What DSO's to look for tonight?

[Andyfx]

Hey everyone, I live in the centre of town but luckily my garden is fairly well shrouded from street lamps. With that in mind what DSO's might be worth looking for tonight? I think I found M57 the other night but couldn't resolve anything more than a smudge.

I have both an IR and UHC filter available, would these help much?

[garethmob]

depending on your view the cluster in Hercules Messier 92 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

is one to look at, you could try m31 but it does get washed out

and depending what time, m42 (orion) or m45 is nice too

[garethmob]

is the ircut the baader neodynimum filter? i find that its impressive.... on everything! lets me see bands on jupitor, cuts out the moon more than moon filter, see the disks on saturn better its just perfect for cutting out glare! the uhc should help with dsos though

[Andyfx]

The UHC filter is a Castell one, not sure bout the IR cut, I just bought it from Skies the Limit....

Cheers for the help though.

[tomo]

If you can find M31, look for M32 and M110 which are nearby. Also look for M33 on the opposite side of Andromeda. This can be a little bit harder, but more rewarding when you have found it.

[scarecrow]

My skys are not great and i get good views from Andromeda and the ring nebula.

[John]

The Dumbell Nebula, M27 in Vulpecula is quite large and bright and easy to find. It responds well to a UHC filter too. M81 and M82 in Ursa Major are a lovely pair of galaxies worth looking for if that part of the sky is clear for you. The filters won't help with galaxies though. While in Hercules don't forget to look out for the other globular cluster in that constellation, M92, which is tighter than M13 but still a very nice object in it's own right.

[garethmob]

i find some nights when the lp clouds and moon get in the way... clusters and double stars:) polaris is a nice double:)

[Andyfx]

Wow lots to choose from! I may try finding M27 then go for M57 again. I am finding this very interesting now I have my EQ5, when I had my previous Alt Az Goto I didnt bother looking but I'm learning the night sky quickly now. Do you think that my focal length (1500)would make DSO hunting more difficult?

[John]

Use your lowest power eyepiece to find the DSO's. Some of the ones listed are relatively small so using medium power (say 80x) is useful once you have found them.

[Andyfx]

Would a 32mm giving a mag of approx x47 be good to start with?

[pvaz]

You got plenty of good advice already. Regarding the filters, I must point the UHC is only made for nebula and will make any other DSO look much worst.

Even on nebula, most often then not, I prefer the unfiltered view. The only exception to that is the veil nebula.

[ecosse]

M31 should be pretty easy after all I managed to find it last night.

[Brinders]

The Dumbell Nebula, M27 in Vulpecula is quite large and bright and easy to find. It responds well to a UHC filter too.

I was going to suggest the dumbell too. Could be clearly seen with my SCT last night despite the light pollution in my suburban neighbourhood (not helped by the illuminations).

Brinders

[acey]

I live in the centre of town but luckily my garden is fairly well shrouded from street lamps.

It's good that you don't have to put up with direct dazzle, but light pollution is mostly the stuff that goes straight up into the sky and reflects off atmospheric moisture, and the only escape is to get well out of town. But for garden observing you could try the Urban Deep Sky List.

The List of Urban Targets

[Andyfx]

Fab thanks everyone, I'll let you know how I get on later as it looks like clear skies tonight

[Ptarmigan]

But for garden observing you could try the Urban Deep Sky List.

The List of Urban Targets

Interesting link, nice find, thanks very much for posting, that should keep us busy for a wee while !

[John]

Would a 32mm giving a mag of approx x47 be good to start with?

Yes - a 32mm plossl is an ideal "finder" eyepiece and all you need for the larger objects on the list