Any tips to observe the Veil Nebula

[Matthieu]

Hey all,
I haven't been able to observe the Veil Nebula last new moon and I'm not sure whether it's even realistic from my location.

I'm in a Bortle 4ish but Melbourne is to my north west, so Cygnus hits the city light dome about 5 degrees before transit. Typically, in those skies, I normally observe faint fuzzies before they cross the meridian if they are fairly low lying (one such example would be the Markarian chain though it's higher up in the sky)

I'm hoping to have more opportunities next new moon but would love to hear of any tips you might have to observe faint objects that are fairly low on the horizon (15-20 degrees). Filter wise my options are UHC or CLS as I don't have an OIII yet.

For example, does it make a difference if I observe over woods vs grasslands?

Also, I'm observing with either my 4" refractor or 16" dob.

Thanks in advance for any insights

Matt

[Dave882 (David)]

While impossible to view from my home in Sydney, I have very fond memories viewing the veil from Coonabarabran with my c14 a year of 2 back. No colour visible, but extensive regions of wispy detail. A real highlight of my visit. My suggestions:

- You want to go as dark as possible. You will be able to see some of the brighter areas from B4 but probably not the fainter areas.
- The UHC will help greatly to bring out contrast (even when the sky is dark). The impact on star colour is negligible for this target
- Use the 16" dob - I don't think you will have enough light-grab with the frac imho

Take your time and enjoy the view. The areas is quite extensive and I remember spending probably close to an hour zooming around
Good luck!

[Matthieu]

Thanks David, great to hear that I might get to see it with the dob. Maybe I just need one of those awesome seeing and transparency nights. I’ve seen the Flame Nebula in Orion and the Homonculus in Carina once each so it might be a case of waiting for the right night.

And if not, it might finally get me to load the car on the barge and join a star party.

[gaseous (Patrick)]

I'd definitely be trying with the 16" dob over the 4" refractor. The CLS filter may be a bit too broad to offer much contrast, so the UHC is probably the better choice, depending on the breadth of transmission. An OIII, if you can get your hands on one, would be ever better again I think - last weekend I was viewing the veil from SW of Brisbane, and the OIII was markedly better than my UHC. With the veil so low on your horizon, you'll need all the contrast you can get, battling through that much atmosphere. If you can pull it off, it's a really great piece of the sky - the wispy flame-like filament flowing off the end of 52Cyg is a highlight. Good luck!

[N1 (Mirko)]

I check out the Veil from here (46°S) every year. It's one of my favourite DSO. Detecting it is possible with an OIII or UHC even in moderate LP in any optic I use for astronomy, down to 50mm of aperture. At culmination the brighter (western) part around 52 Cygni sits straight above Epsilon Cygni. I reckon use the refractor, put a filter in the EP, low-mid power, aim at Epsilon then tilt straight up and find 52. You want a decent FoV initially. It's a big object. The UHC should work for that but an OIII is better. New Moon is not essential but good transparency is.

To observe and appreciate it, you may need to hit it an hour before transit going by your description - that should still be high enough from your location.

Good luck

[Matthieu]

Thanks Patrick and Mirko, I'll make sure to not waste time trying without filter and will try with the UHC for now. I'll also pick my nights as there are plenty of other great targets on average nights.

I'll report back in the next few weeks on my success (or lack thereof).

[EpickCrom (Joe)]

G'day Matthieu..

I wish you luck in your quest to observe the Veil Nebula. I've tried for it a few times from my backyard at 32°S . It does culminate rather low for us, I used my 10 inch dob but couldn't see it, too much light pollution. I don't own any filters yet.

I reckon a dark site with a OIII filter and 16 inches of aperture should do the trick. Good luck!

[Matthieu]

Hey Joe,
I’ll let you know how I go.

I have a light shroud in the mail too which may or may not be needed at my location. But hopefully, every little bit helps.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Obviously the dob is the better choice but don't write off the frac. Under good skies I've seen the veil in 15x80mm binoculars (on a mount). That was decades ago so I'm not sure whether I saw both east and west portions, but I think I did. Most of my views were from northern Aust but I've also seen it from near Nowra. Of course 'seeing' means I detected it and the general shape but no other detail.

[Matthieu]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

Obviously the dob is the better choice but don't write off the frac. Under good skies I've seen the veil in 15x80mm binoculars (on a mount). That was decades ago so I'm not sure whether I saw both east and west portions, but I think I did. Most of my views were from northern Aust but I've also seen it from near Nowra. Of course 'seeing' means I detected it and the general shape but no other detail.

Thanks David, I've only had the frac since January but have been surprised at how much I enjoy it on DSOs even though it's always eye opening when I have still clear skies and get the dob out.

I'm thinking I should learn the layout of stars around the nebula a bit more and use the same detection approach as with faint galaxy features and see whether it reveals itself.