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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Barnard 168
The European midsummer nights are not the most favourable nights to go deep-sky hunting. The twilight lasts for the whole night. I had planned to give my attention to some bright galactic clusters. The more delicate objects like faint nebulae should have to wait for darker nights. The NELM for this particular night was around 5.8. I had a few clusters in Cygnus in mind. The last one on my list was the conspicuous M39. When I finished my observation of M39, I tried to see if NGC 7209 in Lacerta was a worthy object for autumn nights. Much to my surprise did I encounter Barnard 168, a thin dark line halfway between M39 and NGC 7209: a dark nebula! It was an unprepared but pleasant visit in the twilight sky. B 168 does not come forward as a void in a crowded field of stars. No, it really shows a darkening as large as 2° in the subtle galactic star glow. While B168 should offer more detail on darker nights, I did make an observation with a sketch under the twilight sky. Maybe other observers with less ideal skies would be encouraged to try their luck as well?
B168 can be found near M39. Put M39 at the western edge of the fov, as shown in the sketch. B168 should be visible near the centre of the field.
Site : Bütgenbach, Belgium
Date : July 2, 2008
Time : around 00.15 UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 3,5/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : around 5.8
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with Photo Paint, based on a raw pencil sketch.
(Note: if the sketch does look too dark on your monitor, try to darken the room.)
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Edited by rodelaet (07/03/08 06:14 PM)
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GlennLeDrew
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 624
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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This is one of my all-time favorite dark nebulae. You should see it in my 26x100's (3.5 deg. TFoV) when the nelm is 6.5! Your fine drawing evokes it's appearance nicely.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3041
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
Very subtle and beautiful. From my usual sketching locations dark nebula are out of the question. Last month my daughter and I spent a good part of one night looking at dark nebulae and I can say they are beautiful to see directly. However your sketch is a very close second almost like being there. Bravo---Rony.   
Frank 
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
An excellent observation of this thin dark nebula in Cygnus. It appears as a "rift in space" from your observation. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Links;
http://www.ricksastro.com/DSOs/cocoon-h16.jpg
http://www.dosgatos.com/au/093000m39+.html
Carlos
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Glenn, Frank and Carlos, Thank you!
Carlos, those links are very cool. When looking at the pictures, one can get the impression that the Cocoon nebula is an easier object than B168. I on the other hand could obviously observe B168, but without any hints of the Cocoon.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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