NGC 6888 not co-operating !! Share your troublesome targets ! - Forums

Topic starter

Oct 3, 2023

I've done a whole whack of targets over the last few weeks but the (beautiful) Crescent nebula won't co-operate !

So my (fun) question is: do some targets elude you and which ones !

Pete

PS - Still having a good (but sometimes frustrating) time !!

Engaging

andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Oct 3, 2023

IC342 has been dodging me for a very very very long time. Something like 20 years.

HR_Maurer

IOTD Staff

Oct 3, 2023

Im struggling to catch the Pleiades. There ase one or two unfinished sessions from some years ago. The autumn and winter objects are difficult for me in general, because depending on the year, we sometimes have constant fog from end of September until March - with sometimes clear skies if it gets really cold in January or February. Having loads of Autumn and Winter objects on the shooting list doesnt help…

Nick Grundy

Oct 3, 2023

I have to say (even though loads of you have done amazing images of it), the Iris Nebula always eludes me!

I have a fairly limited backyard view that really gets me mostly the northeast section of sky. There's great targets there, but for some reason I go back to the Iris and am just never happy with anything I've done. Either my FOV is too wide leaving really limited detail, or clear skies+full moon laugh in my face, or i'mchasing bad guiding bugs. The O'doyle bullying clouds cover for any of the other nights that haven't already beat me.

For whatever reason, the Iris has been taunting me worse than John Cleese with a french accent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG-AYVb3LGA

I try not to take it personally, but...

I can only handle so much!

Engaging

Jan Erik Vallestad

Oct 3, 2023 · Edited: Oct 3, 2023

I can't complain but my one target I would love to get - but it just doesn't rise high enough above the horizon for long is the Helix Nebula. It's just not high enough nor dark enough when it's actually there.

Edit: added photo to showcase how it's situated at it's highest altitude for me right now. I'd either need to get to a lot higher altitudes or travel far south in order to have a shot.

Jim Raskett

Oct 3, 2023

andrea tasselli:
IC342 has been dodging me for a very very very long time. Something like 20 years.

Interesting. I just so happen to be looking at IC342 in a somewhat wide-field setting right now. Actually very excited about attempting capture.

I am hoping that I will get some decent nights soon when the moon is not so bright.
I know that IC342 will be challenging in Bortle 7 skies and somewhat low altitude in my area (highest elevation ~50 deg). I plan to catch several hours over a few nights (hoping for at least 8) when IC342 is highest as to clear some of the lp.

Why has IC342 been challenging for you to capture?

Jim

Engaging

andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Oct 3, 2023

Jim Raskett:
Why has IC342 been challenging for you to capture?

I tried it several times over the years with a number of CCDs but being in the UK, weather seems never been collaborating with me to afford decent clear skies in my B6/7 skies for this very low-brightness galaxy. Always ended with unusable luminance data for various reasons (bad flats and worse light pollution in the main) which stifled my determination to grab this one. Might try again it one day, if I'm feeling lucky. But it will need an unusual amount of luck to be able to string together at least 15 hours worth of imaging time in clear moonless night in this season. Doesn't seem likely right now. Good luck to you!

Jim Raskett

Oct 3, 2023

andrea tasselli:
I tried it several times over the years with a number of CCDs but being in the UK, weather seems never been collaborating with me to afford decent clear skies in my B6/7 skies for this very low-brightness galaxy. Always ended with unusable luminance data for various reasons (bad flats and worse light pollution in the main) which stifled my determination to grab this one. Might try again it one day, if I'm feeling lucky. But it will need an unusual amount of luck to be able to string together at least 15 hours worth of imaging time in clear moonless night in this season. Doesn't seem likely right now. Good luck to you!

Thanks andrea for sharing your experiences with IC342. I face similar skies coupled with an altitude on the lower side. Also, I will be imaging with an osc camera to further the challenge.
I will temper my expectations accordingly and just take a peek at what I collect in the first pass (assuming I get a good sky). Hopefully, I will see some detail in the galaxy's spiral arms and if so, I will further pursue. I am hoping that the wide field view will help.
Thanks again.

Jim

Respectful Supportive

Torben van Hees

Oct 3, 2023

M31. There's always something going wrong: Months of bad weather, telescopes(severeal!) with optical defects, mount breaks down, mount computer crashes, camera stops working, sudden night shift intervening, storm, tripod budging, huge amount of dew, moving dust motes - you name it.

Ashraf AbuSara

Oct 3, 2023 · Edited: Oct 3, 2023

Every reflection and dark nebula from my backyard…. so far I attempted the Ghost and the Iris (reflection). I am almost too afraid to even attempt a dark nebula. They are so tough every step of the way, from acquisition to processing.