Category: dark

Three Lobes Glowing

M20

The Trifid Nebula, M20, in Sagittarius
Sketch by Janis Romer, text by Frank McCabe

This is a fine eyepiece sketch of the Trifid nebula (Messier 20) in Sagittarius. Northern hemisphere observers at dark sky sites consider it a real summer time delight. The glow sketched here is mostly an emission nebula but includes a reflection nebula component as well. Three lobes in the emission nebula portion were created by the light blocking debris remnants of exploded stars. The glow is mostly due to H II star formation regions of ionized gas and plasma heated by high energy radiation from hot young stars in the region.

The distance to this deep sky object is not well known. It is believed to be between 2,300 and 9,000 light years away. Estimates of the visual magnitude of this treasure fall between 6.8 and 9.0, making it visible with binocular or a small telescope. Charles Messier viewed and catalogued M 20 on June 5, 1764.

Location:
Sagittarius
R.A. 18h 2.6m
Dec. -23° 2′
Known also as NGC 6514
Scope used:
Criterion 8″ f/8 Newtonian reflector

Sublime and Glorious

M42

The Trapezium and Other Bright Stars of the Orion Nebula
Sketch and Details by Janis Romer

Janis wrote:

January, 1983. Temple University Night Owl, 17 1/2″ Dob. One of those Coulter mirrors*.

You will notice I have not included any of the smaller stars. I was using stars only as reference points for the nebula and simply ignored them. I’ve been tempted to go back and add them in, but decided I liked it better just the way I originally made it, warts and all.

Sketching:
Conte pastel pencils (white, blended greens) on black pastel paper.

*Note: James A. Braginton (Jacobsen), the owner/operator of Coulter Optical (deceased) was the first manufacturer of commercial Dobsonian telescopes. The Odyssey 2 (17.5” f/4.5) debuted in January of 1982. Nearly all of them were made in a small shop in Idyllwild, California. The early ones had well figured mirrors and were very inexpensive. Finished mirror sets were also sold in good numbers. -Frank McCabe

North America Nebula

NGC 7000

NGC 7000 – The North America Nebula
Sketch and Details by Juha Ojanperä

Object name: NGC 7000, North America nebula
Object type: Bright nebula
Location: Parainen, Finland
Date: 9/10.10.2008
Instrument: Lens 80mm/400mm (3” lens)
Medium used: Graphite pencils and cottonwool sticks
Observing conditions: Dark, clear sky
Notes: Very large bright nebula. The distinct shape of the nebula is pretty easy to see, after some gazing and with aid of O III filter. In the North America, Mexico and the area around Gulf of Mexico are brightest, though the eastern coast is also considerably bright. The nebula gets fainter to the north and west. The Pelican nebula appeared as faint, nebulous patch a little bit to east from the eastern coast.

A Serpent Among the Stars

B68 and B72

Barnard 68 and 72 (The Snake Nebula)
Sketch and Details by Kiminori Ikebe

B68 Oph dark nebula Difficulty level: 3/5
B72 Oph dark nebula Difficulty level: 4/5
The Snake Nebula
Date of Observation: 2002/08/02 22:51
Observing Site: Gokase
Transparency/Seeing/sky darkness: 5/2/5
Instruments: 50cm Dobsonian and XL40
Magnification: 60x
Width of field: 1.1 degrees

These are good photographic objects but difficult visually.
There are numerous faint stars in the field, although they are not as dense as in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Against this background a dark nebula shaped ‘S’ is visible faintly. The southern part of the winding dark nebula is wide and clear. It is conspicuous because the background is bright. It is not curved smoothly but bent sharply at two places. The northern part is bent at one place. The end of the northern part is not clear. There is a small separate dark nebula visible southwest of the Snake Nebula. This is B68. This is more clearly seen than the Snake Nebula because the background is bright. It is triangular with its corners being roundish.

A Smoky Cascade

IC 1318(c)

IC 1318(c)
Sketch and Details by Eric Graff

Object Name: IC 1318(c) (West Extension)
Also Known As: LBN 236, LBN 240, LBN 241, DWB 52, GAL 077.7+03.4
Object Type: Emission Nebula
Constellation: Cygnus
Right Ascension (2000.0): 20h 17.1m
Declination (2000.0): +40° 50′
Magnitude: —
Size: 40′ x 25′

Date/Time: 27 July 2008 • 05:45 to 07:00 UT
Location: Oakzanita Springs, San Diego Co., California, USA
Telescope: Parks Astrolight EQ6 • 6″ f/6 Newtonian Reflector
Eyepiece/Magnification: Parks 20mm Gold Series Plössl • 45x • 70′ FoV
Filters: Lumicon OIII
Conditions: Clear, Calm, 64°F
Seeing: Pickering 6-7
Transparency: NELM 6.4; TLM 14.2

This cascade of stars shrouded in smoky wisps of nebulosity caught my attention as I made the star hop from Gamma Cygni to IC 1318(b). The cascade ends at the sparse open cluster Collinder 419, whose brightest star is a close pair known as Struve 2666 (6.0, 8.2; 2.6″; 245°). Just northeast of this cluster the narrow stream of nebulosity blossoms into a hazy morass of delicate nebulosity – this is IC 1318(c). Fifth magnitude HD 193092 blazes with a reddish-orange light to the south.

