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M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Oct 16 06:30:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1078
Cloudcover dominated the late afternoon into the night. By midnight they had broken up sufficiently. At 1:30 AM I had decided to pull out the scope. M42 was awesome! At low power (30x) the Triangulum was easily visible. All 4 stars were easy to "pick apart" due to the stillness of the night. The nebula's boundaries had alot of contrast, however it did not appear to be pale green but rather light gray (probably because it was still very low on the horizon). At 203x the view was massive! No noticeable detail was lost at this power, and M43 was also easily discernable as well as the fishmouth. Spurred on by this magnificent view, I shot up to Alnitak to try and get a glimpse of the Horsehead Nebula and the "Flame". Unfortunately I could not find even a trace of them.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 17-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Colebrook, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: good
Time: Thu Sep 23 07:30:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1062
Last week, my friends, Mike Dzubaty, Steve Borer and I went to the northwest hills of Connecticut to observe in the dark skies after the moon set. The most stunning observation we made was of the Orion Nebula with Mike's 17" dob. We were able to easily see green, blue and red colors of M42. The coloring was quite obvious. M43 was also sharp and clear. The shape of M42 and M43 looked like a photo. Another great observation was M31, M32, and M110. The dust lane cutting through the Andromeda Galaxy was clear and sharply defined. I found M110 to be very interesting. Although it is not listed as a spiral galaxy, it looked like one in the 17" dob. The more I looked at it the more spiral it looked to me. M33, the Triangulum Galaxy was also spectacular. We were able to see the spiral arms of the face on galaxy rather nicely. With M57, the Ring Nebula, we were able to see structure in different parts of the ring. We also saw great detail on M27 the Dumbbel Nebula. The taurid meteor shower was occuring. We saw between 15 and 20 meteors. One of them was a fireball brighter than Venus which broke up over our heads. Another one left a beautiful meteor train. At 2:30 AM EDT the Zodiacal Light came into view. IT was fairly bright before it faded away at 3:00 AM EDT. The nebulasity around the M45, the Pleiades, was stunning, especilly around its bright stars.We also observed many other objects. On our second evening, we stepped out of our cabin at 4:00 AM EDT to do some naked eye observing. The milky way's great rift jumped out at us. Even the Orion end of the milky way was very visable. For the first time, I was able to observe the whole constellation of Eridanus. It looked like a great river in the sky as it went away from Orion and then curled back towards Orion. All in all, two perfect nights.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Sriram.M.Gubbi (e-mail: sriram_gubbi@yahoo.co.in)
Instrument: 50-mm equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Jan 15 20:35:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 1196
During the clear winter nights,when i pointed my telescope towards a cloudy star in the minor belt of orion which lies perpendicular to the middle belt star,Alnilam,appeared as a burning gas with 4 stars within it.i was sure that it was the great nebula though i was still a beginner then.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Dec 10 07:00:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 747
I'll never get tired of looking at the Great Nebula in Orion.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Dec 10 07:00:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 747
I'll never get tired of looking at the Great Nebula in Orion.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: BCT (e-mail: torchbct@aol.com)
Instrument: 5.1-inch equatorial reflector Location: Trinidad, TX, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Dec 10 13:00:00 2001 UT Obs. no.: 599
Could see well, even though it was very low on the horizon. Was easier to see with the 25mm eyepiece, could see 4 stars in the center with either eyepiece...
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Serge (e-mail: astroguy@onaustralia.com.au)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Perth, WA, Australia
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Dec 21 17:10:00 2000 UT Obs. no.: 540
Very beautiful in low magnification, 4 stars visible in the center, greenish-tinted-like smoke
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: BCT (e-mail: torcbct@aol.com)
Instrument: 5.1-inch equatorial reflector Location: Trinidad, TX, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Sun Dec 10 07:00:00 2000 UT Obs. no.: 598
Could see well, even though it was very low on the horizon. Was easier to see with the 25mm eyepiece, could see 4 stars in the center with either eyepiece...
