UK Schmidt Film from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh

[Skip]

The Royal Observatory Edinburgh was discarding their library of UK Schmidt film. I was fortunate to save some. Most is in my collection but I have some spare film for sale. If you would like some of the transparency film from the UK Schmidt telescope from Coonabarabran, NSW. Please let me know.


The film is like x-ray film. The faint stars on the negative film are 2 million times fainter than the eye can see (Mag. 23/24). Each negative image is 34 cm x 34 cm but is on a plastic sheet that is 35cm x 43cm (and in a protective sleeve that is slightly bigger again). The images are 6.5 degrees by 6.5 degrees: a wide field of view.





Available film includes:

Abnell 1060 (galaxy cluster) $30
Comet West $25
Comet Halley (on 9 March 1986) $35 [SOLD]
Fornax Cluster of Galaxies $25
Vela Supernova $35
Field 261 (Vela) - 3 dust clouds, cometry globule, planetary nebula NGC2793 $20
Field 346 (Grus) - marked “reject” but very good (At least ten spiral and barred-spiral galaxies in field) $20
Field 351 (Sculptor) – marked “reject” (Galaxies NGC300, Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, Cartwheel Galaxy) $35
Field 357 (Fornax) – marked “reject” but very good (18 bright galaxies, incl. NGC1316, NGC1326 a/b and a satellite trail) $30
Field 627 (Canis Major) (Sirius, NGC2318, NGC2296) $15
Field 666 (Sagittarius) (Many galaxies and interesting features, incl. IC1308, IC4895, IC6822) $15 [ON HOLD]
Field 769 (Monoceros and the edge of Orion): many reflection nebulae $15
Field 813 (Aquarius/Aquila boundary), Galaxy cluster, many galaxies $15
Teaching Set
I also have a few educational packs of 10 transparencies with a very detailed information booklet that describes where to find the objects on the film. The teaching set are $100 each and are very good value.

The film is best viewed using a light box and a loupe (magnifer) for small objects.


Buyers pay for the film and postage. Film will be sent in a postage tube unless other arrangements are made.


Regards Ian (Skip)

[cstocky]

PM sent regarding several films

[allan gould]

I'll take the fornax cluster film. Pmed you

[pmrid]

I was a bit slow off the mark with this one so I take what's left. PM sent.
Peter

[Skip]

Hi



I've sold a fair bit of the UK Schmidt film but I have multiples of some. So there are still some transparencies left. Available film includes:

Abnell 1060 (galaxy cluster) $30
Comet West $25
Field 29 (Tucana) $20 (this was left off the original listing by mistake)
Field 261 (Vela) - 3 dust clouds, cometry globule, planetary nebula NGC2793 $20
Field 346 (Grus) - marked “reject” but very good (At least ten spiral and barred-spiral galaxies in field) $20
Field 351 (Sculptor) – marked “reject” (Galaxies NGC300, Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, Cartwheel Galaxy) $35
Field 357 (Fornax) – marked “reject” but very good (18 bright galaxies, incl. NGC1316, NGC1326 a/b and a satellite trail) $30
Field 627 (Canis Major) (Sirius, NGC2318, NGC2296) $15
Field 813 (Aquarius/Aquila boundary), Galaxy cluster, many galaxies $15
Teaching Sets
I also have a few educational packs of 10 transparencies with a very detailed information booklet that describes where to find the objects on the film. The teaching set are $100 each and are very good value. Now only two left: Set 3 and Set 5.

Magellanic Cloud Star Atlas $100 [ON HOLD]
I forgot that this was available too. It is a set of 12 transparencies that cover the region of the LMC and SMC taken between 1985 and 1987. Nice detail.

Please ask if you have any questions.

Regards
Ian (Skip) :)

[cstocky]

PM Sent

[jjjnettie]

I can vouch for the quality of the films. A chance to own a bit of history. :thumbsup:

[Skip]

Sorry, I have already received three expressions of interest for the Magellanic Cloud Atlas of transparencies. I'm sure one of these astronomers will be purchasing the set.


The film that remains includes:

Abnell 1060 (galaxy cluster) $30
Comet West $25
Field 29 (Tucana) $20
Field 261 (Vela) - 3 dust clouds, cometry globule, planetary nebula NGC2793 $20
Field 346 (Grus) - marked “reject” but very good (At least ten spiral and barred-spiral galaxies in field) $20
Field 351 (Sculptor) – marked “reject” (Galaxies NGC300, Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, Cartwheel Galaxy) $35
Field 357 (Fornax) – marked “reject” but very good (18 bright galaxies, incl. NGC1316, NGC1326 a/b and a satellite trail) $30
Field 627 (Canis Major) (Sirius, NGC2318, NGC2296) $15
Field 813 (Aquarius/Aquila boundary), Galaxy cluster, many galaxies $15
Teaching Sets
I also have a few educational packs of 10 transparencies with a very detailed information booklet that describes where to find the objects on the film. The teaching set are $100 each and are very good value. Now only two left: Set 3 and Set 5.

