Seen Jupiter struggling with anything else !!

[Tom_m7117]

Hi all,

I recently purchased my first scope a 200p skywatcher dobsonian. I had it out tonight and marvelled at Jupiter and its moons no problem however I couldn't find anything else no matter where I looked. I was using a star map app from my iPhone and searching for andromeda but it appears impossible given simply pointing the finder scope in the general direction and searching round the sky in the eyepiece. I live in a suburb of London and so LP quite bad. Anyone have any tips on finding some DSOs given there is not a million stars to work from? Also I find the finder scope quite awkward to use. Would a telrad make much difference or perhaps an upgraded finder?

Any tips be very much appreciated

[UHF]

Congrats on the scope. you may find andromeda challenging from a heavily light polluted site. i can barely make it out 24miles north of London.

I first found it by removing the finder from the scope and using it by hand. it will also look brighter in the finder.

Find the square of pegasus and go up two bright stars from the top of the diamond. you should just be able to make out a line of 3 stars abreast to the right including the one you started with. just off of the 3rd star you will see a faint smudge. dark adapted eyes are essential as is viewing it when its as high as possible.

Once found with the finder you should be able to put it back on the scope, align and off you go star hopping again.

Use a low powered ep. eg the 25mm which came with the scope.

Best of luck, suggest you don't try with scope until you can be sure you can get it in the finder. also don't expect too much, its pretty dull to look at, the fact of what it is makes it interesting.

Dave

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[UHF]

Also try for pleides (sp?), a nice open cluster which should bring visible with averted vision even in London. very nice with a low power ep too.

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[UHF]

Also download stellar for your pc, get used to finding it on there, itll also show you what you are looking for

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[UHF]

Stellarium, sorry, im on a phone!

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[Tom_m7117]

Thanks for your help, do you think it would be much help changing the finder to a right angle one?

[Ganymede12]

I love observing Jupiter through my 200p!

First of all, what's your view of Jupiter like? You should be able to see It's 4 moons and two largest belts no problem plus a little extra detail if you watch carefully. If you can't see much detail then you make sure that your not using the 2" and 1.25" EP adaptors at the same time second of all, make sure your finder is aligned to your scope (align it on a lamp post or the moon).

Other, more experienced astronomers will no doubt give you better help than I have. Good luck!

[brantuk]

I changed all my finders for right angled ones - much less strain on my bad back - deffo more comfy to use

Try for M45 - lovely cluster visible with naked eye - just up and to the right of Jupiter - M31 Andromeda is way past the zenith now and heading down into the murk - might be hard to spot if you're light polluted at all right now.

Use a wide angle eyepiece 25mm or 30mm.

[stevetynant]

I find the Telrad much more useful than the spotting scope to be honest - you might also want to think about getting yourself a setting circle and wixey set up just to give you a helping hand if your struggling to find anything - M42 should be pretty high in the Southern sky later on at night now- the great Orion nebula - is a real wow moment the first time you see it in you#ll find yourself going back to it time and again.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

hi,if this is your first time with the scope, then take it easy.not everything will be that easy to find and observe,patience is the key here.Manual dobs are not literally "point and shoot" you will miss more the first times as you hit.Dont get upset by that.its part of the learning curve.

It took me 4 observing sessions before i was able to find andromeda.and it turned out to be just a small fuzz ball in the skies ! i am also in quite heavely LP area so enspired by spotting Andromeda I thought Crab nebula should be easy and guess what,nope i didnt see it.I need to get out to some dark places to really enjoy the scope.For a first couple of times,look for easy targets:Jupiter,Orion Nebula (awesome),M45 cluster just to the right of Jupiter,get the hang and feel of your scope so you dont do jerky movements,maybe you will need to adjust the bottom plate and side bolts so the scope moves smooth.At the begining I also found the spotter scope to be not user friendly and got telrad,but now after few sessions,i kinda like it lol,i use both,telrad and the spotting scope.Also when the skies are not for observing try using Stellarium if you have laptop or PC and study the consolations,stars so by time you can go out and observe you will find your way around much quicker.Make a small list of like 3-4 targets you want to see in your next session.and once again:PATIENCE!

good luck and have fun!

[Tom_m7117]

I saw Jupiter fine and 4 moons, I'm just personally a bigger fan of the DSOs and that's what I would like to try and find the most

[Dude_with_the_tube]

well,i would love to seem them too,but they keep running away from me

[Astro Imp]

Have you got the beginners "Bible" Turn Left at Orion, a great guide for starting out. It's arranged into four seasons and shows you about 100 objects and how to find them, what to expect when you do find them and a little about each object.

[dephelis]

You should still be able to download the guidance PDFs for the Moore winter marathon. Lots of interesting targets and instructions on how to find them.

Once you know where to look, you should be able to find the Andromeda galaxy easily. The core is quite noticeable even in a 5" Mak in Central London.

[dephelis]

Sorry for the double post, but tapatalk isn't allowing me to edit my previous post.

James, I can recommend meeting up with http://www.bakerstreetastro.org.uk/. We have once a month meetings at the Hub in Regents Park. Lots of attendees from all over London and a wide range of abilities.

We should be able to help you find things in our light polluted London skies!

[UHF]

One quick note on the telrad, as it doesn't magnify, if you can't see many stars with your eyes alone then a telrad would be next to useless.

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[scuffer]

Dso's can be difficult to find especially the smudges , they can be very hard to locate and take time and patience ,if your panning around with your scope you have no chance , you need to move - stop -look then move again, try the Orion Nebula which will be good , clusters are always good to see , I got a RA finder and wouldn't recommend one unless your gonna get a Telrad or Rigel to go with it , when using your straight thru finder keep both eyes open - you then just line up the 2 images of the object your lining up , just a pain when looking straight up. Use stellarium and you could add a Wixey and a setting circle to help locate things