The Helix Nebula is actually quite nice in binos. It's very large and shows
up pretty well. It's one of my favorite binocular objects.
I don't know why it is more difficult in a scope but it sure seems to be.
Michelle Stone
Argo Navis and
Custom Telescopes by Plettstone
http://www.plettstone.com/telescopes
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sf-bay-tac-bounces@seds.org [mailto:sf-bay-tac-bounces@seds.org]On
> Behalf Of Szaki
> Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 10:30 AM
> To: TAC
> Subject: [TAC] (no subject)
>
>
>
> This year while watching the Perseid meteor shower from MB
> open space I found the Helix Nebula with my 8x42 Leica BN
> binocular. This was about 2 am when the Helix was in the southwest
> where the sky is a little darker at MB, but MB is not what I would
> call a dark sky site. This was without a filter. Just the bino and my
> eyes.
>
> Clear skies,
> Rich
>
> Well, you must have one heck of a 42mm bino, Rich. Me and my friend
> observed at MB last year, 12.5" DOB and I had a 8" LX-200 and had a hard
> time to find and see the Helix nebula.
> Friend asked me to point the GOTO to the Helix, since he had a
> hard time to
> find it with his DOB. I did, but it was hard to see in the 8"
> SCT. With the
> LP filter it was better.
> I also have a 100x25 bino, very good for DSO's from a dark site.
>
> Julius
>
>
> Some official coment on the Helix:
> <" It is also one of the apparently largest planetaries known:
> Its apparent
> size covers an area of 16 arc minutes diameter, more than half of that of
> the full moon; it halo extends even further to 28 arc minutes or
> almost the
> moon's apparent diameter (These dimensions were taken from
> Stephen J. Hynes
> who quotes AAT and ESO photos). Although the nebula is quite bright, its
> light is spread over this large area so that it is not an easy object for
> visual observing; the Herschels have apparently never cataloged
> or observed
> it. ">
>
Received on Mon Aug 30 12:53:35 2004