[cstocky]

Hi Ian,

Thanks, the transparencies arrived this morning. Magnificent! :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Chris

[allan gould]

Film arrived safely this morning. Great galaxies and I'd love to have that resolution - just pinpoint stars and galaxies.
Thanks Ian for the opportunity to own one.
Allan

[SpaceTas]

What field(s) is in the education set?

[Skip]

Hi

I have only one teaching set left: Teaching Set 3 for $100.

The set includes the booklet describing what you can find and 10 UK Schmidt negative transparencies. Remember the field of view is 45cm x 45cm (5 degrees x 5 degrees) and go down to Mag. 23. The images are amazing and a bargain at $100 for the set. Own a piece of history.

The film comes from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and was made from the plates from the UK Schmidt Telescope near Coonabarabran, NSW. The film library has closed down and this film was saved from being discarded.

The Set 3 booklet includes information on star counting, galaxy classification and asteroids.

The film set includes:

Field 32 South west of LMC, LMC globular clusters, a few galaxies
Field 33 Southern edge of LMC, LMC globular clusters, planetary nebula
Field 83 Medium lat. field, NGC 1313 and other galaxies
Field 159 Medium lat. field, a few galaxies
Field 322 Centaurus, many galaxies, fairly high star density
Field 325 Milky Way field, Large Cometary globule, bright stars, obscured galaxies
Field 475 High lat. field (near SGP), many faint galaxies and clusters of galaxies
Field 531 Medium lat. field, M30 (bright globular cluster), asteroids (incl. Icarus), Comet Gunn 1969 II
Field 551 Medium lat. field, a few galaxies and clusters of galaxies, distant globular cluster
Field 562 Milky Way field, a few bright galaxies

Regards
Ian (Skip)

[Skip]

Thanks Allan and Chris

I'm glad you like the film. They are great aren't they.

Regards
Ian

[Skip]

Some buyers have changed their orders so some film is now back on sale. Prices have been updated too; some discounted.

I have some multiples of some but they are running out. Those marked [ON HOLD] are awaiting payment and are the last of these images, sorry. Look at what is left, some great images are still available.




The remaining film includes:

Field 261 (Vela) - 3 dust clouds, cometry globule, planetary nebula NGC2793, marked "Reject" $10
Field 351 (Sculptor) – very nice set of galaxies; the Cartwheel is hard to see with the naked eye but amazing as a cosmic collision (one of my favourites) marked “reject” (Galaxies NGC300, Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, Cartwheel Galaxy) was $35 NOW $30
Field 357 (Fornax) – an excellent set of galaxies. Marked “reject” but very good (18 bright galaxies, incl. NGC1316, NGC1326 a/b and a satellite trail) was $30
Field 627 (Canis Major) (Sirius, NGC2318, NGC2296) $15
Field 813 (Aquarius/Aquila boundary), Galaxy cluster, many galaxies $15 (only one left)
Payment can be made by direct deposit or Paypal or cash on collection from Jindalee, Brisbane. Postage needs to be added.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Regards
Ian (Skip) :)

[cstocky]

:)

I can vouch for the Vela SN remnant and the Fornax transparencies. The former was taken in Ha and is absolutely awesome!:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Chris

[cstocky]

I found this on the Internet that may help potential purchasers with the field numbers:

https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/2299/171/1/100948.pdf

(third page in)

Chris

[Skip]

I've been asked what galaxies are on Field 346. I have an information sheet on this field of view that also explains the various objects that it includes. Here is the text and galaxy information (brief version):

This field, in the constellation of Grus, is a long way (over 60 degrees) from the Milky Way. This can be seen by the relatively few stars present compared to fields which lie in the Milky Way. The absence of dust clouds or other obsuring matter from our Galaxy gives us a beautiful view of other galaxies. Many galaxies appear quite bright but completely invisible to the naked eye. The brightest star nu Gruis (5.6) , would just be visible to the unaided eye on a dark night. The "ghost" from this star can just be seen south west of the centre. (The reason this is a "reject" film.)

Several examples of spiral galaxies, both with and without bars, can be clearly distinguished on this film.

NGC 7368 (Type Sb), NGC 7410 (Type Sa), NGC 7412 (Type Sc), NGC 7418 (Type Sc), NGC 7424 (Type SBc), IC 5273 (Type SBb), NGC 7456 (Type Sc), NGC 7462 (Type Sb) and NGC 7552 (Type SBa).