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Robert Mintzes (e-mail: nightskydf@aol.com)
Instrument: 2-inch equatorial reflector Location: Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sat Dec 5 04:45:00 1998 UT Obs. no.: 428
Even though the moon was out at the time, and very close to Orion, I was able to spot the nebula with my finderscope. The nebula wasn't exactly in the crosshairs of the finderscope, but I had a pretty good idea of where M42 was. After searching for about a minute through the main part of the telescope, I found the nebula. I tightened the screws and explored with the 20mm eyepiece. It was a magnificent sight. I switched to the 12.5mm eyepiece, which was even better. The sight from the 4mm eyepiece was the best yet. The nebula may have been fuzzy, but I was able to make out the bluish-green color. It looked like there were two bright stars, one in the upper left corner, and the other in the lower right corner.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Sep 23 07:30:00 1998 UT Obs. no.: 398
Observed M42 clearly with 3" refractor. Excellent "seeing" this observation period. Betelgeuse and Rigel were especially noteworthy! Also noted the "Hyades." Early fall asterisms seem to move across the sky quite quickly even though I know the season makes no difference!! The Pleiades was also very brilliant and easily observable. I always enjoy observing these Fall beauties!! Aldeberon was especially beautiful tonight. A good observation session this morning!
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Dec 31 05:00:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 283
I spent more time tonight than during my previous session with M42, exploring the nebula's incredible detail at a variety of powers. I spent several minutes looking for the E star in the Trapezium, and was finally able to glimpse it at 76x (but at no other magnifications) as a faint, brownish star midway between A and B and slightly outside the "box" of the Trapezium.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: fair
Time: Sat Dec 27 10:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 282
After looking at lots of dim nebulae, M42 was spectacular in my new Plossl eyepiece (32mm, 38x). I was too cold to look for very long, and Orion was getting fairly low in the W, but it was a stunning sight nonetheless.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Thu Sep 11 09:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 228
Finishing my whirlwind tour of showpiece objects, I swung the Dobsonian down from the zenith and aimed at Orion, which was striding up majestically from the eastern horizon. The Great Nebula was breathtaking at 49x, the wide arms sweeping to either side of the Fish's Mouth, the Trapezium like a cluster of diamonds, and the faint nebulosity extending seemingly forever (or at least for a couple of fields' worth). I went back to bed feeling completely rejuvenated.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion, Est. RaDec 05 35.4, -05.23)
Observer: Alan Shaffer (e-mail: milkyway@gte.net, web: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3693/)
Instrument: 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Rancho Palos Verdes, California, US
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Mar 10 16:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 96
Can't resist a view. The seeing in Palos Verdes was great. This object jumped out of the night sky. At 104X, the object more than filled the field. Pale green in color. Noticed that one of the nebula arms extended very far. The dark central region gave great contrast to the beautiful glow. Always a grand view!!
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: poor
Time: Sat Mar 1 02:50:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 80
First light with my new Celestron Starhopper 8-inch Dobsonian. It wasn't even completely dark yet, but I was anxious to look through the thing, and turned it on M42 after aligning the Telrad on Sirius. Wow!!! Forgive my excitement, but my previous experience was mostly confined to 7x50 binoculars and a 60mm refractor. Later, after it got completely dark, I continued the observation, and was stunned at all the detail visible. Two wide arms extended to either side of the central Trapezium region, with the area between them filled with masses of detailed structure. I tried out all my eyepiece combinations: 25mm and 10mm, with and without the 2X Barlow, for the following magnifications: 48X, 96X, 122X, and 244X.
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula in Orion)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 50-mm binoculars Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Jan 6 06:05:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 16
Couldn't resist a quick look at M42 before coming inside. With the dark sky and full dark-adaptation I was amazed at the extent of nebulosity visible in 7x50s. The hazy greenish glow extended a degree or more to the west of where my LA-light-pollution experience led me to expect. Truly a stunning sight.
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