Structure in gaseous nebulae - what do you see?

Started by Inge_S, 03/12/2012 12:54PM
Posted 03/12/2012 12:54PM Opening Post
Of course everybody see structure in the great Orion nebula and objects like M17 and M8. But in addition to these there are numerous fainter nebulae, many of which appear like round or oval fuzzyballs.
In my experience many of these nebulae become more interesting when using narrowband filters, but even without filters some detail can often be made out with some patience.
I have a lot of favourites myself, but it would be interesting to hear about your favourite diffuse nebulae.
Let us keep the planetary nebulae and galaxies out for this discussion. We may return to them later.

Inge S
Posted 03/12/2012 02:16PM #1
With an OIII and a dark sky I've seen a lot of structure in the Veil Nebula using my 11". In my buddy's 25" its stunning. Others in Orion like the Flame and Running Man also show structure. Using an H-beta I've also seen some in the California Nebula.

Andreas

DSOs observed:
NGCs 2005, ICs 103, Other 70, Palomar GCs 6, Abell PNs 12, Herschel 400: 316.
Equipment
Celestron CPC 1100, Lunt 60mm Ha Solar Scope
Posted 03/13/2012 10:40AM | Edited 03/13/2012 10:41AM #2
Obviously the Veil is a stunner... there are the obvious ones, M8, M20 and M27. The North American and the Pelican are great. But I think most nebulae show structure, the Rosette, the Medusa, Thor's Helmet, NGC2467, IC 405 and IC410... the list is long. some are best with a smaller scope, some with a larger scope.

To see structure in nebulosity though, my favorite thing to do is to scan the summer Milky Way in my 12.5 inch or 16 inch with the 31mm Nagler + Paracorr. The 12.5 inch is a great "richest field scope", 6.6mm exit pupil @48x with a 1.62 degree TFOV. One of my favorites is to start at M8 and work towards M7 in wide swaths, picking up a variety of objects along the way but mostly just enjoying the "rivers and valleys" in the nebulosity.

jon
Posted 03/14/2012 06:16PM #3
I once saw the Veil through a 24" Newtonian and it looked like a twisted silk scarf, there was so much detail. And that was w/o an OIII. I could have looked at it for hours, but there was a line behind me.

In my 8" SCT, it's M8, M17, and M42 that show the most structure. I see some structure w/o an OIII and quite a bit with the OIII. Under excellent skies, the North America and Rosette Nebulas and the brightest parts of the Veil Nebula show some structure with an OIII. I'm probably forgetting a couple more.
Posted 03/19/2012 07:23PM #4
My 2 favourites are eta carina and 30 doradus. The detail visible in these is stunning in an 18" scope, especially under very dark skies. Makes M42 look featureless in comparison! 8) The LMC is full of faint nebulae that show some interesting structure as well as the Carina-Ara Milky Way.

Maurice

* Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a day.
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