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Observing >> Deep Sky Observing

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northernontario
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 07/01/09

Loc: Porcupine, Ontario Canada

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: blb]
#4988960 - 12/28/11 06:36 PM

Thanks for the advice Buddy.

I am going to take another shot at it tonight.

It will be cold, but seeing and transparancy will be above average. The last time I saw the little bit of Nebula transparancy was also above average and it was also cold.

I'll post my results.

Thank you.

jake

Post Extras:

Carol L

Reged: 07/05/04

Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: blb]
#4989331 - 12/28/11 11:50 PM Attachment (217 downloads)

Quote:

If you can see the nebula IC 434, then follow it south untill it appears to end and continue on to where it picks back up in about 5 to 6 arc minutes.

I did it a bit backwards with the 8"SCT.

Instead of following IC434, i first determined the exact location of the Horsehead.

As indicated in the attached 16LB sketch, the Horsehead is a corner of a triangle formed with two similar-magnitude stars. One of the stars has a dimmer companion, so it's easy to determine which stars to use for the triangle.

After determining the exact location of B33, i settled down and waited until IC434 seemed as bright as it was going to get. Then it was just a matter of using the stars as guideposts, and letting my averted vision detect the (rather large) break in IC434's faint luminosity.

Post Extras:

MikeRatcliff
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/12/04

Loc: Redlands, CA

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: Carol L]
#4990407 - 12/29/11 03:31 PM

Two nights ago the Horsehead and bright nebula were the best I had seen. I could see some light under the nose area, making the usual-to-me blob shape, as shown in Carol's nice sketch, a little more like the horse head shape seen in pictures. This was with a 16" with an H-Beta. This view was confirmed with another 20" scope and several other observers, also with the H-beta. Two sky meters were showing 21.4. Transparency seemed pretty good, and the zodiacal light from the western horizon up to Jupiter was easy to see.

Edited by MikeRatcliff (12/29/11 03:32 PM)

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northernontario
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 07/01/09

Loc: Porcupine, Ontario Canada

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: MikeRatcliff]
#4993919 - 12/31/11 12:06 PM

On the night of Dec 28th, I tried again. I was able to see a slight string of nebula, I tried to follow it to the correct area, but it dissappeared on me.

I am using an Omega NPB filter.

No heartaches however. The thrill of the chase outweighs any dissappointment.

jake

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David Knisely
Postmaster

Reged: 04/19/04

Loc: southeastern Nebraska

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: northernontario]
#4994381 - 12/31/11 03:38 PM

Quote:

On the night of Dec 28th, I tried again. I was able to see a slight string of nebula, I tried to follow it to the correct area, but it dissappeared on me.

I am using an Omega NPB filter.

No heartaches however. The thrill of the chase outweighs any dissappointment.

jake

While I have seen the Horsehead a number of times with my NPB filter from my dark sky site, the object always shows up best in the H-Beta filter. I find that an exit pupil of around 3mm to 4mm in size tends to work best on the Horsehead, so you might make sure you are somewhere near that range. Clear skies to you.

Post Extras:

Richard Low
professor emeritus

Reged: 11/27/05

Loc: Singapore

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: David Knisely]
#5009965 - 01/10/12 12:28 AM

I first saw the Horsehead nebula a few years ago in a 10" Teleport with a Pentax 40XL eyepiece and H-beta filter, seen direct without using averted vision.I had also seen it with averted vision in my 11" f/5 dob using an Ultrablock filter with Pentax 40xw eyepiece. It does appear bigger than i thought

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RolandosCY
super member

Reged: 01/02/09

Loc: Nicosia, Cyprus

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: Richard Low]
#5014888 - 01/13/12 03:27 AM

Hi there,

Keep trying for the HorseHead! IMO, provided you are under reasonably dark skies (4 on the Bortle is enough), the atmosphere is really the limiting factor. With my friend Foehummer we tried during 2007 many times with uncerain success from various sites. During February 2008 we had our first confirmed sighting using a 10" dob from our regular dark site (which can get to mag 7 or better at the zenith, easily Bortle 2). Then, on the night of January 1st, observing from a seashore site only 10 miles south of a 75,000 people city and a major airport, but under fantastic conditions, we had a much easier time!

Of course, my sighting during November 2009 will remain unforgettable:

Here

The use of H-beta certainly helps, but I strongly believe that the transparency is THE most important factor!

Edited by TMK (01/21/12 07:26 AM)

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RolandosCY
super member

Reged: 01/02/09

Loc: Nicosia, Cyprus

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: RolandosCY]
#5014890 - 01/13/12 03:36 AM Attachment (218 downloads)

By the way, talking about the use of H-beta, here is a drawing I made on 18 November 2009 WITHOUT the filter...

Post Extras:

RolandosCY
super member

Reged: 01/02/09

Loc: Nicosia, Cyprus

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: RolandosCY]
#5014891 - 01/13/12 03:37 AM Attachment (208 downloads)

Quote:

By the way, talking about the use of H-beta, here is a drawing I made on 18 November 2009 WITHOUT the filter...

...And one with the Lumicon H-beta filter...

