Planetary Nebula

[chich0]

Hey guys,

Just wondering, what are the most beginner friendly planetary nebula? (easiest to view)

I am having trouble finding any Planetary Nebula, will any type of filter help?

10" Bintel Dob and using a 24mm Orion Stratus & 15mm Bintel/GSO Plossl

I have found galaxies etc but I am having a lot of trouble with Planetary Nebula, any help would be appreciated!!!

[Robh]

Hi Chris,

Some bright planetary nebulae you could hunt down at this time of year are the Ring Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula, Blue Planetary and Saturn Nebula.
How much skyglow do you have? Larger planetary nebulae will have a lower surface brightness for a given magnitude.
Smaller ones such as the Blue Planetary have a higher surface brightness for the same magnitude.

Finder charts for each of these are in my Galaxy and Planetary Supplement.
Go to my website ...
https://sites.google.com/site/southernastronomer/
and select the second button at left.

Regards, Rob

[Suzy]

Hi Chris,

Back when I had a 6" scope I started a thread on getting some help in finding planetary nebulas. It was a very informative thread with some great tips and information.
You'll just need to work out from the suggestions within the thread what is currently observable in our skies at the moment.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=61561&highlight=planetary+nebula


The Ring nebula (M57) is indeed an awesome sight, as is the Ghost of Jupiter and the Blue Planetary (the last two are so colourful and bright).

Start with low (around 20mm) to medium power (around 15mm) with your eyepieces. You'll soon work out how much power you can throw on them. From what I've come to learn and understand so far, OIII filters generally work better with planetary nebs, but with the brighter ones, you don't have to have a filter to see them (I don't use mine that often to be honest).

Within this thread (on the first page I think), pay particular attention to the post by Jacqui (Blue Skies)- she gives a mighty fine tip on observing them. :D
In fact, I think this thread is so wonderfully helpful, it deserves a bump. :P

All the best with your chase on pn's - they are worth it! :D

[chich0]

Thanks for the replies!

I just think I have past them a million times and i am not sure what i am looking at, pictures off course are deceiving for new astronomers and i know there is no way they will look like that.

I tried finding the Saturn Nebula and the Blue Planetary near Crux but no luck.

Like i said i think i just keep missing them.

I will have a read of the thread! Thanks! :)

[chich0]

As soon as nightfall comes i have about 3 hours to look for the Blue Planetary lol. Lets see how i go! (Again)

[Gem]

NGC 6572 in Ophiuchus is quite good, as I recently discovered. Small and bright: should be an easy target in the 10".

[Suzy]

Chris, within the link I supplied, there are helpful maps including one for the Blue Planetary.

You have to take your time nice and slow searching for them in the eyepiece as they can be fairly faint. Make sure the object is high enough in the sky, say around 40 deg. and make sure the moon isn't around. That being said, The Ring Neb is fairly low and that is still an easy find, but being bright it's easier.
Sketches give a more realistic view of what to expect at the eyepiece. In general, you should expect just about all DSO's to be faint, that's why they're nicknamed "faint fuzzies", some are more so than others.
As you get more experience observing, these things will pop out at you much better as your eyes get trained. The main thing is patience at the eyepiece. In time to come, what was dim in the past, you'll refer to as quite bright! :lol:

Another helpful tip I can offer you is to read thru the reports section in the Observation forum (it's right at the top of the page). Here is a good example of a PN report by Paul. Reading these reports sharpens our skills and helps us know what to tease out and look for.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=73566

[Suzy]

What magnification have you been using to find them all this time?

Finding the Blue Planetary: Go a straight line from delta crucis a few degrees (about the width of your thumb).

While you're in Crux, if you haven't already seen it, head to beta crucis and move left slowly only about a degree or 2 and there lays a most magnificent ruby red carbon star, hence nicknamed ruby crucis.

[Lismore Bloke]

Hello Rob,

I haven't seen your site before, what a beauty.
There are some great guides there that would
benefit any visual observer, not just beginners.
The maps are nice and clear. Well done!!

Cheers, Paul.

