Messier 1 - Crab Nebula

M1 is not hard to find if your observation site have a dark sky.
However,if there is the slightest light pollution around ,things start going not very well when you try to spot the Crab Nebula.
Just looking to the parameters it shouldn't be like that : M1 have a visual magnitude of 8.4 mv.
But this light of a 8.4mv star is spread over an oval area of 8' x 4' or about 25 square minutes so the surface brightness is dropping to 11.9 mv.
To see stars of 12mv ,one need a six inch telescope and even in that instrument,those stars will be in the faint league ,in the last half of accesible magnitudes.
This is why is hard to find M1 by scanning the area.
Let's go another route...

Here is a 100% proof method to find the supernova remnant Messier 1 , aka Crab Nebula.
At one degree West-North West of star Zeta Tauri there is STF 742 ,a double star of 7mv.

Double star STF 742 at one degree W-NW of Zeta Tau

The primary star and the companion of STF 742 are separated by 4.16''.

The page of STF 742 on StelleDoppie

On 25-th of November it was not hard to notice at 33x /Plossl 25mm ,the binary character of STF 742 in my 60x828mm ''zoth'' refractor.
The power of 92x/Plossl 9mm confirmed I was spot on STF 742.
I knew (from many previous  observations) that M1 IS IN THE SAME FIELD WITH STF 742.
Altough dim ,quite dim, M1 was there ,as expected in the visual field of 94arc minutes at 33x.
Pumping up the power to 92x did not bring additional details.

M1/ Crab Nebula in the same 90' field with STF 742
60mm F/14 refractor at 33' /Plossl 25mm

To summarize , my trick to find M1 : search for double star STF 742 and center it in an eyepiece providing  80 or 90 arc minutes.
Once you are sure your telescope is centered on STF 742, scan carefuly the field because M1 is hiding somewhere there.

My trick is working for observations made from the downtown of our 180.000+++ city.
Good luck !

This is the reposting of  messages from ''60mmtelescopeclub'' Yahoo group regarding  a 60x500mm refractor built around a Swift 818 lens :

June 1 , 2019 

A while back Carol was so kind and donated to me a Swift 818 objective with an aperture of 60mm and 500mm focal length.

First I got a Celestron focuser for it ,it is plastic but don't wobble much.

The weak part is not the rack and pinion but the bushing where one insert the eyepiece.

I will change that one with a metal bushing because it could be unscrewed.

Next I got from a friend a very fine aluminium tube which was part of an English  spotting scope.

A  machinist made two adapters ,one for the threaded cell and the other for the focuser.

The outside diameter of the tube is 67mm.

Using two ''C'' shims or segments cut from plastic 3''  drain pipes is allowing to use my home-made clamshell for refractors with  3'' tubes.

I arrived to this stage last year but while checking on the sky I found myself with an issue.

The ergonomy of the telescope was not good because a finder was missing.

Balancing reasons are requesting the tube to be pushed upside so the focuser is next to clamshell ,no place for a finder.

One solution could be to put a finder close to the objective.

A simulation showed this well not work well.

I bought a bracket for an RDF but this cannot be monunted on a tube of such small diameter.

I found myself stuck.

One morning ,this week ,I waked up with a solution in my mind.

All I had to do was a wooden adapter between the tube and the bracket of the RDF.

Thursday I made the bracket.

I'm not very happy with it ,it is a bit slant but it allow the RDF to be colimated paralel with the telescope using the image of a distant chimney.

Today,with help from my Guardian Angel , I was allowed to see Arcturus through the clouds.

I pointed the telescope using the RDF and Arcturus was shining at 20x ,a bright,gold pin point amidst thick clouds.

Even more , looking around the sky, I noticed two stars somewhere close to Zenith.

In a hurry ,I pointed the telescope to one of those stars , of course using again the RDF.

Plain luck : there it was Alcor and Mizar , split in a brighter and a smaller companion.

Finally the telescope is working,as soon as weather will allow I will paint the new telescope.

I uploaded two pics of the Swift 818 Frankenscope.

