Observing report 22-2-04

Why do the skies always clear on Sunday evenings? When I'm supposed to
be getting ready for the working day? Beats me.

Equipment: Orion Optics Europa 250 ('Mini-Hubble') on a HEQ5 mount.

Sometimes when I go out I have no particular plan, prefering to just
'roam' around the sky on a whim. Last night I had a single target in
mindlanetary nebula NGC 2392 in Gemini. XEphem reports it as being
magnitude 9.90, which is on the faint side for my skies. To find it, I
mentally draw a right-angled triangle using Delta Gem, Lambda Gem and
NGC 2392 itself, with the nebula being at the right-angle and the
Delta-Lambda line being the hypotenuse.

Finding it proved - interesting. It took me 45 minutes, the last 10 of
which involved swearing. I also discovered that my gloves are too thin.
The mistake I was making (in seeing it, not the gloves) was that I was
using too little magnification, given that I didn't know the field
stars. I was using x38 which, in hindsight, was a bad idea. Given that
you're looking for a star that just won't quite focus, a bit more mag
would have been adviseable. Eventually I saw a star that juuuust didn't
look quite right. Threw in my 15mm Lanthanum (x80) and there she was.

NGC 2392 has an almost cometary appearance, with a bright core fading
out to the edges. I couldn't see the boundary to the edges, getting the
feeling that there was more 'just out of sight', as it were. It's unlike
M57 in that respect - that object has fairly clearly defined edges. I
was able to detaect some texturing in the nebula together with perhaps a
hint of blue, although that might just have been hypothermia setting in.

Stared at it for about ten mins before deciding that warmth was
required.

Many of you seasoned sky watchers will probably have no trouble finding
this object, but for me it was an achievement. Next time it will be
easier.

Probably.

Jim
--
AIM/iSight:JCAndrew2 - Log in and say 'hi'
"We deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal
laws of right and wrong break down; beyond those metaphysical
event horizons there exist ... special circumstances" - Use Of Weapons

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 07:28:43 +0000, (Jim)
wrote:

Why do the skies always clear on Sunday evenings? When I'm supposed to
be getting ready for the working day? Beats me.

Equipment: Orion Optics Europa 250 ('Mini-Hubble') on a HEQ5 mount.

Sometimes when I go out I have no particular plan, prefering to just
'roam' around the sky on a whim. Last night I had a single target in
mindlanetary nebula NGC 2392 in Gemini. XEphem reports it as being
magnitude 9.90, which is on the faint side for my skies. To find it, I
mentally draw a right-angled triangle using Delta Gem, Lambda Gem and
NGC 2392 itself, with the nebula being at the right-angle and the
Delta-Lambda line being the hypotenuse.

Finding it proved - interesting. It took me 45 minutes, the last 10 of
which involved swearing. I also discovered that my gloves are too thin.
The mistake I was making (in seeing it, not the gloves) was that I was
using too little magnification, given that I didn't know the field
stars. I was using x38 which, in hindsight, was a bad idea. Given that
you're looking for a star that just won't quite focus, a bit more mag
would have been adviseable. Eventually I saw a star that juuuust didn't
look quite right. Threw in my 15mm Lanthanum (x80) and there she was.

NGC 2392 has an almost cometary appearance, with a bright core fading
out to the edges. I couldn't see the boundary to the edges, getting the
feeling that there was more 'just out of sight', as it were. It's unlike
M57 in that respect - that object has fairly clearly defined edges. I
was able to detaect some texturing in the nebula together with perhaps a
hint of blue, although that might just have been hypothermia setting in.

Stared at it for about ten mins before deciding that warmth was
required.

Many of you seasoned sky watchers will probably have no trouble finding
this object, but for me it was an achievement. Next time it will be
easier.

Probably.

Jim

Hi Jim. Great report. I'm thinking of buying an Orion Optics Europa
250. Would you say it was a worth while investment?

KR's

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 07:28:43 +0000, (Jim)
wrote:

Why do the skies always clear on Sunday evenings? When I'm supposed to
be getting ready for the working day? Beats me.

Always seems to do this!

snip

Many of you seasoned sky watchers will probably have no trouble finding
this object, but for me it was an achievement. Next time it will be
easier.

Nice report Jim. Rather conjures up the atmosphere of a 'real'
session. The hunt and then the goal. As you say, next time it will
be easier - probably quite surprisingly so for this object for you.

Well done.
--
Pete Lawrence
http://www.pbl33.co.uk
Home of the Lunar Parallax Demonstration Project

Jim wrote:
Eventually I saw a star that juuuust didn't look quite right. Threw in
my 15mm Lanthanum (x80) and there she was.

Magnification certainly throws it out at you, being so close to another
star. If you have a deep sky filter of some sort (e.g. UHC) you can try
"blinking" it by using the filter between your eye and the eyepiece when
you're looking for it at low mag.

