Starkler
19-06-2006, 10:26 PM
No moon - check
no clouds - check
slip away from work early - check
Its been 2 months since I had a dark sky observing session and I have been suffering withdrawals :screwy: Time to do something about it!
I wanted to start early to catch the Leo and Virgo galaxies along with a few other northern targets before they dissapeared into the murk of the north west.
Started off with a galaxy tour of Leo, then armed with a few finder charts, found that strange and bizarre object, 3C273, (Thanks Rob).
Next onto a Virgo galaxy tour. Done :)
Time to try out the new baader OIII filter. I did a few comparisons between it and my lumicon uhc on m17, the bug nebula, lagoon and eta carina nebs.
THe OIII as expected showed a darker background and less stars. The contrast on eta carina was amazing, whilst on m8 and m17, the uhc gave the better view. The OIII was also good on the eight burst planetary neb, enabling internal structure to be seen. Overall the OIII did a good job and everything I expected of it.
Had a bit of a look around at a few old favourites, like the homunculus (showing great detail tonight), the hamburger and the sombrero galaxies.
Galaxy hunting was a bit hit and miss, with fog rolling in and then 10 minutes later, gone, then returning and going again. :doh:
Finally the fog went and it got really cold !
I had been entertaining thoughts of selling the 31mm nagler, but after taking in the milky way areas of sagitarius and carina again I think I have renewed my love of this eyepiece . Simply awesome views if you can get somewhere dark :)
Anyway, 3 hours of braving in the cold was enough for me as the fog had returned thicker than ever, so I packed it in after scraping the frost from the scope.
Hope your night was as good as mine :)
no clouds - check
slip away from work early - check
Its been 2 months since I had a dark sky observing session and I have been suffering withdrawals :screwy: Time to do something about it!
I wanted to start early to catch the Leo and Virgo galaxies along with a few other northern targets before they dissapeared into the murk of the north west.
Started off with a galaxy tour of Leo, then armed with a few finder charts, found that strange and bizarre object, 3C273, (Thanks Rob).
Next onto a Virgo galaxy tour. Done :)
Time to try out the new baader OIII filter. I did a few comparisons between it and my lumicon uhc on m17, the bug nebula, lagoon and eta carina nebs.
THe OIII as expected showed a darker background and less stars. The contrast on eta carina was amazing, whilst on m8 and m17, the uhc gave the better view. The OIII was also good on the eight burst planetary neb, enabling internal structure to be seen. Overall the OIII did a good job and everything I expected of it.
Had a bit of a look around at a few old favourites, like the homunculus (showing great detail tonight), the hamburger and the sombrero galaxies.
Galaxy hunting was a bit hit and miss, with fog rolling in and then 10 minutes later, gone, then returning and going again. :doh:
Finally the fog went and it got really cold !
I had been entertaining thoughts of selling the 31mm nagler, but after taking in the milky way areas of sagitarius and carina again I think I have renewed my love of this eyepiece . Simply awesome views if you can get somewhere dark :)
Anyway, 3 hours of braving in the cold was enough for me as the fog had returned thicker than ever, so I packed it in after scraping the frost from the scope.
Hope your night was as good as mine :)