[big_dav_2001]

I was about to post a simillar question re: planetary nebs, Ive also been having a tough time trying to find the blue planetary. Thanks for the tips Suzy, I'll give it another go as soon as the sky clears.

Rob, those charts are great, been using them for a while, thanks.

Davin

[Suzy]

Your most welcome Davin. ;)

Take a look here at this Cloudy Nights link (http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4457101/page/11/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1), it gives some helpful tips on chasing them down and there is an attachment file listing the brightest 100 PN's. Nice!

Rob's maps are fantastic!
I have them all printed out and put in plastic sleeves in a dedicated ring binder. I like his use of coloured stars to help with star hopping and he supplies a nice list of astro physics on each chart for the objects of interest.

Edit:
Grant (GEM) has also added a nice list of pn's in a recent thread of his. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=757255#post757255

[Robh]

Re website and documents.

Thanks Suzy, Davin and Paul for the positive comments.
All documents (charts) are freely available for the promotion of education and interest in astronomy.

Regards, Rob

[chich0]

All this time i have been using a 24mm eyepiece.

I just added a UHC filter and used my 15mm and moved the scope to the right from cluster NGC3766.

I don't know if I am seeing it still, but i have found an odd shaped starlight blotch that is blue, but it is similiar in size to a star, slightly bigger.

Would this be it?

[Blue Skies]

Probably - give it the 'blink' test. Look directly at it, then away, then back at it. If it appears to 'blink' on and off, that's it. A lot of planetaries are like this with low surface brightness and they look best in averted vision.

I was going to add that the Blue Planetary is a bit notorious for being hard to find, as it is very star-like.

For others to try, the Ring Nebula in Lyra is fairly bright, and I usually find the Dumbell large and easy. The Ghost of Jupiter in Hydra is a good one too, but it might be too late in the year for it, its a good Autumn object.

[chich0]

Gave it the blink test and used a 9mm plossl, definitely it!

I don't feel so bad for missing it now, it is very deceiving!

Too bad i have work tomorrow such a clear night! :(

[Ric]

Hi Chris

Here's a capture of the Blue Planetary I took a while back.

It's probably a lot brighter than what you will see, but it might give you an idea of what your looking for.

Hope it helps

Cheers :)

[chich0]

Thanks for the help guys,

I found my first Planetary Nebula yay!!!

When i put the 9mm on, it was considerably larger then nearby stars and bluer. The blue wasn't as intense as your photo ric, but it was blue!

:)

Now what to find next? lol

[Suzy]

Congratulations on bagging your first PN! :D

Now head for M57 (The Ring)- trust me you'll be tickled pink at the site of this one. Throw your 9mm on it. Very eeeeasy to find too.

[Gem]

A helpful hint regarding PN...
They really do come in all shapes and sizes. Some are quite small and bright (like a Uranus or Neptune), others are faint and fuzzy, some are round, some are not, etc... Try to take note of the size before looking. If the PN is a few arc seconds - expect to need some magnification to be able to tell it from surrounding stars. If it is larger (and hence fainter for a similar magnitude), pick a moonless night and low power.
Other than the famous ones (Ring, Dumbell, etc...) I have come to observing PN rather recently, but the variety is amazing! :)

Using a 9.25" (235mm) SCT from the suburbs, from June until now I have observed the following PN from suburban Canberra:
NGC 5979, NGC 5189, NGC 6302, NGC 2867, NGC 3132, NGC 3242, NGC 4361, NGC 3699, NGC 3918, IC 4406, NGC 5882, NGC 6072, NGC 6153, NGC 6309, NGC 6337, NGC 6445, NGC 6369, IC 4406, NGC 5882, IC 4191, NGC 5189, M57, NGC 6572, NGC 6751.

I have given this list to let you know what a 9.25" is capable of from within town. I hope it helps in choosing some PN for others to tackle! :)

[Archy]

Thanks Robh for the list. It will help me focus my observing.

[Groboz]

+ 1 for M57 (ring nebula):thumbsup:. I saw this for the first time last Saturday night and it just blew me away. It's super easy to find too with Vega being so close to it (relatively speaking).

[chich0]

Yeah, will definitely try to find it tonight.

