisfy! I love giving them time, gazing at them and gradually seeing more and more stars. 

Then the mixed emotions started to hit. I went for a bunch of fuzzies. I got most of them and there is a huge feeling of satisfaction when you see them. Also a huge satisfaction of star hopping to them with no electronic aids. Again a big feeling of awe when you really think about what it is you are actually looking at! But I do admit to a slight feeling of disappointment when all you see is a feint smudge and a desire to move house to a darker site

First off was M81,82. Both obvious but less detail than with a 76DC from a dark site (Malin Head).

Leo triplet next, only it turned out to be a doublet! M95,96 very very feint but no sign of M105.

M65,66 in Leo were similar, I could just about see them as very feint smudges!

Then onto the Plough and M97, the Owl Nebula. I had never looked for this one before. I think I saw it, or sensed it might be a better description! I could not detect the nearby M108 at all! I could pinpoint where it ought to have been but it was a no show!

Then on to M78 in Orion. I thought I had read somewhere that it was a bright reflection Nebula. It may well be a reflection Nebula but I'm not convinced I would call it bright I think I saw it, I'm sure I was looking in the right place but to be fair, Orion was very low by this stage.

The Erfle is fantastic as a finder. It has a huge, easily viewed FOV. And coupled with the Giro it makes star hopping a real pleasure.

The 16mm Nagler also has a big FOV but I find it less satisfying to use. You have to physically look around! I know many love this aspect of the Naglers. That being said, it provides a very sharp view and was great for M35-38 as you get sharp stars, dark background and the feeling of the cluster sitting in space surrounded by ... well space I suppose!

The Abbe 12.5 also gave nice views of the open clusters but the narrower FOV meant you saw the cluster but lost the context; you saw all the stars but lost that feeling of a cluster in space!

So all in all a very enjoyable session, tempered with the desire to move house or at least plan the next holiday somewhere dark  I don't know about the rest of you but I get such a feeling of peace and tranquility when I'm under the stars! 

Malcolm

 

[RobertI]

Nice report. Yes I love the peace and quiet of a nights observing. Those open clusters in Auriga are superb  aren’t they? I understand what you say about the faint fuzzies. Darker skies are definitely the answer, although I find higher mags can help to darken the sky and increase contrast, and  my zoom eyepiece works well for finding the sweet spot. I’ve been deliberating over what eyepiece to get next for my 102ED and concluding that a Baader Zoom is probably most useful. 

[MalcolmM]

9 hours ago, RobertI said:

I’ve been deliberating over what eyepiece to get next for my 102ED and concluding that a Baader Zoom is probably most useful. 

Me too It seems to have a very useful range and seems to be very popular! The only downside I have read about is a quite narrow FOV at the 24mm setting.

But apparently they are great in Binoviewers though that means shelling out for two of them!

Malcolm

 

[RobertI]

6 minutes ago, MalcolmM said:

Me too It seems to have a very useful range and seems to be very popular! The only downside I have read about is a quite narrow FOV at the 24mm setting.

But apparently they are great in Binoviewers though that means shelling out for two of them!

Malcolm

 

Yes agree about the 24mm view being narrow at 50 degrees, although if it makes you feel better my current Seben zoom is only 40 degrees at 24mm!! It's still useful to help find your way to an object, but generally I tend to use the 8mm-16mm range for serious viewing. The Baader has a very useful 68 degrees at 8mm which is a good step up from the 60 degrees of the Seben zoom. If I like the Baader I plan to get another for the binoviewer. Shame there appears to be a waiting list for them. 🙄

[MalcolmM]

11 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Shame there appears to be a waiting list for them

Yes, nowhere seems to have them in stock. I must admit though, from my perspective it's probably no bad thing; an enforced curb on astronomy spending. Well for a month or two maybe

Malcolm

[Nik271]

M78 and M97 are subtle in suburban skies with a 100mm scope.

As it happens I was looking at them too last night with my new Svbony 102 ED refractor and while I could spot them they were not easy. (Several years ago I spent ages trying and failing to spot M97 with a 6 inch reflector, so experience and knowing what to expect really helps.)

For the Owl (M97) an OIII filter helps a lot. I did compare the views and with the filter the nebula become super easy to see.

M108 is a tougher object. Since it's a galaxy filters will not help, only dark skies will make it to stand out. I could barely detect it last night.

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Nik271

[RobertI]

1 hour ago, MalcolmM said:

Yes, nowhere seems to have them in stock. I must admit though, from my perspective it's probably no bad thing; an enforced curb on astronomy spending. Well for a month or two maybe

Malcolm

365 astronomy claim to have two in stock, so I've just pressed the button, let's see what happens!  

[MalcolmM]

Thanks @Nik271, that's all very reassuring to know. I have a UHS filter (read somewhere that OIII really needed 6+ inches) so I'll give that a go with the Owl. Have you used an OIII successfully with the 102ED?

