Visual Observing of the Flame Nebula

gaa_ian (Ian) · #1 22-12-2006, 12:23 AM

Sometimes the most ghostly of images can be the most satisfying.
I had my first good look at the Flame Nebula in Orion on Tuesday night.
Plus a very nice observing night in general (Details) http://ntstargazer.blogspot.com/
I have looked for this in the past with my 10" Dob to no Avail
How much difference 18" of Aperture makes, it appeared as a dark Nebula with a ghostly white outline.
All this with a 28mm Edmond Scientific Possol ! I would love to try this with a 28mm Panoptic

dhumpie · #2 22-12-2006, 02:13 AM

Hi Ian,

The flame nebula in Orion is quite easy provided you have a very dark transparent sky and make sure you keep the foreground star out of the FOV. I have seen it easily in my C6 Vixen/Celestron (6" f/5 newtonian) and got really good views of it through westky's 10" f/5 GS dob and through my own 10" GS dob.

Darren

gaa_ian (Ian) · #3 22-12-2006, 09:33 AM

In fact I had a go at this again late last night with the 10" & you are correct, if you keep the star out of the field of view, it is visible (just).

ving (David) · #4 22-12-2006, 11:43 AM

i can spot this from my backyard if teh conditions are really good

thats in my 8" btw. helps to know exactly where you are looking and with the proliferation of horsehead and flame pics on this board its easy enough to know.
of course it was no more than a smudge but there you go

mickoking · #5 22-12-2006, 06:36 PM

with my old 350mm the flame was very easy from a dark sky. It is faintly visable with my 300mm from suburbia.

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #6 22-12-2006, 08:48 PM

It really stands out with the UHC filter.
Without it, it can be a bit difficult object to snag.

stephenmcnelley · #7 22-12-2006, 09:05 PM

It is beautiful and always a joy, that is a nice GAA blog Ian, easy on the eyes and with interesting info.

Cheers !

gaa_ian (Ian) · #8 22-12-2006, 10:28 PM

Glad you like the Blog Stephen, I try to keep it interesting !
Good tip with the UHC filter Jeanette, I will give that a go.

Rob_K · #9 25-12-2006, 12:20 AM

Have been following this thread with interest, and tonight we were presented with an exceptionally dark sky, so I thought I'd put the Flame to the test with my small scope & 21mm X-Cel eyepiece. Followed Darren's advice, putting the foreground star just out of the FOV, and there it was! Nebulosity was very faint of course, and like Ian's description, the main feature was the dark lane, which fingered out at the ends. Couldn't take my eyes off it for ages, but then for some reason it started to disappear. Looked up and a big bank of cloud or smoke was drifting across. Thanks to all who gave advice in this thread, as you've given me a great Christmas present!

Cheers -

gaa_ian (Ian) · #10 25-12-2006, 10:35 PM

Well done a Rob, especially with a 5" scope !
I will be revisiting this one often over summer, especially with the 18"
One of the cool clear nights after a wet season rain shower will probably do the trick.
BTW, merry Xmas

Rob_K · #11 25-12-2006, 11:12 PM

Thanks Ian, & Merry Christmas! Don't know if it was the scope so much as the conditions. It didn't last long - the crescent moon had not long gone down, the sky was inky black, myriads of stars blazed without a twinkle right across the whole sky, and the Milky Way was magnificent. I managed to grab quick views of some favourites before the transparency dropped off - M42 was astonishing, like views I'd seen in much larger scopes, & 47Tuc superb. Even the Crab, quite low to the horizon, showed as a decent smudge.

Cheers -

charsiubau · #12 24-01-2007, 01:05 PM

I had my first view of the Flame Nebula at IISAC 2007 (it was nice to meet you there Ian) and it was beautiful. It was a highlight of the trip, though hard to compete with the comet of course. I've looked for but not seen this nebula at home in Canberra before but at Lostock it jumped right out (with a Celestron 9.25 and 22mm Nagler). We

charsiubau · #13 24-01-2007, 01:10 PM

We tried the UHC filter on a nebula or two at Lostock but it didn't seem to make much difference - I guess because the skies were already so dark. Viewing the Flame Nebula really underlined for me how important it is to try to get out to really dark skies (like surfers always looking for the perfect wave).

h0ughy (David) · #14 24-01-2007, 01:52 PM

was easy to see through Petra's 12" lightbridge at lostock. It was very brifght and easy to see with no filter, also saw the horsehead same night almost same time. Was a terrific sight, especially to see the horsehead. the flame was well defined

gaa_ian (Ian) · #15 24-01-2007, 09:31 PM

It (flame Neb.) was certainly a fine sight through the 25" too !
Must admit I did not get a good View of the Horsehead Neb. even through the 25"