Orion

[jumpclone]

hey

had a couple hours in garden tonight, as was clear skies till round about now, they started rolling in, anyway, got my first look at the great nebula of orion tonight (M42?) was an amazing sight. didn't think i would be able to see much with my scope, but it certainly proved me wrong, it was nice to see using a 25mm EP, then i moved down to the 9mm = stunning, one thing i was completly wrong about, all these pics i have seen of the nebula, fantastic pinks/purples etc, i didn't realize when looking through scope with naked eye, that the image would be black & white, my newbness i guess. couldn't get any pics either as FLO still haven't sent the cam nosepiece adaptor. payed for it couple weeks back, and they say its still not in stock.

Also tried to find the Cone Nebula (but failed) was searching between Betelgeuse & Procyon but just couldn't seem to find it at all.

anyway all in all was a great night,can't wait for the adaptor to come

[John]

I'm glad you had a good couple of hours on Orion tonight

I'd get in touch with FLO if I were you (given them a ring - they are friendly folks). I'm sure they will do everything they can to help get the adaptor ASAP.

Are you going to try some lunar planetary shots with your web cam ?.

[jumpclone]

yes definetly lunar shots. i got my moon filter here waiting also, will try shots with and without the filter, moon doesn't rise in the uk till morning atm so no moon at night yet, could try some daytime shots i guess assuming its clear, i will also be imaging saturn and jupiter, i tried the scope out on the moon a couple weeks back, even with my scope and a 6.3mm EP, i was able to view a single crater was crazy

Edit: i rang FLO this morning, they told me they just hadn't got stock atm, and will send as soon as it comes in, they also told me to try scopes & skies, and they would refund the money, but i'll wait a bit longer i guess.

Date Notes for february

3 New Moon (New Moon at 02:31)

6 Apogee (Moon at its furthest from Earth)

7 Moon close to Jupiter

11 Half Moon

18 Full Moon

19 Perigee (Moon at its nearest to Earth)

21 Moon close to Saturn

24 Half Moon

moon notes for this month

[Lobot]

I managed to get a good view of the Orion Nebula tonight too before the cloud came over (again).

I'm hoping to get an even better view when my Barlow lens arrives.

I'm not sure whether a filter will help show definition for the planets and moon. Could one type be used for them all or do you need different types?

[jumpclone]

Quick thing i found on filters.

#8 Light Yellow - 83% VLT

A light yellow filter helps to increase the detail in the maria on Mars, enhance detail in the belts on Jupiter, increase resolution of detail in large telescope when viewing Neptune and Uranus, and enhance detail on the moon in smaller scopes

#11 Yellow Green - 78% VLT

Yellow-Green helps to bring out dark surface detail on Jupiter and Saturn, darkens the maria on Mars, and improves visual detail when viewing Neptune and Uranus through large telescopes.

#12 Yellow - 74% VLT

Yellow filters help greatly in viewing Mars by bringing out the polar ice caps, enhancing blue clouds in the atmosphere, increasing contrast, and brightening desert regions. Yellow also enhances red and orange features on Jupiter and Saturn and darkens the blue festoons near Jupiter's equator.

#21 Orange - 46% VLT

An orange filter helps increase contrast between light and dark areas, penetrates clouds, and assists in detecting dust storms on Mars. Orange also helps to bring out the Great Red Spot and sharpen contrast on Jupiter.

#23A Light Red - 25% VLT

Light red filters help to make Mercury and Venus stand out from the blue sky when viewed during the day. Used in large telescopes, light red sharpens boundaries and increases contrast on Mars, sharpens belt contrast on Jupiter, and brings out surface detail on Saturn.

#25A Red - 14% VLT

Red provides maximum contrast of surface features and enhances surface detail, polar ice caps, and dust clouds on Mars. Red also reduces light glare when looking at Venus. In large telescopes, a red filter sharply defines differences between clouds and surface features on Jupiter and adds definition to polar caps and maria on Mars.

#38A Dark Blue - 17% VLT

Dark blue provides detail in atmospheric clouds, brings out surface phenomena, and darkens red areas when viewing Mars. Dark blue also increases contrast on Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter in large scopes.

#47 Violet - 3% VLT

Violet is recommended only for use on large telescopes. A violet filter enhances lunar detail, provides contrast in Saturn's rings, darkens Jupiter's belts reduces glare on Venus, and brings out the polar ice caps on Mars.

#56 Light Green - 53% VLT

Light Green enhances frost patches, surface fogs, and polar projections on Mars, the ring system on Saturn, belts on Jupiter and works as a great general-purpose filter when viewing the Moon.

#58 Green - 24% VLT

Dark green increases contrast on lighter parts of Jupiter's surface, Venutian atmospheric features, and polar ice caps on Mars. Dark green will also help bring out the cloud belts and Polar Regions of Saturn.

#80A Blue - 30% VLT

A Blue filter provides detail in atmospheric clouds on Mars, increases contrast on the moon, brings out detail in belts and polar features on Saturn, enhances contrast on Jupiter's bright areas and cloud boundaries. A blue filter is also useful in helping to split the binary star Antares when at maximum separation.

#82A Light Blue - 73% VLT

Light blue functions much the same as #80A Blue while maintaining overall image brightness. Light blue will also help to increase structure detail when looking at galaxies.

[Lobot]

Wow thanks.I think i've got a lot to learn.

[jumpclone]

hehe, still learning myself all the time,just want to dive into some astrophotagraphy now,, near on 2 weeks since i ordered the nosepiece adaptor, and no stock in flo still,,

[spacebloke]

Orion was the first nebula I saw too (only last week in fact). I prefer to look at it through a 25mm or even a 32 mm eyepiece. I don't know whether it was my eyes but i'm sure I could see a little blue in orion.

[ollypenrice]

Hi,

At the EP the Cone and Rosette nebulae are very dfficult unless you have a truly outstanding dark site and clear sky. I never saw them in the UK. In fact the Cone I don't think I've ever seen, but I have imaged it a few times.

In low light levels the eye loses sensitivity to colour but clings on to changes in level of light, effectively dropping down to greyscale in order to get at least some information into the brain when in near darkness. Evolutionary magic.

Olly