The Bubble and the Veil

10 September 2021, 21:30 – 22:15 (BST)

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Average

Conditions: Cooler than the last couple of sessions (though still mild for the time of year), with a gusty wind. Cloud joining up from the west and the northeast, eventually putting an end to the session at 22:15. But the 45 minutes I did get were pretty good.

Czernik 43, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. About time I took some notes on this cluster given the number of times I’ve had it in the field of view. Loose, sparse cluster – hard to distinguish from the rich background of Milky Way stars. The view is currently livened up by the presence of Nova Cas 2021 right next to it.

NGC 7635, Bubble Nebula, Cassiopeia

50x + OIII filter. Seemed more “obvious” with this magnification/filter combination, but hard to define any shape on this occasion. Seemed larger too (paradoxically); perhaps I was detecting traces of the surrounding nebulosity. The clouds forced me away before I could try other combinations.

Veil Nebula, SNR, Cygnus

50x + OIII filter. Looked spectacular tonight before the clouds got in the way. The three brightest components were showing up well.

M27, planetary nebula, Vulpecula

50x + OIII filter. Very bright with this eyepiece/filter combination, but hard to make out much detail. The “spinning coin” effect seemed quite pronounced at this magnification.

The clouds were pushing in from all sides by this point, but a gap had cleared over Cygnus, allowing a quick return trip to the Veil before the sky was completely covered.

Veil Nebula, SNR, Cygnus

50x + OIII filter. Quick notes to add to previous observations. The spike of the Witch’s Broom had brighter edges with averted vision. Fleming’s Triangular Wisp is very long – starts farther north than I had previously realised. Couldn’t see any of the other, fainter sections, but I didn’t really have enough time to properly look for them.