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Dunedin, 1 & 2 February 2016, 22.30 - 1.30 NZDT, about 40km west of the city.
No cloud
Transparency 8/10 in light westerlies. Altitude about 500m.
Seeing 6/10
8" f/6 GSO dobsonian
2.4" FS60C f/5.9
IC 434/ B33 Horsehead Nebula, Orion
Detected as a dark notch in IC 434 sans filter using the 8" while in search mode with OTA moving. So it is possible. 25mm Carl Zeiss PL. Exit pupil 4.2mm. Best view through H beta was obtained with a 32mm TV PL at 5.3mm exit pupil, B33's orientation remaining just beyond reach. However the part of IC 434 immediately to the north of B33 was visibly brighter. So that's something to take home. Patrick, the limits imposed by B33 appear to be related to its angular size. Maintain a large exit pupil and even smaller apertures should show it (I'm confident of that now) - until the magnification used is too low. The 32 PL provides 37x in my 8", which is not that much and the lowest power I've used on this object yet. The Horsehead is of a decent size.
N3372 Eta Carinae Nebula & N3532 Football Cluster
24 Pan & FS60C at 4.1mm exit pupil provided the most epic view of the night with both these objects in the same field. After spending much time looking at marginal shades of dark grey, I looked at this vista and found myself just about launched into space.
Large Magellanic Cloud & Tarantula Nebula
28 Edmund RKE & FS60C is a unique experience. With the OTA being small, the entire telescope disappears behind the "floating eyepiece" when used in straight tru mode. The result is a seamless transition between the image and the surrounding sky. The LMC magnified right next to the Milky Way in the same view!
Messier 42 Orion Nebula
Interesting side observation using the 8" with twilight still in progress: the 13mm TV PL smoothie appears to outperform the 13T6 Nag on Trapezium F. The star was immediately and steadily visible in the PL, took a bit more effort in the Nagler.
Last edited by N1; 02-02-2016 at 07:53 AM.
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