Sh2-216, Sh2-224, Sh2-223, Sh2-249, Sh2-248 on the 4th December 2019

[j.gardavsky]

Hello all,

it has been my curiosity to see how the recently put-on-service BBHS 2” mirror, decorated with the recently put-on-service ATIK filter wheel works, and in spite of the first quarter Moon interfering on otherwise crystal-clear skies.

As Perseus-Auriga have been comfortably high, I have been looking for some tough DSOs there.

The Sh2-216 is one of the youngest and closest planetary nebulae in our skies, and due to its low surface brightness across its big size of 1.3°x1.3°, not easy, many would tell you.
Following a cascade of stars NNW off Epsilon Aurigae, I have finally found its expected position in eastern Perseus (IDSA page 25).
Dialing the Astronomik and Baader filters on ATIK, and swapping between the 25x and 32x magnifications, and moving the scope left-right and up and down, I have finally found after 40 minutes its faint round glow, best seen through the high transmissivity 12nm wide Astronomik H-Beta filter. The faint disc has been finally confirmed at the both magnifications, and through the both H-Beta filters of Astronomik and Baader. The OIII filter has not revealed the arc on the disc rim, as reported by other observers with big Dobs.

After a short break to recover, the next one to visit has been the Sh2-224 SNR nebula in Auriga.
The navigation has been easy from the Eta – Zeta Aurigae bright pair towards NEE.
The first surprise has been a brightened field of Sh2-223, aligned with an unnamed asterism of bright stars north off Lambda Aurigae. It has deserved a short inspection with the H-Beta filters at the low magnification of 32x. The visually perceived center of the extended glow has been close to 5h20m +42°30’, not shown for whatever reason in IDSA.

And now, I have arrived at the suspected position of the Sh2-224 .
The both H-Beta filters have revealed at the both magnifications two comfortably bright condensations, expected to be on the SNR shell. The OIII filter has revealed a bent glow. The both magnifications have been working fine.
Herewith, this remarkable SNR is one of those seldom “visual bi-color” nebulae, even if the views through the OIII and H-Beta filters are still grey smudges to my eyes, but at the offset positions.

The inspiration to observe this SNR comes from a breathtaking capturerecently made by Peter in Germany,
https://www.astrobin.com/full/j2werw/0/

The final objects have been the popular Sh2- 249 and Sh2-248 nebulae in Gemini.
The Sh2-249 (IC 444) has revealed the “ladies hand fan form” pointing north off Mu Gemini,
and the Sh2-248 The Jellyfish Nebula has revealed a similar “ladies hand fan form” pointing east off Nu Gemini.
The both views have been comfortably visible through the narrower Baader H-Beta filter at the magnifications of 25x and 32x.
The visual form of these nebulae is better shown in the STAR-Guide on page 56, than in the IDSA on page 36.

Conclusions:
The BBHS diagonal zenith mirror offers significantly more contrast than my old dielectric mirror, having some wear and tear since many years of use. The visibility of the Sh2-216 planetary nebula has been a less expected surprise in this observing session.
The system upgrade with the BBHS and with the Leica eyepieces is definitely a win for hunting the faint extended nebulae.

Place and date: Backyard, 4th December, 20:00 – 22:00 local time
Telescope: 6” F/5 Sky-Watcher (Synta) achromatic refractor
Eyepieces: Antares W 70° f=25mm for star hopping
Leica HC Plan S (f=25mm), Leica L Plan (f=32mm)
Filters: Baader OIII visual (10nm), Baader H-Beta CCD (8.4nm), Astronomik H-Beta (12nm)
Observing conditions: First quarter Moon, otherwise crystal-clear skies, no humidity and temperatures slightly below zero

Thank you for reading,
JG

[notFritzArgelander]

Thanks for reporting on theses interesting objects! Congratulations on success with the new kit!

[Bigzmey]

Nice session JG! I am glad that BBHS mirror works for you. It helped me to pull quite few faint galaxies this season.

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Andrey,

it has been also you, and your reports, who have inspired me to buy this expensive toy.
It is crazy to spend on the 2" BBHS plus some adapters as much money, which otherwise would be enough to buy a reasonably nice frac or a Dob.

Yeah, but we live only once,
JG

[Bigzmey]

Hello Andrey,

it has been also you, and your reports, who have inspired me to buy this expensive toy.
It is crazy to spend on the 2" BBHS plus some adapters as much money, which otherwise would be enough to buy a reasonably nice frac or a Dob.

Yeah, but we live only once,
JG

Well, if one enjoys premium EPs, it would be silly not to place a premium diagonal in front of them.

[Peter802]

Thank you JG for sharing your fascinating session.
A most enjoyable read.

[John Baars]

Hello J.G.,
Thanks for reporting this breathtaking session to us. With the Moon above the horizon this should have been a difficult challenge; the crystal clear sky, the filters and the large exitpupils must all have helped. And the BBHS-diagonal. Nice to see that a well balanced and pre-thought approach works! Very nice!

[j.gardavsky]

Thank you, John!

I will certainly return once again to the constellation of Auriga, as there are some more neglected DSOs, there.

Clear skies,
JG

[bladekeeper]

Amazing observing session, JG! Sh2-216 looks like a fun potential imaging target also!

[j.gardavsky]

Amazing observing session, JG! Sh2-216 looks like a fun potential imaging target also!

Yes, Bryan!
It certainly is the case, and I don't get it, why everybody is hunting and imaging the big planetary Helix,
but not many are paying attention to this XXL planetary Sharpless in Perseus of the season, when the Helix is down the horizon, ha, ha.
And another remarkable object is the bicolor Sh2-223 in Auriga, actually more interestingly structured than the popular Flame Star and Tadpoles nebulae.

Off the beaten path,
JG