Malcolm

[MalcolmM]

@RobertI shame on you you tempter You're forcing me to exert huge self control! I'll be very interested in your findings.

Malcolm

[Captain Scarlet]

6 hours ago, MalcolmM said:

Thanks @Nik271, that's all very reassuring to know. I have a UHS filter (read somewhere that OIII really needed 6+ inches) so I'll give that a go with the Owl. Have you used an OIII successfully with the 102ED?

Malcolm

I saw the owl for the first time fairly recently and I must say my oiii didn’t make a difference to how noticeable it was. But I am in very dark skies, it was easy without the filter anyway.

Nice read btw.

M

Edited March 5, 2022 by Captain Scarlet

[Stu]

Nice report @MalcolmM. I do get what you mean, even at my new location, where I can see a huge amount more than back in Walton, it still doesn’t feel very dark, and galaxies are pretty indistinct. Open clusters are great though, aren’t they? I found M46 and 47 last night, either for the first time ever, or for a long time, and thought they were lovely.

I enjoyed using the AZ75 push to the other night, really nice to whip around a number of objects but it does also reduce the satisfaction when you get there if it’s just a faint smudge. I used my Leica Zoom for most of that session, it gave me all I needed except for high power on a few doubles.

Luckily I think I'm only about 15 mins from darker skies, and 30 mins from the coast and have plans to get down there very soon.

A larger scope will definitely show you more, but only if you use it!

[mikeDnight]

That's quite a bag of objects you've seen in one night Malcom. It proves three things, first your transparency is pretty good, second  your scope is very capable, and third you are a very capable observer. If you really want to see more with your DC, you might consider a blackout blanket or hood over your head, and then spending time with each target. For example, the Owl despite being subtle, comes to life when you spend fifteen minutes on it in complete darkness under a blackout hood. It's ghostly glow becomes quite bright in the 100mm, and with averted vision the large dark eyes stare back at you quite obviously. Every target you study this way will be seen, along with your FC100DC, in a whole new light.

[Nik271]

7 hours ago, MalcolmM said:

Thanks @Nik271, that's all very reassuring to know. I have a UHS filter (read somewhere that OIII really needed 6+ inches) so I'll give that a go with the Owl. Have you used an OIII successfully with the 102ED?

Malcolm

Yes a couple of times, on the Owl and to tease out the planetary nebula NGC 2438 in M46 a couple of weeks ago.

I guess a UHC filter can be just as suitable depending on the exit pupil. Ignoring magnification you can get large exit pupil (i.e. bright image) with very low power EP in almost any scope. For example in a F7 scope the 32mm Plossl gives you massive 4.5mm exit pupil, so no problem using narrowband filters. This will work well on the large nebulae where you don't need much magnification.

The advantage of a big aperture and fast scope (like e.g. 8+inch Dob) is that you can have both magnification and large exit pupil at the same time, so can zoom in small detail even with a filter and then you will see much more.

Nik 

[MalcolmM]

@Captain Scarlet having been teased by your dark skies recently I'm very envious and certainly hope to visit SW Ireland again!

@StuI've checked out M47,47 in Turn Left at Orion and they look well worth a look. My next targets I think! Walton? Is that Walton on Thames? I used to sail on the reservoir there 30 years ago!

@mikeDnight thanks for your encouraging words and advice. I must learn to be more patient. I find the temptation to try and see many objects hard to resist as I'm wondering when the next clear sky might be!

@Nik271 thanks for the explanation and I can feel the need for a 32mm plossl growing! But I'm afraid a big dob is out of the question until Takahashi make them  I'm always struck though by how much Dob owners love their scopes and I do envy their light gathering power!

Malcolm

[Stu]

15 minutes ago, MalcolmM said:

@StuI've checked out M47,47 in Turn Left at Orion and they look well worth a look. My next targets I think! Walton? Is that Walton on Thames? I used to sail on the reservoir there 30 years ago!

Yes indeed, we lived in Walton-on-Thames for about 14 years, liked it very much, apart from the skies of course.

Have you ever considered a Mewlon, 180 or 210? 👹👹

[MalcolmM]

8 hours ago, Stu said:

Have you ever considered a Mewlon, 180

Ordered a 180 about five weeks ago  After a lot of research I couldn't resist. But that's definitely it now. My long suffering partner is beginning to feel jealous of the Takahashi's

 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, MalcolmM said:

Ordered a 180 about five weeks ago  After a lot of research I couldn't resist. But that's definitely it now. My long suffering partner is beginning to feel jealous of the Takahashi's

 

Excellent. I doubt you will be disappointed. I really enjoyed my 210. Would even consider another now I’ve got the AZ100…. 😱🤪🤣

[MalcolmM]

Sounds to me the AZ100 is just crying out for a 210 How can you refuse

Malcolm