I will try to add the contents of some other film in due course (when time permits).

[okiscopey]

Thanks Ian, film arrived today ... very good!

[Skip]

As many would know, I have been able to gather together some transparencies from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh that are copied from plates taken at the UK Schmidt Telescope in NSW, Australia. They were being discarded as the film library closed down. The film is stunning and I am selling off some of the spare film. (Details in earlier threads).

Some more film will be listed in a few days. Please come back and have a look.

I have been meaning to give some details on two other fields in the collection: Fields 351 and 357. This is the descriptions given in the UKST Teaching Sets:

Field 351 Sculptor $30

This interesting, high latitude field, more than 80 degrees south of the Milky Way, is in the constellation Sculptor (the sculptor's studio) and contains few bright stars; indeed, only the brightest sigma Sculptoris, in the very north east corner would be visible to the unaided eye.

The large galaxy on the edge of the field is NGC 300, a loose spiral galaxy. Its spiral structure, characterised by star clusters and dust clouds along its arms, is easily visible.

Towards the eastern edge of the film a large faint mass of stars about 3cm across forms the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy. This galaxy is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, containing some 20 galaxies including our own Milky Way Galaxy. The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy is about 270 000 light years away - which is not substantially further than the Small Magellanic Cloud at 210 000 light years! This galaxy is one of the intrinsically faintest galaxies known. It is also one of the nearest galaxies and we can be fairly certain that these faint galaxies are actually quite common but more distant ones are simply too faint to be seen.

Careful examination of the field towards the west edge will reveal the unusual ring galaxy (called "the Cartwheel") and its two companions. It is clear why this peculiar object is so called; the prominent rim and spokes are believed to have resulted from a head-on collision with the easternly of the two companion galaxies.

Other interesting galaxies include an interacting pair in which a spiral galaxy interacts with an elliptical galaxy which shows a strong obscuring dust lane.

The field contains: Cartwheel Galaxy, NGC 300 (large spiral, Type Sc), Interacting galaxies (Type SO and Sa), IC 1608 (Spiral, Type Sa), Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (Type dE), NGC 365 (Spiral, Type Sb).

Two of the brightest clusters of galaxies on this field can be found at the following positions: 00h49m7, -35d14m and 00h53m1, -37d37m. The second cluster appears very close to NGC 300 but is actually very much more distant.

A bright satellite or meteor trail crosses the field north-south, to the west of centre. (... and the film is marked "Reject" ... not in my books)

Field 357 Fornax $30

This high latitude field lies within the constellation Fornax (the furnace) and its distance from the Milky Way allows even quite faint galaxies to be observed.

The brightest stars in the field are around 6th and 7th magnitude, probably just too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Two of these are located in the group of stars near the eastern edge. Also in this group is a binary star but only the brighter star can be seen. The star south of the centre is SAO 194163. This object, a hot blue star, appears brighter than x2 For, a red giant, because this photographic emulsion is most sensitive to blue light.

The bright objects in the southeast quadrant form part of a larger group of galaxies known as the Fornax cluster of galaxies. Straddling the constellations of Fornax and Eridanus, this group contains 18 bright galaxies and several fainter ones. The brightest of these, NGC 1316, is a giant peculiar galaxy some 90 million light years distant and identified with strong radio source Fornax A. A large halo, 400 000 light years across (twice the diamemter of the Milky Way), encloses both NGC 1316 and its smaller companion NGC 1317. Some of the other members of this group are also visible in this field.

Two other fairly bright galaxies can be seen in the northeast sector, while a study of the rest of the field will reveal many fainter objects (e.g. a cluster of faint galaxies in the extreme S.W. corner).

Galxies include: NGC 1288 (Type Sc), NGC 1310 (Type Sc), NGC 1316 (Type SO), NGC 1317 (Type SO), NGC 1326 (Type SO), NGC 1336 (Type E), NGC 1339 (Type E), NGC 1326a/b.

A satellite trail runs across the field from west to south-east. (The field is marked "Reject", again, not in my books!)

[Skip]

I have a bit more film available now. The final batch of UK Schmidt Film from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh has arrived and I am selling some of the double-ups. The piece of film is a negative transparency that has been copied from glass plates taken at the UK Schmidt Telescope, Siding Springs NSW.

The film covers a field of view 5 degrees x 5 degrees, is 45cm x 45cm, and contains objects to Mag 23 (2 million times fainter than the human eye can see). The quality is brilliant, although a small quantity of the film is marked "Reject", mostly because of satellite trails and some ghost images from reflections of bright objects within the telescopes optics. Most of the film is perfect.



