horsehead seen last night...Sedili ob report

[rlow]

Last Saturday night 11 Feb 2012, Jiahao, Siti and I were at Tanjung Sutera Resort in Sedili Besar, Malaysia for a short observation from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

Here are some highlights of our observations.

We started off doing a little public outreach for some of the resort guests. We showed them Venus, Jupiter and the Orion Nebula through the 15" f/4.5 dob with Zambuto mirror. For those viewing these objects for the first time, it was a rather memorable experience.

Venus was in a gibbous phase. For the first time, we noticed a subtle albedo shading along the terminator at 246x with the Ethos 8mm. Jiahao and Siti observed that too.

M42 The Great Orion Nebula gave a GREAT show indeed last night! In fact it was the best view in my 15" dob so far using an Ethos 17mm at 116x. Even though we had seen the Orion nebula several times over the last couple of months, observing it with 100 deg AFOV was a spectacular "spacewalk" experience indeed! Also for the first time, we were able to observe the subtle green tint on this nebula. Quite clear and unmistakebly green! Unfortunately, the pinkish portion was not detected, despite an attempt. The tenous nebulosity extended all around the whole area forming a complete circle, not just the two spreading arcs. It was best seen without a filter, seems more natural that way in a big dob. The Ultrablock, O-III and H-Beta filters tend to create an "over-exposed" effect, and made the outer fainter nebulosity disappeared.

The Flame Nebula NGC 2024 was very clearly seen with fine structure last night. As Jiahao said, seeing the elusive B33 Horsehead Nebula was the highlight of last night's observation. Though I had seen it before in 10", 11" and 12.5" dobs, this was the first time viewing it much brighter in the 15" dob. Using the H-Beta filter with the Pentax XW 40mm at 50x, the wedge-shaped nebula IC 434 was first observed faintly, then the sihouette of Horsehead Nebula appeared as a little stump using averted vision. It was apparent the head is facing toward the bright star Alnitak. When I observe B33 with direct vision, it tends to look smaller in size, like in the detailed star chart in the Pocket Sky Atlas. Seeing the Horsehead Nebula last night was actually quite amazing and lucky as there was 60-70% passing cloud cover and we just happen to have superb transparency in the Orion region alone. I took a quick search for the Merope Nebula in the Pleiades M45 but no nebulosity was seen due to poorer transparency there.

Perhaps Jiahao can chip in with the rest and show us the time-lapse photos that he took last night.

[Gary]

Nice report! Thanks for sharing!

[rlow]

Thanks Gary!

We will be heading back there this Sat 18 Feb for another overnight ob with the 15" dob. All are welcome to join us there at Tanjung Sutera Resort.

[shirox]

Hi Richard,

I have a group of bike riders friends that are interested in astronomy and we might drop by. What time will you all be there?
I plan to reach there around 1030pm and leave at 1am.
It will be an eye opener to my friends and i to see thru the 15" monster you have.
We will all be riding up.
Hope you don't mind us crashing the party hee.

Thanks!
Elton

[rlow]

Hi Elton, nice to hear from you again!

Definitely I won't mind anyone taking a look through the 15" dob.

But your time schedule seems a bit late... So if you do drop by, please make sure that you guys don't disturb the resort guests and the owner when you ride in.

[shirox]

Sure will let u know if we are coming. Thanks for inviting! lol

[jiahao1986]

Hi Richard,

First of all thanks so much for driving me there!

For me the highlight of the night is definitely seeing the Horsehead for the FIRST TIME EVER in my life! It was visible with DIRECT vision with the filter! Too bad there were too many stray lights around and our eyes couldn't really get dark adapted, otherwise I'm sure we could see much more details!

The view through the 17mm Ethos for Orion Neb TRULY resembles what we see in photos minus the pinkish colours! It really felt like looking out of the window from a spaceship!

Wish next week we have more clear skies! Below is the time lapse video I took for this trip. Please watch in 1080p for best quality!



Best regards,
Jia Hao

[Airconvent]

ooooh...the horsehead is a grand prize in our skies! Good obs you had guys!

[Gary]

Thanks for the report and video jiahao! Awesome! The skies of sedilli are calling out for a bigger dob. lol.

[rlow]

Jiahao, thanks for the video, good job there... I want a copy please!

For those who had contacted me today regarding next week's trip, here are some info...

Saturday 18 Feb 2012
We will be driving from S'pore around 2pm. Factor in 2.5 to 3 hours to reach there depending on traffic condition. I already have Siti and three guest plus the 15" dob reserved for my car, so I can't take anymore for this coming trip.

Anyone can easily drive there, it is a straight-forward route. Location and directions had been posted on Singastro before, just do a search. GPS coordinates can be googled. Accomodation is quite reasonable there, standard A/C room (twin/queen size) with attached bath/hot water goes for $150 ringgit plus tax. Btw I am not related to this resort and I have no commercial interest to arrange a package trip there.

For those who would like to drive there in a convoy, we can meet at Kranji MRT Taxi Stand at 2pm on this Sat 18 Feb. I know of two drivers who are planning to go: Kochu & Yang Beng (Canopus), and both of them confirm that they have space to take on extra passengers. So anyone who wish to hitch a ride may contact/PM them to reserve a seat.