#1  
Old 07-11-2013, 09:55 PM
simmo's Avatar
simmo
Registered User

simmo is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Perth
Posts: 288
NGC 6818 PN (Little Gem Nebula)

Date: 6/11/13
Time: 8:30 - 10pm
Location: SE Perth Suburb
Instrument: SW 10" dobsonian
Conditions: Beaut night for viewing. ie. No twinkling stars.
Seeing: Light pollution was about 4
Eyepieces/Mags: 25mm (67x), 18mm (96x), 12.5mm (133x), 6mm (200x) UO orthoscopic

Object: NGC 6818 PN (Little Gem Nebula)

Constellation: Between Sagittarius and Capriconus
Magnitude: 10.00
Size: 0' 18"
R.A(of date): 19h 44m 47s
Dec: -14 06' 58"

Notes: Started off the night looking at a few objects around M11 (Wild Duck Cluster) until it became too low. Then decided to head up in the sky from there as it is a part of the sky I hadn't looked at before.

I looked for an object to find using Stellarium and came across NGC 6822 GX Mag: 9.00 (Barnard's Galaxy) and thought I could give this one a go. After finding the triangle of e1 Sgr, e2 Sgr and HIP 97063 stars I went horizontally right to where Barnard's GX should have been. I was disappointed as I couldn't make out any detail at all.

Looking up Stellarium again I noticed close by NGC 6818. Seeing I hadn't found a PN before I thought this was a challenge and could be a good find. If Barnard's GX was Mag 9.00 with no detail then would I find NGC 6818 at Mag 10, I wasn't sure?

Using my 25mm and Stellarium zoomed in I star hopped across and was surprised with what I found. NGC 6818 was visible. It was larger than the stars around with a fuzzy perimeter and a grey blue hue to it. I had read threads on PN's about using a blink test and yes it blinked which was different to the stars around it. Seeing the viewing was good I pushed the magnification up to 200x with the 6mm and was able to make out more detail without the loss of colour or shape.

I was pretty chuffed with this find and looked for any other PN's close by and came across NGC 7009 PN Mag.8.00 (Saturn Nebula) in Aquarius. I was able to star hop and find this PN as well. There was more detail and colour in this PN.

Even so I will remember NGC 6818 as my first PN and it has given me the confidence to find others in the future.

Thanks for reading
Simmo
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-12-2013, 12:18 AM
MattT's Avatar
MattT
Reflecting on Refracting

MattT is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,215
Hey Simmo,
Nice write up on the PN. Shame about Barnard's Galaxy. From my experience Galaxy's are difficult from the Suburbs. From my backyard I can't see Centaurus A at all, even though with Goto and a 10" Newt I know I'm looking straight at it! Out at a dark site it's an amazing sight, chalk and cheese really.
Still plenty to see from home.
Matt
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-12-2013, 08:52 PM
Paddy's Avatar
Paddy (Patrick)
Canis Minor

Paddy is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Strangways, Vic
Posts: 2,214
Well done Simmo. The first PN is a great experience. Well worth coming back to the Saturn nebula as with repeated visits it will reveal more detail. Barnard's galaxy is a challenge even with dark skies as it has quite a low surface brightness. NGC 253 might be a brighter subject for light polluted skies. However, the best galaxies with lots of detail for you might be the Magellanic Clouds. Not that I'm biased or anything....
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 06:47 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement