Diffuse Nebula near M30

[TrevorW]

Could anyone let me know what the nebula near M30 in Capricornus is I can't seem to identify it from any of my charts, Stellarium etc

[pgc hunter]

Cartes Du Ciel shows another Globular, Palomar 12 roughly 2º NW of M30.
It's mag is listed as +12. On DSS images it appears much smaller and fainter than M30. What size scope are you using?

[TrevorW]

8"

I'm just posting a picture under DSO

[ngcles]

Hi Trevor & All,

There is nothing by way of nebulosity per se within 10-odd degrees of M30 that I know of.

Pal 12 as PGC has noted is nearby but it is a GC -- that is just visible in 10" under a dark sky. It has a small distinctive triangular asterism of mag 11/12 stars just off it's southern edge that makes finding its location pretty easy.

I wonder if you might be refering to the "alleged nebula" near M2 in Aquarius (a nearby GC to M30) that is in the NGC catalogue as NGC 7088 and has become known as "Blaxendell's Unphotographable Nebula". It is said to be about 25 arc-mins north of M2

The visual discovery of this "nebula" by Blaxendall was included by Dryer in the NGC after Dryer himself apparently saw it too. There have been many "sightings" over the years -- some quite recent by amateur astronomers of good reputation. However there is absolutely no trace of it on any photographs.

You can read a bit about it here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~haggisizing/astro/invisible.htm

Harold Corwin's notes on the NGC/IC project are:

NGC 7088 does not exist, even though a least a dozen sightings have been
reported of it in the literature, including one by Dreyer in the NGC. The
nominal position, from Baxendell, is about half a degree north of M2 (NGC
7089), but there is nothing there but faint field stars.

Typical of the literature reports is one by Steve Coe in ``Deep Sky Journal
#2'' (Autumn 1992) on page 29: ``NGC 7088 is faint, large, and elongated 2X1
E-W. ... It is just a faint glow with some mottled structure and 6 stars
superimposed across the face ....'' Steve includes a sketch with M2 directly
to the south. But reference to the Sky Survey POSS1 prints and Siding Spring
IIIa-J films show nothing at all at Steve's place except very faint field
stars (there are not enough of them to lend even a hint of a cluster in the
field).

My feeling about this object is that it may have been a reflection of some
other object (perhaps even M2) within Baxendell's telescope or eyepiece, and
that later observations are illusions simply ``wished'' into existence (see
NGC 2529 and NGC 2531 for a discussion of two other such objects).

See:http://www.ngcicproject.org/pubdb.htm

and search under NGC 7088.

I've never seen it. Several attempts with 'scopes up to 18". Nothing seen save a few faint stars in a pretty thinly-sprinkled field -- as noted by Corwin.

It is probably an illusion caused by a grouping of faint stars -- who knows.

Hope that is of some help. In the end to directly answer your initial question, there is nothing of a "nebulous nature" within many degrees of M30.


Best,

Les D

[TrevorW]

Les can you tell me what the thing is in the image I just posted under DSO

Thanks

[mithrandir]

The catalogs I have in Cartes du Ceil list the following with mag <= 13.5 "near" M30:
ra dec typ name mag sbr dim cons
21h40m24.00s -23°11'00.0" Gb M30 7.5 11 8.9x8.9' Cap
21h46m30.00s -21°14'00.0" Gb Pal12 12.9 2.9x2.9' Aqr
22h00m30.00s -24°38'00.0" Gx NGC7167 12.5 13.2 1.7x1.3' Aqr
22h02m18.00s -20°33'00.0" Gx NGC7180 12.5 13.52 1.8x1.8' Aqr
22h02m24.00s -18°55'00.0" Gx NGC7183 11.9 13.4 3.8x1.1' Aqr
22h02m42.00s -20°49'00.0" Gx NGC7184 10.9 13.1 5.9x1.3' Aqr
22h02m54.00s -20°28'00.0" Gx NGC7185 12.6 13.8 2.3x1.5' Aqr
22h03m30.00s -20°19'00.0" Gx NGC7188 13.2 13.3 1.6x0.8' Aqr
22h11m30.00s -22°57'00.0" Gx NGC7220 13.5 12.8 0.9x0.7' Aqr

[kinetic]

Looks like it could be an internal reflection maybe?

Steve

[TrevorW]

Yeah but what caused it

it's really strange ???

[pgc hunter]

Could be internal reflections in your optical system caused by a streetlight or something similar.

[TrevorW]

Could it have been caused through dewing of the secondary. Checking my scope this morning I noticed there is still dew on the secondary and primary

???

[pgc hunter]

No. If it was dewing, the stars in your image would appear blurry/hazy with a glow surrounding each and every one of them. This looks like a classic case of stray light interfering with your optics.

[TrevorW]

Gee and I was hoping I found a new one

I've had some reflections before but not like this

Oh well back to the drawing board

[astronut]

Trevor,
After seeing your "New Nebula" I was looking at Mike's (Strong man mike) image of the Helix Nebula.
Look at the bottom left hand corner of the Helix, "Look familiar":scared:

[TrevorW]

sorry can't see anything on my monitor out of the ordinary