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nytecam
Postmaster

Reged: 08/20/05

Loc: London UK

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: N. Ham]
#5015318 - 01/13/12 11:36 AM

Some great sketches there

I don't have the luxury of dark skies or access to them hence I work from my London backyard via brief snaps of Horsehead with my cam eg wideangle and closeup - latter under moonlight

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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster

Reged: 04/08/02

Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: nytecam]
#5025298 - 01/18/12 05:47 PM

I had quite a nice view of B33 last Sunday night through a 22" f/3.6 SDM Dob, a 21mm Tele Vue Ethos, and an Astronomik H-Beta filter.

Dave Mitsky

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rtroxel
super member

Reged: 08/14/06

Loc: Maryland, USA

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: N. Ham]
#5032472 - 01/22/12 03:43 PM

I've seen it twice, under very dark skies:

1. Villanueva State Park,NM, on April, 2008. It was early in the evening, and Orion was low in the southwest, but I saw B33, as a shimmering black blob, larger than I had expected, using a 12.5" dob and Orion Lanthanum 22mm EP, with a Lumicon H-Beta filter.

2. Cherry Springs State Park, PA, in Sept, 2009. Saw B33 through a 15" Obsession. Don't know the EP. As the object rose higher in the eastern sky, the horsehead shape became very obvious.

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Kraus
sage

Reged: 03/10/12

Loc: Georgia.

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: deepskydarrell]
#5122213 - 03/14/12 03:53 PM

Herr Ham,

You mean there is someone else in Middle Georgia with a telescope?

I have an LX-200 fourteen inch. And boy oh boy does it collect any and all light.

I live north of the city so my southern sky is a tad illuminated.

Kraus

Edited by Kraus (03/14/12 03:54 PM)

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Starboat
member

Reged: 03/14/12

Loc: Texas

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: N. Ham]
#5124727 - 03/16/12 12:21 AM

I've been lucky enough to see the horsehead several times, but never through less than 18", good darkness, and an H-beta filter. And as noted here, it's better described as a thumb in the pudding, because seeing IC434 is the key. But recently down at the OzSky Safari in Australia, I was fortunate to view it through a 30" scope. I could see the snout with direct vision. The complete chess piece easily. It was astounding

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David Knisely
Postmaster

Reged: 04/19/04

Loc: southeastern Nebraska

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: Starboat]
#5124816 - 03/16/12 01:55 AM

Last night, I could just barely see the Horsehead from my magnitude 5.5 driveway using my 14 inch f/4.6 Newtonian and the DGM Optics NPB filter. It is a lot easier with the H-Beta, but I kind of wanted to see if I could still do it from my home with just the narrow-band NPB filter. Nice to see that the NPB could still do the job even though just barely. Clear skies to you.

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stmguy
super member

Reged: 10/11/12

Loc: Western NH

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: Carol L]
#5485409 - 10/23/12 02:42 PM Attachment (46 downloads)

Excellent sketch Carol , that will be a big help to me the next time I try to locate it. I tried last year with my 10" F4 but no joy. I've been busy on my observatory so once I get some time I'll give it another try

I think I was close with my DSI but just couldn't find it
Thanks
Norm

Edited by stmguy (10/23/12 06:48 PM)

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Carol L

Reged: 07/05/04

Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: stmguy]
#5486145 - 10/23/12 10:06 PM

Quote:

Excellent sketch Carol , that will be a big help to me the next time I try to locate it. I tried last year with my 10" F4 but no joy. I've been busy on my observatory so once I get some time I'll give it another try

I think I was close with my DSI but just couldn't find it
Thanks
Norm

Thanks Norm, glad to be of help - good luck, and i hope you bag it on your next try.

BTW, we're accustomed to seeing the Horsehead as a tiny little notch in images, but it's actually quite big so make sure your fov is wide enough - i used a 1.25" Meade 32mm Plossl for the sketch.

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stmguy
super member

Reged: 10/11/12

Loc: Western NH

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: Carol L]
#5486535 - 10/24/12 06:37 AM

I'm beginning to think that my DSI FOV is too small to capture it. I never knew that the Horse was so big

Norm

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David Knisely
Postmaster

Reged: 04/19/04

Loc: southeastern Nebraska

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead new

[Re: stmguy]
#5486856 - 10/24/12 11:44 AM

Quote:

I'm beginning to think that my DSI FOV is too small to capture it. I never knew that the Horse was so big

Norm

The dark nebula is over five arc minutes across, so your field of view should be quite a bit larger than this in order to frame it properly. Good luck and clear skies to you.

Post Extras:

Dave Mitsky
Postmaster

Reged: 04/08/02

Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth

Re: About to make an assault on the Horsehead [Re: David Knisely]
#5487585 - 10/24/12 08:15 PM

I had a very good view of B33 on the night of October 16th through an H-beta filtered 18" StarStructure Dob. We were at the summit of Spruce Knob in West Virginia, at an altitude of over 4800 feet, but the conditions that night were not exceptional, unfortunately.

I "suspected" seeing B33 through my 10" Sky-Watcher Collapsible Dob, a 21mm Denkmeier, and an Orion H-beta filter from one of the better local dark sites on Sunday night.

Dave Mitsky

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