Avoiding the same old targets

[Alkaid]

Last night I took the little TAL out. I don't know about you, but I have a penchant for always going to the targets I know, like M42, M45, Double Cluster etc.

This time I did my research and decided to have a look around Canis Major, Canis Minor, Monoceros and Lepus. I had fun star hopping to M41, a nice open cluster just below Sirius.

Then I went for M79 in Lepus, but a slight veil of cloud hung there for ages and I gave that one up for another night.

After that I successfully located NGC 2244, the apparent home of the Rosetta Nebula. I read that you can't see it visually (and this was the case), but I can report that the star cluster at the centre is definitely worth a look.

Then I found the best one, NGC 2264 - the Christmas Tree Cluster. Looked great! I can definitely see how it got it's name.

All in all a great evening hunting down targets I had not seen before. I deliberately did not look at M42!

Are you guilty of going for the same old targets?

[mrphildog]

Yup. Whatever planets are visible (Jupiter at the moment), Pleiades, beehive, double cluster, Orion Nebula and a few others over and over again. I keep trying to find m81 and 82 to add them to my repertoire but I've failed so far.

[SHUTTLE ATLANTIS]

and me im affraid , but i do like looking at jupiter and the moons , i also like to star hop and see whats around

[Codmate]

The secret is to keep an observation list and plan your sessions so that you are sure to add to it - even if it's 'just' a new double

[KenG]

No. I hardly ever look at the M objects. I take a small piece of sky, do as much research about the area as I can, have an initial look, go back to the books and the charts, back to the eyepiece, back to the charts, and so on. For me, finding out about something new is what it's all about, and to that end reference material - lots of it - is as important as the scope.

[DeepThought]

I have found myself in a similar rut, the SkySafari app is quite useful as it has a "Tonight's Best" search function to give a few pointers.

As mentioned, recently I've found double stars are quite nice to while away an evening, Almach is a nice one to start on with good colour contrast.

[Mark at Beaufort]

After that I successfully located NGC 2244, the apparent home of the Rosetta Nebula. I read that you can't see it visually (and this was the case), but I can report that the star cluster at the centre is definitely worth a look.

0113mountainman it sounds that you had a good nights observing and its great to go star hopping to find old favourites as well as new targets. I have seen the Rosette Nebula visually but it required a UHC filter. Without checking back I am sure that I have seen it with my 6" Newt but certainly in the 10" Dob.

If I want a quick grab and go then I will go back and view favourite targets otherwise I plan my evenings session and place the targets on a white marker board and then make notes on the board as required.

Mark

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I use "hunting lists" such as Messier, Caldwell, and many others to ensure I get new stuff (640 DSOs and counting). I do frequently go back to old favourites, for two reasons: First, they are generally spectacular, and second, because I know them well, their appearance is a good gauge of the current conditions.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

0113mountainman it sounds that you had a good nights observing and its great to go star hopping to find old favourites as well as new targets. I have seen the Rosette Nebula visually but it required a UHC filter. Without checking back I am sure that I have seen it with my 6" Newt but certainly in the 10" Dob.

If I want a quick grab and go then I will go back and view favourite targets otherwise I plan my evenings session and place the targets on a white marker board and then make notes on the board as required.

Mark

I agree the Rosette can be seen (best in my 80mm F/6). Difficult, but doable. It does need a very good sky, without moonlight, for preference. Other hard ones are the California, the Cave and the Crescent.

[Stargazer_00]

Yup. Whatever planets are visible (Jupiter at the moment), Pleiades, beehive, double cluster, Orion Nebula and a few others over and over again. I keep trying to find m81 and 82 to add them to my repertoire but I've failed so far.

quickly knocked this up to help.

Step 1 star is parallel to the top of ursa major. Then follow the directional arrows and you should find it no problem. This route is far easier than the other route which takes a line using stars in ursa major.

Hope it helps

[mrphildog]

quickly knocked this up to help.

