M81 & M82

[stargazer1980]

Well i managed to get out last night 26/03/2007 for a couple of hours with my SLT 114 Celestron!

So i thought....lets see if i can do some deep space hunting! So i familiarised my self with the night sky and decided to take a look at the beehive cluster! Although not as detailed as in the pictures i still saw a gathering of stars which was great! So now on to M81 and M82 that are close together! Although ive only got a small scope i beleive i saw 2 faint smudges (which i could only just make out) All that said though it was still beautiful! It just makes me want more and more! I just want to see everything and im so impatient!

Well that my short and not so detailed story of my night!

Heres to many more

Darren

[Andrew]

Sounds like you had a great night Darren.

M81 and M82 are favourites of mine. I started out with a scope with the same aperture as yours and found I could see nice differences in shape and brightness between them. When the moon disappears they will definitely be worth another look.

Andrew

[The Warthog]

M81/82 are fine and easy targets in dark skies. From my home, I can't see them, but in any dark sky site, they are easy to pick up. You should have no trouble getting an even better view in your 114 when you get to some decent skies. Congratulations on seeing them.