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Observing DSO's with a full moon.

Ganymede12

By Ganymede12
in Observing - Discussion

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Hex

Hex

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Posted

I just saw M13 tonight and M31, rubbish I just came in after splitting a few doubles. I wouldn't bother if I was you, even the double cluster was washed out. Jupiter and Venus however were very good at 5 am this morning.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

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jimmyjamjoejoe

jimmyjamjoejoe

Posted
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Tonight is possibly the worst night for it. The full moon is washing out DSOs, and strangely, a full moon is pretty boring to look at.

I wouldn't bother, you'l only walk away wondering if you've made a mistake, if the scope isnt as good as you thought etc. Buuuuut we both know you'l be out there, so just stick to the moon and have a good time. :)

But trust me, after a few truly dark sessions, you'l never go out under a full moon again

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John

John

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Even those that can be glimpsed will look far from their best. I don't bother viewing DSO's when there is a bright moon anywhere in the sky as the view is just so much better with a dark sky :smiley:

Binary stars and any planets that are around (eg: Jupiter later) are still worth observing.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Planets won't be effected by the Moon, everything else will just be washed out. Don't bother with observing, unless you want to see Venus and Jupiter, the lack of the terminator on the Moon (line between illuminated surface and un-illuminated surface) means that detail is much more difficult to see because you just lose so much contrast. Observing with a full Moon there is like observing in the middle of a city, plus the Moon will wipe out your night vision if you move across the garden!

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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If it's visible, I'd be happy. I could tick it off my list and be even more thrilled by it when I see it without the moon!

I'll stay away from objects I've already seen though to avoid disappointment.

Skies will probably be around the brightness they are in Summer at new Moon (not Astro Dark), but if you want to just have a go anyway. See how you get on with the brighter DSO's, and see how many of the guide stars you can see for the DSO's you are searching for.

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RikM

RikM

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Have a go at splitting the double double in Lyra. Or look for some asterisms. I saw the polaris diamond ring asterism for the first time tonight with 14mm and TV Pronto. If you have a 32mm you might fit it all in the view. NGC457 in Cas is also a fun one. It looks like an owl (or ET) with two bright eyes and outstretched wings (or arms).

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Lorne

Lorne

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One of my worst sessions last winter was during the full moon, my local dark site is a reservoir in a natural bowl in the Pentland Hills, the full moon coupled with a dusting of snow made it as bright as daylight, impossible to see anything............. except the moon!! I could read my sky charts without a red torch it was sooooo bright.

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tich

tich

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I was thinking of setting my scope up tonight but decided not to as I wanted to try & get PHD to work with my guidecam, which it doesn't for some reason :mad: Still I'm glad I never set up now as the moon is totally washing out the sky.

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JamesF

JamesF

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It's casting incredibly strong shadows here. I'm about to go out and do some imaging because I want a full moon picture, but I'm not sure what else I might look for. I saw some nice images someone had done recently of doubles with different colours, but that requires planning that I haven't done.

James

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Stu

Stu

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I put my SX250 out to give it a try but other than the moon, nothing much is looking any good. Double cluster looking very washed out, M57 didn't look too bad with a filter. The Owl cluster looked ok too.

Was mainly just checking the scope out as I haven't used it much. Images were quite nice, but needs collimation quite badly. Never really done a Newt before so need to learn. Bob's knobs needed I think :D

Stu

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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Have a go at splitting the double double in Lyra. Or look for some asterisms. I saw the polaris diamond ring asterism for the first time tonight with 14mm and TV Pronto. If you have a 32mm you might fit it all in the view. NGC457 in Cas is also a fun one. It looks like an owl (or ET) with two bright eyes and outstretched wings (or arms).

never even heard of that Rik. will be looking next time out.

I agree with others that when it's full moon, just look at moon, planets and doubles.

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DaveT

DaveT

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What res do you use Lorne? I know pretty much all of them as i do a lot of Scottish Water work.

Cheers

Dave

One of my worst sessions last winter was during the full moon, my local dark site is a reservoir in a natural bowl in the Pentland Hills, the full moon coupled with a dusting of snow made it as bright as daylight, impossible to see anything............. except the moon!! I could read my sky charts without a red torch it was sooooo bright.

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acey

acey

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Posted

What DSO's are visible through an 8" dob wit a full moon over head?

Like asking which ones are visible in twilight or fog or with a set of car headlights shining at you. Answer: few if any, and not really worth the effort except perhaps as a way of seeing what's possible. You certainly won't get a decent view.

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