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Is M56 too low at the moment


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I didn't think I would get any observing in last night with the strong blustery winds and sudden heavy rain squalls but it cleared up and settled down nicely at about 10.00pm. So I brought out the scope and all the bits, lined up my azimuth circle fired up the inclinometer app on the iPhone and headed for M92 first , as it appeared to show more detail last Saturday night than M13. Totally the opposite last night M13 was the star of the show.

I then tried for M3 and had a bit of trouble locating it, the alt-az co-ordinates didn't seem to match, after about ten minutes of scanning the area I found it ( I think not sure if I stumbled upon M53 instead ) I am Using an app on my iPad called Star Chart to get the Alt-Az co-Ordinates from but the reading on my azimuth circle was about 4 degrees off and alt about 3 degrees. I checked it against Arcturus and that was just in my FOV using the 25mm MA eyepiece. So not sure what's going on there, I know its not a dead on accurate system but everything else has been very close or just a nude away.

Anyway Lyra was now higher up so I gave the Ring Nebula a twirl, not as clear as the first time I found it but just as exciting. I have tried for the Owl Nebula but no luck yet.. I have noticed over the last month - six weeks that there seems to be a layer of haze over Dublin, or my part of it, I am right beside the sea.  The earlier rough weather had cleared it away but it was reforming, when I turned my sights on Albireo , which is now high enough above the house that has been blocking to get a look at, I could no longer get sharp focus even with the 25mm but the blue and yellow of the pair was amazing, the first real discernible colour I have seen though a telescope. 

Then to wind up the session I thought I would try for M56 as it appeared to be right above Albireo about halfway back up to Lyra, this was at about 11.50pm, I gave up at 12.35am after searching every inch of that patch of sky with no luck. After in bed I came across an observing guide online  that put June, July and August as the best time to observe it. would that be the case.

I think that DSOs might be my thing so I suppose that means make way for the 10-12 incher (I knew I should have taken up stamp collecting instead !!!)

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M56 is a much fainter globular than M13 or 92. It's possible it was within your field of view and because its not best placed at the moment, or a bit of haze you didn't spot it.

M97, Owl neb, benifits greatly from a UHC or OIII filter to make it visible, it's tough from my light polluted location without a filter.

Good luck with further attempts, Ed.

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I would agree with Ed. M56 is pretty unspectacular through smaller apertures and really needs 10" and upwards to start showing it well. Through bigger glass it resolves easily enough as a pretty loose cluster that's not particularly rich. That's not to say it's not worth a look through smaller scopes, but just don't expect to be overwhelmed with structure.

I always observe the owl unfiltered as I find it brings out the "eyes" feature easier in this way. It does require some aperture to show much more than a faint oval glow though. It makes a truly delightful pairing with the Galaxy M108 in low power fields. One can marvel at the scale of the huge distant galaxy lurking behind it, awesome :)

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+1 to the previous comments. M56 is a challenge with small telescopes as it is much dimmer than m13, m92, m10, m12 and m53. It took me almost 10min to find it at 15x on a 60mm telescope using a detailed star chart (so I knew exactly where to look at). It was perceptible with averted vision but nothing more than a soft dim patch. At 28x it was easier to spot even without averted vision, but no star or detail.

The owl nebula was invisible on a 60 with my eye at least. However it jumped out with an OIII filter and I must admit I imagined I was smaller. This at 28x.

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I made the mistake of comparing it with M13 and M3 in Star Chart the app I am using on my iPad they all had similar magnitudes 'till I looked more closely and it is Absolute magnitude it gives not Apparent. When I checked it with Stellarium I could see it was much dimmer alright. Unfortunately my main observation site, the back garden has a very limited view of the night sky, might improve a bit in the winter when all the leaves have gone , means I kind of have to go for what's in my field of view. My other limiting factor is the mother of all high pressure sodium security lights on the college building at the end of my garden which doesn't switch off till midnight, forces me to hide in the shadow of my neighbours extension giving me even less sky to at. Might get out tonight for a while cloud cover permitting.

Any other Messier's up at the moment that might be worth a crack at?

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Yeah looking to forward to getting down the country in a few weeks time, should be a reasonably dark site, Got out for an hour last night before it was dark and I got probably the best views of the Moon and Jupiter I have to date through both the 25mm and 10mm MAs but trough the BST 5mm ED it was spectacular like some of the photos I have seen.i even caught a short glimpse of Venus through a front room window before it clouded over .

I did however find out that the Barlow I have is not very good, the Skywatcher Delux 2X, If that's the delux I'd hate to try the standard one. Reminds me of the cheapo that came with my Tasco Refractor, about the same grade of plastic. Its just not sharp and seems to half the amount of light getting through. It just says 2X Barlow on the sticker on the side should it say Delux maybe they sent me the wrong one.

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