Dumbbell neb

[johnkirkpatrick]

Found it for the first time last night and although I smiled when I realised what it was I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed as it was only a grey blotch in the sky, No detail or any hint of colour.

I was never expecting much in the way of detail but slightly more than I got. would a filter help here? I think my scope doesn't handle the deep sky very well lol, I'm also yet to see my first spiral arm on a galaxy, I wont give up though lol

[Talitha]

Do you have any light pollution? If so, a UHC or O-III filter would help pull out the structure on the nebula.

[Doc]

I agree an O111 makes alot of difference with this object.

[dobbie]

am i right in thinking that oiii filter is better for photography and uhc for visual? or am i way off the mark..

[Nexus 6]

John,

OIII filters are better if you do have light pollution and although UHC will be ok they really works best in dark skies.

Alan

[Talitha]

Dobbie, the O-III and the UHC are fine for visual work.

I'm not sure of they're used for imaging or not.

[SiriusB]

John, whats your light pollution like? Shouldn't be too bad in Galloway i'd imagine?

m27 always has a hint of green to me even in a wee scope.

Indeed "The Messier Album" by Mallas & Kreimer describes m27 as "one of the few planetaries to show vivid color in a small telescope" -"vivid" being relative i guess.

Bear in mind also that m27 is almost out of season in the uk at the momment. By that i mean you'd have to catch it early in the night to see it at a reasonable altitude.

[johnkirkpatrick]

light pollution is not bad at all, and i viewed it around 7pm no colour and just made out its shape, which mag is best for this?, I found on that night my 15mm shown best

[SiriusB]

John, even at 30x i find it quite pleasing,Its hard to say what mag is best-really depends on sky conditions, 50x for me is about right on an average night, but thats with a mere 80mm.so equivalent for you would be 125x ish, what suits my eyes may not suit yours however.The 15mm should give you a real good view on the right night.

As far as the colour goes, think "Dulux white with a hint of green" rather than "Kawasaki lime green"- it is subtle.

[Talitha]

I've found that for the brightest view of a diffuse object, it's best to power down. The objects appear brighter in a low power eyepiece because it's exit pupil is larger than that of a higher power eyepiece, which allows more light from the object to make it to my eye. Depending on the object, i might be able to kick up the power and catch a bit of structure despite the smaller exit pupil.

To figure out the exit pupil of an eyepiece, divide it's focal length (15mm, 25mm) by your scope's focal ratio (f/__).

[jwallis]

Now that Talitha, is a big help, thank you kindly.

[MartinB]

A UHC filter works a treat on M27. It specifically lets through Ha and OIII which is just what you want. It isn't narrow band so is fine for visual. It is effective at cutting out light pollution so I'm not sure why Alan feels it works best at a dark sky site. However, it isn't a LP filter as such since it will not give good results on non emission targets such as galaxies and globs.

[pvaz]

For the spiral arms try M51on every chance you got. M51 was the only galaxy where I was able to see it. With my 8" I need a very dark sky and a steady night to see it. Use something around 80x, more it gets too dim, less it gets too small.

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

[Talitha]

Now that Talitha, is a big help, thank you kindly.

You're welcome.

[philj]

I agree Talitha, the temptaion is to use a medium mags to improve contrast but the best views Ive had on this are with just say 20 to 30x and an OIII filter. The lower mag keeps the object small and bright so the light loss through the OIII filter will not be so marked. Even without an OIII filter its still advisable to keepo the mags down and if you have an LP filter that will improve contrast and darken the background sky a bit.

Philj

[SiriusB]

I agree Talitha, the temptaion is to use a medium mags to improve contrast ....Even without an OIII filter its still advisable to keepo the mags down and if you have an LP filter that will improve contrast and darken the background sky a bit.

Philj

You've got me a bit confused now guys.

M27's a "bright" mag 7.3ish object of relatively small dimensions & high surface brightness(i think), so should take magnification better than many deep sky objects will?

Without a filter in place( i don't think John mentioned whether he has one or not) wouldn't bumping the magnification up a bit be helpful to show this one at its best? Especially as John has 200mm of aperture to play with unlike myself.

[johnkirkpatrick]

I found that I could see shape better at x60 but as I went higher It got darker and fuzzier, I don't have any filters of any sort. As for colour or even a hint of colour was a no go at any mag. Defo no detail either.

Pvas. I have tried and failed looking for M51. I know where to look but never noticed anything not even a smudge. I do try everytime am out when it higher the sky. Finding M81 & M82 ( I think thats their name) just further to the right of the Plough is no problem and both fit in the same field of view.

I struggle to focus on the globular cluster hercules, The outer stars seem ok but most a grey patch towards the centre.

[SiriusB]

I found that I could see shape better at x60 but as I went higher It got darker and fuzzier, I don't have any filters of any sort. As for colour or even a hint of colour was a no go at any mag. Defo no detail either...

....I struggle to focus on the globular cluster hercules, The outer stars seem ok but most a grey patch towards the centre.

Keep trying John, & don't be unduly concerned -it took me more years than i care to admit to even see Jupiters red spot!-& it still doesn't look red to me

How do you find the Orion nebula-, any subtle hint of colour there?

As far as m13 in hercules goes, sounds like your focusings fine- you're partly resolving the cluster. Maybe Pvaz could advise what to expect in an 8"?

I've only seen it in significantly smaller/bigger scopes.

One of the most beautiful things i've ever seen in my life in a 12"... tiny diamonds in the sky.Oooh the memories giving me aperture fever!

[umadog]

Personally, I don't see colour in any of these DSOs with a 12".

M81 and M82 are more compact and brighter than M51, so they are easier targets.