Ringing in the New Year with M42 & Other Old Friends....

[Dan Chieppa]

It’s Dec. 31st and the sky is clearing nicely. I decided to set up my 4-inch Meade ED refractor on the LXD75 mount. That mount has not been hypertuned yet but it tracks well so that was the optical setup. It was 36 degrees when I set up in my backyard at 6:00PM. I let everything cool down for 90 minutes. It’s a bit breezy now but the winds die down as the evening wears on.
My first object was Castor. It was well-placed in the sky and served as an alignment object for my finder. After a bit of tweaking I had Castor centered in the finder and nicely centered in a 32mm EP that gave me 28x. There was no hint of a double star at that magnification. When I popped in a 10mm EP at 92x Castor easily revealed its companion. I’m off and running at 7:50PM and the entire evening is ahead of me. Mars was the next object of interest. At 92x there was a hint of surface markings. I would be coming back to Mars a little later with a host of filters.
M42 in Orion was next and looked real nice at 28x. At 57x the Trapezium really pops. I added the Meade broadband filter and there was much more nebulosity to see. I up the power to 92x and then to 161x. Very nice views. If you have not tried viewing M42 at higher powers you’re missing a real treat. I also tried a Meade IR filter from my DSI Pro system and saw more detail in the nebular. Am I correct that an IR filter and a broadband filter do similar things when viewing nebular?
I switch back to Mars and try viewing at 92x and then 161x. The seeing isn’t great and I can see the image is in and out. I’m gonna wait a little while longer before trying filters. I’m hoping the seeing will improve as the temperature drops. Its 9:45PM and 34 degrees now so it’s time for a warm-up break.
Mars is high in the sky at 10:00PM and I’m trying different filters now. A number 8 filter provided the least improvement in surface detail followed by a #21 filter. Using #11 and #56 provided the best improvement. If the seeing was better I would have tried higher power with the filters. A 5.7mm EP gave me 161x and that was as high as I could go. All things being equal the views I got during this session were the best I’ve had with one of my own telescopes in a very long time.
I took a peek at the Pleiades (M45) with low power just for the fun of it. Meredith joined me for a few minutes so I let her take a peek. It’s 32 degrees now so after about five minutes she went in.
Saturn is high enough at 11:00PM so I’m viewing it at 57x. There isn’t much tilt to the rings now. The view was much better at 184x. The seeing is still an issue for me. Saturn is very clear for seconds at a time but it’s not a steady, clear image. I skip trying out my filters on Saturn for tonight. Just for the fun of it I put in my 4mm EP and look at Saturn with 230x. The image isn’t bad for a 4-inch refractor under less than ideal seeing. I’m happy with the telescope's performance and will use it again, from a darker site, the next clear night I have free.
While the 4mm EP is in place I return to M42. The Trapezium looks great with four pinpoint stars and lots of clouds. The FOV at 230x is filled with nebulosity. I don’t see the Trapezium’s 5th and 6th stars. They continue to elude me! I’m convinced I can see them with the 4-inch but need a darker location. I replaced the 4mm EP with my W70 Antares 8.6mm for a wide angle view at 107x. What I didn’t see tonight while viewing M42 was any satellite activity. During previous observing and imaging sessions I’ve managed to capture satellites transiting the FOV. No such luck tonight.
It’s now 12:35AM and down to 30 degrees. It’s also a New Year. Time to call it a night and pack up my gear. I’m looking forward to many more observing sessions in the new year.
Happy New Year to all of you.
Clear skies,
Dan

[petep]

Thanks for the vicarious observing experience Dan. I've been down and out for a week with a viral infection that just won't clear up. And although conditions haven't been perfect I just couldn't make it outside.

[Dan Chieppa]

Hello Pete,
Sorry to hear you've been under the weather. Get well soon and enjoy the night sky.
Clear skies,
Dan

[WCGucfa]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the fine report! We did have the gift of clear, if not perfect skies that night.
I'd like to try and catch those two other stars in the trapezium in an image. You've created a challenge for me thanks to your notes.
I have captured a close up of the trap but never saw the other stars. It could be my 30 sec. limit will hold me back. We'll see.

Say hi to Meredith for me!

Bill

[Dan Chieppa]

Hi Bill,
I almost set up again tonight! It's clear and down to 13 degrees in my backyard but the wind is gusting so I passed and stayed inside and played with a new HP laptop computer.
Good luck imaging the trap. The E and F stars are tough. I'm thinking even a 30-second exposure may be too long. The brighter stars may wash out the fainter ones. Keep me posted on how you make out.
Meredith and I hope to see you at the meeting on the 12th.
Clear skies,
Dan