However ,it is clear for me , I cannot  come close to the beautiful telescopes made by Carol.

But it will see a lot of starlight.

Thank you Carol !

June 3,2019 

Last night,Sunday June 2'nd ,I had the real first light with the Swift 818 lens.

This is the list of objects :

Algieba/Gamma Leonis -resolved 

54 Leo -resolved 

Regulus (distant but dim companion next to a very bright primary ) -resolved

Porrima-resolved 

Izar -resolved 

Rho Her -resolved 

Nu Dra -resolved 

Mu Dra -resolved 

16-17 Dra -resolved as a triple star

Epsilon Lyrae- wider pair fully resolved ,tight pair with touching Airy discs

Struve 2470-Struve 2474 : ''the other double-double star in Lyra '' resolved at 20x

Albireo -beautiful color contrast

All stars above were resolved with beautiful ,round Airy discs and thin ,bright diffraction rings.

The powers used were 20x/Plossl 25mm , 56x/Plossl Revelation 9mm and 100x /CircleV 5mm Ortho.

Two failures :Alkalurops/Mu Boo and OSigma 525 resolved only as double stars not triple stars.

DSO objects :

Mel 111-open cluster, did not fit completely in the 2.6 degrees at 20x ,but most of it + double star 17 Com

Steph -1 -open cluster , I counted 12 or 13 stars

M13 - globular cluster,bright , at 125x /Kasai 4mm ortho,I noticed a couple of stars resolved across the cluster but only with averted vision

M92 - globular cluster , small but well visible

M57 - planetary , already visble at 20x, at 100x seen as an oval fuzzy objects,central adrkening not noticed

M29 - open cluster , at 20x it have definitely a hazy aspect ,carefull inspection show some dim stars

M4 - globular cluster ,it was a round hazy patch ,feeble central condensation,visible at 20x but difficult ,no additional details at 100x

M5 - globular cluster ,well visible as a round bright object

M3 - as above , this two objects look very similar in this instrument

M51 - galaxy ,very faint but extended object ,not accepted higher power than 56x

M94 -galaxy , small,oval dim and hazy,slight central condensation

M60 -galaxy ,it was small and very faint

Other objects :

La Superba /YCVn -carbon star ,color index 3 , beautiful

Antares - I watched for a while the scintillation.I learned from ''Astronomie Populaire'' of Flammarion not all stars twinkle the same ,it depend on the spectral types.Something worth closer study.

ISS - at 20x I saw an oblong central body with two wings or extensions on the sides oposite to the direction of movement.

On Jupiter I saw only two belts ,all Galilean satellites were to the West , three forming a pretty triangle asterism very  close to the planet.

No other conclusion than I can't wait for another night with clear sky.

I spent about four hours under the stars of which three hours I was observing through the Swift 818 Frankenscope.

I can tell you ,this is a dangerous instrument because the user tend to develop a sort of addiction.

In the last hour I made observations with the 200mm F/6.16 Dobsonian.

I enjoyed a beautiful view of M13 resolved in many,many stars and I saw galaxy NGC 6207 located very close to the globular cluster.

Home-made small telescopes on my ''Penelopa'' pipe mount

On my 1.5 inch pipe mount I use different small telescopes.To attache them to the mount I made three wooden clam shells and a dovetail adapter for the OTA of the Teleskop Service 100mm F/14 Maksutov Cassegrain.For now,my instruments include a 60x700mm refractor,a 60x800mm refractor,a 60mm F/5 RFT refractor ,a 45mm F/6.6 refractor and some more.I guess ,in time ,this collection will increase.

       

Home-made 60x700mm refractor,Bushmaster lens,Omegon tube,no-name diagonal,ex-military 31mm Plossl ,on ''Penelopa '' 1.5 inch pipe mount,wooden clam shell.

Home-made 60x800mm refractor, Tasco 12 TE-5 objective and focuser , no-name 0,96'' mirror diagonal,Bushmaster 40mm Kellner 

The 0,96 '' Tasco focuser , modified

''Teleskop Service'' 100mm F/14 Maksutov Cassegrain .The dovetail adapter is home-made

The corrector lens of the Mak.Some details visible of the non-metal dovetail adapter.

