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Crab nebular M1 Tau

Vince1963

By Vince1963
in The Astro Lounge

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John

John

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It should be easy on a dark night. I've seen it with my 4" refractor quite easily. It becomes a challenge if there is light pollution or moonlight in the sky though - it needs dark skies.

Don't expect the detail in the photos though but I guess you know that by now !

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Stu

Stu

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Assuming you mean 200mm then yes you should definitely be able to see it.

I've always struggled to see it, and think it needs nice dark skies to see. It's a bit of a mystery to me because some people say it is similar to M57 in that it is visible in small scopes under relatively light polluted skies. I've never found this to be the case; I've seen M57 in my 66mm refractor from my garden which has ok but not amazing skies, but I've never seen M1 except in my 106mm apo from a nice dark site. I assume this is to do with surface brightness as M1's light is spread over a larger area.

Definitely give it a go and I'm sure you'll get it as long as your skies are half decent.

Cheers

Stu

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gooseholla

gooseholla

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I've seen it in a 4.3 modified cassegrain from my light polluted front garden. The trick is to get to the right area, and then allow your eyes to get really dark adapted, it will start to appear as a small fuzzy patch. Area looks blank at first, but keep waiting!

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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M1 gave me a lot of trouble when I first started out in astronomy. It looks as though it'll be easy to find being so near a readily seen star, but no, for some reason it's a tough little critter, and took me quite a few sessions and several hours to find. I first viewed it with a 4.5" newt, so your 8" will show it easily. Once you've found it you'll probably find like me, you can't miss it. Strange how this happens, you spend ages looking for an object and when you find it suddenly it's simple to find, every time after.

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Vince1963

Vince1963

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Once you've found it you'll probably find like me, you can't miss it. Strange how this happens, you spend ages looking for an object and when you find it suddenly it's simple to find, every time after.

Yes Steve, I know what you mean. I find i can find M31 M35 M36 and M38 quite easily now (some need good conditions). Its good a good feeling to see them for the first time :icon_salut:

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John

John

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Yes Steve, I know what you mean. I find i can find M31 M35 M36 and M38 quite easily now (some need good conditions). Its good a good feeling to see them for the first time :icon_salut:

See if you can find M32 (a small fuzzy but bright spot) just to one side of M31 and also M110 which is a small fainter, diffuse oval on the opposite side of M31 to M32 but much fainter than the latter. These 3 should all be visible in the same field of view in a low power eyepiece (eg: 32mm) on a dark night.

M110 is good practice for M1 as, even though one is a galaxy and the other (M1) a supernova remnant, they are they a similar appearance and brightness.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I have seen it from relatively light polluted skies with 15x70s. I agree it's an object similar in general appearance to M110. for me, M110 is more obvious at dark sites than M32 with the reverse being true at LP sites. M110 is bigger and more diffuse and M32 is more compact and bright.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I was fortunate to see M1 from Kelling last night through my friend's 14" dob. I must say it was amazing

But trying later that night through my 200P it eluded me.

with my 16" dob and UHC filter I could see the knotty structure at the centre of the Crab from a dark site.

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estwing

estwing

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I have seen it from relatively light polluted skies with 15x70s. I agree it's an object similar in general appearance to M110. for me, M110 is more obvious at dark sites than M32 with the reverse being true at LP sites. M110 is bigger and more diffuse and M32 is more compact and bright.

..snap shane' I did this last night!
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JamesF

JamesF

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M1 was one of the first objects I ever found, using my ST80. It was a bit, err, underwhelming :) The Auriga clusters that I found at around the same time with the same scope were more impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing them for the first time this winter with the 10" dob. I think I might find things the other way about this time...

James

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Floating...

Floating...

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I managed to find M1 with my 150pl from my back garden (not particularly dark) second time I looked for it. I was quite chuffed as I'd read it's not an easy one. Looked like a finger print smudge on a laptop screen. Very faint so getting your eyes adjusted to the dark is essential.

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Stu

Stu

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I will give it another go from my garden when it gets better placed. The skies here are definitely better after midnight now the new street lights dim after midnight. Glimpsed the MW the other night, a first for me from home, a good sign :D

Stu

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John

John

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great comments guy's with useful input... Moonshane, I don't have a UHC filter wold a polarize filter help with viewing?. thanks :icon_salut:

The filters that would help bring out the contrast in M1 are UHC or O-III types. A polarizer won't help with this I'm afraid.

To be honest you should be able to find M1 without a filter on a dark night.

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