Received my copy on Friday - indeed, it is the bible for PNs! I was sort of hoping there might be a few pictures included, but there's nary a photo to be seen anywhere in its nearly 500 pages. There also appears to be no rhyme or reason in terms of how the PNs are catalogued, so you need to utilise the index at the back if you have a particular object you want to look up, otherwise it's just 800+ descriptions/notations one after the other. That being said, if you can't find the PN you want in this book, you're very hard to please. The author also found a lot of them with a 20" scope, so there is a challenge in that respect also. I wonder if there's a SkySafari list for all these.....
Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae
Patrick are they ordered by galactic coordinates?
The Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae (Acker+, 1992)
is available as a pdf online.
Part 2 is 752 pages and 36.2 MB
Part 1 has images but I haven't seen it online.
I have a hard-copy of both parts.
"... a list of 1820 objects, each of them called at least once a planetary nebula, have been inspected; 1143 of them have been classified as true or probable planetary nebulae; 347 objects, which status is still unclear, were classified among the "possible" planetary nebulae. Finally, 330 objects have been rejected."
Ah, yes Glen, that makes sense - that's how they're ordered, thanks.. I'll have a look online at those docs you mentioned. I'm also in the process of creating a Skysafari observing list if anyone is interested.
I saw 24 PNe last night between 12:30 am and 1:30 am with my 12" Dob using a 9mm EP with a UHC filter and a 4.7mm EP at 167 and 320 times respectively.
* These PNe were faint
*IC 1295, *IC 5148
M 27, M 57, *Mz 2
*NGC 3195, NGC 5189, NGC 5882, *NGC 6072
NGC 6153, NGC 6210, NGC 6302, NGC 6326,
*NGC 6337, NGC 6369, NGC 6445, NGC 6563
NGC 6572, NGC 6629, *NGC 6781, NGC 6818
NGC 6905, NGC 7009, NGC 7293
The image below shows NGC 6712 and IC1295
It was taken by Mike Keith
Observations
Date Sunday 19 July 2020, dark from 6:30pm to 5:15am on 20 July 2020
Observed 3 times. 6:30pm to 9pm, 12:30am to 2am and 4am to 5:15am (total 5¼ hrs)
Location 8.5 km west of Lismore, NSW (28.8 S, 153.2 E, alt 45m)
Good horizons W, N and E with some light pollution on the E
Hill on the S side, but the SCP, LMC and SMC were still visible
Fog in the valley and dew on the hill where I was observing
Used a hair dryer to dry the secondary and EPs many times.
Telescope 12” collapsible Saxon Dobsonian, focal length 1500 mm (not goto)
Eyepieces 26mm (58x), 11mm (136x), 9mm (167x), 4.7mm (319x)
Used a UHC filter on the 9mm EP for large PN and most nebulae
Used a UHC filter on the 26mm EP for large nebulae (Lagoon, Veil, North America)
Also used 15x70 Celestron binoculars on the Milky Way, LMC, SMC, M31, M33
Made a list of DSO I had seen after I got home, saw about:
19 open clusters, most seen with the 26mm EP
50 globular clusters, most seen with the 11mm Explore Scientific EP which has an 82 degree apparent field of view
28 nebulae, seen with the 9mm EP and 26mm EP both with a UHC filter
Also scanned the SMC and LMC for clusters and nebulae with the 11mm EP
37 planetary nebulae, seen with the 9mm+UHC and 4.7mm Explore Scientific EP (82 degree apparent field of view)
64 galaxies, most seen with the 11mm EP
198 total + lots of objects in the Magellan Clouds
Also saw Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus with the 9mm and 4.7mm EP
After several days of contradictory cloud forecasts from the ever-unreliable ClearOutside app, I made my way to Warwick last night with SEQAS. The skies were magnificent and clear until the clouds began rolling in around 1.30am, but it was my bedtime then anyway as it was freezing.
