First galaxy!

[GTR]

Hi,

I took my dob out til 1am last night and I think I saw my first galaxy! It was below the middle of the three Orions belt stars, a greyey coloured mist among a tight horseshoe shaped cluster of stars. It looked awesome. What exactly was it? Where else could I look with a relatively novice entry Skywatcher dob to see similar stuff? Thanks.

[Rustmonkey]

M31 in Andromeda is the obvious target. its big compared to most but will still only appear as a faint smudge. You need to download some software like stellarium. it's free and will allow you to tour the sky and find decent targets that are available to you at the time of viewing.

[WaveSoarer]

If it was in the sword of Orion, which is just below the belt as you described, it's likely to be M42 the Orion nebula. It's fairly bright but still apears fairly grey.

[Scott]

at a guess i'd say it was m42 orion nebula.if you havent already, download stellarium. its free and great for checking whats in the night sky and when

[John]

That sounds like M42, the Orion Nebula. It's an amazing object but not a galaxy of course.

[LukeSkywatcher]

You found M42. Its a nebula rather then a galaxy. Such a beautiful object. Much more beautiful visually then any galaxy.

M42 (the Orion Nebula) is a region where new stars are actually being born. Call it a stellar nursery.

Congrats.

This is effectively what you were looking at (this image is much processed by computer to enhance colours etc):

Read more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula

[GTR]

Thanks for your replies. Ok it wasn't a galaxy then. Oops! Was still great to see though. My lass has an app on her phone which shows what's where and the M42 it is!

[GTR]

Obviously I didn't have her phone with me that night to check there and then. It's amazing how the sky changes as the night goes on, there's always something new to view!! Could go with the moon moving outta the way to see more though!!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Obviously I didn't have her phone with me that night to check there and then. It's amazing how the sky changes as the night goes on, there's always something new to view!! Could go with the moon moving outta the way to see more though!!

It is amazing how the sky changes over a few hours. Thats why a lot of us have no problem spending hours outside. In previous years during the winter (with clear skies), i have been outside from about 6pm til 4am.

Not so much in the last 5 yrs cuz i'm getting older (i'm nearly 39). I'm happy with 2-3 hrs outside. Last Saturdey night for the Leonid meteor shower, i was out from 10PM til 3:30AM.

That was a long session for me these days.

[freeflyjay]

m42 was my first messier, try for m81 and m82 you can get both in view at once in a low power eyepiece, 2 galaxy`s at the same time around 12 million light years away, download stellerium to see where to look, they are fairly easy ones to get, well must be as i found them! fainter than m42 you`ll only get a grey smudge but cool to know your looking 12 million years back in the past.

[GTR]

Yes, as you can gather by my posts I'm just beginning my stargazing experience and I'm learning stuff all the time. Can't wait to know and spot my next wow moment! :-)

[JamesM]

Congratulations on your observation session in discovering M42, certainly worth another visit to study in full (could you see all the stars at its centre that make up the trapezium?). I would add my recommendation of downloading "Stellarium" which is both free and easy to use. It will certainly help you examine the night sky ahead of time in order to plan what to search for and more importantly, how to find it! It can be configured to your exact viewing location and thereby replicate the exact same night sky you will see for real. There is also an advance date/time facility that lets you anticipate what is coming up and from where, which is useful if your view of the night sky is a partially obstructed in some way. In terms of future reading, you might want to consider getting hold of a book entitled, "Turn Left at Orion" which lists many objects that can be viewed with modest equipment (including binoculars) and more importantly, provides comprehensive maps and instructions on how to find them. Perhaps it might make a very useful Xmas present if your lass hasn't decided on what she's getting for you!

Clear skies for more observations

James

[Letchy]

Congrats sir!

I have been trying to find Orion's neb for a few days... I was looking in the sky for a while last week and failed to realise I was looking at Orion's belt all night long so did not try to see M42... I haven't had such a clear sky or viewing experience since then.

I tried for M31, however and I couldn't se it because of the moonlight but I knew it was where I was looking (through binos)! Good luck at finding your first galaxy!

[Matt Scunthorpe]

M42 really is amazing. M31 is pretty bright too, i think it is still possible with moonlight, maybe only through a scope rather than binos though. The Moon also makes an excellent target though when it is high in the sky.

[rwilkey]

The tight horseshoe of stars that you describe is probably NGC 1981, it's actually shaped like a crown. Below it is the Running Man Nebula (NGC 1973/5/7) and then M43 and M42, the Great Orion Nebula; so you probably saw quite a few deep sky objects (DSO's), but not all at the same time. Well done, it is a beautiful area of the night sky and never fails to amaze.

[Charon]

M42 was my first one also, well done.

[bomberbaz]

what were you using at the time to view this please, interested for my own viewing next time out when moon is less......

[starman1969]

I have missed Orion around my parts and I'm glad to see it coming back for the winter.The good thing about M42 is that it is so easy to see, even from heavily light polluted areas.

It looks great by eye, bins or telescope. Orion is my favourite constellation.