11 replies to this topic

[GOLGO13]

What are your favorite late summer NV targets and what equipment do you like using for it? All my observing is in light pollution, so I don't know if there are some other good ones out there in a darker sky.

 

In general for me I really like the Swan Nebula. The Lagoon is nice also, but the Swan seems to have the best detail. For me this is best in my 10 inch dob, but I usually use the 6 inch F4 because it's easier to setup.

 

I like M13 and other Globulars. For these the 8 inch F10 really excels.

 

The Cygnus area has some great objects, but here I like using lower power such as 1x and 7x (50mm guide scope). My favorite object in this area is the Sadr region. This is an area where it'd be nice to have some better capabilities. Like a fast camera lens. I can get a pretty reasonable view with the 6 inch F4 using .7 reduction and my 40mm plossl afocal. It's a pretty crazy imaging train coming off the scope though! 

 

 

The Milky way at 1x is pretty cool. Sometimes I like sweeping this area with the 6 inch F4 or the 50mm guide scope. Some neat dark nebulas in the middle of everything.

 

I do a lot of random sweeping with NV.

 

What are some of your favorites.

[Mazerski]

I agree that M17 may be the best nebula to see. I also like using filter wheel while looking at M42 and going back and forth using the 6nm Ha and the 642 IR. Both views are really cool.

The Dumbbell is big and bright out of the PN that I can see. I do try to find globulars and galaxies but east coast LP has ruined the sky.

 

Couple photos with iPhone 7 (simple click and no tracking): M17 // M4 // M104 or Spindle

 

Mod3 WP

PVS7 WP

 

12.5" New Moon 

8" Boren-Simon 

 

 

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[AllStarez]

I had the great pleasure (and honor) to test during my holidays my OVNI-M (WP) in a T800 dobson (about 31 inches), few weeks ago in a clear mountain’s sky in France. Here are some objects i have seen :

 

Trifide/M20
Omega nebula/M17
Eagle nebula/M16
M57 (Lyria)
M27 (Dumbell)
Saturn nebula/NGC7009

M22 glob

 

The Eagle nebula was fantastic, like the picture in magazine but black & white of course, wonderful... Just like M57, so much details... the little Saturn nebula showed details as well as a clear green color, again really close to the views on pictures. And what about Dumbbell... man, it was so (so) impressive. Too bad i wasn’t able to take pictures

 

 

 

[Eddgie]

I use the binoculars at 1x and 3x a lot during the summer but I make extra effort to get to dark skies.  This year it will be a challenge because many of the state parks are closed due to Covid 19.

 

Binocular targets are the various dark nebula along the rift and the star clouds on either side. Also the very large nebula (I don't even know the names of many) that trail down and along the MW.  The big ball of nebula around Zeta Oph is always a treat to me. One of the great nebula in the sky really,   There is also the glow around Rho Ophi and Lots of knots trailing down from NGC6281.

 

I also use the 6" f/2.8 a great deal during the summer.  Lots of both dark and H-a Nebula but my favorite subject is the Ink Spot and the ultra-rich field of stars around it, but the entire area around the rift is all rich field. I really like the Boren Simon for rich field work.  The field is fully illumined when no filter is used and it is very sharp so seeing a field that is jammed with thousands of stars is always appealing to me.  The H-a nebula though is almost endless and I spend a lot of time seeing how far I can follow nebula out from the Butterful area.  This nebula goes on and on and on.  It is almost everywhere.  

 

I do use the 12" for some Globulars and clusters, but many are too low for my location.  I have lots of trees and stuff around me.  Not much I can do about that except try to get to darker skies but again, a lot of the parks are closed this summer. 

[chemisted]

You mention globulars but have you explored them all?  I got my first intensifier in 2002 because I lived north of a large midwestern city and the light dome was destroying my view of these clusters.  I was quite new to amateur astronomy then and my excellent 10" F9.3 RC reflector by itself was barely able to show me anything at all.  My viewing experience was transformed with the I³.  I recommend checking out M10 and M12 and note their diameters.  Even though M10 is the larger of the two by a lot some observing guides have them reversed.  Then slide over to M14.  This is one of my favorite clusters.  You have probably looked at M11 but have you seen NGC 6712 that is not far from it?  When I asked a 20" operator at Kitt Peak to dial this up he let out a hoot and said he would immediately add it to his regular list.  I could go on but you get the picture.  For me, this is 'Globular Season'.  Don't miss M56, NGC 6934 and M107 and any others that you can see from your site.

