Help me to observe my first DSO

[Scott94]

Hi everyone,

I have had the telescope out a few nights in the past two weeks. But I have been looking mainly at Jupiter and her moons (is it right terminology to call a planet 'her?')

And also aimlessly wondering the skies through a wide angle eye piece.

Now I want to find my first DSO - thought I would've ran into one by accident by now - are they hard to spot?

I started off looking for M42 tonight - thought it would be fairly easy as I can see the stars on Orion's sword. - However the hedge in my back garden is just blocking Orion's belt and lower.

So what others can I see from my back garden at this time of year? Has anyone got a nice, easy to read sky chart?

Thanks in advance and best wishes,

Scott

[SR2]

I've used this map when using my binoculars over the last week or so and like you haven't found any DSOs (Probably because it's not dark enough, or maybe because my binos don't have a big enough aperture), but it's useful for aligning yourself properly.

http://www.skymaps.com/skymaps/tesmn1401.pdf

On the second page there's a nice list of DSOs you can look for too.

Hope this helps!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The easiest by far is M45, the Pleiades. This is a naked eye object, and can easily be found. M42 and M43 are in Orion, which is the most distinctive constellation easily seen southwards. The three stars of the belt of Orion are a good starting point for a short star-hop southwards to the sword: three fainter stars in a short row a little way underneath the belt. The middle star always looks a bit fuzzy. Even in a finder scope, the nebula should be visible. In your scope a large, bright nebula should be visible, with a little round nebula tucked in a dark "bay" in the brighter, bigger one. The big one is M42, the small one is M43.

One very good guide to DSOs is "Turn Left at Orion".

[Orange Haze]

Hi Scott.

I think calling anything 'her' is absolutely fine. I call my scope 'her' and do my best to treat her like a lady.

Your best bet is to download 'Stellarium'. It's a superb program that shows you what's in the night sky at any given time and it's free! On my ipad I use 'Star Chart' which does a very similar job.

Galaxies are tricky to spot as they appear as faint grey smudges in the sky. But that doesn't detract from the amazement you feel when you see them. Best bet is to use a low mag eyepiece such as a 25mm to give you a wide view. Doesn't take a lot of magnification to spot them, then you can crank up the power to reveal a bit of detail, such as the recent supernova in M82.

M42 is in my opinion the best of all the DSOs, well worth waiting for it to rise. M45' the Pleiades is also a great site. M31 Andromeda is a fair target and good in the low mag view.

The adventure is in the looking......

[Lorne]

An easy one for starters, follow the line of Orion's belt up to the right and you will come across M45, the Pliedes or 7 sisters. That one is naked eye so you should find it easily

Download a free program called Stellarium and put in your location, it will show you what is in the sky at your location.

Then, check out the Central Scotland Observers Group (google CSOG) we have meets in a few places in between Edinburgh/ Glasgow area, usually arranged at short notice. Here you will get pointed in the right direction for objects and get a look through other scopes in the group!

Hope this helps,

L.

**Oops.... beaten to the advice by Lee and Michael...... must learn to type faster  **

[bingevader]

Most of the planets and constellations have names relating to Roman or Greek mythology. Very interesting, if it's your thing and you like a little read whilst waiting for the clouds to clear!

So in this case, unfortunately, Jupiter is most definitely a he, being the King of the gods.

Orion, Andromeda and the Pleiades, all good bedtime reading!

Cheers

Forgot to mention DSOs! Bit of a challenge, but there are plenty of threads relating to the Supernova in M82 if you'd like to give that a go!

[Scott94]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the speedy replies.

That Stellarium program is excellent! Going to have so much fun seeing what is around me! ... Thank you all I will be hoping for a clear night tomorrow and I will look for one of the 'easier' messier objects tomorrow! I will let you guys know how I get on.

Lorne - Thanks I joined the CSOG a while ago but I will look more often for meets and come along - you guys can show me how it is done and how to get the best out of my scope.

Vacuum - Funnily enough I have an honours degree and masters degree in Classics (Roman and Greek mythology, politics, art, rhetoric, philosophy and Latin etc.) haha I just thought Jupiter although named after the god would still be 'she'. Doh - no common sense haha.

Thanks a lot everyone,

I will let you all know how I get on.

Scott

[hobbes22]

Definitely agree with the Pleiades, just lovely. Can you re-adjust your position to see Orion's Nebula? Definitely worth the effort. These 2 are my favourites right now!

[bingevader]

Vacuum - Funnily enough I have an honours degree and masters degree in Classics (Roman and Greek mythology, politics, art, rhetoric, philosophy and Latin etc.) haha I just thought Jupiter although named after the god would still be 'she'. Doh - no common sense haha.

Oooh, I feel a little SGL mythological subsection coming on! I love all the mythology, it helps to spin a story, especially when observing with children.

Cheers