Dont Laugh at Me.....

[jeremy1]

Ok Guys. Please be gentle with me but I just cant find M31. I go to Cassiapia then follow the top V straight out but I'm damned if I can see anything. What am I doing wrong ??? I look at Stellarium and then look at the sky and it should be in a dark area stairing right at me but alas it eludes me. I must admit I am trying from my back garden and light pollution might be a big factor for the naked eye but the scope should pick it out. I can see loads of stars through the scope which are not visible with the naked eye, but as for M31

[stephen_usher]

Generally, you'll see M31 as a fuzzy star with a halo around it. (This is the very bright core of the galaxy.)

Unfortunately with the Mk.I eyeball you'll not see much more, even with the darkest skies.

So, you may actually be looking right at it and not realise.

[Planetesimal]

Hi Jeremy - nothing to be ashamed of, it took me a while to find Andromeda but now I found it, I can see it with averted vision and no scope!

LP is no doubt an issue - it'll make the fuzzy outer part of the galaxy harder to see, so perhaps only the central core is visible. With the dob 200p I presume you have the 9x50 finderscope? I actually have had the best views of M31 by far in my 9x50... It almost fills the fov in the finder, and is hard to miss. I usually use Mirach in the Andromeda constellation as a starting point, then go one step north to nu-Andromedai, then the same distance again will be where you'll see the fuzzy. If you still can't see it then it must be the LP. You'll need to get out into the dark countryside of Wilts or Glos!

[dtr42]

you may find it with bins easier as it can be tricky with lp and telescope i usually find pegasus go east from alphetez [the top star in pegasus square to mirach then up and slightly west with a 32mm ep and can find it there

[jeremy1]

I might pop up to Badminton next time were it;s a lot darker than Yate. Maybe you could help me find it too.

[allcart]

I find it easier to take the Mirach route. If you can find Mirach and make out the three stars that make a Y shape at 90 degrees to it. M31 is just above the arms of the Y.

[jeremy1]

Thanks allcart I must try that method as well. I'm sure I will get there eventually.

[Andy McK]

Took me forever to find also, but now I've finally "sussed" out Polar alignment and my setting circles, I'm pretty confident to locate. (Mostly)

TBH, At the time, i was a little dissapointed with what I saw (fuzzy) but when I stopped and thought about it.

I'm looking at another galaxy !!

So, to me, there's clear sky's, good "seeing" and your mind's eye, and understandng what I'm looking at (unfortunatly, I very, very rarely get all three in one session )

[KevUU]

I too find it via Andromeda (the constellation) rather than Cassiopeia. From Keynsham the LP isn't too bad, maybe we could meet up if the sky ever clears...

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Strangely, i found it easier after i learned to find it in bins. It's not like i memorised the starfields/hops to get to it, i guess it's just a subconcious thing.

Same with any object though, once you've found it the first time, you can generally get straight to it.

[VigdisVZ]

+1 for Mirach.

http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/public/FindM31.jpg

[LukeSkywatcher]

Once you find M31, you will always be able to locate it within 30 seconds. I can spot it with the naked eye now from my back garden. Here's how i find it:

With your widest EP (i use a 25mm or a 30mm), locate the right hand side of Cassiopiae(sp?) and slowly move down from the 2nd star from the right (name is not important) and you will see a very faint fuzzy object that will appear to be a oblong passing cloud (but it isn't a cloud). It will be brighter towards the centre and diffuse to either side. Thats M31.

You WILL know it when you see it. Here's a stacked image i took of it with my 450D camera. Its almost centred in this image.

[Ganymede12]

This thread may answer your questions

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/167946-i-think-i-found-m31-tonight/

[jeremy1]

I think I found it briefly tonight whilst showing my friend my new bins but I had to cut it short as he was picking up his kids and they were putting thier coats on but I will pop out again later and try again.

[Marc1980]

Another diagram to add to the pile. Also took me a while with the telescope but found it with the mk 1 eyeball by accident.

[Marc1980]

Try that again.

[Pete Presland]

once you find it , you will wonder why you ever struggled

[jeremy1]

When I get back to the UK in a week or so I will try and team up with a grown up who can show me where I'm going wrong.

[MrPloppy]

I found this fairly quickly when I started out a few weeks back (I'm not showing off!), and my first thought was "oh - is that it?" To me, it was just a slight smudge in the sky, hardly noticeable.

"My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Navigating" (see what I did there?! )

I get to roughly the right area (navigating via the star hopping technique), then use the RA and DEC knobs like an old etch-a-sketch drawing zig-zags. Eventually you will come across it, as you're covering all of the sky in the area.

However, I've still not been able to see M13 Hercules Cluster using this method even after three attempts. I'm sure that some DSOs move...!

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

"My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Navigating" (see what I did there?! )

You missed one off... >_>