After finishing up my Orion tour of doubles (29.12.03 cf. double star forum) moonlight was no longer a problem, and I aimed my telescope at some gaseous nebulae and other DSO's. During my session I observed 8 diffuce nebulae, all very different in shape, size and brightness.
M42: The nebula in the sky showing the greatest amount of detail (at least as seen from my location). It is very interesting to use different magnifications on this nebula. Viewing the central part with the Trapezium with a 6mm monocentric eyepiece was a real joy.
NGC1999 (Orion): A moderately small, round nebula surrounding a faint star south of Iota Orionis. Easy to spot, but not showing much detail.
NGC281 (Cassiopeia): A relatively large nebula responding well to the O-III filter. Only three stars in the central star, Burnham 1, this time (four can be seen under the best conditions).
NGC1931 (Auriga): The surface brightness of this nebula is very high, but it is easy to overlook since it is so small. I usually use the clusters M36 and M38 as navigation aid whan I want to locate this nebula.
NGC1788 (Orion): One of the less known diffuse nebulae in Orion. A moderately difficult object which is not enhanced by the O-III filter. Not large, a bit elongated and with a couple of faint stars involved.
NGC2042 (Orion): The Flame nebula, near Zeta Orionis. I personally don't find that the O-III filter helps much on this nebula. I prefer a magnification of about 100x, and see more of this nebula when Zeta is outside the field. The intersecting dark lane (Russians call it the "Italy nebula") was easy to see from my dark observation site.
Rosette nebula (Monoceros): The O-III filter is essential to see this nebula well. A very good view with a hint of the dark globules was provided by my 24mm Erfle eyepiece.
NGC2261 (Monoceros): Moving from the Rosette to this nebula illustrates how different diffuse nebulae can be. This nebula has a shape like a small comet with a fan-shaped tail, very bright. Very good object.
M42: The nebula in the sky showing the greatest amount of detail (at least as seen from my location). It is very interesting to use different magnifications on this nebula. Viewing the central part with the Trapezium with a 6mm monocentric eyepiece was a real joy.
NGC1999 (Orion): A moderately small, round nebula surrounding a faint star south of Iota Orionis. Easy to spot, but not showing much detail.
NGC281 (Cassiopeia): A relatively large nebula responding well to the O-III filter. Only three stars in the central star, Burnham 1, this time (four can be seen under the best conditions).
NGC1931 (Auriga): The surface brightness of this nebula is very high, but it is easy to overlook since it is so small. I usually use the clusters M36 and M38 as navigation aid whan I want to locate this nebula.
NGC1788 (Orion): One of the less known diffuse nebulae in Orion. A moderately difficult object which is not enhanced by the O-III filter. Not large, a bit elongated and with a couple of faint stars involved.
NGC2042 (Orion): The Flame nebula, near Zeta Orionis. I personally don't find that the O-III filter helps much on this nebula. I prefer a magnification of about 100x, and see more of this nebula when Zeta is outside the field. The intersecting dark lane (Russians call it the "Italy nebula") was easy to see from my dark observation site.
Rosette nebula (Monoceros): The O-III filter is essential to see this nebula well. A very good view with a hint of the dark globules was provided by my 24mm Erfle eyepiece.
NGC2261 (Monoceros): Moving from the Rosette to this nebula illustrates how different diffuse nebulae can be. This nebula has a shape like a small comet with a fan-shaped tail, very bright. Very good object.
