Beating the cloud gods

[turboscrew]

Through the winter I've been trying to find a chance to see M42, but haven't succeeded, until now.

Today all the weather forecasters, except a Polish one, showed clear up to 9 PM, so I thought that this may be the last chance to see M42 before summer, so I took my chances, and brought my VX12 on dobson mount outside at about 5 PM. I didn't take the CEM120, because there were no guaranties about the weather, and since there is an ice coating on my yard, I didn't want to take needless risks.

At 6:50 PM I went out for the first try, and with TV Plössl 15 mm + Optolong UHC filter, I actually saw the M42 even if it was still nautical dark. The filter seemed to introduce some aberration - instead of a brighter star, I saw two side by side. One bright red, another bright greenish turquoise. And the filter could have been a bit stronger to bring in better contrast.

I decided to wait until it got a bit darker. It was -7°C (19.5°F) at the time. I had been out about 20 minutes.

At 7:30 PM I returned. It was already astro dark (beginning), but there were some clouds in the east that seemed to reflect light from a nearby suburban area, so the sky still looked quite "milky". The M42 looked a bit more defined, and I *think* I saw the four trapezium stars, three of them quite well, but the fourth just barely with averted vision, almost "melting" with its neighbour. I *think* I also saw the fish's mouth, M43, that looked like a star with some delicate nebulosity around it, and the one nebula in the other side of the fish's mouth. I'm not sure, because I didn't manage to find any useful map about that area.

The "wing span" of M42 looked a lot bigger than you might think after seeing some photos.
There were no colours. All gas looked grey. When compared with photographs in the net, in my view, the stars looked quite well defined, but the nebulosity was a bit messy. I also tried with 12.5 mm Baader Morpheus + the filter, but it didn't seem to really make any difference, except being much bigger and bulkier than the 15 mm TV Plössl.

I also took a look to the Pleiades, and I could see (barely) some nebulosity around some stars.

Took a 20 minute break, and returned 8:30 PM. Tried a 10 mm Kellner with the filter. The image was a bit dimmer, but I started to see some structure in the gases. But now Orion was getting too low, and almost behind my house (and the neigbours trees). So took yet another break, before bringing the stuff in. I had no plans of what to look - the opportunity was so unexpected, and the clouds were approaching.

I guess the cloud gods are quite pissed with me now, that I managed to take advantage of their carelessness. I saw the M42 despite of the tricks they've played on me. And the temperature was nice too, -9°C (15.5°F) at this point, and no wind. With a good jacket, didn't even need gloves.

[MistrBadgr]

Glad you were able to get out and see M-42! I would think at your latitude that it would be difficult. However, it is certainly worth the effort!

[notFritzArgelander]

Glad to see you've had some success! Here's a link to a map that I posted on another thread that shows some named features.

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/s ... d12172014/

[turboscrew]

Glad you were able to get out and see M-42! I would think at your latitude that it would be difficult. However, it is certainly worth the effort!

Well, yes. It never rises more than 23° above horizon.
And this time of year, the time window is narrow. The time between getting dark and the time Orion goes down behind my house and neighbour's trees is just about 2.5 hours. And the dark comes later and later when we're approaching summer.

[helicon]

Great job Juha. It's quite nice to be able to see M42, thanks for the report and the interesting descriptions of what you saw. Congrats also, on earning today's VROD for a well-written account. And I suppose you have managed to outwit the cloud gods!

[Bigzmey]

Well done Juha! Congrats on catching the Orion Nebula and well earned VROD!

[turboscrew]

Great job Juha. It's quite nice to be able to see M42, thanks for the report and the interesting descriptions of what you saw. Congrats also, on earning today's VROD for a well-written account. And I suppose you have managed to outwit the cloud gods!

Thank you! I'm flattered.

[turboscrew]

Glad to see you've had some success! Here's a link to a map that I posted on another thread that shows some named features.

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/s ... d12172014/

Thanks. I think the "one nebula in the other side of the fish's mouth" is De Mairan's.
I wonder if the "melted together" trapezium stars are A and B?

[turboscrew]

Well done Juha! Congrats on catching the Orion Nebula and well earned VROD!

Yes. I finally got the weather, and I managed to see M42 even if I thought that the ship already went for this winter.
Quite a surprise for me.

[turboscrew]

Hmm, that was also the first light with the 12.5 mm Morpheus and the Optolong UHC-filter.
The filter actually helped.

[John Baars]

Great observation of M42 from your lattitude! Never realized you'd have such a narrow time-window. You did a good job!
Congratulations on the VROD!

[davesellars]

Nice report, Juha! Congrats on the VROD.

[OzEclipse]

Well done. Glad you finally got some sky time.
Congratulations on the VROD.

Joe

[Butterfly Maiden]

I am glad that you managed to appease the weather Gods Juha and got in a great session.

Congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD award for your effort.

[turboscrew]

Great observation of M42 from your lattitude! Never realized you'd have such a narrow time-window. You did a good job!
Congratulations on the VROD!

Thanks. The timing sometimes casts some problems "up here".

[turboscrew]

Well done. Glad you finally got some sky time.
Congratulations on the VROD.

Joe

And have I waited for clear night skies!?

[Makuser]

Hello Juha. I am glad that you got a break in the weather and had this great opportunity. You really caught some nice views with the VX12 Dob telescope. Thanks for your well written and detailed observing report Juha and congratulations on receiving the well deserved TSS VROD Award.

[turboscrew]

Hello Juha. I am glad that you got a break in the weather and had this great opportunity. You really caught some nice views with the VX12 Dob telescope. Thanks for your well written and detailed observing report Juha and congratulations on receiving the well deserved TSS VROD Award.

Thanks. It was a looong wait, but finally...
And it's not even April yet! (Like last year.)