|
That is a sexy beast, your 8" SCT. I love mine, and it is some 30 years old!
Your CAT is certainly enough to see the markings in the Trifid. From a light polluted area you may struggle though. A nebula filter of some type will help make the marking stand out some more.
Your SCT is also capable to showing the dark pillars in the Eta Carina nebula. There are three skeletal like fingers that reach up into the brightest "leaf" of the nebula out from the sharp, straight edge. I've seen them through my SCT, and it's optics are not coated, and from my home in Sydney too.
Don't be affraid of upping the magnification with either nebula. This will darken the background adding to contrast. If you don't see these features at first, be patient and use averted vision. These features are DARK, and against a dim nebula. See this as a measure of your skill. If you can see these features you are doing very well. The dark pillars of Eta Carina is a good target to try before bashing the Trifid. You'll be able to get your eye in with this sucker first. It is very, very detailed. The bright leaf I mentioned also holds the star Eta Carina (really crank up the magnification with this bright red star and you'll see the Homunculus Nebula around it), the Keyhole feature, plus six other open clusters and a three shockwave bubbles (of which the Keyhole is one of them). Eta will keep you busy while you wait for M20 to rise.
|