First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

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terrynak
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First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#1

Post by terrynak »


Got out the Bresser NT150, a 150/1200mm (F/8) Newtonian, for a first light. This scope came with just the OTA, no finder. So I attached a Rigel Quick Finder next to the focuser:

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The Celestron Omni CG4 EQ mount handles this scope very well – this was my main concern when I got the Bresser over a year ago:

Image

This scope allows access to dimmer asterisms and open clusters (requiring high magnifications as well as aperture) which were difficult or impossible to see from home before. So I can now return to targeting NEW deep-sky objects, which consumed all of my astronomical observing for 8 years.

I scanned the Interstellarum Atlas charts for appropriate open clusters and asterisms in Cygnus and came up with a couple of Dolidze open clusters to start off this first light.
  • Dolidze 36 (Cyg, OC, chart #17 right) – NEW; using 160x, I see 19 stars ranging from mag. 9.5 to 12.1, with the five brightest stars forming a rectangular pattern.
  • Dolidze 1a (Cyg, OC, chart #17 right) – NEW; using 200x, a pattern of 7 stars ranging from mag. 11.4 to 12.5 in the form of a snaky line with an arrow tip at one end. Interstellarum plots a “Do1” and a “Do1a”, cluster while the Dolidze Index lists a “Do1”, “Do1b” and a “Do1c” – non-contiguous parts of the same cluster. I’m treating them as separate clusters.
  • NGC 6888 or Crescent Nebula – using 69x and OIII filter, nebulosity visible with averted vision.
  • Jupiter – using 200x, got the clearest views I’ve ever seen from this planet from any of my scopes that I can recall. Besides the equatorial belts and the southern zone, the shadow of Europa was present along with the GRS.
Another satisfying session, with the biggest scope I’ll probably ever use in my lifetime. Meaning that I can't transport anything bigger than this on my own to darker sky sites - without a car.
Scopes: Reflectors, refractors, and 1 catadioptric. Ranging in aperture from 50mm to 150mm.
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notFritzArgelander
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#2

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Lovely session and a nice set up!
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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terrynak
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#3

Post by terrynak »


Thanks nFA!
Scopes: Reflectors, refractors, and 1 catadioptric. Ranging in aperture from 50mm to 150mm.
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KingNothing13 United States of America
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#4

Post by KingNothing13 »


Nice night, Terry. That Bresser looks to be a beast - hopefully you will be able to pull more out with it!
-- Brett

Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars
List Counts: Messier: 75; Herschel 400: 30; Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16
Brett's Carbon Star Hunt

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terrynak
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#5

Post by terrynak »


KingNothing13 wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2020 12:53 pm Nice night, Terry. That Bresser looks to be a beast - hopefully you will be able to pull more out with it!
Thanks Brett. The key (besides aperture) is the long focal length providing the higher magnifications needed to pull out fainter stars from the dimmer open clusters and asterisms. .
Scopes: Reflectors, refractors, and 1 catadioptric. Ranging in aperture from 50mm to 150mm.
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John Baars Netherlands
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#6

Post by John Baars »


Nice objects, nice session!
Thanks for you observations!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#7

Post by Peter802 »


Nice session and report Terry.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Clear Skies.
Regards,

Peter
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Greenman Great Britain
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#8

Post by Greenman »


Nice work Terry, I had a look at the Bresser nice scope for that detail work pulling apart the clusters. 200x on Jupiter must be wonderful.
Cheers,

Tony.

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Smart Scope: Dwarf II - Club and outreach work.

AP Refractor: Altair 72EDF Deluxe F6;1x & 0.8 Flatteners; Antares Versascope 60mm finder. ASIAir Pro.Li battery pack for grab & go.

Celestron AVX Mount; X-cel LX eyepieces & Barlows 2x 3x, ZWO 2” Filter holder,

Cameras: main DSO ASI533MC; DSO guide ASI120MM; Planetary ASI224MC; DSLR Canon EOS100 stock.

Filters: Astronomik IR cut; Optolong L-Pro; Optolong L-Enhance.

Binoculars: Celestron 15 x 70.

Latitude: 52.219853
Longitude: -1.034471
Accuracy: 5 m
Bortle 4 site. https://maps.google.com/?q=52.21985,-1.03447

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terrynak
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#9

Post by terrynak »


John Baars wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 9:09 am Nice objects, nice session!
Thanks for you observations!

Thanks, you're welcome John!

Peter802 wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 10:19 am Nice session and report Terry.
Thank you for sharing it with us.

Thanks, you're welcome Peter!

Greenman wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 10:48 am Nice work Terry, I had a look at the Bresser nice scope for that detail work pulling apart the clusters. 200x on Jupiter must be wonderful.


Thanks Tony! This may have been the first time I've used 200x on a planet. In the past, I've mainly been a deep-sky observer, so I'm still learning about planetary observing.
Scopes: Reflectors, refractors, and 1 catadioptric. Ranging in aperture from 50mm to 150mm.
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#10

Post by Bigzmey »


Nice catches Terry! Jupiter shadows transits are always fun.
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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terrynak
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Re: First Light and Seeking Out New DSOs Again

#11

Post by terrynak »


Thanks Andrey - seeing the shadow transit was a pleasant surprise, adding icing to the wonderful view of Jupiter I had with this scope!
Scopes: Reflectors, refractors, and 1 catadioptric. Ranging in aperture from 50mm to 150mm.
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