I checked out a few of the more noteworthy PN's: Ring, Dumbbell, Skull, Bug, etc. I had the Ring at 500x trying to spot the central star – a challenge laid down by Stephen James O’Meara in this month’s Astronomy magazine, but apart from a brief moment of averted imagination, I think I drew a blank. I then then decided to try a few of the less well-known versions. I was using SkySafari to list all PN's, then was simply going to ones I've never seen before. There's a reason they're not well known - generally they're pretty hard to spot and aren’t especially mind-blowing, even with a filter and a good idea of the local star layout, but there's a certain satisfaction is nabbing them nonetheless. Excuse the brief descriptions - it was too cold to have hands exposed for any longer than necessary. Equipment was a 20” GOTO dob, 8-24mm Baader Zoom, 3-6mm Nagler zoom, Lumicon OIII filter and DGM NPB filter.
Minkowski 3-34 VM +12.6: Faint stellar dot
YM 16 VM +13.0:Very faint stellar dot
Sharpless 2-17 VM +12.3: stellar dot
Minkowski 1-66 VM +13.3: dim blue stellar dot
PK 033-05.1 VM +13.19: very pale faint grey puff, needs OIII and averted vision.
NGC 6778 VM +12.1: Not quite stellar sized blue-grey mottled disc with a blurred edge
NGC 6790 VM +10.69: Stellar dot
Merrill 2-2 VM +11.5: tiny faint stellar dot.
NGC 7662 Blue Snowball VM +8.30: Intense bright blue ball of good size, OIII suggests fainter outer nebulosity
NGC 6565 VM +11.39: small dot, needs OIII to really pop out.
NGC 261 VM +13.0: small bright puff of nebulosity
NGC 6072 VM +11.3: reasonable sized grey disc easily seen. No real distinct edges – blurs towards the edge.
Cannon 1-1 VM +12.89: Stellar dot
Henize 2-118 VM +12.69: small dot, OIII helps to resolve it.
NGC 5873 VM +11.19: Quite small but relatively bright ball
Wray 16-210 VM +12.0: small but quite bright grey disc with a hint of elongation and rim brightening.
Henize 2-141 VM +12.3: very small grey blob, needs OIII.
Wray 16-183 VM +12.00: small grey disc with a suggestion of a dark hole in the centre. An image on Skysafari confirms a donut/ring-like appearance.
ESO 3-0 VM +11.35: tiny faint mottled splodge.
I'm located way up at N53.5 degrees, but I've made observations of 39 of Glen's PNs. Each observtaion has a description and a sketch. I could put them up here if anyone's interested? A few each day for a few days?
I'm located way up at N53.5 degrees, but I've made observations of 39 of Glen's PNs. Each observtaion has a description and a sketch. I could put them up here if anyone's interested? A few each day for a few days?
I'm located way up at N53.5 degrees, but I've made observations of 39 of Glen's PNs. Each observation has a description and a sketch. I could put them up here if anyone's interested? A few each day for a few days?
I'm located way up at N53.5 degrees, but I've made observations of 39 of Glen's PNs. Each observtaion has a description and a sketch. I could put them up here if anyone's interested? A few each day for a few days?
OK, thanks for the enthusiasm. I'll start with three, just to see how they go. They may be a bit large and I may have to reduce them in size a bit. Please tell me if they're too big.
1. NGC 6853 (M27) Vul.
Huge and very bright. The brightest area was the southern half of the 'dumbbell', which was an irregular oval in shape. This had uneven surface brightness and several brighter knots. The northern dumbbell was larger and more triangular in shape. The 13.8 mag central star was clearly seen with averted vision and appeared to be in a slightly darker inclusion.
2. NGC 3242 Hya.
Very, very bright. The object responds well to the OIII filter. At x150 the nebula is clearly slightly elongated and there are hints of annularity. At x450 a darker centre is seen, with a brighter patch on the south side of the nebula. A thin outer area of pale nebulosity can also be seen. Amazing.