Here is what is currently available:

Orion (in Blue) - contains two ghost images but nice Orion Nebula, Flame Nebula and The Horsehead WAS $30 [NOW $25]
Field 261 (Vela) - 3 dust clouds, cometry globule, planetary nebula NGC2793, marked "Reject" $10
Field 351 (Sculptor) – very nice set of galaxies; the Cartwheel is hard to see with the naked eye but amazing as a cosmic collision (one of my favourites) marked “reject” (Galaxies NGC300, Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, Cartwheel Galaxy) $30
Field 357 (Fornax) – an excellent set of galaxies. Marked “reject” but very good (18 bright galaxies, incl. NGC1316, NGC1326 a/b and a satellite trail) $30
Field 512 (Libra/Hydra) - interesting star field with some small galaxies $10
Field 622 (Lepus) - some nice galaxies incl NGC1730, NGC 1786 $15
Field 627 (Canis Major) (Sirius, NGC2318, NGC2296) $15
Field 813 (Aquarius/Aquila boundary), Galaxy cluster, many galaxies $15
Field 867 (Libra/Virgo) Some beautiful galaxies $15
More film will be listed as time permits.

[Skip]

Field 718 Virgo Galaxy Field (Regular + Spectroscopic Transparencies) $25

I have still got a reasonable supple of UK Schmidt Film available (see previous threads); however, I have a few spectroscopic field too.

On offer today is Field 718 in Virgo (and the very edge of Corvus): a regular transparency and the identical field as a spectroscopic image. The field is centred on RA 13h 00m, Dec -10 degrees.

The field is rich in galaxies. These are best seen with a magnifier and light box.

In the field of view (5 degrees by 5 degrees, 45cm x 45cm) some galaxies are:

NGC 4939, NGC 4958, NGC 4818, NGC 4778, NGC 4781, NGC 4760, NGC 4790, NGC 4742, NGC 4802, NGC 4783, NGC 4794, IC 4176, IC 4173.

The cost of the two films is only $25 plus postage. Postage can be combined with other film.

The transparencies have been made by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh from glass plates from the UK Schmidt Telescope, Siding Springs, near Coonabarabran, NSW.

Payment can be made by direct deposit or PayPal.

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Ian (Skip)

[Skip]

Some more UK Schmidt film from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh is available. See my other threads for details.

SET A (Four fields for only $40)
Field 806 (RA 18h 20m; Dec -05d) Scutum/Serpens Cauc
Field 807 (RA 18h 40m; Dec -05d) Scutum/Aquila, incl. M11, dust
Field 808 (RA 19h 00m; Dec -05d) Scutum/Aquila, incl NGC 6751 (Glowing Eye Planetary Nebula)
Field 813 (RA 20h 40m, Dec -05d) Aquarius/Aquila, incl NGC 6945

SET B (Four fields for only $40)
Field 826 (RA 01h 00m; Dec -0d) Cetus, incl NGC 271
Field 831 (RA 02h 40m; Dec -0d) Cetus, incl M77, NGC 1004, NGC 1007, NGC 1008, NGC 1009, NGC 1032, and more
Field 839 (RA 05h 20m; Dec -00d) Orion, incl Delta Orionis and nebula nearby (incl. faint ghost image from one of the belt stars)
Field 856 (RA 11h 00m; Dec 0d) Leo, incl NGC 3521, IC660, IC661

SET C (Four fields for only $50)
Field 861 (RA 12h 40m; Dec 00d) Virgo, incl NGC 4437, NGC 4493, and numerous other galaxies
Field 862 (RA 13h 00m; Dec 00d) Virgo, a nice collection of galaxies
Field 864 (RA 13h 40m; Dec 00d) Virgo, NGC 5257/8 (nice interacting galaxies), and a number of other nice galaxies too
Field 866 (RA 14h 20m; Dec 00d) Virgo: many nice galaxies

All fields are 5 degrees x 5 degrees, 45cm x 45cm, and has objects to about Mag 23. The film is of a very high quality.

Postage is likely to be about $6 for one or two sets. Postage can be combined with other orders. Teaching sets and other transparencies are available (see other threads).

Regards
Ian (Skip) :)

[Skip]

Hi

I have just put together a list of UK Schmidt Film that is available. There are 57 different transparencies in total.

If you would like a spreadsheet of the full list, please email me on naomiian@bigpond.net.au I will send you the list. This updates the information previously listed on this website. The transparency film is selling quickly.

Most of the film will be between $10 - $20, with the extra special ones up to $40. (Own a bit of history!)

Regards
Ian (Skip) :)