S&T editors (Steve)

[Mark SW]

This was an article from 1999 S&T I found on
" PLANETARY NEBULA OBSERVATIONS
FROM FERGUSON'S LIST"
Copyright (c) 1996-2013, Stephen R. Waldee - All Rights Reserved
Sharpless 2-235 was referenced briefly by Steve Gottlieb, deep-sky maven par excellence who has observed more than 7,000 of the NGC and IC objects, in his very interesting and useful 1999 post to the Astronomy Connection forum mailing list called "Observing with the H-Beta filter" -- now apparently off the regular website, but found by me in a Wayback Machine archive link -- ""

http://freescruz.com/~4cygni/astro-a...lanetaries.htm
The wayback link is dead
I was wondering if you have a link to "Observing with the H-Beta filter"

Mark

[Steve Gottlieb]

Yikes, that's over 20 years ago! I posted this message on H-beta targets on a local (SF bay area) astronomy mailing list back in 1999 and it was based on an even earlier post I made on the usenet forum s.a.a, so it's not the most up-to-date survey. Perhaps others can fill in more objects. But here's what I wrote...

Steve
--------

I recently mentioned using the H-beta filter on the Horsehead to Bruce Jensen. Even Lumicon essentially markets this filter as if it was a one-trick pony. But I posted a list on s.a.a. a few years back on objects besides the Horsehead (B33) which respond to the H-beta (at least in a 17.5-inch scope in dark skies) and thought it might be worth repeating and seeing if anyone can add some new objects ---

1) NGC 1499 = California Nebula. I've noticed increased contrast in everything from my 16x80 finder to the main scope. Some recent notes in my 17.5" read: The California Nebula requires very low power and visibility is best using an H-beta filter. At 82x appears very large, faint, very elongated. The irregular low surface brightness glow has darker lanes and some wispy structure along the edges. The most well-defined section of the border is near a mag 8.5 star bordering the southern edge.

2) IC 5146 = Coccon Nebula. At 82x using an H-Beta filter the Cocoon Nebula appears fairly bright, very large, about 10' diameter. Surrounds six stars including two bright mag 9 stars embedded near the center and at the south edge. Has an irregular round shape with a very irregular surface brightness with dark mottling and brighter regions. Quite prominent using an H-beta filter which has an excellent contast gain (higher than OIII/UHC). The nebulosity is superimposed on a scattered star group and is situated at the east end of long dark lane = B168 which extends 1? WNW! There is a distinctive edge to the milky way on the north edge of lane.

3) IC 405 = Flaming Star Nebula. This large (about 15') but faint nebula extends mostly north and east of AE Aurigae and is enhanced with the H-beta filter..

4) Sh 2-276 = Barnard's Loop. The best view I've seen of this immense, low surface brightness extended nebulosity was at 20x in my 80mm finder or at 82x (obviously just a portion at a time) using what else -- the H-beta filter.

5) Sh 2-235: This fairly large HII region is located in Auriga at roughly 05 41.6 +35 52 (2000) and responds well to the H-beta filter. My notes read: At 82x with an H-beta filter; fairly faint though surprisingly bright as not seen with OIII filter or unfiltered. Slightly elongated NW-SE, large, about 6' diameter, even surface brightness. A group of about six stars which form a "V" asterism are superimposed.

6) LBN 537 = Sh 2-157a: This 2' HII region is located in Cassiopeia at 23 16.1 +60 02 and surrounds a mag 10 star (at the southern end of the beautiful HII arc Sh 2-157. Responds best to H-Beta filter (almost disappears with an OIII filter). I took these notes in October of last year: Picked up at 100x as a faint, ill-defined glow surrounding a mag 11 star with a couple of fainter stars possibly involved in the nebulosity. Good view at 105x (19mm) using an H-Beta filter which dims the illuminating star. The nebulosity appears circular, fairly crisp-edged, ~2' diameter. At 220x without a filter, the diameter increases to nearly 3', although the edge blends into the general haze of the huge HII region Sh2-157. The central star has a mag 13.5 companion close NW.

7) Swings-Struve 1 (SwSt 1) = PK1-6.2: This 13th magnitude planetary in Sagittarius also responds to OIII filtration, but "blinks" best with the H-Beta filter.

8) Campbell's Star = PK 64+5.1: This small but bright planetary shows a mag 12.5 central star embeddded within a small halo. Once again, this object will positively respond (contrast gain) to the H-beta filter. The last time I took a look was in July of '96 and wrote "At 88x Campbell's Star appears as a mag 10.5 stellar object with a pinkish tinge when compared to similar field stars. This coloration is not evident at moderate or high power. Using 220x, the 10" halo is clearly visible surrounding a very bright center and well seen at 410x. The response to H-Beta filtration is quite striking at all powers.

