Eyes on the Sky: Jan 22 thru Jan 29

[magic612]

This week "Eyes on the Sky" continues its tour of Taurus, highlighting the Pleiades and demonstrating ways to find - and the challenges of seeing - M1, or the Crab Nebula. Also discussed: Jupiter and its moons, plus when and where to find Venus (and the Moon), Mars, and Saturn this week (did you know you can see Mars before midnight now?)

As always, please post any comments, and feel free to share this video on social networking sites or astronomy club websites. In this video I included additional information about light pollution / light trespass, along with the sites that viewers can go to for more information about those problems.

[smolloy]

Thanks for posting this. Great video as usual!

You've really piqued my curiosity about M1. My 10" Dob arrived just last week, and it sounds like this might be a great challenge object for me.

Thanks!

[magic612]

A 10" Dob is indeed a great instrument with which to see M1! I first spotted it with my 10" Dob as well, and once I "knew" the area, began spotting it with successively smaller and smaller scopes - 5" was next, then I spotted it - BARELY - with my 90mm refractor.

It can be done! Just takes patience. Oh, and one strategy I didn't have time to mention on the video (it was already running long) is to "tap" the side of the tube if you think you are in the right area, but aren't sure. Sometimes the motion of the jiggling scope will cause the nebula to pop out and be visible, as that activates the rods on the retina of your eye. Averted vision helps too.

Good luck - please let me know how it goes for you!

[smolloy]

Sometimes the motion of the jiggling scope will cause the nebula to pop out and be visible, as that activates the rods on the retina of your eye.

Great tip, thanks!

In your video you show M1 getting successively dimmer and dimmer to give us an impression of what we should see. Where on that scale would you estimate is the view I should expect? (Moderate to low LP, good seeing.)

[craigsta]

Great video. I hope i can see M1, I shall have a look when i go back out as soon as i've warmed up! However, i have a feeling im asking a little too much from my 6" 150P and expecially with the light around me!

[Craig20264]

Managed to find it without too much grief the other night through my 200P.

Good luck

[magic612]

Great tip, thanks!

In your video you show M1 getting successively dimmer and dimmer to give us an impression of what we should see. Where on that scale would you estimate is the view I should expect? (Moderate to low LP, good seeing.)

250PX Dob means a 250mm reflector, right?

I've not looked at it myself through a 250mm Dobsonian at low light pollution conditions. What I can tell you is that the last one I showed - the very dimmest view of M1 - is about what I saw through my 5" refractor. In my 90mm refractor, it was a barely detectable smudge with averted vision under so-so light pollution.

A 12" will certainly show a lot more under better sky conditions. The nice thing about this object is that the location is fairly easy to spot near Zeta Tauri, unlike some Messiers that are in the middle of nowhere. So as long as you get in the right area, you'll find it with your scope.

Just don't expect to see TOO much. The photos are always impressive on this one, and the views through scopes are... well, not nearly as dramatic, to say the least. You might be able to pick up some of the fine filamentary structure; with a scope that large, once you've identified it, I'd bump up the magnification a bit to darken the sky background some and get a larger image scale.

Hope that helps!

[magic612]

Great video. I hope i can see M1, I shall have a look when i go back out as soon as i've warmed up! However, i have a feeling im asking a little too much from my 6" 150P and expecially with the light around me!

Just do your best to dark adapt. Using a dark cloth to block stray light can really help get your eyes better adapted for low light levels. If you scope can track it, that's even better, as you won't have to look out from under the cloth to re-center.

Another option is to use an eyepatch over the eye you plan to observe with. Let the one eye get well-adapted, and use it to find M1. It can be done in a 150mm scope; hopefully your light pollution won't wash it out and render it invisible for you.

[magic612]

Managed to find it without too much grief the other night through my 200P.

Good luck

That's a good aperture scope to use for this one! Though it can be spotted in smaller ones; larger definitely helps.

[Carl M]

Your videos are great David, they give a great insight of what is available to view each week and methods of how to locate them. Keep up the good work!

I'm actually imaging M1 right now as my last unguided image, only aiming for about an hour of 1 min exposures but it will be another to tick off the list

[magic612]

Your videos are great David, they give a great insight of what is available to view each week and methods of how to locate them. Keep up the good work!

I'm actually imaging M1 right now as my last unguided image, only aiming for about an hour of 1 min exposures but it will be another to tick off the list

Thank you so much Carl! Please let me know when you've stacked and finished your images of it; I'd love to see what you are able to capture.

[smolloy]

250PX Dob means a 250mm reflector, right?

Right. A 10" Newtonian reflector. With its focal length of 1200 mm and the included 10 mm EP, I can push it to 120X. Luckily the seeing is quite steady here (if the cloud and haze clear!), so I plan to double that quite soon with a Barlow.

The nice thing about this object is that the location is fairly easy to spot near Zeta Tauri, unlike some Messiers that are in the middle of nowhere. So as long as you get in the right area, you'll find it with your scope.

I'm pretty convinced that I got to the right place last night, but there was a thin layer of haze over everything, which made it very difficult for me to detect any new objects. The only things I was able to find were my "old favourites", M35-38 in Gemini/Auriga, M42, etc. -- after about 30 minutes hunting around the right part of Taurus, I concluded it was useless, and slewed around to stare at Jupiter for a while.

By the way, how would you compare the brightness/visibility of M1 with M35, 36, 37, 38?

Nice tips about avoiding LP. I'm already "the crazy guy who sits in the cold with a telescope", so adding an eye-patch and a blanket over my head can only enhance my reputation

Thanks again,

Steve

[magic612]

By the way, how would you compare the brightness/visibility of M1 with M35, 36, 37, 38?

M35, 36, 37 and 38 are all obvious to me in a 60 or 70mm scope - small and not terribly bright, but I can see them direct vision and they are obvious when I am looking at them. As aperture goes up, these targets become not only more obvious, but much more impressive.

M1 is MUCH fainter, and requires a larger scope, and even then, it's not terribly easy and it doesn't improve much in the "impressive" department. The darker (less light polluted) and more transparent your sky, the better your chances will be. Averted vision / light blocking techniques help.

Nice tips about avoiding LP. I'm already "the crazy guy who sits in the cold with a telescope", so adding an eye-patch and a blanket over my head can only enhance my reputation

Thanks again,

Steve

Hehe, you're welcome Steve! My wife just rolls her eyes when I walk inside with my eyepatch on, so I just look at her, smile and let out a good, "Arrrrr!! Ahoy there matey!" at which point both of my kids roll their eyes at me.

[imarcs]

Nice video as usual David, thanks for posting. :-)

[magic612]

Thank you Marc!

[smolloy]

M1 is MUCH fainter, and requires a larger scope, and even then, it's not terribly easy and it doesn't improve much in the "impressive" department. The darker (less light polluted) and more transparent your sky, the better your chances will be. Averted vision / light blocking techniques help.

Got it! :)

The key was to wrap a blanket round my head after I'd found the right place, and then just keep nudging the scope to follow the background stars until my eyes adjusted enough to the dark that I could see it

Just brilliant Never would have found it without your video! Thanks!

[magic612]

Got it!

The key was to wrap a blanket round my head after I'd found the right place, and then just keep nudging the scope to follow the background stars until my eyes adjusted enough to the dark that I could see it

Just brilliant Never would have found it without your video! Thanks!

EXCELLENT!! :)

Glad I was able to help you find it!