After commenting on a recent thread on observing the cocoon nebula in Cygnus, I'd like to add a bit more from my observing session last night(8-13-10) up at Mt Pinos, aka zooland. After putting up with aimless drivers and/or insomniacs who would circle the parking lot on the mountaintop throughout the evening, I still gleaned a bit of observing including a trial of different eyepieces and filter combination with my 16" f4.5 dob.
First, the more aperture you've got at your disposal, the better. The cocoon is an illusive object and DSCs and a scope above 12" is probably best, together with a dark sky location with Cygnus riding high near the zenith.
In my scope, the cocoon was evident with a 10mm ethos and a paracorr. The relatively bright stars in and about the nebula are fairly easy and the diffuse nature of the nebula can be discerned since the shorter focal length eyepiece darkens the background a bit.
I tried Celestron baader O111 filter with my 28mm meade SWA and 24mm ultrawideangle eyepieces and it did improve the view but not as much as my Orion ultrablock UHC filter. IMO, a UHC filter is the way to go if you want to have an optimum the view of the cocoon.
I also barlowed the above wideangle eyepieces, with and without filters, but I couldn't decide on an optimum combo that would be my personal preference, and other than the aforementioned recommendation of a UHC filter, I'll leave the eyepiece choices to your discretion so do a little experimentation on your own and perhaps share your thoughts and impressions with us.
First, the more aperture you've got at your disposal, the better. The cocoon is an illusive object and DSCs and a scope above 12" is probably best, together with a dark sky location with Cygnus riding high near the zenith.
In my scope, the cocoon was evident with a 10mm ethos and a paracorr. The relatively bright stars in and about the nebula are fairly easy and the diffuse nature of the nebula can be discerned since the shorter focal length eyepiece darkens the background a bit.
I tried Celestron baader O111 filter with my 28mm meade SWA and 24mm ultrawideangle eyepieces and it did improve the view but not as much as my Orion ultrablock UHC filter. IMO, a UHC filter is the way to go if you want to have an optimum the view of the cocoon.
I also barlowed the above wideangle eyepieces, with and without filters, but I couldn't decide on an optimum combo that would be my personal preference, and other than the aforementioned recommendation of a UHC filter, I'll leave the eyepiece choices to your discretion so do a little experimentation on your own and perhaps share your thoughts and impressions with us.
