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Swan Flight
Last post 06-06-2008 09:14 AM by mr Q. 6 replies.
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06-02-2008 10:00 AM
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zachsdad
 - Joined on 10-02-2007
- Wever, IA
- Posts 3,784
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After a day where the sky was veiled in light clouds for most of the afternoon, the evening cleared off nicely by about 10 PM. The neighbors kept their yard lights off, the temperature was in the high 60's and even the bugs maintained a respectable distance (save for the occasional June Bug buzzing past my ear like an attacking Huey). All variables were aligned for a good night of viewing. My initial targets, the small cluster of NGC galaxies enclosed within the triangle formed by Denebola and delta and theta Leonis. I caught sight of a couple of those faint galaxies, but was unable to see them well enough to determine which I had found. I think my problem was that at 10:15 PM or so there was still enough twilight glow to the west to wash out my view. I turned my attention to Hercules and went in search of NGC 6207 the small galaxy near M13. I have never spotted this galaxy before, I never remember to look for it when I'm ogling the big cluster. It was an easy find and showed well in my 10" at 92X. After spending some time with M13 at magnification from 50X to 480X (at 480X the view was somewhat dim, but I did see the ‘propeller’ for the first time), I took in M92, resolving it nicely at 140X with my barlowed 17mm Stratus EP.At this point my faithful observing companion, Jessie was standing to the north of a small ash tree that grows in my yard. She was looking up at the great swan and said, "I know I'm the bird dog here, but your going to have to bag that one yourself." In the last year I've come to trust her judgment about things like this, so I did indeed turn my attention to Cygnus. First with binoculars. Cygnus is one of my favorite binocular areas of the sky with it’s massive star fields and subtle dark nebulae. Some of the most famous features of Cygnus, however, had always eluded me through binoculars, or through a telescope. When you look at a star chart of the Milky Way as it courses through the swan you see those large, enticing green areas denoting nebulae. As a novice astronomer I look at those charted nebulae and have visions of M42, or of the Lagoon Nebula (which, on this Saturday night, was starting to rise above the atmospheric murk on my southern horizon) and then get frustrated when I can not find them in the eyepiece. I had immersed myself in this hobby for many months before I began to really understand that big doesn’t necessarily mean easy. Last summer I glimpsed the North America Nebula for the first time with my 15 X 70 binoculars. Saturday night I saw it for the first time with my naked eye – well, semi-naked, I was looking through an OIII filter. The filter also enabled me to see the vast haze surrounding Sadir (gamma Cygni) as a glow against the filter’s dark background. Emboldened by my success I told Jessie that I was going to try to see the Veil nebula. Her interest in the constellation and it’s treasures had already been supplanted however by the chittering of raccoons in the distance. I knew going in to my search for the Veil that it is a faint target. 15,000 Years has a way of taking the edge off an explosion. Knowing that, I didn’t even consider searching for the remnant without a filter. I used an Ultra High Contrast filter in my 24mm Hyperion to give me a 1.36dg FOV. My references described the Veil’s position as “the apex of a shallow isosceles triangle using epsilon and zeta cygni as the base”. Using my Telrad (an observing aid only slightly less faithful than Jessie) I swung the dob into position. I instantly spotted the eastern portion as a sweeping crescent in the eyepiece. There was very little definition to the curving whisps of light, but it was easy to trace the length of the structure with my dobsonian mount. I was hesitant to move the scope too far in search of the Veil’s other portion, afraid that I would not be able to find the eastern part again. But, after a time, I did go hunting for the section to the west and found it easily. I spent the next hour trying out different combinations of eyepieces and filters, enjoying each view for it’s own merits. At 92X with an OIII filter the nebula exhibited definite structure, taking on some of the lattice-like texture seen in photographs (without the color, of course). This night was an excellent example of why good filters are such a benefit to this hobby. I could see the Veil without a filter in all of the eyepieces I used, but the UHC and OIII filters brought out so much more detail that this object alone justifies the cost of the filters for me. The OIII showed me the most detail, but the background was very dark and only the brightest stars were visible. The UHC provided my favorite overall image. The nebula was very distinct and showed much detail, but there was still a nice starfield in the FOV and the image had a more natural quality.I’ve prattled on enough. From Jessie and myself; Clear Skies!
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Aratus
 - Joined on 10-29-2007
- North West Devon, UK
- Posts 1,358
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It sounds like you are having a lot of fun.
The North America nebula always 'bowls me over'. Not only is it an uncanny shape, but it is a real work of 'art'. The nebulosity around Sadr is always fascinating and I find is rarely mentioned.
Unfortunately I am now into what I call the 'fallow period'. At 54N I can't get a dark enough sky until August. 
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leo731
 - Joined on 10-19-2005
- Above Ground
- Posts 3,583
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What a grand report. I have never seen the Veil as well as you described it. The LP has just grown to much to see it well and in the past the filters did not yet exist for amatuers to give it a go. You have inspired me to try and capture this object once again this summer.
L
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zachsdad
- Joined on 10-02-2007
- Wever, IA
- Posts 3,784
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I appologize to anyone reading my original post in this thread. I wrote the post in anyother program and imported it here and in doing so lost my paragraph breaks. My attempts to edit here have been unsuccessful. Sorry for the inconvenience.
TD
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leo731
- Joined on 10-19-2005
- Above Ground
- Posts 3,583
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I just read it like it was a groovy 60s flashback of a stream of consciosness thing.
Peace man,
L
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Kevin Bozard
 - Joined on 01-13-2006
- South Carolina / Forum Moderator
- Posts 3,988
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Great report Terry, I always enjoy your ramblings Now if these skies around here don't clear soon, then I'm coming to Wever to chase critters with Jessie !
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mr Q
 - Joined on 02-01-2008
- Edgewood, NM
- Posts 556
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Terry - The N.A. Nebula and the Pelican were always "no finds" for me for many years telescopically but one dark night I was scanning the area of Cygnus with 10x50s and was shocked to see not only the N.A. N. but a hint of the Pelican with averted vision. Though th N.A.N. was faint, its size amazed me. Seeing these two objects, my next target was the Veil. With the binos, I could make out the brighter section of the "circle" and just detected the second brightest part opposite the brightest part. From then on, my binocular stargazing was born and I enjoy chasing these elusive objects with binos when I'm not using the scope. Cygnus is also one of my favorite areas of the sky, especially with the Great Northern Rift besides the Swan's neck and Cygnus's many star clusters, which are sometimes better in binos than a scope. Once I check out Cygnus, I always move over to Sagitta and Vulp. for the PN M27 and the "Coathanger" and the nice star fields in the area. Enjoyed your post and wishing you many clear,dark skies, Mr Q
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