In my previous blog, I mentioned only two objects out of the several dozen we observed at Rancho Hidalgo two nights ago. We saw the following short list of highlights through Gene Turner’s 30-inch Starmaster reflector.
One of the first objects we viewed was the Blue Oyster Nebula (NGC 1501) in Camelopardalis. This magnitude 11.5 planetary nebula appeared ever-so-slightly oval, and its magnitude 14 central star easily shone through the gas cloud.
Next, we whipped the scope all the way around and observed another planetary nebula, Cleopatra’s Eye (NGC 1535). At magnitude 9.6, this one’s brighter than the Blue Oyster Nebula but only one-third its diameter. We had a great view of this object, which Astronomy Contributing Editor Stephen James O’Meara calls the Ghost of Neptune.
A few objects later, the scope landed on NGC 1788 in Orion. This bright reflection nebula has a twin-lobed structure. A dark nebula (LDN 1616) sits at the southern end of NGC 1788, so the overall effect is that of a bright object against a sparse star field.
Our next target was a change in object types. NGC 1964 in Lepus is a magnitude 10.7 barred spiral galaxy. I wanted to look at this object because I hadn’t had much luck pulling out details with previous telescopes, even ones with apertures of 12 inches. Ha! A 30-inch scope will solve those blues every time. The galaxy stretched twice as long as it is wide, and the bar was apparent. The arms were there, but still faint, and the core appeared bright.
Another faint planetary nebula, NGC 2022 in Orion, was next. This object spans two-thirds of an arcminute and glows softly at 11.9. We had no trouble spotting it, discerning a bit of ring structure, and identifying the 15th-magnitude central star.
Staying in Orion, I chose the Monkey Face Nebula (NGC 2175) as our next target. This is a big emission nebula involved with an open cluster. It covers 70 percent more area than the Full Moon, so Gene chose a wide-field eyepiece. After everyone had a chance to see NGC 2175, Gene screwed in an Oxygen-III filter, which made a big difference in the visibility of the nebula.
Not one to pass up a great wide-field view, I asked Gene to turn the scope toward the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237–9). This famous deep-sky wonder spans more than 1°, but the eyepiece Gene chose just captured the entire ring. His Oxygen-III filter dimmed the myriad stars and increased the contrast of the nebulosity. How impressive was the view? Had I been alone at the scope, I would have observed the Rosette for the rest of the night.
I’ll describe even more deep-sky objects I viewed in another blog.
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