Horsehead and 12" dob

[mert]

Hi

Today i got a 12" Skywatcher Flextube goto dob, I'm wondering if it's worth getting a h-beta filter to visually observe the Horsehead Nebula?

Thanks

[GazOC]

Hi Mert,

I've not managed it in a 14" Dob and h-beta.

[mert]

Cheers, is that under excellent conditions? Most weekends I can escape Edinburgh and head for Strontian, the skies up that part of Scotland are very dark

[GazOC]

I'd say pretty good but not great conditions, about mag 5 to 5.5. I also don't have the keenest pair of eyes in the world either.....

[NGC 1502]

I have tried to observe the Horsehead through a clubmates 20" and H-beta

filter, from my clubs dark site. Two others definitely saw it, but sadly, as much

as I tried, I could not. I was gutted, but pleased for my mates......

But from that I've concluded that a 20" & that filter can do the job. A lot will

depend on how transparent the sky is.

HTH, Ed.

[mert]

Cheers guys,

20" that's a big scope... Do you think it's worth the gamble buying the filter? I'd love to observe it and i'm sure many others would also.

What do you mean by "transparent"?

[NGC 1502]

Cheers guys,

20" that's a big scope... Do you think it's worth the gamble buying the filter? I'd love to observe it and i'm sure many others would also.

What do you mean by "transparent"?

Not sure I'm afraid, if it's worth getting the filter. The H-beta

is a limited use filter, only helps with a few objects. I think that

you would need ideal conditions to stand a chance of seeing the

Horsehead in a 12". Maybe others may say if they've achieved it.

By transparent, I mean a sky free of haze. So called clear nights,

free of cloud, vary in transparency according to how much haze

& dust etc is present.

Hope that helps, Ed.

[mert]

Hi

Many thanks for the reply, now i see what you mean by transparent skies.

I think I'll flip a coin, it's quite a bit of money to spend on the filter and as you pointed out, limited objects, so it may just sit in the box....

I was going to buy a C11 and spend £2.5k, buying the 12" has saved me £1650 so I could justify it, now I'm trying to convince myself

If I were to purchase the filter any tips on whether I should go for a 1.25" or a 2"

The telescope came with the standard 1.25", 10mm & 25mm eyepieces

But it also came with a 2", 30mm ultra wide angle eyepiece, I believe it's a decent quality eyepiece, it's specs are:

Focal length: 30mm

AFOV:80 degree ultra wide angle

22MM EYE RELIEF

5 ELEMENTS / 3 GROUPS

I'm also thinking of purchasing more 2" eyepieces in the future.

Thanks a lot

[John]

I'd definately go for 2" filters as you already have one 2" eyepiece and plan to get more.

An O-III filter will benefit lots of nebulae - I think the H-Beta only benefits a handfull.

[NGC 1502]

If you do buy any filters, if you go for the 2" size, they will not only fit

your 2" eyepieces, but can also be used with 1.25" EPs, if you get a

2" to 1.25" adaptor that has a thread to take 2" filters. It also means

you can switch 1.25" EPs without the fuss of changing the filter from

one EP to another.

If you do a search for 'David Kniseley astronomy filters' he has done

some excellent articles. If I can find it, will post a link.

All the best in your purchases, Ed.

[NGC 1502]

Here is the Filter advice article, it's quite long, but well

worth reading, Ed.

Filter Performance Comparisons - Article

[GazOC]

Thats a great article.

[mert]

If you do buy any filters, if you go for the 2" size, they will not only fit

your 2" eyepieces, but can also be used with 1.25" EPs, if you get a

2" to 1.25" adaptor that has a thread to take 2" filters. It also means

you can switch 1.25" EPs without the fuss of changing the filter from

one EP to another.

If you do a search for 'David Kniseley astronomy filters' he has done

some excellent articles. If I can find it, will post a link.

All the best in your purchases, Ed.

Thanks for your help, I'll get that adaptor.

Cheers

[mert]

Here is the Filter advice article, it's quite long, but well

worth reading, Ed.

Filter Performance Comparisons - Article

cheers. I'll have a read at that just noe

Thanks

[mert]

Here is the Filter advice article, it's quite long, but well

worth reading, Ed.

Filter Performance Comparisons - Article

Great article, I had a good read at it last night and looked up what objects may be visible from here.

Thanks

[mert]

I ordered a 2" H-Beta filter so it's arriving tomorrow, I think it's worth the gamble, I may upgrade to a bigger dob in the future and I have access to dark skies so I may be lucky.

Thanks again for the input.

Cheers

[Vega]

It took me more than an hours worth of exposure to even get a glimpse of it photographically! Its a shy beast. Never ever seen it in my 10" though the good lord knows I've tried lol

Matt

[mert]

It took me more than an hours worth of exposure to even get a glimpse of it photographically! Its a shy beast. Never ever seen it in my 10" though the good lord knows I've tried lol

Matt

I have access to very dark skies at weekends so i'm keen to try.

[moocher]

I've tried it in my mates 17.5" at kelling last autumn in excellent conditions and failed, and we used a h beta filter....

Alan

[PeterW]

20" from the Isle of Wight it was visible as a slot in IC434. Mag 21.5 skies. Seeing you saved so much money I'd be tempted to frequent the eyepiece section of SGL and get some good quality eyepieces that will see you through your astro career... especially as you have a <f5 scope.

Good luck finding the horsehead..... check out Harrington's Cosmic Challenge book if you are looking for things to tax your skies!

All the best

PEterW

[ollypenrice]

I have a very dark site, mag 7 zenith, and could just see a dark notch in some scarcely visible nebulosity using a UHC flter in our 20 inch f4.1.

Hate to say it but I prefer the camera on this one...

But good luck because it is a great thing to see.

Olly

[mert]

I've tried it in my mates 17.5" at kelling last autumn in excellent conditions and failed, and we used a h beta filter....

Alan

That's a big scope. I've read so many articles now about aperture, some say they have seen it with small scopes through to large, I can only try, even if I see hint of gas in that whole area I'll be happy

[mert]

I have a very dark site, mag 7 zenith, and could just see a dark notch in some scarcely visible nebulosity using a UHC flter in our 20 inch f4.1.

Hate to say it but I prefer the camera on this one...

But good luck because it is a great thing to see.

Olly

Thanks, looks like I may be heading to Astrophotography them

[mert]

20" from the Isle of Wight it was visible as a slot in IC434. Mag 21.5 skies. Seeing you saved so much money I'd be tempted to frequent the eyepiece section of SGL and get some good quality eyepieces that will see you through your astro career... especially as you have a <f5 scope.

Good luck finding the horsehead..... check out Harrington's Cosmic Challenge book if you are looking for things to tax your skies!

All the best

PEterW

Thanks, all these replies are super, giving me an insight as how hard an object it is to observe, what eyepiece size would be best for this object?

Thanks

[pvaz]

I would suspect it may be doable, but very hard. I tried it countless times with my 8". On just one of those I seam to notice a very slight brightness in a line shape, but I'm still not sure if I saw it or if it was wishful thinking. On that particular night the conditions where excellent, the flame nebula was very well defined with noticeable structure.

I also must say I have a lot of trouble detecting hints of color but since a kid I always had very good dark adaptation (for contrast and shapes). I used to camp a lot (with the boy scouts) and I never had problems going around without a flash light when everyone else complained about not seeing a thing. Then again, maybe they ware just scared of the dark!