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Still no DSO :(

deckardbr

By deckardbr
in Observing - Discussion

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deckardbr

deckardbr

Posted
Posted

Hi everyone,

Another failed attempt :(

I can manage to get Jupiter and some double stars (essentially things I can see with my naked eye in London light polluted skies), but I completely fail to get a single DSO in my FOV.

The SkyAlign was successful, and in fact managed to find Jupiter alright, but when I directed it to Andromeda... nothing at all, not even a faint fuzzy.

I'll read the manual on the alignment again or try to find my way around "by hand". Maybe I'm getting the focus wrong... at this point it can be anything.

Or could it be that the sky is simply not dark enough? From where I live, there are street lights all over the place. I still thought I'd be able to spot something as bright as M31.

Anyway, if the clear skies hold tonight I'll head to the Hamstead heath observatory tonight, where hopefully someone will offer some hands on advice.

Man, I suck at this! But I'll keep trying.

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StuW

StuW

Posted
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M57 in Lyra is a very easy spot in light polluted skies. Just use a medium-low power and look half way between the two bottom bright stars. The other advantage of M57 is that you can't mistake it for a star!

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

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DirkSteele

DirkSteele

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Which EP did you use when attempting M31? The reason I ask is the Andromeda Galaxy is actually rather large at approximately 3 degrees across (6x the diameter of the full moon) and it is possible that you were not able to see enough sky around the object to see the contrast difference between the galaxy and the background? It would seem likely that your scope was pointing in the right direction given it found Jupiter.

Assuming the WO 40mm you list in your equipment is the SWAN 40mm EP, it has an apparent field of view of 72 degrees. In your scope, the magnification produced is 37.5x (1500mm focal length divided by 40mm focal length of the EP). The actual field the EP would show is approximately 1.9 degrees (72o / 37.5x). Under light polluted skies, the reality is only the brighter core is visible, but this should provide ample field of view to nicely frame the core with sky to spare.

You also mention focus could be an issue. Before slewing to M31, focus on a star as best you can.

As Carl mentioned above, M42 is particularly bright for DSO and should be easy even from light polluted skies so give that one a crack as well.

Clear skies,

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deckardbr

deckardbr

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Yes I used the 40mm SWAN.

The view in the eyepiece was completely black...that's the 'sad' part. So I'm assuming it just wasn't in the fov. Not an easy fit with 3 degrees object :) (self pat on the back).

I'll give it a shot with the objects you mentioned.

Another thing I'm struggling with is knowing what dso's to look for given a portion of the sky. Eg looking east. But that's just inexperience...

Thanks for the advice.

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deckardbr

deckardbr

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James, I did :) they meet once a month and can't wait to bring the scope along.

I feel I'm not making the most of this scope yet. But thankfully the sky isn't going anywhere. Clear skies on the other hand are a rare occurrence!

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ronin

ronin

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There is a subtle difference between "bright" and "surface brightness".

Andromeda is "bright", in that there is proportionately a lot of light off of it.

However it is also big and the brightness (magnitude) is a measure of the light off of all of it.

In effect the intensity is quite low, closer to very dim.

The size means that unless you are under dark skies it does not appear as you would expect, it is not a compact circular object. It is a large cigar shaped indistinct thing. Even with the 40mm SWAN you will be seeing less then 2/3 of Andromeda even if pointed directly at it. So you do not see any sort of edge to determine the start of it.

To know if you are aiming at the right bit of sky use binoculars, they are I think the best to view andromeda with.

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deckardbr

deckardbr

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All I'm asking for is a smudge. Something that I look at an I go 'yup that ain't a star!'

I think that's a low enough expectation for tonight :) wish me luck.

Travelling again to Italy at the end of November. With enough practice under my belt, I'll try and do some serious observing :)

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Planetesimal

Planetesimal

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...Another thing I'm struggling with is knowing what dso's to look for given a portion of the sky. Eg looking east. But that's just inexperience...

You should get a copy of Turn left at Orion, and possibly Sky & Telescopes star atlas. These will hold your hand a bit more and enable you to be methodical in your searches. If you just try to find stuff without assistance you may as well be Messier himself, starting from scratch! :smiley:

You could download Stellarium in the meantime (free star atlas software).

And definitely don't expect to see much in the way of DSOs with the moon more that 2/3 full!

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cotterless45

cotterless45

Posted
Posted

Wait until this Moon goes, even in a good sky last night it was struggle to get dsos. Nice load of double stars though.Eta and Iota Cassiopeiae, double double,Almaak and Albireo.

M15 off Enif in Pegasus was quite bright in the glare,have you tried this tight globular cluster ?

Nick.

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Mike73

Mike73

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Completely agree with the comments on viewing DSO's when its full moon.

M31 wont appear to be 3˚ in size visually though, in an image maybe but visually it needs dark skies and aperture to really show its size.

This is how it looked to me with a 12" scope and good skies.

http://darkskysketches.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=m31

Best of luck with your future DSO hunting, just wait till that moon has gone and things will become alot easier. :)

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deckardbr

deckardbr

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It's a good idea... I'll focus on double stars and clusters while the moon is annoyingly bright.

I'll still hunt a couple of galaxies though :)

Mike - that's a pretty amazing view of andromeda. I can see where that aperture will get you.

I can already see myself going broke with this hobby. Now I have an sct, then maybe buy a large dobs for dso and then a refractor for AP and wide field.

:) I need more money.

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DaveS

DaveS

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I was out last night (1st Nov) and couldn't see much below 2nd mag, if that, so trying for DSOs would be a no-go, even The double Cluster in Perseus (Usually a reliable go-to) was washed out and unimpressive.

Again, wait until the Moon is out of the way, but there has been, in recent years, a correlation between full moon and clear skies. Wosname's law an' all :mad: .

I gave up about 10.30 when I uttered something un-repeatable on these boards and brought the 'scope in.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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M42 could potentially be easier to catch and M45 should really shine even in bad light pollution.

Keep trying :)

I remember when i got my Heritage 130P. The first thing i pointed it at was M42. Thats about all i did............point it. The Moon was full, so i couldnt see hide not hair of M42. It was very strange knowing i was looking in the right place and yet there was no M42.

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DaveS

DaveS

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In your shoes, i'd drive straight out of London (surely the most light polluted area of the country?), and head towards my nearest dark site, if i were you.

That would make life far simpler.

The trouble with London is, it's such a huge ghastly light-polluting splodge that you'd have to drive for a couple of hours to find anywhere dark.

Then it would cloud up.

And another couple of hours to get back.

Only to find it was clear all the time back home.

Argh :mad:

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Double Kick Drum

Double Kick Drum

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Stick at it. A six inch scope should reveal quite a lot in the night sky, although a London sky will impair you viewing substantially.

Spotting fuzzies takes a bit of getting used to. Dark adaptation and an understanding of how they appear will mean you recognise more with experience.

Clear skies!

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DaveS

DaveS

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Well last night, despite nothing much being visible below mag 3.5 (Estimated :smiley: ) I *did* manage to see the core of M31 using my 25mm EP, there was even a trace of elongation with averted vision, so it's not all bad news :smiley:

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