Galaxies...still no luck.

[SwampStar]

What am I doing wrong???

You're all talking about the 14,239 galaxies you can see and I can't find any!

A couple of questions.

Should I be able to see them through 10x50 binoculars?

If so, what am I looking for?

Through a scope with a 25mm ep, how big should a galaxy be compared to say Saturn? (Which was stunning tonight, by the way!)

I think I shall cry when I see one...

[Bart]

swampstar,

Ok, don't fret. Try to locate M81/82, they are amongst the 'easiest' to spot. Download and use stellarium or a sky atlas to find it., in binocs they will only appear as faint studies. Initially, its hard to find your first galaxy , thereafter its easier.

In your scope, use your lowest mag eyepiece and hunt them until you get them, you can't miss them in the scope. They appear as larger studies/streaks. Have patience. It will be worth it.,

Good luck

Bart

[rory]

yeah, bins wont be alot of use for galaxies on the whole. your be looking for faint grey cloud like or mist like objects. not very big if you only see the core.

bart's suggestion is best, download stellarium( but dont take the galaxy pics as what you'll see) just location . and m81 ,82 are the brightest ive seen personally with a small scope,but NOWHERE near the brightness of saturn.

think grey faint smears/smudges . good luck.

[Stu]

Also depends what your skies are like? Are you trying from a dark site? This makes a big difference to what you can see and its one of the benefits of binos in that it is easy to get out to some good skies.

As suggested, M81/82 are a good starting point. I posted elsewhere about seeing a few Galaxies through 15x50is binos from the New Forest this week.

Good luck

Stu

[cotterless45]

Aperture is King;Just a few on view last night,most can be found at x30. This was with a 10" Lightbridge in a polluted urban area. I found a light pollution filter gave contrast.

I found lots of the brighter ones with a Heritage 130p. You need really clear seeing conditions, a Telrad and charts and patience.Go for the brighter ones.

Leo triplet; bright

Leo; M96,97, NGC2903,very bright with dust lanes.

Coma Bernices; 3 defining stars could be seen with Melotte 111,Blackeye galaxy was clear with central patches.NGC4565 was bright and worth finding. I use "Sky and Telescope Pocket Star Atlas" and Telrad charts.

Virgo; between Vindemiatrix and Denebola was a mass of galaxies, the brightest being the M100 spiral,M49,61,85,88,86,84, M60 being the easiest.All the the defining stars of Virgo could be seen aswell as the shape of Corvus and Centaurus to the South of this.

Canes Venatici; this is the location of the North Galactic pole.M94 by Chara was bright, then up to Ursa Major and a mass of galaxies, there's around 50 in this region.M63;Sunflower galaxy being the nicest.Then onto the Whirlpool M51 and M101.

These were found at x30, you don't need big mag to locate. Most I find at x60, then x100 for detail.M97, the Owl was clear as I'd ever seen, with a hint of M108.Vega along with Cygnus was just rising to the North when high cloud rolled in.

Earlier, I'd put out some bait of beer and crisps to attract the rarely nocturnal Greater LeeB. Earlier, I'd heard his mating cry of "I'll be up later". No show though.

It was a cracking night marred only when a transport plane from EM airport flew across my field of view, bright or bright. Why do they need headlights at that height, there's no signs or traffic ?

clear skies and clearer beer , Old Nick.

[SwampStar]

Thanks.

I'm guessing the biggest problem might be the LP. Last night was very clear in terms of skies, but there is a very annoying street light close by. It must be worse than I think it is...

The sheer numbers of stars visible was incredible and I know I was in the right area (I had printed star maps and Stellarium on my phone) but not a sniff. There was so much in view that I just didn't know what to look for!

[cotterless45]

It against the light pollution laws to shed light onto your property,even from streetlights. You might wish to approach the council and get them to shield it from direct nuisance. In the meantime;

Try a light pollution filter. It'll darken the background. We are in the middle of 9 streetlights.Once my toilet tent is up and with a few bits of material on the washing line, direct glare has gone.It gets better;

My neighbour , who is a chainsmoking tv addict , comes out at the end of every programme and sets off his 100,000 W security light. I swear last night a plane changed direction to land in his garden.

I've tried thinking death ray thoughts and even zapping his light with my green laser, nice.

[SwampStar]

Thank you...

I didn't know that about the light pollution law. Interesting.

Good luck with your neighbour...

[Double Kick Drum]

Good luck with the galaxy hunting. Aperture helps but good skies are probably the most important requirement otherwise everything gets washed out.

Also, don't expect them to be large or bright. They tend to be grey smudges. Shape and bright cores can be seen with modest equipment. Anything more requires larger aperture.

Happy hunting!

[m_j_lyons]

Expectation management - seek some sketches of galaxies using apertures similar to your scope. That will give you an image from which to gauge your eyes. You've likely been overlooking some galaxies not knowing what you're actually seeing. "Smudge" or "smear" make a lot of sense once you've spotted a few...

Keep at it - they'll show up.

Happy hunting.

