November Challenge Object (PN) - NGC7009

[iceman (Mike)]

Sorry for the delay in getting these here, but with the moon not rising until late it's the perfect time to observe them for the rest of this month!

Read all about this object at the November Observing Challenge page.

Post your observation reports and sketches here.

DSO images go in the DSO imaging forum.

[dhumpie]

This is one of the first few objects I bagged with my then new 76mm f/9 newtonian from my suburban balcony (2001, the scope has since been sold). It is a ridiculously easy object to find (even in binoculars if you know the starfield well) and it is easy to identify as it presents a small blue green disks at medium powers. There are hints of the ansae (the rings!) at 300x in my C6 and they are easier to see in Dave's 10" at similar powers. In Andrew's 12.5" they are quite plain. I don't see any central darkenings or knots in the planetary itself but this might be a good project in a large scope. This object responds very well to UHC filters.

Darren

[astro_south (Andrew)]

I love planetaries and this one is one of my favourites. Like Darren says it is very easy to find. With my 12.5" dob I can see some structure in the central "disc" which is annular in nature. To me the structure looks like a squashed ring (with the two longer parts of the ring the most visible) and it seems slightly out of alignment with the ansae.

I sketched this object at the start of last month out at a dark sky site (Leyburn) and I have attached that sketch here. I sketched the object twice. The second sketch highlights the structure I glimpsed. I was a little heavy on the pencil again, but I wanted to get the structure that I saw. Visually it is a lot more subtle than that (much closer to the lower power sketch). I have tried to show it to some other observers recently (gaa_ian, and some out at Glenore Grove from memory) but noone has been able to confirm my obs. Maybe those pushing the bigger glass around can confirm this.

[dhumpie]

Nice sketch Andrew! I remember seeing it like that in your dobbie I have a sketch of this but I have not scanned it yet. Probably just a sketch of an elongated disc with no details that's why Weather has really been the pits for astro hasn't it. Must be my KK 20mm Widescan III's fault (in the mail not here yet!).

Darren

[atalas]

Nice sketch Andrew looks like this with an 18" , interesting that It looks like you lost that fainter star at higher mag.

[astro_south (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by atalas

interesting that It looks like you lost that fainter star at higher mag.

Loiue, I think the faint "star" is probably a errant pencil mark. If it was a star it would have been visible in the higher power view aswell. Of course I don't necessarily draw every star in my sketches, only usually enough to verify the orientation and relative size of the object, though in this case it is probably erroneous and likely to be just where I bumped the page with my pencil while juggling a torch and trying to keep the planetary in the field of view at high power nudging the dob.