I dont know how but I saw detail and structure in orion nebula with my tiny telescope!

[realflow100]

Ive got a tiny telescope (svbony sv503 70mm F6 ED)
in bortle 7-8. nearly 3/4 full moon
along with being in bortle 7-8 and tons of firework smoke polluting the air.

And somehow i can detect visible structure details in orion nebula!
Its not until I get to about 40x when orion nebula really starts popping out and showing structure in the core. trapez split with absolute effortless ease. 4 very spaced out and super fine sharp point stars.
The main central dark dust piller is very obvious
Theres faint but detectable structure all within the bright core of orion nebula. with darker outline of the darker dust along the borders of the core
Does not disappear with direct vision too much. Somewhat visible with direct vision. but looks decent with averted vision.
Almost a photographic view!
no filters used either (Tried a UHC O3 and HB some. didnt do anything for me. unfiltered was better)

The wings are very faint in averted vision. but detectable!
Possible hint of m43 detectable. but not sure. could be imagination

I could even crank up the magnification ALL THE WAY as high as I could. maxing out the theoretical magnification. easily 140-200x range. and orion nebula still looked good.
About same amount of structure visible. so no gain in details. Just bigger and more comfortable to look at.
Around 40-140x was probably ideal Maybe 70x was even decent too.

The stars were very razor sharp with only a faint ring iaround each star when in perfet focus.

heres a very rough image of approximately what I could see in orions core
Its VERY dim compared to this image. details more difficult to pick out than this. This is just the approximate amount of visible structure combining direct and averted vision together., Can't simulate that with a picture.
The stars are also 1000 times sharper than the image too. so ignore the stars dont pay attention to the stars.

[Makuser]

Hi RF. A very nice observing report using your svbony sv503 70mm F6 ED telescope. And despite your high Bortle scale skies and then compounded by the fireworks smoke, you really showed what can be seen even in a small telescope. Thanks for your interesting read report RF and keep looking up.

[messier 111]

fine observation and pic , thx .

[Frankskywatcher]

Very nice report !
I’m down in Myrtle Beach and the last few nights I could see the cloud and the trapezium is very distinct !

[Bigzmey]

Well done RF! Orion Nebula is a very rewarding object. It shows well under light polluted skies even without filters, and even a small scope can resolve good level of details.

[realflow100]

It took many years before I got the right setup to even have a chance of observing structure and detail in orion nebula.
If I can see this amount of detail with my 70mm telescope.
Would orion look like a photograph in a 15-20 inch telescope. barely fitting in view with the largest exit pupil widest 100 degree eyepiece possible.
Or possibly even better than a photo?
if I can already pick out details nearly matching a 1-2 second exposure image with my tiny scope in heavy light pollution.

[Bigzmey]

I can't tell about 15-20 inch scope, but my 8" SCT produces enough intricate details to spend hours looking at them. Photos provide more colors, but IMO nothing beats the real view.

[helicon]

Congrats on the views realflow. You are making good use of a smaller but still capable scope, and for your efforts you win the VROD for the day!

[Unitron48]

Sounds like a very successful session! Certainly VROD worthy! Congrats!!

Dave

[Greenman]

Great report and result - well done.

[John Baars]

Congratulations on the VROD!

[pakarinen]

I wouldn't underestimate what a small scope can do, even more so if you can get out to darker skies.

[realflow100]

I think its partly the very high end optics and ED element giving me some help in detecting faint contrast features. very sharp image. super super sharp and detailed compared to any of my previous telescopes. the contrast is unmatched
The atmosphere was also very calm at the time too. airy disks were calm and still. easy to focus on.
also combined with I flocked the scope VERY well. fully and thoroughly flocked everywhere I could. so when I look through the focuser all I see is a black void outside the objective with no reflections off anything

I even blackened the focuser (I'm out of flocking material otherwise I would flock the focuser too.) with a bbq lighter to add a dark carbon coating to the surface (really made a huge difference)
Theres a couple shiny parts in the lens I can't fix
(between lens elements. and directly in front/behind each element the surface is too smooth and so shows a bit of shinyness) I can't fix that which is a shame. The retaining ring is glued so theres no removing them without expensive custom fabricated machinery to hold it and remove it without damaging anything.

dew shield is fully flocked
As well as I also made a long flocked cardboard tube cut similar shape as the end of a hypodermic needle. so I can rotate it around to block any source of glare or streetlighting.

I wish I could go out to a darker location but i really have no way to travel. no public transportation. no nothing.

[John Baars]

You did a good job blackening all those shiny parts. It helps enhancing contrasts!

[realflow100]

Yeah I really want to push it to the limit.
Get a super deep flocked dew shield extension (Like ABSOLUTELY ludicrously long. at least a whole entire foot added with the one it has)
Combined with my adjustable streetlight blocker cardboard thing at the same time.
All the darkening!

Any idea where I could get some kind of attachment or super extended long dew shield of some kind?
Also looking to get more flocking fabric stuff. LOTS more. I ran out quicker than I thought I would. I want like a 15 foot roll of the stuff at least.

[Lady Fraktor]

You do not want to make the dewshield longer than 3x the diameter of the objective lens. 2.5x the diameter is usually best
Any longer and you will vingette the FOV

[realflow100]

I thought its fine as long as its wide enough at the end. Like a cone shape?
Thats what I did with the cardboard thing. and it seemed to work fine. when looking through the focuser I dont see any portion of the cardboard and its about 20 inches long
also looking from the front it doesnt cut off any of the objective from reaching the sensor when I go to the edges I can see every portion of the sensor from the far edges of the objective. I made it with somewhat of a "cone" shape so that its wider at the end slightly.

The one my scope has from the factory is only about 2.5 inches sticking out of the front surface of the lens. Thats waaaay shorter than ideal. barely does anything by itself. no wonder my flocked cardboard roll extension is so effective at darkening the background and blocking glare.

Maybe even one thats oversized with internal baffles placed inside. That way no stray light can make it to the objective. even on the walls of the dew shield. will stay fully black.