Magellanic Marvels

[EpickCrom]

Hi astro mates! I spent 3 hrs observing last night. Had a blast, transparency seems a bit affected by the lingering effects of the Tonga volcanic ash high in the atmosphere. All observations carried out with my 10 inch dobsonian.

Harvard 5: Small shapely open cluster in Crux.
NGC 4755: Showpiece open cluster in Crux. Dazzling array of stars, the central traffic lights showed superb colour contrast.
Comet C/2019 L3 Atlas in Gemini: A faint coma seen. Not much else!
M48: Nice wide open cluster in Hydra. There is an upside down V shape in the centre of this cluster.
NGC 1763 and NGC 1769: The highlight of the night! Double nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud in Dorado. Bright and prominent, a beautiful sight.
NGC 104: 47 Tucanae. Spectacular! Intense core swarming with stars radiating outwards. I must have spent over 30 min on this southern treasure.
M42: Orion Nebula. Another delight, nebulosity all over the place. Intense green colour. I detected several really tiny, faint stars within the nebulosity.

My final target was NGC 3195, the planetary nebula in Chamaeleon. I was in the correct field as confirmed by Sky Safari Plus but try as I may I could not see it. Do any of you guys have difficulties seeing this one?

It was a pleasurable night out observing as always. Keep looking up and clear skies to you all.

Joe

[glenc]

Joe, 3195 is faint in my 12".
You should be able to see it in your 10"

[EpickCrom]

Thanks Glen, I will give NGC 3195 another go tonight

[ngcles]

Hi Joe,

Here are my observing notes for NGC 3195 using both 25 and 46cm. In both instances I used a UHC nebula filter and with the 46cm observation, an OIII filter too. That latter observation was from a rural site with unusually good seeing:

NGC 3195 PNe Chameleon
25cm x181: A very interesting object! Found immediately E of a magnitude 12.5 star. Appears 30 - 40" diameter. Seems dimmer at the centre. Well defined edge, but beyond this outer edge there seems to be a little diffuse faint haze. Moderately brighter lobes within the halo aligned E-W on the inner sides of the ring. In some respects similar to NGC 6445 and M27. Grey. Edges stand out well.

46cm x317: This is a bright and interesting PNe that stands out well in the field, nestled beside (to the E) of a small triangle of magnitudes 12, 13 & 13 stars. Responds well to the UHC and OIII filter and has good surface brightness. Seems slightly elongated in PA 0, 40 x 30" and has a mottled surface that is uneven in surface brightness and definitely dimmer toward the centre, though no central star is visible with or without filter. Seems to have an elongated central hole of irregular surface brightness 20 x 15" in PA 0 that is a little dimmer than the periphery. Not particularly hard edges to the disc. Without filtration, it is a bluish grey.

Best,

L.

[EpickCrom]

Thanks Les, this gives me an idea what to look for. I don't have any filters yet, that is next on my astronomical wish list!

Joe

[glenc]

I prefer a UHC filter and have Lumicon and Svbony ones.

[Hemi]

…wonderful! I can see it. (In my mind).

[EpickCrom]

Hi Glenn, I'm thinking of buying a UHC and a OIII filter. From what I've read they are the best filters for deep sky observing.

[EpickCrom]

:thumbsup::thumbsup: For me I can only see NGC 3195 in my mind too for now as I still can't see it through the eyepiece:rofl:

[ngcles]

Hi Joe,



My advice FWIW for 10" of aperture is to get the UHC filter. The OIII is a "line" filter and passes only the lines made by doubly ionised Oxygen. The UHC also passes the H-Beta line too.

The nett result for a 10" is that with the OIII, is the sky/field becomes I think unnaturally dark. For better brightness of the object of interest itself, the UHC works better for a large majority of nebulae.

Goes without saying (I hope) that both UHC and OIII filters are a hindrance on any deep sky objects other than planetary and emission nebulae. Will considerably dim things like galaxies, clusters etc. The only "filter" that works on those sort of objects is a genuinely dark sky.

Best,

L.

[EpickCrom]

NgcLes, thanks for the great advice. I will buy a UHC filter. Thanks
Joe