Add another one to my list i just found about an hour ago

NGC 5189. This one looked pretty cool, like a mini galaxy, you can define the shape quite nicely with averted vision.

It seems to me it should belong more to Centaurus But it is classed as in Musca? (I think)

Easy to find off Hadar!

[big_dav_2001]

Well, got my first look at some PN's tonight... WOW!!

Finally set up my Argo properly (had the wrong number of encoder steps set) and had a look at the dumbbell and Saturn nebs through my 13mm EP.

Dumbbell was pretty impressive, a lot larger than I thought it would be. Made out some slight bulging which I assume gives it it's name, couldn't make out any colour though.

Saturn neb was brilliantly blue with a nice round shape, I guess it's supposed to have a bulge which looks like a disk which gives it it's name, but if it did, I couldn't make it out. There was some slight fuzziness to it which I originally thought meant it was out of focus, but the surrounding stars were crisp and clear, so I guess that's just how it's meant to look :shrug:.

Also tried to find the helix and bubble nebs, but I've got a lot of LP to the south, so I couldn't make them out, and the blue planetary had dropped behind my shed by the time I got set up.

Great nights observing, thanks again for the pointers.

Davin

[chich0]

Well done Davin!

I Managed to see the Ring Nebula, which was quite nice but low to the horizon so it wasn't as clear as i would have expected, could definitely make out the ring though!

Also saw NGC 6572, this one looked very star like but with the UHC filter had a nice greenish tinge coming through using a 15mm EP, could make out the elongated shape a little, not completely circle like stars. Will need to get the 9mm onto this one next time.

Was really impressed with NGC 5189 though, had a nice shape to it!

Bed time!!! :mad2:

[Groboz]

Good point about the Ring Nebula. Up here in Darwin it's up nice and high in the north but I guess it's a much different view down in Melbourne. A nice dark sky also helps.

[chich0]

yeah, well it is overcast for a while now :(

I think I might order an OIII filter, I'm loving nebula hunting!

[stopusinmyid]

Yeh I know what you mean Chris. I'm getting a thrill out of nebula hunting. We have seen a few in the last week or so, I was a little disappointed as I was expecting to see lots of brilliant colours (like you see in the photo's) but I think most of the thrill also is finding them.
As I thought I was getting today off I thought I'd set the alarm for 4am this morning to have another look at Jupiter and have a look at Mars (the neighbours 2storey house got in the way of Mars) before sun came up. Also wanted to have a look for the Great Andromeda but no our roof was in the way :lol:. Also I wanted to have a gander at the Orion Nebula. That's a must see, I wasn't expecting something so cool. It was the best. I finally got to see some colour, it wasn't very bright but I could see the greenish tinge in it and it's so wide and big. It's just totally amazing. Well I thought so anyway.
And yeh the clouds are visiting us again now for about a week :(

[chich0]

The damn clouds Tammy!!!

I don't believe there is anything worse for a new astronomer with a new scope that is so keen. (ME) :(

Looks like Melbourne will be covered for a good week also.

The Orion Nebula looks really cool, have you seen the Tarantula Nebula? That is a must see as well.......

IMO everything is a must see :lol:

[Gem]

Try not to look at nice photos!! :)
Our eyes are more sensitive to green than red when viewing - unlike cameras!
I ordered an OIII filter today - so PN here I come!

[Gem]

Ok...
Using astrobyte free software I have generated a list of all the PN brighter than mag 12.6... which is around 150 PN. I am a relative newbie to PN (always been more of a globular person... not literally) and so far have observed 22 different PN.
17 of these are on the list, while 5 are mag 13 or 14. So... I am going to try to observe as many of the list of 150 as possible from a southern sky in town. Wish me luck!! I am armed with my new OIII filter at least... :)

[chich0]

Good luck Grant,

Nice challenge you have set lol.

Astrobyte? I might download it~!

[Suzy]

Great thread Chris, I'm really enjoying all the obs. reports and info. :thumbsup:

I thought I'd add another helpful link. It nicely details which filter is most helpful for which object. Keep scrolling and you will eventually come across it.
http://www.lumicon.com/astronomy-accessories.php?cid=1&cn=Filters

[astroron]

Great link Suzy,:thanx:
cheers:thumbsup:

[chich0]

Great link Suzy!

