[Lvas] Horsehead Night

[Fred Rayworth]

All,
 
I tried to get someone to go out with me Friday, the 16th, figuring it would be a better night than last night, the 17th.
 
However, I couldn't get nobody to go with me so for safety factors (it's a cell phone dead area), I passed.
 
Last night, a group of us made it up there and I set up just after dark. Still had to pay the $5 to get in at the Lake Mead Blvd. gate, but...
 
Anyway, after I set up, I glanced at Orion and was blown away at how dark and clear that part of the sky was. I was able to see the great nebula as a fuzzy tip to the sword.
 
I got a 2" H-Beta filter for Christmas and this was the time to try for the Horsehead. After the 2nd try, it just popped in the eyepiece! I could not see a horsehead shape, but I picked out the dark mass of the nebula. I was not just imagining it, because three other people out there saw it in my scope also. That was the first time  I've seen that thing visually since 1997.
 
Later on, I tried it with a 17mm Ethos and was quite disappointed. I couldn't see the dark area at all. It was also such a huge field, that I couldn't block out the nearby bright stars and got diffraction spikes. Though I was impressed with the super wide field and general crispness of the stars, I found the thing had a touchy sweet spot for the eye, and it gave me a headache just trying to keep my other eye closed. The eyepiece was fine on M42/M43 but for the fainter stuff, so many elements just sucked the faint light right out of it. Sorry, but to me, it's just not worth $750.00. My cheap Orion Q-70 gave a crummy edge, but in the sweet spot, it gave much brighter images. True enough, it was a lower power at 26mm, but it makes me happy. If I ever won one in a raffle (Ethos), I might take it, but I'll never spend that kind of money on something with those annoying little problems unless I win the Megabucks and want it for the snob factor!
 
As for the rest of the night, I nailed 25 new objects including 5 Herschel 2's. I got tired too fast, though, and with the slight breeze picking up, it was enough assault on my bare face to call it a night. I packed up at 9:30, still very satisfied with the night.
 
Fred

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