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Did i find the crab?

tyler_jrb

By tyler_jrb
in Observing - Deep Sky

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tyler_jrb

tyler_jrb

Posted
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Hi, all was a really nice night last night and saw it was clear so thought I may as well grab the chance to get some good views while the weather rolls back in. Got my scope set up nicely in my back garden (6") dobsonian and got my handy sky and telescope pocket atlas out. I then let the scope cool for a good 30-40 minutes and started firstly by looking straight for Jupiter WOW! firstly used my 25mm eyepiece to locate and could easily pick out 3-4 bands on the planets surface, i then popped in the 10mm and again focused even more wow straight away notice 3 prominent bands the two large and one quite thin belt just above the other. Was the best ive ever seen jupiter. I also spotted the great red spot for the first time and was great. I then used my 2x barlow and tried at 200x again very nice showing the 3 belts and a really faint one too aswell as some cloudy/milky like texture to the surface! Awsome!

The main reason i put this post on was to see if i found the crab nebula/M1. I started off at taurus and followed it along where its almost like a fork to the end star. I then put my scope on just to look to see basically but moved the scope around and noticed a very very very faint object with the 25mm. i then looked in my book and found that it could or was the crab nebula, great moment really that i had found it but to be truthful it wasnt much really to look at using averted vision it looked almost like a slightly grey rugby ball shape, incredibly faint almost like the sky had become slightly 3d in that part. I then put the 10mm in and it was much bigger and a bit more prominent but no structure to it almost like a very faint cloud. Still i was very amazed and releived that i had found it realy by accident. just wondering if it is the crab nebula and really if this is what it looks like, i wasnt expecting much and I am very happy i found it but it was really really faint. I was wondering if there was any possibility buying say a 25mm 2" eyepiece and filters would enhance my viewing of dso's. I would really like a couple of 2" eyepieces but am unsure of the differences.

Thanks all, happy observing :D

Tyler_jrb

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WaveSoarer

WaveSoarer

Posted
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Yeh! Congratulations. That's an excellent description as M1 does look like that. I use a different star hop but once you've found it it's always easier to go back. Thanks for sharing your report on Jupiter too. I've yet to see the GRS but I managed to image it using my xbox webcam. It's only when I processed the avi a few days later that I noticed that I'd captured it. Doesn't count as far as I'm concerned though. Many congratulations again and I'll look forward to hearing more of your reports.

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cotterless45

cotterless45

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Well done with M1. It's not an easy target. Good to hear the Pocket Sky Atlas in use and the super 150. It really is a planetary killer .

Best that I've seen M1 was elongate with brightness at one end.

I use a 25mm Bst Explorer to look for Dsos, de focussing will often pickup the faintest . Then a 12 mm Bst Explorer to have a good look. This gives x48 to search and x120 to see any structure.For planetary nebulae , I use a 5mm, as these are often quite small and bright, apart from the Dumbells.

These all work well in the Dob. If you need to splash more cash then I also use 10mm and 21mm Hyperions.

A Uhc filter also helps pick out nebulae and is quite striking on Jupiter.

2 inch eps are mainly used at low power to give a wide field of view. They are of little use in light pollution, where you need to get some magnification to blast through any glare. If you like a space view, then I can recommend the 1.25 ep 15mm Skywatcher Panorama 82 degree fov. That's like looking out of a shuttle window and puts objects in a wide star field,

clearer skies,

nick.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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As accurate a description of the Crab from a back garden site as you're likely to read, I'd say. My own first sighting was like a greasy thumb print on glass. Even in a 20 inch it doesn't really shout very loudly though some structure shows up...

Olly

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chiltonstar

chiltonstar

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The Crab is one of the least impressive of the famous nebulae. Still, another Messier bagged, and not an easy one!

Nice report. On those rare nights with superb clarity, some structure does show up though, even from here in LP'd UK. Patience and un-fogged optics perhaps...

Chris

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adrianelliott

adrianelliott

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After (yet another) hopeless attempt at M101 from my back garden I had a go at the crab last night. I'm pretty sure I got it, a distinct grey patch, very faint (although much easier to see than Triangulum galaxy I felt? Ran indoors to get the video cam for a better look. Unfortunately I am still new to this game - the object had drifted out of frame and I over adjusted and lost it! On the next clear night though, I will get it! And I should really get an RA drive for my EQ5 so I'm not against the clock so much.

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