Advice on getting best from my scope

[drshminky]

Hi SGLers!!!

So Mrs Shminky and I spent a good few hours last night from our back garden in South East London getting to grips with constellations and being able to identify where things of interest were in the sky.

While I have i think realistic expectations of my SW130P I was wondering whether there was any advice you could give me on how to get the best from my lovely scope. For example Mrs Shminky was desperate to see Orion which we quite easily found and viewed however I was hoping to find the Orion Nebula and although using Stellarium I was able to look in the right area I could not see it.

Now I suppose this is due to 2 things 1. the stock EP's are probably a bit naff (a 10 and 25mm - 10 is almost completely unusable from what I can tell) and 2. the light pollution is quite bad. So without jumping in like a star crazed loon into purchasing loads of EPs and filters is there any advice you can give ?

Pleisades is a huge deal for Mrs Shminky after viewing it last night as well so I now have to live up to her expectations!!!

P.S. as a comparison I checked out Jupiter as its our kind of go to in terms of viewing quality and it was really clear even though it was small - no Barlow yet!

Thanks guys

Dr. Shminky

[Astro Imp]

I was viewing the Orion nebula last night with a slightly bigger scope than yours under moderate light pollution and it wasn't looking great, needed to use averted vision (look away from the object and catch it out the corner of your eye) to make out any real structure. What you can see really does depend a lot on sky condition.

I'm sure you don't expect to see DSO like the astro images produce, have a look in the sketching section for a good idea of what to expect.

[drshminky]

I was viewing the Orion nebula last night with a slightly bigger scope than yours under moderate light pollution and it wasn't looking great, needed to use averted vision (look away from the object and catch it out the corner of your eye) to make out any real structure. What you can see really does depend a lot on sky condition.

I'm sure you don't expect to see DSO like the astro images produce, have a look in the sketching section for a good idea of what to expect.

Yup I don't expect to see it like you would in pictures etc but thought you would be able to get an idea of it as such. Maybe the atmospheric conditions were worse than I thought they were last night then.

It was cracking good fun anyways and now I am scouring the UK for a dark sky site

[ronin]

Well Orion is worth looking for and should be easy.

Between Orion and the Pleiades lies an orange star, Aldebaren, and surrounding that is the Hyades - another open cluster like the Pleiades but not as impressive.

Jupiter will not be great in the 25mm eyepiece, just 26x and so it will be small but also bright - too bright for any detail. You should however see a few of the moons around it.

You could be mad and get up at 6:00 to look at Saturn and Mars but both will be too small with the present set up.

Orions belt would be worth a look and with the 35mm may get the 3 of them in.

Stars will always be points, but go aim at the 3 red/orange ones - Aldebaren, Arcturus and Betelgeuese.

Scope will be suited to globular clusters, however and it is a bit of a disservice to them, they look much the same.

Andromeda is the standard galaxy, oddly even with the 25mm at 26x you will not see all of it, also in London area the light pollution makes it difficult. Most of it is too faint to show up. So could disappoint.

Eyepieces, at f/5 you need something like the BST Starguiders, they go down to 5mm and have decent eye relief, plossls probably will not quite perform too good. If you went for them then the 5mm, 8mm and 25mm, but that comes to close to £150, If you get one then try the 8mm first.

Next a source of information.

Stellarium is the almost standard planetarium software suggested - free.

Books Turn Left at Orion, I prefer The Monthly Sky Guide, do not ignore books for 8-12 year olds if you have absolutely no idea.

Other: The Baker Street Irregular Astronomers meet monthly in Regents Park.

[ronin]

P.S. Astrofest is on at Kensington Town Hall in mid-Feb. Usually a Friday and a Saturday, may be worth a visit.

[ronl]

Try to observe as late as possible, when Orion is high in the

night sky, this way it takes your target away of the L P zone,

if there are lights near to your viewing position try covering

your head with a dark cloth to keep out stray light, I have

tried lot's of things to keep out stray light, I even put old

blankets over the fence panels to make it as dark as possible,

I live between Liverpool and Chester so the L P can be a 

problem, but I still get great views, last night I was observing 

the Orion Nebular and it was wonderful, the Trapezium was

so clear, and that was with my small scope an Evo 90mm frac

and a 12mm BST Starguider, as Ronin said they would suit

your scope, 18mm would probably be best for your scope, but

I'm no eyepiece expert, as for getting a Barlow, they work well on

the Moon, but it's best to get eyepieces, that way you get the best

view, build up a small collection when funds allow, that's what I have

done, and I am very satisfied with the views I get despite the L P.

[LeeWilky]

I have the 8 inch 200p mate and live in a low light pollution area and Orion is still just a faint smudge really.  Really sick of this bad weather as Io is passing infront of Jupiter as we speak and nothing but thick cloud here!  Gutted  

[cantab]

Despite its brightness, I still find M42 (Orion Nebula) only really shows up in averted vision. Possibly because it is fairly extended, unlike say globular clusters.