Posts Made By: Inge Skauvik

Indeed, 7027 is bright. Even the slightest optical aid will make it visible, but like several other planetary nebulae, magnification is needed to appreciate them as nebulous objects.
For faint, small planetaries (9th magnitude or fainter) I often use the blinking technique with an O-III filter to identify them. The brighter ones, like NGC7027 reveal themselves by their colour. In a recent post I mentioned NGC6572 in Ophiuchus. This nebula is significantly brighter than 7027, and extremely vividly coloured.
The same night as I observed 7027 I also had a look at NGC7662, the "Blue Snowball". Once again I noticed a feature that I hadn't noticed before. 7662 is appears distinctly annular with sufficient aperture and magnification. I just find it strange that I have overlooked this earlier.

Inge S

Thank you all for your warm sympathy.

His excellent 18-inch scope was probably completely damaged in the crash. He completed a deal with a young amateur astronomer living in Trondheim, and was on his way to deliver the scope when the accident happened.

A telescope that can be bought for money, however great it is, becomes an unimportant matter in this perspective.

Inge S

This is difficult. In recent years I had the opportunity to use moderately large telescopes with decent quality, and travelled to places with excellent observing conditions. Some of my best memories, however, I have from a long time ago when I was struggling with small scopes with meriocre optics and lousy mountings.

I'll never forget the first time I viewed Saturn through a 30mm scope with a fixed magnification of 20x and no mount. At that time (1963ish) Saturn was low in Capricoruns or Aquarius, and I could just support the telescope on the base of the window frame. This made the scope sturdy enough to get the first glimpse of the rings of the planet.

Later I was able to locate and split my first double star with the same scope on a home-made mount. Nu Draconis with a separation of 60" is hardly a challenge, but that time it gave me a real satisfaction and a feeling of achievement.

In the early 70ties I got a good UK-made 8-inch Newtonian. I remember first time I looked for M81 and found M82 (which I actually didn't know about at that time) first. I didn't make out half of the detail of what is possible with considerably smaller aperture, but the feeling of "discovering" this fine galaxy was incredibly satisfying.

In 1997 I was lucky to get clear sky during an unexpected shower of fireballs connected with the Leonids. The number of meteors were typically about 10 - 15 per minute, but many of them were bright enough to cast shadow, and one (which I failed to see because I was indside at the moment) left a trail that remained visible for 45 minutes.

The purchase of an 8-inch Portaball in 2000 gave new inspiration to me. At that time I also bought an O-III filter, and my first view of the Veil nebula with the filter is something I can't forget. Later I upgraded to a 12.5-inch, and made two trips to the Canary Islands with Tore, Eckart and last time also Dmitri. During the first trip Omega Centauri and M8 where the highlights. Second time the large Sculptor galaxy, NGC253 gave the most memorable sight.

Astronomy has given me much joy over a period of more than 40 years. I really look forward to the 40 years to come.....

Inge S

Hello Ivan, Dmitri and everybody,

I just returned from a Christmas vacation at my parents' home - without computers and other high-tech.

Thanks for the report. I'm very glad on Dmitri's behalf that he got the opportunity to observe under such superb conditions.

I also use the opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Year, and for all of us I wish that 2008 will be another great astronomical year with ample opportunities to enjoy the beauties of the universe.

Inge S

Check the site www.traveldob.de

Central European amateurs have developed a tradition for travelling south (e.g. to Namibia). This requires instruments like the ones shown on this site.

Inge S

I'm very often disappointed by the views of the nebulosity near Zeta Orionis. Even when I consider conditions to be quite good it appears as againt featureless patch even in my 12.5-inch. On rare occasions, however, I have seen it very bright and detailed. My best view of it was from La Palma last September. Then it showed incredible detail and stood very well out against the background sky. The explanation was of course that the NELM was about 7 and no disturbing light was present.
I also remember an observation from the time before the invention of the high-pressure sodium lamp. I used an 8.5-inch Newtonian, and found the nebula by accident. It was not as detailed as I saw it last year, but quite good.
I have experimented with filters on this nebula, but generally prefer to observe it without a filter. It is crucial to keep Zeta Orionis outside the field of view. With my 12.5-inch a 13mm Nagler gives 115x magnification. This is a good choice for this object.

Inge S

This planetary is visible with relatively small aperture without a filter. It is easy to overlook, however, being quite small.
It is a good example of a bipolar planetary, its shape reminding me of a peanut.

Inge S

Floaters have always been a problem for me. They are pretty annoying while looking at a bright sky with the naked eye as well as while observing planets and other bright things through the telescope.
I don't think there's anything to do with it - I just have to accept their presence. Fortunately I don't notice them during normal deep-sky observation.

Inge S

Sometimes I feel like a grumpy old man, therefore I'm a bit reluctant to give this comment.
In my opinion this thread belongs under the general "Astronomy" forum.

However, since it has been running here for some time, I suggest that you keep on the discussion here.

Inge S

I just want to add that I'm very interested in your results. Some of the objects are quite easy, but in a couple of cases I only suspect seeing the spiral pattern in my 12.5-inch. Maybe a combination of memory and imagination is playing with my mind....