Will certainly help !!

Thanks :)

[ausastronomer]

Hi Chris,

Great to hear you found some PN's. They are one of my favourite target types because they can be so different. Some like the Helix (NGC 7293) are huge and have a low surface brightness, while others at lower powers appear stellar. If you want to chase PN's a UHC type filter helps enormously, under less than pristine skies, particularly with low surface brightness ones like the Helix. On those that are smaller in apparent size, as others have mentioned, you "blink them". In addition, it always helps to increase the magnification on smaller planetary nebula. As you increase the magnification the PN's explode while the stars remain stellar. Some planetary nebula appear quite featureless at low and medium power yet at high power provide an amazing amount of detail. The Ghost of Jupiter (NGC 3242) for example at 400X plus in an 8" or larger scope begins to reveal all the intricate layers and gas shells visible in photograps and is one of the most stunning targets in the sky. At low power, while it has shape, it is essentially a featureless blob.

The Spiral Planetary (NGC 5189) in Musca, is an absolute cracker. In March this year we spent quite a bit of time on this target with the 30" SDM and a 12.5mm Docter eyepiece, whilst hosting some overseas observers at Coonabarabran. One of the Koreans who was a very experienced observer commented it was the single nicest view he had ever had of a planetary nebula. To be honest I would almost have to agree with him.

Cheers,
John B

[chich0]

Thanks for the tips John.

I haven't seen many PN's but i agree that NGC 5189 is amazing.

:thumbsup:

[astroron]

Hi Chris, you maybe interested in this report on Planetary Nebulae NGC 3132,,NGC 2440. I did earlier this year using different eyepieces and filters.
The scope maybe bigger but the information is relevant all the same

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=72643
Enjoyed yor reports :thumbsup:
Cheers

[astroron]

Hi Chris , this is a report I did on the Ghost of Jupiter you may be interested in.

NGC 3242 Ghost of Jupiter (revisited)
30 mm plossl 60xmag very bright Azure slightly elongated ball.
30mm plossl with X 2.5 Barlow 152 x mag, Wow central star plainly seen and the duality of the nebula was seen giving one the impression
of an eye,with the exstensions plainly seen.
The O111 filter brightens the nebula so much that the double nature of the planetary almost disappears, the eye and central star is not seen.
Also same with the UHC.

17mm Nagler 107xmag Just stunning,so beautiful and crisp and bright,
I was blown away by how crisp the eye and exstensions where
THE 17mm gives the best view closely followed by the 30mm+2.5xBarlow
The filters where as above .

13mm nagler and 7mm where just to much power and so spoiled the impression
of the eye in the sky effect.
It was part of Suzy's May/June observation challange found Here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=75649)

Also Ngc 5307 found Here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=75403)
I hope they are of interest and help
Cheers

[chich0]

Nice reports Ron!

Ghost of Jupiter is something i definitely want to see! Although where I am at the moment it coincides with sunrise :( But it has been added to my list, as has the eight burst nebula.

Got a clear break tonight, Managed to find the Bug Nebula, which was cool, very faint smudge with a UHC filter and 9mm, was clearer through a 15mm with UHC filter though. Without the UHC filter very hard to detect at all.

Had another peek at the Tarantula nebula, then the clouds rolled over :(

Didn't think i was going to get to see anything tonight though so 1 new Nebula is better then nothing!

I really cant wait to get the chance to go to a dark sky site! I think I'm doing ok 35km from Melbourne CBD! :D

[Suzy]

I spent ages trying to find this link in my last post, couldn't find it so gave up (was bookmarked on other lappy which isn't with me at the moment). And then I accidentally stumbled across it just now. Life's like that isn't it? :P:lol:
Anyhow, you won't be sorry you read this- highly informative. David Knisley is a well known observer and he has put the UHC filters and OIII filters thru their paces on a list of planetary nebs, detailing which filters is best for each object and why.
Please, do yourself a favor and read it. ;)
http://www.raycash.org/filters.htm

[astroron]

Such a lot of information there Suzy :eyepop:
Thanks for posting :thanx:
Cheers :thumbsup:

[Gem]

Over the nights of 27th and 28th, I put my new GSO OIII filter to the test on the following PN: NGC 5189, IC 4406, NGC 5882, NGC 6072, NGC 3918, NGC 5882, NGC 6818, NGC 6891, NGC 6369, M27, NGC 7009, NGC 6572, NGC 6751, NGC 6781 and NGC 6629.

