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Here are my observation notes for the December challenge objects.
NGC 7635 (Cassiopeia, diffuse nebula, mag~10.5, size=15.0'x8.0'):
An observation from our dark site using the 12 inch four years ago using 84x. This was during a moonlit night, so the sky was not as dark as typical. But since I was able to barely pick up the low surface brightness galaxy IC 10 in the moonlight, I decided to try the Bubble Nebula almost 6.5° WNW of Caph. Finding mag 6.9 HIP 115198 I dropped in the O-III filter and though dim, I could easily see some nebulous concentration northeast of this star. Obviously the moon was compromising the observation, but it was clearly present, and I could also see some haziness around the star at its center, mag 8.7 SAO 20575. However, I was not visually picking up the bubble feature around this star. Rather I was seeing the densest portion of this HII region to that star’s northeast. When I removed the filter I had a fleeting sense of a very tenuous haziness, but could never be certain. As a little bonus I also easily noted the presence of M52 nearby in the RACI and took a quick peek. At 84x it was a very pretty concentration of diamonds that was well detached and compressed.
NGC 1316 (Fornax, barred lenticular, mag=8.5, size=12.0'x8.5', SBr=13.4):
This is a recent observation of the radio source Fornax A from our dark site utilizing the 17.5 inch on a night of horrid seeing, though transparency was good. I only observed at 110x (ES 82° 18mm) and 152x (Ethos 13mm) because it was extremely difficult to hold focus on stars due to the turbulence, particularly closer to the horizon. The galaxy was only about 15° above the horizon. It presented a very bright and pretty large oval. It was very diffuse to the eye, with only a subtle broad brightness in its central region.
Alan
Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
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"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
Thanks Alan, sounds like you were able to have good views of both objects.
-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
helicon wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 6:03 pm
Thanks Alan, sound like you were able to have good views of both objects.
Thank you Michael. Yeah, not too bad. A report for the session where I saw NGC 1316 is still a work in progress (happened night of the 9th). I focused on Sculptor, Fornax and Eridanus despite the awful seeing, particularly working toward the horizon as I was. I also visited NGC 7635 during that outing, but about all I could see, even with a filter, was some nebulosity around mag 8.7 SAO 20575 at the center of the complex and mag 6.9 HD 220057 at its southwestern edge.
Alan
Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
Graeme1858 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:08 pm
Excellent detailed report Alan. The O3 filter detail is interesting.
My signature weather forecast tells me I'm in with a chance tomorrow with a waning Moon too, fingers crossed!
Regards
Graeme
Thank you Graeme. It is interesting sometimes to compare the visual impact of using different filters on nebulae to see which is best or to compare how they each impact the particular object.
Alan
Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
BABOafrica wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:07 pm
Nice report. Trying for NGC1316 from VA ... Must be close to the horizon indeed.
Love your Santa beard!
BABO
Thanks Joe, It was about 12° to 13° in elevation. With the thick air mass that close to the horizon, plus generally poor seeing anyway, it was still quite bright and obvious.
For some reason I just thought I would try to edit my regular avatar in keeping with the holidays and thought it looked decent enough.
Alan
Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)