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The Hunt for the Messiers

Naemeth

By Naemeth
in Observing - Deep Sky

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Okay, so I was wondering how I actually will go about hunting for the Messiers, earlier this year I got M45 in with my Binos, but when I tried (and tried) for 30 minutes today couldn't see M13 at all.. I was using the standard 25mm that comes with my scope (Skywatcher Heritage 130P) but couldn't find it.

Quick comparison with Stellarium with my LP levels, and I'm at a 6, so I'm mainly looking for some tips, and maybe some easy targets for me to pick up, should I be using the 10mm? Or perhaps, would a LP filter be good?

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JamesF

JamesF

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Most Messier objects should be visible using the 25mm ep, though some will be very faint. M13 should be pretty obvious. The way I do it is to start from a star I can find easily in the finder. Use stellarium to find a route to the object hopping from star to star and try to recognise patterns of stars along the way. Then follow that path with the telescope.

Most Messier objects will appear very faint and are easy to miss, especially if you don't know what you are looking for. The ones that can be picked out easily by eye are the exception rather than the rule.

James

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umadog

umadog

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I think a star chart and a dim red light will help you more than a laptop. M13 is pretty obvious. If you couldn't see it then you were probably looking in the wrong place. Use low power eyepiece. Make sure your finder and main scope are aligned. Even with heavy light pollution it should be visible. The ring nebula is another which punches through LP: even on a night with a full moon you can see it.

Don't worry about a LP filter for now. It will only help on emission nebulae, which are only a small subset of the Messier objects. Most are stellar galaxies, open clusters, and globular clusters.

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rory

rory

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s&t pocket atlas is pretty handy. print out some stellarium pics of the starfield around or near the object your after, and be prepared to spend an age trying sometimes to find an object, where as others seem to just..well be there.

good hunting

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Had another go with any Messier I could find, sadly I couldn't, took my laptop out (I know I shouldn't have), but the skies probably weren't dark enough. I think I got close, just not there yet :(.

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wyx

wyx

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I might be stating the obvious but im new to all this and solved my problem with finding messiers , I totally forgot the view in the scope is flipped and reversed! I found my brain was getting confused. I was pointing where i thought an object was then nudging my scope in totally the wrong direction, couldn't find a thing! i only realised when i installed the occular plug in for stellarium which shows the flipped view, bit of a eureka moment for me. Not saying this is your problem but hey i can't be the only one to make this fundamental mistake :(

Sent from my GT-I8150 using Tapatalk 2

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Bagged my first Messier with my Telescope, bagged the M3. Looked like a smudge on the telescope, and magnifying it did nothing really, just made the smudge bigger. I'm pretty sure this is it! It was in the right place on Stellarium.

Thanks for all the help guys :(. Now to try and get M13...

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stevetynant

stevetynant

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have a go at M81 and M82 - you should be able to get them both in the same FOV with your 25mm eyepiece - their nearly vertically up as well so no problem with trees or neighbours houses.

just thinking how lucky we are with so few Messiers on our lists - all to play for in the coming months / years lol

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umadog

umadog

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I think you will know if you've found M13: it's fairly big. It's more prominent than M3 and it should be easier to find, also. First locate the "keystone" in Hercules. Then identify eta and zeta Herculis (the two stars on the west side of the keystone, the Greek letters are listed in Stellarium). Make an imaginary line from eta to zeta. Point your finder one third of the distance along that line (i.e. closer to eta). M13 should now be in your low power eyepiece field of view. If it isn't, scan around the area for a few seconds (only moving the scope a small amount). If you still can't find it, repeat the process with the finder. If it still isn't working, check the alignment of the finder scope by confirming you can easily locate a known object (e.g. planet or bright star).

What will help you a lot is a visit to your local astro club. You'll immediately get a look a range of objects in a range of different scopes and will get a good feeling for what you should be looking for.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Mr Q

Mr Q

Posted
Posted

Okay, so I was wondering how I actually will go about hunting for the Messiers, earlier this year I got M45 in with my Binos, but when I tried (and tried) for 30 minutes today couldn't see M13 at all.. I was using the standard 25mm that comes with my scope (Skywatcher Heritage 130P) but couldn't find it.

Quick comparison with Stellarium with my LP levels, and I'm at a 6, so I'm mainly looking for some tips, and maybe some easy targets for me to pick up, should I be using the 10mm? Or perhaps, would a LP filter be good?

This seasonal list may help you:

http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/messier/messlist.html

And this one to help locate each one:

http://www.starastronomy.org/sites/default/files/Messier.pdf

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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My Messier finding increased 100 fold with the use of a Telrad and some Telrad maps (there free just google) put the map in a large freezer bag and away you go.....it does need a bit of practice firstly where to aim, and then seeing the little grey fuzzy they will get easier with practice.....

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Messier troubles? Stick a Telrad on and print out the Telrad charts.I stuck a spare base onto my 130 Heritage; ace.

Better still get a fine GOTO.

Nick.

I was thinking a Telrad would be a help, does it fit between the standard focuser and the original red-dot finder shoe?

I've found out that my scope may be out of collimation, but slightly, knowing this, would collimation or a Telrad be a higher priority?

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  • 2 weeks later...
JamesF

JamesF

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Well done. It does get much easier to spot them as you get more practised. Now perhaps is not the easiest time to be doing it either, given that the sky is never properly dark here in the UK. You may find it much easier once we do.

James

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Well done. It does get much easier to spot them as you get more practised. Now perhaps is not the easiest time to be doing it either, given that the sky is never properly dark here in the UK. You may find it much easier once we do.

James

The skies seemed a bit darker than the solstice, even though we are only slightly past it... it certainly was great going stargazing, skies were amazingly clear!

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