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First look at Andromeda, wow

lestergibson

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lestergibson

lestergibson

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After flaffing around a bit, I finally zeroed in and man, what cool thing to see, just brilliant. An easy target, I know now, but this was the first time I managed find something... so happy days. Better with the 25mm than with the 10mm, I thought, the 25mm letting me see more light. I was maybe a bit harsh on the SL200p's finderscope. The telrad suffered from dew but I managed to get it with the finder scope pretty much first time. I'll be getting a dew shield for the telrad for sure.

I've been trying to figure out what EP to get next, too. Any suggestions would be welcomed! The 25mm is good enough but I just don't think the 10mm cuts it for me. I bought myself a TAL Barlow x2, which complicates things a little and now I'm going around in circles, trying to choose between a replacement 9/10mm, a 7mm or something more mid range like an 18mm. I plan to go slow on the EP's and I want to buy wisely so I hope something from the X-Cel LX is a good call.

Cheers, I'm going to for Alberio next and i can't wait:)

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Capricorn

Capricorn

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The 25 will have been better as the image is smaller so brighter on the eye and you will have seen more of Andromeda - would still guess that you didn't actually see all of it in one go.

What is an SL200P ?

For eyepieces, 2 at the smaller endm one medium and one wide.

To me that means 7mm or 8mm, a 12mm and then 18mm and a 32mm.

Celestron X-Cels are good the other being the BST's.

Celestrons generally get reported as a little better, but not by a lot. Many cannot tell any real difference. Prices in the UK are £69(X-Cel) and £47(BST), Just eniough to make many think is the extra £22 worth it. :D :D :D

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jonathan

jonathan

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It's a great target that I keep coming back to, almost as if I must look at it at least once every time I go out. That, the Pleiades, and the Great Nebula in Orion (when it's up) are regular targets for me. Jupiter and Saturn when they are up, too. It's always worth a look as some nights will be better than others for these objects.

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matsey

matsey

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Saw it for the first time tonight but it was kind of dim and blurred. Is that mainly down to light pollution? Lots of moisture in the air too whichprobably doesn't help. I managed to get a few snaps of it with my SLR so I'll upload those soon.

Most likely light pollution, yes, that's pretty much how I see it from Stevenage. Just wait though til you catch a view from a proper dark sky site - I did that at Kelling this year and it was so bright, so much visible detail and it took up the whole width of my low power/wide angle eyepiece. Just incredible.

Matsey :)

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Astro Imp

Astro Imp

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Well done, always good to find what you're looking for.

As has been said use low power on this it's so big that you won't get it all in anyway.

I looked at this Friday evening and it was not a very good view, I have seen it much brighter from my garden, I think there was a lot of high thin cloud about.

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lestergibson

lestergibson

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Here is my amateourish attempt at imaging it with my DSL. I was tracking it by hand turning the Dec. knob while looking through the eyepiece, lol.

Martian, that's near enough exactly what I saw with the 25mm!!!!

What is an SL200P ?

For eyepieces, 2 at the smaller endm one medium and one wide.

To me that means 7mm or 8mm, a 12mm and then 18mm and a 32mm.

Celestron X-Cels are good the other being the BST's.

Celestrons generally get reported as a little better, but not by a lot. Many cannot tell any real difference. Prices in the UK are £69(X-Cel) and £47(BST), Just eniough to make many think is the extra £22 worth it. :D :D :D

Sorry Capricorn, Skyliner 200p; thats what I get for trying to save keystrokes:) Cheers for the EP suggestions, mate, taken on board!

Grab a 15mm Skywatcher Panorama, with 82 degrees fov, Andromeda will blow your socks off!

Neat,

Nick.

Another one for the list, thanks Nick, any ideas that up the 'wow' factor are well welcomed!

Well done, always good to find what you're looking for.

As has been said use low power on this it's so big that you won't get it all in anyway.

I looked at this Friday evening and it was not a very good view, I have seen it much brighter from my garden, I think there was a lot of high thin cloud about.

Thanks Imp, it DID feel good. It was a real 'punch the air' moment when I got it; man, it felt good, especially after all the flaffling about beforehand:) I can see myself really getting into this old observing business!!!!

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lestergibson

lestergibson

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It's a great target that I keep coming back to, almost as if I must look at it at least once every time I go out. That, the Pleiades, and the Great Nebula in Orion (when it's up) are regular targets for me. Jupiter and Saturn when they are up, too. It's always worth a look as some nights will be better than others for these objects.

I love Pleiades through my 15x70 bins but I haven't tried it with the scope yet. I will the next time out though. Also waiting for Orion to come up to give it a good pasting but Saturn is top of the list.

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Double Kick Drum

Double Kick Drum

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Pleiades and m42 no problem. why on earth cant i spot andromeda or the crab. :-(

Andromeda can get washed out in bad light pollution but in most skies shouldn't be too difficult, once found. The Crab nebula needs a reasonably dark sky to be seen. Despite it being quoted at magnitude 8, it has a low surface brightness and is more elusive. It wasn't even in my first 30 Messier objects, never mind my first three or four.

ps. Astromartian.... nice work on the hand guided photo. Your manual tracking skills are strong! :smiley:

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pajr777

pajr777

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Pleiades and m42 no problem. why on earth cant i spot andromeda or the crab. :-(

Hi Simon,

This is how I find Andromeda - start at Cassiopeia, then locate the Great Square, and follow the bright stars as indicated. Andomeda is just up and to the right of the last star in the trail, as indicated by the red circle. Use your lowest power eye piece, you should find it without too much hunting - good luck!

post-21894-0-84527200-1350295822_thumb.p

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astromartian

astromartian

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Andromeda can get washed out in bad light pollution but in most skies shouldn't be too difficult, once found. The Crab nebula needs a reasonably dark sky to be seen. Despite it being quoted at magnitude 8, it has a low surface brightness and is more elusive. It wasn't even in my first 30 Messier objects, never mind my first three or four.

ps. Astromartian.... nice work on the hand guided photo. Your manual tracking skills are strong! :smiley:

Thanks, nice to hear I'm doing something right. Great being able to get shots of stuff now, even though they are fairly fuzzy. Setting ISO to 800 and higher really helps.

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Lorne

Lorne

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Grab a 15mm Skywatcher Panorama, with 82 degrees fov, Andromeda will blow your socks off!

Neat,

Nick.

Nick,

Do you have these SW Panorama eyepieces? I've never seen any reviews of these and I was wondering how they compare to the 82 degree Nirvana / WO UWAN's in performance.

Cheers, L

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simon

simon

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Hi Simon,

This is how I find Andromeda - start at Cassiopeia, then locate the Great Square, and follow the bright stars as indicated. Andomeda is just up and to the right of the last star in the trail, as indicated by the red circle. Use your lowest power eye piece, you should find it without too much hunting - good luck!

post-21894-0-84527200-1350295822_thumb.p

found it straght away last night. thanks :-)

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