A Short Cluster Duster

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pakarinen United States of America
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A Short Cluster Duster

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Post by pakarinen »


Cold but clear last night before moonrise so I took out the 80mm and revisited a few things.

Futzed around the sword of Orion (of course)
M41
Christmas Tree Cluster
M35
NGC2244 I'd like to get out to a dark site and see if I can pick up any of the Helix visually - it's definitely not going to happen at home.
Praesepe
M67 was no bueno :cry: - lots of light reflected off the snow in addition to the general LP muck.

It was cold enough that I only stayed out for about an hour, but it gave me a chance to further evaluate using my AZ5 with just a Wixey for altitude and get me my "observing fix". Didn't feel like firing up the encoders on my Twilight anyway. Next time I'll put the 120 on the AZ5 and experiment with that.

And if anybody wants to give me a Vixen APZ for Valentine's Day, that would be a perfectly acceptable gift. :wink:
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I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
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AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: A Short Cluster Duster

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Post by Bigzmey »


Nice set of clusters there. You can see Helix nebula with 120ST using low power (30x) and OIII filter - very large and dim doughnut. You can also see nebulosity associated with Christmas Tree Cluster using low power (20-30x) and H-beta filter - Christmas tree silhouette formed by nebula with stars scattered like Christmas tree decorations. I was able to see both with filters and ST120 from Bortle 6/orange zone.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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pakarinen United States of America
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Re: A Short Cluster Duster

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Post by pakarinen »


My reasonably close “dark” sites are all B4, so that’s good to hear - there’s hope!
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I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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helicon United States of America
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Re: A Short Cluster Duster

#4

Post by helicon »


Sounds like it was a good night out there.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: A Short Cluster Duster

#5

Post by MistrBadgr »


When you get that Vixen APZ, the AZ5 will just be in your way. Send it to me and I will keep it for you! ;)
Thanks for the report! Your location sounds a lot like mine. :)
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
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