And the clouds parted ...

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Friday we got an evenings break in the cloud cover/rain we've had for the last 3-4 weeks so I put the 4.5" out to cool. Went out into the backyard about 9:30 after doing some familiarisation on Stellarium. The sky was quite clear but some turbulence up high so transparency was ok for Auckland but seeing not so good. Not so much image shifting but distortion.
I haven't positively identified Lagoon and Trifid since I got hooked on this affliction so the aim was to sink those and get familair with that region. Used the binocs to get the area pinpointed and was coming down from Kaus Borealis when I spotted a 'fuzz ball' using the 20mm wideview. Checked with the binocs and sure enough there was an elongated fuzzy hiding up there. My first thoughts were I've managed to get a Galaxy,.. in poor conditions,.. in a 4.5" ! Put in the 12mm Plossl and relocated the object ( no goto or eq drive here ) Still very fuzzy and elongated but there it was. Added the 2 x Barlow to the 12mm, really pushing the optics now, and relocated it, a very dim and dark elogated fuzz ball, no defintion at all. Heart racing, check Stellarium, nah, M28 Globular at Mag 6.9. A very dense little group. A nice find IMO for my puny hardware in the conditions and quite exciting.

So then went down and found both Trifid and Lagoon. Getting used to this look in the binocs, look in the scope and invert mentally to recognise the groups. Not much to see other than shimmering stars in Trifid but I'm sure I could see some gas/dust cloud structure in Lagoon. No colour but definitely some detail in moments of clarity. Spent some time scanning the region to get more detail and checked to see M7 hadn't moved and everybody up there was behaving themselves.

It was a good night despite the conditions for the little 4.5" and it was good to take the time and search the area. Can't wait to finish the 10" and see what it reveals. More structure and maybe some colour.

The 10" build is about 80% done. It's the small things that slow you down. When it is functional I have plans to build a compact dob mount for the 4.5" OTA. We are doing a 2 week trip down around the South Island in February taking one of our fast cars instead of some sluggy rental. We'll be stopping for a few days down in Wanaka region, Mt Cook, the best dark site are in NZ and taking our own car across the Cook Strait means I can add the small scope to the luggage ensemble no problem. The tripod and EQM head are just too bulky.

btw: Saturday morning and it was raining again ......

[Suzy]

Hi Brent, I am really enjoying your obs reports - thankyou.

All the best with building your 10". When you get it going, pop in a UHC filter for those nebulas, It really does make a big difference. May not work so well on the current one your using (I read that under 6" they don't perform so well).
As for galaxies (I've only seen m-104 so far), they look like cigar shapes (unless their front on), as well as being quite dim and fuzzy. You have to look hard in that ep to find them.

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Nice report Brent. I also found that scanning with binoculars and then pointing the scope was the way to go around Sagittarius (and Carina for that matter) when starting out. So much to see!

Only word of caution, don't expect to see colour in nebulae. Even with a big scope, say 22", they will all be shades of grey except perhaps for some tinges in M42. You may see some colour in some planetary nebulae. I think this is due to strong OIII emissions, but it always surprises me when I see colour in some that are quite faint.

Mind you, your views at 10" will be stunning compared to 4.5" - much more detail, many more stars, Globular clusters that will blow your mind. Much better views of galaxies (which will still require liberal use of inverted vision. But coloured nebulae are the preserve of the imagers.

Looking forward to more reports and news of the completed 10"

[Suzy]

Brent, soon as you get your 10" going, plant it on NGC104 (47 Tucanae) It is a treat to behold and it will blow your socks off! Honest! In my opinion, this one is way better than Omega Centauri as it's not so dense and the stars were easily resolved and bright. Looking at this glob likened my reaction to seeing Saturn for the first time. Have a go for now anyway with your 4.5" in the mean time and see what you can see, if you haven't done so already.

Patrick is spot on. When I first came across Carina and Sagittarius, I used my binos on them first - it was much like opening a box of chocolates when you look thru binos in these constellations - you just don't know which one to start on first .

When I first got my scope and pointed it at the Orion nebula, my daughter told me she could see a green tinge and I told her she had a great imagination, as all hubby and I could see was grey. I later found out that it does indeed have this colour tinge to it, and that older eyes have trouble picking up the colour. So have a go - you may be lucky.

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

Brent, soon as you get your 10" going, plant it on NGC104 (47 Tucanae) It is a treat to behold and it will blow your socks off! Honest! In my opinion, this one is way better than Omega Centauri as it's not so dense and the stars were easily resolved and bright. Looking at this glob likened my reaction to seeing Saturn for the first time. Have a go for now anyway with your 4.5" in the mean time and see what you can see, if you haven't done so already.

Couldn't agree more. I think 47 Tuc is probably the most stunning object in the night sky, not that one needs to rate them. There is something quite hypnotic about the myriad stars and the various asterisms they form. When you get you 10", have a look for the "covered wagon" - very delicate.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Thanks for the encouragement guys, keeps the enthusiasm going. 47 Tuc is low in my southern sky and somewhat light polluted from my home observation pad. Might have to reserve that one for the dark site west of here although summer will put it higher in the sky earlier so could be easier then.

I am enjoying the build on the 10". Plenty of technical challenges to keep me amused.
The 4.5 dob conversion might be on hold. I have got an old wooden AZ tripod that fits the 4.5" downstairs. Packs down better than the EQM so I'll try that out before building anything else.

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by Paddy

When you get you 10", have a look for the "covered wagon" - very delicate.

What's that Patrick? Sounds an interesting target that I'd like to have a go at too.

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

What's that Patrick? Sounds an interesting target that I'd like to have a go at too.

Suzy, it's a distinct arc of stars just to one side (and I can't remember which direction) of the core of 47 Tuc. It does look a bit like the roof of a covered wagon end-on. Inside the arc is what appears at first to be a patch devoid of resolvable stars. I find on a night of good seeing that there are quite a few faint stars inside the arc, but they might be hard to see with a 10" scope. As I've revisited it over time, I've also noticed a faint mirror image arc next to it, so the effect is like a heart shape.

Have fun looking for it. 'Tis a favourite of mine.

[Rob_K]

Excellent report ZeroID, sounds like you had a great time!

Just a word of caution on the change from 4.5" to 10". As a person who normally views through a 4.5" but regularly looks through bigger scopes at club nights and star parties, I'd say that the difference in views are not as "chalk-&-cheese" as Patrick and the others would say. Sometimes the expectation that a whole new world will be revealed to your eyes leads to disappointment.

The principal differences will be firstly that your current eyepieces will show objects slightly larger than you're used to seeing because of the increased focal length. Familiar objects will still look familiar, but a little brighter, with some more stars showing. You'll be able to increase magnification on faint objects without them disappearing! And you'll be able to see some faint objects that weren't reachable before.

For experienced observers like Patrick who have incrementally moved up in aperture and who are used to teasing the maximum detail out of faint fuzzies, the differences are real and do seem like chalk-&-cheese. But it can be a bit like the wine buff who tells you that there are massive differences between two Cab Savs, when they both taste like plonk to you!

That said, it's a great step-up and the 10" will serve you well! Good luck with it all!

Cheers -

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Ta for the warning Rob. I'm still being blown away by what I can find with the 4.5" so regardless of the amount of real gain in seeing I am still going to be amazed.