The 100mm F/14  Maksutov ,ready for observing. 

8x25 mm finder.

Home-made RFT 60mm F/5 refractor with miror diagonal and 31mm Plossl. Visual field on the sky is 5 degree.

Another view of the 60mm F/5 refractor.The tube and dew cap are rubber armored.

The objective and tube of this refractor were part of a TCM 20-60x60mm terrestrial refractor.

Very bad image.The objective was optimized by my friend Silviu who is a lens wizard.

Home-made short 45x 300 mm refractor .The objective is an ex-military objective.

The cell of the 45x300mm refractor is adjustable.

My first ''long-range'' picture made with hand-held Coolpix camera and the 45mm refractor set for 10x .

Luneta Csillag 60mm F/15 de constructie proprie / Attila's 60mm F/15 home-made refracting telescope

Vineri 30 Aprilie 2010, seara de la 21:00 am avut un mic star-party la mine acasa la care a participat Csillag Attila cu noua sa luneta 60x900mm,pe montura azimutala.Attila a adus luneta pe montura sa dedicata,eu am asigurat ocularele.
Primul obiect observat a fost Saturn,incepand de la 36x/Kepler 25mm;apoi 72x acelasi ocular cu Barlow 2x;18x cu Huygens Zeiss 50mm;36x acelasi H50mm cu Barlow 2x;apoi H50mm cu Barlow 3x pentru 54x;Huygens acromatic Zeiss 42mm pentru 21x;acelasi HA Zeiss 42mm cu Barlow 3xpentru 63x;Vixen orthoscopic 9mm pentru 100x;Plossl Celestron 7.5mm pentru 120x;si apoi Vixen orthoscopic 5mm pentru 180x.Am vazut la Saturn discul si inelul frumos desenate,umbra inelului proiectata pe disc si un satelit-la toate maririle mai putin la 180x,marire la care imaginea era granuloasa si instabila ca holograma printesei Leia catre Senat.

La Marte am vazut discul fara detalii si fara calota polara,mie mi s-a parut ca vad faptul ca discul planetei este in faza.Dar stiam acest lucru de la observatiile cu dobsonianul de 125mm. 

Am vazut companionul lui Polaris la 120x in pozitia similara orei 18:30 (prin oglinda diagonala);am rezolvat superb pe Castor in Gemenii;pe Algieba in Leo;Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici;si pe Alcor-Mizar in UMa. 

M44 in Racul s-a vazut superb,ca si Mel 111 in Coma ,obiecte parca anume create pentru un asemnea instrument.M37 in Auriga ,situata foarte jos,s-a vazut ca un obiect cetos fara structura;in schimb M13 in Hercules ,la 120x ,avea aspect granulos si centru condensat,mai luminos. 

Nu am fost ocoliti nici de insuccese,epsilon1-2 din Lyra refuzand sa fie rezolvate.

Per ansamblu,am fost placut impresionat de calitatea imaginii lunetei care,la F/15,prezinta coma si astigmatism mult mai mici decat cele din reflectorul meu F/7.Este un instrument maniabil ,de calitate,nici pe departe nu isi merita denumirea de ''trash-telescope''.Cat priveste aberatia cromatica,nu am remarcat-o la nici una din observatiile acestei seri.Lucrand cu diferite oculare,am remarcat faptul ca la acelasi grosisment ,sau la grosismente apropiate,aberatiile de la marginea campului vizual se modificau odata cu ocularul,lucru remarcabil deoarece m-a facut sa ma gandesc la faptul ca obiectivul adauga deci aberatii mici si putine.De asemenea trebuie sa subliniez ca ocularele simple gen Huygens 50mm sau Kepler 25mm au dat rezultate uimitor de bune pe acest instrument.H50mm Zeiss a prezentat imagini bine corectate pe intreg campul sau,este adevarat mic;iar Kepler 25mm ,desi cu aberatii la marginea campului,a prezentat imagini foarte luminoase,foarte nete la mijlocul campului,plastice,cu o ''semnatura'' optica pe care mi-e greu sa o descriu.Dar ma bucur ca mi-am confectionat doua oculare Kepler,la asemenea F/D functioneaza neasteptat de bine. 