[bobhen]

As the sky transparence was poor with our warm temps and high humidity/moisture and of course heavy light pollution, I went out last night for some quick views with my 7x 50mm Guide Scope.

 

Ridicules in these conditions to even consider productive deep sky observing without NV.

 

Veil: Subtle but the bright eastern arc was spotted.

M20: Spotted easily and bright
M8: Spotted easily, bright: detached nebula and the dark lane were observed
M17: Spotted easily and bright: Subtle surrounding nebula as well.
M16: Spotted easily, Plus the large dim cloud near M16 with Sh2-53:
M27: small but bright and easy
North American Nebula: Less bright than usual but spotted easily. The complete complex was observed
Ha clouds in and around Cygnus:
IC-1311, 6914, IC-4996, IC-5068, SH2-112:
Butterfly Nebula: easy and bright
6888 Crescent Nebula: small but easy
SH2-101: Tulip Nebula spotted somewhat easily

 

Bob

[Jeff Morgan]

Trying to get out the door this morning, but I'll get this one in quick:

 

Lately I have been going for pairings instead of individual objects. Like the M8/M20 combo and such. Here is an interesting field centered on Sharpless 2-37, on the edge of the Sagittarius Star Cloud. Lots of of ways you can frame this one, notice the interesting right-angle feature. The file compression required to post here does not do this one justice, in the eyepiece it really jumps out at you. Looks like a dark nebula but I think it is just empty space. Need to research that one a bit more.

 

A photo through the TMB 130SS, TeleVue Mod 3C, 67 Plossl, iPhone X, ISO 1600, 1/3 second, 45 frame average.

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Edited by Jeff Morgan, 06 August 2020 - 10:06 AM.

[M44]

I see no one mentioned M5 which is equally impressive as M13. It is little harder to find with no bright stars near by. I leaned to identify it using the star Spica. Its worth the effort. 

[GrahamDFyffe]

I had my first chance to look at the Helix Nebula with NV last night. It was still very low and so pretty much invisible visually or with no filter in my F4.2 15" dob. However it was spectacular with the 6nm filter. A huge ghostly ring with extended filaments pretty much like the photos minus the color of course. It was a perfect target for the 15" with my Mod 3 filling a large part of the FOV.

[Eddgie]

I had my first chance to look at the Helix Nebula with NV last night. It was still very low and so pretty much invisible visually or with no filter in my F4.2 15" dob. However it was spectacular with the 6nm filter. A huge ghostly ring with extended filaments pretty much like the photos minus the color of course. It was a perfect target for the 15" with my Mod 3 filling a large part of the FOV.

Helix is amazing with an image intensifier. It makes M57 look boring. Happy to hear that you enjoyed it.  It is a must see for image intensifiers.

 

I know I had tried to see it in the past using regular eyepieces but never had a hint of it but the first time I looked for it with an image intensifier, I guess I was expecting it to be kind of like M57 in my C14, but what I saw was exactly what you report.  It it is indeed spectacular. 

[GrahamDFyffe]

Another pleasant surprise for me tonight was the blue snowball nebula in Andromeda. Given the name I was not expecting much but in the 15” with a 2.5x powermate (about 150x F10) the Mod 3 gave a great view with central star, surrounded by a darker area, then a bright ring and finally a paler translucent ring. Photos show it as a pale blue object so I thought I might not even see it using NV.

Highly recommended if you have the aperture to support decent magnification.

[Jeff Morgan]

Before Scorpius gets away, try the combo of Sharpless 2-9 and M4. The globular is bright enough to be seen well with a 7nm filter.

 

Also a nice field (with the nebula somewhat brighter) is Sharpless 2-12 and M6.

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