M81 and M82, Bodes Nebula and The Cigar Galaxy

[WaveSoarer]

After the deluge of yesterday, it was actually quite a pleasant day here in Oxfordshire and I was in high-hopes for this evening. It did get a bit cloudier as the day wore on but there were sufficient gaps to encourage me to get the scope set up. I was determined to view M81 and M82 for the first time and I had planned a star-hop from a survey of the region with my SW finder hand-held a few weeks ago. After a trickier star hop than I'd hoped, as most of the target stars I was planning to use were behind our house, I managed to picked out the general region in the finder. Just a hint of a pair of smudges of light were also visible. I used my 20 mm EP and I found that I'd managed to centre up on M81 straight off. After some tweaking of RA and DEC I found M82 and had both objects comfortably in the field of view. I switched on the dual axis controller and I then started the scope tracking. Mrs WaveSoarer and I then got the Nikon SLR set up, which seemed to be a magnet for a large expanse of thin cloud. I was very frustrated, particularly as the view through the EP was quite something. The clouds eventually cleared and I managed to rattle off a few light subs and darks. The breeze wasn't the best for imaging as I noticed later when I started viewing Jupiter with my 5 mm EP. The seeing was good but the breeze vibrated the OTA fairly frequently.

I must say that I was astonished by the level of detail that could be seen on this pair of galaxies. Both objects were an awful lot brighter than I was expecting them to be. Very satisfying and well worth returning to, again and again, and spending a lot of time just soaking in the view. I expect that they will take some additional magnification to pull out extra detail.

I also had the chance to try out my new pair of 10 X 50 binoculars, thanks Mrs WaveSoarer, for their first light. I was absolutely thrilled and they provide a significantly better view than I used to get by using my SW finder scope hand-held. I viewed Jupiter first of all and it was easy to pick out the four moons, which I find very difficult with the finder unless it's attached to the scope and stable. A great start. I then star-hopped to M33, The Triangulum galaxy, and this was very obvious - though just as a faint grey smudge. It was then on to M31, The Andromeda Galaxy, which was its usual delightful self, though it was straight overhead which made it difficult to view from a standing position. I then revisited M81 and M82 and it was just about possible to see them both with averted vision. A promising first use of the Opticron binoculars and I'll look forward to using them at home and on our travels. They are light, which suits Mrs WaveSoarer, have a rubber coating that makes them both easy to grip and relatively water tight.

[John]

Nice report - thanks for posting it

I love observing M81 and M82. I reckon they are the best galaxies for smaller aperture scopes - even better than M31 and companions as you can get them both in a moderately wide field of view.

I first saw them with my old Tasco 60mm refractor and was staggered that I could see any galaxies at all with that scope !.

[foundaplanet]

Nice report.

I enjoy viewing this pair especially on the nights of good seeing M82 is a joy.

A friend of mine has a pair of 10x50 Opticron, a very nice binocular.

NGC 4565 is one of my favourites it really surprised me when I first saw it..

[Special K]

Nice report and glad I wasn't the only one looking at these galaxies last night! I agree they are well suited to smaller scopes like mine. Had a look for the third galaxy in this gravitational group NGC3077 but still no luck. Have you spotted this one as well? It was clouded up by 11 in my area so was glad I got an early start. I noticed the breeze too.

I've got a reclining deck chair that makes overhead bins work very comfortable. It has the added advantage of being more stable while you are viewing and looking up to the zenith is ideal in that position. Happy hunting!

[Luke]

Good report. Well done catching some good views inbetween the patches.

I love M81 and M82, what a sight. I've not managed to catch them naked eye yet, and I must try bins with Triangulum.

[andrew63]

It's surprising how much you can see with binoculars - under the right conditions - some DSO can be 'easier' to spot than with a telescope. That's a good first light with them.

andrew

[WaveSoarer]

Thanks everyone. I haven't looked out for NGC3077, Special K, but I will try to next time. I expect that it was just off my field of view.

Dave

[Special K]

Thanks everyone. I haven't looked out for NGC3077, Special K, but I will try to next time. I expect that it was just off my field of view.

Dave

Bagged him last night! Just before I was dewed, fogged, and clouded out. If I didn't know from an article where to look I would have missed it as it is very faint.

[Double Kick Drum]

Nice report.

NGC 4565 is one of my favourites it really surprised me when I first saw it..

The Needle galaxy is a much underrated galaxy. Reasonably easy to find in Coma Berenices, it has a very distinctive shape and can be picked up in virtually all scopes in a half decent night sky.

Definately a recommendation.

[VigdisVZ]

Good report, I got M81/M82 on the 4th myself.

[Adrian lord]

Very inspiring report - now for some clear skies please!

[m_j_lyons]

M81/82 are great galaxies to use as a starting point for more faint galaxies in the vicinity. I like to swing my scope their way when opportunity presents itself. You know you have dark skies when the faint arms of M81 start to show up! And M82 with those dust lanes is stunning....too bad you can't see them naked eye.

Happy hunting. And be warned...if you start hunting faint fuzzies you'll never be satisfied with what you've seen...you'll go deeper (fainter) and deeper until you need a bigger scope to go deeper yet!