Observing at 3am from the Weeds 15.09.22

[Ratlet]

I picked up an SVBONY UHC filter and an M54 extension.  Because of my work schedule I need to leave at 0430 and work 12 hour shifts...  Guess I'm getting up at 0200.  I'd also done a bit of playing with the collimation, so hopefully it'll be a bit better.  Setup by 0300

The moon was at something like 80% illuminated so not ideal observing conditions.  Kicked off by checking the Quickguider alignment on Jupiter with the 32mm.  The moons were a nice spread and everything was dialled in nicely.

First thing I spotted was that my usual targets were all gone!  Not used to observing at that time.  Having a look around I could see M45 was pretty high up (about 45 degrees) so kicked off with that.  Decided to commit to a sketch of it.  No nebulosity visible (not sure if you could see any with a 130PDS at x20) but some very interesting star patterns.  I think I might have to invest in a tracking mount for sketching.

By the time I got my sketch finished Orion was starting to clear the tree line (20 degrees).  I could almost make out the belt but needed to move further back in the garden.  Ended up stood in the weeds by my ferret run but the belt was clear and the sword moving up.  Threw the scope at Mintaka just to have a look.  Didn't realise that it was a double, but managed to split it.  I could have sworn the secondary was a pale blue but this could have been due to the proximity to the moon.  Next I had a look at Bellatrix.  There was a nice little grouping of stars to the North that in the Newtonian looked like a handbag so I decided to do a sketch of that, mostly because the idea of Bellatrix La'Strange swinging a handbag is somewhat funny.  Whilst doing the sketch 2 satellites went through the FOV at almost the exact same time.  Pretty cool.

M42 FINALLY cleared the tree line and could make out a definite area of nebulosity through the scope.  I didn't do much with the with 32mm and dropped in the 8mm BST.  There was a definite line and blob going on, but decided to test out the UHC filter.  This definitely improved the contrast.  The nebulisty extended for what felt like the entire field of view north and south.  It looked a bit like one of the Shadow's ships from Babylon 5.  HAving largely observed things that were round and nebulous this was really cool to see.  I could faintly make out M43.  It felt like every time I adjusted the scopes position there was some new/more nebulosity moving with it.

Unfortunately it was getting to 0420 so I had to call it a night.

Conclusions:

The UHC filter is a definite help for M42, even with the moon out.

The M54 extension doesn't really work, it is not screwed in properly and I'm not sure if it is tilted.  I think I might try to get a refund for it and instead get an 2" Extension and a parafocal ring for the 2" to 1.25" reducer as all my eyepieces are 1.25".  I'm looking for an alternative as the supplied extension with the 130PDS means I can't get focus without my glasses on as it it too long.

I need to draw more circles on my sketch book before I go out.  I ran out of circles and left my compass inside.  I would have liked to sketch M42 but between not having the compass, being stuck in the weeds and running out of time I couldn't.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Ratlet

[Epick Crom]

G'Day Ratlet. Nice report, that group of stars close to Bellatrix has caught my eye in the past too. It is the open cluster Dolidze 17. Wishing you clear skies!

Edited September 15, 2022 by Epick Crom

[Ratlet]

12 minutes ago, Epick Crom said:

G'Day Ratlet. Nice report, that group of stars close to Bellatrix has caught my eye in the past too. It is the open cluster Dolidze 17. Wishing you clear skies!

Thanks Epik!  It caught my eye as soon as I saw it.  I didn't check to see if it was named.  It's funny having googled it there isn't very much information on it and the other members of the catalogue.  I'm hoping this doesn't turn into yet another rabbit hole for me to fall down!

[Kon]

Nice report and sketches.

[Nyctimene]

Nice and vivid report; love the "handbag" star cluster drawing (never observed Dolize 17, but will have a look at it).

12 hours ago, Ratlet said:

No nebulosity visible (not sure if you could see any with a 130PDS at x20)

Your scope will show the Pleiades nebulosities quite well, but you will need good (winter) transparency and dark skies. Your work schedule seems to support this.....

Many of the main Pleiades stars are embedded in reflecting nebulas; most obvious is the Merope nebula (with an NGC number - 1435), extending S from Merope, with a roughly triangular shape. If you are not sure, whether you spotted it, there is an easy trick. Compare the two sides of Ally's (=Alcyone's) Braid - that's the lovely star chain extending from Alcyone to the S (shown as a curved line of stars in your first and third drawing). If the E side of the chain is dark, but the W side somewhat "brighter", you have spotted the Merope nebula. You can try this with the other Pleiades stars/nebulas as well. Low magnification helps; and it's important to keep your optics free from fogging up. Use an observing hood or a dark towel for better contrast.

Added: a drawing by Mel Bartels of the extremely faint "Pleiades Bubble", surrounding the star cluster, with a 6" f/2.8:

Hth.

Stephan

[Ratlet]

Cheers Stephan,

That's really helpful.  I'm glad you enjoyed the report and I appreciate the advice on spotting nebulosity.  That'll be really helpful going forward.

It's really hard to explain how much fun it is to observe.  It's no like you are looking at a picture and it never changes.  As your eye adapts you see more, as you recognise the shapes and the patterns you see more.

I'm thinking about getting an eye patch.  I find covering my other eye relaxes my face and makes observing easy.  It feels like it might also improve the ability for my open eye see.  I already use a hoody, but I will look into an observing hood.  My wife is an excellent seamstress so she will be happy to help me on that front.

Last night was also a test of some dew shields I made for the scope and quickfinder.  They worked very well and this was my first session I wasn't dewed out.

I'm thinking about changin up my observation log book.  I'm thinking of doing 2 columns per observation.  One for the observation sketch and one for a sketch of an astrophoto if the same FOV of the object.  It'll help me practice technique, give me something to do when it's cloudy and maybe help me see more when observing.

[Ratlet]

Just trying to work out some stuff from the sketch, it was 2 starkkink satellites that went past Bellatrix. 1434 and 4036.

[Epick Crom]

+1 for the eye patch! It works very well for me and enables you to see more clearly and with more comfort. Plus my wife says it makes me look cool 🤣

Edited September 15, 2022 by Epick Crom

[Froeng]

Excellent report! A black observing cloth makes a HUGE difference! Highly recommended. Lovely sketches!