My First Messier Object (M13)

[blueroom]

Last night I had lovely clear skies and decided to look for M13 after reading about in Turn Left At Orion.

It was much harder than I thought and after 30 mins of failure I got the iPad out which helped greatly. Suddenly I found a faint smudge in the sky with my 25mm EP, I then put in my 8mm BST and I had that WOW moment! It was still quite faint but I could easily see a round blob with hundreds if not thousands of tiny little stars.

Would a nebular filter improve the view?

M13 is my first proper Messier object (if I exclude the Orion nebular & the Pleiades)

[DirkSteele]

Unfortunately a nebula filter will do nothing but darken the view of a Globular Cluster like M13. Unlike emission nebula which emit a good deal of their light at specific wavelengths of light which can be isolated by a filter like a UHC, which darkens the sky background, and allows those emission lines to pass, improving the contrast of the object, a Globular Cluster which is made of stars emits across the entire visible spectrum so all a nebula filter will do is darken the image. The same applies to galaxies and reflection nebulae.

Well done on finding M13, once you know where to look, it becomes easy to locate and will likely become an object you will return to time and again.

Clear skies,

[Double Kick Drum]

M13 is my first proper Messier object (if I exclude the Orion nebular & the Pleiades)

They all count. Congratulations!

You have now seen your first open cluster (M45), emission nebula (M42) and globular cluster (M13).

Given that the Andromeda galaxy is not so well placed at the moment (unless you have a good West - Northwest horizon), I would suggest making M81 / M82 in Ursa Major your first galactic attempt.

M57, the Ring nebula is probably the best planetary nebula to start with.

For more of a challenge, you could try to see your first supernova remnant - M1, the Crab nebula.

Happy hunting!

[Bart]

They don't come much better than M13, but nearby M92 is very under appreciated. It is very beautiful too.

Enjoy your journey!

Barry

[blueroom]

Given that the Andromeda galaxy is not so well placed at the moment (unless you have a good West - Northwest horizon), I would suggest making M81 / M82 in Ursa Major your first galactic attempt.

I would love to see the Andromeda galaxy but my house is in the way lol

[RMcCallum]

M13 was my first DSO too. Back when I only had my stock EPs, can't wait to see it in my BSTs.

M57 is a good target, looks like a tiny grey cheerio.

M81 and M82 all good targets, I love veiwing two DSOs in the same field of view.

M97 and M108 will be visible in you dob, I saw them in my SW 130M. This will give you an idea of what to look for:

[JamesM]

"...got my iPad out" my goodness that's cheating!! :grin: :grin: Only joking and I would recommend using what ever you can to find some of these objects as one or two of the can be a bit tricky. Here is a suggested list of other globular clusters that you make wish to find and can be observed with a modest pair of binoculars so they should pose to much of a problem for your 8" dob.

Clear skies for your next session!

James

[cantab]

Nice find. I've seen it in the bins where it's interesting to compare with M92, the latter having a more concentrated core that appears as a star-like point at the low magnifications. Yet to try my scope on them.

[Vince1963]

A nice one which isn't hard to find and one of my favourites is M44 the beehive in Cancer you can see it with the naked eye ( well around here you can) just look down from pollax and castor in Gemini and a little to the left... Its a beauty

[Stargazer33]

Congratulations on your first globular cluster! M13 was a real WOW moment for me too. The path is long a fraught with danger (mainly the desire to buy lots of new shiny things!), but it can also be so rewarding. Good luck with your continuing journey.

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Great work. Havent seen M13 for a long while. Like said above, M57 is definately awesome.

[Daniel-K]

firstly well done on locating m13. did you manage to resolve any of the stars in the core? i find that if you watch it drift across the f.o.v you can pick out the core alot easier. i love the golden stars in m13 and also the propeller or the x in the middle

[blueroom]

I don't remember seeing any stars in the core but when I used the averted gaze technique the whole cluster appeared brighter.