M44 by accident

[ismangil]

So as you probably know I now got a telescope. And as any bins user know, they are a pain to setup compared to grab and go of bins.

Especially as this scope only comes with 6x30 straight finder (yeah need to upgrade right away), it is really difficult to star hop as I usually do with my bins. And I already know my backyard constellations pretty well!

So after slightly frustrated only able to find Jupiter and M42 in the scope (which is beautiful in a different way to seeing them in bins), I just sit relaxing and sweeping the sky with my bins. Suddenly found a nice cluster of stars, checked planisphere it was Cancer, checked atlas (S & T Pocket Atlas, highly recommended) it was M44 Beehive Cluster!

And I wasn't even trying to find it... Oh how I miss 6 degree FOV when using the scope

[BinocularSky]

Get yourself a decent 8(ish)x50 finderscope, Perry!

[ismangil]

Get yourself a decent 8(ish)x50 finderscope, Perry!

Not only that, I will look for right angle correct image one, they're not cheap though!

[cotterless45]

Get a Telrad or Rigel finder and some Telrad charts. I couldn't find a thing with a finderscope. Planets you'll get off Stellarium, happy hunting.

[ismangil]

Get a Telrad or Rigel finder and some Telrad charts. I couldn't find a thing with a finderscope. Planets you'll get off Stellarium, happy hunting.

I think I'll hold off on Telrad, I can barely see the constellations with the naked eye, the Sheffield sky is so bright...

[Mr Q]

They say M44 is nice in a scope but better in bins with their wide FOVs. I like both ways and the colorful stars near its center are nice in a scope when the sky is transparent. And when the sky is dark, its faint whispy glow can be seen with the unaided eye when it's high in the sky. It's one of my favorite OCs.

[ismangil]

They say M44 is nice in a scope but better in bins with their wide FOVs. I like both ways and the colorful stars near its center are nice in a scope when the sky is transparent. And when the sky is dark, its faint whispy glow can be seen with the unaided eye when it's high in the sky. It's one of my favorite OCs.

Yes, I agree, like M42, I saw it first in bins back in Kelling, it was already a very nice object. However now in the scope I do like zooming in and seeing the Trapezium up close.

And definitely scope is more work...

[Quatermass]

I still use my 10x50 bins to find stuff like m81-82 but finding objects with the finder scope just takes practise like most things. I tend to have my left eye looking at the sky and my right eye looking through the finder scope. However if its really hard to see like a faint galaxy I cheat and take a picture with my canon 350d of the area until it shows up on the picture as my camera can spot thing I cant.

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[BinocularSky]

However if its really hard to see like a faint galaxy I cheat and take a picture with my canon 350d of the area until it shows up on the picture as my camera can spot thing I cant.

What is cheating about creatively using your common sense and the resources you have available?

[Quatermass]

Well it kind of feels like im cheating but my eye sights not as good as it used to be plus I have discovered that my cameras eyesight is much better then mine when it comes to finding galaxys. A few quick shots taken in the general area often reveals my target far quicker and saves me valuable viewing or imaging time. And once you know where to look half the battle is won

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[ismangil]

I am intrigued by the idea of video astronomy, so will probably try it at some point...