Disappointing session!

[Tom2012]

Booooo! Just spent about an hour outside. Majority of it was spent consulting Turn left at Orion trying to find either the ring, or the dumbbell nebula. No luck whatsoever! None at all! I couldn't make my mind up if the star I was looking at was at Vega! Haha what a nightmare.

Had a quick peek at the double in Ursa Major' "handle" another look at Andromeda and that was it! Cloud cam over, packed away and that says my night! Haha hope you had better luck than me!

Thanks.

Tom.

[Moonshane]

sounds like an average night

try to make sure your scope finder is lined up properly as this makes a massive difference. Jupiter is a good option (as is the moon) as they are unmistakable. the ring and the dumbbell are easy to find if your finder is aligned correctly. you'll get there.

[Double Kick Drum]

What were you using to find the Ring?

It shouldn't be too difficult to locate but it will look quite stellar unless you magnify it a little.

The Dumbbell is a little more difficult to find. I usually start from Sagitta.

Happy hunting!

[WaveSoarer]

I've just looked at my copy of Turn Left at Orion and I can see why you're having issues finding the ring nebula. I find stellarium very handy as it more clearly shows the constellation of Lyra (some of the stars are missing in TLaO and it's no wonder that you're having problems). The ring nebula is quite easy to find once you've located Vega and the other stars that make up Lyra. Place the cross-hair on your finder between Sulafat and Sheliak (half way will probably do if you're using a low power eyepiece in your main scope) and the ring nebula should be in the field of view. It's small but very bright and unmistakeable. The dumbbell nebula is larger but fainter. This is trickier to find and again TLaO (having a look now) isn't all that helpful. I usually try to find the arrow and then star hop along a faint trail of stars to the dumbbell. I found that stellarium was invaluable. It certainly does get easier to find things with practice and familiarity with your telescope. Having decent planetarium software really does help. Stellarium is pretty good but it doesn't have everything. It's very good for the planets (and their moons) also.

[rory]

yeah, stick at it tom, once you've found an object more often than not they become alot easier to revisit.

[The Sailor]

We all have a bad night, had one myself last night, align went well but could not even get onto Jupiter, now that is bad

Jim

[Tom2012]

Thanks for all your replies!

My viewfinder is (at the minute) set up so the object that appears in the main scope at centre, is slightly below the crosshair of the viewfinder.

I'm using a 200p with just the standard 10mm and 25mm EPs. I have a 2x Barlow but not really a fan of using it for DSO's atm. Doesn't really make a difference with andromeda!

Just been having a think about it and I've put it down to LP too! It wasn't brilliant out there tonight. I've seen better! Haha excuses excuses!

I'm going to keep in trying (whenever the next proper clear night is?) and have a good look at stellarium too!

Thanks again for all your replies! They really are appreciated.

Tom.

[bish]

When I first tried to see M57 I missed it as it was much smaller than I imagined. It's one of the few nebula that isn't affected too badly by lp. It's half way between 2 stars, and once you have you've found it once you can guess quite well and start with a fairly high mag so you can't miss it. Keep going, it gets easier!

[rory]

bish is right m57 (amongst others) can easily be overlooked until youve actually viewed it,then you'll get your eye in. have you seen m42 the orion nebula yet ? if not then your going to like that.

with m57 once youve identified the two stars being sheliak and sulafat ,its just a case of slowly scanning between the two and it will appear.

[WaveSoarer]

Tom,

I have pretty much the same setup, although I've added a few bits and bobs along the way. I've really enjoyed using my scope and half the fun, for me at least, is finding new objects and learning my way around the sky. As Rory has mentioned, once you've found an object it's an awful lot easier to find again and as you become more practiced, and more familiar with your telescope, you'll find new objects easier to find. There are different types of finder scope that can make things easier, and a few options are mentioned in other threads, but I'm quite used to the as-supplied finder now and I quite often just use it hand-held to do some surveying, and star hop planning, before I attach it back on the main telescope. Have fun.

Dave

[Matt Scunthorpe]

I'm quite used to the as-supplied finder now and I quite often just use it hand-held to do some surveying, and star hop planning, before I attach it back on the main telescope.

I like that idea, never thought about it. The main problem i have with the finderscope is figuring out where you are looking, and in which direction you are going, as its all back to front, upside down and inside out . I tend to look over the telescope as i start to move it so i can physically see which way i am turning.

Keep at it Tom, the ring nebula (M57) is one of my favorite things to view. When your first looking for it, as said it is between the bottom 2 stars in the parallelogram next to Vega, it looks like a out of focus to star to begin with, and will be small until you punch up the mag.

[WaveSoarer]

Matt,

I also look along the scope to get me close to where I want to be. I find that the latches for the rings (or the hinges) give a useful line-of-sight reference. Yes, I still get in a muddle with things being upside down.

all the best

Dave

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Ive got a Telrad on the way so that should make it a lot easier to add to my Messier count

[WaveSoarer]

A telrad would probably take some of the doubt and frustration out of the game. Maybe something to put on my wish list.

[Astro Imp]

+1 for Telrad, a great bit of kit.

You can put the Telrad rings onto Stellarium to help and there are also lots of free charts available on the web with the rings printed.

Good luck and clear skies.

[rory]

A telrad would probably take some of the doubt and frustration out of the game. Maybe something to put on my wish list.

agreed. telrads make great christmas gifts

[Tom2012]

A release definitely sounds like the way forward! I'm going to have a look on FLO see what's going on!

Thanks again for all the help!

Tom.

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

My last two observing sessions have been pretty much pants.It actually started to SNOW,the first night.Last time,I spent sometime positioning my new Telrad,and attempting to try out a TMB p2 6mm eyepiece and a Baader UHC filter.The dew level was intolerable(despite a DIY telrad dewshield),then the almost full Moon rose,drowning out most things that I wanted to see.I knew that it wasn't going to be the best of nights-but at least it wasn't cloudy,raining or SNOWING!