PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 232
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Still playing around, here's my quick attempt at trying to capture Barnard 142/Barnard 143 through my 10x50 binoculars. This digital rendering was created from a pencil sketch that I did at Stellafane last summer. If you have trouble seeing the dark nebulae in the sketch, move your head a little to one side or the other of your monitor, away from the center.
For anyone who is unfamiliar, Barnard 143, the northern void, resembles a pickle fork with the prongs opening toward the west. Barnard 142 lies just to the south and is shaped like an irregular, starless rectangle. Both stand out quite nicely through binoculars, provided there is no moonlight or light pollution to spoil the view. Together, they remind many of a capital letter E.
Barnard's E, also sometimes called the Triple Cave Nebula, is easy to locate in the sky just 3° northwest of brilliant Altair and 1° due west of Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae).
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Phil,
Excellent work! 
I have this one on my observing list as well. I'm waiting for the next new moon to try my luck.
How dark was the sky during that observation?
From your experience, what skies are needed to see it, and what binocular do you rate the most appropriate to see Barnard's E
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3007
Loc: Illinois
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Phil,
This is a wonderful dark nebula sketch and one of the many reasons why everyone needs to get to dark skies to see glorious sights like the many dark nebula. Excellent drawing.
Frank 
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 232
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Quote:
How dark was the sky during that observation?
From your experience, what skies are needed to see it, and what binocular do you rate the most appropriate to see Barnard's E
Thank you, Rony and Frank. Glad you liked the end result. 
To answer Rony's questions, The E stood out especially vividly last year at the Stellafane convention, where we had two very good nights of viewing. The NELM had to be about 6.5 IIRC. Humidity was also quite low, which is unusual for Vermont during the summer.
My 10x50s gave the best view. The effect of Barnard 142 and 143 combining into a giant "E", however, was lost through a pair of 16x70 binoculars, probably because of their narrower field of view. The E spans an area approximately 1°x2°.
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Phil,
Nice rendering of an interesting feature. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow morning with my 12x36 IS Canon's. Thanks for posting!
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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Tommy5
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 1382
Loc: Chicagoland
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Very nice sketch of a dark neb, i don't see too many of these on the sketching forum, perhaps most don't have dark enough skies to see such wonders
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3082
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Phil,
An excellent observation of these interesting dark nebula. Observing under dark skies is a must. Thank you for sharing it with us all. I look forward to your future observations.
Carlos
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Tommy,
I find dark nebulae very interesting objects, and I'll try to observe and sketch a few in the near future. 
Why are there so few DN-observations/sketches?
A few reasons come into my mind :
- Not many backyards offer dark skies.
- Scopes : a large enough field to detect the nebulae in contrast with the surrounding field, here are bino's in favor, many telescope observes just slew over the nebula without noticing it in their narrow field of view.
- drawing dark nebulae : a technical problem, if you draw on white paper, how to record a nebula that is whiter than white? Here is the black paper better suited for the job, but few people actually use this technique for deep-sky.
- Popularity : DN don't look as spectacular as star clusters or bright nebulae.
- Observing guides : not many guides have a wide enough approach or find DN attractive enough to describe them in detail, and thus few observers are motivated to go after them.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 232
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Quote:
Very nice sketch of a dark neb, i don't see too many of these on the sketching forum, perhaps most don't have dark enough skies to see such wonders
Thanks, Tommy and Carlos.
As to why more people don't sketch, or for that matter, observe dark nebulae, I think Rony hit the nail on the head. First, skies must be quite dark to see them. Given how rampant light pollution is, those skies are becoming rarer and rarer. 
Second, unlike any other type of DSO, with dark nebulae, it's what you don't see that counts. That makes them rather counter-intuitive.
Finally, very few observing guides mention them at all, beyond perhaps the Horsehead Nebula. With all due modesty, my book Touring the Universe through Binoculars (shameless plug) was and still is one of the first books to mention several specific examples, Barnard 142 and 143 being among them. Even today, very few guides discuss the Barnard objects.
Two thoughts. First, I have a freeware star atlas that goes with my binocular book that's available for download on my web site. All of the dark nebulae listed in the book are plotted on the atlas, so at least you'll see where they are located.
Next, Barnard's original catalog has been adapted into searchable form and is available on-line from Georgia Tech. It's a great resource! In fact, they also have a PDF version that you can save directly for future reference.
Great stuff, especially at this time of year!
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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Sol Robbins
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/01/03
Posts: 1530
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Great sketch of a challenging object.
I was observing near Stellafane last year. Observing dark nebulae in Vermont was a great surprise for me when viewing through my 3" refractor.
Best,
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Sol Robbins
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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I took a quick look this morning with the 12x36's after moonset but did not see it. Skies were dark and transparent enough (I think), so I must have overlooked it. I consulted my S&T Pocket Sky Atlas and did not realize how big it is ( I missed above where Phil said it was 1°x2°  ). I'll try again when the Moon is dark later this month.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 2115
Loc: San Diego, CA
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Phil, thanks for sharing your observation of these dark nebulae in Aquila!
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Eric
6" f/6 Parks Newtonian
10x50 Bushnell Binocs
CN Sketch Gallery
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GlennLeDrew
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 577
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Phil,
I'll join in on the chorus extolling the virtues of "The Dark Side!" Here are some of the reasons I so enjoy dark nebulae:
- There are a heck of a lot more of them than bright nebulae.
- The total amount of sky covered by those observable with the unaided eye or binoculars from a dark site must amount to near 10%. (Whereas all observable bright nebulae cover perhaps 0.1% at most.)
- They give the milky way its character--if not for the dust-laden clouds, the milky way would be almost boringly smooth (but of course brighter!)
- It's eerie--indeed almost spooky--to see these light-"eating" clouds floating against a star-spangled backdrop. And knowing that hidden within the denser cores of many of them new stars are birthing adds a further touch of mystery.
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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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Patricko
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/30/07
Posts: 722
Loc: around the corner
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Very nice sketch, I've been trying to observe this object in my 10X50s but have yet to succeed. Think I need a darker night.
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Clear skies,
Patrick
 "Life is too short, go collect some photons!" - Me, myself, and I
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 232
Loc: Long Island, NY
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I also tried to reobserve Barnard's E the other night from my NELM 4.5 backyard. No luck through my 10x50s or 16x70s. As you say, a darker night is needed!
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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Achernar
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3690
Loc: Alabama, USA
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I've never definitively seen Barnard's E until I went to the Okie-Tex Starparty back in 2006. Through my small, homebuilt 4.25-inch Newtonian at 20X, it looked like a huge, ragged inky black and E shaped void in the Milky Way. Or someone in the heavens spilled a bottle of black ink. Since then I went to a site in south central Alabama dark enough to see it. It's definitely not an easy one to see thanks to light pollution.
Taras
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10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Everyone is so prolific with their sketches I had to go back about 4 pages to find this.
The transparency has been excellent the past few nights and after moonset the NELM is 5.5 or better so I have used the 12x36 image stabilised binoculars to look at Barnard's E. It has been early morning and by that time Aquila is fairly low making this object tough to see even with those favorable conditions but doable. I hope to try again for a better look when I can catch it high in the sky with no moon.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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