Dots..

[George!]

It's me again on another bad note. I know you are already frustrated with me but I need to get this out of my system! I have a planisphere and I really feel as though I am wasting my scope which someone else who knows how to use it Gould be benefiting from it. I looked at Andromeda and all I can see is dots even though that's where M31 is supposed to be. It's just like looking up with the naked eye and seeing more dots than usual! I just simply can't find anything apart from stars with a 20mm eyepiece! I have clear skies yet I cannot find anything. I find myself highly ridiculously looking at more dots when my family is asking to see things and I can't find them. It's so frustrating!

EDIT: I see people with scopes that are under mine and are seeing amazing things and I am not talking about the photos.

Apologies in advance for everything above and I am not blaming it on you or others, sincere apologies,

[barkis]

Hello George.

You seem to be having a frustrating time with your 10" Dob.

The telescope is 1200mm focal length, so use your lowest power eyepiece, until you require more magnification, and really, that should mostly be on the moon and planets.

Looking at the Andromeda galaxy requires a low magnification, simply because the galaxy if quite large, and doesn't take kindly to high magnification. M31, the galaxy's number, is not a very exciting object in a telescope, at low power under good skies and dark adaption, you can see the dark dust lane, but nothing to get excited about. Concentrate on globular, and open clusters, they are quite splendid things to observe.

Have patience my friend, learning the sky is no five minute task, and once you become familiar with finding your targets, you will enjoy it a lot more.

Ron.

[bombassa]

Hi

Have you considered looking for some sort of astro society near you to benefit from the experience of other observers?

[crazyjedi]

Ok George don't worry. You're getting stressed and impatient behind the eye piece. something i've done many times, and still do sometimes. Through my scope M31 looks like a smudge of haze.

!st up is your scope collimated? If not it won't focus properly. 2nd have you cast your scope over M13 in hercules? through your scope it will look like a spectacular ball of stars. And then when Orion gets high enough grab a look at the orion nebula.

Are you having trouble finding things or are you having trouble focusing?

Which EP's are you using. For DSO's like M31 you should be using low powered long focal length EP's.

[NAFK]

The Andromeda galaxy - speaking purely aesthetically - does not look very impressive at all through most scopes. Most of the time it will look like little more than a faint, hazy patch. The joy in objects like that is not so much what you can see, but KNOWING what it is you are seeing...if that makes sense. Don't seek it out expecting a visual feast. It's fairly difficult and indistinct.

I agree with the other comments encouraging you to seek out some clusters, and definitely have a look at the Orion nebula when it returns to the skies in a month or so.

[George!]

I guess that's why your called a Jedi. (calm and helpful) I will try M13 tomorrow and if nothing changes I will go up to The astronomy Centre near Bacup in the moors and see if Peter can help.

[John]

What sort of finder scope are you using George ?.

Having a finder that is i) aligned as exactly as possible so that the scope is pointing where the finder is pointing, and ii) that you are comfortable with using, is really important to being able to find things in the sky.

If you are not already using one, I'd strongly recommend a red dot finder, even a simple one. That, used with your lowest power eyepiece (ideally lower even than a 25mm) should make finding things easier.

[tom714uk]

Hi George,

Do you have any binoculars? If not, get a cheapish pair of 10x50s or something similar and have a go with them as well. It'll get you used to finding things in the sky and at least you can convince yourself they really are there! Besides, some things look better in a 7-degree field of view anyway.

Tom

[glowjet]

George have you checked out Jupiter which is now rising nicely in the evening sky, you should have some nice views in your 10" Dob and you can then see if your finder scope (if you have one) and main scope is correctly collimated and all is centered and focused on the same target. I may be on the wrong track here, and I am sorry if that is so, but if all you have is a planisphere for finding targets, I would strongly suggest you invest in a copy of TL@O, the new spiral bound edition is available, and use such as the free program Stellarium as a guide to the night sky, you won`t be the first person to be pointing your scope into open sky, some of these objects are very small and the night sky is just a vast ocean of stars.

[foundaplanet]

You have some great advice above. Stick at it you will get the hang of things but it will take a little while to settle into it. Try and take a bit of the pressure off too, get used to what you are doing for yourself first anybody else will just have to wait until you are ready.

[todd8137]

Hi there,hope you feeling better,well you may have passed it lots of times and not even known,the dumbell neb is like that M31,can be a bit of a let down try some double clusters and do not give up

its a bit of a let down for some people when they do see some things,after watch in tv and books are to blame for these great shots .last night i never really used any ep apart from the 32 mm a could have done with a 38mm

hope things pick up

[cosmological]

Are you using averted vision? Averted vision - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. When you look directly at the object all you see is a faint star, but look slightly away from it and it shows up (slightly).

But having said that, M31 is best viewed in 10x50 binos, M31 is about 4 degrees in diameter, the moon is half a degree so that gives you an idea of the size. At 60x magnification you'll be looking at the central bit but you can't see all of it because it's too big.

[jimmythemoonlight]

the best advice i can offer is look for pleiades at the moment its very nicely placed high in the sky it too looks like a group of dots but the difference is they are very bright and easy to find you will have some fun scanning up and down the stars of this wonderful star good luck george and clear skies always jimmythemoonlight

[crazyjedi]

Just got in from a fab night out with the scope. Andromeda was nicely placed, jupiter looked awesome (got to see one of the moons slip behind the gas giant too) and the double cluster in perseus looked fab too. Don't give up George. I tried to find the dumbell nebula (one of my favourites) but failed again

I agree with the above comments about Andromeda it may look a little smudgy at first but the longer you stare (remember to use a good LOW power EP) the more you see.

If you just find one thing to get you started you'll be off.

Do what i do. Get your scope set up and then sit back in a garden chair, with a pleasant glass of wine and let your eyes get accustomed to the dark whilst getting to recognise the constellations.

Things like the pleiades are actually visible to the naked eye once you've got your eye in so to speak. Keep your chin up

[umadog]

There's no magic to this. It's true that a scope should be collimated for optimal views. It's true that averted vision is helpful. In the big scheme of things, though, when you find a bright DSO like M31 you will see it without any fiddling around. You don't need to learn anything drastically new, you just need to point the scope in the right spot.

"Right spot!", you say. I'm sure that doesn't sound like very useful advice. However, unless you have seriously bad light pollution, M31 will be there if you're pointed right. The obvious implication being that you're not pointed right even though you think you are. We've all been there and done that: think it's the right spot. Where is it? It's gotta be here... Guess what? Wrong spot.

Do you have a Telrad? If not, buy one. A planisphere is good for knowing what's up but isn't usually a great guide to DSOs. Go out and buy the Sky and Telescope pocket atlas. That shows you how large the Telrad circles will be on their charts. When sweeping the sky with a low-power eyepiece to find an object, make sure that you're mindful of how far you're moving the scope. It's easy to move it very far from where you intend to be and so you'll never find what you were looking for.

Try some other DSOs which are easier to find. M13 and M57 spring to mind. Remember that M57 is small. Both are bright and will punch through light pollution. Try Albireo.

[Nexus 6]

No need for any apologies George,

the comments given already show that you are in the right place to get some advice and info that will be useful. Members on the forum are always willing to help each other out.

Hope it goes better next time your out observing.

[Nexus 6]

Think the post above from Umadog proves my point.