3. NGC 7293 Aqr.
Not visible without the OIII filter in place. Huge and dim. Obvious but quite difficult to pin down the elusive details. The outer edge of the ring is almost circular, whilst the inner edge appears more elliptical. There is a distinctly brighter patch in the north-east segment of the ring, and fainter areas at the extremities. (Bear in mind that I made this observation from southern Scotland. The object was transiting and had reached its maximum altitude of 15 degrees above the horizon.)
Hi Patrick,
I make rough sketches at the eyepiece plus copious notes. Then the following morning I make a more refined version (pencil on white paper). I invert them using an image manipulation program. For illumination I use a very faint red light. So faint that I have to hold it within an inch of the paper to see it at all. I use 4" diameter circles, and have to move the light around to illuminate each part of the circle I'm drawing in.
The first three seemed to go quite well. Here's the next five.
4. NGC 7009 Aqr.
Very, very bright. Instantly visible in medium finding powers (x83). Quite elongated with lobes at either end. There is a darkening within it, but it is not central, so not a hole, I think. (see 98/01). There is faint outer nebulosity, which extends to form the 'ansae', though these are usually visible only to averted vision. The OIII filter makes it appear a little larger, presumably by brightening the fainter outer nebulosity, but it is really not needed for this object.
5. NGC 7662 And
Very, very bright. Quite elongated. Pale blue in colour. Darker in the middle, making it appear annular. Faint extensions are visible outside the brighter part of the nebula. There is a brighter ring structure within the bright nebula.
6. NGC 7027 Cyg
Very bright and very small. It appears rectangular in shape. The northern half is brighter than the southern, with an intense bright spot in the north west. A dark line bisects the nebula across its shorter dimension, half way along. At x450, the OIII filter reveals a fainter outer nebulosity. The filter does little for the brighter part of the nebula. Stands very high power very well, under which it appears a little more rounded. The western edge is sharper, the eastern edge tending to fade away as if ‘brushed’.
7. NGC 6210 Her
Very, very bright, obvious at x83. The OIII filter adds nothing. Bright blue. Fairly homogeneous, slightly elongated. The north side is brighter than the south side where there is some sort of darkness. Outer nebulosity is visible, especially at the extremities of the nebula.
8. NGC 6720 (M57) Lyr
An astonishing view at x450. The colours were quite bright - greenish in the ring and bluish inside. Of course, I may be influenced by photographs. With colour vision as bad as mine it's hard to tell. I think for the first time, I actually glimpsed the central star with averted vision.
Some of the observations were made with a 12" scope on a simple Dobsonian mount, others with a guided Goto scope. I have to say that the Goto on the 12" SkyWatcher that I have is not all that good, and finding objects usually involves some 'micro-star-hopping'. The Goto will get me within a degree or so of the object, then I hop along to it.
Here's the next five.
9. NGC 6826 Cyg
Very bright. Three distinct areas visible. The centre is almost starlike and extremely bright. This is surrounded by a very bright, smooth, almost circular area. Outside this is a dimmer area, which nearly doubles the apparent width of the object and gives it a clear elongation.
10. NGC 2392 Gem
Very, very bright and intensely blue. One of the very few DSOs that show a distinct colour to my eyes. Brilliant central star, very bright central region and bright outer region. The inner region is almond-shaped whilst the outer is round. Very mottled all over. Superb object.
11. IC 418 Lep
Bright, small and stellar at medium power. High power reveals a brighter area in the middle and a clearly oval shape. The nebula appeared to be pale blue in colour.
12. NGC 2440 Pup
Very bright. Greenish. An elongated outer nebulosity with a brighter inner nebulosity elongated at 90° to the outer. No central star seen, unsurprising as it is magnitude 18.9.
13. NGC 1535 Eri
Bright. Immediately obvious, even in medium power. Round with a brighter centre. Brighter with OIII filter.