9) Cederblad 214: The 40' field surrounding the mag 5.7 illuminating star appeared weakly nebulous in contrast to the nearby star fields with the H-beta filter.

10) IC 1318 = Gamma Cygni complex. Here are my notes using a 16x80 finder: This extremely large complex of irregular emission nebulae surrounds Gamma Cygni with six sections visible at 16x using an H-beta and UHC filters. Overfills the 4? finder field! The most prominent section is an isolated patch NW of Gamma at the edge of the field and next are two parallel strips just E and SE of Gamma which have fairly sharp edges.

Here are a few other PNe which have unusually low OIII/H-beta ratios and respond to the H-Beta filter (suggested by Kent Wallace):

11) Menzel 3 (Mz 3) = Ant Nebula: UHC or H-beta filters work best

12) Cannon 3-1 (Cn 3-1): Dims with an OIII filter - best with UHC or H-beta.

You might want to also take a look at M42 and M43 using the H-beta. On M42, the nebulosity significantly dims in general but there is one outer strip or loop on the western side (oriented N-S) which obviously increases in contrast with a H-beta filter!

Obviously this line-filter is very limited in the number of objects you'll find a positive response and aperture also plays a significant role, but it certainly is useful besides coaxing out the elusive Horsehead.

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Mark and Steve, hello all,

here are some of my H-Beta nebulae as observed through my 6" F/5 achro and through the binoculars, but still not included the LBNs and the nebulae from the HII surveys from my last observin projects.

IC 410 Sh2-236 Tadpoles Nebula in Auriga
IC 417 Sh2-234 Spider Nebula in Auriga
M43 Sh2-281 "Head of M42"
NGC 1931 Sh2-237 Fly Nenula in Auriga
NGC 1977 Sh2-279 Running Man in Orion
NGC 281 Pacman
NGC 281 EN in Cassiopeia
NGC 7000 Sh2-117 North America
Sh2-082 Little Cocoon in Sagitta
Sh2-124 diffuse glow around "Little Cocoon"
Sh2-232 EN in Auriga
Sh2-261 Lower's Nebula (large extent)
DWB 111 and 118 EN in Cygnus X
DWB 145 EN in Cygnus X
DWB 148 EN in Cygnus X
DWB 165 EN in Cygnus X
DWB 170 EN in Cygnus X
IC 405 Sh2-229 Flaming Star
IC 417 Spider Nebula
IC 434 Sh2-276
IC 444 Sh2-249 EN in Gemini
NGC 1931 Fly Nebula
NGC 2024 Sh2-277 Flaming Tree Nebula in Ori
NGC 2174 Monkey's Head
NGC 2246 Sh2-275 Rosette
Sh2-086 NGC 8620
Sh2-088 nebula in Vulpecula
Sh2-119 EN horseshoe form around 68Cyg
Sh2-129 nebula in Cepheus Bubble
Sh2-218 EN in Auriga
Sh2-221 SNR in Auriga
Sh2-276 Barnard's Loop
NGC 6888 Sh2-105 Crescent
Sh2-101 Tulip Nebula
LBN 159 EN associated with Sh2-100
Sh2-134 EN in Cepheus
Sh2-135 EN in Cepheus
NGC 2359 Thor's Helmet in Canis Maior
DWB 111 and 118 Propeller Nebula in Cygnus
IC 59 IC 63 Gamma Cas nebulae
LBN 266 EN in Cygnus
LBN 289 EN in Cygnus
LBN 317 EN in Cygnus
Sh2-154 EN in Cepheus
Sh2-161 EN in Cepheus/Cassiopea border
Sh2-223 EN in Auriga

Clear skies,
Jiri

[Steve Gottlieb]

Nice to see so many more targets, Jiri. We should emphasize that even if an object shows a filter response to a H-beta filter, it may still respond to a UHC-type filter and some may prefer the more natural view (more stars).

I'll add a few more off the top of my head -- I'd have to go through my notes for a most comprehensive list.

Sh 2-254, Sh 2-257, Sh 2-255. These are part of a complex of low-excitation nebulae in Orion and they respond nicely to a H-beta.

Sh 2-292 = Gum 1. This is the "eye" of the Seagull Nebula (IC 2177). It dims with an O-III filter, but increases significantly is size with a H-beta.

Sh 2-297 = Ced 90. This is located at the extreme southern tip of the 2.5° long IC 2177. Slightly better contrast gain with a H-beta over a UHC.

[Mark SW]

Steve and Jiri thank you for the H-beta list. It is also encouraging to know
" We should emphasize that even if an object shows a filter response to a H-beta filter, it may still respond to a UHC-type filter and some may prefer the more natural view (more stars)."
Mark

[Steve Gottlieb]

I noticed that the "Propeller Nebula" = DWB 111/118 is on Jiri's list. And indeed, it's another H-beta object. Looking up my notes, I wrote...

