Auriga and Beyond

30 November 2018, 20:30 – 22:30 GMT

Conditions: Good transparency - dark enough that the 24mm Panoptic wasn’t hindered by sky brightness. Clear at first, some bands of cloud later on. Cold, but not especially so for the time of year. Set up the XT10 on concrete for the first time rather than the lawn (so I could have a chance of seeing M42 rising) – despite this the scope seemed to cool down relatively quickly.

M37, Open Cluster in Auriga
Lovely rich cluster, roughly triangular – instantly recognisable. Dark lanes and chains of stars give it a symmetrical shape reminiscent of a crab or beetle (very much like O’Meara’s sketch in The Messier Objects). Best view probably at 50x.

M36, Open Cluster in Auriga
Smaller cluster than M37; individual member stars brighter but less numerous. Would be more highly regarded if it wasn’t outshone by its neighbours.

M38, Open Cluster in Auriga
Large, rich cluster; somewhat “straggly” compared to M37. NGC 1907 in same field of view at 50x: small, condensed cluster – some resolution with averted vision at 50x, giving it a “sparkling” appearance. More stars pop out at 133x

Located AE Aurigae in the eyepiece, but couldn’t discern the surrounding nebula with any degree of confidence. However I had more success with…

NGC 1931 (aka “The Fly”), Emission Nebula in Auriga
An obvious streak of nebulosity at all magnifications. Ultrablock filter improved the contrast – quite bright as nebulae go. Higher magnification revealed a tight triangle of stars at the centre.

M1 (Crab Nebula), Supernova Remnant in Taurus
Appeared as a “puff” of cloudy nebulosity. 133x (Nagler 9mm) + Ultrablock improved the contrast, but no detail to speak of other than a vaguely bi-lobed shape. One of those deepsky objects that can only really be appreciated when you think about what you're looking at.

NGC 1647, Open Cluster in Taurus
Large, sprawling cluster – needs a wider field to get the best view.

M77, Seyfert Galaxy in Cetus
Not the most prominent constellation, but this galaxy is helpfully within 2 fovs of Delta Ceti (a distinctly blue star). M77 itself appears as a very bright core embedded in a disc of nebulosity – immediately obvious even in this light-polluted part of the sky. A nearby 10th magnitude star helps with focus and averted vision. The galaxy holds brightness well at 240x, but I couldn’t see the recently discovered supernova. If it brightens by 1 or 2 magnitudes I might get lucky. (Postscript: it didn’t.)

Also: Mira (Omicron Ceti) was visible to the naked eye.

M35, Open Cluster in Gemini
Rich, large cluster; very distinctive chain of similarly bright stars forming an arc. Nearby cluster NGC 2158 was visible as a condensed patch of light – started to resolve (with averted vision) at 133x, but not as easily as 1907 in Auriga.

M42, Orion Nebula (and M43)
Had to peer between branches of neighbour’s tree to see it, but it was still spectacular despite the partial obstruction. Very bright, greenish core almost overwhelming the Trapezium at 50x, detailed structure apparent with direct vision. Long “wings”, one sweeping out towards NGC 1980. Ultrablock filter significantly increased the extent of the nebula, particularly on the northern side. Could easily spend a whole evening on this object.

A Crystal Ball in Taurus

2 November 2018, 19:45 – 21:45 GMT

Cold, very light wind, transparency improving over the course of the session.

Double Cluster, Perseus
Viewed at 50x (24mm Panoptic). Comparing against recent photo (above). The lower magnification is better for framing the clusters – at the expense of some contrast – but the eyepiece view always beats the photographic representation. Red giant stars showing well.

Cr 466, open cluster in Cassiopeia 
Large and loose, would probably look better in a wide field refractor.

vdB 1, reflection nebula in Cassiopeia
First entry in O’Meara’s Secret Deep book. Despite its obscure designation it stood out reasonably well as an extended, if subtle, haze surrounding three stars. Not surprisingly the Ultrablock did nothing to improve the view (other than damping the glare from Beta Cas). Probably worth revisiting at higher magnification on a darker night.

M76, Planetary Nebula in Perseus
Prolonged averted vision (+ Ultrablock filter) seemed to reveal the faint “loop” extensions on either side of the main nebula (brighter on one side). Starting to wonder whether an O III filter might make a significant difference on this and similar nebulae.

NGC 1501, Planetary Nebula in Camelopardalis
133x + Ultrablock filter: green-grey disc which seemed to subtly change shape depending on which side of it I was looking. Otherwise, same details seen as on 9 October.

NGC 1514 (The Crystal Ball Nebula), Planetary Nebula in Taurus
The undoubted highlight of the session – a very pretty planetary nebula flanked by two nearby 8th magnitude stars (which help make the nebulosity obvious even at 50x). At 133x it appeared as a 9th magnitude star peering out from a cocoon of light. Obvious without the filter, but the Ultrablock really enhanced the view. The edges didn’t have a sharp cut-off (unlike other PN I’ve looked at recently), but the nebula had a certain indefinable quality about it that distinguished it as a Planetary Nebula rather than an Emission Nebula (like the difference between smoke and mist). It seems from my notes that I never tried for this with the 4-inch scope, but it doesn’t deserve its reputation as a difficult object. Having two similar-brightness stars in the same field-of-view really helps to “lock in” the averted vision.

Other notes: failed to find NGC 1275 (galaxy, Perseus), but did spot a lovely close double-star pair in the vicinity. Looked a little bit like a condensed facsimile of Eta Cas.

NGC 1342, open cluster in Perseus
133x. Fairly loose at this magnification. The “starfish” shape started to become apparent when I nudged the scope around, so would probably look better at 50x.

Also, a first look at M38 and NGC 1907, pair of open clusters in Auriga: very nice, well resolved at 133x. Two rich clusters presenting very different aspects – would definitely make a good imaging target for the TV60.

Condensation wasn’t so much of an issue this time, being noticeable only on the red dot finder.