Did I accidentally fond M76?

[perkil8r]

Edit: In title please read Find not fond lol.

I'm still very green behind the ears as far as astronomy goes, and the other night I was going after Andromeda. I thought I was starting at Minoch and headed accross as I did a few nights previous with my bins. Could I find it? Could I heck as like. But then I saw a very dull fuzzy and tiny object. Tonight I realised that I wasn't in the right place at all, I was effectively almost in a straight line above Andromeda. I had started with the wrong star!

Anyway, what I did see was very dim, about the same size as Jupiter but an elongated oval shape and would have been on it's end from top left to bottom right (reversed in eye piece). Could it have been M76 or am I being over optomistic here? I had to use averted vision to see the shape really, as it was very very dim.

[Double Kick Drum]

An 8" scope is capable of seeing M76.

How good were your skies?

A moonlit Derby sky sounds like a challenging set of circumstances. I have not managed it yet from semi-rural skies and a 5" refractor.

That would be a spectacular accidental find. Be interesting to see what others think.

[perkil8r]

The seeing was pretty good, and in that direction the LP is a lot less than to the south. The moon was pretty much ssw at the time I would say with this object wnw ish so quite a way off. It was a very very dim smudge almost, but definately there, certainly way too small to be Andromeda and I since realise I was looking too high in the sky.

Certainly looks the right kind of size and shape according to Stellarium comparing it with Jupiter for size.

[cotterless45]

Sounds like it. We've got 7 streetlights arund here and I can see it in an 8".

40,000 Derbyshire streetlights are to be switched off from midnight until 5am, so we're going to be able to spot more.

[swamp thing]

I have not managed it yet from semi-rural skies and a 5" refractor.

This should be do-able. I have seen it through an observing buddies 4" frac. Not easy but deffinitily there.

This was from a sight in Surrey with VLM of around 5.

Keep at it your 5" should show it.

Regards Steve

[perkil8r]

Wahoo I'm going to claim it then;) Looking on Stellarium it looked about the right size and shape, and I know I was in that area (allbeit by mistake ) is it normal to feel pleased?

[Double Kick Drum]

This should be do-able. I have seen it through an observing buddies 4" frac. Not easy but deffinitily there.

This was from a sight in Surrey with VLM of around 5.

Keep at it your 5" should show it.

Regards Steve

Reassuring, the best nights in my back garden are approaching 5.5 VLM.

Thanks for the tip.

[Tinker1947]

Handy to take a image of such things if you not sure, but you do need a DSLR 30 second exposure would work, then check the stars against what you see in Stellarium.

[acey]

I've seen M76 with an 80mm refractor and UHC filter from my light-polluted back garden (limiting magnitude 4.5) so it should certainly be do-able with binoculars in a reasonably dark sky, and it sounds like you saw it - well done.