The OIII filter made significant improvements on NGC 5189 (which I viewed before the sky was completely dark). I didn't compare filtered to non-filtered on all the objects though - I just left the filter in. NGC 7009 (Saturn Nebula) was the stand out but it didn't need the filter to be a good object.

There were some PN I failed to see even with the filter: NGC 6802, NGC 6879, IC 5148, IC 4406 and IC 4997. I will have to try them again some time. If anyone has luck with them with a small to medium scope: let me know please (8" or 10" - I don't need to know if a 16" can find them).

[big_dav_2001]

Thanks for the info Suzy :)

Ive got an Astronomik UHC filter, but also thinking I might pick up an OIII and give it a try. Loving hunting down those PN's, although light pollution at home, a solid-tube 12" and a car too small to transport it to darker skies is a pain...lol

Davin

[chich0]

Thanks for the link Suzy!

Keep the reports/tips coming guys this is a very informative thread.

:thumbsup:

[Suzy]

Your welcome everyone :D.

Mike, can we please have this thread as a sticky in the observing forum?

It'd be such a shame to see so much helpful information on this thread eventually go forgotten.

[astroron]

Grant quote
There were some PN I failed to see even with the filter: NGC 6802, NGC 6879, IC 5148, IC 4406 and IC 4997. I will have to try them again some time. If anyone has luck with them with a small to medium scope: let me know please (8" or 10" - I don't need to know if a 16" can find them).

Well I wont tell you then:P
But still observe them anyway.
Cheers :thumbsup:

[ausastronomer]

Hi Dav,

To be honest I would hold off buying the OIII filter for the time being, unless money is of minor concern. True there are a few planetary Nebula the OIII filter works better on than the UHC filter, but those aren't too common. The Astronomiks UHC filter you have is a very high quality UHC filter and one of my favourite narrowband filters, along with the DGM Optics NPB filter. It is about as good a filter as you will find for planetary nebula IMO.

One of my observing colleagues, Andrew Murrell is one of the most skilled planetary nebula observers in the world. A few years ago he discovered a new previouly undiscovered planetary nebula now known as Murrell 1, in Norma. Up until two years ago Andrew didnt even own an OIII filter and only got the one he got two years ago, because someone else bought it for him. Otherwise, he still wouldn't own one as he doesn't use the one he has.

Cheers,
John B

[big_dav_2001]

Hi John,

Im a big fan of the UHC, i was just thinking that the OIII would clear some things up a bit more, but ive done a bit more reading, and it seems it would be pretty pointless as there's not a lot of difference between the two, and in my light-polluted skies, whatever difference there is wont be really obvious anyway.

Wow, discovering a PN would be great... It would be pretty cool to have something named after you up there... Although with my 12", i doubt im gunna find anything new anytime soon...lol

Dav

[Gem]

Having just purchased an OIII filter, I can say that it really helps with most of the PN I have been observing. A couple are barely visible without the filter, but very easy and clear with it. It isn't a case of all PNs are vastly improved, but I would safely say most are much better. It also helps me cut down on light polution when observing PN.
I would recommend it for someone interested in PN and it is good value for what it does (mine was $59 from Andrews). :)

[Gem]

Thanks! No offence meant in any way!!!
I just wanted a point of comparison with people of similar scopes! :)

[astroron]

No Offense taken it was just a bit of fun :D
And yes I will observe them and put them in a Separate report for "Bigger" telescopes ;)
Cheers :thumbsup:

[BarbaraGilbert]

Thank you, Suzy! The branch was very informative and helpful.

[brumby77]

Very enjoyable read