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Lion Nebula SH2-132 - RC71

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Posts Made By: Dave Mitsky

September 25, 2003 01:01 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Andromeda looks like a cotton ball?

Posted By Dave Mitsky
AFAIK, the only stars in M31 that have been visually resolved by amateurs have been the blue supergiants in NGC 206. The brightest of these stars are in the 15th magnitude range.

Dave Mitsky

September 29, 2003 05:47 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Nova Sagittarii 2003 Number 2, 2003/9/25 UT

Posted By Dave Mitsky
Spectra of the nova are available at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/nsgr2_03.htm and http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/us/nsgr4/nsgr4.htm

Dave Mitsky

October 23, 2003 07:46 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Cave Nebula

Posted By Dave Mitsky
Ah, yes, the Caldwell Catalog, which started out as just as a list of objects that Moore mentioned to the folks at S & T and which eventually turned into a money making enterprise and a rather bogus deep-sky list. The Cave Nebula is an extremely difficult object to see visually and I strongly doubt that Moore, who is known as a great observer of the moon but not of the deep-sky, has ever seen it through a telescope.

See http://members.aol.com/anonglxy/lingmoor.htm for a discussion on the matter.

Dave Mitsky

October 24, 2003 02:59 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Caldwell Objects? Do you do them?

Posted By Dave Mitsky
The Caldwell Catalog is not even a particularly good list of non-Messier objects. Adding yet another set of designations to well-known deep-sky objects, some of which already having multiple designations and nicknames, is ludicrous, IMHO.

Dave Mitsky

October 30, 2003 03:00 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

24mm Pan + 5x powermate anyone?

Posted By Dave Mitsky
The Panoptics are not known as great planetary eyepieces. The type 6 Naglers are surprisingly good in that regard.

Dave Mitsky

November 4, 2003 06:12 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Orion

Posted By Dave Mitsky
I'd say that the odds are stacked against you. B33 requires dark skies and a H-beta filter. Since narrowband filters like the UHC also pass some H-beta, they may help too but to a lesser degree. Steady seeing doesn't hurt either. I've logged the Horsehead with H-beta filtered telescopes ranging from 13.1 (B33 has been seen with much smaller scopes) to 36 inches but have seen it only once without filtration. That was through a 20 inch Starmaster on an exceptionally good night at Cherry Springs State Park, one of the darkest sites in the eastern USA.

Dave Mitsky

November 6, 2003 09:18 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Nagler 13mm type 2

Posted By Dave Mitsky
There was no 13mm Nagler type 2. The type 2 Naglers were 12, 16, and 20mm in focal length (see http://www.scopereviews.com/page2.html ). The original type 1 Naglers have been for the most part superseded by the type 6 Naglers.

Dave Mitsky

November 22, 2003 08:07 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Which nebulae show most detail in small scopes?

Posted By Dave Mitsky
Inge,

Your list is a bit northern hemishere biased. Here are the best that I've personally observed.

1. Eta Carinae Nebula
2. M42
3. Cygnus Loop (Veil Nebula complex)
4. M8
5. M17

1. Large Magellanic Cloud
2. Small Magellanic Cloud
3. M33
4. M31
5. NGC 253

Dave Mitsky

December 11, 2003 10:11 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Favorite Open Clusters?

Posted By Dave Mitsky
NGC 3532 in Carina is the best open cluster in the sky, IMO.

Has anyone mentioned the 37 Cluster, NGC 2169?

Dave Mitsky

December 11, 2003 11:38 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Favorite Open Clusters?

Posted By Dave Mitsky
Here's a top ten list that I posted last year on this forum.

Here's my "top ten" list of favorite open clusters:

1. NGC 3532 (the best open cluster in the sky, see http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n3532.html )
2. M24 (even if it isn't a true open cluster)
3. NGC 7789
4. NGC 2477
5. NGC 869 & NGC 884 (the Double Cluster)
6. NGC 2362
7. M11
8. M46
9. NGC 6231
10.M37

Other noteworthy open clusters include M6, M7, M35, M36, M38, M44, M45, M47, M50, M67, M93, NGC 188, NGC 225, NGC 457 (the Owl or E.T. Cluster), NGC 663, NGC 1502, NGC 1528, NGC 1907, NGC 2158, NGC 2169 (the "37" Cluster), NGC 2264, NGC 2360, NGC 2539, NGC 4755 (the Jewel Box), NGC 6802, NGC 6939, and Stock 2.

Dave Mitsky

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