Hi guys I got my first scope set up and was able to view and track the moon fairly well.  I also was able to see jupitor and the bands on it but not real clear.  My next item I would like to look at is one of the nebulae.  As with most things I havent use any of my filters yet.  To view a nebulae am I ecpected to see the colors like in viedos and photos or are they going to be mostly black and white.  Do I use filters for this and what kind.  My scope is a Celestron CGEM 11" with equatoral mount,  I have a 41 mm pantoptic televue eyepiece and sever celstron eyepieces down tho the 5mm UltraCelestron.  Several red blue green and two red on dark and on light.  I have the UVIR filter and the UHC/LPR filter. I have the celestron eypieces 40mm, 32mm and 26 mm along with 2 inch barlow and a 4x televue powermate. when i get past this step then I am going to try photography which I also have purchased the equipment for. I am using a telrad quick finder and a televue 80mm finder scope

Can any one give me any direction on viewing nebulae.

Thank PHIL (Brand Newbie)

Thanks Dave.  I am not sure what I am looking for.  I see the photos with the wild colors.  Will my view through the scope of nebula be like the photos. Will I see color or just black and white?

There are a wide variety of nebulae out there to see and viewing each takes a bit different technique.  Depending on the aperture you are using there is color to be seen in some nebulae, but nothing like you see in magazines and on the web.  Those photos are long exposures which allow the CCD cips to accumulate light over several hours to bring out those wonderful colors.  Your eye just can't do that.

You can see shades of blue and green in several planetary nebulae (gas shells expelled from dying stars like the Ring [M57], the Dumbell [M27], and others).  Some of the largest and brightest emission nebulae (gas clouds glowing from the energy of stars being formed in them) can also show shades of green and even a bit of red with large scopes, but still nothing like photos. 

Even from a dark location there are filters which will enhance the views of many nebulae.  A UHC filter will help to bring out detail in a wide variety of objects, from emission nebulae like the Great Orion Nebula (M42), to supernova remnants like the Veil Nebula, and the Crab (M1), and planetary nebulae.  Another filter which works well on most planetarys and many other nebulae also, is an OIII filter. 

Good luck.  I hope this helps a bit.

Zachsdad, I'm curious as to how much aperture it takes before you begin to see colors in nebula's?

Even a small scope can see the blues and greens in many planetary nebulae.  The Ghost of Jupiter, the Blue snowball, and the Blinking Planetary are just three that pop into my mind that are very bright and usually show color to almost all observers.  To begin to get color in emission nebulae like M42, and M8 you will need at least 8" of aperture and good skies.  When I was using my 10" dob I occasionally saw a bit of green in those objects, but many times did not.

Thanks.

For information on the use of LPR and nebula filters, see http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/filters.htm and http://pages.sbcglobal.net/raycash/filters.htm

Here's a list of nebulae that have been reported to exhibit color by various observers from the starrynights Yahoo!Group.  Keep in mind that the color seen in deep-sky objects is often very subtle, usually requires large apertures, and is most noticeable at dark sites during superb transparency and seeing conditions.

Name Const. R.A. Dec. mv Notes

NGC 7662 And 23 25.9  +42° 33'  8.3  Blue Snowball 
NGC 7009 Aqr 21 04.2  -11° 22'  8.3  Saturn Nebula 
NGC 40 Cep 00 13.0  +72° 31'  12.4  . 
M27 Vul  19 59.6  +22° 43'  7.3  Dumbbell Nebula 
NGC 6826 Cyg 19 44.8  +50° 31'  8.8  Blinking Nebula 
NGC 6891 Del 20 15.2  +12° 42'  10.5  . 
NGC 6543 Dra 17 58.6  +66° 38'  8.1  Cat's Eye Nebula 
NGC 1535 Eri 04 14.3  -12° 44'  9.6  . 
NGC 2392 Gem 07 29.2  +20° 55'  7.4  Eskimo Nebula 
NGC 6210 Her 16 44.5  +23° 49'  8.8  . 
NGC 3242 Hya 10 24.8  +18° 38'  7.8  Ghost of Jupiter 
IC 418 Lep 05 27.5  +12° 42'  9.3  Raspberry Nebula 
NGC 6369 Oph 17 29.3  -23° 46'  11.4  Little Ghost 
NGC 6572 Oph 18 12.1  +06° 51'  9.1  The Emerald Nebula 
M42 Ori 05 35.4  -05° 27'  4  The Great Orion Nebula 
M8 Sgr 18 03.8  -24° 23'  5.8  Lagoon Nebula 
M20 Sgr  18 02.6  -23° 02'  6.3  Trifid Nebula 
NGC 6445 Sgr 17 49.3  -20° 01'  11.2  . 
NGC 6818 Sgr 19 44.0  -14° 09'  9.3  Little Gem 

To that list, I'll add the Homunculus Nebula surrounding Eta Carinae, which displayed a distinct orange color, as seen through a 22" Starmaster Dob from Bolivia in 2004.

I've seen hints of color in some of the bright planetary nebulae like NGC 6543, NGC 7009, and NGC 7662 with my 101mm Tele Vue refractor.  IC 418 is nicknamed the Raspberry Nebula for good reason.  Using large apertures (14.5 to 25 inches) from very dark sites, I've detected blues, greens, and ruddy hues in M42 and on two occasions a very subtle pink shade in M8 with two different 30" Dobs.

Dave Mitsky

Thanks Zacksdad  I have all of these filters and will be sure to try them if the weather ever lets me back out to view. LOL  Between the weather and the flu its hard to get the right time to get out there.  Thanks for all the info.

Phil

Thanks for the superb list Dave.   I am printing this out to keep on hand when I get another opertunity to view.

Thanks for the two links, Dave. I have an Orion broadband but think I'll be adding an OIII now.