More newbie visual beauties required!

[EcksMarksTheSpot]

Hello!

I've spent a good 4 or 5 really good nights out of the 2 weeks I've had my 200p. Tonight was easily the best - very still, very dark and also very crisp and hardly any dew!

I definately have some favourites - the moon and jupiter in particular with it's moons totally blew me away. I've also loved looking at Albireo, the double cluster in Perseus is magical but the one I just keep coming back to is Andromeda! Wowee!

I am really finding that my 32mm lens is the one I keep coming back to though. Tons more light, generally crisper and less wobble too - for looking at Andromeda, I found the stronger lenses pretty much neutered the light. Am I just doing it wrong, or would I need cameras for eyes to see any more than I do in the 32mm? (I can also see the other messier object close by, but no real detail apart from a bright dot nucleus in Andromeda with averted vision).

Something that actually disappointed me initially was pleiades and the Brocchi cluster. I felt a bit underwhelmed by them - that was until I looked at them properly down the spotter scope. Wow! They look absolutely fantastic at lower mag, and the formation of them is really pretty.

Some other things I checked out around cygnus/lyra were epsilon lyra and the ring nebula (although the latter was very faint).

So two questions - which objects in the sky right now that are more newbie wow targets? I'm currently just looking for 3 or 4 objects each evening and spending my time on them (amongst going back to Andromeda and Jupiter!).

Secondly, I seem to be favouring the 32mm (I'm using the more powerful EP's on planetary objects, but that's largely it). Are there any gains to be made from actually going to a weaker lens yet? I have a 20 and 25, and they're good, but I find myself keep coming back to the 32. Do people go lower mag? (I have the Revelation EP set from FLO).

By the way, for any newbies reading who have been lost star jumping - two things that have really helped have been keeping both eyes open using the spotting scope, and my Pocket Sky Atlas which is just brilliant. I'm still waiting on the Telrad to arrive!

Thanks in advance,

Jon.

[MjrTom]

The targets you mention, andromeda, Pleiades & the coat hanger all look best in a low power eyepiece so you made the right choice in that respect

As for relatively easy targets I would go for the double cluster in Cassiopeia, the dumbbell nebula and the ring nebula.

The first is best with a low power eyepiece, the two others with a medium to high power eyepiece

[umadog]

The lower powers will provide a brighter view. The higher powers provide a larger view but the photons are spread over a larger area so the object appears dimmer. There is a trade-off between brightness and size. Larger sizes help to detect fainter details but when the details get too faint to be detected you've magnified too much. Play with the power: plenty of DSOs will take higher powers quite well. The Ring Nebula is one of those targets.

Other targets you can try (try to get to the bold ones soon--they're good even with LP):

M27, M11, NGC7789, Veil Nebula (if you have dark skies, and it sounds like you might, it's definitely a beginner-friendly target), M17 (right after twilight), M15, M13 (right after twilight), M33 (dark skies), M81 and M82 (right after twilight), M37, M38, M36, NGC 2329 (a higher-power object), M42 (big-wow object rising later in the night).

[robbie c]

Hi Jon I got to see M42 the other night for the first time and it is amazing well worth a look

[The Bat]

I would recommend the book 'Turn Left at Orion'. It has directions to dozens of objects and will keep you happy for hours. It has realistic diagrams of what you can expect to see too, which is really handy for a beginner.

The Pleiades looks fab in my finderscope but in the main scope I can only see a handful of stars because it is so big! Likewise, the Andromeda Galaxy extends so far beyond the FOV that you only see the bright core. Have you spotted the two companion galaxies M32 and M110 yet? If you pan around you should see two smaller smudges, one on either side of the main splodge.

Bumping up the magnification will make objects appear dimmer. Good planetary observation requires steady seeing and on a night of poor seeing, higher powers will magnify the wobbles in the atmosphere as well as making the image bigger. You just need to play around with different eyepieces on different nights. Jupiter may look wobbly one night, but on another you may be able to push the power right up and then you will get some great views. The Ring Nebula (and many planetary nebulae) respond quite well to higher powers and if you have a nebula filter that may help too.

Rachel

[todd8137]

nice that you finding these great targets its so great have you tried m81/m82 in ursa major now they are great also the Triangulum galaxy,its hard to spot some times but its there and its mega sounds like you enjoying it great stuff the night skies never fail to impress me

clear skies always

[onesmallstep]

Hi

If you haven't already done so, buy a star guide as mentioned above. For a more organised observing session try the Messier and Caldwell lists, they can be found on several websites and starguides. Added to that some planetarium software packages have the option of printing observing lists.

[hemihaggis]

you are going about it the right way ..dont worry its all good