5 replies to this topic

[Redbetter]

Somehow I have been blissfully unaware of the small bright reflection nebula deeply veiled in the glare directly south of Merope, "Barnard's Merope nebula."  No, this is not the large bright Merope nebula that we normally think of, this is a small semi-independent piece within.  I came across Bob King's S&T article about it while searching for other information (link here.)  This tiny nebula is only 36" from Merope.   Barnard discovered it in 1890 using the 36" Lick refractor.   

 

I gave it a try last night, using a printed copy of the map from the article above.  The seeing was fair allowing over 350x for DSO's high in the sky.  I was using the 20" Obsession and employed a 3-6 Nagler zoom to get crisp field cut off to move the star out of the way.  Moving the star out of the way was easier said than done with so little separation and without a tracking drive to hold it right where it needed to be. 

 

My first attempt was unsuccessful/inconclusive because the diffraction spike was falling right where the nebula should be.  At 500x I had indications that a fat flare to the inner portion of the spike might be the nebula, but was uncertain because of the glare.  An hour or two later the position was more favorable and at 625x the small bright wedge appeared to be independent of the diffraction spike adjacent to it.  After a few passes I was certain I had it, although without knowing it was there and right where to look, I never would have detected it or would have dismissed it as a glare artifact.   

 

This one is a challenge.  If you have been searching for faint galaxies very near bright stars, this is an even more difficult act. 

[Astrojensen]

Nice! I tried to observe it with my 5" f/14 achromat last winter, which might have been a little optimistic. 

 

 

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

[sgottlieb]

Good catch!

I’ve only taken a look through Lowrey’s 48” about 5 years back.

IC 349 is a reflection knot just 36" SSE of Merope. We used 813x and carefully placed Merope barely outside the north edge of the field. The orientation was easy to judge using two 15th magnitude stars 1.8' S and 1.8' SSW of Merope and the elongated glow fell between the diffraction spikes. Despite the glare from Merope making the observation much more difficult, I was surprised this small reflection nebula was fairly bright and elongated (roughly pointing south from Merope) with a straighter western edge, perhaps 20"x10" in size.

Barnard discovered IC 349 visually on 14 Nov 1890 using the Lick 36" refractor though he later viewed it through the 12” refractor he often used. Here’s his complete discovery note...

"On Nov. 14 while examining the cluster, I discovered a new and comparatively bright round cometary nebula close south and following Merope, every precaution was taken to prove that it was not a ghost of Merope by examining the other stars of the group under the same conditions. I have since seen it several times and on Dec. 8th I could see it with some difficulty in the 12-inch by occulting Merope with a wire in the eyepiece. With the great telescope the nebula can be seen fairly well with Merope in the field and is conspicuous when the star is placed just outside the north edge of the field. It is about 30" in diameter, of the 13th mag, gradually brighter in the middle, and very cometary in appearance. It was examined with powers of 300, 520 and 1500, with all of which it was comparatively easy."

[bertandlaville]

Hi All,

 

Here my observation of IC 349, with a 25" Obsession:

Southern french Alps, NELM 6.4v, SQM 21.4, S 1.3", T635 x 890/Deepsky Lumicon

 

We need this G to spread sufficiently nebulous Merope, and yet it remains very close. The Deepsky filter significantly improves the image, Merope and becomes very pronounced blue [S218 T170 L166]. By cons, egrets, very present, remain white. The bottom of the field is clearly very bright and blue, S20.

IC 349 becomes visible, but difficult. But by Merope out of the field, I was able to analyze the cloudiness. The triangular shape is recognized, L6. W is edge L7. The set is very light blue, almost white, S10. The assembly is embedded in the halo Mérope: L5 that is at the end of IC 349 closest to Mérope, but L3 at the furthest end.

 

I take off the filter, to confirm my previous observation. IC 349 is not seen; by cons, Merope is white diamond; there is more blue in the image, nor field, nor the stars nor the egrets ... This is the first time I've individualized IC 349.

More details here: http://www.deepsky-d...-349/dsdlang/fr

 

 

 

Clear skies

Bertrand

http://www.deepsky-drawings.com

[sgottlieb]

Very close appearance to what I remember in the 48-inch (unfiltered) -- at least with Merope outside the eyepiece field!

[Redbetter]

Yes, the shape is such and it is so close that it mimics a ghost reflection/glare from the bright nearby star.  This is a good exercise in training the eye to distinguish what is real or not among the "noise" (glare.)   You can see why this would have been the sort of target discovered with an enormous refractor where diffraction spikes are not a concern. 

 

I was having trouble tracking in azimuth because the mirror box was shifting in the rocker when pulled then shifting back when released--some hysteresis, very annoying at high power.  I haven't had that problem in a year or two.  It looks like it is time for some routine maintenance--I probably need to pick up some new felt furniture guides to replace the old ones used as spacer as I have done in the past.