[Stargazer_00]

Imagine a black chalkboard. Make a small chalk dot and then rub it out with the bottom of your fist. What is left if pretty much what you're looking for

[Admiral Crispy]

Galaxies are hard work in any light polluted area. I live in the edge of Bristol, and with my 10 inch Dob I can barely find them. And that's with a lot of training my eye by sketching, and using averted vision. You are best starting off with ones that are highest up in the sky, particularly M81/M82, as they tend to suffer less from the skyglow near the horizon. But I have to be honest, patience is definitely needed, as starting out I could not see any at all, and with months of trying I am finally starting to see them more easily each time! Give yourself plenty of time, try and get to a dark site, and you will begin to find them!

[SwampStar]

Thanks all...

I will definitely keep trying!

[rory]

i find it hard going, and if truth be told,from my moderately lightpolluted sky and small refractor the rewards are small,as there is little if any detail unless youve dark sky. i tend to keep at them simply as a need to complete the messier list.

next chance i get (could be tonight if weather permits) im going to see how many of the virgo messiers i can bag,even if they are nothing more than grey smudges.

good hunting...

[nckjsmitj]

I found Andromeda and had to check it was the target... Then found the Orion Nebula and wow... What a great sight. But then looking back the Andromeda sighting.... It was so subtle in comparison that I was a bit confused about what this deep space stuff is really about.

The research I did indicated that averted vision is the way to appreciate these objects. Checkout the web for articles on how you do this, it will help you appreciate to view once you do locate them...

N.

[Double Kick Drum]

I found Andromeda and had to check it was the target... Then found the Orion Nebula and wow... What a great sight. But then looking back the Andromeda sighting.... It was so subtle in comparison that I was a bit confused about what this deep space stuff is really about.

The research I did indicated that averted vision is the way to appreciate these objects. Checkout the web for articles on how you do this, it will help you appreciate to view once you do locate them...

N.

Because the most light sensitive area of your eye is not in the centre of your pupil, the best way to see feint objects is not to look directly at them. By moving your eye around the field of view of your chosen eyepiece, you can sometimes tease out dimmer objects rather than just by looking directly at it.

Alternatively, you can slightly adjust the fine controls to make the field of vied change. This has much the same effect.

Hope that helps.

[Admiral Crispy]

Agreed, I sometimes move the object to furthe way from the centre of view and it does the same thing as averted vision.

[Dellis]

Sent you a PM

Dave

[SwampStar]

Received - Thanks!

[richbyers]

with the size of my scope, averted vision is usually the only way to go, apart from with the bright clusters, and maybe 81/82 on a real dark night

and thats from my isolated garden, so if i have to use averted vision with a 130mm im guessing most people will

[SwampStar]

Fair enough...I have the same scope.

[acey]

You're all talking about the 14,239 galaxies you can see and I can't find any!

Slight exaggeration. But with a 6" at a dark site you could certainly see a few hundred, and 12" will show a few thousand.

Should I be able to see them through 10x50 binoculars? If so, what am I looking for?

Yes, as long as your sky is dark enough. If you can see the Milky Way clearly with the naked eye then it's dark enough. If you can't see the Milky Way but can see all the main stars of Ursa Minor then you should still manage to see some galaxies. If you can't see all the stars of Ursa Minor then you might see one or two galaxies with binoculars - or maybe not. In all cases what you're looking for is a fuzzy patch of light. At a dark site you could potentially see all of the Messier galaxies with 10x50 binoculars. My first view of M104 (the Sombrero galaxy) was with 10x50s at a dark site, and I could clearly see its elongated shape. My first view of M33 was also with 10x50s: I was just sweeping the sky and came on a big, bright, eyecatching patch of light.

Through a scope with a 25mm ep, how big should a galaxy be compared to say Saturn? (Which was stunning tonight, by the way!)

Most of the galaxies you'd be likely to search for are considerably bigger in apparent size than Saturn (as seen through any instrument, including binos). A few (e.g. M31, M33, M101) are huge, which is partly what can make them difficult: at a light polluted site you're only likely to see the central nucleus of M31, and the other two might not be visible at all. At a dark site all three are binocular objects, and a telescope will show indications of spiral structure (if you know what to look for).

It all comes down to sky darkness, which counts for more than aperture. No telescope will show galaxies in daytime. A 4" at a dark site will give better views than a 16" at a light polluted one. Light pollution doesn't just mean the stuff that's shining directly into your garden, it is also (and in fact more importantly) the combined glow of reflected urban light from moisture in the atmosphere, turning the sky orange, reducing the contrast of faint objects and impairing the dark-adaptation of your eyes. The only way to escape that is to travel to somewhere darker.

Good luck with your galaxy hunting.

[SwampStar]

Tank you all...

It won't stop raining now!

[Jarvo]

Try and get hold of a copy of turn Left at Orion. This will help manage your expectations when you fivd your first Galaxy.

I find a good finder and a good star atlas to star hop is useful too.

Really looking forward to you finding your first one mate - its a fantastic feeling

Jarvo

[m_j_lyons]

Try and get hold of a copy of turn Left at Orion. This will help manage your expectations when you fivd your first Galaxy.

I find a good finder and a good star atlas to star hop is useful too.

Really looking forward to you finding your first one mate - its a fantastic feeling

Jarvo

Excellent suggestion Jarvo!