18" (9/15/07): the Propeller Nebula was viewed at 73x using an H-beta filter. Although very faint, two sections of this elongated "S" shaped emission strip were visible. The most prominent section (DWB 119) is at the north end and consisted of a 5'x2' strip elongated N-S. Just north of this strip are mag 8.8 and 10.5 stars and the nebulosity extending south from these stars for roughly 5' in the direction of a bright isosceles right triangle of mag 7.5-8 stars (sides 4.5', 4.5' and 6') including the double star Fox 252 (8.9/10.4 at 19"). Two nearby mag 10 stars complete a pentagon. The middle section of the Propeller (to the west of the pentagon) was extremely weak or likely missing, but at the south end a smaller 3'x2' piece (DWB 111), elongated N-S, was faintly visible to the SSE of STF 2659 = 8.4/9.5 pair at 20".

[Paul Alsing]

I noticed that the "Propeller Nebula" = DWB 111/118 is on Jiri's list. And indeed, it's another H-beta object.

The Propeller Nebula was an OOTW back in 2014...

https://www.deepskyforum.com/showthr...opeller+Nebula

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Mark,

I will retrieve more from my observing notes, but it may take 1 week or even more.
All my observings are through the 6" F/5 achro, an/or through the 15x85 (BA8) binoculars, some very large objects through the 10.5x70 (BA8) binos.
The H-Beta filters are the old Astronomik Profiline 12nm from the first manufactured batches.

In case of any questions, I can write some comments.

Clear skies,
JG

[j.gardavsky]

Hello all,

here is the next batch of the H-Beta nebulae:

5069IC, LBN 332 , LBN329 NNGC 7000 southern band, also UHC, and OIII
DG 66 EN RN around 26 Aurigae
DWB 118 EN in Cygnus X in Propeller area
DWB 30, 39, 40, LBN 234 in IC 1318 area
DWB 76/ LBN345(SE), LBN249/DWB77(NW), LDN 889(middle), in DWB72/77 IC 1318 area
DWB 82, 55/59, 35/41, 28 IC 1318 area
Gaze-Shajn [GS55] 63 condensation at N in Sh2-264 Lambda Orionis Nebula
Gaze-Shajn [GS55] 70 east off NGC 1985 (Frank Slotch nebula)
Gaze-Shajn [GS55] 75 belongs to the galactic cirrus in Auriga
LBN 1011, LBN 1018 stream in Lepus
LBN 108 , 111, 113, 114 Theta Aquilae souther band
LBN 1113, LBN 1114 IC 4592 area
LBN 1123 IC 4592 area
LBN 116, LBN 124 band E off Theta Aquilae
LBN 117 The Lama Head in Aquarius
LBN 117, MBM 46/47 The Lama Head in Aquarius
LBN 117, MBM 48 The lama Head in Aquarius
LBN 119, 120 southern band east off Theta Aql
LBN 119, 121 northern band east off Theta Aql
LBN 124 condens in LBN 116
LBN 126 Gamma Aquilae to "little Sagitta aster.
LBN 142 Pegasus
LBN 159, LBN 162 EN, MoC, south off Eta Cygni
LBN 16 Sh2-27 area
LBN 166 W off Ro5 in Cygnus
LBN 174, LBN 177 band E off Tulip Nebula
LBN 175 intruding from east in Ro5 in Cygnus
LBN 178 N off Eta Cygni
LBN 182 touching the WR 134 Nebula in Cygnus
LBN 185 in Cygnus
LBN 19 Mu Serpentis area
LBN 244 stream Cygnus - Gamma lyrae
LBN 265, LBN 266, LBN 289, LBN 307 E off lambda Cygni
LBN 30 Sh2-27 area
LBN 317 SW off Deneb
LBN 32, 35 Sh2-27 area
LBN 331 crossing O2 Cygni
LBN 349 across Leiter 9 Little Ori asterism between NA and Pelican
LBN 39 Sh2-27 area
LBN 63, LBN 66, LBN 69 Gamm Scuti nebulae

More nebulae will be coming.

Clear skies,
JG

[Mark SW]

Jiri,
Thank you for the help. I have started a fall/ winter list focusing now on Cassiopeia/Perseus and Auriga.
Later this year I will focus on Gemini/Orion.
There are a lot of H-beta nebula so my list will include ones where I have a better chance of a positive observation for now.
39º 5' N 104º 12' W
I have also been looking at Pauls Page for different charts.
Once again thank you
Jiri Steve and Paul

Mark

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Mark,

Auriga, and its close neighbourhood around, is a fascinating area of skies for the autumn/winter season.

The both forgotten Gaze-Shajn nebulae are easy objects for the binoculars with the H-Beta filters, and for the small RFT.


Gaze Shajn wide field Auriga.jpg

Clear skies,
Jiri