Step 1 star is parallel to the top of ursa major. Then follow the directional arrows and you should find it no problem. This route is far easier than the other route which takes a line using stars in ursa major.

Hope it helps

that's very kind thank you. I'll give this a go. I've been trying using the stars in Ursa Major without success so far.

[Stargazer_00]

Yeah thats a hard route that kinda relies on chance really. The method I depicted is 100% guarenteed find every time

[Stargazer_00]

Made it a little bit easier to follow. I hope.

EDIT, added a stellarium view of the direction. In actual fact the 3rd blue hop is more of a curve but it gets you in the ball park. should be a doddle to find.

sorry for the hijak and I hope this helps put M81 M82 on your regular list. Should be proper dark outsite now, going to go look at these myself

[D_Mike]

That was brilliant thanks. I am a bit of a novice at this star hopping but managed to spot the beehive cluster last night. I had a go with your method tonight, the first two hops were fine, found the triangle and the pair of stars ok. they led me straight to a bit of empty space. I wonder if it's too bright here (quite urban) for me to see m81 and m82 or should i have another go? do i need dark skies?

[Stargazer_00]

They are quite bright in my opnion but a little haze will make them very hard to find. they are slightly off of a direct line from the 2 stars at the end of the 3rd step, too, as I tried to show in the stellarium view above.

What scope do you have by the way? I can see them, just about, in an urban garden in my 120 refractor, they are much easier in my dob though. Best viewed around 30-45x magnification if you want to see both.

My seeing tonight is just awful, I can see all the stars and cant actually see a single cloud but there is an orange haze all around and only a tiny bit of black sky overhead.

Must be what it looks like to be a fly drowning in a bowl of tomato soup

[swamp thing]

Considering how little observing I've got in this winter I don't see many objects as the same old thing at the moment

I've only seen M42 once this winter. I'd be quite happy to observe it a coupe more times this season.

The rosette nebula responds well to an O-III filter and is easily seen in my 10" Dob from a VLM5 site. It is a big object requiring low power to fit it into the FOV though. This type of object it's all about contrast too much sky glow and its gone. Even an O-III filter won't show it.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just last night I managed some oddball targets: Jonckheere 320 and 900. Tiny planetary nebulae, not much to look at, but nice to have tracked down. There is a lot beyond the classical lists to see up there (once the clouds clear).

[cotterless45]

There's plenty of targets here:

http://www.uv.es/jrtorres/triatlas.html

a little research and making an observing list should ensure a wonderful session.

( well apart from last night when we could see about 20 bright stars in the murk!)

Nick.

[Tlawrence84]

I am exactly the same, altho I made it my mission tonight to find m81 and m82. I also have this months copy of sky at night magazine, and I want to find all 6 objects referenced on page 56, this has a nice star chart to accompany the deails, definitely worth a look.

i managed to find m81 after a bit of random moving of the scope I must admit, but then spent about 10mins trying to locate m82! In my 130p, the 15mm lens was perfect to frame these two galaxies together. As a newbie, trying to ensure that I keep my enthusiasm to match the money I have spent so far, I would definitely say that the best advice is preparation, resource material, and a list of targets in one area of the sky. Time spent researching is better than time spent on astronomy shop's websites!

[Alkaid]

That's great everyone, I think I will now plan my sessions, then go hunting! That night I had recently was one of the best ones I've had, very enjoyable and rewarding, even though I only found a few less well known objects. Very rewarding.

Clear skies - Steve

[Double Kick Drum]

The secret is to keep an observation list and plan your sessions so that you are sure to add to it - even if it's 'just' a new double

Yep. A little bit of research and planning goes a very long way indeed.

My personal tally of viewed objects mushroomed once I got organised, shortly after joining this forum (as it happens).

[Stargazer_00]

I had a great night last night. I got my pocket sky atlas and a red light, picked a constellation that looked ina good position and then nailed everything in it regardless of catalogue. It Worked out really well and I saw and did lots more than usual. Racked up loads of firsts. There Are so many pen clusters to find if you are into these. I am