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First Messier!


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After three nights searchling I finally found the Ring (M57) :smiley:. I'd almost given up when I saw a round smudge at the edge of the field, centred up on it, and there it was. Just to be sure I swung around then found it again. I was so chuffed :smiley:

I then went on with renewed confidence and found Alcor-Mizar and Albireo doubles. It may not seem much, but it's a big deal for me!

Jason

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Yep, congratulations! It's a great feeling isn't it?

I was trying to image M57 last night after numerous nights of cloud, but was thoroughly beaten! :BangHead: I got it perfectly in the eyepiece, but when I swapped to the webcam I just couldn't find it/get it focused on the screen. :icon_mad:

As mentioned above, try M27 the Dumbell nebula and M13 the Great globular cluster in Hercules too. They should both be reasonably near to the zenith at the moment, so they will have less atmosphere between you and them and therefore a better chance of getting a clearer view.

It's nice when a session goes well isn't it? :laugh:

Bryan

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I saw the ring for the first time last night - helpfully guided there by the Deep Sky Tour in August's Sky at Night. I was pretty amazed how clear it was through my 25mm eyepiece! The seeing wasn't very good so when I tried using the 10mm eyepiece everything became a blur. Hopefully I'll get a better night to try and see the star in the centre.

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The Ring nebula is a blinder. Congratulations.

There's plenty more to go for at the moment. M27 is the most obvious if planetary nebulae are your thing.

Other nice things to try are;

M39, bright open cluster in Cygnus

M13 and M92, two bright globular clusters in Hercules.

M31 and M32, two galaxies (possibly three including the dimmer M110) in the same field of view in Andromeda, now rising quite quickly.

Happy hunting!

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After three nights searchling I finally found the Ring (M57) :smiley:. I'd almost given up when I saw a round smudge at the edge of the field, centred up on it, and there it was. Just to be sure I swung around then found it again. I was so chuffed :smiley:

I then went on with renewed confidence and found Alcor-Mizar and Albireo doubles. It may not seem much, but it's a big deal for me!

Jason

I remember that feeling (it wasn't that long ago!)

Def try M13 in Hercules - easy to find and great to look at.

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Well done M57 is a great find. M13 is quite an easy one when you know where it is too, also M92 close by. If you are out in the early hours you could find M45 and M42 other easier Messier's to cross off your list. Albireo is a very satisfying double to find, well done and hope you find many more soon.

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Thanks for replies and advice. I will certainly be hunting down some more. It takes a bit of getting used to "back to front and upside down images" (I haven't got a good sense of direction at the best of times :shocked: ).

It's very satisfying having spent the last few months stripping down, cleaning mirrors, collimating etc and then finding it actually works! It's difficult to explain the buzz you get when you hit the spot after a long search but I can't wait to get out again and find some more.

Jason

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The Ring is a hard object to find for the first time, then it's easy. As my avatar shows, it's one of my favorite objects. Too bad we couldn't see it like the Hubble (avatar) but it's still a nice object in any size scope above 4".

Sorry guys but the central star needs at least a 16" to detect it under excellent conditions since it's at about 15th mag.

The best views of M57 in moderate sized scopes (8-12") show a hint of blue-green color mixed in with the normal gray. The younger your eyes, the better chances of seeing any color.

And I agree, the next target should be the Dumbell (M27) to boost your locating skills.

Good job in finding the Ring Jason - now it's time to move on to more challenging objects for more chuffing sessions :grin:

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