Murrell 1

[starsend]

Has anyone seen Murrell1?
AT the 2007 Deepest South Texas Star Party, Andrew showed us Murrrell 1 in his 25".
Like all Murrell objects it required averted imagination.

[h0ughy]

Would you like to describe Andrews Murrel1?

[xstream]

Boy that could be ugly! :rofl:

[Liz]

Hi Van .... hadnt heard of Murrell 1, sounds like a tricky one:question:


....... "Andrew is the Sales Manager of Winning Appliances, a whitegoods retailer located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, and has been an amateur astronomer for many years, as well as having served time on the committee of the Astronomical Society of New South Wales. Andrew recently discovered a faint planetary nebula which has since been confirmed and named "Murrell 1". "

http://www.3rf.com.au/whoswho.asp

[gary]

More importantly, has anyone been able to spot the mysterious object Van Robinson
from these southern latitudes lately? :shrug:

In the past, Van Robinson was an annual and sometimes even bi-annual apparition
here, but has not been spotted for quite a while now.

Regular observers miss these sightings of Van Robinson and hope that a
re-appearance under southern skies is on the cards.

Failing that, some of us will have to pack our observing gear and make the trek
to Limpia Crossing, Texas in the hope of a long overdue sighting.

Best regards

Gary Kopff
Mt. Kuring-Gai NSW 2080

[gary]

Murrell 1

Type : PN
Co-ordinates : RA: 15 06 17.13 Dec -41 45 18.4 J2000.0
Central star mag: approx 18
Image link: http://stdatu.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_search?v=poss2ukstu_blue&r=15+06+17&d=-41+45+22&e=J2000&h=15.0&w=15.0&f=gif&c=none&fov=NONE&v3=
Discoverer : Andrew Murrell, Mount Kaputar 21-Feb-2004
Verified: Brian Skiff, Lowell Observatory 22-Feb-2004
Verification image: Steve Lee, Coonabarabran 3-Mar-2004
Reported not in MASH database: David Frew, Department of Physics, Macquarie University 5-Mar-2004
Verification spectroscopy: David Frew, 2.3m telescope, Coonabarabran, circa 22-Jul-2004

[ausastronomer]

Hi Gary,

I vaguely recall the visual appearance of the mysterious object "Van Robinson". I think the last time I observed it was at the 2007 Texas Star Party :)

Cheers,
John B

[gary]

Hi John,

At the same time in 2007, the furthest south (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=30084) that I managed to observe Van Robinson
was in Ojinaga, Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojinaga).

I also made a good sighting in Marfa, Texas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa,_Texas) and some suggest that Van Robinson
might somehow be connected with the mysterious Marfa Lights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_lights).

The last confirmed observation I have in my log was at Flagstaff, Arizona
when I caught my final glimpses of Van Robinson from the airport car park.

Now and then I read about recommendations for eyepiece cleaning solutions
and to observe Van Robinson some recommend giving the glass in the eyepieces
a thorough and careful cleaning with a good quality alcohol such as Makers Mark.

[starsend]

The last time I came "down under", it took me a month to regain my dark adaptation, after looking at all the Southelrn Splendors!

--van

[gary]

Hi Van,

Great to see you here on IceInSpace and welcome. :welcome:

Well we certainly miss seeing you down here otherwise as threatened we are going
to have to come up there and pay a visit. Hope you have been keeping the
mountain lion well fed and that it is not on the prowl wanting to chew on a
visiting observer's leg.

Though it is not in the same league as Jimi's 48", there is the incentive that
3RF has generously made available a 30" which Lachlan acts as caretaker for.
Anyway, there is an empty place at the top of the ladder just waiting for you to
fill it.

Best Regards

Gary

[starsend]

I believe Tuc 47 in a 30" will look as good as M13 in a 48", or maybe an 82".
Last trip we had a discussion whether Tuc 47 looked pink or golden. I believe I voted for golden.

--van

[astroron]

Hi Van It looks golden to me in my 16" Dob from my dark sky site in Queensland:)
Great post by the way on your trip to Arkaroola:thumbsup:

[starsend]

Please do not confuse Mark Johnston's nice post on
Arkaroola, with mine.

My very enjoyable observing trips have been to Coonabarabran; courtesy of Tony Buckley, Lachlan MacDonald, Andrew Murrell, Gary Kopff, John Bambury, and others.

Many thanks to all of you.

--van

[astroron]

Got my postser's mixed up :confused2:
I hope to try for Murrell 1 next time I have access to a larger scope than mine:)
But I will give it a go in my 16", you never know I might just fluke it:P

[ausastronomer]

Hi Ron,

Most would say "don't bother", but I will say "GOOD LUCK". Trust me you will need it and then some :)

I have seen it twice in Andrew's 25" scope under absolutely pristine skies at Coonabarabran. I have tried unsuccessfully to see it a couple of times under very good skies at Bucketty in the 25". I failed to see it in Andrew's 20" scope, when he could see it, at Coonababran a couple of years back, despite superb conditions, the target right at zenith and having 5 hours dark adaption. I can normally see deeper than most and to the limit of the scopes aperture, but Andrew takes observing threshhold targets to the next level. My guess is that about 1 in 200 people will see this target in a 20" scope under the very best of conditions, with Andrew being one of those.

IMO it is a threshhold target in the 25" and not doable under any conditions, in a "sub" 20" scope.

I wish you the very best of luck, you will need a long period of dark adaption and the target high in the sky to have any hope.

In regards to Van, I have to say that I have as much fun observing with Andrew, Gary and Van as I do with anyone, having observed in Oz and the USA with them. For someone from the Northern hemisphere Van's knowledge of the Southern Skies and it's targets is absolutely unbelievable.

Cheers,
John B

[starsend]

Even though it is the dirt, we decided to give Murrell 1 a go through Jimi Lowrey's 48", here in the frozen hinterlands of the far North.
We had to lie in the cacti and kick the rattlesnakes out of the way to get to the eyepiece.
Using a 17mm Ethos which gave 330X, and a UHC filter, we squinted through the haze.

Nada.

--van

[ausastronomer]

SUCCESSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

After 8 or more years of trying to observe this dim sucker of a target in telescopes smaller than 25" I have finally succeeded.

Second to Andrew I have probably observed this target visually more than anyone else. I had previously only ever been able to observe it visually in telescopes of 25" aperture and larger. I had tried a couple of times in Andrew's 20"/F5 and while he was able to see it, I wasn't. I have also tried a few times in my own 18"/F4.5 without success. I have an ability to see deeper than most but I think Andrew must have a 20mm pupil dilation to see as deep as he does. Regardless of telescope size and observer skill, it requires good optics, good eyepieces, clear transparent skies, very dark skies, excellent dark adaption and high target altitude above the horizon.

At the most recent Ozsky event which finished last Friday (formerly Deepest South Texas Star Safari) I was able to observe it last Wednesday evening in James Pierces 16"/F4 SDM. The skies were very good and transparent and the target was located at zenith. It goes without saying that the telescope is outstanding as are all of Peter Read's creations. Andrew, myself and James Pierce all observed it in the 16" scope. Several others on the field were able to observe it in one of the 25"/F5 Obsessions. Visually, it appears more triangular in shape than circular due to the lower brightness of a couple of the outer sections.

Cheers,
John B

[jamespierce]

I will admit it was quite a thrill to see the elusive and much fabled Murrell 1 even in my baby 16"