[...]
I was able to detaect some texturing in the nebula together with
perhaps a hint of blue, although that might just have been hypothermia
setting in.

Interesting. I've seen it as slightly green. I wonder if this is a
matter of perception.


Best,
Stephen

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+ Stephen Tonkin | ATM Resources; Astro-Tutorials; Astro Books +
+ (N51.162 E0.995) | http://astunit.com +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

In article , P wrote:

Hi Jim. Great report. I'm thinking of buying an Orion Optics Europa
250. Would you say it was a worth while investment?

KR's

I've not regretted mine, shall we say. It's a big 'scope, with lots of
light gathering potential. Well made as well. They are, however, at the
upper limit of what could be called 'portable'. Not a problem for me
as my skies are adequate but if you had to drive somewhere it could be
a burden. Orion have always struck me as a great company, friendly and
easy to deal with.

Jim
--
-*-
"We deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal
laws of right and wrong break down; beyond those metaphysical
event horizons there exist ... special circumstances" - Use Of Weapons

In article , Pete Lawrence wrote:
Many of you seasoned sky watchers will probably have no trouble finding
this object, but for me it was an achievement. Next time it will be
easier.

Nice report Jim. Rather conjures up the atmosphere of a 'real'
session. The hunt and then the goal. As you say, next time it will
be easier - probably quite surprisingly so for this object for you.

Well done.

Thanks Pete. I have to confess to being close to giving up once or twice,
what with the temperature being what it was and a mounting sense of
frustration. It was all worthwhile when I realised I'd found it. Warm
glow of success and all that :-)

Things I learned: Patience is everything. It's one of those things that
you *know* you need but don't truly appreciate until you 'stick with it'
at the eyepiece. Mine is getting better it seems.

Second thing I learned: putting eyepieces in your pocket is a *great*
way to get them covered in lint.

Third thing: A straight-through finder (as opposed to a right-angled
finder) was essential. I'm now going to mount both side-by-side.

Lastly: I need new gloves :-)

Jim
--
-*-
"We deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal
laws of right and wrong break down; beyond those metaphysical
event horizons there exist ... special circumstances" - Use Of Weapons

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 11:58:58 +0000, Jim
wrote:

Thanks Pete. I have to confess to being close to giving up once or twice,
what with the temperature being what it was and a mounting sense of
frustration. It was all worthwhile when I realised I'd found it. Warm
glow of success and all that :-)

The other factor that comes into play which is hardly ever mentioned
is the feeling of well being that such a session brings you the next
day. Whatever you are doing during the next day, there's a connection
back to the experience of going it alone in a dark site with just he
heavens above you. Rather puts the everyday stuff in perspective for
a while doesn't it.

--
Pete Lawrence
http://www.pbl33.co.uk
Home of the Lunar Parallax Demonstration Project

In article , Pete Lawrence wrote:
On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 11:58:58 +0000, Jim
wrote:

Thanks Pete. I have to confess to being close to giving up once or twice,
what with the temperature being what it was and a mounting sense of
frustration. It was all worthwhile when I realised I'd found it. Warm
glow of success and all that :-)

The other factor that comes into play which is hardly ever mentioned
is the feeling of well being that such a session brings you the next
day. Whatever you are doing during the next day, there's a connection
back to the experience of going it alone in a dark site with just he
heavens above you. Rather puts the everyday stuff in perspective for
a while doesn't it.


Couldn't have put it better myself.

Jim
--
-*-
"We deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal
laws of right and wrong break down; beyond those metaphysical
event horizons there exist ... special circumstances" - Use Of Weapons

Jim wrote:
Lastly: I need new gloves :-)

Three are things sold in "field sports" shops that have fold-back mitts
and split thumbs, enabling finger and thumb to sneak out of the warm to
do fiddly bits. Wonderful, except that they are all wool on the palm, so
they do have a tendency to slip on dry metal (and steering wheels) if
you're not careful.

Best,
Stephen

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--
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+ Stephen Tonkin | ATM Resources; Astro-Tutorials; Astro Books +
+ (N51.162 E0.995) | http://astunit.com +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 16:08:45 +0000, Stephen Tonkin
wrote:

Jim wrote:
Lastly: I need new gloves :-)

Three are things sold in "field sports" shops that have fold-back mitts
and split thumbs, enabling finger and thumb to sneak out of the warm to
do fiddly bits. Wonderful, except that they are all wool on the palm, so
they do have a tendency to slip on dry metal (and steering wheels) if
you're not careful.

"And how did your Delorian end up in the front of that house sir?"

"Err - it just slipped through my fingers officer - IT WAS TONKINS
FAULT!!!"

--
Pete Lawrence
http://www.pbl33.co.uk
Home of the Lunar Parallax Demonstration Project