La ora 22:48-22:49 un obiect foarte luminos a travesat cerul nordic,incepand din Gemenii,a urcat pana la aproximativ 40 grade si a fost vizibil pana pe cerul estic,in dreptul Lyrei.O alta faza interesanta a fost cea in care a trecut intai un satelit din directia Nord-Vest spre Sud-Est ,urmat la scurt timp de un avion la mare altitudine;pentru cateva zeci de secunde a parut ca avionul,mai rapid,vaneaza satelitul. 

Observatiile prin luneta le-am agrementat cu observatii prin binoclul meu Baigish 10x50mm,discutii ATM si negocieri /''gheshefturi'' avand obiect,ce altceva,decat piese optice.Mircea

Exquisite 60mm home-made long focus refractor

On behalf of Silviu aka ''zoth'',amateur astronomer in Bucharest,Romania.

The instrument was first described in November 2010 on ''60mmtelescopeclub'',a great yahoogroup dedicated to small telescope astronomy.

See:http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/60mmtelescopeclub/?yguid=235571953

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I'm going to tell you the story of a ''new under the stars'' peculiar 60mm refractor.The story started 38 years ago when Silviu at age 12 fall in love with the stary heaven.At that time a 60mm refractor seem to him a huge telescope and it was only a dream,unachievable dream.

Things changed a lot over the years and after owning and building more telescopes, Silviu,already an acomplished ATM-er,saw an opportunity in 2009 to make his dream come true.He designed a 60x840mm classic Fraunhofer objective ,using BK7 and F2 glass.But then he had to face the reality of optical shops who are using tools with pre-determined radii.So Silviu had to adapt his project and re- optimise keeping the eyes on the goal:making of an exquisite small refractor objective.The end result is the actual 60x828mm lens,with a spacing of 0.09mm,anti-reflection coated with a multi-layer broad band AR coating.The non-colimatable Aluminium cell is also designed by Silviu.Like the home-made 1.25 inch and 60mm travel sliding focuser ,the body being made of Aluminium and the steel draw-tube having two internal steps.The tube of the refractor is a re-used Al tube wich housed a 60x900mm lens of ''Alcor'' brand and have two baffles while another two baffles are in the draw-tube of the focuser. OTA have a length of 750mm and weight 1.4 kilograms.

The refractor is riding a TS-AZ Teleskop Service mounting.

The refractor was finished Sunday,fourteenths of November, but the first light happened in September.Oculars used for the first light was PL 17mm/48x;Ortho 9mm/92x;ortho7mm/118x;ortho6mm/138x.The Moon images was gorgeous,no traces of chromatic aberation,similar to Silviu's 80mm ED,very good definition,crisp images,fine details,awesome contrast.One thing noticed by Silviu was that while at 138x the lower light made Moon observation more comfortable,there where no aditional details compared to 118x.Anyway,no trace discerned of any haze due to CA or spherical aberation.

On Jupiter,at 92x,very clean images,again no haze due to aberations,the NEB very clear but hints of some structure and of more belts toward the Northern Pole.Siviu pushed in the 7mm ortho for 118x and he noticed ,very pleased ,festoons in NEB and confirmation of more jovian belts ,much less conspicious and without further details.

One galilean satelite was very close to jovian limb.

In his letter about the first light,Silviu is stating that he made observations of Jupiter through many instruments and from many locations but this was the best Jovian images ever.Not even his 5 inch Mak,very dear to him,did not offered such exquisit images.His conclusion is this:folowing his childhood dream to build a long focus small achromatic refractor was more than worthwhile and is a winner on planetary details.

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Description made by me,Mircea, according to details and pictures from Silviu.I will add here only the logo created by Robert Little for the ''60mmtelescopeclub'':