Sketch Info: Nebulosity sketched with graphite applied with artist chamois and blending stump on 24# paper in 7½” circle. Stars with pencil and ink, cleaned up digitally (and colorized) in Microsoft Picture It!

Luminous Lagoon

M8

M8 – The Lagoon Nebula
Sketch and Details by Kiminori Ikebe

M8 (NGC 6523) Sgr diffuse nebula
Difficulty level 1
The Lagoon Nebula
Date of observation: 1998/05/27 03:20
Transparency/seeing/sky darkness: 3/3/4
Instruments: 32cm Dobsonian with XL21 at 70x and OIII Filter
Width of field: 0.9 degree

Complex structures are visible. There is the open cluster NGC 6530 near the center, which can be seen clearly even with the OIII filter. The brighter part of the nebula is divided into three regions. A triangular-shaped nebulosity in the southwest is the brightest with 9 Sgr (mag 6.1) shining at the center. There is a small, somewhat fainter region south of 9 Sgr. The second brightest region extend from the center to the south, which contains the open cluster NGC 6530. Between the brightest and next brightest regions lies a clear winding dark lane like a large river. The “banks of the river” is bright and a magnificent sight. At the southern end a sharp protrusion like a horn is visible. Although it is faint, the outline is sharp. North of the brightest region lies the third brightest region. It extends from the east to the west and the eastern half is bright providing a fine sight. With a close examination you can detect a faint nebulosity east of NGC 6530. It is large and looks like a very faint mist. In 10×42 binoculars, there are two bright spots side by side in the east-west direction within a narrow triangle. There is a double involving 7 Sgr at the western end of the triangle. There is a star near the center of the western part of the bright region. This star is 9 Sgr and the bright nebulosity surrounding it is clearly seen. The eastern part is rather elongated with the same orientation with NGC 6520. The globular cluster NGC 6544 is clearly seen in the southeast.

Bejeweled Ink Spot

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86
Sketch and Details by Kiminori Ikebe

A dark nebula telescopically easy and an beautiful overlapping open cluster. A photograph taken by a 200mm lens shows a small dark nebula and a compact open cluster at the southern edge in addition to M8 and M20. At 110x B86 is quite clear. The field is lit up by the Milky Way stars but a dark triangular shape region to the west of NGC 6520 is quite conspicuous. It appears as if the area is literally painted black and is called the “Ink Spot.” A line of stars along the base of this triangle. A hint of a long dark nebula to the southwest of NGC 6520. This is not as conspicuous as B86; not visible with direct vision. NGC 6520 is beautiful, compact, and “lively.” Bright stars are scattered across. Faint stars are concentrated in some areas.

Dark Nebula Nexus

M20

M20 – The Trifid Nebula
Sketch by Kiminori Ikebe

Mr. Ikebe observed and sketched this view of M20 using a 50 cm Dobsonian at 220X.

M20, The Trifid Nebula, is a famous and beautiful target for astrophotographers and visual observers alike. The red emission nebula contains a young star cluster at its center, and is surrounded by a blue reflection nebula that is most noticeable at the northern end. It’s distance is not well agreed upon, and is listed anywhere from 2,200 light years (Mallas/Kreimer) to 9000 light years (Jeff Hester). Its magnitude estimate is also wide, and is listed from 9.0 (Kenneth Glyn Jones) to 6.8 (Machholz). Part of the magnitude difficulty comes from the very bright triple-star system at the heart of the nebula.

The dark nebula that crosses the Trifid was cataloged by Barnard and listed as B 85. The object was originally cataloged by Charles Messier in 1764, when he described it as a cluster of stars.

Seeing Darkness

Barnard 168

Bernard 168
Sketch and Details by Rony De Laet

Barnard 168

The European midsummer nights are not the most favourable nights to go deep-sky hunting. The twilight lasts for the whole night. I had planned to give my attention to some bright galactic clusters. The more delicate objects like faint nebulae should have to wait for darker nights. The NELM for this particular night was around 5.8. I had a few clusters in Cygnus in mind. The last one on my list was the conspicuous M39. When I finished my observation of M39, I tried to see if NGC 7209 in Lacerta was a worthy object for autumn nights. Much to my surprise did I encounter Barnard 168, a thin dark line halfway between M39 and NGC 7209: a dark nebula! It was an unprepared but pleasant visit in the twilight sky. B 168 does not come forward as a void in a crowded field of stars. No, it really shows a darkening as large as 2° in the subtle galactic star glow. While B168 should offer more detail on darker nights, I did make an observation with a sketch under the twilight sky. Maybe other observers with less ideal skies would be encouraged to try their luck as well?

B168 can be found near M39. Put M39 at the western edge of the fov, as shown in the sketch. B168 should be visible near the centre of the field.

Site : Bütgenbach, Belgium
Date : July 2, 2008
Time : around 00.15 UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8×56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 3,5/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : around 5.8
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with Photo Paint, based on a raw pencil sketch.