Elusive Targets

[Sunshine]

Are there any targets which have been elusive or disappointing for you? that target you’ve tried many times but never quite had a decent look at it based on what others have described. For me it’s both Mercury and Venus, they are always low and extremely bright, a bad combination of atmospheric conditions being so low on the horizon and their brightness doesn’t help. These are two targets which I was never quite satisfied with their appearance.

[jetstream]

I bought my 24" and thought I'd strut right into seeing Einsteins Cross... after many many attempts I got the lensing galaxy and a flick of light held for a bit, a couple of times. Nothing I can really confirm though. Yeah so much for seeing the actual Cross lol Another one I have a hard time with is the Eridanus Loop. Actually there is a whole pile of objects that give me a hard time come to think of it 😐

[JeremyS]

In general: Mars. Wait ages “for it to come around again”, then struggle to see much detail. It’s generally small and then when it’s large at a perihelic opposition, the seeing low down is poor. 
But then there are those rare, stable nights…..

[Littleguy80]

Sirius B aka The Pup. It’s one of those that I really feel I should have been able to see by now but never have. I don’t do a great deal of double star observing so maybe it’s just my skills aren’t sufficiently honed for this. 

[scarp15]

Elusive targets; plenty where do you start.

Lets begin with Barnard's Merope Nebula. This tiny patch catalogued as IC349 is actually 15x brighter than the highly regarded Merope Nebula. Yet it is rather close to the very bright glare of Merope and thus is a very hard target to visually spot. E.E. Barnard himself discovered the nebula using a 36" refractor. There is an observers account at high magnification (428x)  employing a 15" dob, nudging Merope out of the field and thirty minutes of eye straining averted vision; to ultimately gain a momentary 'slither'.  I have had a go with my 14", needless to say unsuccessful.    

[wookie1965]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

Sirius B aka The Pup. It’s one of those that I really feel I should have been able to see by now but never have. I don’t do a great deal of double star observing so maybe it’s just my skills aren’t sufficiently honed for this. 

I have caught it once when I had my 5" refractor I had to move Sirius just out of the FOV to spy it.

[wookie1965]

Through my own scopes from home M51 is my nemesis even having the 10" dob now I have not got it. 

[scarp15]

6 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Through my own scopes from home M51 is my nemesis even having the 10" dob now I have not got it. 

Yep certainly from home, yet your 10" will deliver M51 if you could ever get to a dark sky specifically with this mind.  

[Littleguy80]

8 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Through my own scopes from home M51 is my nemesis even having the 10" dob now I have not got it. 

M51 in a 10” under dark skies is a special sight as Iain says. Great that you can get it from home now, Paul  

[scarp15]

Another visually tricky subject, that I had a go at a few years ago is The Ghost of Cassiopeia; primarily IC63 and comprising IC59. Illuminated by the star Gamma Cassiopeia, there are splendid images capturing the ethereal presence of this nebula, captured at its most revealing by Hubble. Again the glare from its host star makes this a very difficult visual subject, yet on one occasion I did manage to glimpse the brighter cone shaped element (averted vision, fleetingly) using my 14" dob and a TV plossl (cannot recall whether the 20mm or 25mm). 

[scarp15]

Conversely a subject that (in my opinion) I do not consider as necessarily elusive, at least a proportion of, is Barnard's Loop. There are much more challenging (with moderate size aperture) galaxy clusters to grasp than this very subtle nebula. Ascertained by a traditional observers approach, does require knowledge, skill and curbing ones expectation to what can (barely) be seen. Yet a slice of Barnard's Loop , is not determined by aperture and so long as there is excellent transparency (dark skies of course etc), is dependably accomplished.  

[wookie1965]

2 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Yep certainly from home, yet your 10" will deliver M51 if you could ever get to a dark sky specifically with this mind.  

I'm going the Brecon Beacons May bank holiday in a cottage surrounded by 31 acres of land with my family, I just hope I get at least one clear night so I can show them some great objects. 

[jetstream]

3 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

I have caught it once when I had my 5" refractor I had to move Sirius just out of the FOV to spy it.

Excellent catch!

[jetstream]

55 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

I'm going the Brecon Beacons May bank holiday in a cottage surrounded by 31 acres of land with my family, I just hope I get at least one clear night so I can show them some great objects. 

A 10" f5 ish dob is a very capable scope and last night did very well. M101 offset spirals and HII, Leo Triplet bright and stunning and M81/M82 showcase bright. I like a 17mm ish EP on these.  These days I'm liking bright objects as compared to mostly finding very faint things. M51 is tough- I saw the spirals last night and bridge but its still tough to bring the details out. Seeing 2 separate galaxies is easy but to bring out detail play with the mags. IMHO

Great luck to you!

[scarp15]

Would consider an elusive; large object of low surface brightness and not too easy to locate to be the Medusa Nebula. Worth while a look for though, as I recall responds to an OIII filter.

[Nyctimene]

Moon: the concentric crater Marth in Palus Epidemiarum. Spotted the outer ring, 6.5 kms diameter, many times easily, but never the inner ring (located deeper). Hesiodus A close by is way more easy. Guess, I'll have to wait for the combination of good seeing and favourable illumination.

Deep Sky: Coddington's Nebula (IC 2574), a member of the M 81/82 group. Not listed in the NSOG (Night Sky Observer's Guide). Due to it's low surface brightness of 14.6, this 10.4 mag dwarf galaxy in UMa needs very dark skies and high transparency to be visible as an extended (13x5 arc min!) dim glow. Many times, when observing M 81/82 and other members of the group, I've tried to spot this elusive target, and only twice, IIRC, was successful, many years ago. Maybe, I'll try the observation with very large exit pupils (8 mm and beyond). Could be a first experience to reach the even more elusive IFN's (Intergalactic Flux Nebulas), I've never tried; but I think, I'll have to wait for the minimum of the sunspot cycle (too much skyglow atm).

Stephan

Edited April 9, 2023 by Nyctimene

[Nik271]

Rima Sharp in Mare Frigoris on the Moon. Looked for it many times with 5 inch Mak, but just barely got a glimpse of it once. The illumination has to be just right, and the seeing needs to be excellent, both at the same night do not seem to occur for me.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Nik271

[Guest]

I don't generally have issues finding stuff but i have been disappointed with the results of one target so far and that is M1.... The Crab Nebula.  It definitely isnt all that and a big bag of chips.  

Edited April 9, 2023 by Mike Q

[Roy Challen]

From my garden; all DSOs

[cajen2]

1 hour ago, Roy Challen said:

From my garden; all DSOs

Likewise!