mnastro

Points: 4583

Observations: 65

Kudos: 17

NameDean
LocationBirch Lake Observatory
TimezoneUS/Central
Latitude45.0
Longitude-98.0
Altitude287m

Clear

Very dim with the moonlight. Needed both a UHC filter and a rough star-field sketch to allow me to confirm the object. Just a hint of fuzz without the filter, and only visible with (or without) the filter using averted vision. Star-field sketch compared and confirmed the observation.

Revisited this blue snowball, even with the nearly full moon it is still an easy find. Adding a UHC filter does make it stand out even more against the now darkened background but it isn't really necessary for this PN.

A nice view to start off the observing session.

The Blinking Nebula, with the moon washing out other dim DSO I had planned to sketch I took a look in an area away from the moon. The blinking nebula lived up to its name -- Without the ultrablock filter the nebula 'blinks' away when you look directly at the central star, and 'blinks' back into view with averted vision. With the ultrablock filter the blinking goes away, the nebula holds steady with direct vision, but I can no longer make out the central star. A tradeoff in views.

InstrumentObservations
Naked eye 2
XX12i 49
Starblast 4.5 3
7x50 Binos 10