Molecular Cloud MBM 54 around NGC 7497 visually

[Uwe Glahn]

After many failed attempts to see any of the IFN, I finally could catch the first one for me - MBM 54 around NGC 7497 with my 27-inch, I also tried this object with my 4" binocular with much larger field but I could not see anything.

To my surprise (I had no detailed chart with me) I could see the around 15' long glow very quickly and without any problems as a faint, but steadily visible nebula streak NW of NGC 7497. Transparency was good but not perfect as many of you may have in Oregon or Texas.

My interest is similar observations. I know the large list of Mel Bartels (http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/Herschels%20Ghosts.html) but I don't hear of any positive observations from Germany. Could you catch some IFN, perhaps together with Mel at the OSP?

27", 113x, NELM 7m0+, Seeing III
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[Ivan Maly]

Great observation. That's a very cool (reflection?) nebula resembling Witch Head, on DSS. Perhaps illuminated by Markab? There is a whole complex in the area, of this this is the most contrasty part. Even apart from the fact that it is blue, I haven't seen anything with this contrast yet when I tried to track down (on survey images) what's referred to as IFNs.

The original survey was in CO, 57 clouds at high Galactic latitudes: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985ApJ...295..402M. Haven't heard of this catalog before but it does look like a fine source of targets, given this report.

[yapo]

Funny, I tried the same target during last august to no avail with 17.5" at 83x. :)

[Jimi Lowrey]

Cool observation Uwe! I have not tried this yet but will put it on my list and let you know what I see with the 48”

This image is a PanSTARRS R band inverted and darkened. Looks like some of the nebula is foreground of the galaxy on the East end.
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When I was at OSP I observed IFN with Mel on his super fast 25”. I also got to view IFN wit Ed’s fast 24”. Got to see IFN around M31 and also around M13. I might ad that it was a easy observation with the super fast scopes and with 21mm E eyepiece.

[Uwe Glahn]

Thanks Ivan for the link of the paper. Just checked it out and especially the discovery history sound interesting with connection to the optical plates of the DSS AND to Fort Davis/Texas. Difficult to translate the lists to the optical counterparts but perhaps worth the work.

Thanks Yann for the report. A negative observation is also an observation. It would be interesting why you could not see the cloud, smaller aperture or/and poor transparency?

I'm very interesting in reading your results.
Same interest to read something more about your observations with Mel of the IFN, what telescope, what magnification and what does the IFN looks like.

[Ivan Maly]

Uwe, if it was not from the paper that I linked here (which is the reference for the MBM catalog), how did you learn of this nebula (MBM 54) then?

[Uwe Glahn]

I've made a larger compilation over the last years, based on some results from Mel and some stuff I found on pictures from several astrophotographers. No system at all, only a simple collection.
When I realized (after a failed attempt with my 4" binocular) that MBM 54 fits in the searching eyepiece from the 27-inch I started a try and had success.

[yapo]

Thanks Yann for the report. A negative observation is also an observation. It would be interesting why you could not see the cloud, smaller aperture or/and poor transparency?
.

I would bet on the reduced aperture because the transparency was good (1640m elevation and mag.6.8 star visible in UMi). One could add an extra (though minor) factor : too much power i.e. too small field of view as I had only a 1° FOV with 24mm/82° eyepiece. I will try again with a new eyepiece I just bought, a 40mm/68° and maybe the extra-field (hence the brighter sky) will give me a boost ? Mel rated this one as "faint" so I still have good hope on other IFNs that he ranked brighter.

[oliva]

Hi Uwe, Hi everybody

I started an attempt last December. With my 14 inch Dobson I could spot MBM 54 as a faint glow northwest of NGC 7497 at 65x. It was only visible with adverted vision and knowing the exact position. At 40x I could spot it again but it was more difficult, because of the very low contrast between the sky background and the object itself. Conditions were good, meaning that is was clear with very good transparency so that SQM-L average readouts in this sky region where 21.7. In January I gave it another try with same result. Conditions were even better. Observing sites were Sierra de Segura (Spain at 1700m asl) and Canary Islands (2200m asl), which are very good sites with Bortle 2.

I made a sketch which can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/gp/106029581@N02/BPb47F

Oliver