Messier & DSO help

[SteveWxm]

Been outside tonight with our Skywatcher 900 classic looking at the moon, saturn and venus. Thought we'd try and find M5 and a few other clusters but how on earth do you find them? We found them with the binoculars but trying to find them with the telescope was near impossible. We're new to all this so this may be a ridiculous question!

[brantuk]

The 900 has a small aperture (70mm) but a useful focal ratio of f-13 for viewing planets. Dso's are faint and better viewed with larger apertures (eg 8") and faster ratios like f-6 and below. Also a dark site is the preferred option. Last night the moon was full and a lot of dso's get washed out in the brightness - so all was against you.

The good news is, it's still possible to view dso's with your scope. Find as dark an observing site as possible, use a low power eyepiece (I believe you have a 25mm). Ensure the finder is accurately aligned with the tube - do this in daylight using the 10mm eyepiece for better accuracy (it needs to be spot on central) - and use the constellation main stars near your object from which to do a star hop to the target. Make sure you get tight focus on a brighter star first. And it's easier if your eyes are properly dark adapted first - give them 20 mins for your pupils to dilate. Some dso's are better viewd with averted vision (just look to the side of the object to maximise faint light fall on your rods).

The brighter dso's like M42, M45, M31, etc, will give good practise before chasing down the more difficult ones

[richbyers]

yeah as brant says its a bad combo of bright moonlight and the small aperture of your scope that will have stoppe you

when you do find yourself with dark skies - download stellarium which shows you location and the corresponding sky in real time - its free - then you can search the ds0 s out

also take out a sky atlas

its best to use the star hopping technique- ie going from visibe star to star to land you in the right location

rich

[rory]

as above sums it up . id add a pocket sky atlas too.

[SteveWxm]

Thanks for the advice. Downloaded Stellarium and it's been a great help. We got a bit frustrated last night but i think the fact we couldn't feel our feet or fingers didn't help things

[Tinker1947]

And if your scope will take one a Telrad with the Telrad maps will make this so much easier...

[Si Rollett]

I take the skywatcher 900 classic is the same reason spec as mine? So this would go for me to.

[SteveWxm]

I take the skywatcher 900 classic is the same reason spec as mine? So this would go for me to.

Yeh i think they've changed the name slightly since we bought the scope last year.

[Tribal-Wolf]

I take the skywatcher 900 classic is the same reason spec as mine? So this would go for me to.

The mount is different I think as the 900 classic is on an EQ mount and yours is on an AZ type mount.

[Si Rollett]

But the scope is more or less the same?

[John]

But the scope is more or less the same?

There is quite a difference in light gathering power between a 70mm scope and a 90mm one.

[Si Rollett]

Thinking i should have spent more money and got a bigger scope.

[Si Rollett]

Sorry wrote that before reading all the message as i am on my phone. So didn't see it was a 90mm

[John]

Thinking i should have spent more money and got a bigger scope.

Like all of us, you get what you can now and then, hopefully, upgrade in the future as and when you can

70mm is much better than 0mm

[Si Rollett]

Like all of us, you get what you can now and then, hopefully, upgrade in the future as and when you can

70mm is much better than 0mm

That's true is it worth getting a barlow for it?

[tinyian]

A great book for finding some nice DSO's that I had recommended to me is 'Turn left at Orion'. It gives you star hopping directions to objects and shows you an image of how they will appear in your EP. I've found it to be brilliant for confirming I have found the object I'm looking for.

[Si Rollett]

That's so what i need to confirm i am looking at the right thing