M51

[MrTreyLynch]

I am new to astronomy! Just bought a 10 inch dob with a built in computer to help me locate things! I was wondering if M51 is visible just simply looking through the scope!!!

[John]

M51 is visible with scopes from 3" and up. You need dark skies with as little light pollution or moonlight as possible. With a 10" scope it is potentially possible to see some spiral structure in the galaxy under really dark skies. In smaller scopes it resembles two misty patches of light with condensed centres.

It's not a large object so use a low powered eyepiece to find it then you can apply some more power - I find 80x pretty good with my 10" newtonian.

[MrTreyLynch]

Thanks for the help! I searched two nights ago but I assume the moon didn't help

[John]

Thanks for the help! I searched two nights ago but I assume the moon didn't help

Moonlight in the sky really hinders the view of deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae - even the really bright ones like M42 are washed right out.

As I had my 120mm refractor out viewing Mars, I've just had a quick peek at M51 and could only just make it out as two very faint spots of fuzzy light - very easy to overlook if you don't know exactly where to look.

[MrTreyLynch]

And there in lies the problem! I don't know what to look for lol but thanks a ton again! Atleast I know it's possible to see! I will attempt again when the sun goes down. Got a date with Mars myself

[John]

Ah - I've just noticed your location !

Hope you have a good night

The freeware software "Stellarium" is very good for finding out what is "up" at a particular time / location.

[Daniel-K]

i had m51 last night in my 8 inch and from a dark sky its just like looking at a picture stuck on the end of your scope. first galaxy i ever saw spiral arms in

[John]

i had m51 last night in my 8 inch and from a dark sky its just like looking at a picture stuck on the end of your scope. first galaxy i ever saw spiral arms in

Well done !

You must have very dark skies - it took a 12" scope and dark rural skies with no moon to show me spiral structure in M51.

Where do you observe from ?

[Daniel-K]

i can pick m51 up in my garden in liverpool as 2 gray fuzzy patch's with a glowing center and in grange over sands i could easily see spiral structure would love to see it through a bigger scope at a dark sky

[John]

i can pick m51 up in my garden in liverpool as 2 gray fuzzy patch's with a glowing center and in grange over sands i could easily see spiral structure would love to see it through a bigger scope at a dark sky

I had a look at M51 with a 20" dobsonian at a star party a couple of years ago. Simply amazing

I'm planning to take my 10" newtonian to the SGL7 star party this month so, if we get some clear skies, I'm hoping to pick up M51's spiral form then

[E621Keith]

I was using my C6 at Kelling Heath last year to view M51, usual fuzzy blob. I think I can make out the disk, but I don't think I could see the spiral arms. I also had a look through a giant 24" dob ... wow.

The best way to catch aperture fever is to look through a scope a lot bigger than the one you own. Not just spiral arms, even the Ha regions was visible. Fortunately I am too poor to afford a 12" dob or a place big enough to put it.

I hope the weather will be nice at SGL7, I want to see what my new and slightly bigger scope can do in a dark site.

Any news whether anyone will bring a giant dob?

[JonnyP]

I picked out M51 a few Saturdays ago. Not too difficult to find, using starhopping (It can't be that difficult, I'd been at a wedding all day so was slightly worse for wear!). From my near city centre backyard I could pick out two brighter blobs with maybe a hint of a spiral arm. I'll revisit it from a darker site soon.

[RikM]

I was using my C6 at Kelling Heath last year to view M51, usual fuzzy blob. I think I can make out the disk, but I don't think I could see the spiral arms. I also had a look through a giant 24" dob ... wow.

The best way to catch aperture fever is to look through a scope a lot bigger than the one you own. Not just spiral arms, even the Ha regions was visible. Fortunately I am too poor to afford a 12" dob or a place big enough to put it.

I hope the weather will be nice at SGL7, I want to see what my new and slightly bigger scope can do in a dark site.

Any news whether anyone will bring a giant dob?

I don't know if anyone is bringing a big Dob to SGL7. I'll have my 10" and I expect a couple of 12"s at least.

I can just about see the lane linking the cores with M51. Here is sketch I did showing the SN last year. This was a very good night for viewing. I don't normally get such good contrast.

[John]

Nice sketch Rik

I could see very nearly that much of M51 with my 6" scope at last years SGL star party. It's going to be fun seeing what our 10" scopes can do this year if we get some good viewing

[Daniel-K]

im currently in the process of making a 16inch dob hoping it will finished before autumn looking forward to using that and am planning a nice 10 inch homemade dob as my grab and go

[patomlin76]

I find the monthly sky map downloads from skymaps.com very useful, together with a list of viewable objects and what they are. Also it is suitable for small telescopes so everything listed is everything you are going to be able to see, providing the moon isn't out. I managed to locate M51 pretty easily the other night using this map.

Stellarium and other computer software is useful, but can be too detailed compared to what you view in the sky, plus it's a pain on your eyes having to refocus onto a backlit LCD screen...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I did once pick up the arm extending from the main galaxy down to the companion with a 6" Newtonian. That was from a dark location, on a crystal clear night, with M51 almost at zenith. The 8" gives more detail under similar conditions, showing up some spiral structure within the main galaxy. The only times I looked through a really big scope (16" RC and 20" Dob) were marred by moonlight. With galaxies, dark skies are even more important than aperture.