Orion

[johnkirkpatrick]

I decided to stay up this morning to see Orion rise in the south around 2am and WOW, what a difference I saw with my 8" dob compared to my old 5", Stunning is the word, couldn't see the Flame or the Rose neb... I was wondering which filter would I get to enhance the views of these nebulie? and which to bring out more detail in Jupiter and Saturn (when it arrives), And also I viewed Andromeda an the little galaxy beside it both in the same FOV and with averted vision I could make out a bright white core, would a filter bring out more detail on galaxies, I would love to see some dust lanes etc..

[russ]

Hi John,

A narrowband filter like the Orion Ultrablock works like a charm with M42. An OIII filter like the Skywatcher works extremely well with the 200P. Always get the 2" version, not the 1.25". Some of the objects that respond well to these filters are huge and will need a 2" widefield eyepiece to do them justice.

[Beulah]

I can see the Flame Nebula with the 8" Dob, without a filter.

You just angle the telescope so that it is out of the light of the star Alnitak...

It is quite faint, but very memorable.

[Toadeh]

Does orion ever come up at a normal time or is it always silly o'clock?

[al55]

Should be a more reasonable time in December or even November depending on your viewing area.

[johnkirkpatrick]

Hi John,

A narrowband filter like the Orion Ultrablock works like a charm with M42. An OIII filter like the Skywatcher works extremely well with the 200P. Always get the 2" version, not the 1.25". Some of the objects that respond well to these filters are huge and will need a 2" widefield eyepiece to do them justice.

Cheers Russ, The only prob there is that I don't own a 2" ep, and prob wont for some time so I was gona get the 1.25". Would it be a waste of time and money??

I should really find a dark site lol..

[Talitha]

Sam's absolutely right ... tuck Alnitak out of the fov, and the Flame will be more co-operative.

Regarding filters, i've hand-held the 1.25" O-III filter in front of the 2" eyepiece and it worked quite well.

Btw, the Rosette is huge (70'x60') and needs a really wide fov eyepiece. If your field is too narrow, all you'll see of it is a brightening of the background sky, like a glowing fog.